A85783:529
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 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.
First, the reason why sin is set out by darkness.
First, the reason why sin is set out by darknesse.
Secondly, how every one in such a state appears to be under the devils rule. For the first,
First, sin may be called darkness, because the spring and common cause of sin in man is darkness. The external cause Satan, who is the great promoter of it, he is a cursed spirit held in chains of darkness. The internal is the blindness and darkness of the soul: we may say when any one sins, he doth he knows not what, as Christ said of his murderers. Did the creature know the true worth of the soul, (which he now sells ⟨p. 214⟩for a song,) the glorious amiable nature of God and his holy ways, the matchless love of God in Christ, the poisonfull nature of sin, and all these not by a sudden beam darted into the window at a Sermon, and gone again, like a flash of lightning, but by an abiding light; this would spoil the devils market, and poor creatures would not readily take this toad into their bosoms; sin goes in a disguise, and so is welcome.
First, sin may be called darknesse, because the spring and common cause of sin in man is darknesse. The external cause Satan, who is the great promoter of it, he is a cursed spirit held in chaines of darknesse. The internal is the blindnesse and darknesse of the soule: we may say when any one sins, he doth he knowes not what, as Christ said of his murtherers. Did the creature know the true worth of the soul, (which he now sells ⟨p. 214⟩