A85783:766
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 12 › 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.
First, art thou uniform in thy pursuit? Doest thou contend ⟨p. 314⟩[…] ⟨p. 315⟩[…] ⟨p. 316⟩for heaven, and that which leads to heaven also? Earthly things God is pleased to retail; all have some, none have all; but in heavenly treasure he will not break the whole piece, and cut it into remnants. If thou wilt have heaven, thou must have Christ; if Christ, thou must like his service as well as his sacrifice; no holiness, no happiness. If God would cut off so much as would serve mens turns, he might have customers enough. Balaam himself likes one end of the piece, he would die like a righteous man, though live like a wizard as he was; no, God will not deal with such peddling Merchants; that man alone is for God, and God for him, who will come roundly up to Gods offer, and take all off his hands. One fitly compares holiness and happiness to those two sisters, Leah and Rachel. Happiness like Rachel seems the fairer, (even a carnal heart may fall in love with that,) but holiness like Leah is the elder and beautiful also, though in this life it appears with some disadvantage, her eyes being bleared with tears of repentance, and her face furrowed with the works of mortification; but this is the Law of that heavenly country, that the younger Sister must not be bestowed before the elder. We cannot enjoy fair Rachel, Heaven and Happiness, except first we embrace tender-eyed Leah, Holiness with all her severe duties of repentance and mortification. Now Sirs, how like you this method? Art thou content to marry Christ and his grace, and then (serving a hard Apprenticeship in temptations both of prosperity and adversity, enduring the heat of the one, and the cold of the other) to wait till at last the other be given into thy bosom?
First, art thou uniforme in thy pursuit? Doest thou contend ⟨p. 314⟩〈…〉 ⟨p. 315⟩〈…〉 ⟨p. 316⟩