A37045:589
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 hebrews n9 and 10 › Sermon 1
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.
and while ye securely heap sins upon sins, ye are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, and of the righteous judgement of God.
The 2 Use serves to let us see, what a poor and sorry ground the most part have for their peace of Conscience; we may in truth wonder how it comes to pass, that many of you can have any peace, having such a puddle of filthiness within you; If it be true that your mind and Conscience is defiled (which are the best things ye have); and one day will clearly and convincingly make discovery of the truth of it; O! how much hypocrisy and presumption will be found to be among you, in stead of true and solid peace? with which ye have nothing to do, so long as these Whoredoms and Witch-crafts (to say so) of filthy sins, are with you unpurged away by the blood of Christ.
The 2 Use serves to let us see, what a poor and sory ground the most part have for their peace of Conscience; we may in truth wonder how it comes to pass, that many of you can have any peace, having such a puddle of filthiness within you; If it be true that your mind and Conscience is defiled (which are the best things ye have); and one day will clearly and convincingly make discovery of the truth of it; O! how much hypocrisie and presumption will be found to be among you, in stead of true and solid peace? with which ye have nothing to do, so long as these Whoredoms and Witch-crafts (to say so) of filthy sins, are with you unpurged away by the blood of Christ.
The 3. Use serves to demonstrate, and clearly to hold forth the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ, and the transcendent worth and matchless excellency that is in him, that even when a man is thus defiled and polluted by sins these dead works▪ there is access by his blood, to get the Conscience purged; and this is the thing that we would mainly point at from these words (and which we intend, God willing, afterward more largely to insist in) not only the necessity of coming to Christ; but of knowing certainly that ye are got out of black Nature into him,