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

This is clear For, 1. The act it self is very observable: when the soul comes at first to close with Christ, there is a weighty change wrought in it, it is a thing quite contrary to what he has been doing; he has been reasoning against it, making objections, standing out against all the pleadings of God with him, but now when he closes with Christ, he lets fall all his objections, and gives entertainment unto Christ, before he despised him, now he prizes him, before arguments did not sink into him, now they do, now he makes Christ well-come: this is exceeding remarkable, easy to be observed, this carriage of the soul is ⟨p. 134⟩set forth in Scripture, by opening to Christ, coming to him, marrying of him, is so contrary to his carriage immediately before, that it is of easy observation. 2. There is a great ability in conscience to take notice of the more secret stirrings of the heart: conscience has a wonderful quick eye: conscience is a curious observer of mens actions, Rom. 2.15. the conscience takes notice of the secret windings and turnings of the heart; the desires, the ends, the thoughts that pass through him, Heb. 4.12. by the help of the word, conscience makes discovery of the secret thoughts and intents of the heart: there is a wonderful sharp sightedness in conscience to discover the carriage of the heart. 3. Conscience at this time is more than ordinary exact in taking notice of the carriage of the heart: at other times Conscience will take notice of small things, but at this time Conscience does most carefully observe what is done; for Conscience is now in a blessed condition: it is a matter of life and death how he carries now under the call of the Gospel: Conscience takes more notice of this than of hundreds of other things; this is a thing that his salvation depends upon: Conscience has been pursuing of the sinner a great while, telling of him that if he would not close with Christ, he was undone, and must burn in hell for ever; he has been neglecting to hearken to conscience, and conscience has given him no rest; now when he comes to do the thing that conscience has been so long urging him unto; conscience will take special notice of that; conscience will watch like Benhadad's Servants, 1 King. 20 33. as a man would much observe it when he had completed a design