The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ

1. They are guilty of innumerable transgressions: the sins of the Elect are beyond their account: they are more than the hairs of their heads, Psal. 40.12. sin is flowing from them as water from a fountain; their lives are filled with sin, besides the sin they committed in Adam, there is the sin of their nature, which is a standing provocation, which by its remaining in the soul, brings new guilt every minute; besides what it does by the influence that it has into actual transgressions: while they continue in their natural condition, all their moral actions are sins: besides those actions which for the matter of them are sinful, which are many; the rest are sinful for the manner, and after conversion there is sin in all their actions: there is abundance of iniquity, that every elect vessel that grows up to years is guilty of. 2. That every sin is a great wrong unto God, sin is an horrible injury unto God, sin is rebellious against ⟨p. 77⟩God: sinning is the casting off of the yoke of God, sinning is an insurrection of the soul against God, Luke 10.14. in sin there is also great contempt cast upon God, sin is a vilifying and slighting of God: men expose the name of God to scorn by sinning against him, Rom. 2.23. sin is also enmity against him, in all obedience there is love, in all disobedience there is hatred. Sinners strike at God when they sin, John 15.24. God is greatly wronged by all sin, and the sins of the people of God have many of them particular aggravations that do greatly increase the offence. 3. That every man is the proper cause of his own sir, and the guilt of it does properly belong to him, the carnal reason of man is casting in many objections from the decree of God, from the withdrawing of divine assistance; and from the corruption of nature; but the Scripture does allow none of those objections, but fastens the guilt of sin upon him that does transgress the Law, and hlames men for their iniquities: and men lay not weight on these cavils, so as to excuse others that are injurious unto them, and there is this reason for it, because men act voluntarily in their transgressions, they are not forced to sin but choose it.