elation to us, cannot please God. It must
be spotted before his pure eyes; but only it is accepted and clean, as it
is Christ's and the Spirit's, as it is his own garment put upon us, and
his own comeliness making us perfect. It is not so much the inherent
cleanness of the Saints' robes that maketh them beautiful in his eyes, as
this, that they are washed in the blood of the Lamb, Rev. vii. 14.

Now, from all this we would speak a word to two sorts of you. _First_,
There is one great point of religion that is the principal and foundation
of all other, even free justification by faith in Jesus, without our own
righteousness; and the most part stumble here in the entry. It is the
greatest obstruction of souls coming to Christ Jesus, even the ignorant
and blind conceit and fancy that almost every man hath of himself and his
own performances; the world will not make many believe the half of the
evil of themselves that is spoken in the word. If you have a general
conviction of sinfulness and misery, yet you think to help it. If you sin,
you use to make amends, run to your prayers and repentance to give God a
recompence, and satisfy your own consciences. Speak now, is not this the
way you think to be saved? I shall do what I can, pray and mourn for sin;
and what I am not able to do, God must forgive; you will do all you are
able or can, and God's mercy must come in to supply the want of your
righteousness. But this is to put a new piece of cloth in an old garment,
to make the rent worse. Many of you have no other ground of confidence in
the world, nothing to answer the challenge of conscience or satisfy
justice, but this,--I repent, I am sorry, I mourn, I shall amend, I resolve
never to do the like again. Now, then, from this ground we would declare
unto you, in the Lord's name, you are yet unclean, both in persons and
actions unjustified, because you have no other covering but your own
duties and performances: and let these be examined, and weighed in the
balance of the sanctuary, and they will be found light. All your
righteousness, saith the Lord, is filthiness; you are unclean, you cannot
deny, both by birth and education,--you have often defiled yourselves with
sins, you must confess. Now, I ask you, How will you cover that
uncleanness and nakedness? How will you hide it from God's eyes and your
own consciences? You know no way but this,--I will pray, I will repent and
amend. So then you cover yourself with prayer, with so