Letters of Samuel Rutherford: (Third Edition)Rutherford, Samuel
Religion
Letters of Samuel Rutherford: (Third Edition)
Rutherford, Samuel
Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661 -- Correspondence
1. _All who are sensible of their own, and the Church's decay and
corruptions._--The wound and the cure are therein so fully opened out:
self is exposed, specially _spiritual self_. He will tell you, "There
is as much need to watch over grace, as to watch over sin." He will
show you God in Christ, to fill up the place usurped by self. The
subtleties of sin, idols, snares, temptations, self-deceptions, are
dragged into view from time to time. And what is better still, the
cords of Christ are twined round the roots of these bitter plants,
that they may be plucked up.
Nor is it otherwise in regard to corruption in public, and in the
Church. We do not mean merely the open corruption of error, but also
the secret "grey hairs" of decay. Hear him cry, "There is universal
deadness on all that fear God. O where are the sometime quickening
breathings and influences from heaven that have refreshed His hidden
ones!" And then he laments, in the name of the saints, "We are half
satisfied with our witheredness; nor have we as much of his strain who
doth eight times breathe out that suit (Psalm cxix.), Quicken me!" "We
live far from the well, and complain but dryly of our dryness."
2. _All who delight in the Surety's imputed righteousness._--If
thoroughly aware of the body of sin in ourselves we cannot but feel
that we need a _person_ in our stead--the person of the God-man in the
room of our guilty person. "To us a Son is given;" not salvation only,
but a Saviour. "He gave _Himself_ for _us_."
These letters are ever leading us to the Surety and His righteousness.
The eye never gets time to rest long on anything apart from Him and
His righteousness. We are shown the deluge-waters undried up, in order
to lead us into the ark again: "I had fainted, had not want and penury
chased me to the storehouse of all."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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