A85783:365
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 9 › Section 3
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.
Quest. But doth not this seem to countenance sin, and make Christians heedless, whether they fall into temptation or no? If God do thus show his love to his Saints after their falls and foils, why should we be so shy of sin, which ends so well at last?
Quest. But doth not this seem to countenance sin, and make Christians heedlesse, whether they fall into temptation or no? If God do thus shew his love to his Saints after their falls and foiles, why should we be so shy of sin, which ends so well at last?
Answ. Two things will prevent the danger of such an inference.
First, we must distinguish between a souls being foiled through his own infirmity, and his enemies subtlety and power over-matching him; and another, who through a false heart doth voluntarily prostrate himself to the lust of Satan; though a General will show little pity to a soldier that should traitorously throw down his arms, and run to the enemy, yet if another in fighting receives a wound and be worsted, it will be no dishonour for him to express his pity and love, no, though he should send him out of the field in his own coach, lay him in his own bed, and appoint him his own Chirurgeon. God doth not encourage wickedness in his Saints, but pities weakness. Even when the Saints fall into a sin in its nature presumptuous, they do not commit it so presumptuously as others; there is a part true to God in their bosoms, though over-voted Moses spake unadvisedly, but the devil had his instruments to provoke him, quite against the good mans temper. David numbers the people, but see how the devil dogged and hunted him, till at last he got the better, 1 Chron. 21.1