Jeremiah 33:16

33:14-26 To crown the blessings God has in store, here is a promise of the Messiah. He imparts righteousness to his church, for he is made of God to us righteousness; and believers are made the righteousness of God in him. Christ is our Lord God, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. But in this world prosperity and adversity succeed each other, as light and darkness, day and night. The covenant of priesthood shall be secured. And all true believers are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood, they offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God; themselves, in the first place, as living sacrifices. The promises of that covenant shall have full accomplishment in the gospel Israel. In Ga 6:16, all that walk according to the gospel rule, are made to be the Israel of God, on whom shall be peace and mercy. Let us not despise the families which were of old the chosen people of God, though for a time they seem to be cast off.

Judah signifies one that confesses or praises the Lord; such shall be saved from sin, Satan, the law, wrath, hell, and damnation, by the Branch of righteousness, the Messiah; who was raised up and sent to be a Saviour; came into the world for this purpose; has obtained salvation for his people; is the Captain and author of it; nor is it in any other; hence his name is called Jesus; and this salvation is to be had from him at all times; as in those days in which it was first wrought out, so throughout the whole Gospel dispensation: for "now is the day of salvation", 2 Corinthians 6:2 ; and indeed this is to be understood, not as exclusive of the Old Testament dispensation, when believers were saved by the same Lord Jesus as we are; only this is expressive of the impetration of this salvation by the incarnate Saviour; and of the more clear discovery and revelation of it; and of the application of it to a greater number of persons; and which is sure to all the spiritual seed of Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, who "shall be saved" with an everlasting salvation: it is not said they "may" be saved, but they "shall" be saved; not may be saved if they will; or, however, this is not left on such a precarious footing; but they are made willing to be saved by Christ in the day of his power, yea, they are already saved: and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; the inhabitants of it; such who are come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; these being saved by Chris

In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety: and this is the name by which {m} she shall be called, The LORD our {n} righteousness. (m) That is, Christ that will call his Church. (n) That is, Christ is our Lord God, our righteousness, sanctification and redemption, 1Co 1:30.

(16) This is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness. —It will be noticed that, while this reproduces the language of Jeremiah 23:6 , it does so with a remarkable difference. There the title, “The Lord our Righteousness,” is given to the future King, and the passage has accordingly been used as a proof of the full divinity of the Christ, who is that King. Here it is given to the city, and, so given, can only mean that that name will be, as it were, the motto and watchword of her being. She will be a city marked by a righteousness which will be the gift of Jehovah; He will inscribe that name on her banners, and. grave it on her portals. It is obvious that this throws light on the meaning of the title as applied to the King.

Compare the marginal reference. When the good word was spoken, the name Yahweh our Righteousness was given to the righteous Sprout: here it is given to Jerusalem, i. e., to the Church, because it is her business mediately to work on earth that righteousness which Christ works absolutely. Compare Ephesians 1:23 .

In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: it is the opinion of some that a spiritual salvation and security is promised under these expressions, but the most and best interpreters rather understand it of a temporal salvation as primarily intended, though typical of that spiritual and eternal salvation which is often promised to the true Israel of God; as their rest in Canaan typified that rest which remaineth for the people of God. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness: our translation of this phrase is something strange, the words in the Hebrew are hl adqy hx wgqa hwxy Pagnine translateth them, and he who shall call it the Lord our righteousness , supplying the verb substantive, is : He who shall call it is the Lord our righteousness . We translate it, this is the name wherewith it shall be called , &c.; that which causes the difficulty is, that the pronoun hz which signifieth he, is applied both to persons and things, and translated he or it, and the relative dva is of all cases, so may be translated who, or which, or with which; those words which our translators have supplied, is the name, are not in the Hebrew. This hath made a great doubt amongst interpreters, whether The Lord our righteousness be the name of Christ, or the name of the city. I do incline to their opinion who think that it is here mentioned as the name of Christ.

In that sense there is nothing to be understood but the verb substantive, is, which is ordinarily understood; so the words are thus, and he who shall call it, is, the Lord our righteousness . The context seemeth to favour this, Christ being that Ruler mentioned Jeremiah 33:15 , as he who shall execute justice and judgment in the land ; besides that, there is no such name any where given, either to the Jewish or Christian church, as the Lord our righteousness , but the full import of that name is spoken of Christ, Isaiah 45:23 , which text is applied to Christ, Romans 14:11 Philippians 2:10 ; he is called the just King, Zechariah 9:9 , and our righteousness, 1 Corinthians 1:30 .

16. Jerusalem—In Jer 23:6, instead of this, it is "Israel." "The name" in the Hebrew has here to be supplied from that passage; and for "he" (Messiah, the antitypical "Israel"), the antecedent there (Isa 49:3), we have "she" here, that is, Jerusalem. She is called by the same name as Messiah, "The Lord Our Righteousness," by virtue of the mystical oneness between her (as the literal representative of the spiritual Church) and her Lord and Husband. Thus, whatever belongs to the Head belongs also to the members (Eph 5:30, 32). Hence, the Church is called "Christ" (Ro 16:7; 1Co 12:12). The Church hereby professes to draw all her righteousness from Christ (Isa 45:24, 25). It is for the sake of Jerusalem, literal and spiritual, that God the Father gives this name (Jehovah, Tsidkenu, "The Lord our Righteousness") to Christ.