I also
saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my
righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my
righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself,
"the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."
Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed; I was loosed frorn my
afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from
that time those dreadful scriptures [Footnote: Numb. 15:30; Jer.
7:16; Heb. 10:31; 12:27.] of God left off to trouble me: now went I
also home rejoicing, for the grace and love of God. So when I came
home, I looked to see if I could find that sentence, "Thy
righteousness is in heaven," but could not find such a saying;
wherefore my heart began to sink again, only that was brought to my
remembrance, "He is made unto us of God wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption." By this word I saw the other
sentence true.
For by this scripture I saw that the man Christ Jesus, as he is
distinct from us as touching his bodily presence, so he is our
righteousness and sanctification before God. Here, therefore, I
lived for some time very sweetly at peace with God through Christ.
Oh, methought, Christ! Christ! there was nothing but Christ that was
before my eyes. I was now not only for looking upon this and the
other benefits of Christ apart, as of his blood; burial, or
resurrection, but considering him as a whole Christ--as he in whom
all these, and all his other virtues, relations, offices, and
operations met together, and that he sat on the right hand of God in
heaven.
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