A holy life, the beauty of Christianity, or, An exhortation to Christians to be…

3. This is clear also, for that the righteousness, by the which the best of Saints are justified in the sight of God, is a righteousness of another, not their own; the righteousness of another man, for that there is not any upon earth that doth good and sins not. And what need we pray, forgive us our trespasses, approach God in the perfections of another, and be bid to perfect holiness, if we had already attained, or were already ⟨p. 68⟩perfect, or were so departed from iniquity as we should?

3. This is clear also, for that the righteousness, by the which the best of Saints are justified in the sight of God, is a righteousness of another, not their own; the righteousness of another man, for that there is not any upon earth that doth good and sins not. And what need we pray, forgive us our trespasses, approach God in the perf•ctions of another, and be bid to perfect holiness, if we had already attained, or were already ⟨p. 68⟩perfect, or were so departed from iniquity as we should?

4. Ala•, the complaints of God concerning this matter doth sufficiently testify the truth of what I say. When God came to his people in Egypt, and bid them forsake the Idols of Egypt, they did not. But they rebelled against me, says he, and would not hearken unto me: they did not, every man, cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the Idols of Egypt. Well, He saved them out of Egypt, and brought them into the Wilderness, and said to them there, Obey my Laws and my Commandments; But the House of Israel rebelled against me in the Wilderness, they walked not in my Statutes, they despised my judgments. Well, then he had them from the Wilderness to Canaan, and then said to them,¹