' Of the righteousness which is by faith.' By faith is meant faith in the Messiah ; and righteousness is here put for the righteousness of justifica- tion, or rather I conceive for the reward oi righteousness— acceptance with God, possession of the whole world, and the enjoyment of the everlasting recompenses, all which are here called righteousness, because all these things are built and founded upon the righteousness of Christ which is possessed by faith ; of which righteousness Noah professed himself an heir. And this is that righteousness he did press upon men in his age, inculcating and commending the same hopes to others. Therefore he is said to be ' a preacher of righteousness,' 2 Peter ii, 5, because he pressed them to return to God, and seek the forgiveness of their sins by faith in the Messiah.
The points are three — (I.) That there is a righteousness by faith; (2.) This righteousness is an heritage ; (3.) That our title to this heritage is evidenced to be right and good by the special operations of faith.
Doct. 1. That there is a righteousness by faith. This I have largely spoken of in ver. 4. I shall only now observe two things —
1. That this righteousness is a righteousness opposed to the right- eousness of the law, or exact obedience as fulfilled in our own persons, A clear place for that is Rom. iv. 13, where it is said of Abraham that ' the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law,' — mark the opposition, — ' but through the righteousness of faith ; ' where there is a plain distinction and of)posilion of the law to the righteousness of farth. The best of God's children are accepted out of grace, and justified by faith, not works. Noah was a just and perfect man in his generation ; he was the best alive in his time, and yet his claim was not of right but of grace ; ' he found grace ' though he were ' a just man,' Gen. vi. 8, 9. In the children of God there is a care of holiness and obedience ; but their reception into God's favour is not built upon their obedience, because that is imperfect and mixed with siu ; but upon the righteousness which is by faith.
2. It is a righteousness that is opposed to any act, virtue, and grace of our own. When the apostle had spoken of his own personal excel- lences, he concludes all thus, Phil. iii. 9, ' That I may be found in liim, not having mine own righteousness ; ' where Paul clearly shows that it is such a righteousness as we have by being found in Cluist ;
218 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. XXXIX.
such as doth not arise from any act of ours, but by virtue of our union with him. Our guilt is so great that when wrath makes inquisition for sinnerf, nothing will cover it but tlie righteousness of the Son of God : Eoni. iii. 22, ' Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ; so that there is no difference.' He saith it is the righteousness of God, either such as God hath appointed, or such as is merited by a person that is God ; for indeed there is a righteousness of God, that essential rigiiteousness which Christ hath with the Father, which is incommunicable either to man or angel, no more than God can communicate to the creature any other of his essential attributes, as omnipotency, eternity, &g ; but it is the righteousness of Christ who is God-man, his cautionary or surety ; righteousness, which he performed in our stead, which by virtue of our union to him is made ours ; and the instrument on our part to receive it is faith, and therefore by consequence the objects of it are all believers without difference.
Doct. 2. That this righteousness is a heritage. So the apostle intimates wlien he saith he ' became an heir.' Now it is a heritage in several respects.
1. Because of the dignity and excellency of the blessing itself, with all the consequences of it. The blessing itself is a fair portion ; it is a legacy left us by Jesus Christ. Look, as when Elijah went to heaven he left Elisha his cloak ; so when Jesus Christ went to heaven he left us his garment, his own righteousness as a legacy to us, which is a covering tliat is not too short to make us accepted with God. The gospel is called the new testament ; it is the will of Christ, and among other legacies he hath left us his righteousness. Look, as a father entails his land upon his children, so Jesus Christ hath left us what he had. As to the outward state, Christ had nothing to leave us, he was poor and despicable ; but that which was eminent in Christ was his righteousness and obedience, and this he hath left to us as the pledge of his love. Christ's righteousness is an excellent privilege and heritage, a better heritage than all the world ; he is a rich man indeed that hath it. All other things are but an additional supply, that is the main blessing : Mat. vi. 33, ' Seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof, and all other things shall be added to you/ The great and main blessing that we should seek and look after in the world is an interest in the righteousness of Christ ; other things are cast in as paper and packthread into the bargain. This is a jewel which cost Cln-ist very dear to purchase it for us, and he is a rich man indeed that hath it. Look, as the wise merchant sold all to purchase the pearl of great price, Mat. xiii. 46 ; so if we suffer the loss of all, it will make us amends if we have this pearl of great price ; all else is but dung and dross. Those in the world that have large revenues, that join house to house, and field to field, alas ! they have but a spot of "earth, in the map it is nothing; but he that hath Christ and his righteousness, he is the rich and great man, greater than the greatest monarch upon earth if lie be carnal ; and he may say with David, Ps. xvi. 6, ' I have a goodly heritage,' when he had made God his portion, and hath an interest in the righteousness of Christ.