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cause_n	good_a	great_a	way_n	2,901	5	4.3688	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81893	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.	Durham, James, 1622-1658.	1686 (1686)	Wing D2814; ESTC R231467	103,007	176

thereby It 's true no affliction is for the present joyous but grievous and even the Believer in Christ may find difficultie yea not only so but much aversness and resistance from the unrenewed part but the regenerat part makes him patiently and pleasantly to stoup Thus the Lord sayes of Peter That he should be carried whither he would not There was in him not only a purely naturall aversion from Suffering such was in blessed ●esus himself without any the least sinfull discomposure but somewhat culpably so through ●he remainder of indwelling Corruption but the regenerat part through assisting Grace prevailled so that he glorified God by his Suffering of a violent Death A 2d Thing that confirmeth and presseth this is not only the great good and benefit that cometh to us by it which makes Paul to glorie in the midst of tribulations and James to exhort Christians to count it all joy when they fall into divers tentations but also the great and honourable priviledge that is in being counted worthy to suffer for his name rejoyce sayes Peter in as much as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings And if we consider a little more particularly we will find that there are a great many priviledges that wait honest and chearful Sufferings for Christ beside all the good of it As namely 1. When God puts the honour on some to be instrumental in high and honourable pieces of service to him particularly in suffering for him which is most honourable giving them not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake as it is Philip. 1.29 Where there is an observable gradation all Believers have not this honour 2dly There is a measure of mystical Christs Sufferings to be filled up For as Christ is not compleat without his body the Church so his Sufferings in that respect are not compleat till that appointed measure be filled up So Col. 1 24. Believers are said to fill up what is behind of the sufferings of Christ mystical and there is thereby a great priviledge and piece of honour put upon them It 's true their Sufferings are neither meritorious nor satisfactory to Divine Justice that is already done to their hand it being the peculiar and incommunicable priviledge of the personal sufferings of Christ but to be joyned with him in the same work in order to the sam● general end viz. The glorifying of God is doubtless a great honour A 3d. Priviledge is that Believers Sufferings for Christ make way according to Gods disposal and order of things for more eminent degrees of Glory Matth. 5.11.12 It 's true they merit none yet he hath in his wisdom ordered that connection and promised that if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him and if we suffer with him that we shall also be glorified together with him 2 Tim. 2.12 Rom. 8.17 And says the Lord to his Disciples Luke 22.28 29. To this purpose Ye are they that have continued with me in my tentations and I appoint unto you a kingdom c. It is not indeed by way of merit but by way of connection that much Suffering is recompensed with much Glory It 's a righteous thing with God says the Apostle 2 Thess 1.6 to render tribulation to them that trouble you and to you that are troubled rest with us There is a sort of Righteousness in making much Suffering for Christ to be followed with much Glory so that though the Saints righteousness be a righteousness of Grace yet there is somewhat in Gods Righteousness and equal or suitable way of dealing that me●s out great Glory according to great Sufferings for Christ A 4th Priviledge is more liveliness in Duties more immediat access to God under the Cross a greater nearness to him and greater manifestations of of his comforting presence under Suffering for Christ then is ordinarly attained unto otherwise So much is declared by the Apostle 1 Pet. 4.14 If ye be reprached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of God and of G●●●y resteth upon you A 5th Priviledge is That Sufferers for Christ are someway equalled to the most eminent Saints Prophets and Apostles that have gone before them To this purpose says our Lord to his Disciples Matth. 5. v. 11 12. Blessed are ye when men shal revile and persecute you for so did they persecut the Prophets that were before you And to be dealt with as all the great men of God and the Prophets before us were and to be put in the same rank roll and catalogue with them is no small Priviledge nor is it any little honour for such poor creatures as we are to be thus highly ranked and classed There is a 3d thing that confirmeth and presseth the Point and that is the Fountain whence this willing taking up and chearful bearing of Christs Cross flowes which is the believing contemplation and consideration of the Love of God in Christ of the faithfulness of his Promise and Covenant and of his tender Fatherly care and pity towards his Children Ye have forgotten saith the Apostle Heb. 12.5 the exhortation that speaks to you as to Children My son despise not thou the chastning of the Lord neither faint when thou art rebuked of him Importing that they had forgotten the nature of affliction and of the relation that they stood in to God when they fainted under the Cross For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth and chastneth every son whom he receiveth and if ye indure chastisments ye are dealt with as Sons c. As if he had said Gods ch●stning puts this honour upon you in that as it flowes from his special Love so it declares you to be his Sons all your chastisements are effects of his Fatherly Love to you and of his tender care of you and by this Character he d●fferenceth you from bastards The First Use serves to exhort stir up and provock all Christs Followers sweetly to take on and chearfully to bear the Cross of Christ when he calls to it and layes it on We would rejoyce and be exceeding glad and count it all joy we would rejoyce in as much as we are made partakers of the sufferings of Christ as our Lord and his Apostles James and Peter from him exhorts us Ah! how far are we removed from this in our practice we should glory in tribulation and glorifie God in the fires yea should make our Cross for Christ a great ground of our chearfulness and joy not that we would have Christians either to be rash and hastie in drawing on Suffering on themselves even in a good cause or to be carnal vain conceity and proud under it but when the Lord calls us to it we would readily stoup to take on his Cross and carry it handsomly and chearfully that we may commend and give a good word to the Cross of Christ to others that they may know the exhortations to Sufferings this way and the promise made to honest Sufferers are

they them●elves have contracted in doing their Duty ●hrough a mixture of this Corrupt Self yet not ●o as when they altogether give over Duty for when Duty is in obedience to Gods Command gone about Self gets not such way nor doth it so much prevail as when it is quite neglected by neglecting of Duty we bring our selves under the certain guilt of direct and down-right Rebellion against a divine Command to eschew an accidental sin which also God might graciously in a great measure prevent I thought to have spoken a word here to you that know or at least acknowledge no other rule councellour or end but flesh and blood but carnal and corrupt Self I shall only desire you for the Lords sake to consider how sad your case must needs be when all your meerly civil and formal way in Religion shall be found to have referred to your self only as your end and when God shall say to you when ye prayed heard the Word and read it when ye did eat and drink ye did not any of all these things to me and yet this is the case not only of the more grosly prophane but also of all meerly legal and formal Person● pretending to Godliness as if because of thes● external performances God had by special Grac● differenced them from others while in the mea● time they still go about to establish their ow● righteousnesse and quite neglect to make use o● Christs If this Corruption of Selfiness be such an obstruction to Believers what must it be to you who live to your selves as if ye had bee● born to your selves nay as if ye had given a being to your selves who were never divorced nor delivered from the dominion of Self The Lord himself open your eyes that ye may see the deplorableness of your state and condition SERMON V. Matth. 16.24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples if any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me YE may Remember we drew these Words to Four Heads 1. The great and main design that such as would ingadge with Christ should have before them even to come after Christ and follow him 2ly The great obstruction that lyeth in the way of men coming after and following of Christ and that is Selfiness or inordinat regard to a mans Self which makes him fall short in that Respect and Duty which he owes to Christ 3ly The Qualification that is required in or the Duty that lyes upon the man that will come after and follow Christ in three steps every one of which qualifies to say so another 1. He must deny himself 2ly Take up his cross 3ly Follow Christ 4ly The necessity of this Let him do it Of the First two we have spoken already and come therefore now to speak a word to the third viz. The Qualification required in or the Duty that lyes upon a follower of Christ in these three steps proposed The first whereof is Self-denyal whence we Observe the Words clearly give us the Doctrine That is is requisit in all that would follow Christ and give up their names to him to be his Disciples that their chief work be to deny themselves This is the first thing that he requires here and the first step of the way without which none can follow him nor make any progress in their way of following him for clearness cause ye may take the Doctrine in these three Branches or look upon it these three ways 1. As it holds out Christs calling unto this and his laying it on his followers as a Duty to deny themselves 2ly As it is a requisit qualification fitting them for following of him shewing that Self-denyal is that which notably qualifies a Person to be a follower of Christ 3ly As it holds forth a necessity of the Duty that a man must needs by any means deny himself that would come after and follow Christ all the three return to and resolve in this even the commending of this Grace of Self denyal and in pressi g the necessity of it and therefore I shall speak of them complexly together 1. By showing what Self-denyal is 2ly By clearing those three forementioned Branches 3ly By making use of them and all this will be the easier and we may be the shorter in it that we have spoken of the contrary corruption of Selfiness somewhat largely before For clearing then of the First of these to wit What is meant by Self-denyal Consider First what is meant by Selfiness which is nothing else than a mans excessive and inordinat regard to himself and being too much swayed with Selfie-respect and therefore to deny our selves is to be abstracted from all inordinat Selfie-respects and considerations in the following of Christ as if we had not a Self to speak so as if we had no reason wit will nor parts of our own so to be denyed to these as if we had them not at all or as they were not ours or in us 2ly Consider how this word is used 2 Tim. 3.5 Having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof That is though they make profession of Godliness yet they no more care for the power of it than if there were not such a thing they have no regard in their life to God but whatever be their profession of him in word yet in their works they deny him as it is Tit. 1.16 So that a man who is denyed to himself aright lives in respect of any inordinat estimation of love to delight in and care for himself and endeavours to walk as singly in respect of these as if no such affections or passions were at all in him 3ly Consider and compare some Scripture-phrases and examples and they will help to clear what Self-denyal is as 1. That Phrase which we have Heb. 11.24 in the example of Moses By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter and choosed rather to suffer affliction with the people of God It is the same word in the Original that is used here He denyed to be called the Son of Pharaohs daughter he had so little undue respect to his own ease pleasure profite and preferment that when the Tentation to these comes in his way he walks as singly and self-denyedly as if he had met with no such thing when that Tentation assaulted him he resolutely refused and denyed to admit of it A 2d Phrase we have in Pauls example Gal. 6.14 God forbid sayeth the Apostle that I should rejoyce save in the cross of Christ whereby the world is crucified to me and I unto the world Opposing therein his own single way to the Selfie way of these false teachers who preached circumcision to eschew the Cross and shews what it was to be denyed in that way Even to be crucified to the world and to have the world crucified to him So that the world had no more power to tempt him than a dead man hanging on a Cross

manifest prejudice to the work of God or some notable reproach on his People even though the mean be lawful in it self we are called in that case rather to Suffer for though the mean be lawfull yet if it should be used by us it is very probable it would derogat from and reflect upon our profession and be matter of stumbling to the People of God and minister occasion to adversaries to insult or speak ill as for instance it was not simply unlawful or sinfull for Nehemiah to flee to save his life yet he says should s●ch a man as he flee He finds on due consideration that for such a man in such a place and so stated to flee would have been a reproach to his profession and would have stumbled many therefore he judges it unsuitable to redeem his life at the too dear rate of such a repro●ch and that he is called rather to hazard on Suffering men would not be vain and carnal in ●●eking to maintain their own credit in a suffering time yet they would concernedly see to the credit of the Gospel and of their profession and it is on this ground that Paul goes in many of hi● Suffe●ings that by his Sufferings others may be streng●hned ed●fied and confi●med and ma●e m●●● hold and no wayes prejudiced and the mou●hs of adversaries stopped that were ready to take advantage and speak evil and to come by these ends he rejoyced in Sufferings A 4th Case is when our doing of such and such a thing hath a longer train of consequents following it than the●● is any great matter in the thing it self whic● may give advantage to the enemy or may bri●● prejudice to Gods Work or to his People we a●● called in that case rather to forbear and ha●●ard on Suffering as for example it was but 〈◊〉 little thing in it self for Daniel to shut the wi●dows and for Mordecai to bow before Haman But when either of these is considered with th● train that followed on it whilest thereby it 〈◊〉 attempted to beat them from their stedfastnes● their yielding to such a thing would have give occasion of boasting rejoycing and triumph t● the enemy and of sorrow and sadness to th● People of God and might seem to be a recedin● from a called for Testimony and upon these cons●derations they find themselves concerned clea●ly called rather to hazard on Suffering than 〈◊〉 do such a thing which in other cases migh● have been done This Case as also the former call for much Holy Wisdom Prudence an● Self denyal and much Light and Direction from God and I have instanced them for this cause that we may not think that we are not called to Suffer when the thing is little or such a in other Cases or in other Circumstances might be done It is true the thing may be little considered simply and in it self and if there were no more following on it is such as might b● done but when we see it is designed and made use of to be as it were a needle to draw with i● a long threed of consequences and to bear and bind upon us such things that in Conscience we cannot comply with nor allow of we are not in that case to consider and weigh the thing as abstracted from and divested of the consequents ●d circumstances thereof but as it is attend● by and cloathed with them we shall not ●stance any more particular Cases but earnest-beseech every one gravely to perpend and ●nder these as they shall find themselves in ●ch and such circumstances to be concerned ●nd always to remember that it 's better to ●oise to suffer affliction than sin or the pleasures 〈◊〉 it which indure but for a season 2ly From Christs requiring that the Cross ●ay be taken up and born as it leads unto ●nd furthers in the following of him and as 〈◊〉 fits and prompts for following of him Ob●●ve in a Word for we hasten to a close ●hat suffering of it self never profiteth or ad●antageth men in the way of holiness nor is it ac●●ptable to Christ but only as it fits for follow●●g of him and furthers ●s therein For Crosses ●nd Afflictions are common to good and bad ●nd that which makes crosses and afflictions ac●eptable to him and profitable comfortable ●nd lovely to Believers is this that they are ●lessed towards their furtherance in following ●f him towards their advances in conformity to ●im and communion with him For Use Take this as the great Scope and ●pshot of Sufferings and take it also for a mark ●o try right Suffering by It is not the mea●ure of Suffering but Suffering as it hath this ●weet fruit growing on it even progress in likeness to Christ in holiness and in fellowship with him that makes it pleasing to God on Christs account and profitable to us and indeed it may make a very sad and humbling discovery of our present condition as to most of us our Sufferings have not been few and have met with several sad dispensations 〈◊〉 alas how little h●ve they participat of the ●ture of the Cross of Christ It 's t●●e in respect the material cause of them they have been ●or h● yet in so sa● as few are bettered fa●th ●o holiness by them and made to run after him in 〈◊〉 way of hi● Commandments we may sadly say th● hath been but little lament●bly 〈◊〉 ●●ff●●ing Christ we have much reas●●●o ●ear that as have many things to count s●● in reference t● greatly abused glorious Gospel so his inpar●icu● abused Crosses Afflictions he hath smitten 〈◊〉 and we have not suitably grieved neither have 〈◊〉 turned to the hand that smote us ah what pro●ing is there in respect of the inward mortificati● of Sin and of delight in God or in respect of a ●sible holy and examplary conversation becom● the Gospel of Christ by all our Sufferings Is the not beside these great defects as to the power godliness some wearing out of the very form of 〈◊〉 that had wont to be abused Crosses may be very sad article in our Libel and Indirement an● when we grow not better by Crosses we read●● grow worse 3ly From our Lords requiring from all that w●● come after him the taking up and bearng of h● Cross as it fits following of him Observe That the right taking up and bearing of the Cross notably qu●lifies and fits men for following of Christ Therefor● do●● he here propose i● as a fit suitable midle fo● coming at that end It i● not the Cross co●sidere● simply and in it self as I said that fits for following of Christ but the kindly submitting to bea●ing of it that hath this blessed fruit effect Lam. 3.27 It is good for a man saith Jeremiah that he ●r the ●ock in his youth he sits alone keeps silence 〈◊〉 Kindly submitting to the Cross makes humble ●d patient suffers not the afflicted man to fret ●r to prescribe to God many take on the Cross ●ou do not to speak so bear it and many bear when it is in a manner so bound on them that ●ey cannot get it sh●ken off who yet fret repine ●d grumble under greatly weary of it as an in●lerable burden but this kindly bearing of it ●akes silent sweetly submissive of the afflicted ●●rsons own accord If ye indure chastening sayeth ●e Apostle Heb. 12.7 God dealeth with you as ●ith Sons This genuine kindly exercise under ●e Cross bespeaks a clearing and comforting evi●ence of Son-ship The Use of it serves in short to discover to us ●●e great let obstruction that lyeth in the way ●f our ready resolute chearful following of Christ ●ven our not being folding yielding toward and ●●actable to the Lord by the Cross but much in●lining either to shift or shake it off either to fret ●nder it or at best preposterously to seek after a ●hange of it of what ever nature it be whether a ●hare of that which is more common publick or ●om whatmore particular domestick or personal we should have it for our great work and task to bear and by hearing to be benefited and bettered by our Cross to be alwayes in a posture of readiness to Suffer which will lay our pride keep down our easily discomposing and distempering passions it would contribute to the grouth of Grace and would through Gods blessing be as a weeding-iron to draw up the weeds of corruption from among the herbs and would make them die which alas often grow ranker than herbs 〈◊〉 Cross rightly born would in a word notably h● to follow Christ 4ly Observe but in a short word That there 〈◊〉 no following of Christ aright unless we resolve 〈◊〉 take up and bear patiently and pleasantly our o● particular Crosses shaped to us If any man sayeth o● Lord he●e will come after me let him take up his cr● and follow me The way of following of Christ is 〈◊〉 hedged as it were with thorns that through ma● Tribulations Afflictions all that will follow hi● must needs enter into the Kingdom of God an● the Christian race and c urse of Godlines● hath 〈◊〉 many enemies on all hands and from all quarte● that the man who resolves not to suffer for Chris● will make no progress in it There is nothing mor● frequently proposed unto and pressed upon 〈◊〉 the profest followers of Christ than this and it 〈◊〉 here laid down by him as one of the first gre●● articles of his capitulation to speak so with a● that will come after him the necessity whereof i● powerfully pressed and put home by all thes● weighty arguments which follow our Text to th● close of the Chapter which are all linked together with this that if any man will come after Christ he must deny himself take up his cross and follow him who is infinitly worthy to be followed notwithstanding all the Crosses that attend and follow his followers while they sojourn in this present evil sinfull and troublesome Wo●ld out of which when they shall be gone they will exchange their Cross for● an incorruptible Crown FINIS