A20752:792
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
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.
CHAP. XXVII. Satan's tentations whereby he persuadeth men to delay their repentance answered.
CHAP. XXVII. Sathans tentations whereby he perswadeth men to delay their repentance answered.
§. Sect. 1 1And so much concerning the subtle tentations of Satan, whereby he laboureth to make the word of God fruitless and uneffectuall for our conversion, wherewith if he cannot prevail being repelled by the means before spoken of, & if men by their hearing of the word have learned thus much knowledge that their conversion and turning to God is necessary to salvation; then he will in the next place labour to persuade them to defer their repentance for a time, till they have better opportunity and are more fit for this purpose. Let it ⟨p. 376⟩be granted (will he say) that it is necessary that thou shouldest repent & turn unto God, yet thou mayest defer thy repentance until thine old age, or at least till the time of sickness, for then thou wilt be more fit to perform this duty, then in the flourishing prime of thy youth, when as the exercises of religion are so tedious and unpleasant, and the pleasures of the world so sweet and delightful; neither needest thou to fear any in convenience which will come hereby, for God is so gracious that whensoever thou returnest unto him he will receive thee to mercy, for he hath promised in his word, that whensoever a sinner repenteth him of his sins he will blot all his wickedness out of his remembrance: And therefore thou mayest enjoy both the pleasures of this life and the life to come, thou mayest repent time enough hereafter and live a strict and religious life, when the heat of youth is past and old age draws on, which is far more fit for these exercises: for what folly is it so to dote upon the heavenly joys to come, as that thou shouldest deprive thy self of those worldly pleasures which are present seeing thou mayest enjoy both?
§. Sect. 1