Of Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

1. Their clear and full conviction of the necessity of a Righteousness, wherewith to appear before God. This is always in their thoughts. This in their whole lives they take for granted. Many men spend their days in obstinacy and hardness, adding drunkenness unto thirst, never once enquiring what their condition shall be, when they enter into Eternity. Others trifle away their times and their souls, sowing the wind of empty hopes, and preparing to reap a whirlwind of wrath. But this lies at the bottom of all the Saints communion with Christ. A deep fixed, resolved persuasion, of an absolute and indispensable necessity of a Righteousness, wherewith to appear before God. The Holiness of Gods nature, the Righteousness of his Government, the severity of his Law, the Terror of his wrath, are always before them. They have been all convinced of sin, and have looked on themselves, as ready to sink under the vengeance due to it. They have all cried, Men and Brethren, what shall we do to be saved? Wherewith shall we appear before God? And have all concluded, that it is in vain to flatter themselves with hopes of escaping as they are by nature; if God be Holy, and Righteous, and of purer eyes then to ⟨p. 215⟩behold iniquity, they must have a Righteousness to stand before him: and they know what will be the cry one day, of those who now bear up themselves, as if they were otherwise minded, Isa. 53. 15. Mich. 7. 6, 7.

1. Their cleare and full conviction of the necessity of a Righteousnesse, wherewith to appeare before God. This is alwaies in their thoughts. This in their whole lives they take for granted. Many men spend their daies in obstinacy and hardnesse, adding drunkennesse unto thirst, never once enquiring what their condition shall be, when they enter into Eternity. Others trifle away their times and their soules, sowing the wind of empty hopes, and preparing to reap a whirlewind of wrath. But this lies at the bottome of all the Saints communion with Christ. A deep fixed, resolved perswasion, of an absolute and indispensable necessity of a Righteousnesse, wherewith to appeare before God. The Holinesse of Gods nature, the Righteousnesse of his Goverment, the severity of his Law, the Terrour of his wrath, are alwaies before them. They have been all convinced of sinne, and have looked on themselves, as ready to sink under the vengeance due to it. They have all cryed, Men and Brethren, what shall we doe to be saved? Wherewith shall we appeare before God? And have all concluded, that it is in vaine to flatter themselves with hopes of escaping as they are by nature; if God be Holy, and Righteous, and of purer eyes then to