Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 23:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 23:6. In his days Judah shall be saved — The real Jew is not one who has his circumcision in the flesh, but in the spirit. The real Israel are true believers in Christ Jesus; and the genuine Jerusalem is the Church of the first-born, and made free, with all her children, from the bondage of sin, Satan, death, and hell. All these exist only in the days of the Messiah. All that went before were the types or significators of these glorious Gospel excellencies.

And this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. — I shall give the Hebrew text of this important passage: וזה שמו אשר יקראו יהוה צדקנו vezeh shemo asher yikreo Yehovah tsidkenu, which the Septuagint translate as follows, Και τουτο το ονομα αυτον ὁ καλεσει αυτον Κυριος, Ιωσεδεκ, "And this is his name which the Lord shall call him Josedek."

Dahler translates the text thus: -

Et voici le nom dont on l'appellera:

L'Eternel, Auteur de notre felicite.

"And this is the name by which he shall be called; The Lord, the Author of our happiness."

Dr. Blayney seems to follow the Septuagint; he translates thus, "And this is the name by which Jehovah shall call him, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

In my old MS. Bible, the first English translation ever made, it is thus: - And this is the name that thei schul clepen him: oure rigtwise Lord.

Coverdale's, the first complete English translation of the Scriptures ever printed, (1535,) has given it thus: - And this is the name that they shall call him: even the Lorde oure rightuous Maker.

Matthews (1549) and Becke (1549) follow Coverdale literally; but our present translation of the clause is borrowed from Cardmarden, (Rouen, 1566,) "Even the Lord our righteousness."

Dr. Blayney thus accounts for his translation: - "Literally, according to the Hebrew idiom, - 'And this is his name by which Jehovah shall call, Our Righteousness;' a phrase exactly the same as, 'And Jehovah shall call him so;' which implies that God would make him such as he called him, that is, our Righteousness, or the author and means of our salvation and acceptance. So that by the same metonymy Christ is said to 'have been made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,' 1 Corinthians 1:30.

"I doubt not that some persons will be offended with me for depriving them, by this translation, of a favourite argument for proving the Divinity of our Saviour from the Old Testament. But I cannot help it; I have done it with no ill design, but purely because I think, and am morally sure, that the text, as it stands, will not properly admit of any other construction. The Septuagint have so translated before me, in an age when there could not possibly be any bias or prejudice either for or against the fore-mentioned doctrine, a doctrine which draws its devisive proofs from the New Testament only."

Dahler paraphrases, - "This Prince shall be surnamed by his people, 'The Lord, the author of our happiness.' The people shall feel themselves happy under him; and shall express their gratitude to him."

I am satisfied that both the translation from Cardmarden downwards, and the meaning put on these words, are incorrect. I prefer the translation of Blayney to all others; and that it speaks any thing about the imputed righteousness of Christ, cannot possibly be proved by any man who understands the original text. As to those who put the sense of their creed upon the words, they must be content to stand out of the list of Hebrew critics. I believe Jesus to be Jehovah; but I doubt much whether this text calls him so. No doctrine so vitally important should be rested on an interpretation so dubious and unsupported by the text. That all our righteousness, holiness, and goodness, as well as the whole of our salvation, come by HIM, from HIM, and through HIM, is fully evident from the Scriptures; but this is not one of the passages that support this most important truth. Jeremiah 33:16.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Return from captivity (23:1-8)

Judah’s political leaders are likened to shepherds over a flock, but instead of caring for the sheep they have exploited them. They are the ones chiefly responsible for driving God’s flock into captivity, and therefore God will punish them (23:1-2). Even in a foreign country, however, the flock still belongs to God. He does not forget his people, but will bring them back to their homeland and give them good leaders (3-4).
As a new branch shoots from the stump of a fallen tree, so will new leadership shoot from the fallen dynasty of David. The rule of the Davidic dynasty will be restored, so that it can reach its goal in a king who will be the embodiment of God’s righteousness, the true Messiah (5-6). The nation’s return from exile will be a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness, just as his deliverance from Egypt was in the days of Moses (7-8).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

PROPHECY OF THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH

"Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king, and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our Righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that they shall no more say, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land."

"A righteous Branch" Without any doubt whatever, this is a promise of the Holy Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The near-unanimous opinion of the greatest scholars of a thousand years has held this passage to be a prophecy of Jesus the Christ the Son of God. The words of it cannot possibly refer to any one else. Who else, among all the people ever born, could honestly be called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS?

We shall cite only a few examples of what well-known writers have said and are still saying about this passage.

The announcement concerns the ideal king Messiah.J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 489. Messiah is here called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, because he is Jehovah; and he is our righteousness because he justifies us by his merits.Barnes' Notes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 206. As a title, BRANCH traces the human and divine ancestry of Messiah and focuses upon the kingly and priestly natures of the Messianic task.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 641. In Jeremiah 23:5-8, we have the promise of Messiah.J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 479. Under the just scepter of Messiah, all Israel will reach the destiny designed for it by the Lord.C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 352. We have not many prophecies of Christ in Jeremiah, but here is a very illustrious one. Doubtless the prophet speaks of him and of no other man.Matthew Henry's Commentary, p. 553. Some scholars question this oracle, feeling that messianism was not a significant element in Jeremiah's thought. But how can we know that? when the concept of messianism is found here, in Jeremiah 33:15-16; Jeremiah 3:15-18, and in Jeremiah 31:31-34; and this is surely an instance of a direct reference to the messianic King.Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 518. The title BRANCH here has much in common semantically with "seed" (Genesis 3:15), the Davidic Son (2 Samuel 7), and with Isaiah's Servant of the Lord… Here is the highest fulfillment of the Seed of Woman, the Son of David, and the Servant of the Lord.Ibid. This title, The Plant, is here unmistakably applied to the Messianic King.T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 513.

There are at least a hundred other references in this writer's library that could be added to these; but these are sufficient for the moment.

We should be aware, however, that Satan is never content to allow any holy prophecy of the Son of God to remain unchallenged in the sacred scriptures; and there constantly surfaces evidence of satanic objections to every prophecy in the Word of God. Note the following paragraph.

"The concept of the coming king is not of major importance in Jeremiah. The Christian is tempted to find a reference to Christ here. Others suggest Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23)."Anthony L. Ash, Psalms (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. Press, 1987), p. 181.

It seems strange that such a comment as this should come from a former Bible professor in a Christian university. He strongly implies here that there is no reference to Christ in this passage, an interpretation that must be rejected. And who are those "others" who suggest Zerubbabel? Zerubbabel was no king in any sense of the word. Who are the `others'? They are those who try to edit Christ out of every prophecy in the Bible. (See my dissertation on Zerubbabel in Vol. 3 of my commentaries on the minor prophets, pp. 188f.) Zerubbabel was a deputy of Darius the Great, king of Babylon, and being a favorite of that monarch was permitted to lead a group back to Jerusalem, where he served the king of Babylon as governor of Judah. He was of the seed of David all right, but as a son of Shealtiel, he was the legal heir to the non-existent throne of Israel, but was absolutely unqualified to sit on David's throne because of the prohibition of Jeremiah 22:30.

We wish to note another serious blunder in the above quotation. The reference to Christians being "Tempted to find Christ" in the passage here implies that Christians might not be as reliable as some other people in arriving at a true interpretation of the Word of God. The opposite of this is true. An apostle of Jesus Christ flatly declared that unless one is indeed a believer in Christ Jesus, "Even to this day, in the reading of the Old Covenant, a veil lieth upon their heart" (2 Corinthians 3:15)! No one who is not a Christian can properly read and interpret the Old Testament. That is the very thing that produces so much irresponsible writing on the Old Testament today.

The futility of seeking a fulfillment of that promise of an ideal king at any time between the captivity and the First Advent of Christ is seen in the prophecy of Hosea who declared that Israel would continue "without king, without prince" (Hosea 3:4) etc. The earthly house of David was terminated in the previous chapter. "But even with the temporal kingship abolished, the sure mercies of David were still sure."Barnes' Notes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 205. Those sure mercies, however, would be accomplished not by some racial group nor in some literal city such as Jerusalem, but in the realization of the Messianic Kingdom of Christ.

"And he shall reign as king" He shall reign as king, not as a puppet like Zedekiah, and not as a deputy of the king of Babylon like Zerubbabel.

"He shall be called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" Who but Jesus Christ was ever entitled to a name like this? Ten times in the Greek New Testament Jesus is called God. Other than in the instance of a few lunatics has this name ever been applied to any person except our Lord.

We agree with Feinberg that the "forensic righteousness" (imputed righteousness) of the New Testament is not in this passage. Furthermore, we do not believe it is in the New Testament either! The righteousness here is genuine, intrinsic righteousness. How is it, then, called "our righteousness?" This is outlined in seven KJV verses of the N.T.: Romans 3:22; Romans 3:26; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; and Philippians 3:9. In all these verses properly translated, it is affirmed that men are saved by the "faith of Christ'; and it is Christ's righteousness alone that ever saved anyone. How? By God's imputing righteousness to stinking sinners? A thousand times NO! God's way of saving sinners is by transferring the sinners into Christ, after they are willing to renounce themselves or deny themselves and to become identified with Christ, as Christ, and "in Christ" by being baptized into him (Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:3-5, and 1 Corinthians 12:13). Thus they partake of a righteousness that is truly genuine in the fullest sense of the word.

"As Jehovah liveth who… led the seed of the children out of the north country" This greater exodus than the coming up out of Egypt was not fulfilled by the handful of returnees from Babylon. In the Exodus from Egypt, the tribe of Judah alone boasted over 600,000; therefore this greater exodus refers to the "innumerable company of the redeemed in Christ" (Revelation 7:9-10).

"And they shall dwell in their own land" Again we remember the words of Cheyne already quoted in this chapter, "To be in Christ is to be in the true Canaan." In addition to that, there never was for Israel, either safety or salvation in the old Canaan. Salvation is found nowhere, but nowhere, except in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Before leaving this great prophecy, we should point out that the metaphor also appears in Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:11, etc. (See my comments "en loco" which will supplement what is written here.)

CONCERNING THE FALSE PROPHETS

The wisdom of devoting most of the chapter to this subject appears in the fact that every generation has its quota of false prophets, and that such false teachers are the principal reason for the disobedience exhibited continually throughout history by the rebellious race of Adam. Our own generation needs this chapter as desperately as did the generation of Jeremiah. Note also, that despite the fact of the false teachers being the more to blame for the sins of the people, the sinful people also perished nevertheless. As Jesus said, "If the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into the ditch."

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

This is his name whereby he shall be called - From remote antiquity the person here spoken of has been understood to be “the righteous germ,” and this alone is in accordance with the grammar and the sense. Nevertheless, because Jeremiah Jeremiah 33:15-16 applies the name also to Jerusalem, some understand it of Israel.

the Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS - Messiah is here called:

(1) Yahweh, and

(2) our righteousness, because He justifies us by His merits.

Some render, He by whom Yahweh works righteousness. Righteousness is in that case personal holiness, which is the work of the Spirit after justification.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

It then follows, that Judah shall be saved in the days of this king. By days we are not to understand the life only of Christ, which he lived in this world, but that perpetuity of which Isaiah speaks, when in wonder he asks,

“His age who shall declare?” (Isaiah 53:8;)

for he died once, that he might live to God, according to what Paul says. (Romans 6:10.) It was then but a short beginning of life when Christ was manifested in the world, and held converse with men; but his life is to continue for ever. It is then the same thing as though the Prophet had said, that when Christ came and descended from the Father, the Church would be saved.

If it be now asked, “How long shall it be saved?” the answer is, “As long as the King himself shall continue; and there is no end to his kingdom.” It follows then that the salvation of the Church will be for ever. This is the import of the whole.

Now, though the Prophet speaks of the deliverance of the people, there is yet no doubt but that he especially sets forth what properly belongs to the kingdom of Christ. He is set over us as a king, that he might be our Savior; and his salvation, though it extends to our bodies, ought yet to be viewed as properly belonging to our souls; for the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, and so is everything connected with it. Hence, when the Prophet says that saved would be Judah, it is the same thing as though he promised that the happiness of the Church would be real and solid under Christ.

He adds, Israel shall dwell in confidence; for in a happy life the first thing is, that we possess tranquil and quiet minds; for tranquillity has not been without reason commended by the ancients. When all things which men covet are heaped together, and what they think necessary for happiness, they yet cannot be otherwise than miserable if their minds are not in a right state. It is not then without cause that tranquillity is added, when mention is made of salvation. And experience itself teaches us, that we have no salvation, unless we, relying on Christ the Mediator, have peace with God, as Paul also mentions it as the fruit of faith, and shews that we cannot otherwise but be always miserable: we have peace, he says, with God. (Romans 5:1.) He hence also concludes that our very miseries are a help to our salvation; for afflictions prove patience, patience exercises hope, and hope never makes us ashamed; and the proof of this is added, because God thus really shews that he is present with us.

We hence see how fitly the Prophet connects tranquillity of mind with happiness. Moreover it is certain that we do not yet enjoy either salvation or peace, such as are here promised; but let us learn by faith what salvation is, and also what is rest even in the midst of the agitations to which we are continually exposed; for we recumb on God when we cast our anchor in heaven. Since, then, the Prophet says here that Judah would be saved and that Israel would be in a tranquil state, let us know that he includes the whole kingdom of Christ from the beginning to the end, and that therefore it is no wonder that he speaks of that perfect happiness, the first fruits of which now only appear.

He then adds, And this is the name by which they shall call him, Jehovah our Righteousness By these words the Prophet shews more clearly that he speaks not generally of David’s posterity, however excellent they may have been, but of the Mediator, who had been promised, and on whom depended the salvation of the people; for he says that this would be his name, Jehovah our Righteousness ⁽⁸¹⁾

Those Jews, who seem more modest than others, and dare not, through a dogged pertinacity, to corrupt this passage, do yet elude the application of this title to Christ, though it be suitable to him; for they say that the name is given to him, because he is the minister of God’s justice, as though it was said, that whenever this king appeared all would acknowledge God’s justice as shining forth in him. And they adduce other similar passages, as when Moses calls the altar, “Jehovah my banner,” or my protection. (Exodus 17:15.) But there is no likeness whatever between an altar and Christ. For the same purpose they refer to another passage, where it is said,

“And this is the name by which they shall call Jerusalem,
Jehovah our peace.” (Ezekiel 48:35)

Now Moses meant nothing else than that the altar was a monument of God’s protection; and Ezekiel only teaches, that the Church would be as it were a mirror in which God’s mercy would be seen, as it would shine forth then, as it were, visibly. But this cannot for the same reason be applied to Christ; he is set forth here as a Redeemer, and a name is given to him, — what name? the name of God. But the Jews object and say, that he was God’s minister, and that it might therefore be in a sense applied to him, though he was no more than a man.

But all who without strife and prejudice judge of things, can easily see that this name is suitably applied to Christ, as he is God; and the Son of David belongs to him as he is man. The Son of David and Jehovah is one and the same Redeemer. Why is he called the Son of David? even because it was necessary that he should be born of that family. Why then is he called Jehovah? we hence conclude that there is something in him more excellent than what is human; and he is called Jehovah, because he is the only-begotten Son of God, of one and the same essence, glory, eternity, and divinity with the Father.

It hence appears evident to all who judge impartially and considerately, that Christ is set forth here in his twofold character, so that the Prophet brings before us both the glory of his divinity and the reality of his humanity. And we know how necessary it was that Christ should come forth as God and man; for salvation cannot be expected in any other way than from God; and Christ must confer salvation on us, and not only be its minister. And then, as he is God, he justifies us, regenerates us, illuminates us into a hope of eternal life; to conquer sin and death is doubtless what only can be effected by divine power. Hence Christ, except he was God, could not have performed what we had to expect from him. It was also necessary that he should become man, that he might unite us to himself; for we have no access to God, except we become the friends of Christ; and how can we be so made, except by a brotherly union? It was not then without the strongest reason, that the Prophet here sets Christ before us both as a true man and the Son of David, and also as God or Jehovah, for he is the only-begotten Son of God, and ever the same in wisdom and glory with the Father, as John testifies in Jeremiah 17:5.

We now then perceive the simple and real meaning of this passage, even that God would restore his Church, because what he had promised respecting a Redeemer stood firm and inviolable. Then he adds what this Redeemer would be and what was to be expected from him; he declares that he would be the true God and yet the Son of David; and he also bids us to expect righteousness from him, and everything necessary to a full and perfect happiness.

But by saying, God our righteousness, the Prophet still more fully shews that righteousness is not in Christ as though it were only his own, but that we have it in common with him, for he has nothing separate from us. God, indeed, must ever be deemed just, though iniquity prevailed through the whole world; and men, were they all wicked, could do nothing to impugn or mar the righteousness of God. But yet God is not our righteousness as he is righteous in himself, or as having his own peculiar righteousness; and as he is our judge, his own righteousness is adverse to us. But Christ’s righteousness is of another kind: it is ours, because Christ is righteous not for himself, but possesses a righteousness which he communicates to us. We hence see that the true character of Christ is here set forth, not that he would come to manifest divine justice, but to bring righteousness, which would avail to the salvation of men, For if we regard God in himself, as I have said, he is indeed righteous, but is not our righteousness. If, then, we desire to have God as our righteousness, we must seek Christ; for this cannot be found except in him. The righteousness of God has been set forth to us in Christ; and all who turn away from him, though they may take many circuitous courses, can yet never find the righteousness of God. Hence Paul says that he has been given or made to us righteousness, — for what end? that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (1 Corinthians 1:30.) Since, then, Christ is made our righteousness, and we are counted the righteousness of God in him, we hence learn how properly and fitly it has been said that he would be Jehovah, not only that the power of his divinity might defend us, but also that we might become righteous in him, for he is not only righteous for himself, but he is our righteousness. ⁽⁸²⁾

(81) See the Preface to this volume.

(82) “This king,” says Venema, “is the true God, the meritorious cause and pledge of our righteousness, and also the efficient cause and exemplar of all holiness, piety, and virtue.” He holds that Messiah alone is spoken of here, and blames Grotius for applying the passage in the first place to Zerubbabel, and maintains that what is said here cannot be applied to any but to the Messiah. He mentions, as a proof of this, his name — “a righteous Branch;” his royal dignity — “a king shall reign;” his title — “Jehovah our righteousness,” his prosperity and the security of his kingdom. All these things comport with the character of no one, but with that of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Now in chapter 23 God speaks out against those

Pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:1 ).

God said, "They're My sheep, but these pastors are scattering them and destroying them."

Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:2 ).

Those wicked pastors who were not really feeding the flock of God, but rather seeking only to fleece the flock of God. A true shepherd seeks to feed His flock. A hireling always seeks to fleece the flock of God.

If these evangelists are writing to you and in every letter they send to you there is a direct or insinuated appeal for funds, know that they're not really writing unto you because they love you and care for you. Though they may say it, "Oh, I've been thinking about you this week. And God laid a heavy burden upon my heart for you. Is everything all right, brother? Please write and tell me what's wrong with you so I can pray for you. And I'm going to go and I'm going to fast and I'm going to pray and I'm going to bring your requests before God. Now make sure that you send your request in to me immediately and please mark off how much you can send in at this time, you know." That's all a bunch of goobledygook to get to the bottom line for you to send your bucks in. There's no real concern for the flock of God. There's no real attempt. You read the letter. There's nothing there to feed your spirit. The whole thing is designed to fleece you. The whole purpose is to fleece the flock of God. That's not a true shepherd and God speaks out, "Woe unto you, shepherds, not really feeding the flock. Scattering the flock. You're destroying the flock."

Well, I'll tell you, I don't want to stand in their shoes when they have to stand before the Lord and give an account.

God said,

I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which will feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:3-4 ).

God says, "The day will come I'll bring them back. My flock that's been scattered, I'll bring them back. And I'll give them shepherds in those days who will really feed them. They'll be fruitful. They'll increase."

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the eaRuth ( Jeremiah 23:5 ).

There will come a day I'll raise up from David a righteous Branch, and He will reign in righteousness, in justice and in truth.

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called [Jehovah Tsidkenu] THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ( Jeremiah 23:6 ).

Who is that righteous Branch that God shall raise up from David? Who is that One who is coming and will reign in righteousness over the earth? None other than Jehovah Shua who will then be called Jehovah Tsidkenu. Jehovah Shua is another name for Jesus, Yashua.

This is a scripture that sort of boggles the Jehovah Witnesses, because in the context you have to realize and acknowledge that surely it is talking about Jesus Christ. But His name shall be called then that name that they use exclusively for the Father. His name shall be called Jehovah Tsidkenu. That's one they haven't been able to successfully explain.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD lives, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD lives, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land ( Jeremiah 23:7-8 ).

And so God is speaking of that day of future restoration that shall come to pass when Jesus comes again. And then shall the angels be sent to the four corners of the earth to gather God's elect, the Jews, from all of the areas to which they have been scattered and God will bring them back in that day and in that day all Israel shall be saved. For God shall bring the deliverer out of Zion who will have turned the hearts of the children to the fathers. So the glorious day of God's redemptive work for the nation Israel when Jesus comes again, the righteous Branch out of David to establish the throne of God and His kingdom upon the earth and to fulfill God's promise to these people.

Now God declares,

Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets ( Jeremiah 23:9 );

Actually, this is Jeremiah speaking. "My heart within me is broken." You remember he's the weeping prophet. "My heart within me is broken because of the prophets."

all my bones shake: I am like a drunken man, I'm like a man whom wine has overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:9-12 ).

So God speaks of these wicked prophets and priests who have profaned their ministries and all and God said they're on a slippery plank in the dark. Boy, I mean, that's in a bad way. Can't see where you're going and you're walking on ice. Surely they shall fall.

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, they walk in lies: they strengthen the hands of evildoers, that none does return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants of Gomorrah ( Jeremiah 23:13-14 ).

They're just irredeemable.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you ( Jeremiah 23:15-17 ).

The prophets were prophesying lies. "It doesn't matter how you live. You're all right. God will accept you. God really doesn't care that you live after your flesh, that you disregard His law. Doesn't really matter. Peace. No evil is going to come upon you."

There are many churches today where there is really no strong preaching of the Word. The people go and are comforted. No matter, though they are walking after their own imagination, after their own lust, they go to church and they can come out feeling very comforted, very good, because there is no real conviction of sin. There's no real preaching of righteousness or holiness before God. And the tragic thing is that people are being comforted in their evil ways, being lulled into a false sense of security. A lot of ministers today will tell you there is no hell. All the hell you're ever going to get is right here on earth. All the heaven you're ever going to get is right here on earth. There is no future judgment. And there are ministers that make fun of and scoff at the idea of hell. "Peace in this place. Surely God won't visit you for the evil that you have done. No evil will come upon you."

For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? ( Jeremiah 23:18 )

These guys are speaking for the Lord but He said, "They never sat in My council. They don't know the things that I have determined. Yet they're speaking for Me, but they don't even know what they're talking about. They haven't been in My council. They haven't heard My word."

Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he has executed, and till he has performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly ( Jeremiah 23:19-20 ).

You'll understand it completely. Hindsight is always better than foresight. When it's happened you'll look back and then you'll understand that you were being deceived by those false prophets. You'll understand that it was a lie, that they were speaking in the name of the Lord, that you were duped. God is saying the day will come. You'll look back when the calamity is fallen, when the judgment is come, then you'll realize these men were lying to you the whole while who said no evil is going to come to this place. It's going to be peace and all.

For I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? ( Jeremiah 23:21-23 )

Aren't I not right present? I'm not far off someplace where you can't reach Me or where I don't know what's going on. God doesn't dwell in some remote corner of the universe. Paul said to those Epicurean philosophers there in Athens, "This is the God I want to talk to you about, for in Him we live, we move, we have our being" ( Acts 17:28 ). It's the God who pervades all of space. You can't escape His presence.

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? ( Jeremiah 23:24 )

There is no secret sin. There is no hidden sin. God sees everything we do. You think you're hiding yourself from God or your actions from God. You're only deceiving yourself.

Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that are prophesying lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal ( Jeremiah 23:24-27 ).

So these men are telling their fancy dreams and turning people away from God.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:28 ).

There is a certain danger in our seeking after spiritual phenomena today whereby God might speak through a, say through, a man that is calling himself a prophet. And that you go to him and he lays his hand upon your head and begins to prophesy over you. Revealing to you things of your past. Revealing to you the things that nobody else knows until your heart is really confirmed. "Wow, this guy must really know what he's talking about."

There is in this area a few years back a lady who was doing just such a thing. She had a very uncanny ability to prophesy over people. And in her prophecy reveal secrets of their past. And many people were attracted to her and drawn to her because one of the large charismatic churches in the county featured her as the Sunday school teacher for a time. I had a young man, a minister, who had tremendous potential. I had worked with him in several summer camping programs. We had spent a lot of time together in the Word, in prayer. This young man was searching after God, seeking after God. And so he went and he heard this woman and he was attracted to her uncanny ability to be able to prophesy and to say so many things. And so he made an appointment and he went over to her house. And there she began to reveal to him all kinds of things about his past, about his beautiful, godly mother. And as she was relating these things to him he was captivated by her ability to be able to see so clearly and she began to prophesy directions and guidance for his life. She began to direct him into the contacting his mother through séances and into spiritism. And this young man who had such a tremendous potential and was used in such a glorious way by God in ministering to young people is today totally out of it. Led astray. He wouldn't listen to the counsel from the Word. This woman had really bewitched him by her gift that she possessed. But the gift really wasn't from God.

There is a danger in seeking to the supernatural phenomena for guidance or for direction rather than to God and to the Word of God. A person comes up and says, "Oh, I've had a dream. I want to tell you my dream. What does my dream mean?" Oh, I don't know. "He that has a dream let him tell his dream." To someone else. "But he that hath My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully." And yet there are those that talk about revelations from angels. Angels that visit them and sit on their beds and direct them. And people get all excited. "Oh, have you read Angels on Assignment? My!"

"He that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord." We have the Word of God. Nothing can be added to it or should be taken away from it. This is the wheat. This will produce spiritual growth. This will cause you to be strong in the Lord. This will build up your spiritual man. You may be running around looking for spiritual excitement. It's always a dangerous thing, looking for spiritual phenomena, because it's easy to be led astray. The Word of God will keep you on the path. You cannot grow by supernatural phenomena.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not opposed to the gifts and the working of the Holy Spirit. The true manifestation of the works of the Spirit are marvelous and I seek them. But all that comes must be measured and judged by the Word of God. We cannot allow experiences to become the basis for doctrinal truth. We cannot establish doctrine upon experiences. We can only establish doctrine on the sound Word of God and not upon any kind of supernatural phenomena.

A while back we had this plague of "demon, demon, who's got the demons?" And the groups were gathering together all over the United States to deliver one another from the burps or the lethargy or gluttonous demons. Tragic. Sad. People guiding each other by experiences and not by the Word of God.

But I read some of the books, and this one pastor who was heavy into this deliverance ministry was teaching the doctrine of demonology. And in the book, in the doctrine of demonology that he was teaching, he was teaching that we have the power to bind the demons and cast them into hell, into the pit. And that we should always bind the demons and cast them into the pit. Now how did he know we had that power? Because when he was exorcising a demon, the demon told him, "Don't cast me into the pit." And he said, "Oh, do I have that power?" The demon said, "Yes, you have that power to cast me in the pit. Please don't do it." So you have a doctrine that is based upon the word of a demon. Now Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. Surely the demons are liars, too. How can you base a doctrine upon what is said by a demon whose basic character is that of lying? But you see how easily you can be swayed to look to something else for the truth. "What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord."

Is not my word like a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? ( Jeremiah 23:29-37 )

Rather than saying, "What's the burden of the Lord, brother?" Just say, "What's the Lord answered you or what hath the Lord spoken?" Because this thing of the burden of the Lord, they were all the false prophets were using that.

But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD ( Jeremiah 23:38 );

A lot of people going around today saying, "Oh, the Lord lays such a heavy burden on me, man. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it. God laid this heavy burden on me." Are you sure? Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, My burden is light" ( Matthew 11:30 ). I think the people can lay heavy burdens on us. Many times the church lays heavy burdens on people. Many times we take heavy burdens on ourselves. Now let's not blame the Lord for it. God's not going to lay such a burden on you that it's going to drive you to a nervous breakdown. God's not going to lay such a burden on you that you can't really function with your family because you're so upset and so nervous and so uptight over this pressure that is on you. "But if I don't do it, you know, they're going to be calling me. And oh, I don't know what I'm going to do. This burden of the Lord, the burden of the Lord." No, no, no, it's not the burden of the Lord. It's something that man has laid on you, the church has laid on you. You take it on yourself, but God didn't lay it on you because Jesus said, "My burden is light, My yoke is easy."

Some people say to me, "I don't know how you can pastor a church with that many people." I say, "Well, I don't either." But it's really not difficult. It's not a heavy burden. I don't go around just, you know, pressed down and just groaning and just, "Hope I can make it another day." I don't feel it. His yoke is easy, His burden is light. There's no big pressure. There is no big deal because His yoke is easy, His burden is light. I've oftentimes told people it was much harder to pastor a little church of twenty-five people in Prescott than it is to pastor Calvary Chapel. I had many heavier burdens there than I have here. This is a piece of cake.

But God says, "Forget that burden of the Lord stuff. I'm tired of hearing that. I don't want to hear it anymore. Just say, 'What did the Lord say?' Or, 'How has the Lord answered you?' But don't, don't, don't use that burden of the Lord bit."

Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence ( Jeremiah 23:39 ):

If you use this term any more.

And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten ( Jeremiah 23:40 ).

So that's one phrase I'd sure stay away from if I were you.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Promises about the future of the Davidic line and the people 23:1-8

"After the oracles against wicked kings, there is a promise of a righteous one, the Shoot of David." [Note: Graybill, p. 673.]

Jeremiah just announced that none of Coniah’s descendants would ever rule as kings. Now he went on to clarify that a Davidic King would rule in the future. God was not cutting off the Davidic line (cf. 2 Samuel 7:14). This section consists of three separate, though related, prophecies (Jeremiah 23:1-8).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

During His reign, Judah and Israel would experience salvation and security. People would refer to Him as "Yahweh our righteousness." This strongly indicates that this King would be Yahweh Himself ruling in righteousness (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). His name appears to be a play on the name Zedekiah, which probably means, "Yahweh is my righteousness." If so, this prophecy probably dates from Zedekiah’s reign. Ironically, Zedekiah was anything but righteous.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

In his days Judah shall be saved,.... In the days of the Messiah, the righteous Branch, and reigning prosperous King, not only the people of the Jews, God's elect among them, but all that truly embrace him, and confess him, as Judah's name signifies, shall be saved from all their sins; from the law, its curse and condemnation; and from wrath to come; and from all their spiritual enemies. In the latter part of his days all Israel shall be saved, Romans 11:26;

and Israel shall dwell safely; without any fear of enemies, being saved from them; being in that city, the church, which has salvation for walls and bulwarks; angels encamping about them; the Lord as a wall of fire around them; the Spirit lifting up a standard against their enemies, when they come in like a flood; and the Messiah their rock and refuge, and strong tower, their strength and righteousness; as follows: for all the salvation and safety of the Lord's people are owing to the righteousness of Christ; the effect of which is peace, quietness, and assurance for ever:

and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS; because he is the author of righteousness to his people, and is only so; no creature could be the author of it; unrighteous man cannot be the author of righteousness; and the righteousness of an angel is of no advantage to man; and indeed neither of the other divine Persons is the Lord our righteousness; for though they are both Jehovah, the Father and the Spirit, yet not our righteousness: the Father appointed and sent Christ to work it out; he approved and accepted of it, when wrought out; and imputes it to his people; but is not the author of it: so the Spirit convinces of the need of it; reveals it, and brings it near; works faith to receive it; and applies it, and pronounces a person justified by it; but is not the author of it; that the Son of God only is; who is become so by his obedience to the law, and by bearing the penalty of it; and who, having been delivered for our offences, rose again for our justification: and this righteousness, which he has wrought out to the satisfaction of law and justice, becomes "ours"; it being signed for us, and wrought out for us, by a free gift of it is given to us; ours through the imputation of it to us by the Father, and in virtue of our union to Christ, and interest in him; and through the application of it to us by the Spirit of God; who puts it upon us, and clothes us with it, and enables us to lay hold upon it, and claim interest in it; and which may be meant by Christ being "called our righteousness"; for the meaning is, not that he should commonly go by this name; but only that he should be that unto us which it signifies; and that we should by faith, even every true Israelite, every believer, call him our righteousness; say that we have righteousness in him make mention of that continually, and express our desires to be found atone in it; for so the words may be rendered, "and this is the name whereby he shall call him g, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"; and a sweet name to a sensible sinner it is; to one that has felt the guilt of sin in his conscience; seen his need of a righteousness, and the worth of it. That the Messiah is here meant is acknowledged by the Jews, ancient and modern h.

g וזה שמו אשר יקראו "hoc nomen ejus est quo vocabit eum Israel", Junius Tremellius "quo vocabit eum unusquique", Piscator. h T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 75. 2. Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 1. R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan vii. 13. R. Albo, Sepher Ikkarim, l. 2. c. 28. Abarbinel, Mashmiah Jeshuah. fol. 35. 2. Caphtor fol. 87. 1. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 75. 2. Kimchi in loc. & in Ezek. xlviii. 35. & Ben Melech in loc.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.   2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.   3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.   4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.   5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.   6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.   7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;   8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

      I. Here is a word of terror to the negligent shepherds. The day is at hand when God will reckon with them concerning the trust and charge committed to them: Woe be to the pastors (to the rulers, both in church and state) who should be to those they are set over as pastors to lead them, feed them, protect them, and take care of them. They are not owners of the sheep. God here calls them the sheep of my pasture, whom I am interested in, and have provided good pasture for. Woe be to those therefore who are commanded to feed God's people, and pretend to do it, but who, instead of that, scatter the flock, and drive them away by their violence and oppression, and have not visited them, nor taken any care for their welfare, nor concerned themselves at all to do them good. In not visiting them, and doing their duty to them, they did in effect scatter them and drive them away. The beasts of prey scattered them, and the shepherds are in the fault, who should have kept them together. Woe be to them when God will visit upon them the evil of their doings and deal with them as they deserve. They would not visit the flock in a way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance.

      II. Here is a word of comfort to the neglected sheep. Though the under-shepherds take no care of them, no pains with them, but betray them, the chief Shepherd will look after them. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord taketh me up. Though the interests of God's church in the world are neglected by those who should take care of them, and postponed to their own private secular interests, yet they shall not therefore sink. God will perform his promise, though those he employs do not perform their duty.

      1. The dispersed Jews shall at length return to their own land, and be happily settled there under a good government, Jeremiah 23:3; Jeremiah 23:4. Though there be but a remnant of God's flock left, a little remnant, that has narrowly escaped destruction, he will gather that remnant, will find them out wherever they are and find out ways and means to bring them back out of all countries whither he had driven them. It was the justice of God, for the sin of their shepherds, that dispersed them; but the mercy of God shall gather in the sheep, when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off. They shall be brought to their former habitations, as sheep to their folds, and there they shall be fruitful, and increase in numbers. And, though their former shepherds took no care of them, it does not therefore follow that they shall have no more. If some have abused a sacred office, that is no good reason why it should be abolished. "They destroyed the sheep, but I will set shepherds over them who shall make it their business to feed them." Formerly they were continually exposed and disturbed with some alarm or other; but now they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; they shall be in no danger from without, in no fright from within. Formerly some or other of them were ever and anon picked up by the beasts of prey; but now none of them shall be lacking, none of them missing. Though the times may have been long bad with the church, it does not follow that they will be ever so. Such pastors as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, though they lived not in the pomp that Jehoiakim and Jeconiah did, nor made such a figure, were as great blessings to the people as the others were plagues to them. The church's peace is not bound up in the pomp of her rulers.

      2. Messiah the Prince, that great and good Shepherd of the sheep, shall in the latter days be raised up to bless his church, and to be the glory of his people Israel,Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 23:6. The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by that threatening against Jeconiah (Jeremiah 22:30; Jeremiah 22:30), that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David. But here is a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David notwithstanding; for by it the house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter far than it did in Solomon himself. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the prophet Isaiah; but here we have one, and a very illustrious one; of him doubtless the prophet here speaks, of him, and of no other man. The first words intimate that it would be long ere this promise should have its accomplishment: The days come, but they are not yet. I shall see him, but not now. But all the rest intimate that the accomplishment of it will be glorious. (1.) Christ is here spoken of as a branch from David, the man the branch (Zechariah 3:8), his appearance mean, his beginnings small, like those of a bud or sprout, and his rise seemingly out of the earth, but growing to be green, to be great, to be loaded with fruits. A branch from David's family, when it seemed to be a root in a dry ground, buried, and not likely to revive. Christ is the root and offspring of David,Revelation 22:16. In him doth the horn of David bud,Psalms 132:17; Psalms 132:18. He is a branch of God's raising up; he sanctified him, and sent him into the world, gave him his commission and qualifications. He is a righteous branch, for he is righteous himself, and through him many, even all that are his, are made righteous. As an advocate, he is Jesus Christ the righteous. (2.) He is here spoken of as his church's King. This branch shall be raised as high as the throne of his father David, and there he shall reign and prosper, not as the kings that now were of the house of David, who went backward in all their affairs. No; he shall set up a kingdom in the world that shall be victorious over all opposition. In the chariot of the everlasting gospel he shall go forth, he shall go on conquering and to conquer. If God raise him up, he will prosper him, for he will own the work of his own hands; what is the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in the hands of those to whom it is committed. He shall prosper; for he shall execute judgment and justice in the earth, all the world over, Psalms 96:13. The present kings of the house of David were unjust and oppressive, and therefore it is no wonder that they did not prosper. But Christ shall, by his gospel, break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and, as far as it prevails, make all the world righteous. The effect of this shall be a holy security and serenity of mind in all his faithful loyal subjects. In his days, under his dominion, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely; that is, all the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob shall be protected from the curse of heaven and the malice of hell, shall be privileged from the arrests of God's law and delivered from the attempts of Satan's power, shall be saved from sin, the guilt and dominion of it, and then shall dwell safely, and be quiet from the fear of all evil. See Luke 1:74; Luke 1:75. Those that shall be saved hereafter from the wrath to come may dwell safely now; for, if God be for us, who can be against us? In the days of Christ's government in the soul, when he is uppermost there, the soul dwells at ease. (3.) He is here spoken of as The Lord our righteousness. Observe, [1.] Who and what he is. As God, he is Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God, denoting his eternity and self-existence. As Mediator, he is our righteousness. By making satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man, he has brought in an everlasting righteousness, and so made it over to us in the covenant of grace that, upon our believing consent to that covenant, it becomes ours. His being Jehovah our righteousness implies that he is so our righteousness as no creature could be. He is a sovereign, all-sufficient, eternal righteousness. All our righteousness has its being from him, and by him it subsists, and we are made the righteousness of God in him. [2.] The profession and declaration of this: This is the name whereby he shall be called, not only he shall be so, but he shall be known to be so. God shall call him by this name, for he shall appoint him to be our righteousness. By this name Israel shall call him, every true believer shall call him, and call upon him. That is our righteousness by which, as an allowed plea, we are justified before God, acquitted from guilt, and accepted into favour; and nothing else have we to plead but this, "Christ has died, yea, rather has risen again;" and we have taken him for our Lord.

      3. This great salvation, which will come to the Jews in the latter days of their state, after their return out of Babylon, shall be so illustrious as far to outshine the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (Jeremiah 23:7; Jeremiah 23:8): They shall no more say, The Lord liveth that brought up Israel out of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth that brought them up out of the north. This we had before, Jeremiah 16:14; Jeremiah 16:15. But here it seems to point more plainly than it did there to the days of the Messiah, and to compare not so much the two deliverances themselves (giving the preference to the latter) as the two states to which the church by degrees grew after those deliverances. Observe the proportion: Just 480 years after they had come out of Egypt Solomon's temple was built (1 Kings 6:1); and at that time that nation, which was so wonderfully brought up out of Egypt, had gradually arrived to its height, to its zenith. Just 490 years (70 weeks) after they came out of Babylon Messiah the Prince set up the gospel temple, which was the greatest glory of that nation that was so wonderfully brought out of Babylon; see Daniel 9:24; Daniel 9:25. Now the spiritual glory of the second part of that nation, especially as transferred to the gospel church, is much more admirable and illustrious than all the temporal glory of the first part of it in the days of Solomon; for that was no glory compared with the glory which excelleth.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Lord Our Righteousness

June 2nd, 1861 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

"This is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6 .

Man by the fall sustained an infinite loss in the matter of righteousness. He suffered the loss of a righteous nature, and then a two-fold loss of legal righteousness in the sight of God. Man sinned; he was therefore no longer innocent of transgression. Man did not keep the command; he therefore was guilty of the sin of omission. In that which he committed, and in that which he omitted, his original character for uprightness was completely wrecked. Jesus Christ came to undo the mischief of the fall for his people. So far as their sin concerned their breach of the command, that he has removed by his precious blood. His agony and bloody sweat have for ever taken away the consequences of sin from believers, seeing Christ did by his one sacrifice bear the penalty of that sin in his flesh. He, his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree. Still it is not enough for a man to be pardoned. He, of course, is then in the eye of God without sin. But it was required of man that he should actually keep the command. It was not enough that he did not break it, or that he is regarded through the blood as though he did not break it. He must keep it, he must continue in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. How is this necessity supplied? Man must have a righteousness, or God cannot accept him. Man must have a perfect obedience, or else God cannot reward him. Should He give heaven to a soul that has not perfectly kept the law; that were to give the reward where the service is not done, and that before God would be an act which might impeach his justice. Where, then, is the righteousness with which the pardoned man shall be completely covered, so that God can regard him as having kept the law, and reward him for so doing? Surely, my brethren, none of you are so besotted as to think that this righteousness can be wrought out by yourselves. You must despair of ever being able to keep the law perfectly. Each day you sin. Since you have passed from death unto life, the old Adam still struggles for dominion within you. And by the force of the lusts of the flesh you are brought into captivity to the law of sin which is in your members. The good you would do, you do not, and the evil you would not, that you too often do. Some have thought the works of the Holy Spirit in us would give us a righteousness in which we might stand. I am sure, my brethren, we would not say a word derogatory to the cork of the Holy Spirit. It is divine. But we hold it to be a great cardinal point in divinity that the work of the Spirit never meant to supplant the merits of the Son. We could not depreciate the Lord Jesus Christ in order to exalt the office of the Holy Spirit of God. We know that each particular branch of the divine salvation which was espoused by the persons of the Trinity has been carried out by each one to perfection. Now as we are accepted in the Beloved, it must be by a something that the Beloved did; as we are justified in Christ it must be by a something not that the Spirit has done, but which Christ has done. We must believe, then, for there is no other alternative that the righteousness in which we must be clothed, and through which we must be accepted, and by which we are made meet to inherit eternal life, can be no other than the work of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, assert, believing that Scripture fully warrants us, that the life of Christ constitutes the righteousness in which his people are to be clothed. His death washed away their sins, his life covered them from head to foot; his death the sneaky to God, his life was the gift to man, by which man satisfies the demands of the law. Herein the law is honored and the soul is accepted. I find that many young Christians who are very clear about being saved by the merits of Christ's death, do not seem to understand the merits of his life. Remember, young believers, that from the first moment when Christ did lie in the cradle until the time when he ascended up on high, he was at work for his people; and from the moment when he was seen in Mary's arms, till the instant when in the arms of death he "bowed his head and gave up the ghost," he was at work for your salvation and mine. He completed the work of obedience in his life, and said to his Father, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Then he completed the work of atonement in his death, and knowing that all things were accomplished, he cried, "It is finished." He was through his life spinning the web for making the royal garment, and in his death he dipped that garment in his blood. In his life he was gathering together the precious gold, in his death he hammered it out to make for us a garment which is of wrought gold. You have as much to thank Christ for loving as for dying, and you should be as reverently and devoutly grateful for his spotless life as for his terrible and fearful death. The text speaking of Christ, the son of David, the branch out of the root of Jesse, styles him THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Having introduced the doctrine of imputed righteousness, I proofed to map out my subject. First, by way of affirmation; we say of the text it is so Christ is the Lord or righteousness; secondly, I shall exhort you to do him homage; let us call him so: for this is the name whereby he shall be called; and thirdly, I shall appeal to your gratitude; let us wonder at the reigning grace, which has caused us to fulfill the promise, for have been sweetly compelled to call him the Lord our righteousness. First, then, He is so. Jesus Christ is the Lord our righteousness. There are but three words, "JEHOVAH" for so it is in the original, "OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' He is Jehovah. Read that verse, and you will clearly perceive that the Messias of the Jews, Jesus of Nazareth the Savior of the Gentiles, is certainly Jehovah. He hath the incommunicable title of the Most High God. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Oh, ye Arians and Socinians, who monstrously deny the Lord who bought you and put him to open shame by denying his divinity, read you that verse and let your blasphemous tongues be silent, and let your obdurate hearts melt in penitence because ye have so foully sinned against him. He is Jehovah, or, mark you, the whole of God's word is false, and there is no noun for a sinner's hope. We know, and this day we testify in his name, that the very Christ who did lie in the manger as an infant was infinite even then; that he who cried, cried for very pain as a child, was nevertheless saluted at that very moment as God by the songs of the creatures that his hands had made. He who walked in pain over the flinty acres of Palestine, was at the same time possessor of heaven and earth. He who had not where to lay his head, and was despised and rejected of men, was at the same instant God over all, blessed for evermore. He that sweat great drops of blood did bear the earth upon his shoulders. He who was flagellated in Pilate's hall was adored by spirits of the just made perfect. He who did hang upon the tree had the oration hanging upon him. He who died on the cross was the ever living, the everlasting One. As a man he died, as God he lives. As Mary's son he bled, as the son of the Eternal God he had the sway and the dominion over all the world. In nature Christ proves himself to be universal God. Without him was not anything made that was made. By him all things consist. Who less than God could make the heavens and the earth? Bow before him, bow before him, for he made you, and should not the creatures acknowledge their Creator? Providence attests his Godhead. He upholdeth all things by the word of his power Creatures that are animate have their breath from his nostrils; inanimate creatures that are strong and mighty stand only by his strength. He can say concerning the earth, "I bear the pillars thereof." In the deep foundations of the sea his power is felt, and in the towering arches of the starry heavens his might is recognized to the full. And as for Grace, we claim for Christ that he is Jehovah in the great kingdom of his grace. Who less than God could have carried your sins and mine and cast them all away? Who less than God could have interposed to deliver us from the jaws of hell's lions, and bring us up from the pit, having found a ransom? On whom less than God could we rely to keep us from the innumerable temptations that beset us? How can he be less than God, when he says, "Lo, I am with you always, unto the end of the world?" How could he be omnipresent if he were not God! How could he hear our prayers, the prayers of millions, scattered through the leagues of earth, and attend to them all, and give acceptance to all, if he were not infinite in understanding and infinite in merit? How were this if he were less than God? Let Atheists scoff, let Deists sneer, let the vain Socinian boast, let the Arian lift up his puny voice, but we will glory in this fact, that he that bought us with his blood is Jehovah very God of very God. At his footstool we bow and pay him the very homage that we pay to his Father and to the Spirit.

"Blessings more than we can give, Be Lord for ever thine."

But the text speaks about righteousness too "Jehovah our righteousness." And he is so. Christ in his life was so righteous, that we may say of the life, taken as a vehicle, that it is righteousness itself. Christ is the law incarnate Understand me. He lived out the law of God to the very full, and while you see God's precepts written in fire on Sinai's brow, you see them written in flesh in the person of Christ.

"My dear Redeemer and my Lord, I read my duty in thy word, But in thy life the law appears Drawn out in living characters."

He never offended against the commands of the Just One. From his eye there never flashed the fire of unhallowed anger. On his lip there did never hang the unjust of licentious word. His heart was never stirred by the breath of sin or the taint of iniquity. In the secret of his reins no fault was hidden. In his understanding was no defect; in his judgment no error. In his miracles there was no ostentation. In him there was indeed no guile. His powers being ruled by his understanding, all of them acted and co-acted to perfection's very self, so that never was there any flaw of omission or stain of commission. The law consists in this first, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." He did so. It was his meat and his drink to do the will of him that sent him. Never man spent himself as he did. Hunger and thirst and nakedness were nothing to him, nor death itself if he might so be baptised with the baptism wherewith he must be baptized, and drink the cup which his Father had set before him. The law consists also in this, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In all he did, and in all he suffered he more than fulfilled the precept, for "he saved others himself he could not save." He exhausted the utmost resources of love in the deep devotion and self-sacrifice of loving. He loved man better than his own life. He would sooner be spit upon than that man should be cast into the flames of hell and sooner yield up the ghost in agonies that cannot be described than that the souls his Father gave him should be cast away. He carried out the law, then, I say to the very letter he spelt out its mystic syllables, and verily he magnified it, and made it honorable. He loved the Lord his God, with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and he loved his neighbors as himself. Jesus Christ was righteousness impersonated. "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" he might well say. One thousand eight hundred years have passed since then, and blasphemy itself has not been able to charge him with a fault. Strange as it may appear, the most perverted judges have nevertheless acknowledged the awful dignity of his character. They have railed at his miracles; they have denied his Godhead; but his righteous character I know not that they have dared to impugn. They have hatched jokes about his generation; they have made his poverty a jest, and his death has been the theme of ribald song; but his life has staggered even the most unbelieving, and made the careless wonder how such a character could have been conceived even if it be a fiction, and much more, how it could have been executed if it be a fact. No one that I know of has dared to charge Christ with unrighteousness to man, or with a want of devotedness to God. See then, it is so. We do not stay to prove his righteousness any more than we did to prove his Godhead. The day is coming when men shall acknowledge him to be Jehovah, and when looking upon all his life while he was incarnate here, they shall be compelled to say that his life was righteousness itself. The pith, however, of the title, lies in the little word "our," "Jehovah our righteousness." This is the grappling iron with which we get a hold on him this is the anchor which dives into the bottom of this great deep of his immaculate righteousness. This is the saved rivet by which our souls are joined to him. This is the blessed hand with which our soul toucheth him, and he becometh to us all in all, "Jehovah our Righteousness" You will now observe that there is a most precious doctrine unfolded in this title of our Lord and Savior. I think we may take it thus: When we believe in Christ, by faith we receive our justification. As the merit of his blood takes away our sin, so the merit of his obedience is imputed to us for righteousness. We are considered, as soon as we believe, as though the works of Christ here our works. God looks upon us as though that perfect obedience, of which I have just now spoken, had been performed by ourselves, as though our hands had been bony at the loom, an though the fabric and the stuff which have been worked up into the fine linen, which is the righteousness of the saints, had been grown in our own fields. God considers us as though we were Christ looks upon us as though his life had been our life and accepts, blesses, and rewards us as though all that he did had been done by us, his believing people. Accordingly, if you will turn to the thirty-third chapter of this same prophet Jeremiah, and look at the sixteenth verse, you will see it written, "This is the name wherewith she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness." I know that Socinus in his day used to call this an execrable, detectable, and licentious doctrine: probably it was, because he was an execrable, detectable, and licentious man. Many men use their own names when they are applying names to other persons; they are so well acquainted with their own characters, and so suspicious of themselves, that they think it best, before another can express the suspicion, to attach the very same accusation to someone else. Now we hold, you know, that this doctrine is not execrable, but most delightful, that it is not abominable, but Godlike, that it is not licentious, but holy: and let others say what they will of it, we will repeat the praise which we have been singing,

"Jesus, thy perfect righteousness My beauty is, my glorious dress;"

and we will day when all things shall be tried by fire, for we feel confident that

"Bold shall we stand in that great day, For who aught to our charge shall lay,"

when we are clothed with the righteousness divine? Imputation, so far from being an exceptional case with regard to the righteousness of Christ, lies at the very bottom of the entire teaching of Scripture. How did we fall, my brethren? We fell by the imputation of Adam's sin to us. Adam was our federal head; he represented us; and when he sinned, we sinned representatively in him, and what he did was imputed to us. You say that you never agreed to the imputation. Nay, but I would not have you say thus, for as by representation we fell, it is by the representative system that we rise. The angels fell personally and individually, and they never rise, but we fell in another, and we have therefore the power given by divine grace to rise in another. The root of the fall is found in the federal relationship of Adam to his seed; thus we fell by imputation. Is it any wonder that we should rise by imputation? Deny this doctrine, and I ask you How are men pardoned at all? Are they not pardoned because satisfaction has been offered for sin by Christ? Very well then, but that satisfaction must be imputed to them, or else how is God just in giving to them the results of the death of another, unless that death of the other be fire? of all imputed to them? When we say that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to an believing souls, we do not hold forth an exceptional theory, but we expound a grand truth, which is so consistent with the theory of the fall and the plan of pardon, that it must be maintained in order to make the gospel clear. I think it was this doctrine which Martin Luther called the article of standing or falling of the Church. I find a passage in his works which seems to me to refer to this doctrine rather than to justification by faith. He ought certainly to have said, "Justification by faith is the doctrine of standing or falling of the Church." But in Luther's mind, imputed righteousness we, so interwoven with justification by faith, that he could not see any distinction between the two. And I must confess, in trying to observe a difference, I do not see much. I must give up justification by faith if I give up imputed righteousness. True justification by faith is the surface soil, but then imputed righteousness is the granite rock which lies underneath it; and if you dig down through the great truth of a sinners being justified by faith in Christ, you must, as I believe, inevitably come to the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ as the basis and foundation on which that simple doctrine rests. And now let us stop a moment and think over this whole title "The Lord our righteousness." Brethren, the Law-giver has himself obeyed the law Do you not think that his obedience will be sufficient? Jehovah has himself become man that so he may do man's work: think you that he has done it imperfectly? Jehovah he who girds the angels that excel in strength has taken upon him the form of a servant that he may become obedient: think you that his service will be incomplete? Let the fact that the Savior is Jehovah strengthen your confidence. Be ye bold. Be ye very courageous. Face heaven, and earth, and hell with the challenge of the apostle. "Who shall say anything to the charge of God's elect? "Look back upon your past sins, look upon your present infirmities, and all your future errors, and while you weep the tears of repentance, let no fear of damnation blanch your cheek. You stand before God to-day robed in your Savior's garments, "with his spotless vestments on, holy as the Holy One." Not Adam when he walked in Eden's bowers was more accepted than you are, not more pleasing to the eye of the all-judging, the sin-hating God than you are if clothed in Jesus' righteousness and sprinkled with his blood. You have a better righteousness than Adam had. He had a human righteousness; your garments are divine. He had a robe complete, it is true, but the earth had woven it. You have a garment as complete, but heaven has made it for you to wear. Go up and down in the strength of this great truth and boast exceedingly, and glory in your God; and let this be on the top and summit of your heart and soul: "Jehovah, the Lord our righteousness." You will remember that in Scripture, Christ's righteousness is compared to fair white linen; then I am, if I wear it, without spot. It is compared to wrought gold; then I am, if I wear it, dignified and beautiful, and worthy to sit at the wedding feast of the King of kings. It is compared, in the parable of the prodigal son, to the best robe; then I wear a better robe than angels have, full they have not the best; but I, poor prodigal, once clothed in rage, companion to the nobility of the stye, I, fresh from the husks that swine do eat, am nevertheless clothed in the best robe, and am so accepted in the Beloved. Moreover, it is also everlasting righteousness. Oh! this is, perhaps, the fairest point of it that the robe be shall never be worn out; no thread of it shall ever give way. It shall never hang in tatters upon the sinner's back. He shall live, and even though it were a Methusaleh's life, the robe shall be as if it were woven yesterday. He shall pass through the stream of death, and the black stream shall not foul it. He shall climb the hills of heaven, and the angels shall wonder what this whiteness is which the sinner wears, and think that some new star is coming up from earth to thine in heaven. He shall wear it among principalities and powers, and find himself no whit inferior to them all. Cherubic garments and seraphic mantles shall not be so lordly so priestly, so divine, as this robe of righteousness this everlasting perfection which Christ has wrought out, and brought in and given to all his people. Glory unto thee, O Jesus, glory unto thee! Unto thee be hallels for ever; Hallelu jah! Thou art you "Jehovah, the Lord our righteousness." II. Having thus expounded and vindicated this title of our Savior, I would now APPEAL TO YOUR FAITH. Let us call him so. "This is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness." Let us call him by this great name, which the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath named. Let us call him poor sinners! even we, who are today smitten down with grief on account of sin. I want this text to be fulfilled in your ears and in your case to-day. You are guilty. Your own conscience acknowledges that the law condemns you, and you dread the penalty. Soul! he that trusteth Christ Jesus is saved, and he that believeth on him is not condemned. To every trustful spirit Christ is "the Lord our righteousness." Call him so, I pray thee. "I have no good thing of my own," sayest thou? Here is every good thing in him. "I have broken the law," sayest thou? There is his blood for thee. Believe in him, he will wash thee. "But then I have not kept the law. "There is his keeping of the law for thee. Take it, sinner, take it. Believe on him. "Oh, but I dare not," saith one. Do him the honor to dare it. "Oh, but it seems impossible." Honour him by believing the impossibility then. "Oh, but how can he save such a wretch as I am?" Soul! Christ is glorified in saving wretches. As I told you the other day, Christ cures incurable sinners; so I say now he accepts unacceptable sinners. He receives sinners that think they are not fit to be received. Only do thou trust him and say, "He shall be my righteousness to-day." "But suppose I should do it and be presumptuous? It is impossible. He bids you, he commands you. Let that be your warrant. "This is the commandment, that ye believe on Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." If you cannot say it with a loud voice, yet with the trembling silence of your soul let heaven hear it. Yes, Jesus, "All unholy and unclean, I am nothing else but sin, yet I dare with fervent venture of these quivering lips to call thee, and to call upon thee now, as the Lord my righteousness." And you who have passed from a state of trembling hope into that of lively faith, I beseech you call him so. Let your faith say, as you see him suffering, bleeding, dying, "Thus my sins were washed away." But let not your faith stay there. As you see him sweating, toiling, living a self-denying laborious life, say, "Thus the law was kept for me." Come up to the foot of Sinai now, and if you see its lightnings flash, and hear its thunders roar, be brave, and say like Moses, "I will ascend above those thunders, I will stand enwrapped within the storm-cloud, and I will talk with God, for I have no cause for fear, there are no thunderbolts for me; for me no lightning flash can spend its arrow, I am perfectly, completely justified in the sight of God, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ." Say that, child of God! Does yesterday's sin make thee stammer? In the teeth of all thy sins believe that he is thy righteousness still. Thy good works do not improve his righteousness; thy bad works do not sully it. This is a robe which thy best deeds cannot mend and thy worst deeds cannot mar. Thou standest in him, not in thyself. Whatever, then, thy doubts and fears may have been, do now, poor troubled, distressed, distracted believer, say again, "Yes, he is the Lord my righteousness." And some of us can say it yet better than that: for we can say it not merely by faith, but by fruition. We remember well the day when we first called him "the Lord our righteousness." Oh, the peace it brought, the joy, the gladness, the transport! Since then we have proved it to he true, for we have had privileges we could not have had if he had not been our righteousness. We have had the privilege of reconciliation with God; and He could not be reconciled to one that had not a perfect righteousness, we have had access with boldness to God himself, and He would never have suffered us to have access if we had not worn our brother's garments. We have had adoption into the family, and the Spirit of adoption, and God could not have adopted into his family any but righteous ones. How should the righteous Father be God of an unrighteous family? Our prayers have been heard, and we have had gracious answers, and that could not have been for he could not heal the prayer of the wicked; he could not have heard us if it had not been that he seemed to hear Christ crying through us, and to have seen Christ's merits in us. And therefore granted the desire of our hearts. We have had in daily rich and sweet experience such manifestations of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, that to us it is a matter of fact as well as a matter of faith, a matter of praise as well as a matter of profession, that Jesus Christ is "the Lord our righteousness." Brethren, your divinity must be experimental or it will not profit you. I would not give a straw for your theology if you learned it merely out of a pollee, or out of a system of man's teaching. No, no, we must prove these things to be true in our lives. I can say it, and I must say it the testimony is not egotistical I know there is a comfort in the faith of Christ's imputed righteousness which no other doctrine can yield. There is something that a man can sleep on and wake on, can live on and die on, in the firm conviction that he is received by God as though the deeds of Christ were his deeds, and the righteousness of Christ his righteousness. Take away his filthy garments from him, set a fair mitre on his head, array him in fine linen. O, Joshua, priest of the Most High, thou man greatly beloved, come thou forth now in thy garments and offer acceptable sacrifice, seeing, thou wearest the garments of Jesus, our great High Priest." Let us, then, call upon his name and extol him in our worship as "the Lord our righteousness." And now let the whole universal Church of Christ, in one glad song, call Jesus Christ the Lord their righteousness. Wake up, ye isles of the sea; shout, thou wilderness that Kedar doth inhabit; ye people of God, scattered and peeled, banished among the heathen, vexed with the filthy conversation of the idolaters, from your huts, from the destitute places that ye inhabit, sing, "The Lord our righteousness!" Let no heir of heaven be silent at this hour; let every soul be stirred. Though tempest-tossed and half a wreck, yet, mariner in Christ, say, "Thou art the Lord my righteousness." Though cast down into the deep dungeon, thou despairing soul, yet say, "The Lord my righteousness." Let no one of the entire believing family keel; back his song but together let us sing, "The Lord our righteousness." And you, ye spirits that walk in white, ye glorious ones that "day without night circle his throne rejoicing," ye saints that ere his day beheld him, and died, not having received the promise, but having beheld it afar off, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and Samuel, and Jephthah, and David, and Solomon, and all the mighty host, sing ye, sing ye, sing ye unto him to-day; and let this be the summit of your song, "The Lord our righteousness." Our spirit bows before him now. Sweet fellowship beyond the stream! Me clasp our hands with those that went before; and while the cherubim can only say, "Holy, holy, holy; he is righteous," we lift up a higher note, and say, "yes, thrice holy, but the Lord our righteousness is he." Let none, then, of all his saints in heaven and in earth, refuse to call him "the Lord our righteousness" III. I now conclude, in the third place, by appealing to your GRATITUDE. Let us admire that wonderful and reigning grace which has led you and me to call him, "The Lord our righteousness." When I look back some ten or twelve years upon a foolish boy, who cared little for the things of God, who was burdened with an awful sense of sin, and thought that he never could be pardoned clad so often driven to the borders of despair that he was fain to make away with his own life, because he thought there was no happiness on earth for him I can only say for my own self. O the riches of the grace of God in Christ, that ever I should stand not only conscious that he is the Lord my righteousness, but to preach him to you! O God, thou hast done wonderful things! Thou saidst by the mouth of Jeremy, "This is the name whereby he shall be called." I call him so this day from my inmost soul. Jesus of Nazareth! suffering man! glorious God! thou art the Lord my righteousness! If I were to pass this question round these galleries, and down below oh, what hundreds of responses would there be from such as joyously obey the summons of gratitude! And among those about to be added to the Church (I am sure they would permit me to tell, for the honor of the glorious grace of God), there are very many who are special instances of that grace which has sweetly constrained them to call Christ their righteousness. Some of them, according to their own concession before us at the Church meeting, were not only revelling in drunkenness, one until he had well nigh drank away his reason by thirty years of habitual intoxication; but others of them were unclean and unchaste, till they had rioted in debauchery, and gone to the utmost lengths of crime. There be many in this place to-day, who would not, though they would blush for the past, refuse to tell, to the honor of redeeming grace, that once they had committed every crime in the catalogue except murder; and if they have not committed that, it was nothing but the sovereign grace of God that restrained them. Some members of this Church have sinned in every part of the world have sinned in every quarter of the globe have committed every form of lust and vice and if you had asked them ten years ago whether they should ever be in a place of worship, they would have repelled with an oath what they would have thought an insult, and would have cursed you for supposing that they should so degrade themselves as to profess the faith of Christ. Brothers and sisters, I should not be surprised if you were to stand up now and say, "Yes, still Jehovah Jesus is the Lord our righteousness." Oh!

"Wonders of grace to God belong; Repeat his mercies in your song."

Who would have thought that the lip of the blasphemer should fulfill that very prophecy that the tongue that could scarce move without an oath should, nevertheless, glorify Christ, that the heart that was black with accumulated lust, the mouth which must have become a very sepulcher, breathing forth deadly miasma, has now become a place for song, and the heart a house for music, while heart and tongue say, "Yes, he is the Lord my righteousness this very day!" It would be a wonder if God should vow that the devils should yet sing his praise; but I do not think it would be a greater wonder than when he makes some of us sing his glorious praise. Brethren, you and I know that there is nothing in freewill doctrine; for in our case, at any rate, it was not true. Left to ourselves, where should we have been? What could Arminianism have done for us? Oh, no! it was irresistible grace that brought us to call him "the Lord our righteousness." It was that divine shall that broke in pieces our will. It was that strong arm that broke the iron sinew of our proud neck, and made us bow, even us, who would not have this man to reign over as. It was his finger that opened the blind eye; for once we could see now beauty in him. It was his breath that thawed our icy heart; for once we felt no love to him;

"But now, subdued by sovereign grace, Our spirit longs for his embrace; Our beauty this our glorious dress, Jesus the Lord our righteousness."

And this shall be our glory here, and our song forever "The Lord our righteousness."