A85783:428
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 2 › 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.
First, how meanly the Spirit of God speaks of man.
Secondly, where he lays the stress of the Saints battle, not in resisting flesh and blood, but Principalities and Powers; where the Apostle excludes not our combat with man, for the war is against the Serpent and his seed. As wide as the world is, it cannot peaceably hold the Saints and wicked together; but his intent is to show, what a complicated enemy (mans wrath and Satan's interwoven together) we have to deal with.
Secondly, where he layes the stresse of the Saints battel, not in resisting flesh and blood, but Principalities and Powers; where the Apostle excludes not our combate with man, for the war is against the Serpent and his seed. As wide as the world is, it cannot peaceably hold the Saints and wicked together; but his intent is to shew, what a complicated enemy (mans wrath and Satans interwoven together) we have to deal with.
First, for the first, how meanly doth the Spirit of God speak of man, calling him flesh and blood? Man hath a Heaven-borne soul, which makes him a kin to Angels, yea, to the God of them who is the Father of Spirits; but this is passed by in silence, as if God would not own that which is tainted with sin, and not the creature God at first made it, or because the soul, though of ⟨p. 175⟩such noble extraction, yet being so immersed in sensuality, deserves no other name then flesh, which part of man levels him with the beast, and is here intended to express the weakness and frailty of mans nature. 'Tis the phrase which the Holy Ghost expresseth the weakness and impotency of a creature by,