Jehovah-tsidkenu—the Lord our Righteousness

‘This is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Jeremiah 23:6

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 61:1–11

In Scripture, Christ’s righteousness is compared with fair white linen; then I am, if I wear it, without spot. It is compared with 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, with the best robe; then I wear a better robe than angels have, for they have not the best; but I, poor prodigal, once clothed in rags, companion to the nobility of the pigsty—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. This is, perhaps, the fairest point of it—that the robe 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 Methuselah’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 shine 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 Jah—‘Jehovah, the Lord our Righteousness.’

For meditation: The robe of Christ’s righteousness which the Christian has received (Isaiah 61:10) is not only for show; it also serves as a vital piece of the Christian’s spiritual armour (Ephesians 6:14). To rely on our own righteousness is no better than fighting a battle armed in nothing but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Sermon no. 395
2 June (1861)