A81893:183
The great corruption of subtle self, discovered, and driven from it's lurking-places and starting-holes…The great corruption of subtile self, discovered, and driven from it's lurking-places and starting-holes…
The great corruption of subtle self, discovered, and driven from it's lurking-places and starting-holes And the contrary grace, self-denial commended, as an indispensably necessary requisite to the acceptable and successful performance of all commanded-duties, and as notably fitting for taking up of the cross, and following Christ. In seven sermons. By master James Durham, late minister of the gospel in Glasgow.The great corruption of subtile self, discovered, and driven from it's lurking-places and starting-holes And the contrary grace, self-denyal commended, as an indispensably necessary requisite to the acceptable and successfull performance of all commanded-duties, and as notably fitting for taking up of the cross, and following Christ. In seven sermons. By master James Durham, late minister of the gospel in Glasgow.
Edinburgh: printed by the heir of Andrew Anderson, 1686
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.
We would not limit Suffering for Christ to a direct Suffering for him, as when the quarrel, opposition, or persecution is stated down right on his account, or for his sake; for there is an indirect ⟨p. 157⟩Suffering for Christ; as when men are ashamed •o afflict, or persecute directly and expressly for Christs sake, or for any thing of Christ, that appears in such a Person, or Persons, they pretend some other ground of quarrel, but still from a secret Heart-pique and prejudice at some what of Christ in them; as it may be, they will call them seditious, unclean, intemperate, and the like, and under that disguise put upon them, persecute them, blast their reputation, and defame them; while in the mean time, the true & principal, if not the alone ground of the quarrel is, a malicious hatred of somewhat (as I said) of God discovered to be in the Person or Persons, and not hatred of the sin, wherewith they reproach them; otherwise they would hate that sin in themselves and in others, which yet they do not; a plain evidence, that the Persons either supposed, or real Sin, is not the ground of the quarrel, however pretended, but that they reproach them with it on a malicious design, thereby to obscure, and cry down the good that is in them; such men will not readily say, this or that man is a godly man, and therefore he must suffer, but he is this, and that and the other odious thing, and therefore away with him, he is not worthy to live, as they said of Jeremiah; and how often were the Apostles persecuted under the false pretext of their being turners of •he World up side-down? and that horrid and hellish things were most falsely charged by persecuting Pagans, on the Primitive Christians, that under that disguise they might the more freely persecute them? yet all these were for Christ, 5ly. We would not limit sufferings for Christ, to things simply lawful, or unlawful, for it may be, sometimes for ⟨p. 158⟩things indifferent in their own nature, which y• being so and so circumstantiated to us, may dra• on Suffering; and these Sufferings may be Suffe• ings for Christ; a thing may be indifferent, an• lawful to some, which to others stated under such and such circumstances may be accounted receding from some part of a just Testimony, o a refusing to give a Testimony;