A85783:563
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 4
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, ignorance as it lets sin in, so it locks it up, and the soul in it, such a one lies in Satan's inner dungeon, where no light of conviction comes, darkness inclines to sleep, a blind mind and a drowsy conscience go together. When the storm arose, the mariners who were awake fell a praying to their God; but the sleeper fears nothing. Ignorance lays the soul asleep under the hatches of stupidity. God hath planted in the beast a natural fear of that which threatens hurt to it. Go to thrust a beast into a pit, and it hangs back, nature shows its abhorrency. Man being of a nobler nature, and subject to more dangers, God hath set a double guard on him, as a natural fear of danger, so a natural shame that covers the face at the doing of any unworthy action. Now an ignorant man hath slipped from both these his Keepers: he sins and blusheth not, because he knows not his guilt: he wants that Magistrate within, which should put him to shame; neither is he afraid, because he knows not his danger; ⟨p. 229⟩and therefore he plays with his sin; as the child with the waves, that by and by will swallow him up. Conscience is Gods alarm to call the sinner up; It doth not always ring in his ear that hath knowledge, being usually set by God to go off at some special hour; when God is speaking in an Ordinance, or striking in a Providence; but in an ignorant soul, this is silent. The Clock cannot go when the weights are taken off; Conscience is only a witness to what it knows.
Secondly, ignorance as it lets sin in, so it locks it up, and the soule in it, such a one lies in Satans inner dungeon, where no light of conviction comes, darknesse inclines to sleep, a blinde minde and a drowsie conscience go together. When the storme arose, the mariners who were awake fell a praying to their God; but the sleeper feares nothing. Ignorance layes the soule asleep under the hatches of stupidity. God hath planted in the beast a natural feare of that which threatens hurt to it. Go to thrust a beast into a pit, and it hangs back, nature shewes its abhorrency. Man being of a nobler nature, and subject to more dangers, God hath set a double guard on him, as a natural feare of danger, so a natural shame that covers the face at the doing of any unworthy action. Now an ignorant man hath slipt from both these his Keepers: he sins and blusheth not, because he knowes not his guilt: he wants that Magistrate within, which should put him to shame; neither is he afraid, because he knowes not his danger;