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

The improvement we shall make of this truth, is, first to reprove those that are seeking acceptance with God and salvation by their own righteousness: that neglecting the righteousness of Christ; are seeking the favour of God by their own works; this was the very spirit of the Jewish Nation in those declining times, wherein Christ Jesus was upon the earth: and this is one great part of the apostasy of the Antichristian Church, that they teach Justification by works: but besides these, it is the ordinary practice of such whose consciences are awakened and terrified, first to seek their peace, and work out ⟨p. 160⟩their reconciliation by their own righteousness: when once the sinner is stung with the guilt of sin, and under the awful apprehensions of Gods wrath, the first way that presents it self for his relief, is the reformation of his sins, and diligent applying himself unto the duties of Religion: and they are travelling this way after peace, sometimes many years, with a neglect of Christ: men ought indeed to seek their peace with reformation, but not by their reformations: but men are mightily wedded to this way of seeking salvation by their own duties: this is one of those things that make the work of conversion so exceeding difficult: it is a difficult thing to bring men to be earnestly seeking salvation, and when they are brought unto that, it is very difficult to bring them to seek it in the right way, they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law,