A85783:265
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
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.
Secondly, in covering their impostures and errors with choice notions and excellent truths. Arrius himself, and other dangerous instruments of Satan were too wise to stuff their discourses with nothing but heterodox matter, precious truths dropped from them with which they sprinkled their corrupt principles, yet with such Art as should not easily be discerned. This (as one observes) our Saviour warns his disciples of, when he bids them beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, (that is, of their errors.) But why leaven? for the secret mixture of it with the wholesome ⟨p. 107⟩bread; you do not make your bread all of leaven, none would then eat it, but crumble a little into a whole batch, which sowers all: thus Christ doth tell the disciples, that the Pharisees among many truths mix their errors, and therefore it behoves them to beware, lest with the truth the error goes down also. Again, leaven is very like the dough, of the same grain with it, only differs in age and sourness: thus Christ intimates the resemblance of their errors to the truth, scraped, as it were, out of the Scriptures, but soured with their own false glosses. This indeed makes it easy for Christs sheep to be infected with the scab of error, because that weed which breeds the rot is so like the grass that nourisheth them.
Secondly, in covering their impostures and errours with choice notions and excellent truthes. Arrius himself, and other dangerous instruments of Satan were too wise to stuffe their discourses with nothing but heterodoxe matter, precious truths dropt from them with which they sprinkled their corrupt principles, yet with such Art as should not easily be discerned. This (as one observs) our Saviour warns his disciples of, when he bids them beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, (that is, of their errours.) But why leaven? for the secret mixture of it with the wholesom ⟨p. 107⟩bread; you do not make your bread all of leaven, none would then eate it, but crumble a little into a whole batch, which sowers all: thus Christ doth tell the disciples, that the Pharisees among many truths mixe their errours, and therefore it behoves them to beware, lest with the truth the errour goes down also. Again, leaven is very like the dough, of the same grain with it, only differs in age and sourenesse: thus Christ intimates the resemblance of their errours to the truth, scraped, as it were, out of the Scriptures, but sowered with their own false glosses. This indeed makes it easie for Christs sheep to be infected with the scab of errour, because that weed which breeds the rot is so like the grasse that nourisheth them.