A37045:162
Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace…
Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace and solid joy of a good conscience sprinkled with the blood of Jesus and exercised always to be void of offence toward God and toward men : brought down and holden forth in XXII very searching sermons on several texts of Scripture ... / by James Durham.
Edinburgh: printed by the heir of Andrew Anderson, 1685
Title page typeset from the transcription.
HEAVEN upon EARTH in a Serene and Smiling good Conscience. › Sermons on acts n24.16 › Sermon 4
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
A 4th. Character is, That a good Conscience will love to entertain and welcome a challenge, but an ill Conscience cannot abide nor endure a challenge, and if it could, it would have Conscience always silent and quiet, when yet it should not be quiet, neither hath it any ground to be so: He who hath a good Conscience is glad to have sin discovered and Conscience kept waking; he thinketh a sanctified conviction of sin a valuable mercy; and the reason is, because he aimeth not so much at this to have peace in himself, as to have a good and solid ground of peace betwixt God and him, and to remove what may mar it; whereas the Hypocrites great design is to have peace on any terms and by any means, and therefore when a challenge cometh close and home to him, it is quite marred; It is on this ground that a tender soul will designedly aggrege sin, and even foster a challenge, as David doth, Psal. •1. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, whereas a Saul will defend his own sinful practice and seek to shift the challenge, as we may see 1 Sam. 15. 10. yea I have kept the commandment of the Lord, saith that proud Hypocrite.
A 4th. Character is, That a good Conscience will love to entertain and welcome a challenge, but an ill Conscience cannot abide nor endure a challenge, and if it could, it would have Conscience always silent and quiet, when yet it should not be quiet, neither hath it any ground to be so: He who hath a good Conscience is glad to have sin discovered and Conscience kept waking; he thinketh a sanctified conviction of sin a valueable mercy; and the reason is, because he aimeth not so much at this to have peace in himself, as to have a good and solid ground of peace betwixt God and him, and to remove what may mar it; whereas the Hypocrites great design is to have peace on any terms and by any means, and therefore when a challenge cometh closs and home to him, it is quite marred; It is on this ground that a tender soul will designedly aggrege sin, and even foster a challenge, as David doth, Psal. •1. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, whereas a Saul will defend his own sinful practice and seek to shift the challenge, as we may see 1 Sam. 15. 10. yea I have keeped the commandment of the Lord, saith that proud Hypocrite.