A85783:218
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 5 › 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.
SECT. 2.
Object. O but (may some say) this is hard work indeed, our armour never off, our grace always in exercise. Did God ever mean Religion should be such a toilsome business as this would make it?
Object. O but (may some say) this is hard work indeed, our armour never off, our grace alwayes in exercise. Did God ever mean Religion should be such a toilsome businesse as this would make it?
Answ. Thou speakest like one of the foolish world, and showest thy self a mere stranger to the Christians life that speakest thus: a burden to exercise grace? why? it is no burden to exercise the acts of nature, to eat, to drink, to walk, all delightful to us in our right temper, if any of these be otherwise, nature is oppressed, as if stuffed, then difficult to breath, if sick, then the meat offensive we eat; so take a Saint in his right temper, 'tis his joy to be employed in the exercise of his grace in this or that duty, Ps. 122.1. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. His heart leaped at the motion. When any occasion diverts him from communion with God, though he likes it never so well, yet it is unwelcome and unpleasing to him, as you who are used to be in your shops from morning to night, how tedious is it for you to be abroad some days, though among good friends, because you are not where your work and calling lies? A Christian in duty is one in his calling, as it were in his shop where he should be; yea, where he would be, and therefore far from being tedious. Religion is burdensome to none, as to those who are infrequent in the exercise of it. Use makes heavy things light, we hardly feel the weight of our clothes, because fitted to us, and worn daily by us, whereas the same weight on our shoulder would trouble us: thus the grievousness of religious duties to carnal ones, is taken away in the Saints, partly by the fitness of them to the Saints principles, as also by their daily exercise in them. The disciples, when newly entered into the ways of Christ, could not pray much or fast long; the bottles