A85783:824
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.
Secondly, when a temptation to sin is discovered, and thou findest thy heart shut up that thou doest not pray against it, or not with that zeal and holy indignation, as formerly upon such occasions; it is a bad sign, that lust hath got an advantage of thy grace, that thou canst not readily betake thy self to thy arms. Thy affections are bribed, and this makes thee so cold a Suitor at the throne of grace, for help against thine enemy.
Secondly, when a temptation to sin is discovered, and thou findest thy heart shut up that thou doest not pray against it, or not with that zeal and holy indignation, as formerly upon such occasions; it is a bad signe, that lust hath got an advantage of thy grace, that thou canst not readily betake thy selfe to thy armes. Thy affections are bribed, and this makes thee so cold a Suitour at the throne of grace, for helpe against thine enemy.
Thirdly, when the arguments prevailing most with thee to resist temptations to sin, or to mourn for sin committed, are more carnal and less Evangelical then formerly: may be thou rememberest when thy love to Christ would have spit fire on the face of Satan tempting thee to such a sin; but now that holy fire is so abated, that if there were not some other carnal motives to make the vote full, it would hazard to be carried for it, rather then against it; and so in mourning for a sin there is possibly now some slavish arguments, (like an onion in the eye, which makes thee weep, rather then pure ingenuity arising from love to God whom thou hast offended, this speaks a sad decay, and the more mixture there is of such carnal arguments, either in the resisting of, or mourning for sin, the greater the declination of grace is. Davids natural heat sure was much decayed, when he needed so many clothes to be laid on him, and he yet feel so little heat, the time was he would have sweat with fewer. I am afraid, many their love to Christ will be found (in these declining times) to have lost so much of its youthful vigour, that what would formerly have put them into a holy fury, and burning zeal against some sins, (such as Sabbath-breaking, pride of apparel, neglect of family-duties, &c.) hath now much ado to keep any heat at all in them against the same.