The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 523

lifo, bore our burdens, submitted to our sorrows, bore the penalty oi our sins, "was io all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Now, if the principle of repre- sentation be just at all, surely it is still more so that the Lord Jesus shoulrl be that Representative. But if he be, then, because he is altogether righteous, acceptable, and well pleasing before God, we must be so too; yea, we are so, for he is "the Lord 011r Righteousness." God looks not upon ns, but he beholds Christ, who is "our Shield;" he looks on "the face of his Anoiuted." ",v e are accepted in the Beloved." "Christ \B made unto us righteousness." 2. And he makes us to be as the rigl,t,ous in our con- ditions. So only can the paramount and predominant features of God's dealing with us now be accounted for. Man being what he is, why should he be dealt with so mer - cifully as he is? The answer is, because it is the Lord who is our Ri~bteousness. If l see a number of poor destitute people taken, and clothed, and fed, and dealt with in all kind and beautiful ways, and I ask the explanation, I am at once pointed to some one who has secured all this favour for them, and by whose kindness it has become thei:s. And when I see man, despising God, prayerless, sinning daringly day by day, ungrate- ful, evil, disobedient continually, destitute of all goodness, and yet treated with all kill(l- ness and love, must I not conclude that the righteousness of another is the secret of his mercies, and the real ea.use of the goodly portion he enjoys? 3. But Christ is "the Lord our Righteousness" because he makes us righteous in ourselves. If it were possiblo that God could for ever esteem and deal with as righteous, not only those who were not righteous, but who never could become so, we should find it difficult to maintain the truth taught us by this name. But God's counting us righteous in Christ is reasonable and right, because we a.re in the sure way to become so. For when any come to the Lord Jesus Christ in living faith, a new will is given them. They are, as our Lord says," born again." It is as on a railway, where by one movement of the points the whole train is turned on to another line, and proceeds afterwards in quite a different direction. So by this coming to Christ the man is placed on another line, started in a new direction ; a new will is his, and he is a. new man. \Vhen the turbid stream of the Rhone falls into the Lake of Geneva it loses its old character, and its waters assimilate themselves to the exquisite clearness and colour of that lake, so that when they flow out at the other end they are as a new river altogether - "old things have passed away, and a.II things a.re become new." So is it in the great change when a man comes to Christ. And when wo remember that whilst man looketh at the outward appearance, God looketh at the heart, it is easy to see that God may count a man to be righteous whom we should not think so at all. If the will, the heart, bo Christ's, though it may be once and a.gain overborne by the fierce rush of temptation, as David's was, yet, because the heart is right, God counts that man righteous still. And this now will, the new heart, ever tends to embody and express itself in act. It will be like a hidden fire, struggling and struggling on till it can find vent and work its good desire. And it shall do this in due time. Meanwhile God but anticipates; looks on to the harvest as the husba.ndma.n does even when the blade has not shown itself as yet above the ground. But he imputes the righteousness of the harvest to those fields though not a. blade appears. The pa.rent imputes the righteousness of the intelligent, loving youth to the little infant just born, not because it has it, but because he believes it will have it. And God counts us as righteous, not alone because Christ is our Repre- sentative, but because he will restore our souls. He will make us righteous in our- selves as well as before God. And he does this by setting beforo us in his own life the perfect example, and attracting us thereto by an ever-increasing attraction ; and by imparting to us his own Spirit, who nourishes us in a.II goodness; and by bringing to bear upon us the mightiest motives which can ever control or influence tho human heart-love, gratitude, holy fear, bright, blessed hope,-nll these and yet others ; so day by day docs he strengthen and confirm the good will which, when we first ea.me to him, ho gave us as his first gift. 'I'hus does he make those righteous whom God for his sake now counts to be so. And now- III. CAN WE SAY THAT THE LORD IS " OUR" R1GHTEOUSNESS? We may have correct views on this great doctrine, wo may believe in a general and abstract way that the Lord is the Righteousness of his people, but all this is far short of being ablo to say that the Lord is our Righteousness. We can only say this as we uaily and habitually I.rust him-as we "\{eep touch" with him, as it were, continually lucking to liim an,l WREMUI!, 2 1ll 530 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. [cu. xxm. 1-4.0.