Part 138

It likewise signifies inward holiness, wrought in us by the blessed Spirit of GOD. But, I believe, the word righteousness in my text signifies, what, I trust most, I should be glad if I could say, all who attend this night, will be glad to hear of: What is that? It is what all reformed divines, that have clear heads and clear hearts, call an _imputed righteousness_, or the righteousness of the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be imputed to poor sinners upon their believing: and, if you ask me, what I mean by an imputed righteousness; not to shoot over your heads, but rather, if GOD shall be pleased to make me, to reach your hearts, I will tell you, by this word “righteousness,” I understand all that CHRIST hath done, and all that CHRIST hath suffered: or, to make use of the term generally made use of by sound divines, “CHRIST’s active, and CHRIST’s passive obedience;” put these two together, and they make up the righteousness of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. My dear friends, thus stood the case between GOD and man: at first GOD made man upright. _Moses_ gives us a short, but never was so full a description of the origin and nature of man given by any other but himself. “In the image of GOD made he man,” says that sacred historian, being inspired by the Spirit of GOD. GOD said, and it was done; GOD commanded, and the world arose before him; “Let there be light,” and instantaneously behold light appeared: but when that lovely, that divine, that blessed creature Man, the Lord of the creation, GOD’s vicegerent, was to be made, GOD calls a council, and says, “Let us make man after our own image.” Now, this image is to be understood, no doubt, in respect of man’s soul; for GOD being no corporeal substance, man could not be made after his image that way. Well, in this condition GOD made man. _Adam_ stood as our representative. _Adam_ and _Eve_ had but one name originally, “GOD made man, and called their name _Adam_.” GOD left _Adam_ to his own free will; he was pleased to enter into a covenant with him, which, indeed, is an amazing instance of GOD’s condescension. GOD might have ordered man to do so and so, and not made him any promise of a reward: but the great Creator was pleased to promise him, that if he performed an unsinning obedience, if he abstained from eating a particular tree, that he and his posterity should live for ever; but if He broke that command, in the day that he ate thereof, he and all his posterity were to die. Now, I verily believe, had you and I been there present, however some people may object against GOD’s severity, in imputing _Adam_’s sin to us; yet I believe, if you and I, and all the world had been present, we should have heartily come into this agreement. Supposing GOD had called the whole creation together, and had said, “Ye, my creatures, I have made here a man after my own image, I have breathed into him the breath of life, I have caused him to become a living soul, I have filled him with righteousness and true holiness; he has not the least propensity to sin, only he is a fallible and mutable creature; all that I desire of this man is, that he abstain from yonder tree: I have given to him all the trees of the garden, I have made him, and planted for him a garden with mine own right hand, I desire he may abstain from plucking yonder fruit: Will ye stand or fall by this man, will ye let him be your representative, will ye be content that his obedience or disobedience be imputed to you?” If we had been all there, every one of us would have said, “LORD GOD, we will let him be our representative;” the terms were so easy, the improbability of his falling was so exceeding great, that I believe every one of us should have all put our hand to the covenant. And supposing us alive, and that we had agreed to that covenant, who is that man or woman that could find fault with GOD’s imputing _Adam_’s sin to us. Well, my friends, GOD made man in this condition; the devil envied his happiness; it is supposed by some, that man was made to supply the places of the fallen angels. But the devil envied man, and had leave to tempt him; _Eve_ soon reached out her hand and plucked of the forbidden fruit, and afterwards _Adam_ transgressed also; and from that very moment, to make use of Mr. _Boston_’s words, “Man’s name was _Ichabod_,” the glory of the LORD departed from him. _Adam_ and _Eve_ then fell: you, and I, and all their posterity (whom they represented) fell in them. Mankind had but one neck; and GOD might have served mankind, as _Caligula_ would have served _Rome_, according to his own words, “I wish it had but one neck, and I would cut it off with one blow.” GOD, if he pleased, might have sent us all to hell. Here _Calvin_ represents GOD’s attributes as struggling one with another; Justice saying to GOD, seeing Justice had framed the sanction, “Is the law broken, damn the offender, and send him to hell.” The mercy of GOD, his darling attribute, cries out, “Spare him, spare him.” The wisdom of GOD contrives a way, that justice might be satisfied, and yet mercy be triumphant still. How was that? The LORD JESUS interposes, the days-man, the dear Redeemer! he saw GOD wielding his flaming sword, and his hand taking hold of vengeance; the LORD JESUS CHRIST saw the sword ready to be sheathed in the blood of the offender; when no eye could pity, when no angel or archangel could rescue, just as GOD was, as it were, about to give the fatal blow, just as the knife was put to the throat of the offender, the Son of GOD, the eternal Logos, says, “Father, spare the sinner; let him not die; Father, Father, O hold thy hand, withdraw thy sword, for I come to do thy will; man has broken thy law, and violated thy covenant: I do not deny but man deserves to be damned for ever; but, Father, what _Adam_ could not do, if thou wilt prepare me a body, I in the fulness of time will go, and die for him; he has broken thy law, but I will go and keep it, that thy law may be honoured; I will give a perfect unsinning obedience to all thy commandments; and that thou mayst justify ungodly creatures, I will not only go down and obey thy law, but I will go down and bleed; I will go down and die: here I am; I ♦will step in between thee and sinners, and be glad to have thy sword sheathed in my heart’s blood for them.”