Man's Righteousness, NO Caufe or BEING A SERMON On EPHES. ii. 8. For by Grace are ye faved, through Extracted from the Works of Mr. JOHN SIMPSON. The Fire fhall try every Man's Work, of what Sort Wifdom is justified of her Children, Mat. xi. 19. LONDON: Printed by J. HART, in Popping's-Court, Fleetfreet; 5 (1) Br. from Tyrrell, July 1917. READER, THE Author preach'd and printed the Works out of which this is extracted, nigh an hundred Years ago, and by them, he, tho' Dead, yet speaketh. And however ftrange the Doctrine herein contained, may feem to thofe who build their Hopes upon inherent Righteousness Yet it is none other than the Gospel of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the Doctrine of the Reformation, and the only Doctrine that tends (contrary to the Judgment of carnal Reafon) to Uprightness of Heart and Life, and whoever conceives otherwife of this Doctrine underftands.it not. It is founded upon this Principle, that we must difcover God's Love to us in Chrift Jefus, that he has already faved us, before we can truly love God or our Neighbour. This our Saviour inculcates to Simon the Pharifee in the Parable of the two Debtors, Luke vii. 41. and in many other Places of Scripture. I purpose fhortly (with our Saviour's Leave) to print two more of this Author's Sermons on the fame Text may be prinkle this with his Blood; and explain it by his Spirit to the Heart of every Reader, So wifhes your Servant, In the Lord Jefus Chrift, WILLIAM CUDWORTH. I have read the following Sermon, and recommend it with all my Heart, to all, as the most wholefome Doctrine of Jefus Chrift, of which Doctrine, I am also a Witnefs, and fet to my Seal that it is true. J. CENNICK [ 3 ] SERMON I. EPHES. ii. 8. For by grace ye are faved, through faith. T HERE are two things which men ought chiefly to know, their mifery by fin; and their happiness by the grace of God in Chrift. And by the wicked unfaithfulness of our memories we are more apt to forget these two things, than to forget any other points whatever. Two realov, Know thyself, is a leffon as difficult, as it is old and common? How hard a matter is it for a man to remember himself, as to know what he is in him-: felf? the king of Macedonia thought it needful, that his : page fhould every morning put him in remembrance, that he was a mortal man. And every fpiritual man doth. find it neceffary, that the fpirit daily fhould become his remembrancer, to put him in mind that he is a finfulman. So likewife it is a hard matter, without the power,: and affiftance of the fpirit, always to know, the rich, full, and free grace of God, as it is held forth in the gofpel to poor finners. The last of these, as it is the most sweet and excellent leffon, fo with the greater difficulty it is retained in our memories. This is a doctrine, which if it were preached unto us every day, we fhould forget it every day. daily teaching and hourly learning of it, cannot wholly, free us from the ignorance of this truth. But as far as we are carnal and fleshly, we are strangers to the know-. ledge of it. So that he that thinks he perfectly knows the doctrine of juftification by faith alone, I dare profess to: that man, that he knows nothing of this doctrine of justification as he ought to know. As long as we live upon the earth, we may be learners of this doctrine. Paul a§-, ter he had been a fcholar, and an aged teacher in the school of Chrift many years, did then profefs, that he endeavoured to forget his own works, and legal righteouf The famous old Roman Sarprast, oft Juvenal was so The s for the complet it comes, 3. nefs, in reference to his juftification, and preffed forward to know more of the mystery of Chrift, labouring to be found in the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith, Phil. 3. 10. From these Words, First, I fhall endeavour to prove negatively, that there is no juftification by works. And then fhew how it is by grace; and then how it is in a way of believing. At this prefent, I fhall obferve this method. First, I will fhew that we are not faved by works, I mean, by, the works of the law. Then I fhall fhew, that we are not faved and justified by works, which are the fruits of faith, or done under the covenant of grace. Thirdly, I fhall fhew, that we are not faved by works, in which we yield obedience to any gofpel ordinances, though they be ordinances appointed by the Lord Jefus Christ himfelf to be practifed by the faints. I take in this, because I have found in my own fpirit, and in many that I have dealt with, a fecret and fubtle kind of Popery, by which we are apt to attribute fomething to the practice of ordinances, in reference to our juftification. And. hence it is that people are ready to run into every new. way of worship, which is brought to light, thinking that unless they find out the right difcipline, and government of Jefus Chrift, the right baptifm, and ordinances, they are not true Saints, nor fufficiently juftified. Therefore I fhall take in this too, to fhew, that as we are not juftified by more inward, and fpiritual works; fo neither are we juftified by any outward obfervation of ordinances, or fubmitting to any command of the Lord Jefus Chrift, but only by our obedience to the first and principal command of the gofpel, by which we believe juftification by grace! through Chrift without works. For the firft of thefe heads, I fhall briefly fhew, r. We are not faved by works, and I fhall only lay down four or five confiderations for the confirming of this, that we are faved, and juftified before God, and in the court of our own confcience, without any works whatsoever. The firft confideration may be this; we cannot be justi fied by works, or by the law; because there was never. any man had a legal righteoufnefs, but the man Chrift Je fus. fus. This is Paul's undeniable conclufion, laid down in Rom. iii. 23. All have finned, and come short of the glory of God. The devout few as well as the prophane Gentile, is brought in, before the tribunal of God, as a guilty finner, coming fhort of fuch a glorious righteoufnefs, which the law doth require of him, that he may be juftified under it. The Gentile never walked according to the written law of nature, which is written in his heart, nor the Jew, according to the law of his Maker, written in tables of ftone. All the works of the law may be reduced to two heads. The firft are thofe works that we do in obedience to God, to fhew our love to him. Secondly, the works that we do, to fhew our love to our neighbour. Now, if we take works, in either of thefe two refpects, I fhall fhew, that all the men and women in the world, come short of fuch a legal righteoufnefs, and perfection, that the holy, juft, and pure law of God requires. It will be clear, that no man ever loved God as he ought. God doth command us, that we should love him, with all our heart, and with all our ftrength, with the whole stream of our affectións. But what man did ever love God in that manner? fuppofe a wife fhould entertain many thousand lovers befides her husband, could any fay, that that wife loved her husband? fo many fins s as we have, fo many lovers we have, fo the Scripture calls them, Fer. iii. 1. Thou hast play'd the harlot with many lovers that is, thou haft followed many fins and lufts, bafe and vile corruptions. Now, it is thus with all the men in the world; we have all gone a whoring from our God; so that though all men, yea, even Turks and Heathers pretend to love God, the great God that made them, yet there is no man that ever loved God as he ought. That man that thinks he ever loved God as he ought, and as the law requires, he is very blind, and not enlightned to this day, to fee the purity, and fpirituality of the righteous law of the juft and high God. Suppofe a fubje&t fhould always contrive rebellion, and confpire against the perfon cf his king, as defirous to take B 2 away |