A20752:1083
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems…The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems…
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems of the spiritual enemies of our salvation, Satan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the means also whereby the Christian may withstand and defeat them : and afterwards more specially their particular temptations, against the several causes and means of our salvation, whereby on the one side they allure us to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw us to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spiritual conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sins / by I. Downame ...The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems of the spirituall ennemies of our saluation, Sathan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the meanes also whereby the Christian may vvithstand and defeate them : and afterwards more speciallie their particvlar temptatiions, against the seuerall causes and meanes of our saluation, whereby on the one side they allure vs to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw vs to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spirituall conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sinnes / by I. Dovvname ...
London: printed for Cuthbert Burby, 1604
Book 2 › Chapter 47: Other tentations concerning faith answered.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Or of Jonah when he rebelled against Gods commandment and fled from his presence, or when after his miraculous delivery, he murmured and uttered impatient speeches even against God himself ⟨p. 557⟩for the loss of a poor gourd which kept him from the heat of the sun; and when the Lord mercifully and mildly reproved him saying, doest thou well to be angry for the gourd, he stubbornly answered: I do well to be angry unto the death.1 Jon. 4.9. Or of the Apostles themselves when they fled away and forsook their Lord and master Jesus Christ for fear of worldly punishment, and when after his death they would not believe the women reporting that he was risen again, until their own eyes had seen them? Lastly, though it be evident that divers of the Saints mentioned in the Scriptures had a far greater measure of faith, and brought forth much more plentiful fruits then we can discern in our selves, yet this is no good reason to prove that our weaker & smaller faith is no faith, or uneffectuall for our salvation, for this is an absurd consequence, the Moon giveth much less light then the Sun, therefore it giveth no light at all, one hand is far greater then another, therefore the lesser is not a true hand, this man excelleth another in the use of reason, and therefore the other is unreasonable, because the divers degrees in the quantity of things do not take away the truth of their being and existence so long as they be of the same nature and quality. Besides as the holy ghost hath set down examples of most strong faith in some of Gods servants, so hath he made mention of some who have had but weak and little faith, to the end that we should so labour to attain unto the highest degree as that in the mean time we be not utterly discouraged with the lowest; for example as he hath remembered the faith of Abraham who believed above hope under hope, so he hath not forgotten his weak faith who cried I believe, Lord help thou mine unbelief; as he hath mentioned the faith of Job who grew to this resolution:
Or of Ionas when he rebelled against Gods commaundement and fled from his presence, or when after his miraculous deliuerie, he murmured and vttered impatient speeches euen against God himself ⟨p. 557⟩