A brief discourse of justification. Wherein this doctrine is plainly laid down according to…

3. When our best duties drive us to Christ for his Righteousness; those very things where in we give the clearest evidence to the world ⟨p. 149⟩of our being the Servants of God, yea and wherein we have the fullest witness in our own consciences to our sincerity, yet these tell us, and we •ead in and from them, that except Christ spread his skirt over us, and sprinkle our Sacrifices with the blood, they will condemn us; there are many who when their sins stare them in the face, and the apprehension of the wrath of God which is denounced against them, puts them into a fright, and they are afraid least vengeance should overtake them, are now driven with great amazement to call upon Christ, and implore his pardon; but if they can keep clear of notoriously scandalous and conscience wasting sins, they are little apprehensive of their need of the blood of sprinkling to be applied to them, and their duties: but when a man is truly broken off from his own Righteousness, his duties will drive him as fast to Christ, for the imputation of his Righteousness, as the other mans sins will do, so it was with Paul in our Text: and thus of the first direction:

2. If you would close in with Christ by such a Faith as shall indeed justify you, you must in it embrace and accept of whole Christ in all his Offices. If you would him to be your Righteousness, you must take him also to be ⟨p. 150⟩your Wisdom and your Sanctification: there are multitudes that make a great pretence to have closed in with Christ in his Priestly Office; they have been convinced of the breach of peace that hath been made between God and them, and the wrath that is out against them, which they are afraid of, and earnestly desirous that they may be delivered from it, and hereupon they would have him to be their atonement or reconciler to God, to satisfy the demands of Justice upon their accounts, and procure them pardon and peace with God, and are mightily taken with the notion they have entertained about him as such an one, and highly commend him for this great work of Redemption, in procuring a rescue from condemnation, and delivery from hell and eternal miseries which otherwise the sinful children of men must needs have undergone: and they would fain persuade themselves to rely upon this, and take him […] such a consideration, and finding something like a consent to it, which they take for faith, they are hereupon ready to think that it is theirs; and now they are delivered from their great fears, the bitterness of death is past, they have an High Priest who in entered into the Holy of Holies for them; and for all this, if these men