A85783:111
The Christian in Complete Armour
The Christian in complete armour. Or, A treatise of the saints war against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickedness, and chief design he hath against the saints. A magazine opened: from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual arms for the battle, helped on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole war. The first part. / By William Gurnall, Minister of the Gospel in Lavenham. Imprimatur, Edmund Calamy.The Christian in compleat armour. Or, A treatise of the saints war against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickednesse, and chiefe designe he hath against the saints. A magazin open'd: from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual armes for the battel, help't on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole warre. The first part. / By William Gurnall, Minister of the Gospel in Lavenham. Imprimatur, Edmund Calamy.
London: printed for Ralph Smith, 1655
A TREATISE Of the whole Armour Of God. › Introduction › Chapter 4 › Section 2
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.
The second Branch of the point follows: that Saints should eye this Power of God as engaged for them, and press it ⟨p. 34⟩home upon their souls till they silence all doubts and fears about the matter; which is the importance of this exhortation: Be strong in the Lord, and in the Power of his might; Fortify and entrench your souls within the breast-work of this attribute of Gods mighty Power made over to you by God himself.
The second Branch of the point followes: that Saints should eye this Power of God as engaged for them, and presse it ⟨p. 34⟩home upon their soules till they silence all doubts and feares about the matter; which is the importance of this exhortation: Be strong in the Lord, and in the Power of his might; Fortifie and entrench your soules within the breast-work of this attribute of Gods mighty Power made over to you by God himselfe.
First, it is the end as of all Promises to be security to our faith, so of those in particular where his Almighty Power is expressly engaged, that we may count this attribute our portion, and reap the comfort it yields as freely, as one may the crop of his own field: Walk before me, saith God to Abraham, I am God Almighty; set on this as thy portion, and live upon it; The Apostle, Heb. 13.6. teacheth us what use to make of promises, verse 5. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, there is the promise, and the inference, which he teacheth us to draw by faith from this, follows, ver. 6. So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper. We, that is, every believer may boldly say, that is, we may conclude God will help: not sneakingly, timorously, perhaps he will; but we may boldly assert it in the face of men and devils, because he that is Almighty hath said it. Now for a Christian not to strengthen his faith on this incomparably sweet attribute, but to sit down with a few weak unsettled hopes, when he may, yea, ought to be strong in the faith of such promises, what is it but to undervalue the blessing of such promises? as if one should promise another house and land, and bid him make them as sure to himself as the Law can bind, and he should take no care to effect this, would it not be interpreted as a slighting of his friends kindness? Is it a small matter that God passeth over his Almighty power by promise to us, and bids us make it as sure to our selves as we can by faith, and we neglect this, leaving the Writings of the promises unsealed on our hearts.