A20752:798
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.
Men usually delay matters of least weight and in the first place dispatch business of greatest importance, and therefore unless we think the preserving of our bodies and souls from the eternal torments of hell fire and the assurance of everlasting happiness and blessedness in Gods kingdom to be matters of less importance, then the obtaining of some vain pleasures, unconstant honours or base commodities, let us turn unto the Lord betimes by unfeigned repentance and according to our saviours advise. Matth. 6.33. Let us first seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, and then worldly necessaries shall be cast unto us as a vantage in this main bargain. If our houses were on fire we would seek first to preserve those things which are most dear and precious unto us good household stuff before lumber, Jewels before stuff, and children before Jewels, but our lives are daily in a consumption et dum crescimus vita, decrescit, whilst we ⟨p. 380⟩grow and increase, our lives decrease, and therefore in the first place let us seek to preserve our soul, which is, our chief Jewel and not suffer it to perish through impenitency, whilst we gain some earthly vanities. But most lamentable is the practise of most who live as though they were never to die, or as though they had taken of God a long lease of their lives which is to expire at a certain appointed time; and this makes them defer their repentance and to put the evil day far from them, till at last death attacheth them & carrieth them to judgment; and this appeareth by the scriptures and continual experience. Job speaking of earnal secure men saith, that they take the tabret & harp & rejoice in the sound of the organs, they spend their days in wealth & suddenly they go down to the grave. Job 21.12.13. So Eccl. 9.12. man doth not know his time but as the fishes which are taken in an evil net and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the children of men snared in the evil time when it falleth upon them suddenly. when the evil servant shall say in his heart my master doth defer his coming and shall begin to smite his fellows and to eat and drink and to be drunken; that servants master will come in a day when he looketh not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him off and give him his portion with the unbelievers.