it, " brought in an everlasting righteousness3." He being " Emmanuel, God with us," his righteousness is truly and properly the righteousness of God. This righteousness God accepts for us as though it were our own. In consideration of what Jesus suffered, he remits our punishment; and in con- sideration of Christ's meritorious obedience, he bestows on us the reward of eternal life. Hence, from beginning to end, this is distinguished from the righteousness of man; seeing that it was provided by God the Father, wrought out by God the Son, and shall be accepted both by the Father and the Son on our behalf.]
2. It is a righteousness " without the law " —
[By this expression the Apostle distinguishes it from any righteousness arising from our obedience to the law ; and intimates, that it is totally independent of any works of ours, past, present, or future. No works of ours can add to it in the smallest degree, or render it either more satisfactory to God, or more sufficient for us. On the contrary, if we were to attempt to unite any thing of our own with it, instead of rendering it more firm, we should utterly make it void ; and instead of securing to ourselves an interest in it, we should cut off ourselves from all hope of acceptance by itb. We must not be understood to say, that this righteousness supersedes the practice of good works, (for it lays us under tenfold obligation to perform them0) but that it excludes all reliance on our own works, and will on no account admit a creature's righteousness to participate the honour of justifying us before God.]
3. It is a righteousness " by faith of Jesus Christ" —
[As in the foregoing expressions this righteousness is declared to be God's, exclusive of any works of man, so here we are told how it becomes ours. But this part of the subject will be more fully considered under the third head of our dis- course ; I will therefore only observe at present, that we must obtain an interest in this righteousness, not by working, but by believing in Christ. We must no more attempt to purchase it by our works, than to add to it by our works ; or, if we will pur- chase it, we must " buy it without money and without price*."]
To confirm the Apostle's description, we shall pro- ceed to shew,
II. What evidence we have that this is the only jus- ti lying righteousness —
a Dan. ix. 24. b Gal. v. 2, 4.
c Tit. ii. 11, 12. «» Isai. lv. 1.