Sermon 1325. Christ the End of the Law

(No. 1325)

Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, November 19th, 1876, by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."-Romans 10:4.

YOU REMEMBER we spoke last Sabbath morning of "the days of the Son of man." Oh that every Sabbath now might be a day of thatkind in the most spiritual sense. I hope that we shall endeavour to make each Lord's Day as it comes round a day of the Lord,by thinking much of Jesus by rejoicing much in him, by labouring for him, and by our growingly importunate prayer, that tohim may the gathering of the people be. We may not have very many Sabbaths together, death may soonpart us; but while we are able to meet as a Christian assembly, let us never forget that Christ's presence is our mainnecessity, and let us pray for it and entreat the Lord to vouchsafe that presence always in displays of light, life and love!I become increasingly earnest that every preaching time should be a soul-saving time. I can deeply sympathize with Paul whenhe said, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." We have had so much preaching, but,comparatively speaking, so little believing in Jesus; and if there be no believing in him, neither the law nor the gospelhas answered its end, and our labour has been utterly in vain. Some of you have heard, and heard, and heard again, but youhave not believed in Jesus. If the gospel had not come to your hearing you could not have been guilty of refusing it. "Havethey not heard?" says the apostle. "Yes, verily:" but still "they have not all obeyed the gospel." Up to this very momenttherehas been no hearing with the inner ear, and no work of faith in the heart, in the case of many whom we love. Dear friends,is it always to be so? How long is it to be so? Shall there not soon come an end of this reception of the outward means andrejection of the inward grace? Will not your soul soon close in with Christ for present salvation? Break! Break, O heavenlyday, upon the benighted ones, for our hearts are breaking over them.

The reason why many do not come to Christ is not because they are not earnest, after a fashion, and thoughtful and desirousto be saved, but because they cannot brook God's way of salvation. "They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge,"We do get them by our exhortation so far on the way that they become desirous to obtain eternal life, but "they have not submittedthemselves to the righteousness of God." Mark, "submitted themselves," for it needs submission.Proud man wants to save himself, he believes he can do it, and he will not give over the task till he finds out his ownhelplessness by unhappy failures. Salvation by grace, to be sued for in forma pauperis, to be asked for as an undeserved boon from free, unmerited grace, this it is which the carnal mind will not come to as longas it can help it: I beseech the Lord so to work that some of you may not be able to help it. And oh, I have been prayingthat, while this morning I am tryingto set forth Christ as the end of the law, God may bless it to some hearts, that they may see what Christ did, and mayperceive it to be a great deal better than anything they can do; may see what Christ finished, and may become weary of whatthey themselves have laboured at so long, and have not even well commenced at this day. Perhaps it may please the Lord toenchant them with the perfection of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. As Bunyan would say, "It may, perhaps, set theirmouths awatering after it," and when a sacred appetite begins it will not be long before the feast is enjoyed. It may be thatwhen they see the raiment of wrought gold, which Jesus so freely bestows on naked souls, they will throw away their own filthyrags which now they hug so closely.

I am going to speak about two things, this morning, as the Spirit of God shall help me: and the first is, Christ in connection with the law-he is "the end of the law for righteousness"; and secondly, ourselves in connection with Christ-"to everyone that believeth Christ is the end of the law for righteousness."

I. First, then, CHRIST IN CONNECTION WITH THE LAW. The law is that which, as sinners, we have above all things cause to dread;for the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Towards us the law darts forth devouring flames, for itcondemns us, and in solemn terms appoints us a place among the accursed, as it is written, "Cursed is every one that continuethnot in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them." Yet, strange infatuation!like the fascination which attracts the gnat to the candle which burns its wings, men by nature fly to the law for salvation,and cannot be driven from it. The law can do nothing else but reveal sin and pronounce condemnation upon the sinner, and yetwe cannot get men away from it, even though we show them how sweetly Jesus stands between them and it. They are so enamouredof legal hope that they cling to it when there is nothing to cling to; they prefer Sinai to Calvary, though Sinai hasnothing for them but thunders and trumpet warnings of coming judgment. O that for awhile you would listen anxiously whileI set forth Jesus my Lord, that you may see the law in him.

Now, what has our Lord to do with the law? He has everything to do with it, for he is its end for the noblest object, namely,for righteousness. He is the "end of the law." What does this mean? I think it signifies three things: first, that Christis the purpose and object of the law; secondly, that he is the fulfillment of it; and thirdly, that he is the termination of it.

First, then, our Lord Jesus Christ is the purpose and object of the law. It was given to lead us to him. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, or rather our attendant to conduct usto the school of Jesus. The law is the great net in which the fish are enclosed that they may be drawn out of the elementof sin. The law is the stormy wind which drives souls into the harbour or refuge. The law is the sheriff's officer to shutmen up in prison for their sin,concluding them all under condemnation in order that they may look to the free grace of God alone for deliverance. Thisis the object of the law: it empties that grace may fill, and wounds that mercy may heal. It has never been God's intentiontowards us, as fallen men, that the law should be regarded as a way to salvation to us, for a way of salvation it can neverbe. Had man never fallen, had his nature remained as God made it, the law would have been most helpful to him to show himthe wayin which he should walk: and by keeping it he would have lived, for "he that doeth these things shall live in them." Butever since man has fallen the Lord has not proposed to him a way of salvation by works, for he knows it to be impossible toa sinful creature. The law is already broken; and whatever man can do he cannot repair the damage he has already done: thereforehe is out of court as to the hope of merit. The law demands perfection, but man has already fallen short of it; and thereforelet him do his best. He cannot accomplish what is absolutely essential. The law is meant to lead the sinner to faith inChrist, by showing the impossibility of any other way. It is the black dog to fetch the sheep to the shepherd, the burningheat which drives the traveller to the shadow of the great rock in a weary land.

Look how the law is adapted to this; for, first of all, it shows man his sin. Read the ten commandments and tremble as you read them. Who can lay his own character down side by side with the two tabletsof divine precept without at once being convinced that he has fallen far short of the standard? When the law comes home tothe soul it is like light in a dark room revealing the dust and the dirt which else had been unperceived. It is the test whichdetects thepresence of the poison of sin in the soul. "I was alive without the law once," said the apostle, "but when the commandmentcame sin revived and I died." Our comeliness utterly fades away when the law blows upon it. Look at the commandments, I say,and remember how sweeping they are, how spiritual, how far-reaching. They do not merely touch the outward act, but dive intothe inner motive and deal with the heart, the mind, the soul. There is a deeper meaning in the commands than appears upontheir surface. Gaze into their depths and see how terrible is the holiness which they require. As you understand whatthe law demands you will perceive how far you are from fulfilling it, and how sin abounds where you thought there was littleor none of it. You thought yourself rich and increased in goods and in no need of anything, but when the broken law visitsyou, your spiritual bankruptcy and utter penury stare you in the face. A true balance discovers short weight, and such isthe firsteffect of the law upon the conscience of man.

The law also shows the result and mischief of sin. Look at the types of the old Mosaic dispensation, and see how they were intended to lead men to Christ by making them seetheir unclean condition and their need of such cleansing as only he can give. Every type pointed to our Lord Jesus Christ.If men were put apart because of disease or uncleanness, they were made to see how sin separated them from God and from hispeople; and when they were brought back andpurified with mystic rites in which were scarlet wool and hyssop and the like, they were made to see how they can onlybe restored by Jesus Christ, the great High Priest. When the bird was killed that the leper might be clean, the need of purificationby the sacrifice of a life was set forth. Every morning and evening a lamb died to tell of daily need of pardon, if God isto dwell with us. We sometimes have fault found with us for speaking too much about blood; yet under the oldtestament the blood seemed to be everything, and was not only spoken of but actually presented to the eye. What does theapostle tell us in the Hebrews? "Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spokenevery precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool,and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people saying, this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoinedunto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all thingsare by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is not remission." The blood was on the veil, and on the altar,on the hangings, and on the floor of the tabernacle: no one could avoid seeing it. I resolve to make my ministry of the samecharacter, and more and more sprinkle it with the blood of atonement. Now that abundance of the blood of old was meant toshow clearly that sin has so polluted us that without an atonement God is not to be approached: we must come by the wayof sacrifice or not at all. We are so unacceptable in ourselves that unless the Lord sees us with the blood of Jesus uponus he must away with us. The old law, with its emblems and figures, set forth many truths as to men's selves and the comingSaviour, intending by every one of them to preach Christ. If any stopped short of him, they missed the intent and design ofthe law.Moses leads up to Joshua, and the law ends at Jesus.

Turning our thoughts back again to the moral rather than the ceremonial law, it was intended to teach men their utter helplessness. It shows them how short they fall of what they ought to be, and it also shows them, when they look at it carefully, howutterly impossible it is for them to come up to the standard. Such holiness as the law demands no man can reach of himself."Thy commandment is exceeding broad." If a man says that he can keep the law, it is because hedoes not know what the law is. If he fancies that he can ever climb to heaven up the quivering sides of Sinai, surelyhe can never have seen that burning mount at all. Keep the law! Ah, my brethren, while we are yet talking about it we arebreaking it; while we are pretending that we can fulfil its letter, we are violating its spirit, for pride as much breaksthe law as lust or murder. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." "How can he be clean that is born ofa woman?" No,soul, thou canst not help thyself in this thing, for since only by perfection thou canst live by the law, and since thatperfection is impossible, thou canst not find help in the covenant of works. In grace there is hope, but as a matter of debtthere is none, for we do not merit anything but wrath. The law tells us this, and the sooner we know it to be so the better,for the sooner we shall fly to Christ.

The law also shows us our great need-our need of cleansing, cleansing with the water and with the blood. It discovers to us our filthiness, and this naturallyleads us to feel that we must be washed from it if we are ever to draw near to God. So the law drives us to accept of Christas the one only person who can cleanse us, and make us fit to stand within the veil in the presence of the Most High. Thelaw is the surgeon's knife which cuts out the proud flesh thatthe wound may heal. The law by itself only sweeps and raises the dust, but the gospel sprinkles clean water upon the dust,and all is well in the chamber of the soul. The law kills, the gospel makes alive; the law strips, and then Jesus Christ comesin and robes the soul in beauty and glory. All the commandments, and all the types direct us to Christ, if we will but heedtheir evident intent. They wean us from self, they put us off from the false basis of self- righteousness, and bring us toknow that only in Christ can our help be found. So, first of all, Christ is the end of the law, in that he is its greatpurpose.

And now, secondly, he is the law's fulfillment. It is impossible for any of us to be saved without righteousness. The God of heaven and earth by immutable necessity demandsrighteousness of all his creatures. Now, Christ has come to give to us the righteousness which the law demands, but whichit never bestows. In the chapter before us we read of "the righteousness which is of faith," which is also called "God's righteousness";and we read of those who "shall not beashamed" because they are righteous by believing unto righteousness." What the law could not do Jesus has done. He providesthe righteousness which the law asks for but cannot produce. What an amazing righteousness it must be which is as broad anddeep and long and high as the law itself. The commandment is exceeding broad, but the righteousness of Christ is as broadas the commandment, and goes to the end of it. Christ did not come to make the law milder, or to render it possible for ourcracked and battered obedience to be accepted as a sort of compromise. The law is not compelled to lower its terms, asthough it had originally asked too much; it is holy and just and good, and ought not to be altered in one jot or tittle, norcan it be. Our Lord gives the law all it requires, not a part, for that would be an admission that it might justly have beencontent with less at first. The law claims complete obedience without one spot or speck, failure, or flaw, and Christ hasbroughtin such a righteousness as that, and gives it to his people. The law demands that the righteousness should be withoutomission of duty and without commission of sin, and the righteousness which Christ has brought is just such an one that forits sake the great God accepts his people and counts them to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The law will notbe content without spiritual obedience, mere outward compliances will not satisfy. But our Lord's obedience was as deep asit wasbroad, for his zeal to do the will of him that sent him consumed him. He says himself, "I delight to do thy will, O myGod, yea thy law is within my heart." Such righteousness he puts upon all believers. "By the obedience of one shall many bemade righteous"; righteous to the full, perfect in Christ. We rejoice to wear the costly robe of fair white linen which Jesushas prepared, and we feel that we may stand arrayed in it before the majesty of heaven without a trembling thought. This issomething to dwell upon, dear friends. Only as righteous ones can we be saved, but Jesus Christ makes us righteous, andtherefore we are saved. He is righteous who believeth on him, even as Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him forrighteousness. "There is therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," because they are made righteousin Christ. Yea, the Holy Spirit by the mouth of Paul challengeth all men, angels, and devils, to lay anything to the chargeof God'select, since Christ hath died. O law, when thou demandest of me a perfect righteousness, I, being a believer, presentit to thee; for through Christ Jesus faith is accounted unto me for righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is mine, forI am one with him by faith, and this is the name wherewith he shall be called-"The Lord our righteousness."

Jesus has thus fulfilled the original demands of the law, but you know, brethren, that since we have broken the law thereare other demands. For the remission of past sins something more is asked now than present and future obedience. Upon us,on account of our sins, the curse has been pronounced, and a penalty has been incurred. It is written that he "will by nomeans clear the guilty," but every transgression and iniquity shall have its just punishment and reward. Here,then, let us admire that the Lord Jesus Christ is the end of the law as to penalty. That curse and penalty are awful thingsto think upon, but Christ has ended all their evil, and thus discharged us from all the consequences of sin. As far as everybeliever is concerned the law demands no penalty and utters no curse. The believer can point to the Great Surety on the treeof Calvary, and say, "See there, oh law, there is the vindication of divine justice which I offer to thee. Jesus pouring outhis heart's blood from his wounds and dying on my behalf is my answer to thy claims, and I know that I shall be deliveredfrom wrath through him." The claims of the law both as broken and unbroken Christ has met: both the positive and the penaldemands are satisfied in him. This was a labour worthy of a God, and lo, the incarnate God has achieved it. He has finishedthe transgression, made an end of sins, made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness. All glorybeto his name.

Moreover, not only has the penalty been paid, but Christ has put great and special honour upon the law in so doing. I ventureto say that if the whole human race had kept the law of God and not one of them had violated it, the law would not stand inso splendid a position of honour as it does today when the man Christ Jesus, who is also the Son of God, has paid obeisanceto it. God himself, incarnate, has in his life, and yet more in his death, revealed the supremacy oflaw; he has shown that not even love nor sovereignty can set aside justice. Who shall say a word against the law to whichthe Lawgiver himself submits? Who shall now say that it is too severe when he who made it submits himself to its penalties.Because he was found in fashion as a man, and was our representative, the Lord demanded from his own Son perfect obedienceto the law, and the Son voluntarily bowed himself to it without a single word, taking no exception to his task. "Yea, thylaw ismy delight," saith he, and he proved it to be so by paying homage to it even to the full. Oh wondrous law under whicheven Emmanuel serves! Oh matchless law whose yoke even the Son of God does not disdain to bear, but being resolved to savehis chosen was made under the law, lived under it and died under it, "obedient to death, even the death of the cross."

The law's stability also has been secured by Christ. That alone can remain which is proved to be just, and Jesus has provedthe law to be so, magnifying it and making it honourable. He says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shallin no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." I shall have to show you how he has made anend of the law in another sense, but as to the settlement of the eternal principles of right and wrong, Christ's lifeand death have achieved this forever. "Yea, we established the law." said Paul, "we do not make void the law through faith."The law is proved to be holy and just by the very gospel of faith, for the gospel which faith believes in does not alter orlower the law, but teaches us how it was to the uttermost fulfilled. Now shall the law stand fast forever and ever, sinceeven tosave elect man God will not alter it. He had a people, chosen, beloved, and ordained to life, yet he would not save themat the expense of one principle of right. They were sinful, and how could they be justified unless the law was suspended orchanged? Was, then, the law changed? It seemed as if it must be so, if man was to be saved, but Jesus Christ came and showedus how the law could stand firm as a rock, and yet the redeemed could be justly saved by infinite mercy. In Christ we seebothmercy and justice shining full orbed, and yet neither of them in any degree eclipsing the other. The law has all it everasked, as it ought to have, and yet the Father of all mercies sees all his chosen saved as he determined they should be throughthe death of his Son. Thus I have tried to show you how Christ is the fulfillment of the law to its utmost end. May the HolyGhost bless the teaching.

And now, thirdly, he is the end of the law in the sense that he is the termination of it. He has terminated it in two senses. First of all, his people are not under it as a covenant of life. "We are not under thelaw, but under grace." The old covenant as it stood with father Adam was "This do and thou shalt live": its command he didnot keep, and consequently he did not live, nor do we live in him, since in Adam all died. The old covenant was broken, andwe becamecondemned thereby, but now, having suffered death in Christ, we are no more under it, but are dead to it. Brethren, atthis present moment, although we rejoice to do good works, we are not seeking life through them, we are not hoping to obtaindivine favour by our own goodness, nor even to keep ourselves in the love of God by any merit of our own. Chosen, not forour works, but according to the eternal will and good pleasure of God; called, not of works, but by the Spirit of God, wedesire tocontinue in this grace and return no more to the bondage of the old covenant. Since we have put our trust in an atonementprovided and applied by grace through Christ Jesus, we are no longer slaves but children, not working to be saved, but savedalready, and working because we are saved. Neither that which we do, nor even that which the Spirit of God worketh in us isto us the ground and basis of the love of God toward us, since he loved us from the first, because he would love us, unworthythough we were; and he loves us still in Christ, and looks upon us not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in him; washedin his blood and covered in his righteousness. Ye are not under the law, Christ has taken you from the servile bondage ofa condemning covenant and made you to receive the adoption of children, so that now ye cry, Abba, Father.

Again, Christ is the terminator of the law, for we are no longer under its curse. The law cannot curse a believer, it doesnot know how to do it; it blesses him, yea, and he shall be blessed; for as the law demands righteousness and looks at thebeliever in Christ, and sees that Jesus has given him all the righteousness it demands, the law is bound to pronounce himblessed. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whomthe Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Oh, the joy of being redeemed from the curse ofthe law by Christ, who was "made a curse for us," as it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Do ye, mybrethren, understand the sweet mystery of salvation? Have you ever seen Jesus standing in your place that you may stand inhis place? Christ accused and Christ condemned, and Christ led out to die, and Christ smitten of the Father, even to the death,andthen you cleared, justified, delivered from the curse, because the curse has spent itself on your Redeemer. You are admittedto enjoy the blessing because the righteousness which was his is now transferred to you that you may be blessed of the Lordworld without end. Do let us triumph and rejoice in this evermore. Why should we not? And yet some of God's people get underthe law as to their feelings, and begin to fear that because they are conscious of sin they are not saved, whereas it iswritten, "he justifieth the ungodly." For myself, I love to live near a sinner's Saviour. If my standing before the Lorddepended upon what I am in myself and what good works and righteousness I could bring, surely I should have to condemn myselfa thousand times a day. But to get away from that and to say, "I have believed in Jesus Christ and therefore righteousnessis mine," this is peace, rest, joy, and the beginning of heaven! When one attains to this experience, his love to Jesus Christbegins to flame up, and he feels that if the Redeemer has delivered him from the curse of the law he will not continuein sin, but he will endeavour to live in newness of life. We are not our own, we are bought with a price, and we would thereforeglorify God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are the Lord's. Thus much upon Christ in connection with the law.

II. Now, secondly, OURSELVES IN CONNECTION WITH CHRIST-for "Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believeth." Now see the point "to everyone that believeth," there the stress lies. Come, man, woman, dost thou believe? No weightierquestion can be asked under heaven. "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" And what is it to believe? It is not merely toaccept a set of doctrines and to say that such and such a creed is yours, and there and then to put it onthe shelf and forget it. To believe is, to trust, to confide, to depend upon, to rely upon, to rest in. Dost thou believethat Jesus Christ rose from the dead? Dost thou believe that he stood in the sinner's stead and suffered the just for theunjust? Dost thou believe that he is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him? And dost thou thereforelay the whole weight and stress of thy soul's salvation upon him, yea, upon him alone? Ah then, Christ is the end of the lawforrighteousness to thee, and thou art righteous. In the righteousness of God thou art clothed if thou believest. It is ofno use to bring forward anything else if you are not believing, for nothing will avail. If faith be absent the essential thingis wanting: sacraments, prayers, Bible reading, hearings of the gospel, you may heap them together, high as the stars, intoa mountain, huge as high Olympus, but they are all mere chaff if faith be not there. It is thy believing or not believingwhichmust settle the matter. Dost thou look away from thyself to Jesus for righteousness? If thou dost he is the end of thelaw to thee.

Now observe that there is no question raised about the previous character, for it is written, "Christ is the end of the lawfor righteousness to every one that believeth." But, Lord, this man before he believed was a persecutor and injurious, he raged and raved against the saints and haled themto prison and sought their blood. Yes, beloved friend, and that is the very man who wrote these words by the Holy Ghost, "Christis the end of the law for righteousness toevery one that believeth." So if I address one here this morning whose life has been defiled with every sin, and stainedwith every transgression we can conceive of, yet I say unto such, remember "all manner of sin and of blasphemy shall be forgivenunto men." If thou believest in the Lord Jesus Christ thine iniquities are blotted out, for the blood of Jesus Christ, God'sdear Son, cleanseth us from all sin. This is the glory of the gospel that it is a sinner's gospel; good news of blessing notfor those without sin, but for those who confess and forsake it. Jesus came into the world, not to reward the sinless,but to seek and to save that which was lost; and he, being lost and being far from God, who cometh nigh to God by Christ,and believeth in him, will find that he is able to bestow righteousness upon the guilty. He is the end of the law for righteousnessto everyone that believeth, and therefore to the poor harlot that believeth, to the drunkard of many years standing thatbelieveth, to the thief, the liar, and the scoffer who believeth, to those who have aforetime rioted in sin, but now turnfrom it to trust in him. But I do not know that I need mention such cases as these; to me the most wonderful fact is thatChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to me, for I believe in him. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committedto him until that day.

Another thought arises from the text, and that is, that there is nothing said by way of qualification as to the strength ofthe faith. He is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, whether he is Little Faith or Greatheart.Jesus protects the rear rank as well as the vanguard. There is no difference between one believer and another as to justification.So long as there is a connection between you and Christ the righteousness of God is yours. Thelink may be very like a film, a spider's line of trembling faith, but, if it runs all the way from the heart to Christ,divine grace can and will flow along the most slender thread. It is marvelous how fine the wire may be that will carry theelectric flash. We may want a cable to carry a message across the sea, but that is for the protection of the wire, the wirewhich actually carries the message is a slender thing. If thy faith be of the mustard-seed kind, if it be only such as tremblinglytouches the Saviour's garment's hem, if thou canst only say "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief," if it be but thefaith of sinking Peter, or weeping Mary, yet if it be faith in Christ, he will be the end of the law for righteousness tothee as well as to the chief of the apostles.

If this be so then, beloved friends, all of us who believe are righteous. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ we have obtainedthe righteousness which those who follow the works of the law know nothing of. We are not completely sanctified, would Godwe were; we are not quit of sin in our members, though we hate it; but still for all that, in the sight of God, we are trulyrighteous and being qualified by faith we have peace with God. Come, look up, ye believers that areburdened with a sense of sin. While you chasten yourselves and mourn your sin, do not doubt your Saviour, nor questionhis righteousness. You are black, but do not stop there, go on to say as the spouse did, "I am black, but comely."

"Though in ourselves deform'd we are,

And black as Kedar's tents appear,

Yet, when we put Thy beauties on,

Fair as the courts of Solomon."

Now, mark that the connection of our text assures us that being righteous we are saved; for what does it say here, "If thoushalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thoushalt be saved." He who is justified is saved, or what were the benefit of justification? Over thee, O believer, God hath pronounced theverdict "saved," and none shall reverse it. You are saved from sin and deathand hell; you are saved even now, with a present salvation; "He hath saved us and called us with a holy calling." Feelthe transports of it at this hour. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God."

And now I have done when I have said just this. If any one here thinks he can save himself, and that his own righteousnesswill suffice before God, I would affectionately beg him not to insult his Saviour. If your righteousness sufficeth, why didChrist come here to work one out? Will you for a moment compare your righteousness with the righteousness of Jesus Christ?What likeness is there between you and him? As much as between an emmet and an archangel. Nay, not so muchas that: as much as between night and day, hell and heaven. Oh, if I had a righteousness of my own that no one could findfault with, I would voluntarily fling it away to have the righteousness of Christ, but as I have none of my own I do rejoicethe more to have my Lord's. When Mr. Whitefield first preached at Kingswood, near Bristol, to the colliers, he could see whentheir hearts began to be touched by the gutters of white made by the tears as they ran down their black cheeks. He saw theywere receiving the gospel, and he writes in his diary "as these poor colliers had no righteousness of their own they thereforegloried in Him who came to save publicans and sinners." Well, Mr. Whitefield, that is true of the colliers, but it is equallytrue of many of us here, who may not have had black faces, but we had black hearts. We can truly say that we also rejoiceto cast away our own righteousness and count it dross and dung that we may win Christ, and be found in him. In him is oursole hope and only trust.

Last of all, for any of you to reject the righteousness of Christ must be to perish everlastingly, because it cannot be thatGod will accept you or your pretended righteousness when you have refused the real and divine righteousness which he setsbefore you in his Son. If you could go up to the gates of heaven, and the angel were to say to you, "What title have you toentrance here?" and you were to reply, "I have a righteousness of my own," then for you to be admittedwould be to decide that your righteousness was on a par with that of Immanuel himself. Can that ever be? Do you thinkthat God will ever allow such a lie to be sanctioned? Will he let a poor wretched sinner's counterfeit righteousness passcurrent side by side with the fine gold of Christ's perfection? Why was the fountain filled with blood if you need no washing?Is Christ a superfluity? Oh, it cannot be. You must have Christ's righteousness or be unrighteous, and being unrighteous youwill beunsaved, and being unsaved you must remain lost forever and ever.

What! has it all come to this, then, that I am to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for righteousness, and to be made justthrough faith? Yes, that is it: that is the whole of it. What! trust Christ alone and then live as I like! You cannot livein sin after you have trusted Jesus, for the act of faith brings with it a change of nature and a renewal of your soul. TheSpirit of God who leads you to believe will also change your heart. You spoke of "living as you like," youwill like to live very differently from what you do now. The things you loved before your conversion you will hate whenyou believe, and the things you hated you will love. Now, you are trying to be good, and you make great failures, becauseyour heart is alienated from God; but when once you have received salvation through the blood of Christ, your heart will loveGod, and then you will keep his commandments, and they will be no longer grievous to you. A change of heart is what you want,andyou will never get it except through the covenant of grace. There is not a word about conversion in the old covenant,we must look to the new covenant for that, and here it is-"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean:from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and an new spiritwill I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. AndI willput my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." This isone of the greatest covenant promises, and the Holy Ghost preforms it in the chosen. Oh that the Lord would sweetly persuadeyou to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that promise and all the other covenant engagements shall be fulfilled to yoursoul. The Lord bless you! Spirit of God, send thy blessing on these poor words of mine for Jesus' sake. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON-Romans 10.

HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"-231, 535, 647.