Thomas Manton · 51 of 57

The Eleventh Verse. · Part 6

Use 1. Is to commend to us the service of God. It is a glory to a society when princes are of it: you count the order or company dignified when they will come into your fellowship. You have Jesus Christ in your fellowship. Oh, certainly the service of God can be no disgrace to you! God calleth him my servant. This was David’s choice: Ps. lxxxiv. 10, ‘I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.’ The meanest employment in God’s service is a greater honour than any sinful dignity. Christ did not honour kingship and lordship, and the dignities of the world in his person here upon earth, but only meanness and obedience. Think it no reproach to be engaged in such services with David as are most mean and low in the world’s eye. Your fellow-servant is Christ.

Use 2. To commend to us the love of Christ, that he should divest himself of all his glory, and appear in the form of a servant.

1. It was love that he should submit himself to our nature. Do but consider what an infinite distance there was between the Godhead and us, and then you may guess somewhat what a strange condescension there was in his love. How many degrees it came down to meet the creatures for their good. There are divers things to aggravate it. That Christ should take our nature, when he left equal glory with the Father. It was a great abasement for Adam to fall from his excellency by sin to meanness; for us to stoop is no such matter, but it was most amazing in him that ‘thought it no robbery to be equal with God,’ Phil. ii. 6. Then that he ‘took upon him the form of a servant,’ not of angels, which is a higher degree of natures, and would have been a fitter form for a Son, but of a man, and that the form of a servant—he went to the lowest rank of rational creatures. Then how he took it, not of the highest order of men; he came not in the pomp, equipage and appearance of a king and prince. The Jews looked for a mighty monarch. Christ had right to all the world, but he would not hold by that tenure. It was the form of a servant, not only in respect of the angels, but in respect of men. He was found in the lowest rank of men, poor and destitute, therefore called chadall ishim: Isa, lii. 3, ‘despised and rejected.’ In the Hebrew it is the leavings off of men; man just left off there where Christ was found: if he had gone lower, he could not be man: Ps. xx. 6, ‘I am a worm, and no man;’ rather found among the rank of poor despicable worms, than of men. Then, what were the effects of it? Even upon this he was refused of those for whose good he came; they rejected him, nay slew him, because he came in this disguise of meanness for their sakes. He gained no honour by it, neither did the world know him the better: John i. 11, ‘He came to his own, and his own received him not.’ In short, this was the great cause why he was the object of the Jewish scorn and rejection. Nay, further, consider this was not only an accidental event, and a thing that was not aimed at, but the very end of Christ. He was found in the form of a servant, that he might be handled in a despiteful manner, and that the decrees of God might be accomplished upon his person. He could have shown himself in majesty, and have prevented his sufferings, as he saith, Mat. xxvi. 53, 54, ‘Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray unto my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how, then, shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?’ Well, then, you find a great deal of matter to be offered to your thoughts for the commendation of Christ’s love.

2. There is more in Christ’s being a servant. He subjected himself to your covenant—the covenant of works—that lay upon all men naturally: Gal. iv. 4, ‘Made under the law’—not only the moral law, which is not a slavery, but a freedom; whereas, on the contrary, the satisfying of our corrupt desires is the greatest slavery in the world: 2 Peter ii. 19, ‘While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.’ But that he should put himself into such a condition as to make himself liable to his Father’s wrath, to take our curse upon him, yea, to be ‘made a curse for us.’ Gal. iii. 13, that is a high instance of the love of Christ—that he, that was the beloved of his Father the apostle calleth him ‘the Son of his love.’ Col. i. 13; we translate it ‘his dear Son’—that he, I say, should become the receptacle of his Father’s wrath, and that all his anger should as it were be pitched upon him,—what a circumstance is this! Thus you see Christ is God’s servant.

Secondly, In the next place, you must look upon him as God’s righteous servant; and thus he hath taken our work and burden upon him. There is a threefold righteousness of Christ:—

1. Essential and divine, which is that infinite and surpassing perfection which is in him as he was God. That is not to be considered in this place, partly because he speaketh here of the righteousness of Christ as a servant; but this is the righteousness of Christ as a Lord. And besides, this is not communicable to the creatures. It was the dream of Osiander that the Lord should, in justification, communicate to us his essential righteousness. But hear what the prophet saith: Isa. xlii. 8, ‘My glory will I not give to another.’ God saith expressly he will part with none of his essential glory. His creatures are not vested with that.

2. There is his absolute and personal righteousness, as he is Mediator and God-man, and is able to make others righteous. And so it is said, John iii. 34, ‘God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him.’ He had as a man the Spirit without measure, not sparingly, but poured out with a full hand and in abundance. And so it is said, Col. i. 19, ‘It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;’ and Col. ii. 9, ‘For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.’ Christ’s soul is filled by the union of the Godhead with all created and habitual graces. Though these things are for us, and God hath made Christ a storehouse of sufficiencies for the elect, yet they are not imputed to us. It is true, though we are full of sin, and Christ came into the world full of righteousness, and so it is a just remedy against the sinfulness of our natures, and it qualified the Lord Jesus to be a fit person to do us good; yet here we speak not of the righteousness of Christ as a servant, but of his service; and we have not this fulness imputed to us so as that we may become saviours to one another. Christ was by these things fitted to do us good, and to be a continual magazine of comforts and graces, to which the creatures might have recourse in all their troubles: Eph. iv. 7, ‘But unto every one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’

3. There is a dispensative and relative righteousness, which is called justitia fidejussoria, the righteousness that Christ performed for us, and in our stead, as our surety, even the righteousness that he manifested in the work and service of our redemption. And so chiefly he is to be considered as God’s righteous servant. He showed it in two things:—

[1.] In exact obedience, even to the least tittle of the law, for our sakes. We could not possibly keep in with God, therefore Christ did: Rom. viii. 3, ‘For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin condemned sin in the flesh;’ Mat. iii. 15, ‘It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.’ He doth that for us which we could not do in ourselves. And therefore Christ is said to be ‘the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,’ Rom. x. 4. The end of the law is perfection of obedience, and Christ is that to us by having fulfilled it in his own person. The scriptures do everywhere avow this righteousness of Christ and exactness of keeping the law: Isa. liii. 9, it is said, ‘There was no deceit in his mouth.’ It was not a pretended show. As to the holiness of his conversation: 2 Cor. v. 21, ‘He knew no sin;’ that is, he had no experimental knowledge of it in his own soul: 1 Peter ii. 22, ‘Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.’ There could be nothing justly charged upon him as to his conversation. Farther, it is said, Heb. iv. 15, ‘He was in all points tempted like us, yet without sin.’ Men usually miscarry in their temptations. Jesus Christ was tempted, his soul was assaulted even to a consternation; but there was no sin in it; like a glass of pure water that is jogged, but it stirreth up no mud. Thus you see what a righteous servant Christ is. God ordained him to the suretyship of the creature, and he was faithful in it, and did all things well.

[2.] His passive obedience. And it is that sacrifice and offering of himself that Christ made for the sins of the world, bearing our curse and punishment, and so satisfying for our transgression: 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6, ‘The man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all.’ He suffered so long till he had satisfied God’s justice, and engaged the very righteousness of God to the good of the creature too, and would not expire his soul till all were finished and made sure. See John xix. 30, ‘It is finished,’ and then he gave up the ghost. The scriptures every where speak of this, and therefore I shall be more sparing in it. You see now how Christ was God’s righteous servant.

To apply it:—

Use 1. It holdeth out a pattern for us to imitate God’s righteous servant as well as we can, and to enjoin us to write after this copy. Several things are remarkable in the righteousness of Christ; I shall only instance in two:—

1. The sincerity of his spirit.

2. Innocency of his conversation.

1. The sincerity of his spirit. There is no guile in Christ, and there should be none in those that have benefit by him: Ps. xxxii. 2, ‘Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.’ Be not for appearances and shows. Corrupt aims and self-advantages, and desire of esteem amongst men, argue a false spirit, which is all for appearances. They do not care what God thinketh of them, for they are all for repute: 1 Cor. iv. 3, ‘But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment.’ Gracious hearts count that nothing; their desire is to approve themselves to God.

2. Innocency of conversation. It became our High Priest to be harmless and undefiled; so should we be: Phil. ii. 15, ‘That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.’ Be righteous in your ways, be faithful to your work. Christ knew no sin; it is a holy simplicity to be simple in evil. Christ was tempted, yet without sin. Watch over your spirits in temptations, that they may not encroach upon you to the betraying of yourselves into any unbecoming or unworthy walking.

Use 2. Is comfort to poor broken-hearted sinners. Christ was God’s righteous servant, and so fitted to make a Saviour for sinners, and to plead with God for you. You say you are sinners, but Jesus Christ is righteous. You are all ill servants of God, compassed about with daily infirmities. Ay! but Jesus Christ was a righteous servant—he was righteous in our stead: 1 John ii. 1, ‘I write unto you that you sin not; and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ Sin not; that is, do not allow yourselves in sin; but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Though God will not hear you, he will hear Christ; he never offended him. It is very observable that all comfort usually in scripture is made to flow from the righteousness of Christ: Zech. ix. 9, ‘Behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation.’ He bringeth salvation with him, for he is righteous. So Dan. ix. 24; the Messiah was to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in an everlasting righteousness. You may be confident he is gracious with God, and he will make you gracious. There is righteousness to satisfy justice. Christ’s righteousness is fit to satisfy, for there is no sin in it. And there is righteousness to make up your defects—to make you righteous in his righteousness. But that is the work of the next inquiry.

And, therefore, I now come to show how Christ is said to justify as God’s righteous servant. I shall open this matter to you:—

1. Negatively. He justifieth as a servant, and therefore—

[1.] He doth not exclude God the Father from being the first eternal moving cause of our justification. It hath its first rise at his mercy in ordaining Christ: Rom. iii. 24, ‘Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.’ It was the pleasure of the Father. Grace is most sure and free when we look upon his contrivances for your good. He gave Christ, and predestinated you to enjoy the benefits; he elected you rather than another: Eph. i. 5, ‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Therefore, it implieth that Christ was not the first moving cause of justification. He only is a righteous servant. There was some antecedent love and mercy that deputed him to that service.

[2.] It doth not exclude the grant and sentence of the Father; and the sentence is passed by the Father, though it be procured by Christ as the servant of God’s decrees in this matter. Rom. iii. 26, the Father is said to be ‘the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.’ ‘We have an advocate with the Father,’ 1 John ii. 1. Sin is committed against him; his will is the rule of justice; and by nature, right, and office, he is the supreme judge.

2. Affirmatively. So Christ is said to justify two ways:—

[1.] By meriting that righteousness which will serve for justification. His obeying and suffering have procured such a righteousness as will stand us in stead, for Christ’s righteousness is ours. We have share in whatever he had, for he was our surety; as he saith, John xvii. 19, ‘I sanctify myself, that they may be sanctified;’ and Eph. i. 6, ‘He hath accepted us in the beloved.’ We are beloved in his love, sanctified in his sanctification, and so righteous in his righteousness. I shall prove it more by and by. And then it is the best way, in procuring such a righteousness by his life and death as should avail the creatures in their acceptance with God.

[2.] By meriting the Spirit that constitutes and gives us an interest in this righteousness: 2 Cor. v. 20, We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.’ All the entreaties of the word are from Christ. He offereth grace in the word, and conferreth it by the Spirit. He justifieth them as a righteous servant, because it is his righteousness which is the matter of justification, and it is his Spirit that effects it in us, and interests us in it. His righteousness and his Spirit, though imputed and bestowed upon us by the Father, yet they are merited by Christ, and bestowed upon us by the Spirit of Christ.

To apply this.

Use 1. Is to check those that deny the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. He justifieth as a righteous servant, as having procured righteousness for us by his own obedience and suffering. He causeth us to be absolved as righteous before God by his own righteousness; made ours by virtue of our union with him.

1. Some deny the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, either active or passive, as the papists and Socinians, who both deny that we are justified by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. But what a strange thing is it that the papists, who in other doctrines establish the imputation of the righteousness of a man, of a monk, or a dead man, in their works of supererogation, should yet deny the righteousness of Christ! They say there is no such expression in scripture. But to both these I oppose these places:—The apostle speaketh of the imputation of righteousness, Rom. iv. 6, ‘Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works.’ And the prophet calleth Christ ‘the Lord our righteousness,’ Jer. xxxiii. 16. And Christ is said to be ‘made to us of the Father righteousness,’ 1 Cor. i. 30. And we are said to be ‘made the righteousness of God in him,’ 2 Cor. v. 21, as he was made sin for us, and both by imputation. And he addeth this as an argument, that it would not stand with the justice of God—take it for the exact tenor of righteousness, which is essential to his nature, or his will revealed in his word—to constitute a wicked man righteous, unless there be some righteousness to make him so. Now, none will serve the turn but Christ’s, for that is exact and regular. For the former, see Prov. xvii. 15, ‘He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord.’ And God saith, Exod. xx., that he will not hold sinners guiltless. And you may add, that still the righteousness whereby we are justified is opposed to that which is inherent in us. Certainly we are made righteous by imputation; for by the same justice that Christ is made a sinner, we are made righteous.

2. There are others that deal with the robes of Christ’s righteousness as the king of Ammon did by the garments of David’s messengers; they cut them off by the middle, they exclude the active obedience of Christ, but upon slender grounds. In opposition to these consider:—

[1.] The need of both his active and passive obedience. By his passive obedience, by death, the punishment of sin is taken away; and by his active obedience the law is fulfilled for us: so that we have not only pardon but acceptance; so that there is not only a restraint of vengeance, but pardon obtained. The guilt and punishment of sin is done away by his death; the other benefit, favour and acceptance, is procured by his obedience. There must be something done by way of satisfaction to divine justice and to appease his wrath, and something by way of acquisition of favour: these are the two things procured by Christ. Absalom was pardoned, but he saw not the king’s face. We are God’s creatures, bound to his law, as well as his prisoners, liable to his wrath; and there must be the expiation of sin and the fulfilling of all righteousness. There are two blessings obtained by Christ—freedom from death, and the benefit of eternal life.

[2.] We are expressly said in scripture to be made righteous by the obedience of Christ, which is exactly opposed to the disobedience of Adam: Rom. v. 19, ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.’ We are condemned by Adam’s actual guilt, and made righteous by Christ’s active obedience.

[3.] In the very passive obedience of Christ, the active part is the chief; for the sufferings of Christ do not simply justify us. but as they are the sufferings of Christ, voluntarily yielding up himself in obedience to his Father’s will. For Christ was to be considered as the sacrifice or the priest: as a sacrifice, so passive; as a priest, so active: Phil. ii. 8, ‘He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross;’ and Heb. x. 10, ‘By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.’ He willingly undertook to do for us what we were bound to do.

Use 2. Is to press you to go to Christ, that you may be interested in his righteousness: it cometh by union.

The rules are these:—

1. See the insufficiency of your own righteousness. The creatures’ fig-leaves will never cover a naked soul; there must be first a sight of your own vileness, and of your own inability to help yourselves out of it. It is observable in John xvi. 8, that the Spirit doth first convince of sin and then of righteousness. Christ doth not seek us till we be lost, and we cannot seek Christ till we are lost. The soul doth most truly seek Christ when loosened from all other things, from all false props and expectations, and seeth plainly that it shall perish if it have not an interest in Christ. As Simon Peter said, John vi. 68, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.’ Whither should we go? thou hast the only righteousness.

2. Consider your own filthy rags, and then you will long, desire, and groan for change of raiment. Alas! your persons are covered with your own guilt, and your natures are full of sin; what will you do to appear before God? Alas! you can scarce keep up a fair show before a discerning man; what will you do before a God of pure eyes? Job xv. 15, ‘The heavens are not clean in his sight.’ The holy angels in comparison of God are nothing, yea, less than nothing. But do you think to help yourselves by your services, your duties, and good meanings? Alas! as long as you stick there, no good will be done: the saints blame themselves in the sense of their duties; their best performances are poor, worthless things: Isa. lxiv. 6, ‘But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.’ They will not make your souls amiable: Phil. iii. 9, ‘And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness.’

3. Consider the willingness of God to clothe you with the righteousness of Jesus Christ; Christ was appointed to this very end: Rom. iii. 25, ‘Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness.’ God’s design was to lay open his heart to the creatures, and to show how willing he was that you should come unto him in this way: 1 Cor. i. 30, ‘Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness.’ If we had framed it, it had been more doubtful, but God appointed a righteousness of his own making; and therefore it is everywhere called in scripture ‘the righteousness of God,’ not only because it was the righteousness of God-man, Christ Jesus, but God’s righteousness, that is, of his appointment.

4. Consider the worth of this righteousness; it is better than if we had stood in our innocency, and had procured it in our own persons. Luke xv. 22, it is called ‘the best robe;’ better than we should have had if we had stayed in our father’s house; far better than that we lost in Adam. Our repair is more excellent than our first make, and it contents God better; the creature is most humbled, and God most exalted: this is as it should be, when we have nothing in ourselves, and fetch all from God. It is as good as the best of the saints have; you are as righteous as David, and as righteous as Abraham and all the worthies of God: Rom. iii. 22, ‘Even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe, for there is no difference.’ In this case there is no difference indeed: Rev. xix. 8, ‘And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.’ The saints have one common righteousness; as it was with the Israelites in point of the manna, none had more than another, none had over or under; nay, higher, it is as good or better than the righteousness of angels, for they are confirmed in their own righteousness. Isa. vi. 2, the seraphims covered their faces as being abashed at the glorious holiness of God; and before him they are not clean, they cannot stand before the holiness of God. And in Job iv. 18, ‘His angels he chargeth with folly;’ that is, comparatively, and in respect of himself, they might be accused, rather than accounted righteous. But now we may have access with confidence and boldness, as the apostle saith, Eph. iii. 12, because we do not come in our own holiness, but Christ’s. Nay, further, in some sort, it maketh us as righteous as Christ himself; therefore it is said, 1 John iii. 7, ‘He that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous;’ that is, he doth truly show forth that he is righteous in Christ’s righteousness; nay, this is a righteousness that will endure God’s sight. You must needs obtain the blessing in the garment of your elder brother.

5. Seek it in Christ’s way; then you are like to obtain it, at least you shall be sure not to deceive yourselves. Many conceit themselves to be in a good estate, and that Christ is theirs, and all his righteousness theirs, when they never sought it in his way; you must therefore look to this. This way of Christ respects two things:—

[1.] The manner of obtaining.

[2.] Our ends and aims in it.

[1.] The manner of obtaining it must be by union; this righteousness is not gotten by an assent to the truth of any promise or proposition in the word, but by an union with Jesus Christ. We are not united to any promise, but to Christ. Many take a promise, and go away with it. But alas! you are to take Christ in the promise, for there is no promise that appertaineth to any till they are one with Christ. Therefore there must be union before you can take any comfort in him; for all the promises are his, and you have not right in them till you have a right in him: 2 Cor. i. 20, ‘All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen.’ So they will be true and certain to you. Many flatter themselves in this kind. They go away with the words of a promise, but do not care to carry out their faith to the person of Christ tendered in the promise. You cannot close with Christ without a promise, so not with a promise without him. Look, as it is in the spiritual life, many think to live upon a comfortable word or a promise of God, whereas they should live upon Christ in a promise; as men do not live upon their conveyances and leases, but their lands: so here, you do not come to a promise for righteousness, but to Christ in it.

[2.] The ends and aims in it; both the subordinate and the ultimate ends must be right.

(1.) The subordinate end, which concerneth ourselves and our own good. Be not contented without the king’s face, the grace of God, and the light of his countenance. Many desire to allay the burnings of their consciences, and to cool the heat that is in their spirits through guilt, and would fain shun hell and horror, but do not care for communion with God, and to be in a state of favour and amity with the Lord. Alas! a pardon is nothing without acceptance; it were hell enough not to enjoy God. In justification there must be both done, an allaying of wrath and procuring of favour. Zech. iii. 4. The filthy garments must be taken away, and we must be clothed with change of raiment. ‘I have caused thine iniquities to pass from thee;’ but that is not enough: ‘I will clothe thee.’ There must be a charming of wrath and a being accepted in the beloved, Eph. i. 6. Hypocrites they are altogether for removal of punishment, but do not care how they stand in God’s favour, so as they may receive the communications of grace. Oh, do not you rest in that, and only make it your care to get the punishment off.

(2.) The ultimate end, which concerneth God’s glory. God’s end in the covenant of grace is to exalt mercy; and therefore it is said, Eph. i. 6, ‘He hath accepted us in the beloved;’ that is God’s end in the covenant of grace, to exalt the glory of grace: Isa. xlviii. 9, ‘For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.’ There is God’s end in all: and when our end and God’s end are the same, then our desires are the most regular. Now what is your end in desiring the righteousness of Christ—God’s glory, or your own good? The natural inclination and propension that is in us to our own good may work a desire to have sin for given, and to be saved from wrath, or that conscience may be pacified; but to desire that we may be accepted in the beloved, to the praise of the glory of his grace, that is a heavenly frame of spirit; not that you may be exalted, but grace in you. Seek the righteousness of Christ with the same mind that God offereth it in the covenant.