: oufnefs; and righteoufnefs was quite out of Adam's family, there is none righteous in the earth, no not one; but he is the righteoufnefs of it. We are told, Dan. ix. he "brings in an everlasting righteoufnefs:" notice the expreffion, he brings it in; it was out of Adam's family, out of the earth, and Chrift brings it in, and he does it by his obedience unto the death; hence is that bleffed name he bears, Jer. xxiii. 6. "In his days Judah fhall be saved, and Israel shall dwell fafely and this is his name whereby he fhall be called, JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU," that is," the Lord our righteousness."-Surely, fhall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness :" notice, it is in the Lord; it is not in ourselves, but in the Lord. He is "the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one that believeth." And, 2 Cor. v. ult." He hath made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Does not that fay, he is the refurrection and the life of our righteoufnefs and acceptance before that infinite Lord, that had paffed the fentence of condemnation upon us, for our unrighteousness? O Sirs! take care that you be under that covering of Chrift's righteousness; you that are going to a communion-table, ye had need to wrap your fouls in that garb, for there is no ftanding before God without it. But again, 6. He is the refurrection of our holiness. That was ano. ther part of God's image we loft; for you know it confifts in knowledge, righteoufnefs, and holinefs. Immediately after man's fin, he fell among the pots, and became black like an Ethiopian, and spotted like a leopard. Well, Chrift comes, and he begins his work of holinefs here, and perfects it at death; hence we are told, he is "made of God unto us fanctification." I do not underftand that holinefs that is without Chrift; fome pretend to make themfelves holy by their own power, they put Heathenifh morality in the room of gospelholiness: but that is not holiness; "for (fays Chrift) without me ye can do nothing;" you cannot bring forth the fruits of holinefs, unless ye be joined unto the Lord, ye cannot be holy; it is the beauty of the Lord upon his people that makes them holy. Therefore, he is the refurrection of our holinefs, if ever we were made holy. Again, 7. In the feventh place, Chrift is the refurrection of our peace with God. By the entry of fin our peace with God was broken, and man became an enemy to God, and ever fince is filled with enmity against God; and God becomes an enemy to man, for "he is angry with the wicked every day." Well, Chrift came to recover the ancient friendfhip between God and man, and by him it is effectually done; for he makes peace peace by the blood of his cross," by the fatisfaction of justice, and abolishing the penalty of the law; and the peace he makes between God and the foul, it is a lafting peace, becaufe it ftands on a lafting foundation. There are fome that make a mighty cry for peace, peace; O let us have peace at any rate, though it fhould be at the expence of truth, though the truth fhould fuffer by it: but it is folly for any to think, that peace can be, without it ftand upon righteoufnefs and truth; no, the peace that Chrift hath raised up, it stands upon the folid bottom of a law-magnifying righteoufnefs. He is the refurrection of our peace. And then, 8. He is the refurrection, not only of peace and friendship, but of fellowship and communion between God and man. When man finned, you know, he was banished by God, he was turned out of paradife, and the cherubims fet to guard the way to the tree of life; there was no accefs for man to God, and God would have no correspondence with him; and what correfpondence can there be between heaven and hell, guiltinefs and righteoufnefs? Well, Chrift he recovers this, for he himself is the way to it; for he tells us, John xiv. 6. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." And John x. 9. "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he fhall be faved, and shall go in and out, and find pafture ;" that is to fay, they shall have free access to God, and his foul fhall be filled with the fatness of my houfe of mercy. Sirs, there are a good many of you defigning for a communion-table, fee that you go in by the right door: it is easy to get man's door, to get a token from men ; but, depend upon it, ye will infallibly eat and drink damnation to your own fouls, if you do not enter by the door of Chrift Jefus; it is impoffible that we can take up the human nature as the medium of communication to the divine nature, unless we fee light in the Lord's light; however, it is in this way that we come to have communion and fellowship with God. the refurrection of our fellowship and communion with God; "Chrift hath once fuffered for fins, the juft for the unjust, that he might bring us to God," 1 Pet. iii. 18. Chrift is God's way to us, and our way to God. Again, He is 9. Chrift is the refurrection of all the graces of the Spirit. Adam, he loft his faith, he loft his love, he loft his hope, he loft his repentance, and he loft his obedience by the fall. But now, Chrift is the refurrection of every one of thefe. He is the refurrection of our faith, truft, and confidence in God, as a reconciled God in Christ. He reveals himself to us to be a God of love; whenever the man fees this, it bǝgets in him faith towards God : Pfal. xxxvi. 7. "How excellent is thy loving loving-kindnefs, O God! therefore the fons of men put their truft under the fhadow of thy wings." Chrift is called "the author and finisher of faith." Sirs, if ever you got faith, it was juft Chrift that, by his word and Spirit, begot it in you: "By grace are ye faved, through faith; and that not of yourfelves; it is the gift of God: not of works, left any man should: boaft." Then he is the refurrection, not only of our faith, but of our love. Have ye any fpark of love to Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft? Why, that spark of celeftial fire comes from. the heart of Chrift; the Spirit takes the things of Christ, and fhews them unto us; he takes a coal of love from the heart of Chrift, and throws it into our hearts, and kindles it, and when he hath kindled it, he preferves it by the continual breathings of the wind of his Spirit upon it: "He will not break the bruifed reed, nor quench the fmoking flax, until he hath brought forth judgement unto truth."-Then he is the refur-. rection of our hope in God; "he died and rofe again, that our faith and hope might be in God." Says the apostle Peter (fpeaking of the refurrection of our hope), "Bieffed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the dead,' 1 Pet. i. 3. Immediately upon the fall of Adam, he lost his, hope; therefore it was he fled into the thickets of paradise, for God was a terror unto him. When the finner is out of Chrift, if he faw his cafe, he would be a "Magor-Miffabib, a terror to himself, and all about him," Jer. xx. 3. thou faidft, There is no hope. No, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go." But whenever a finner is begotten again, he is begotten to a lively hope; he complies with that command, "Let Ifrael hope in the Lord.". He is the refurrection of our hope. And then he is the refurrection of our repentance, and remiffion of fins: "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgiveness of fins." And he is the refurrection of our new obedience. Man, upon the fall, as I was hinting already, he threw off his obedience to God; but Chrift, he brings him back again, he writes his law upon his heart, and "caufes him to walk in his ftatutes, and keep his judgements, and do them," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. Chrift is the commander of our obedience; the law is delivered unto us in the hand of a Mediator; we 46 are not without law to God, but under the law to Chrift," I Cor. ix. 21. Because the law is in the hand of Chrift, therefore the law is called his law and his commandment; it was he that was in the midft of the angels when the law was delivered. Then he is not only the "But commander commander of our obedience, but the pattern of it; he not only gives the law, but cafts a copy of new obedience to us; he fulfils it, to bring in everlafting righteouínefs for our juftification; and he obeys it as a rule, that fo we may be encou-> raged to walk after his example : "Learn of me (fays Chrift), for I am meek and lowly; take my yoke upon you;" that is to fay, the yoke of my law: a yoke that was never worn is ready to gall the necks of beafts; but Chrift wore this yoke, and made it easy to us, fulfilling it as a covenant, and obeying it as a rule, and as our pattern. And then it is in him that all our obedience is accepted of the Lord. Ye must not think any thing is accepted as it comes from you, or done by you; no, our perfons are accepted in him, and our obedience is re-. warded in him; our obedience, as it is a fruit of his own Spirit, and of his love and fatisfaction, it is accepted and rewarded of the Lord. It is a remarkable expreffion you have, 1 Cor. xv. ult. "Be ye steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forafmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." There is a little word, that is little looked to, but the very hinge of religion lies in it; Are ye "in the Lord" when ye obey? Are ye "in him as the true God, and eternal life?" Does all your obedience flow from being in him? Is all your ftrength and holiness derived from him? When you look for a reward of your obedience as done in your own perfons, you just run back to the covenant of works, and quit the covenant of grace; but, depend upon it, it will never be rewarded in yourfelves, but in the Lord, in the Redeemer. Take care then, and fee that ye be in him, or elfe you and your obedience will be found ftark naught in the end of the day. I might tell you, that Chrift is the refurrection both of foul` and body. He is the refurrection of the foul, that noble part of man: "The redemption of the foul is precious, and it ceafeth for ever," as to any ranfom man could give for his foul, Pfal. xlix. 8. O Sirs! Chrift is the refurrection of the foul, because he is the Redeemer of the foul; and he hath redeemed it by a great ranfom: "We are not redeemed with corruptible things, as filver and gold; but with the precious blood of Chriit, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. And then he is not only the refurrection of the foul, by paying a price for it, but by application of that price in a day of power: why, we are raifed up by virtue of his refurrection; when our fouls are raised up to a life of fellowship and communion with God, it is the fpirit of Chrift that does it. Then he is not only the refurrection of the foul, but allo of the body. There is a word you have to this purpose, If. xxvi. 19. "Thy dead men fhall fball live, together with my dead body fhall they arife: awake and fing, ye that dwell in the duft: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth fhall caft out the dead." Sirs, they that die in Jefus, and fleep in Jefus, they are faid to be his dead, Thy dead men fball live; they are his dead body, yet they fhall arife and fing, they that dwell in the dust. What way is it he will bring them up from the grave? Whenever he comes from heaven, he will let down his dew, then they will fpring up as flowers in the fpring; "for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth fhall caft out the dead." It has fometimes been pleasant to me, to think of the difference between the refurrection of the godly and the wicked. The wicked will be raised by a word of power: they have no connection with Chrift, they are the devil's prifoners in the grave; and the devil, as God's executioner, drags their fouls immediately to hell: but the faints, when they die, they do not die in confequence of the penalty of the law, but because it is the pleasure of their glorious Head, that fo he may bring them through death, the road he travelled before them, to the immediate enjoyment of himself; he lets them drop for a while into the grave; but at the refurrection, the dew of his Spirit will fall upon them like a warm fhower, and then they will spring up like the corn after a warm fhower; then they fhall fing in that day, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will fave us this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his falvation," If. xxv. 9. I fhall only add to this, that the very fame Spirit of Chrift that quickened thee at converfion, he will quicken thee at the last day. I will give you a word for this, which you have in Rom. viii. 11. "But if the Spirit of him that raifed up Jefus from the dead, dwell in you; he that raifed up Chrift from the dead, fhall alfo quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.' Your mortal bodies fhall be quickened by that felf-fame Spirit that quickened you in converfion, and holds you in life, and keeps you from returning to the generation of the dead. And thus much fhall ferve for the third head, of what Chrift is the refurrection? IV. The next thing was, to inquire unto what fort of life are que raised by him, who is the refurrection and the life? But I choose to forbear this at prefent, and give way to another speakHowever, I may have occafion to speak upon it at greater length, ere this folemnity be over. The Lord blefs his word. er. JOHN |