A85783:781
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.
O Sirs, if there were a free trade proclaimed to the Indies, enough gold for all that went, and a certainty of making a safe voyage, who would stay at home? But alas, this can never be had: all this, and infinitely more may be said for heaven; and yet how few leave their uncertain hopes of the world to trade for it; what account can be given for this, but the desperate atheism of mens hearts? they are not yet fully persuaded whether the Scripture speaks true or not, whether they may rely upon the discovery that God makes in his Word of this new-found land, and those mines of spiritual treasure, there to be had as certain. God open the eyes of the unbelieving world, (as he did the Prophets servants,) that they may see these things to be realities and not fictions; 'tis faith only that gives a being to these things in our hearts. By faith Moses saw him that was invisible.
O Sirs, if there were a free trade proclaimed to the Indies, enough gold for all that went, and a certainty of making a safe voyage, who would stay at home? But alas, this can never be had: all this, and infinitely more may be said for heaven; and yet how few leave their uncertain hopes of the world to trade for it; what account can be gigiven for this, but the desperate atheisme of mens hearts? they are not yet fully perswaded whether the Scripture speaks true or not, whether they may relie upon the discovery that God makes in his Word of this new-found land, and those mines of spiritual treasure, there to be had as certain. God open the eyes of the unbelieving world, (as he did the Prophets servants,) that they may see these things to be realities and not fictions; 'tis faith only that gives a being to these things in our hearts. By faith Moses saw him that was invisible.
Thirdly, earthly things when we have them, we are not sure of them; like birds, they hop up and down, now on this hedge, and anon upon that, none can call them his own: rich to day, and poor to morrow: In health when we lie down, and arrested with pangs of death before midnight: Joyful Parents, one while solacing our selves with the hopes of our budding posterity, and may be ere long knocks one of Jobs messengers at our door to tell us they are all dead; now in honour, but who knows whether we shall not live to see that buried in scorn and reproach? The Scripture compares the multitude of people to waters, the great ones of the world sit upon these waters; as the ship floats upon the waves, so do their honours upon the breath and favour of the multitude; and bow long is he like to sit that is carried upon a wave? one while they are mounted up to heaven, (as David speaks of the ship) and then down again they fall into the deep. We have ten parts in the King, (say the men of Israel,) 2 Sam. 19.45. and in the very next verse,