Thomas Adam (1701 - 84) on Human Depravity

I thought it would be a benefit to some, to introduce some passages taken out of a book that i did obtain some years back titled, "Private Thoughts On Religion", by Thomas Adam (1701 - 1784). The book contains extracts from his own private diary , and was published shortly after his death. I came across it upon reading Andrew Bonar's "Memoir & Remains Of Robert Murray M'Cheyne", in where Robert M'Cheyne is to write:
"Sept 8 (1833) - Reading Adams' Private Thoughts. Oh for his heart-searching humility! Ah me! On what mountains of pride must I be wandering, when all I do is tinctured with the very sins this man so deplores; yet where are my wailings, where my tears, over my love of praise?" (Banner Of Truth Trust; Reprint edition 2009; Quote extracted from pages 22 & 23).
Thereupon that time, I decided within myself, "If M'Cheyne said that of this man and his book, then I must get myself a copy."

The excerpts in this initial post are taken from the chapter, "Human Depravity", and are recorded on pages 63 - 65:

"We can no more bear to be told of our faults by God than man, and if we durst think it, are in reality as much disgusted at the one as the other."

"What is the reason of the frequent uneasiness betwixt man and wife; and of their sometimes giving full scope to their passions upon very trifling occasions, even amongst persons who have with decency, calmness, and general good temper to all others? It is because they think their reputation safe in each other's hands, and therefore are not afraid to discover their natural sourness and malignity. This shows that neither love of rectitude, or the fear of God is at the bottom of that poor thing we call virtue, since we exert it least where it is most due, and where it would be most serviceable to ourselves, only because we think we can do so without disgrace."

"The boasted demonstration of a future state of rewards and punishments, from the unequal distribution of things in this life, is annihilated upon the christian scheme, which supposes all to be sinners, and, as such, liable to condemnation; and, therefore, whatever good we receive from God in any period of our exixtence, is grace, and not retribution."

"Charity does not oblige us to think any man good, because Christ says, 'There is none good.'"

"Observe man's depravity in his punishment. In our present condition we can only relish earthly things, and they all conspire to disappoint our expectations. There must therefore of necessity be a change both in the faculty and the object, if ever we be happy. And our business here is not to accumulate riches, or fly from the sight of ourselves to amusements; but to acquire a true taste for things that are excellent."

"Words cannot express the tormenting consciousness of a soul seperated from the gracious influxes of God, and abandoned for ever to its own poverty and impotence."

"If we sought after truth, out of pure love to it, and for the pleasure of it, as is pretended, we should not fear the great teacher, Death, as we do."

"Nothing shows the vanity of wealth, grandeur, and pleasure in so strong a light as the restless, ambitious spirit of princes. What do they want? And what do they have? Alas, the soul, conscious to itself of much higher pretensions, is not to be quieted with any thing these can give it."

"It is the devil's master-piece to make us think well of ourselves."

"Alas! Who is humble? We disclaim perfection, and run down the preachers of it, from a general confused consciousness of our unworthiness, but cannot bear to be told of a trifling error in conduct. What management, gentle insinuation, and nice art of address, is necessary to prevent resentment in such cases, even from a friend?"

"We are sinners by the corruption of the heart, and it is a fatal mistake to suppose that we are so only by the commission of sin. Our guilt does not then begin to exist, when it is brought into action, but to appear, and what was always manifest to God, is now become so to ourselves and others."

"We cannot go to the bottom of sin without the convincing, searching Spirit Of God. If the work is to be our own, we shall deal so very tenderly with ourselves, that nothing ever come of it."

Yes, dear brother Greg. I somewhat find it a bit disturbing that this particular work isn't known more abroad throughout christendom. Here is a man that seems to have dug deep, that plowed much, and wrestled with principalities and powers in his quiet time with the Lord. He was far from superficial, by the grace of God.

Thank-you dear brother Greg, for your continual commitment in the Lord's work, and for giving me, an undeserving brother, the oppurtunity to share things like this, that inspire me to press on and that stir myself up, etc.

The Lord be graciously with you, and your family, in Spirit and in Truth, for His Name's sake, amen.

The excerpts in this post are taken from the chapter "Human Depravity" , and are recorded on pages 90 -92:

"What an astonishing thing is sin, which makes the God of love and Father of mercies an enemy to His creatures, and which could only be purged by the blood of the Son of God! Though all must believe this who believe the Bible, yet the exceeding sinfulness of sin is but weakly apprehended by those who have the deepest sense of it, and will never be fully known in this world."

""Their heart is far from Me." Some time ago this text was strong upon my mind, but soon neglected and forgotten. Supposing it to be suggested and presented by the Spirit for present use to no purpose, we may conceive the manner of the Spirit's working, and how it is quenched by man's resistance or inattention."

"The devil has great advantage from nature, pushing down-hill, and sometimes from the top to the bottom: The Spirit's work is up-hill. It is the greatest of miracles that any soul is ever brought to God."

"How astonishing is the quantity of misery in the world! How many thousands are rending the air with the cry of pain or wretchedness! Strange, that ever there should be so much, that there should be any suffering in the creation of a good God! Doubtless there is a cause for it, and if Moses had not told us what it is, we should be for ever in the dark. O, Adam, what hast thou done! O, man, what art thou always doing! O, Jesus, what hast Thou not done to relieve guilt and pain, to sweeten adversity, to blunt the sting of death, to restore happiness in some degree to the earth, and insure it in eternity!"

"Sin is against my retirements, against my prayers, against the sacrament, against the bowels and wounds of Christ, against my possession and enjoyment of Him, against peace in life and comfort in death, against time, against eternity, against all my hopes."

"I am sure, both from the Scripture, and long experience of my weakness, that it is God who worketh in us both to will and to do; and yet my self-sufficient efforts towards a better state are a practical denial of this belief; instead of leaving it to God to verify His Word, and execute His own promises, I would fain do all by a willing and working of my own."

"It is the general opinion of mankind, and what the Fathers, Chrysostom, and others, flourish much upon with great confidence, that the will is free. I do not find it so. The captivity of my will is my misery, and great complaint before God; nor do I think that if it was in equilibrio, any man on earth would choose evil. The Scripture affirms that the imagination of man's heart is evil continually, and it is a great point gained, and directs to a necessary subject of prayer, to know that the will is bound, and none but God can set it free."

"If God should do any thing but what He does, in any minutest instance, send one drop of rain more or less; diminish one pain, heighten one enjoyment, add or take away one moment of life, the consequence might be very bad; and yet, what is almost all the praying in the world for, but to tell Him that we are displeased with His will, and desire Him to change it."

"When sin is to be renounced as sin, and consequently all sin, the resistance of nature is incredible."

"If hypocrisy is taking up more reputation than we can answer in real worth, who is not an hypocrite?"

"Nothing is a greater proof of man's folly and corruption than that if he was left to choose his own happiness, and order all events for himself and others, he would certainly ruin both himself and them."

"Sin is the sole cause of all evil that is in the world, either as produced by it, or the punishment of it."