An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

He doth not say, from this or that righteous man, but from the righteous, implying the whole kind or generation of the righteous. The indefinite is universal; we may render it thus; he withdraweth not his eyes from any that are righteous. The righteous here may be taken in a two-fold notion, First, for the righteous, as to their state, or who are in a state of righteousness. Man wanting a righteousness of his own, hath the righteousness of another assigned and imputed to him. Justified persons through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, are righteous persons, as hath been showed heretofore. Secondly, We may take righteous here, with respect to the righteousness of their ways and actions: They who do righteousness are righteous, saith the Apostle John. To a righteous state, there belongs a righteous way, a righteous walk, righteous acting; not that the righteous do not sin, but they would not, nor do they sin at all as the unrighteous. It is a high blemish or stain to the Gospel, when any that pretend to a righteous state, or to righteousness by Jesus Christ, are not righteous as to their ⟨p. 202⟩ways and course, as to their walkings and workings, whether towards God or man. 'Tis true, in a strict legal sense, none are righteous, no not one; but in a Gospel sense all justified and sanctified persons are righteous; and they are called so, not only positively as to what themselves are, but comparatively, as to what the men of the world are, who live in a state or walk in a course of sin and unrighteousness. The Lord withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous.

He doth not say, from this or that righteous man, but from the righteous, implying the whole kind or generation of the righteous. The indefinite is universal; we may render it thus; he withdraweth not his eyes from any that are righteous. The righteous here may be taken in a two-fold notion, First, for the righteous, as to their state, or who are in a state of righteousness. Man wanting a righteousness of his own, hath the righteousness of another assigned and imputed to him. Justified persons through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, are righteous persons, as hath been shewed heretofore. Secondly, We may take righteous here, with respect to the righteousness of their wayes and actions: They who do righteousness are righteous, saith the Apostle John. To a righteous state, there belongs a righteous way, a righteous walk, righteous acting; not that the righteous do not sin, but they would not, nor do they sin at all as the unrighteous. It is a high blemish or staine to the Gospel, when any that pretend to a righteous state, or to righteousness by Jesus Christ, are not righteous as to their