scope and the occasion of the words Now that I may goe on in a method in the further opening and handling hereof may it please you to observe with me these 2 parts First a conflict Secondly a conquest The conflict in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we wrestle The conquest in these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand In the conflict note with me these three things 1. the combatants 2. the cause of the combate and 3. the time The combatants of the one side as defendants are we we wrestle The combatants of the other side as assaylants are the flesh the world and the Devill We wrestle against flesh and blood against principalities and powers against spirituall wickednesses Indeed the text faith here we wrestle not against flesh blood as if that were not an assayling enemy But the meaning is not so the Apostle in saying we wrestle not against flēsh and blood doth not meane not at all but not so much as Bullinger not alone as Calvin and Zanchius upon the place not only as appeares by collation of scripture For in another place the Apostle saith that the flesh lusteth against the spirit Gal. 5. 17. So then the flesh that is our owne corrupt flesh and blood And againe the flesh that is other wicked men which are flesh and blood as we are these together with Sathan here called principalities and powers are the enemies that we are to combate with The cause of the combate is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in coelestibus in heavenly things that is pro coelestibus as Chrysostome Oecumenius aud Musculus upon the place Illud enim in coelestibus est pro eo quod est pro coelestibus The English renders in coelestibus in high places not in heavēly things but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. places the substantive is not in the originall but only the adjective 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. heavenly so that we may referre the adjective Coelestibus either to locis places or rebus things according as our Church doth elsewhere Dominicall Epist. 21. and both true for it is true that Sathan the enemy of mankind fights against us in coelestibus locis in high places for he is the Prince of the aire Ephes 2. 2. And it is true likewise that hee fights against us in coelestibus rebus about heavenly things as Gods glory our owne salvation the graces of Gods spirit and eternall happinesse And this non ut ipse victoriam adeptus aliquid consequatur not to doe himselfe good sed ut nos privet to doe us hurt And so here he fights against us in coelestibus about heavenly things ut nos illis spoliat that he might deprive us of them And this is the cause of the combate The time thereof is the time present 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the text that is there is a wrestling speaking in the present tense And as there is so there will be quamdiù nos principes tenebrarum as long as the servants of God and sonnes of Belial the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent doe last together that is as long as the world lasts that is the limited time of this combate And these be the particulars of the Conflict In the Conquest likewise we have three things to consider 1. the meanes how it is to be obtained 2. The manner how the said meanes is to bee used And 3. the motive The meanes is the armour of God The manner how to use it is to put it on The motive is that ye may stand These bee the parts and particulars both of Conflict and Conquest of which in order And first of the Conflict and therein of the combatants we 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we wrestle We that is we that be faithfull in Christ Iesus Ephes 1. v. 1. v. 1. we that come to serve the Lord Ecclus. 2. v. 1. specially we that serve at the Altar and are the Ministers of Iesus Christ as S. Paul we must wrestle and fight the Lords battailes against his and our enemies The condition of the children and servants of God in this life is military 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a warfare upon earth as Iob saith c. 7. v. 1. God that is a man of warre Exod. 15. 3. made man also to be-a man of warre Gen. 3. 15. putting enmity betweene the woman and the Serpent and between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent and saying it shall breake thy head and thou shalt bruise his heele And this breaking and bruising this warring and wrestling which the Lord did then proclaime betweene the woman and the Serpent and betweene her seed and his seed hath gone along and continued to this very day even to us so that nobis Lucta we wrestle We all we that have given up our names unto Christ and taken the oath of allegeance unto him in our Baptisme and renewed it by receiving the Lords supper and so professed open hostility against Satan the world and the flesh wee must wrestle Hic in castris ille in rostris in scholis in nemore in agro in pelago in palatio hic ferro corpus ille animum dolis hit argutiis linguam hic pedibus ille equo hic currit ille navigat omnes militant as Petrarch hath it Whosoever will live godly in Christ must warre with the Dragon and his Angels Revel 12. 7. 17. Specially if wee bee any thing zealous for the Lord of hoasts As Elijah 1. Kings 17. or earnest in in Gods cause as S. Paul or forward for the word of God and for the testimony of Iesus Christ as S. Iohn Revel 1. 9 then we must looke for sharpe affronts and hard oppositions harder then if wee be remisse and carelesse in Gods cause Sathan is no opposer of such as live securely in their sinnes His kingdome is not divided against it selfe he is more crafty then so His bent is against the good and the best most The greatest temptation that ever hee made was against Christ and so is still against good Christians He will sift them Luk. 22. 31. they shall be sure to feele his fiery darts they must wrestle Yea and this wrestling or Conflict is not a matter of sport as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometime taken but such as maketh the body of him that striveth to shake againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enim dicitur quia corpus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 quatitur The Christians war is a fierce warre Now this being so that our life is a souldiours life a warfare upon earth a continuall wrestling and fighting with Sathan and his complices Let us consider our calling and endeavour to walke worthy of it in shewing our selves good souldiours of Iesus Christ Let us not thinke it enough to take presse money and
take speciall notice of his chiefest enemies and bend himselfe most against them For though in battells they fight against the whole army yet specially against the head and Generall Thus the King of Siria being to fight with an army of the Israelites at Ramoth Gilead hee commanded his thirty and two captaines which had rule over his charets saying fight neither with small nor great but only with the King of Israel 1. Kings 22. 31. And thus must we in our spirituall warfare we must fight against the whole army of sinne but specially against the King and ruling sinne against chiefe leaders of sin those being taken the rest will never stand If Holofernes be slaine his souldiours will flye Iudith c. 15. 1. 12. If the sheapheard bee once strucke the sheep will soone be scattered Mat. 26. 31. Neither need we to goe farre to take a view of our chiefer enemies Here they are neare at hand personated and deciphered unto us in number three in quality most notorious The first that enters the list is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 flesh blood or blood and flesh as the originall runnes That is that corruption of nature which hath defiled both body and soule being spread and mixt with every part of both even as the light mingled with darknesse in the twy-light or dawning of the day This corruption and depravednesse of nature here called flesh blood is one of the chiefe enemies that we have to combate and wrestle with in this world Indeed the Apostle here doth prefixe a non to this saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is we wrestle not against flesh and blood But this non is not to be understood simply as not at all but not only as is said before our owne corrupt nature is one but not our only enemy It is one of our enemies so saith the Apostle the carnall mind is enmity against God Rom. 8. 7. it lusteth against the spirit Galat. 5. 17. it rebelleth against the law of the mind Rom. 7. 23. 24. Let a man but will that which is good and evill is present with him as the Apostle saith Rom. 7. 21. If a man have a mind to pray or to praise God to give or to forgive to doe or to suffer any thing according to Gods will the corrupt flesh is ready to contrary it and to say with the sluggard yet a little sleepe a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep or to say as Peter did to Christ speaking of his death this be farre from thee this shall not be unto thee Mat. 16. 22. A mans owne heart is as arch a traytor as any he shall meet withall and as dangerous and the more because he is not a forraine but an home-bred enemy fighting not as a tall souldiour but as a crafty traytor rebelling against the spirit like Dalilah in Sampsons bosome or Iudas in Christs company like the moth in the garment it is bred in us and dayly cherished by us and yet frets and destroyes us The heart is deceitfull above all things as the Prophet saith Ier. 17. 9. Yea more deceitfull then Sathan himselfe in some respect for our owne hearts can deceive us of themselves without Sathan but not Sathan without our hearts Nemo laeditur nisi à seipso is a true saying There is no mischiefe that we fall into but we ourselves are at least coadjutive causes and doe helpe to further the matter Indeed Sathan is as the father begetting but our corrupt heart is as the mother conceiving and bringing forth sinne Sathan the father of sin could doe nothing without this Mother The Devill cannot prevaile against us but by the helpe of our owne corruption he might strike fire long enough ere there would bee any burning did not we find him tinder Grande malum voluntas propira as Bernard saith Ser. 71. in Cant. a mans worst foes are they of his own houshold of his own bosome even his owne naughty heart and corrupt affections Every man is tempted by his owne concupiscence as the Apostle saith Iam. 1. 14. This carrieth the chiefest stroke in our sinnes The Devell hath astutiam suadendi a persuading slight but he hath not potentiam cogendi an inforcing might as S. August in Psal 91. He cannot make us sinne against our wills if hee plow not with our heifer he can get no advantage over us Behold then and consider who is your enemy it is not so much a forrain as a domestick foe a mans foes are they of his owne houshold the head-strong passions and the unruly affections of our owne corrupt hearts are the greatest enemies that wee are to wrestle with Wee wrestle against flesh and blood Now knowing this to bee so let us put this knowledge in practise knowledge without practise is nothing worth ignis fatuus it is like the blazing lampe of the foolish virgins that could not light them to the Bridegroomes chamber it will doe no good unlesse wee doe thereafter Let us doe then Which is thus First in regard that flesh and blood that is our corrupt nature is an enemy of ours hereby let us learne to take heed of our selves Ita cave tibi ut caveas teipsum is the counsell of the wise that is so take heed to thy selfe of other enemies as that thou take heed of thy selfe as an enemy A me me salve Domine was the prayer of S. Austine that is from mine owne selfe good Lord deliver me And so we had need to pray for our owne hearts though they would bee taken for our familiar friends yet they will deceive us if wee take not heed as they did the Gentiles Rom. 1. 21. Yea and though wee resist never so much yet these deceivers will stick close to us and follow us at all times in all places upon all occasions still ready furnished with deceit to beguile us And therefore let no man repose too much confidence in his owne heart He that trusteth in his owne heart is a foole saith Solomon Prov. 28. v. 26. Secondly hereby let us learne not to bee over-forward in consulting with flesh and blood when any thing is to be done Will a King counsell with a traytor whom he knowes to bee so This were to ruinate himselfe and his kingdome Will any man goe to such a Lawyer whose counsell hee knowes to be meere deceit and consenage That were to overthrow himselfe and his cause Now the flesh is a traytor and seekes thy destruction A deceiver that gives ill counsell as the young men to Rehoboam Consult not then with it in nothing follow the counsell of the flesh But as S. Paul when hee was to goe to Hierusalem to take upon him the calling of an Apostle did not consult with flesh and blood as himselfe saith Gal. 1. 16. So when any thing is to be done be not over-forward to consult with flesh and blood but with Gods spirit in Gods word for the
let us not be secure as the Amalekites having taken a great spoile of David and burned Ziglag lest we be suddenly surprised and destroyed as they were As in the fight we have an eye unto the victory so in the victory let us have an eye to the fight againe Let us stand still upon our guard put on the armour of God as long as you live Delight in the law of the Lord and therein exercise your selves day and night Pray alwayes pray and watch thereunto with all perseverance make a continuall use of all the armour and graces of God stowed upon you This is the counsell of our great Generall Christ Iesus here given by one of his chiefe commanders S. Paul that we should put on this armour alwaies with all perseverance And so let us doe as obedient souldiours of Iesus Christ And this the rather that we may be able to stand in the evill day in the day of temptation which is the motive to put on this armour and to fight this battell and the last point And a good motive it is for who would not be forward to put on armour and to fight in a good cause if he were sure to ouercome And so it is here Dicendo enim ut possitis resistere innuit certò nos staturos si modo armis Dei induti alacriter pugnemus idque usque ad fineÌ„ saith Calvin upon the place That is in saying that ye may be able to stand he doth imply that we shall surely and certainly and overcome in this battell if being furnished with Gods armour wee fight manfully under his banner and that unto the end Nil desperandum est Christo duce we need 〈◊〉 doubt or despaire of victory if we fight in Goâ—â—rmour under Christs banner and conduct for the â—â—rd of truth against the father and favourers of lies He that overcomes the servants of God thus fighting must overcome God himselfe who is the Lord of hoasts falsify his word who hath promised that they should as soone overcome and discomfit his sonne and our Saviour Christ Iesus 〈◊〉 is the Generall of the field yea and beate in peeces Gods owne armour as weake and unsufficient which I believe the gates of hell shall never be able to doe For let Satan and all the powers of hell doe what they can against the Church and people of God they can but calcaneum conterere bruise their heele and lame them a little their head they can never breake and quite overthrow Though they fall yet they shall not be cast downe for the Lord upholdeth them with his hand Psal 37. 24. Though the Dragon and his Angels that is the Devill and his forces fight with Michael and his Angels that is with Christ and his members yet they shall not prevaile Revel 12. 7. Though Sathan be strong yet Christ is stronger and will binde that strong man and spoile his house Mat. 12. 29. he will save his servants and souldiours fighting with his armour in his battell I but doth not the Apostle say of the servants and souldiours of Christ that they are killed all day long counted as sheep to the slaughter Rom. 8. 36. True and yet in all these things they are more then Conquerours through him that loveth them as it followeth in the next verse of the same chapter This may seeme a Paradoxe to flesh and blood to conceive how they that beare away the blowes and are killed by their enemies should bee said to overcome And yet so it is in all these things they are Conquerours saith the Apostle more then Conquerours that is then ordinary Conquerours even famous and noble victors But how doth this appeare you will say I answer thus the sword whereby we are said to overcome is of two sorts spirituall and materiall The true and faithfull servants of God have beene and many times are at this time killed and overcome by the materiall sword so Christ hath foretold saying they shall kill you Ioh. 16. 2. And Revel 11. at the 7 th verse it is said of the two witnesses that is of the faithfull preachers and professors of the truth that when they have finished their testimony the beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit that is Antichrist with his adherents shall make warre against them and kill them that is with the materiall sword But not with the spirituall With that they overcome him even with the breath that commeth out of their mouthes so it is said there at the fift verse if any will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouthes and devoureth their enemies even the fiery and powerfull word of God which is able and shall consume the adversary 2. Thes 2. 8. so that there is a victory on both sides The enemy many times kills and overcomes the faithfull witnesses and true servants of God with the materiall sword And they overcome the enemy with the spirituall sword slaying them in their soules though not in their bodies for the word is the savour of death unto death in them that perish 2. Cor. 2. 16. Againe the servants and souldiors of Christ even in all their tribulations obtaine a noble victorie for what is victory victoria est obtinere pro quo certas saith Tertullian victory is to obtaine that which we strive for And now what is the strife betweene the Christian and the tormentor but this the tormentor seekes to drive the Christian to deny Christ and his Gospell the Christian for all his torments confesseth him the more the tormentor fumes and chafes and sighes that he hath not his will and therefore is overcome The Christian rejoyceth that he is counted worthy to suffer for Christ and is constant and therefore goes away with the victory The tormentors in the execution of a woman Blandina by name confessed themselves overcome as Eusebius writes in the fift booke and first Chapter of his Ecclesiasticall history And Christians in their torments have gloried of their Conquest over their torments and tormentors Thus the Apostle Paul who shall separte us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distresse or persecution or famine or nakednesse or peril or sword Nay in all these things we are more then Conquerors through him that loved us Of this Conquest likewise of Christians in their afflictions and persecutions divers others have given notable proofe yea and those of our owne Nation as Glover Farrar Hawkes This last was desired by some godly friends for their confirmation to give some token when he was in the flames whether the paine were tollerable or noe A strange time one would thinke to attend upon signes or friends but so he did after his eyes were started out of his head his fingers consumed with fire and when ever one thought him dead and did expect the fall of his body Loe suddainly hee lifts up his stumps and thrice as famous Conquerour