A85783:709
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 10 › Section 1
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.
shall the Groom be proud because he rides on his Masters horse? or the mud wall because the Sun shines on it? mayest thou not say of every dram of grace, as the young man of his hatchet, Alas, Muster, it is borrowed? nay, not only borrowed, but thou canst not use it without his skill and strength that lends it thee. O beware of this, let not those vain thoughts lodge in thee, left thou enter into temptation. It is a breach a whole troop of sins may enter at, yea will, except speedily filled up.
shall the Groom be proud because he rides on his Masters horse? or the mud wall because the Sun shines on it? mayest thou not say of every dram of grace, as the young man of his hatchet, Alas, Muster, it is borrowed? nay, not only borrowed, but thou canst not use it without his skill and strength that lends it thee. O beware of this, let not those vain thoughts lodge in thee, left thou enter into temptation. It is a breach a whole troop of sins may enter at, yea will, except speedily fill'd up.
First, it will make thee soon grow loose and negligent in thy duty. 'Tis sense of insufficiency keeps a soul at work, to pray and hear, as want in the house and hutch holds up the market, no man comes thither to buy what he hath at home. Up, saith Jacob, go down to Egypt for corn, that we live and not die. Thus saith the needy Christian, Up soul to thy God, thy faith is weak, thy patience almost spent, ply thee to the throne of grace, go with thy homer to the Ordinances, and get some supplies. Now a soul conceited of his store, hath another song; Soul, take thine ease, thou art richly laid in for many days. Let the doubting ⟨p. 288⟩soul pray, thy faith is strong; let the weak lie at the breast, thou art well grown up; nay, 'tis well if it goes not further to a despising of Ordinances, except they have some more courtly fate then ordinary: such a pass were the Corinthians come to, 1 Cor. 4.8. Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye reign like Kings without us. I pray observe how he lays the accent on the particle now; now ye are rich, as if he had said, I knew the time, if Paul had been come to town, and news spread abroad in the City that Paul was to preach, you would have flocked to hear him, and blessed God for the season, but then you were poor and empty; now ye are full, you have got to a higher attainment; Paul is a plain fellow now, he may carry his cheer to a hungry people if he will, we are well apaid. And when once the heart is come to this, 'tis easy to judge what will follow.