Introduction (8)

Mercy then is to be found alone in Jesus Christ.  Again, the righteousness of the law is to be obtained only by faith of Jesus Christ; that is, in the Son of God is the righteousness of the law to be found; for he, by his obedience to his Father, is become the end of the law for righteousness.  And for the sake of his legal righteousness (which is also called the righteousness of God, because it was God in the flesh of the Lord Jesus that did accomplish it), is mercy, and grace from God extended to whoever dependeth by faith upon God by this Jesus his righteousness for it.  And hence it is, that we so often read, that this Jesus is the way to the Father; that God, for Christ’s sake, forgiveth us; that by the obedience of one many are made righteous, or justified; and that through this man is preached to us the forgiveness of sins; and that by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Now, though I here do make mention of righteousness and mercy, yet I hold there is but one way, to wit, to eternal life; which way, as I said, is Jesus Christ; for he is the new, the only new and living way to the Father of mercies, for mercy to make me capable of abiding with him in the heavens for ever and ever.

But sayst thou, I will be righteous in myself that I may have wherewith to commend me to God, when I go to him for mercy?

I answer, But thou blind Pharisee, I tell thee thou hast no understanding of God’s design by the gospel, which is, not to advance man’s righteousness, as thou dreamest, but to advance the righteousness of his Son, and his grace by him.  Indeed, if God’s design by the gospel was to exalt and advance man’s righteousness, then that which thou hast said would be to the purpose; for what greater dignity can be put upon man’s righteousness, than to admit it?

I say then, for God to admit it, to be an advocate, an intercessor, a mediator; for all these are they which prevail with God to shew me mercy.  But this God never thought of, much less could he thus design by the gospel; for the text runs flat against it.  Not of works, not of works of righteousness, which we have done; “Not of works, lest any man should boast,” saying, Well, I may thank my own good life for mercy.  It was partly for the sake of my own good deeds that I obtained mercy to be in heaven and glory.  Shall this be the burden of the song of heaven? or is this that which is composed by that glittering heavenly host, and which we have read of in the holy book of God?  No, no; that song runs upon other feet—standeth in far better strains, being composed of far higher and truly heavenly matter: for God has “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Eph. i.  And it is requisite that the song be framed accordingly; wherefore he saith, that the heavenly song runs thus—“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth;” Rev. v. 9, 10.

He saith not that they have redeemed, or helped to redeem and deliver themselves; but that the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain; the Lamb only was he that redeemed them.  Nor, saith he, that they had made themselves kings and priests unto God to offer any oblation, sacrifice, or offering whatsoever, but that the same Lamb had made them such: for they, as is insinuated by the text, were in, among, one with, and no better than the kindreds, tongues, nations, and people of the earth.  Better!  “No, in no wise,” saith Paul (Rom. iii. 9); therefore their separation from them was of mere mercy, free grace, good will, and distinguishing love; not for, or because of works of righteousness which any of them have done; no, they were all alike.  But these, because beloved when in their blood (according to Ezek. xvi.), were separated by free grace; and as another scripture hath it, “redeemed from the earth,” and from among men by blood; Rev. xiv. 3, 4.  Wherefore deliverance from the ireful wrath of God must not, neither in whole nor in part, be ascribed to the whole law, or to all the righteousness that comes by it, but to this Lamb of God, Jesus, the Saviour of the world; for it is he that delivered us from the wrath to come, and that according to God’s appointment; “for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by (or through) our Lord Jesus Christ;” 1 Thess. i. 10; v. 9.  Let every man, therefore, take heed what he doth, and whereon he layeth the stress of his salvation; “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;” 1 Cor. iii. ii.

But dost thou plead still as thou didst before, and wilt thou stand thereto?  Why then, thy design must overcome God, or God’s design must overcome thee.  Thy design is to give thy good life, thy good deeds, a part of the glory of thy justification from the curse.  And God’s design is to throw all thy righteousness out into the street, into the dirt and dunghill, as to that thou art for glory, and for glorying here before God; yea, thou art sharing in the glory of justification when that alone belongeth to God.  And he hath said, “My glory will I not give to another.”  Thou wilt not trust wholly to God’s grace in Christ for justification; and God will not take thy stinking righteousness in as a partner in thy acquitment from sin, death, wrath, and hell.  Now the question is, Who shall prevail?  God, or the Pharisee? and whose word shall stand? his, the Pharisee’s?

Alas! the Pharisee here must needs come down, for God is greater than all.  Also, he hath said, that no flesh shall glory in his presence; and that he will have mercy, and not sacrifice.  And again, that it is not (or shall be) in him that wills, nor in him that runs, but in God that sheweth mercy.  What hope, help, stay, or relief, then is there left for the merit-monger?  What twig, or straw, or twined thread, is left to be a stay for his soul?  This besom will sweep away his cobweb: the house that this spider doth so lean upon, will now be overturned, and he in it, to hellfire; for nothing less than everlasting damnation is designed by God, and that for this fearful and unbelieving Pharisee: God will prevail against him for ever.

3.  But wilt thou yet plead thy righteousness for mercy?  Why, in so doing thou takest away from God the power of giving mercy.  For if it be thine as wages, it is no longer his to dispose of at pleasure; for that which another man oweth me, is in equity not at his, but at my disposal.  Did I say that by this thy plea thou takest away from God the power of giving mercy?  I will add, yea, and also of disposing of heaven and life eternal.  And then, I pray you, what is left unto God, and what can he call his own?  Not mercy, for that by thy good deeds thou hast purchased: not heaven, for that by thy good deeds thou hast purchased: not eternal life, for that by thy good deeds thou hast purchased.  Thus, Pharisee (O thou self-righteous man), hast thou set up thyself above grace, mercy, heaven, glory; yea, above even God himself, for the purchaser should in reason be esteemed above the purchase.

Awake, man!  What hast thou done?  Thou hast blasphemed God; thou has undervalued the glory of his grace; thou hast, what in thee lieth, opposed the glorious design of heaven; thou hast sought to make thy filthy rags to share in thy justification.

Now, all these are mighty sins; these have made thine iniquity infinite.  What wilt thou do?  Thou hast created to thyself a world of needless miseries.  I call them needless, because thou hadst more than enough before.  Thou hast set thyself against God in a way of contending, thou standest upon thy points and pantables; thou wilt not bate God an ace of what thy righteousness is worth, and wilt also make it worth what thyself shalt list: thou wilt be thine own judge, as to the worth of thy righteousness; thou wilt neither hear what verdict the word has passed about it, nor wilt thou endure that God should throw it out in the matter of thy justification, but quarrelest with the doctrine of free grace, or else dost wrest it out of its place to serve thy Pharisaical designs; saying, “God I thank thee, I am not as other men;” fathering upon thyself, yea, upon God and thyself a stark lie; for thou art as other men are, though not in this, yet in that; yea, in a far worse condition than the most of men are.  Nor will it help thee anything to attribute this thy goodness to the God of heaven; for that is but a mere toying; the truth is, the God that thou intendest is nothing but thy righteousness; and the grace that thou supposest is nothing but thine own good and honest intentions.  So that,

4.  In all that thou sayst thou dost but play the downright hypocrite: thou pretendest indeed to mercy, but thou intendest nothing but merit: thou seemest to give the glory to God, but at the same time takest it all to thyself: thou despisest others, and criest up thyself; and in conclusion, fatherest all upon God by word, and upon thyself in truth.  Nor is there anything more common among this sort of men, than to make God, his grace, and kindness, the stalking-horse to their own praise, saying, “God, I thank thee,” when they trust to themselves that they are righteous, and have not need of any repentance; when the truth is, they are the worst sort of men in the world, because they put themselves into such a state as God hath not put them into, and then impute it to God, saying, God, I thank thee, that thou hast done it; for what greater sin than to make God a liar, or than to father that upon God which he never meant, intended, or did: and all this under colour to glorify God, when there is nothing else designed, but to take all glory from him, and to wear it on thine own head as a crown, and a diadem, in the face of the whole world.

A self-righteous man, therefore, can come to God for mercy no otherwise than fawningly: for what need of mercy hath a righteous man?  Let him then talk of mercy, of grace, and goodness, and come in an hundred times with his, “God, I thank thee,” in his mouth, all is but words; there is no sense, nor savour, nor relish, of mercy and favour; nor doth he in truth, from his very heart, understand the nature of mercy, nor what is an object thereof; but when he thanks God, he praises himself: when he pleads for mercy, he means his own merit; and all this is manifest from what doth follow; for, saith he, I am not as this Publican: thence clearly insinuating, that not the good, but the bad, should be rejected of the God of heaven: that not the bad but the good, not the sinner, but the self-righteous, are the most proper objects of God’s favour.  The same thing is done by others in this our day: favour, mercy, grace, and, “God, I thank thee,” is in their mouths, but their own strength, sufficiency, free-will, and the like, they are the things they mean by all such high and glorious expressions.

But, secondly, If thy plea be not for mercy, but for justice, then to speak a little to that. 1.  Justice has measures and rules to go by; unto which measures and rules, if thou comest not up, justice can do thee no good.  Come then, O thou blind Pharisee, let us pass away a few minutes in some discourse about this.  Thou demandest justice, because God hath said, that the man that doth these things shall live in and by them.  And again, the doers of the law shall be justified, not in a way of mercy, but in a way of justice: “He shall live by them.”  But what hast thou done, O blind Pharisee?  What hast thou done, that thou art emboldened to venture to stand and fall to the most perfect justice of God?  Hast thou fulfilled the whole law, and not offended in one point?  Hast thou purged thyself from the pollutions and motions of sin that dwell in thy flesh, and work in thy own members?  Is the very being of sin rooted out of thy tabernacle?  And art thou now as perfectly innocent as ever was Jesus Christ? hast thou, by suffering the uttermost punishment that justice could justly lay upon thee for thy sins, made fair and full satisfaction to God, according to the tenor of his law, for thy transgressions?  If thou hast done all these things, then thou mayst plead something, and yet but something, for thyself, in a way of justice.  Nay, in this I will assert nothing, but will rather inquire: What hast thou gained by all this thy righteousness?  (We will now suppose what must not be granted:) Was not this thy state when thou wast in thy first parents?  Wast thou not innocent, perfectly innocent and righteous?  And if thou shouldst be so now, what hast thou gained thereby?  Suppose that the man that had, forty years ago, forty pounds of his own, and had spent it all since, should yet be able now to shew his forty pounds again; what has he got thereby, or how much richer is he at last than he was when he first set up for himself?  Nay, doth not the blot of his ill living betwixt his first and his last, lie as a blemish upon him, unless he should redeem himself also, by works of supererogation, from the scandal that justice may lay at his door for that.