blessings; if destitute of a right principle he is destitute of righteousness, he has no righteousness to justify himself, if so, then, II. WHAT IS NECESSARY TO JUSTIFY HIM? Everything which God has provided. When I contemplate the covenant of Jehovah, and man in his natural state of ruin and helplessness, I see that God has done everything which Deity could do for his redemption; but he has done nothing more than was necessary. Our state naturally is such that it baffles all description. We can alone learn it in the person and work of Christ. Finite being, however glorious, has no righteousness for another, nor can he, as I before observed, who is destitute of a right principle, have any righteousness wherewith to justify himself. If so, we must ascend from finite being to God, for our justification—to one who possesses merit of his own; an infinite being must work out that righteousness which is necessary for an individual who has no righteousness. God, therefore, cannot justify a transgressor, but in the righteousness of Christ. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."1 1 2 Cor. v. 21. : Again his righteousness is said to be an everlasting righteousness; this cannot be said of the righteousness of any finite being. This righteousness comprises all the glories of the Saviour's active and passive obedience; it closes the gates of hell-it opens the gates of heaven, and provides for us a more glorious throne than that which is prepared for angels. This, too, is intimately connected with cleansing: the Holy Spirit is provided to sanctify the soul;-as the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary, so does it overshadow the soul of man to cleanse it daily from the love and practice of sin. By faith in Christ three things are necessary-the word-the blood, and the Spirit of Jesus daily; God is glorious as he is displayed in all the wonders of creation. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work; " but when we see him cleansing the sinner, imparting to the soul his own image, we see him in all his perfections. The good and evil of life is little more than nothing, while God in Christ is every thing. It is his delight to justify and cleanse us. Give yourselves, then, to him daily to be cleansed, and he will eventually make you as pure as he himself is pure; and sin will be as infinitely removed from you as it is from himself. the Lamb of God, 91. his fulness, 112. his divine nature, 18, 368, 484, 500, 506, 513. the desire of all nations, 216. his advent, 167. his sufferings, 446. his union with his mystical body, the church, 341, the Fountain of supply to every believer, 44. CHURCH, the mystical body of Christ, 341, 432, 484. COVENANT of grace, 10. COUNSEL of God towards his church, 68. CREATION, power of God in, 143. DAVID'S penitence, 53. DESIRE of all nations, 216. D DIVINE and human nature of Christ, 18, 368, 484, 500, 506, 513. E ELECT of God, 60. EXPERIENCE of the renewed heart, 101. of the child of God, 197. F FAITH establishes the law, 390. -- justification by, 120. FEAR of God, 475. FIG-TREE cursed, 155, 463. FOUNTAIN of supply to every believer, 44. FREEDOM of divine love, 240. FRIENDSHIP between God and man, 316. FULNESS of Christ, 112. G GLORY of God, the end of all things, 206. GOD, his government, 176. his love, 240, 283, 363. his mercy towards those who fear him, 475. his power, 143. his purpose, 24, 419. his supremacy and condescension, 79. GRACE, Covenant of, 10. H HEART renewed, its experience, 101, 197. -, preparation of, 292. HOLY SPIRIT, his nature and offices, 403. HUMAN and divine nature of Christ, 18, 368, 484, 500, 506, JUDGMENT, day of, 259. JUSTIFICATION and Sanctification, 120. LAMB of God, 91. L LAW established by faith, 390. LIFE essential, Christ, 484. LOVE of God free and immutable, 240, 283. M MAN, his sinfulness, 328. without and with a Saviour, 227. MORAL government of God, 176. N NATURAL religion, 1. OFFENCE of conscience, how removed, 458. Р PATIENCE, Christian, 249. PENITENCE of David, 53. POWER of God in creation and redemption, 143. PREDESTINATION, 382. PREPARATION of the heart, and its evidences, 292. |