arment of glory. Glory is nothing but perfect holiness, holiness washen
and made clean in the Lamb's blood. Your rags are for the prison and for
sojourning; when you come to your Father's house, your raiment shall be
changed. Therefore, Christians, every one of you aspire higher. Sit not
down in attainments; forget what is behind, and press forward. Let perfect
holiness be in your eye and purpose, sit not behind it. All our
time-duties have much filthiness,--long for the pure stream that waters the
city above. Grace is not in its native place, it is corrupted and mixed
here: heaven is the own element of it, and there is grace without mixture.
Undervalue all your performances, till you be above, where that which is
in part shall be done away, where no unclean thing entereth.

_Fourthly_, This likewise holdeth out to you a continual necessity of
washing. You must take up house beside the fountain opened in the house of
David; and never look on any piece of inherent righteousness, but see a
necessity of dipping it in the Lamb's blood. And therefore should you pray
always in Christ's name, that the prayer which, of itself, would be cast
as dung on our face, may have a sweet savour from him. Cover your holiness
with Christ's righteousness, and make mention of it only.

Sermon XVII.

Isaiah lxiv. 6.--"And we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities,
like the wind, have taken us away."

Here they join the punishment with the deserving cause, their uncleanness
and their iniquities, and so take it upon them, and subscribe to the
righteousness of God's dealing.

We would say this much in general--_First_, Nobody needeth to quarrel God
for his dealing. He will always be justified when he is judged. If the
Lord deal more sharply with you than with others, you may judge there is a
difference between your condition and theirs, as well as in the Lord's
dispensation, even as this people do, ver. 5, 6. It is a strange saying,
Lam. iii. 33. The Lord "doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
children of men." That is, as we conceive, the Lord hath not such pleasure
in trampling on men, as he might do on the dust of his feet. Though he be
absolute sovereign Lord of the creature, and men be but as the dust of his
feet, and he may do with his own what he pleaseth, and none ask, what dost
thou? yet the Lord useth not to walk according to his own absoluteness,--he
hath another ordinary rule whereby he worketh, a rule of