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

it were an hard lesson to be bound in conscience to do that, which we could not satisfy our consciences in doing: it were wildness for any man to imagine that God should command us to love that which is not lovely, or to mourn for that which is not matter of sorrow, or to rejoice in that which is not matter of joy: so it is to think that God should require us to trust in that which is not a ground of confidence: that would be very hard for God to bind us to put our confidence in that which we could not put our confidence in, except we were out of our wits: if it were not safe to trust in Christs righteousness, what could induce us to do it, except we were under a delusion: it is against nature for man to put confidence in any thing but under this notion, that there is ground of confidence in it: what persuasions can prevail to make men rest on that, which they could not safely rest upon: the Lord is a righteous God, and gives no such unequal command, all his commands are righteous, he requires but what is equal, Psal. 119:138. 3. If God commands us to believe on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, then we must do it upon pain of damnation, if we fail thereof: every sin does by Law deserve death: and the continuance in the neglect of any known command does unavoidably bring death and ruin, and so the neglect of this command, John 3.18. He that believeth not is condemned already, because be hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God: certainly then it must be a safe thing to believe on Jesus Christ: if there be no safety in believing, there is no reason that we should be punished for not believing: if there be no safety in believing in Christ, then ⟨p. 110⟩it is madness to believe in Christ, and will God punish us for not acting the part of mad men: it were an unreasonable thing for a man to believe in Christ if it were not safe so to do; and therefore unreasonable that he should be punished for not doing of it: will God damn man for not building their hopes for Heaven upon the sand? will God cast a man into Hell, because be will not embrace a delusion, and put his confidence in a broken Reed? the Lord is a righteous God, and would never punish men for not believing if they had not abundant encouragement to believe: the command of this holy God gives us great security in believing,