Towards the end of January 1651, the common session of Glasgow, appointed Mr. Patrick Gillespie to write a letter to Mr. Durham, concerning Mr. Robert Ramsay's being professor of divinity in place of the said Mr. James Durham, in the university of Glasgow. In consequence of which, Mr. Durham came to Glasgow, for he is mentioned present in the session in the beginning of April next. At the same time, Cromwel and his army were in Glasgow, and on the Lord's day Cromwel heard Mr. Durham preach, when he testified against his invasion to his face. Next day he sent for Mr Durham, and told him, He always thought he had been a wiser man, than to meddle with matters of public concern in his sermons.—To which he answered, It was not his practice, but that he judged it both wisdom and prudence to speak his mind on that head seeing he had the opportunity to do it in his presence.——Cromwell dismissed him very civilly, but desired him to forbear insisting on that subject in public; and at the same time sundry ministers both in town and country met with Cromwel and his officers, and represented in strong terms the injustice of his invasion.
It would appear that Mr. Durham, some time after this, had withdrawn from Glasgow, and therefore a letter was, in August next, ordered to be sent to him to come and visit them and preach; and in September next, there being a vacancy in the inner kirk by the death of Mr. Ramsay, the common session gave an unanimous call (with which the town-council agreed) to Mr Durham to be minister there. And some time after this he was received minister in the inner kirk, Mr. John Carstairs his brother-in-law being his colleague in that church.
In the whole of his ministry he was a burning and shining light, and particularly he shined in humility and self-denial. An instance of which was, Upon a day when Mr. Andrew Gray and he were to preach, being walking together, Mr. Durham observing multitudes thronging to Mr. Gray's church, and only a few into his, said to Mr. Gray, "Brother, you are like to have a throng church to-day." To which Mr. Gray answered, "Truly, brother, they are fools to leave you and come to me."—"Not so, dear brother, replied Mr. Durham, for a minister can receive no such honour and success in his ministry, except it be given him from heaven. I rejoice that Christ is preached, though my esteem in people's hearts should decrease and be diminished; for I am content to be any thing so that Christ be all in all."
He was also a person of the utmost gravity, and scarce smiled at any thing. Once when Mr. William Guthrie being exceeding merry, made Mr. Durham smile with his pleasant, facetious and harmless conversation, at which Mr. Durham was at first a little disgusted, but it being the laudable custom of that family to pray after dinner, which Mr. Guthrie did, upon being desired, with the greatest measure of seriousness and fervency, to the astonishment of all present: when they arose from prayer, Mr. Durham embraced him and said, "O William, you are a happy man, if I had been so merry as you have been, I could not have been in such a serious frame for prayer for the space of forty-eight hours."
As Mr. Durham was devout in all parts of his ministerial work, so more eminently at communion occasions. Then he endeavoured through grace to rouse and work up himself to such a divineness of frame, as very much suited the spiritual state and majesty of that ordinance. Yea, at some of these solemn and sweet occasions, he spoke some way as a man that had been in heaven commending Jesus Christ, making a glorious display of free grace, &c. and brought the offers thereof so low that they were made to think the rope or cord of the salvation offered, was let down to sinners, that those of the lowest stature might catch hold of it. He gave himself much up to meditation, and usually said little to persons that came to propose their cases to him, but heard them patiently, and was sure to handle their case in his sermons.
His healing disposition and great moderation of spirit remarkably appeared when this church was grievously divided betwixt the resolutioners and protestors; and as he would never give his judgment upon either side, so he used to say, That division was worse by far than either of the sides. He was equally respected by both parties, for at a meeting of the synod in Glasgow, when those of the different sides met separately, each of them made choice of Mr. Durham for their moderator, but he refused to join either of them, till they would both unite together, which they accordingly did. At this meeting he gave in some overtures for peace, the substance of which was, that they should eschew all public awakening or lengthening out the debate either by preaching or spreading of papers on either side, and that they should forbear practising, executing or pressing of acts made in the last assembly at St. Andrews and Dundee, and also pressing or spreading appeals, declinatures, &c. against the same, and that no church-officer should be excepted at on account of these things, they being found otherwise qualified, &c.[82]
So weighty was the ministerial charge upon his spirit, that if he were to live ten years longer, he would choose to live nine years in study, for preaching the tenth; and it was thought his close study and thoughtfulness cast him into that decay whereof he died. In the time of his sickness, the better part being afraid that the magistrates and some of the ministry who were for the public resolutions, would put in one of that stamp after his death, moved Mr. Carstairs his colleague, in a visit to desire him to name his successor, which after some demur, injoining secrecy till it was nearer his death, he at last named Mr. David Vetch then minister of Govan; but afterwards when dying, to the magistrates, ministers and some of the people, he named other three to take any of them they pleased.—This alteration made Mr. Carstairs inquire the reason after the rest were gone, to whom Mr. Durham replied, O Brother, Mr. Vetch is too ripe for heaven to be transported to any church on earth; he will be there almost as soon as I.—Which proved so; for Mr. Durham died the Friday after, and next Sabbath Mr. Vetch preached, and (though knowing nothing of this) told the people in the afternoon it would be his last sermon to them, and the same night taking bed, he died next Friday morning about three o'clock; the time that Mr. Durham died, as Dr. Rattray, who was witness to both, did declare.—When on his death-bed, he was under considerable darkness about his state, and said to Mr. John Carstair's brother, "For all that I have preached or written, there is but one scripture I can remember or dare gripe unto; tell me if dare lay the weight of my salvation upon it, Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out."—Mr. Carstairs answered, "You may depend on it, though you had a thousand salvations at hazard." When he was drawing towards his departure in a great conflict and agony, finding some difficulty in his passage, yet he sensibly, through the strength of God's grace, triumphantly overcame; he cried out in a rapture of holy joy some little time before he committed his soul to God, "Is not the Lord good! Is he not infinitely good! See how he smiles! I do say it, and I do proclaim it." He died on Friday the 25th of June 1658, in the thirty-sixth year of his age.
Thus died the eminently pious, learned and judicious Mr. James Durham, whose labours did always aim at the advancement of practical religion, and whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches both at home and abroad. He was a burning and a shining light, a star of the first magnitude, and of whom it may be said (without derogating from the merit of any), that he attained unto the first three and had a name among the mighty. He was also one of great integrity and authority in the country where he lived, insomuch, that when any difference fell out, he was always chosen by both parties as their great referee or judge, unto whose sentence all parties submitted. Such was the quality of his calm and healing spirit.
His colleague Mr. John Carstairs, in his funeral sermon from Isa. lvii. 1, 2. The righteous man perisheth, and no one layeth it to heart, &c. gives him this character,—"Know ye not that there is a prince among pastors fallen to-day! a faithful and wise steward, that knew well how to give God's children their food in due season, a gentle and kind nurse, a faithful admonisher, reprover, &c. a skilful counsellor in all straits and difficulties; in dark matters he was eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, a burning and shining light in the dark world, an interpreter of the word among a thousand, to him men gave ear, and after his words no man spake again."
His learned and pious works, (wherein all the excellencies of the primitive and ancient fathers seem to concenter) are a commentary on the Revelation; seventy-two sermons on the fifty-third chapter of the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah; an exposition of the ten commandments; an exposition of the Song of Solomon; his sermons on death; on the unsearchable riches of Christ; his communion sermons, sermons on godliness and self-denial; a sermon on a good conscience. There are also a great many of his sermons in manuscript (never yet published), viz. three sermons upon resisting the Holy Ghost from Acts vii 51.; eight on quenching the Spirit; five upon giving the Spirit; thirteen upon trusting and delighting in God; two against immoderate anxiety; eight upon the one thing needful; with a discourse upon prayer, and several other sermons and discourses from Eph. v. 15. 1 Cor. xi. 24. Luke i. 6. Gal. v. 16, Psal. cxix. 67. 1 Thess. v. 19. 1 Pet. iii. 14. Matth. viii. 7. There is also a treatise on scandal, and an exposition by way of lecture upon Job said to be his, but whether these, either as to style or strain, co-here with the other works of the laborious Mr. Durham, must be left to the impartial and unbiased reader.