The Christians best Garment. JOHN HEART, D.D. THE CHRISTIANS Best Garment: OR, The putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherein the absolute necessity, excellency, and usefulness of Christ, as a Garment, to believing Souls, is briefly opened and applied. Secondly, The naked, miserable, lost, and undone condition of all Unbelievers, who have not put on this Garment, discovered. Thirdly and lastly, Some few brief, but powerful Motives to persuade us to the putting on of this Garment, with directions how to live to the glory of Christ here, that so we may live with Christ hereafter in glory. The third Edition. By a godly, able, and faithful Servant of Jesus Christ. John Hart. Rom. 13.14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3.4. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. London, Printed for E. Andrews, at the White Lion near Pie-corner, 1664. THE Christians best Garment. OR THE Putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 13.12, 13, 14. The night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. IN these Words, beloved, which I have now read unto you, we have these two parts. In the first place, we have some things which the Apostle endeavours to persuade Christians from. In the second place, we have some things which the Apostle endeavours to persuade Christians to. The things persuaded from, are the works of darkness; the things persuaded to are these. 1. That we put on the armour of light, and that we walk honestly. 2. The Apostle having exhorted us to this twofold duty. 1. The casting off the works of darkness, and the putting on the armour of light, here sets down expressly some Christian directions how this is to be done; and that two ways. 1. Negatively, and then, 2. Affirmatively. 1. Negatively, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy. 2. Affirmatively, by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and denying of the works of the flesh; and the motives here laid down, whereupon the Apostle enjoins this duty, are these in the 12. verse, The night is far spent, the day is at hand, therefore (saith he) let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Where by the way, we may observe, that works of darkness are very unsuitable and unseasonable to the times of the Gospel, light and darkness are contrary. In the words than you see, 1. Here is a duty exhorted unto, and that is laid down in the 12. verse. And then 2. you have here also the Apostles amplification and illustration of this duty here exhorted unto, and that is set down particularly in the 13. and 14. verses. The duty exhorted unto you see here is twofold. 1. Here is something to be cast off. And then 2. Here is something to be put on. 1. The things to be cast off, are the works of darkness. 2. The things to be put on, are the armour of light: Let us cast off the works darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. And as the exhortation is twofold, so likewise are the reasons whereupon the Apostle grounds his exhortation also. 1. The night is far spent. And 2. the day is at hand. Before I proceed to the observation, give me leave a little to open the words unto you; and first, I shall endeavour to show what is here meant by the night, and then secondly, what is here meant by the day: by the night here may be meant the times of darkness and ignorance, in which the Gentiles lived in before the breaking forth of the Gospel of Christ, and those times may very well be compared to the night for these three reasons. First, In the night men cannot so well see their way, and therefore may the more easily wander out of their way, for it is only the want of light that makes men to err. 2. In the night no thing is visible or discernible but darkness, all light is then extinguished; the blind man is not able to value or judge what a mercy it is to have the fruition and enjoyment of the light of the Sun. 3. The night is the most suitablest time and season for the doing of evil, in Job 24.14, 15, 16. The murderer (saith Job) rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me, and disguiseth his face. In the dark they dig through houses, they know not the light. They that are drunk (saith the Apostle) are drunk in the night, 1 Thes. 5.7. In Psal. 25.20. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. And then secondly, by the day here is meant the times of the Gospel, it is night in the soul, till such time as the day light of the Gospel breaks forth and shines into it, Matth. 4 16. The people which sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. In John 13.19. Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light; and why so, the reason is (saith he) because their deeds were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. Ephes. 5.8. Ye were sometimes darkness, (saith the Apostle) but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. In 1 Pet. 2.9. God hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. Luke 1.78, 79. The dayspring from on high hath visited us: To give light to them that sit in darkness. In Acts 26.17, 18. The Apostle was sent to the Gentiles, to turn them from darkness unto light. In 1 John 2.8. The darkness is past, and the true light (saith the Apostle) now shineth. In Acts 17.30. The times of Heathenism are there called the times of ignorance, and it must needs be night in such souls wherein Christ the Sun of righteousness never did arise; as it is never day in the worid until the Sun ariseth, so it is never day in the soul till Christ the Sun of righteousness ariseth with healing in his wings. Now there are several useful and profitable points of doctrine, which naturally from hence for our instruction and edification, I shall only name them, and so proceed to that which I chief intent. The first point of doctrine is this, that works of darkness are works of the night, night works. Secondly, that the times of the Gospel are times of light. Thirdly, that in the day of the Gopel all these works of darkness are to be cast off: when the Sun shines, it dispels and scatters all those mists and fogs of darkness that lie upon the earth; so when Christ the Sun of Righteousness arises in the soul, he dispels and scatters all those mists and fogs of sin and wickedness which naturally ariseth in the soul. Fourthly, in Gospel times, or times of light, men should live Gospel lives, or walk in the light of the Gospel: while ye have light walk as children of the light. Walk (saith our Saviour, John 5.35, 36) while ye have light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. Fifthly, that rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness, strife and envy, are not works of the day, but of the night. Sixthly, they that would live as becomes the Gospel of Christ, should cast off all those unfruitful works of darkness. Seventhly, that jesus Christ is a Christians garment. Eighthly, that jesus Christ is a garment to be put on. Ninthly, that all of Christ, whole Christ is to be put on; put ye on the Lord jesus Christ as a King to rule you, as a Priest to offer up himself a sacrifice for you, and as a Prophet to teach and and instruct you. Tenthly and lastly, that the putting on of the Lord jesus Christ is accompanied with the casting off all sinful and fleshly works. Now the point of doctrine that I shall chief insist upon shall be this, namely, that the Lord jesus Christ is a garment; in handling whereof I shall briefly touch upon, and speak something to all the rest by way of use and application. The Doctrine then to be insisted upon is this, That the Lord jesus Christ is a Christians garment; in handling whereof, I shall endeavour by the assistance of God to show you the natural agreement and resemblance that is between the Lord jesus Christ and our natural garments. First, wherein they do agree, and secondly, wherein they do not agree. And having done this, in the next place, God willing, I shall endeavour to show you what kind of garment Christ is, and how this garment is to be worn. Thirdly and lastly, to whom and for what he is a garment; and then having done this, I shall briefly endeavour to give you some directions by way of motives to persuade you to the putting on of this garment, and so conclude all by the assistance of God in a word or two of use and application. I begin with the first of these, wherein the Lord jesus Christ is or may be said to be a garment, and this this will appear briefly in these two things. 1. Considering what we are; and 2. Considering what Christ doth. 1. Christ may be said to be a garment, considering what we are by nature, the best of us are but, as St. John saith; Rev. 3.17. empty, naked, miserable sinners: the best garments we have by nature are nothing else but rags, yea filthy rotten rags, as the Prophet Isaiah expresses it in Isa. 64.6. We are all of us by nature poor and blind, miserable and naked, till Christ appears in us, thereupon the Apostle Paul, in Phil. 3.8, 9 desires so earnestly that he might be found in Christ, not having on his own righteousness, which he accounted dross and dung in comparison of Christ and his righteousness. 2. Christ is a garment in regard of what he doth to us; he covers our nakedness by casting over us the skirts of his love, as in Ezek. 16 8. And to illustrate this a little, I shall here take occasion to show you wherein Christ may be said to be a garment, by giving you the resemblances that are between the Lord jesus Christ and our natural garments; and what our garments are to our bodies, the same, and much more is Christ to our souls. Now the natural use of our natural garments are chief these three. 1. Our natural garments are for necessity. 2. For distinction. 3. For ornament. First, for necessity; our natural garments are necessary, yea, they are of necessity, we cannot be well without them: they are needful for us to cover and shelter us, to cherish and preserve our weak, frail, naked bodies, from all the dangers and encumbrances which would irresistably fall upon us, without the use of them. Our garments are useful to cover and preserve us from the cold blustering storms of the world, how unable would our frail weak mortal bodies be to subsist and live without the natural use of our natural garments, to cherish and preserve us; and this, and more than this doth Christ to our souls. As our bodies are not able to subsist without , no more are our souls able to subsist without Christ, who is the life and garment of our souls. As our natural garments serve to defend us from the cold blustering storms of the weather, so Christ the garment of our souls preserves and shelters us from all those raging assaults of Satan, which in the world we are often, yea, always liable unto. Secondly, as our natural garments serve to defend us from the cold storms of wind and weather, so likewise they serve to defend us from the violent and scorching heat of the Dun. As in the blustering storms of rain and cold, our garments preserves us from perishing under them; so in the violent searching heat of the Sun, our garments serve to keep us from being melted and devoured by its violent and scorching heat. Of the like use is Christ to our souls; as 'tis only Christ that can preserve us from the cold blustering storms of the world, so 'tis only Christ that can preserve us from the violent and scorching heat of persecutions and fiery trials in the world. A second use of our natural garments is for distinction, to distinguish between sex and ser, noble and ignoble, high and low, rich and poor, magistrates and people; so likewise Christ is a garment for distinction, yea, he is the only distinguishing garment in the world. Christ distinguisheth the saint from the sinner; the holy from the unholy, the sheep from the wolves; yea, the true sheep from the wolves in sheep's clothing; the sincere and upright souls from formal falsehood, hypocritical Professors: and as it distinguisheth the saints from sinners here, so if will also distinguish them hereafter; they that have not on this garment at the last day, shall be set on the left hand of Christ in judgement; it's this wedding garment that distinguisheth who are the guests for the marriage feast, there is no coming to heaven without it. Thirdly, the natural use of our natural garments are for ornament, our uncomely parts being clothed become abundant more comely; our bodies being decked and adorned by clothing, although in themselves uncomely, do thereby become beautiful and lovely: of the like use is Christ to our souls; there is nothing in the world, beloved, that will so adorn your souls as this garment of Christ; yea, it is the only becoming garment, it will make your souls amiable and lovely, yea, altogether lovely, our souls being clothed upon with this garment of Christ and his righteousness, will appear lovely and beautiful in the eyes of God himself, and by it we are made to be acceptable in the Lord: as we are in ourselves, we are vile, wretched, sinful, deformed creatures, altogether unlovely, but in Christ we are made to be amiable and beautiful, yea, altogether lovely. Having thus given you the resemblances between Christ and our natural garments, and having shown you briefly wherein they do agree, I shall now in a word or two, show you wherein they disagree, or rather wherein this spiritual and heavenly garment of Christ supper exceeds and excels all the garments in the world, be they never so rich and costly; and herein lies the disagreement. First, our natural garments are not durable, they will last us but a little while before they be quite worn out; but jesus Christ is a durable and lasting garment, yea, an everlasting garment that will never be worn out while thou livest, though thou livest never so long, it will last thee for ever and ever, both here and hereafter. Secondly, our natural garments they are the worse for wearing, yea, the longer we wear them the worse they grow; and at the last, by being overworn, they come to be worth nothing? I, but it is not thus with Christ, this heavenly garment of Christ is the better for wearing, and the longer we wear it, the better it is, and the better we are, it doth not only grow better itself, but it also makes us grow better. I, but it is not thus with our natural garments, they if they be worn often, or by often wearing, they grow worse and worse, and at last they decay. Thirdly, our natural garments as we put them on in the morning, so we put them off at night; but where ever jesus Christ is put on as a garment, he is not, nay, he cannot be put off again; Christ is a garment as well for the night as for the day: the soul that hath once given up itself to Christ, by a true and saving faith, can never be taken away, I mean not finally from Christ, by all the craft and policy of the Devil; they that are chosen by God in Christ, shall be preserved by God in Christ. Fourthly, our natural garments grow out of fashion very often and suddenly, but jesus Christ is a garment that will never be out of fashion; a better than which can never be imagined nor invented. jesus Christ is a garment as well for Summer as for Winter, for all weathers; in the Summer heat of persecutions and trials, Christ is a garment, either to keep them off, or else to sustain us under them: and in the Winter of adversity Jesus Christ is a garment to defend and cherish us from all evils; let the storms be never so great, let the fire be never so hot, Christ can sustain and uphold his people; witness Daniel in the Lion's Den, and the Children in the fiery Furnace, etc. Fifthly, our natural garments they are fitted to our bodies, but to this garment of Christ out souls are made fit; Christ is a garment made fit for all souls, natural garments if they fit one, they are either too big or too little for another; but jesus Christ is a garment fit, or made fit for all souls, for souls of all sorts; a garment for men, and a garment for women: a garment for parents, and a garment for children: a garment for poor, and a garment for rich: a garment for Magistrates, and a garment for Ministers, and a garment for people: a garment for Jews, and a garment for Gentiles. Christ is and will be to all his people, an ornament of grace here, and of glory hereafter. I come now in the next place to show you what kind of garment jesus Christ is, and how he is to be worn; and I shall briefly give it you in these following considerations. And first of all, he is a precious garment: to you therefore which believe he is precious, 1 Pet. 2.7. precious in regard of his nature, God and man; precious in regard of his worth and excellency, the chiefest and the choicest of ten thousands. But I must not insist upon these things. Secondly, Christ is a costly garment, a garment that's said to be of great price, a garment of Gods own making, a garment that cost a dear price, the precious life and blood of a Saviour. In a word, for I must be brief, he is a garment of more worth than all the world. Thirdly, Christ is a cheap garment, the cheapest garment that ever thou worest in all thy life; thou mayest have this garment, as we use to say for God a mercy, he is freely offered to thee: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Thou mayest have this garment for ask for; it is true, this garment cost the dearest price that ever any garment did, the Blood of God, one drop whereof is of more worth than ten thousand Worlds; but Christians, remember, this garment is paid for already, it's purchased by God the Father for thee; shouldst thou go about to buy it, thou couldst never be able to purchase it; all thou hast, nay, all that all the men in the world have, would never have been able to have bought this garment: it was only the rich God, that God who hath all, and is all, that was only able to purchase this precious, this costly, this excellent, and this glorious garment; and yet not withstanding all this, thou mayest have him for nothing, he is freely tendered and offered to thee in the Gospel of life: though it be a costly garment to God yet it will be a cheap garment to thee; God hath paid all, and there is nothing at all left for thee to pay, or to do, but to take him and put him on. Fourthly, jesus Christ is a seamless garment, as Christ coat was seamless, so is his person seamless, there is no rent nor divisions in this precious garment; and as there is no rents nor divisions in Christ, so there aught to be none in Christians: if there be no rents nor divisions in the head, certainly there ought to be none in the Church, which is the body. And here beloved, we might take up a sad and a bitter lamentation in in consideration of the sad rents and divisions that are now in the Church of Christ: whereas one saith, He is of Paul, and another of Apollo's, are we not therefore carnal? 1 Cor. 1. Certainly beloved, these things ought not so to be, all the Saints or God, they shall all have one head 〈◊〉, so they must all be saved by one faith: and therefore surely they should all be of one heart, if not of one mind; and therefore by the way, those who go about to make rents and divisions in the Church of God, doth not do God's work, but the Devils: the spirit of God is not a spirit of division, but of love, of peace, and a pure mind; and as the Apostle Judas calls seducers and false teachers, ungodly men; and separates from the Church, are said by Judas in his 19 verse, to be sensual, and not to have the spirit. And before I pass this point, I hope it will not be amiss to show you the wickedness and sin of those who go about to make divisions in the Church of Christ. And first of all, sowers of divisions are renters of Christ; it is a horrible violence offered to the Body of Christ, a dividing of Christ, as St. Paul calls it, in 1 Cor. 1.13. it would make Christ seem to be the head of two bodies, a most monstrous conceit indeed. Secondly, it resisteth the commands of Christ, which is love, and opposes the very end of Christ in dying for sinners, which was, that all his Saints should be one. Thirdly, division in the Church is very dishonourable and injurious to the Church; for how can a body be rend and torn without prejudice: it hinders also the peace of the Church, Schismatics, saith one, more opposes the peace of the Church then heathens do; if the body be rend and torn, it is surely with much pain and smart; and tearing and renting in the church will surely cut the very heart of one that's a true Member of the Church. It makes the Saints mourn, and to be sure, it makes the Devil laugh; therefore let us labour to be rentless and seamless, as Christ is. To this end, in the first place labour after holiness, division and separation is a badge and mark of unholiness; children in unholiness are ever men in malice. Secondly, be not overtaken with new fancies and novelties; those new lights which hath set the Church of God so much on fire in these our days, have all been taken out of the dark Lanterns of old Heretics and jesuits: all those lights which receive not their light from the word of God, are all false lights and vapours that only appear on purpose to draw men out of the way. Truth should always be embraced, though it be never in so old a dress, they are itching ears that are most taken with novelties. Lastly, divisions beget sensuality, sensuality usual follows separation even at the heels, separating themselves, saith Judas, sensual, not having the Spirit: not to speak any more of this, our own sad experience hath too manifestly witnessed this for a truth. What horrid impiety, desperate villainies have been committed by wicked and ungodly seducers in our days, my heart trembles with the very thought thereof. 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 clothed 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 clothed in fine linen, 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 only a sinless Saviour that could satisfy 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 sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; it is only 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 flesh, yet the nature of Christ was a pure nature in itself; and therefore that of the Apostle doth most sweetly express this, where he says of Christ, that he in the likeness of sinful 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 jesus Christ been sinless in himself, he had never been able to have unvergone so heavy a burden: Christ suffered not for But first, had not jesus Christ been sinless in himself, he had never been able to have undergone so heavy a burden: Christ suffered not for his own sins, but for our sins; He his own self (saith the Apostle) bore our sins 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 dressed 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 always 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 diest; 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 diest, thou shalt carry this garment with thee into the next world. I should come now to show 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 jesus 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 jesus 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 dost thou art undone for ever: art thou naked, and wilt not thou take this garment of Christ to cover thy nakedness withal; consider a little I beseech thee thy own sad condition as thou art in thyself 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 not more rest in thy sins out of Christ, than 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 jesus to deliver us from the wrath to come. Dost 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 only 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 ask 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 thyself 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 happiness 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, than here is matter of great joy and comfort to those that are Christ's: 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 jesus 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 always if they might. Secondly, hast thou put on the Lord jesus Christ as a garment, then wear him cleanlily, have a care that thou dost 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 of Christianity upon thy back; remember such base things are too low, for such noble souls as Christians are; to be employed 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 sheep's clothing 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 lie, cousin 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 show that they never yet tasted of the love of God in Christ, in the pardoning of their sins; Christ is not a cloak to hid 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 diest, 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 Christ's in times of danger and trouble; let we tell thee Christian, thou that hast put on the Lord jesus Christ as a garment, thou art armed as well as clothed, 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 shower, 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 died. First, thou hast put on Christ as a garment, he will defend thee I'll 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 clothed with the Lord jesus Christ, as with a garment. So likewise Daniel in the Lion's 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's 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 jesus 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 Christ's 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 inventor 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 another's, 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, than I note from hence, that abundance of outward enjoyments do nothing at all adorn a man, it's only 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 clothed, in rags or in robes: I, but it matters whether thou be'st: in Christ or no; God will look upon thee only as thou art clothed with his Son: if thou art not found in Christ, clothed 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 Christ's, they are not clothed 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 jesus 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 jesus Christ, as he is tendered and offered unto you in the Gospel; wouldst thou put on the Lord jesus 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 noonday; even the light of nature should make men blush to commit sin in the very face of the Sun itself. 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 die 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 Devil will be sure to give them their due at the last: And I beseech 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 always 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 jesus Christ as a garment? then in the last place, and so I have done, Do not make provision for the flesh, to fulfil 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 days, thou mayest in the end of thy days 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 jesus Christ, and do so give up themselves to be ruled and guided by him in Grace here, that so when they come to die, they shall be found in Christ, clothed 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. FINIS. Courteous Reader. These godly Books are printed for Eliz. Andrews, at the white Lion near Pie Corner: and are but three pence apiece. 1. The Christians Blessed Choice. 2. Christ's first Sermon. 3. Christ's last Sermon. 4. Heaven's Glory and Hell's Horror. 5. The School of Grace. 6. A warning piece to the Slothful, Idle, Careless, Drunken, and Secure Ones of these last and worst of times. Likewise, 1. England's Faithful Physician. 2. The dreadful character of a drunkard. 3. Doomsday at hand. 4. The Father's last Blessing to his children. 5. The sin of Pride arraigned and condemned. 6. The Black Book of Conscience. 7. Peter's Sermon of Repentance. 8. The Charitable Christian. 9 The Plain Man's Plain Pathway to Heaven. 10. Death Triumphant. These ten last are two pence apiece.