Title page, Christ crucified, or, The marrow of the gospel, evidently holden… by James Durham (1683) | AskReformation

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IT is one of the greatest Practical Debates and Contests betwixt God and his own People, privileged with a special interest in him, which they are naturally inclined longest to keep up, and are loathest to let fall, viz. Whether he shall guide and govern them, and shape out their lot to them while they sojourn here in the World, as he himself in his own infinite wisdom shall think fit, having a blank Submission put by them into his hand, to be filled up with what kind and quality, with what measure and quantity, and with what continuance and duration of troubles, trials and afflictions himself pleaseth: Or whether he should, as to somethings at least, consult their will and pleasure, and as it were take their advice, and allow them a liberty to prescribe to him how he should guide and dispose of them: And indeed to be here denied to their own will, and absolutely submitted to the will of God, is one of the highest and most difficultly practicable points of self-denial (to which notwithstanding all the Disciples and followers of Christ are expressly called, and wherein he hath great delight and complacency, as favouring strong of entire trust and confidence in him); Yet if we consider these few things, it will be found that there is all the reason in the World, why they should come in his will and sweetly submit themselves to it in all things, how cross soever to their own inclination, without any the ⟨image 3⟩least sinful reluctation or contradiction; which is our privilege and the restoration of our degenerated nature to its Divine and Primitive integrity.

IT is one of the greatest Practical Debates and Contests betwixt God and his own People, priviledged with a special interest in him, which they are naturally inclined longest to keep up, and are loathest to let fall, viz. Whether he shall guide and govern them, and shape out their lot to them while they sojourn here in the World, as he himself in his own infinite wisdom shall think fit, having a blank Submission put by them into his hand, to be filled up with what kind and quality, with what measure and quantity, and with what continuance and duration of troubles, trials and afflictions himself pleaseth: Or whether he should, as to somethings at least, consult their will and pleasure, and as it were take their advice, and allow them a liberty to prescribe to him how he should guide and dispose of them: And indeed to be here denyed to their own will, and absolutely submitted to the will of God, is one of the highest and most difficultly practicable points of self-denial (to which notwithstanding all the Disciples and followers of Christ are expresly called, and wherein he hath great delight and complacency, as favouring strong of intire trust and confidence in him); Yet if we consider these few things, it will be found that there is all the reason in the World, why they should come in his will and sweetly submit themselves to it in all things, how cross soever to their own inclination, without any the ⟨image 3⟩least sinful reluctation or contradiction; which is our priviledge and the restauration of our degenerated nature to its Divine and Primitive integrity.

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First, if it be considered that he hath most Sovereign, Absolute, and Incontrollable Dominion over you as the Potter hath over the Clay, for ye are the Clay, and he is the Potter; Nay, he hath more absolute Dominion over you then the Potter hath over he Clay, for the Potter maketh not the Clay, both the Clay and the Potter being made by him;¹ But he hath made you and not you your selves; Ye are all the work of his hands; He hath made you living Creatures, rational Creatures, and new Creatures,² If any man be in Christ he is a new Creature (which is the very flower of the Creation) and ye are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works: ³If therefore it be unsuitable and incongruous for the Clay to say to him that fashioned it, ⁴What makest thou? Or for a mans work to say to him that he hath no hands; It's sure much more for you to say to your great Potter and Fashioner, What makest thou of us? Why dealest thou so and so with us? Woe to him that striveth with his Maker, ⁵let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth, ⁶Hath not the potter power over the clay? And are you not not in the hand of the Lord as the clay as in the hand of the Potter? He might have made you vessels to dishonour, vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, without being justly chargeable with any injury done to you; And when he hath in the Sovereignty of his most wonderful free Grace, made you vessels to honour, and vessels of mercy which he hath afore prepared unto glory, will ye dare to quarrel with him for his disposing in his own way of your external condition in the World, and of these moveables and accessories that are wholly extrinsic, and not at all essential to your Salvation and true Happiness? (For, let all the pleasures, riches and honours of ⟨image 3⟩this World, even all the delights of the sons of men in their very Extract, Spirits, and Quintessence, and when in a manner Distilled in a Lembick, till they be made to evaporate the purest Perfumes of their outmost perfections, be heaped on the Christian; As they make him no better Christian, nor make any addition at all to his true happiness; So when he is deplumed and stripped naked of them all, every Bird as it were of these earthly comforts taking back again from him its own Feather; He is made never a whit the worse Christian, nor his happiness in the least impaired);

First, if it be considered that he hath most Soveraign, Absolute, and Incontrollible Dominion over you as the Potter hath over the Clay, for ye are the Clay, and he is the Potter; Nay, he hath more absolute Dominion over you then the Potter hath over he Clay, for the Potter maketh not the Clay, both the Clay and the Potter being made by him;¹ But he hath made you and not you your selves; Ye are all the work of his hands; He hath made you living Creatures, rational Creatures, and new Creatures,² If any man be in Christ he is a new Creature (which is the very flower of the Creation) and ye are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works: ³If therefore it be unsuitable and incongruous for the Clay to say to him that fashioned it, ⁴What makest thou? Or for a mans work to say to him that he hath no hands; It's sure much more for you to say to your great Potter and Fashioner, What makest thou of us? Why dealest thou so and so with us? Wo to him that striveth with his Maker, ⁵let the potsheard strive with the potsheards of the earth, ⁶Hath not the potter power over the clay? And are you not not in the hand of the Lord as the clay as in the hand of the Potter? He might have made you vessels to dishonour, vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, without being justly chargeable with any injury done to you; And when he hath in the Soveraignty of his most wonderful free Grace, made you vessels to honour, and vessels of mercy which he hath afore prepared unto glory, will ye dare to quarrel with him for his disposing in his own way of your external condition in the World, and of these moveables and accessories that are wholly extrinsick, and not at all essential to your Salvation and true Happiness? (For, let all the pleasures, riches and honours of ⟨image 3⟩this World, even all the delights of the sons of men in their very Extract, Spirits, and Quintessence, and when in a manner Distilled in a Lembick, till they be made to evaporat the purest Perfumes of their outmost perfections, be heaped on the Christian; As they make him no better Christian, nor make any addition at all to his true happiness; So when he is deplumed and stripped naked of them all, every Bird as it were of these earthly comforts taking back again from him its own Feather; He is made never a whit the worse Christian, nor his happiness in the least impared);

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Secondly, If it be considered that he is of infinite wisdom, and knows much better what is good for you then ye do your selves; who often mistake what is good for you through your corruption, ignorance, partiality, or prejudice; But he by the most absolute perfection of his blessed Nature is infinitely removed from all possibility of mistaking what is good in it self, or good for you; and if you will adventure your Estate and livelihood in the World on able and faithful Lawyers, when ye your selves are much unacquainted with, and ignorant of Law, and are disposed to think that the Suit that is commenced against you will ruin you, while they think otherwise; And if you will commit your health and life to skilful and painful Physicians or Chirurgeons, and receive from the one many unpleasant and loathsome Potions and Pills; and suffer from the other such painful Incisions and Injections, such Searchings, Lancings, and Pancings, such Scarifications, Cauterizings, and Amputations; From all which ye have so great an aversation, if not abhorrency, Will ye not much rather and much more confidently commit the ⟨image 4⟩conduct and care of your selves and of all that concerns you to him, of whose undertaking there is no search as to what is good for his own People, and whose faithfulness in his dealing with them reacheth to the very clouds, ¹and never faileth? The skilfullest of these may mistake, none of them being infallible, and the most faithful of them may possibly at sometimes and in some things be found unfaithfully neglective, none of them being perfect; But it is simply impossible for him either to mistake or to be unfaithful, for otherwise he should deny himself, and so cease to be God, whereof once to admit the thought is the highest blasphemy; Let therefore your confident trusting of men in their respective Professions and Callings, make you blush at, and be ashamed of your distrustings and jealousings of God, and of your quarrellings with him, even when ye know not for the time what he is doing with you, and when what is done would have been none of your own choice, but doth very much thwart and cross your natural inclination: Is it not enough that he is infinitely wise in himself, and for you? May you not therefore safely trust in him, and with unsolicitous confidence, commit the conduct of your selves and of all your concerns to him?

Secondly, If it be considered that he is of infinite wisdome, and knows much better what is good for you then ye do your selves; who often mistake what is good for you through your corruption, ignorance, partiality, or prejudice; But he by the most absolute perfection of his blessed Nature is infinitly removed from all possibility of mistaking what is good in it self, or good for you; and if you will adventure your Estate and livelihood in the World on able and faithful Lawyers, when ye your selves are much unacquainted with, and ignorant of Law, and are disposed to think that the Suit that is commenced against you will ruine you, while they think otherwise; And if you will commit your health and life to skilful and painful Physicians or Chirurgions, and receive from the one many unpleasant and loathsome Potions and Pills; and suffer from the other such painful Incisions and Injections, such Searchings, Lancings, and Pancings, such Scarifications, Cauterizings, and Amputations; From all which ye have so great an aversation, if not abhorrency, Will ye not much rather and much more confidently commit the ⟨image 4⟩conduct and care of your selves and of all that concerns you to him, of whose undertaking there is no search as to what is good for his own People, and whose faithfulness in his dealing with them reacheth to the very clouds, ¹and never faileth? The skilfullest of these may mistake, none of them being infallible, and the most faithful of them may possibly at sometimes and in some things be found unfaithfully neglective, none of them being perfect; But it is simply impossible for him either to mistake or to be unfaithful, for otherwise he should deny himself, and so cease to be God, whereof once to admit the thought is the highest blasphemy; Let therefore your confident trusting of men in their respective Professions and Callings, make you blush at, and be ashamed of your distrustings and jealousings of God, and of your quarrellings with him, even when ye know not for the time what he is doing with you, and when what is done would have been none of your own choise, but doth very much thwart and cross your natural inclination: Is it not enough that he is infinitely wise in himself, and for you? May you not therefore safely trust in him, and with unsollicitous confidence, commit the conduct of your selves and of all your concerns to him?

1Psal. 36.5. Psal. 89.33.