A55301:136
Armatura Dei, or, A preparation for suffering in an evil day showing how Christians…Armatura Dei, or, A preparation for suffering in an evil day shewing how Christians…
Armatura Dei, or, A preparation for suffering in an evil day showing how Christians are to bear sufferings, and what graces are requisite thereunto : suited for all good Christians in this present time / by Edward Polhil ..., Esq.Armatura Dei, or, A preparation for suffering in an evil day shewing how Christians are to bear sufferings, and what graces are requisite thereunto : suited for all good Christians in this present time / by Edward Polhil ..., Esq.
London: printed for Tho. Cockerill, 1682
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.
it brings down some glimpses of Heaven into their hearts, whilst they are suffering for Religion.
2. True Obedience hath a pure respect to Gods Will and Glory: It hath a pure respect to Gods Will; it doth not do the Commands of God upon a by-account, as Jehu destroyed Ahab's house; but it doth them intuitu Voluntatis, because it is the will of God; it is that which sways and casts the balance in a good mans heart and life: As in matters of Faith he believes, because God hath said it; so in matters of Practise he obeys because God hath ⟨p. 115⟩commanded it. Also it hath a pure respect to Gods Glory; Mens cujusque id est quisque; the man is as his mind is, and the mind is as his end is; An obedient person will not be a Centre to himself, nor make God the most excellent Being, a medium to any other thing: His great design is that God in all things may be glorified: His Holiness is but to shine as a beam from the holy one; his Mercy is but as a little drop flowing from the Divine Ocean; his Obedience is to tell the World that God is supreme; like his Saviour Christ, he seeks not his own glory, but his Fathers. Such an Obedience as this admirably disposes a man for suffering; He, that doth some things because they are commanded, will take up the Cross too, because it is in a peculiar manner commanded in the Gospel: The stamp of the Divine Authority is not only found upon the Precepts of Piety and Justice, but upon that of Patience too: Also, he that doth sincerely glorify God in other things, will, if occasion be, glorify him in pious sufferings: Some honour may be done to God in other Duties, but in no other thing is there such honour given to him as in bearing the Cross; therein a man doth practically declare that he values God above all the World; and therefore the Martyrs have (as the School-men ⟨p. 116⟩tell us) a greater reward in heaven than others: Others have the essential Glory in the Vision of God, but for the Martyrs is reserved an Aureola, a peculiar Coronet to be added to their Crown of Glory, propter victoriam de mundo, for their victory over the World