hell, and bring them to heaven and glory, he muft accomplish his purpose consistent with the ftricteft juftice, (for none will be faved unjustly, though the faved will be fuch undefervedly,) the transcript of which, was the fixed and invariable law of God. This law made no promise of life but to the obedient, do and live, but by what fophiftry difobey and die, can be made equivalent to this, I know not; and 'till this be done, it can never be proved that the fufferings of Chrift alone, can give us a claim to heaven. It is granted, when a criminal has fuffered the penalty of the law according to the nature of his crime, juftice can exact no more, and in this fenfe he ftands on equal footing with him who never tranfgreffed the law at all; but the latter of these was the cafe with Adam before his obedience was tried ; and that covenant obligation whereby life was to be continued, or increased, remained yet unfulfilled; but believers in Chrift Jefus are in a very different state, as fhewn above. So long as we live in an unconverted state, fo long we live as Adam left us by his fall from God, in a state of wrath and condemnation, Eph. ii. 3. John iii. 18, but when we are tranflated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the fon of God. Coloff. i. 13, the incorruptible feed is fown which liveth, and abideth for ever. 1 Pet. i. 23, and the precious foul as one of the jewels of heaven, is kept by the power of God, through faith unto falvation, ch. i. 5.

13th, Reader if thou haft an intereft in this precious Chrift, these are truths, fcripture truths, gofpel truths; this is the new wine of the kingdom which may well make glad thy heart. What canft thou want, that Chrift has not to give? What

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canft

canft thou want that the God of our mercies will withold, be that spared not his fon, but freely gavė bn up for us all, how shall be not with him freely give us all things? Rom. viii. 32. Art thou weak in faith, and are thy graces feeble? Behold Chrift is the bread of life, the true bread, the bread that cometh down from heaven; and as bread is the ftaff of life, fo Chrift fhall be the ftrength and fupport of thy foul. If thou art thirsty Chrift gives living water to thirsty fouls, the weak he ftrengthens, the weary he refreshes, the mourners he chears, the guilty he abfolves, the imprisoned he loofes, the blind he leads, the lame he upholds, he prepares a cordial for the fick, applies balm to the wounded, and O comfortable to tell, he cloaths the naked with a robe of righteousness.

When Jofeph was called from prifon to appear before Pharaoh the king of Egypt, he put off his prifon cloaths and changed his raiment, and having obtained favour, he was not only cloathed, but adorned, he was arrayed in veftures of fine linen, and a chain of gold was put around his neck; and fo it is with believers in Chrift, old things are put away, all things become new; a new heart, a new life, new defires, new purposes, new aims, new ends, new pleasures, new companions, and (allow me to fay dear reader,) a new coat.

The righteousness of Chrift, is fomewhat like Jofeph's coat of divers colours, it is red and white, or as the bride rejoicingly fings of her beloved, he is white and ruddy, fuch is the robe his friends are adorned with; it is red in refpect of his bloody death, not like Jofeph's coat which was dipt in the blood of a kid, for Chrift's garment was befmeared with his own blood, If, lxiii. 2, it is white

in respect to his perfect and moft holy life; fo that, (if I may fo fay,) the believer's garment, that is the righteoufnefs of Chrift, was woven from the wool of this heavenly lamb, by a three and thirty years toil, and at his death fo fprinkled with his blood, that (as I faid) it is a garment red and white. I would here obferve O reader, that none partake of this garment, but renewed fouls; Chrift will never bestow this bleffing on two forts of people, ift, On such as refuse inftruction, and in no wife chufe the fear of the Lord; who efteem the preaching of the cross foolishness, and will not have him to reign over them; these loving to wallow in their own vomit of fin and filthiness, must never 'till changed, put on this robe of righteoufnefs, and they can never be accepted without it. 2d, Such as are wrapping up themselves in their own imaginary goodnefs; and to whom Chrift crucified, and falvation by his cross, is an occafion of ftumbling; Chrift will put his righteousness on none but naked finners, who fee and feel their need of fuch a covering, and therefore these must want the wedding garment when the king fhall view his guests.

14th, The fweet finger of Ifrael records in a fong the bleffedness of the man whofe fins are covered; now it is one fpecial property of a garment to cover, but what can poffibly cover our spiritual nakedness before God, and as it were hide our fins from his eyes, befide the righteousness wrought out by our Lord Jefus Chrift? This renders us acceptable to God, Eph. i. 6. and as of old the mercy-feat, covered the tables of the decalogue, laid up in the ark of the covenant, fo Chrift is our mercy feat, Rom. iii. 25. the umbra

culum

culum gratia, which covereth our fins committed against the tables of God's most holy law. And as his righteoufnefs is the moft fplendid and glorious, and fit for fuch to wear who ftand in the prefence of the king, therefore he says, I counfel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayeft be rich, and white raiment that thou mayeft be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, Rev. iii. 18.

The perfection of this righteousness is set forth in Pf. xlv. 10. where it is compared to gold of Ophir, the finest gold, and the queen (i. e. the church) is represented as vefted therewith, adorned and ready for the bridegroom, exulting and finging, as in the words of the prophet, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my foul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of falvation, be bath covered me with THE robe of righteousness. This is the vestment that Christ spreads over the deformity of his faints, Ezek. xvi. 8. it is the clean linen spoken of, Rev. xix. 8, which is faid to be the righteousness of faints; not their inherent righteousness, this might be called their own, but the righteousness of Chrift; it is faid they wear it by special grant, for it was granted, &c. now that this is meant of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, appears from Rom. v. 18. viii. 4, where the fame greek word is used to express the righteousness of Christ, viz. his active and paffive obedience. The fcriptures frequently bring an univerfal charge of fin against all men, for all have finned and come short of the glory of God, Rom. iii 19. and, there is none righteous no not one, Pf. xiv. 3. And again, in thy fight fhail no flesh living be justified. Now what righteoufness can be fuf

ficient

Acient to recommend an unrighteous race, to the favour and acceptance of a holy God? No external works can avail to this purpose; our common parents fewed fig leaves, but they could not cover their nakedness therewith; now thefe fig-leave aprons were types of all thofe outward coverings men are apt to make in order to cover their naked fouls, but they must be told that their works will not profit them. God no doubt intended to inftruct Adam and Eve, when he cloathed them with the fkins of beafts, probably flain for facrifice, in the bleffings couched in the ferpent's curfe, that the woman's feed then promised, should offer up his body to expiate their guilt, and by a holy and obedient life, weave out for them a garment that fhould cover their fpiritual nakedness, and hide their shame and guilt.

When Jacob came in unto his father Isaac, to obtain the bleffing, he put on goat-skins, and his elder brother's raiment; fo we alfo muft put on the righteousness of Chrift, the raiment of our elder brother, if ever we obtain the bleffing from our heavenly father. It was appointed under the law, for Aaron to be cloathed with garments glorious and beautiful, whenever he entered the holy of holies; fo all believers, being made kings and priests unto God, Rev. i. 6, are cloathed with a beautiful and glorious garment, even the righteousness of the Lord Chrift, by whose power they have been made willing, and whom they now worfhip in this beautiful dress, or in the beauty of boliness, Pf. cx. 3. This precious righteousness of Chrift, is to the foul, what our common garments are to our bodies; this covers the nakednefs of the body, that imputed by faith, covers

the