Quotes from the Christian in Complete Armour.
by William Gurnall
(collected by Mark Reynolds)
Paul was Nero's prisoner, but Nero was much more God's. (I:9)
No, the Christian must stand fixed to his principles, and not change his habit; but freely show what countryman he is by his holy constancy in the truth. (I:14)
Take heart therefore, O ye saints, and be strong; your cause is good, God himself espouseth your quarrel, who hath appointed you his own Son, General of the field, called 'the Captain of our salvation,' Heb 2:10. (I:16)
Blind zeal is soon put to a shameful retreat, while holy resolution, built on fast principles, lifts up its head like a rock in the midst of the waves. (I:17)
O take heed of this squint eye to our profit, pleasure, honour, or anything beneath Christ and heaven; for they will take away your heart ... that is, our love, and if our love be taken away, there will be little courage left for Christ. (I:18)
We must not confide in the armour of God, but in the God of this armour, because all our weapons are only 'mighty through God,' 2 Cor 10:4 (I:53)
Thus you see it is not armour as armour, but as armour of God, that makes the soul impregnable. (I:54)
I do not bid thee try the truth of thy grace by such a power as is peculiar to stronger grace, but by that power which will distinguish it from false [grace]. (I:57)
Whihle the Christian commits a sin he hates it; whereas the [hypocrite] loves it while he forbears it. (I:57)
If thou beest never so exact in thy morals, and not a worshipper of God, then thou art an atheist. (I:60)
In heaven we shall appear, not in armour, but in robes of glory. But here these are to be worn night and day; we must walk, work, and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ. (I:64)
The longer a soul hath neglected duty, the more ado there is to get it taken up.... (I:65)
Grace is of a stirring nature, and not such a dead thing, like an image, which you may lock up in a chest, and none shall know what God you worship. No, grace will show itself; it will walk with you into all places and companies; it will buy with you, and sell for you; it will have a hand in all your enterprises .... (I:69)
And doth not God deserve the best service thou canst do him in thy generation? (I:70)
Therefore it should be our care, if we would not yield to the sin, not towalk by, or sit at, the door of the occasion. (I:74)
Truth with self-denial [is] a better pennyworth, than error with all its flesh-pleasing. (I:82)
As you love your peace, Christian, be plain-hearted with God and man, and keep the king's highway. (I:83)
The proper seat of sin is the will, of comfort the conscience. (I:85)
It is true, Christian, the debt thou owest to God must be paid in good and lawful money, but, for thy comfort, here Christ is thy paymaster. (I:89)
Love refuseth nothing that love sends. (I:89)
A rent garment is catched by every nail, and the rent made wider. Renew therefore thy repentance speedily, whereby this breach may be made up, and worse prevented... (I:95)
Again, [Satan] will ask the Christian what was the time of his conversion. Art thou a Christian, will he say, and dost thou not know when thou commencedst? Now ... content thyself with this, that thou seest the streams of grace, ....; you may know the sun is up, though you did not observe when it rose. (I:96)
Behold therefore thy God at work, and promise thyself that what he is about, will be an excellent piece. (I:110)
Love cannot think any evil of God, nor endure to hear any speak evil of him, but it must take God's part.... (I:118)
Mercy should make us ashamed, wrath afraid to sin. (I:118)
Few are made better by prosperity, whom afflictions make worse. (I:118)
It is no policy to let thy lusts have arms, which are sure to rise and declare against thee when thine enemy comes. (I:124)
Take heed thou makest not the least child thine enemy by offering wrong to him; God will right the wicked even upon the saint. (I:126)
Thou hast no life to lose, because thou hast given it already to Christ, nor can man take away that without God's leave. (I:127)
Sin disabled man to keep God's law, but it doth not enfranchise or disoblige him that he need not keep it. (I:132)
His subject thou art whom thou crownest in thy heart, and not whom thou flatterest with thy lips. (I:134)
Christ will bear no equal, and Satan no superior; and therefore, hold in with both thou canst not. (I:134)
No, it is some noble enterprise I would have thee think upon, how thou mayst advance the name of Christ higher in thy heart, and [in the] world too, as much as in thee lies. (I:138)
Therefore tremble, O man, at any power thou hast, except thou usest it for God. Art [thou] strong in body; who hath thy strength? God, or thy lusts? (I:144)
When Satan finds the good man asleep, then he finds our good God awake; therefore thou art not consumed, because he changeth not. (I:146)
Bid faith look through the key-hole of the promise, and tell thee what it sees there laid up for him that overcomes; bid it listen and tell thee whether it cannot hear the shout of those crowned saints, as of those that are dividing the spoil, and receiving the reward of all their services and sufferings here on earth. (I:150)
Christ counts it his honour, that he is a king of a willing people, and not of slaves. (I:155)
All his commands are acts of grace, it is a favour to be employed about them. (I:155)
How can God stoop lower than to come and dwell with a poor humble soul? which is more than if he had said, such a one should dwell with him; for a beggar to live at court is not so much as the king to dwell with him in his cottage. (I:161)
O if once our hearts were but filled with zeal for God, and compassion to our people's souls, we would up and be doing, though we could but lay a brick a day, and God would be with us. (I:167)
And when God comes to reckon with his workmen, the ploughman and the sower shall have his penny, as well as the harvest-man and the reaper. (I:167)
Quotations from Thomas Brooks.
Let those be thy choicest companions who have made Christ their chief companion.
The lives of ministers oftentimes convince more strongly than their words; their tongues may persuade, but their lives command.
Christ choosing solitude for private prayer, doth not only hint to us the danger of distraction and deviation of thoughts in prayer, but how necessary it is for us to choose the most convenient places we can for private prayer. Our own fickleness and Satan's restlessness call upon us to get into such places where we may freely pour out our soul into the bosom of God [Mark 1.35].
Suffering times are sealing times. The primitive Christians found them so, and the suffering saints in Mary's days found them so. When the furnace is seven times hotter than ordinary, the Spirit of the Lord comes and seals up a man's pardon in his bosom, his peace with God, and his title to heaven. Blessed Bradford looked upon his sufferings as an evidence to him that he was on the right way to heaven.
It is better to have a sore than a seared conscience.
God sees us in secret, therefore, let, us seek his face in secret. Though heaven be God's palace, yet it is not his prison.
God's hearing of our prayers doth not depend upon sanctification, but upon Christ's intercession; not upon what we are in ourselves, but what' we are in the Lord Jesus; both our persons and our prayers are acceptable in the beloved [Eph 1.6].
Christ is the sun, and all the watches of our lives should be set by the dial of his motion.
An idle life and a holy heart is a contradiction.
Repentance is a grace, and must have its daily operation, as well as other graces. A true penitent must go on from faith to faith, from strength to strength; he must never stand still or turn back. True repentance is a continued spring, where the waters of godly sorrow are always flowing. 'My sin is ever before me'.
It was a choice saying of Augustine, 'Every saint is God's temple, and he who carries his temple about him, may go to prayer when he pleaseth'.
Prayer is nothing but the breathing that out before the Lord, that was first breathed into us by the Spirit of the Lord.
Those years, months, weeks, days, and hours, that are not filled up with God, with Christ, with grace, and with duty, will certainly be filled up with vanity and folly. The neglect of one day, of one duty, of one hour, would undo us, if we had not an Advocate with the Father.
You had better be a poor man and a rich Christian, than a rich man and a poor Christian. You had better do anything, bear anything, and be anything rather than be a dwarf in grace.
Much faith will yield unto us here our heaven, but any faith, if true, will yield us heaven hereafter.
A man's most glorious actions will at last be found to be but glorious sins, if he hath made himself, and not the glory of God, the end of those actions.
The two poles could sooner meet, than the love of Christ and the love of the world.
'My sin is ever before me' [Psalm 51.3]. A humble soul sees that he can stay no more from sin, than the heart can from panting, and the pulse from beating. He sees his heart and life to be fuller of sin, than the firmament is of stars; and this keeps him low. He sees that sin is so bred in the bone, that till his bones, as Joseph's, be carried out of the Egypt of this world, it will not out. Though sin and grace were never born together, and though they shall not die together, yet while the believer lives, these two must live together; and this keeps him humble.
The only way to avoid cannon-shot is to fall down. No such way to be freed from temptation as to keep low.
The best and sweetest flowers of Paradise God gives to his people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven, a key to let us in to Paradise.
Jehovah Tsidkenu - The Lord Our Righteousness
(The watchword of the Reformers.)
I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
I know not my danger, and felt not my load;
Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.
I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage,
Isaiah’s wild measure and John’s simple page;
But e’en when they pictured the blood–sprinkled tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.
Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,
I wept when the waters went over His soul;
Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu—’twas nothing to me.
When free grace awoke me, by light from on high,
Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;
No refuge, no safety in self could I see—
Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be.
My terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
To drink at the fountain, life–giving and free—
Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.
Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,
Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne’er can be lost;
In Thee I shall conquer by flood and by field—
My cable, my anchor, my breastplate and shield!
Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
This “watchword” shall rally my faltering breath;
For while from life’s fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu my death–song shall be.
November 18, 1834
A Preacher of the Old School.
by C. A. Coates.
Many preachers are giving up the old ideas about the FALL and TOTAL DEPRAVITY of man. People are not often plainly told how that they are GUILTY SINNERS before a holy God. The sermons of our forefathers — who used to press this so constantly upon their hearers — are looked upon in many quarters as relics of the dark ages, only fit for the old curiosity shop. There is, however, one preacher left of the old school, and he speaks today as loudly and clearly as ever.
He is not a popular preacher, though the world is his parish, and he travels over every part of the globe, and speaks every language under the sun. He visits the poor; he calls upon the rich; you may meet him in the workhouse, or find him moving in the very highest circles of society. He preaches to both churchmen and dissenters, to people of every religion, and of no religion, and whatever text he may have, the substance of his sermon is always the same.
He is an eloquent preacher, he often stirs feelings which no other preacher can reach, and brings tears into eyes that are little used to weep. He addresses himself to the intellect, the conscience and the heart of his hearers. His arguments none have been able to refute; there is no conscience on earth that has not at some time quailed in his presence; nor is there any heart that has remained wholly unmoved by the force of his weighty appeals. Most people hate him, but in one way or another he makes everybody hear him.
He is neither a refined nor polite preacher. Indeed, he often interrupts the public arrangements, and breaks in rudely upon the private enjoyments of life. He lurks about the doors of the theatre and ballroom, bingo club and public house; he frequents the shop, the office, the mill; he has a master key which gives him access into the most secluded chamber; he appears in the midst of legislators, and fashionable churches; neither the villa, the mansion or palace daunt him by their . greatness; and no court or alley is mean enough to escape his notice. Your name is listed for visit.
HIS NAME IS DEATH.
READER — Think!
You have heard many sermons from the OLD PREACHER. You cannot take up a newspaper without finding that he has a corner in it. Every tombstone serves him for a pulpit. You often see his congregations passing to and from the graveyard. Every scrap of mourning is a momento of one of his visits. Nay, he has often addressed himself to YOU PERSONALLY. The sudden departure of that neighbour the solemn parting of that dear parent — the loss of a valued friend — the awful gap that was left in your heart when that fondly loved wife, that idolised child, was taken — have all been LOUD and SOLEMN APPEALS UNTO YOU PERSONALLY from the OLD PREACHER. Some day very soon, he will have YOU! for his text (are you ready — ARE YOU SAVED?) and in your bereaved family circle, and by your graveside, he will preach unto others. Let your heart turn to God this moment, to thank him, that you are still in the land of the living — that you have not ere now DIED IN YOUR SINS!
You may get rid of your bible. You may disprove to your own satisfaction, its histories; you may ridicule its teaching, and despise its warnings; you may reject its SAVIOUR the LORD JESUS CHRIST of whom it speaks. YES! the day has come when the rising tide of infidelity will cover this land, to such an extent that it will be difficult to find a house with a bible in it. You may get away from the preachers of the gospel. You are not compelled to go to either church, chapel or mission hall. You can cross the street if there is an open air meeting in progress. You can destroy this tract, and make the preaching of Christ a criminal offence. You may get rid of God's word, and God's servants.
BUT! WHAT WILL YOU DO? with the old preacher of whom I have spoken? You cannot touch him, or approach unto him. Men may change their opinions and beliefs. But this old preacher has gone on in perfect indifference to the changing events and times of the world for almost 6,000 years. All histories of all time give the same account of him.
Therefore dear READER consider the prospect before you:--
Your little day will soon be done.
Your pleasures will have an end.
Your occupations will be laid aside.
Your wealth and honours will be worthless in the solemn hour — for after all "YOU MUST NEEDS DIE".
READER — Consider Thoughtfully
LIFE is short, DEATH is sure, SIN is the cause, but CHRIST is the cure.
As saith the scripture —
"By one man sin entered into the world, and DEATH BY SIN: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12. "And as it is appointed unto men ONCE TO DIE, but after this the judgement. Hebrews 9:27.
Thus SIN and DEATH witness to man's great need met in CHIRST JESUS the LORD. Therefore, God has in love and by the principle of grace made full and tree provision in CHRIST CRUCIFIED to meet man's need, and to give it to him exclusively by FAITH alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, when man has fully REPENTED towards God, by a divine work of the Holy Spirit.
As saith the scripture —
"Repent ye and believe the gospel" Mark 1:15. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might I, — saved." John 3:16-17. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast". Ephesians 2:8-9.
Therefore dear reader —
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"1 Timothy 1:15. Has he saved YOU? If not, why not? God loves sinners, Christ died for sinners, and will save you a guilty sinner, provided you really believe you are a sinner, and willingly take the sinners place before God, then "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" Acts 2:21. — Do so now, giving God the glory.
Amen.
Old Paths Series 11.