Fifthly, Chriſt is a ſpotleſs garment, there is not ſo much as a ſpark or ſpot in this garment; and therefore it is, that the Saints are ſaid in Scripture to be cloathed in white robes, Rev. 6.11. and that he offered himſelf without ſpot to God, Heb 9.14. and the Saints are ſaid to be cloathed in fine linnen, white and clean, Rev. 19.14.

And as Chriſt is ſpotleſs himſelf, ſo he takes away all ſpots and defilements from his people, they are waſhed in his blood, and therefore are ſaid to be clean by Chritſt himſelf, John 13.10. John 15.3. and therefore he is called the Lamb of God that taketh away the ſins of the world, John 1.29. It was onely a ſinleſs Saviour that could ſatisfie for, and take away the ſins of ſinful men.

If Chriſt had not been without ſpots himſelf, he could never have taken away our ſpots: he that was manifeſt, ſaith St. John, to take away our ſin, in him was no ſin, 1 John 3.5 Chriſt hath ſuffered for us, ſaith St. Peter, 1 Pet. 2.21, 22. who did no ſinne, neither was guile found in his mouth; it is onely the blood of Chriſt that waſhes, and needs no waſhing: if he had not been without ſin, he could not have ſaved us from our ſins; nay, he himſelf then had ſtood in need of a Saviour: and although he took upon him our nature, and was made ſleſh, yet the nature of Chriſt was a pure nature in it ſelf; and therefore that of the Apoſtle doth moſt ſweetly expreſs this, where he ſayes of Chriſt, that he in the likeneſs of ſinfull fleſh, condemned ſin in the fleſh, Rom. 8.3. and though he was in all things like unto us, yet ſaith the Apoſtle, Heb. 4.13. he was without ſin.

Chriſt was not born in ſin, as we are, he was conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, and borne of a pure Virgin; its true, Chriſt was a ſinner, yea, the greateſt of ſinners by imputation, he having all the ſins of all the Clect of God laid upon him.

But firſt, had not Ieſus Chriſt been ſinleſs in himſelf, he had never been able to have unvergone ſo heavy a burthen: Chriſt ſuffered not for

But firſt, had not Ieſus Chriſt been ſinleſs in himſelf, he had never been able to have undergone ſo heavy a burthen: Chriſt ſuffered not for his own ſins, but for our ſins; He his own ſelf (ſaith the Apoſtle) bore our ſinnes on the Croſs. We indeed) ſaith the converted thief on the Croſs) do ſuffer juſtly, but this man hath done nothing amiſs, Luke 23.41. He hath made him to be ſin for us, who knew no ſin, ſaith the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. 5.21. He did no violence, neither was there any guile found in his mouth, Iſa. 53.9.

Sixthly, Chriſt is a comely garment, a garment that will never be out of faſhion; He is the ſame yeſterday, and to day, and for ever: there is nothing ſo lovely and amiable in the eyes of Chriſtians as Chriſt is. Chriſtians I beſeech you conſider, you are never well dreſt till you have put on this garment, nor you ſhall never be bleſt without it.

Seventhly, Chriſt is a laſting, yea, an everlaſting garment, a garment that will laſt thee as long as thou liveſt, and will never be the worſe for wearing, but will alwayes be the better for wearing; the more thou weareſt this garment the more glorious it will be: and as this garment will laſt thee as long as thou liveſt, ſo thou mayeſt carry it along with thee when thou dyeſt; thou canſt not carry any thing out of the world with thee; for naked cameſt thou into the world, and naked ſhalt thou go out of the world; but if thou haſt put on Chriſt as a garment in thy life, thou canſt not leave him behind thee when thou dyeſt, thou ſhalt carry this garment with thee into the next world.

I ſhould come now to ſhew you how this garment is to be worn, but I ſhall ſpeak of that by way of Uſe and Application.

Now the Uſes that I ſhall make of this uſeful point, ſhall be theſe.

Is it ſo that Ieſus Chriſt is a Chriſtians garment, then in the firſt place I beſeech you obſerve the miſerable and wretched condition of wicked and ungodly men; men out of Chriſt they are naked, and have not (as we uſe to ſay of ſome poor people) a rag to cover their nakedneſs withal. Ah! ſinners, for the Lords ſake, for your precious and immortal ſouls ſake, I beſeech you conſider, and lay to heart a little your own moſt miſerable and ſad condition, how will you be able to ſtand in the day of the Lords wrath, and how wilt thou be able to contend with the Almighty, when once he is angry, thou haſt nothing to ſhelter thee againſt the ſtorms and fury of the Lords indignation. I beſeech you then as you love your own ſouls, that you would now put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, O put him on, he is freely offered to thee, O then do not be ſo fooliſh, and Bedlam mad, as to refuſe him, it thou doeſt thou art undone for ever: art thou naked, and wilt not thou take this garment of Chriſt to cover thy nakedneſs withall; conſider a little I beſeech thee thy own ſad condition as thou art in thy ſelf out of Chriſt,

In the firſt place thou art liable to all dangers, every ſinner out of Chriſt lies open to every danger; every mercy thou enjoyeſt out of Chriſt is in wrath, thy preſervation is but by common providence, and its curſed as well as common, as one ſaith ſweetly, Thy preſervation is but a reſervation of thee to the day of wrath, thou art kept, but remember, thou art kept but as a malefactor to the day of execution, thou haſt nothing to guard thee from the wrath of God: it is poſſible thou mayeſt be ſecure in thy sin, but remember thy ſecurity is not from want of danger, but from the want of dicovery of that danger which is every day and hour hanging over thy head, and ready to fall upon thee; wert thou but once ſeriouſly ſenſible of that danger which every day thou art in. I am confident thou couldſt no more reſt in thy ſins out of Chriſt, then thou couldſt go to bed when thy houſe is on fire about thy ears.

Secondly, thou art, if out of Chriſt, in the power of every Devil and every luſt; thou art the devils for egreſs and regreſs, when he pleaſes thou art taken captive by him at his will, as the apoſtle expreſſes it, 2 Tim. 2.26. Thou art like a Common without a hedge, a prey to every beaſt of prey; thou wilt not take Chriſt as a garment thou wilt not let God be a hedge to keep thee from ſtraying into ſin, and God will not be an hedge to preſerve thee from being deſtroyed in and for thy ſin.

O ſinner, thy condition is very ſad and very dreadful, thou lieſt at the mercy of the devil every moment, at the cruel courteſic of every temptation; thou haſt a hole it may be to keep thy Swine in, but if thou haſt not a Chriſt to lodge thy ſoul in, thou art liable to all the curſes in the book of God; how dreadful is it to want the benefit of every ſtreet promiſe in the word of God, to want a Ieſus to deliver us from the wrath to come. Doeſt thou think thou canſt the able to endure the wrath of God to all eternity; if thy foundation be not laid upon the rock of Chriſt, thy whole building will ſoon be deſtroyed, and thou wilt be found to be the verieſt fool in the world; it thou art out of Chriſt thou canſt never be ſafe, thou art a mad man, and thou delighteſt in thy own deſtruction.

Secondly, by way of motive, conſider I beſecch you, Chriſt will not onely cover thy nakedneſs, and ſhelter thee from the wrath of God, but will be an ornament of grace and glory to thee for ever.

But how ſhall we get this garment of Chriſt, may ſome ſay? I ſee my own nakedneſs, but how ſhall I do to get this garment? I anſwer, in the firſt place, thou muſt beg it of God, thou mayeſt have it for asking for; ask and thou ſhalt have, it is freely offered unto thee.

Secondly throw away all thy own rotten rags of ſin, thou muſt ſtrip thy ſelf even naked of all ſelfe-righteouſneſs; Chriſt will not be a garment to any but to ſuch as ſhall firſt put off their own rags, throw away then all thy old rotten rags, and put on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; put him on, he is freely offered to thee, do not deſpiſe thy own mercy; get Chriſt for thy garment here, if ever thou expecteſt to have Chriſt for thy comfort hereafter. Remember without Chriſt there is no happineſ to be had hereafter, thou art miſerable here, and thou ſhalt be miſerable to all eternity hereafter. O conſider this, all ye that forget God, left he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you, Pſalm 50.22.

In the next place, is it ſo, is Chriſt a garment, then here is matter of great joy and comfort to thoſe that are Chriſts: O happy Chriſtian, God hath made a bleſſed exchange with thee, he hath taken away from thee thy own rotten filthy ſtinking rags, and he hath in the room thereof put thee on his own moſt glorious white Robes! O happy ſoul! O bleſſed exchange.

But before I proceed any further, I ſhall a little endeavour to give you ſome few, but brief directions for your better inſtruction and edification.

And firſt of all, haſt thou put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt as a garment, O then for the Lords ſake do not put him off again, keep him on while thou haſt him on; children you know when they have gotten a new garment they do not love to put if off again, they would wear it alwayes if they might.

Secondly, haſt thou put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt as a garment, then wear him cleanlily, have a care that thou doeſt not ſoil this precious garment; O do not dirty it, nor ſully it. Men when they have gotten on their beſt garments, or any thing that's rare and choice, how curious, how careful, how circumſpect are they, they will have a care where they go, and what they do ſo long as they have thoſe garments on. Men will not go about to rake dunghills in ſilken garments, a little ſpot of ouſt is ſoon ſeen in a clean garment; do not do the Devil drudgery with the garment of Chriſt: O do not rake in the filthy ſtinking dunghills of ſin, with the ſilken cloaths of Chriſtianity upon thy back; remember ſuch baſe things are too low, for ſuch noble ſouls as Chriſtians are; to be imployed in.

Thirdly, is Chriſt a garment, then wear him as a garment, put him not on as a cloak, but put him on as a garment; remember, as one ſaith ſweetly, as Chriſt is the beſt garment, ſo is he the worſt cloak: for to make Chriſt and Chriſtianity a cloak for thy ſin, is the horre • ſt thing in all the world. Thoſe woldes who are in ſheeps cloathing are the moſt dangerous woldes of all; to be Saints in appearance outwardly, and Devils in ſubſtance inwardly, O horrid impiety! Will you ſwear and lye, couzen and cheat, and do all manner of evil, and yet profeſs Chriſtianity; O take heed of this, they that make Chriſt a Cloak for their ſin, do manifeſtly ſhew that they never yet taſted of the love of God in Chriſt, in the pardoning of their ſins; Chriſt is not a cloak to hide ſin, but Chriſt is a garment to preſerve us from ſin; they that put on Chriſt as a cloak, never yet put on Chriſt as a garment.

Fourthly, is Chriſt a garment, and haſt thou put him on, then wear him conſtantly, never put him off, he will laſt thee as long as thou liveſt, I and longer too; thou canſt not carry a rag of thine own clothes with thee out of this world? I but thou mayeſt carry this garment with thee into the next world; thou mayeſt go to heaven with this garment upon thee, nay, thou ſhalt never get to heaven without it; put him on then, and never put him off, wear him every day, day by 〈◊〉 , even to thy dying day, he will laſt thee as long as thou liveſt, and will be a comfort, yea, an exceeding great comfort to thee when thou dyeſt, and will be a glory, an everlaſting glory to thee for ever in the world to come.

Fifthly, is it ſo, is Chriſt a garment? then here is matter of comfort to all that are Chriſts in times of danger and trouble; let we tell thee Chriſtian, thou that haſt put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt as a garment, thou art armed as well as cloathed, thou haſt armour of proof upon thy back, ſuch armour as never yet could be pierced, ſuch armour as will keep off all the gun-hots of the Devil, and the world, be they never ſo great, be they never ſo furious, be they never ſo many: thy garment Chriſtian will keep out a ſhowre, I, and a ſtorm too, nothing can pierce it, nothing ſhall be able to hurt thee if thou haſt put on Chriſt, neither ſin nor Satan: If God be for us, who can be againſt us, Rom. 8.33. Who ſhall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? it is Chriſt that hath dyed.

Firſt, thou haſt put on Chriſt as a garment, he will defend thee Ile warrant thee, let come what will come: ſee what the Lord ſaith to ſuch as are clothed with his Son, in Iſa. 47.1, 2. Fear not, for I have redeeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When thou paſſeſt through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they ſhall not overflow thee: when thou walkeſt through the fire, thou ſhalt not be burnt; neither ſhall the flame kindle upon thee.

And this was it which ſo raviſhed the hearts of the bleſſed Martyrs, and carried them through all their torments with ſo much joy and comfort; and ſo likewiſe the three Children in the fiery furnace, all the violent and ſcorching heats of thoſe burning fiery furnaces, could not, nay did not hurt ſo much as the leaſt hair of their heads; and the reaſon was, becauſe they were the Children of the moſt high God, and were cloathed with the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, as with a garment. So likewiſe Daniel in the Lions Den, he was defended from the fury of thoſe raging beaſts, by his being clothed with this garment of Chriſt.

In a word, let come what will come, let the Devil and all his inſtruments rage never ſo much, let the ſtorms of perſecution be never ſo hot, let the waves beat never ſo fiercely, thy houſe ſhall ſtand, and thou ſhalt be carried through all, becauſe thy houſe, thy faith is built upon a Rock, even upon the reck of Ages, the Lord Ieſus Chriſt. Men out of Chriſt are naked, they have nothing at all to defend them, all thoſe rich and coſtly garments of the gallants of the world, be they never ſo rich and gaudy, are not half ſo coſtly as this garment is; for believe it Chriſtian, it coſt Chriſts precious Life and Blood to purchaſe it for thee.

Sixthly, is Chriſt a garment, then let us not be proud of our own garments: alas, what are they, nothing but rags in compariſon of this garment of Chriſt, bodies of ſin; ſin was the firſt founder and inventer of theme if Adam had not ſinned, he had never ſtood in nerd of a garment. A thief (ſaith on very ſwertly) may as well be proud of his halter, as a man or woman may be proud of their garments; and ſet me tell thee, thou that art proud, thou art proud of that which is anothers, it is none of thy own, thou haſt nothing of thy own to be proud with: what thou haſt is but lent thee, and thou knoweſt not how ſoon the owner may take them away, and leave thee as naked as he found thee: and then if thou art found out of Chriſt thou art undone for ever I Woe, woe be unto thee, and that for evermore.

Seventhly, is Chriſt a garment, then I note from hence, that abundance of outward enjoyments do nothing at all adorn a man, its onely the garment of Chriſt that will make a Chriſtian lovely; earthly things they do not adorn us in the ſight of God; it matters not whether we be rich or poor, naked or cloathed, in rags or in robes: I, but it matters whether thou beeſt: in Chriſt or no; God will look upon thee onely as thou art cloathed with his Son: if thou art not found in Chriſt, cloathed upon with the glorious white robes of his righteouſneſs, at the laſt day God will never own thee for his child, he will then ſay unto thee, Depart from me, I know you not.

Eightly, I note from hence, that they that live in ſin are none of Chriſts, they are not cloathed upon with this garment; Let every one (ſaith the Apoſtle) that nameth the name of Chriſt, depart from iniquity. Put on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, ſaith the Lert) and make no proviſion for the fleſh. Chriſtianity and ſin are no kin one to another, ſin is a work of the night; and if ever thou wouldſt put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, thou muſt caſt off and forſake all thy ſins; but if thou wilt needs keep thy ſorry rags of ſin ſtill upon thy back, let me tell thee, Chriſt will never be a Saviour unto thee, thou ſhalt have nothing to defend thee in the evil day of the Lords wrath.

In the laſt place, by way of motive, O that I could perſivade you this day to embrace Ieſus Chriſt, as he is tendered and offered unto you in the Goſpel; wouldſt thou put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt as a garment? then in the words of the Apoſtle, I beſeech you, Caſt off the works of darkneſs, and put on the armour of light: Walk honeſtly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenneſs, and do not commit works of darkneſs at noon-day; even the light of nature ſhould make men bluſh to commit ſin in the very face of the Sun it ſelf.

Remember, I beſeech you, how unſuitable and unſeaſonable rioting and drunkenneſs is to the profeſſion of the Goſpel of Chriſt: Let every one (ſaith the Apoſtle) that nameth the name of Chriſt depart from iniquity: Chriſt will never be a garment to thee if thou delighteſt in ſin, its impoſſible to ſerve God and Mammon, thou canſt never wear the livery of Chriſt, add the livery of Satan together: as holineſs is the badge and livery of Chriſt, ſo ſin and wickedneſs is the badge and Livery of the Devil: in this the Children of God are manifeſt, ſaith the Apoſtle, and the children of the Devil: Whoſoever doth not righteouſneſs is not of God, John 1.3, 10. and in the 6, 7, 8. verſes of the ſame Chapter, Whoſoever abideth in him ſinneth not, and whoſoever ſinneth hath not ſeen him, nor known him: He that committeth ſin, is of the Devil: Ye are of your Father the Devil, ſaith our Saviour to the unbelieving Jews, John 8.44. and the works of your father ye will do: wicked men will do the Devils work, although they are ſure to dye for it; The work of your father ye will do.

And let me tell you, beloved, they that will do the Devils work, muſt look for nothing but the Devils pay, and the Devill will be ſure to give them their due at the laſt: And I beſéech you remember what the wages of ſin is; in Romans. 6.23. The wages of ſin is death, death eternal; the wicked in hell they are alwayes dying, and yet never dead; the torments of the damned in hell, as they are eaſeleſs, ſo they are endleſs. O conſider this you that forget God, leſt he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you.

Wouldſt thou put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt as a garment? then in the laſt place, and ſo I have done, Do not make proviſion for the fleſh, to fulfill the luſts thereof; ſpend not thy time in rioting and drunkenneſs, not in chambering and wantonneſs, but caſting off and abhorting all theſe unfruitful works of darkneſs: Labour to live up to that God who has ſo dearly loved us, and bought us with his own moſt precious blood; that ſo living here to all the intents and purpoſes of his Grace, and walking daily before the Lord in all manner of holineſs and righteouſneſs all thy dayes, thou mayeſt in the end of thy dayes here live and reign for ever with Chriſt in glory hereafter.

Now bleſſed are all thoſe, and for ever bleſſed ſhall they be, who ſo live, and ſo walk, as that they may be truly ſaid to have put on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, and do ſo give up themſelves to be ruled and guided by him in Grace here, that ſo when they come to dye, they ſhall be found in Chriſt, cloathed upon with the glorious white Robes of Chriſt his righteouſneſs, and ſhall for ever live and reign with Chriſt in Glory hereafter; to whom be Glory and Honour, for ever and ever. Amen.