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