A85783:664
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.
CHAP. IX. Of Pride of Gifts, and how Satan tempts the Christian thereto.
The second spiritual wickedness which Satan provokes unto, especially the Saint, is spiritual pride. This was the sin made him of a blessed Angel a cursed devil, and as it was his personal sin, so he chiefly labours to derive it to the sons of men: and he so far prevailed on our first Parents, that ever since this sin hath and doth claim a kind of regency in the heart, making use both of bad and good to draw her chariot. First, of evil; Pride enters into the labours of other sins, they do but work to make her brave, as subjects to uphold the state and grandeur of their Prince: Thus you shall see some drudge and droile, cheat, cozen, oppress; and what mean they? O 'tis to get an estate to maintain their pride. Others fawn and flatter, lie, dissemble, and for what? to help pride up some mount of honour. Again, it maketh use of that which is good, it can work with ⟨p. 274⟩Gods own tools, his Ordinances, by which the holy Spirit advanceth his Kingdom of grace in the hearts of his Saints. These often are prostituted to pride. A man may be very zealous in prayer and painful in preaching, and all the while pride is the Master whom he serves, though in Gods livery. It can take Sanctuary in the holiest actions, and hide it self under the skirt of virtue it self. Thus while a man is exercising his charity pride may be the idol in secret for which he lavisheth out his gold so freely. It is hard starving this sin, because there is nothing almost but it can live on; nothing so base that a proud heart will not be lift up with, and nothing so sacred but it will profane, even dare to drink in the bowls of the Sanctuary, nay, rather then starve it will feed on the carcasses of other sins; Difficilè valde vitatur peccatum, quod ex victoriâ vitiorum nascitur. This minion pride will stir up the soul to resist, yea, in a manner kill some sins, that she may boastingly show the head of them, and blow the creature up with the conceit of himself above others; as the Pharisee who through pride bragged that he was not as the Publican; so that pride, if not looked to, will have to do every where, and hath a large sphere it moves in. Nothing indeed (without divine assistance) the creature hath or doth, but will soon become a prey to this devourer; but I am not to handle it in its latitude.