Corporall armour as well as spirituall I answere we may it is lawfull for Christian men at the commandement of the Magistrate to weare weapons and to serue in warres according to the doctrine of our Church Art 37. and also according to the scriptures which say that there is a time of warre as a time of peace that the Magistrate is not to beare the sword in vaine Rom. 13. 4. that he that hath none should buy a sword Luk. 22. 36. That many good men did weare and use humane weapons as Gedeon Sampson David who subdued kingdomes Heb. 11. 33. and Cornelius the Centurion Act. 10. All these did arme the body and use corporall weapons and so may wee But here I say againe that the body is not the first part that we must arme nor humane weapons the first weapons that we must take to our selves The first part that we must arme is the inner man the soule which is the life of the body And the first armour that we must arme it withall is the armour or grace of God which is the life of the soule Thus saith the Apostle in the former chapter at the 14 th verse c. I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Iesus Christ of whom all the family of heaven and earth is named that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to bee strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man And thus S. Peter your adorning let it not bee outward adorning but let it bee the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meeke and quiet spirit the ornament of faith and a good conscience here called the brest-plate of righteousnesse Without this and the rest of the ornaments and muniments here mentioned even the strongest and best armed man will prove a coward and flye when none pursueth as Solomon saith Prov. 28. 1. And as the Syrians did 2. Kings 7. 7. I say then unto you Brethren arme your selves as well as you can both for the inner and outward man both with the corporall and spirituall armor but first of all above all arme the inner man with the armour of God Take unto your selves the armour of God his grace which is sufficient for you 2. Cor. 12. 9. Take it to your selves and not only that but put it on which is the manner how this meanes is to bee used and the next point This armour is not only to be taken and hung up at home or sometime to bee shewed abroad to be seene of men but to bee used and imployed daily in the Lords service which is meant by putting on God gives us his gifts and graces to the end that we should use employ them And therefore he saith in another place stirre up the grace of God that is given you 2. Tim. 1. 6. occupamini donec veniam occupie and employ your talents till I come Luk. 19. 13. If ye have then the armour these grace of God in you shew what ye are shew them by your profession and practise and appeare in your colours If a man hath his armour on and doth use it it will appeare and be seene on him So let it be with you play not the unprofitable servants to hide your talents your armour in the ground use it put it on Put on the whole armour of God Not only the girdle of truth and the brest-plate of righteousnesse but all the whole armour head and foote for if you should arme the head only the Devill happily would strike at the foot If the foot only then he might hurt the head If both and leaue our brest unarmed hee might wound us at the heart Therefore to make sure worke put on the whole armour that yee may repel all the assaults of the Devill lay not open any part to his blow Or if you will haue more of some one part then of another why then looke well to the head the heart and the outward senses that ye arme them strongly First the head for as a Generall that besiegeth a city laboureth most of all to gaine the towre or the castle knowing that if he can take hold and possesse that he shall instantly command the rest of the whole towne So likewise the Devill who daily doth assault our little city plots specially how he may be possessed of our Capitoll and sconce Knowing assuredly that if our head bee tipling our eyes will bee wanton our tongue blaspheamous our throate an open sepulcher our hands ready to stabbe our feet swift to shed blood In briefe all our members at his service to become servants of unrighteousnesse to commit all manner of ungodlinesse even with greedinesse Therefore it is good for us to have speciall care to arme the head with sobriety watchfullnes And so likewise for the heart for that is the hold and fort of the soule If that be not true to us we are sure to be foyled in every temptaton And therefore as Solomon saith so say I unto you Omni custodiâ custodi cor tuum Keepe thine heart with all diligence have it in an holy suspition so as to examine and search it daily and to observe the treacherous and deceiveable lusts that lurke therein And when by the light of the word you have found any doe not stay till they assault you but doe you assault them and beat them down with the armour of God using Martiall law presently condemne and crucify them And in like manner for the outward senses we must have a speciall care to keepe the parts of christian armour upon them also that we lye not too open there A valiant captaine knowing that the enemy is easier kept out then beaten out of a city hath great care to plant his Garison about the gates and walls there he sets his most faithfull watch and ward there he plants his chiefe munition and ordnance And so must we keepe a speciall watch and ward at the gates of the little city of our soule even our senses there plant our munition that the enemy may not enter in thereat Thus did Iob when he made a covenant with his eyes that hee would not looke upon a maide And Daniel when he would not tast of the Kings dainties nor defile himselfe therewith And David when hee vowed that hee would not heare nor see nor touch any wicked thing Psal 101. 3. But though I commend unto you a speciall care of these parts and passages of the soule by these reasous and examples yet I would not have you neglect the rest but to have a care of all and to put on all the armour of God as the Apostle here teacheth Yea and remember further to put on the armour of God in Gods service in his warres against his enemies only not against one another in private grudges and bickerings not against the faithfull servants 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
of a besieged city and the enemies will come in as certainly as if all the walls were demolished Let errour get but once into the belfrey and it will never leave till it be in the chancell as learned Fulk hath noted Suffer it to be but in the porch and it will not be long but you shall see it possessed of the Church it selfe yea and jetting in the pulpit also As then Moses would not yeeld to Pharaoh in a hoofe Exod. 10. 20. or orthodoxall christians to Arrius in a letter so as to say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no more let us yeeld to any errour in life or doctrine in profession or practise specially not to idolatry No not for all the kingdomes in the world and the glory thereof So would not Christ Mat. 4. 8 9. no not for an houre so did not Paul Galat. 2. 5. est leo si fugias If ye give place but a little to his temptations on hee goes And the more we give place to him the more he encroaches Therefore beware how you yeeld to him in the least motion in an apple as Eve or in a looke as Lots wife Give a hot horse his head at first and he will surely runne away with you And so will this beast if we give him the bridle if wee but a little yeeld to him Sathan can use small finnes as the fisher useth small haires to hold the fish as fast or faster then greater tackling and secret sinnes to doe more harme in the soule then open A 4 th way whereby wee give advantage to the Devill against us is by rushing into those places or companies where Sathan hath power over our bodies of soules in regard of the dangerous provocations to sinne they yeeld As solitary and secret places places of idolatry of whoredome of excessive drinking gaming swearing c. the company of mockers railers dissemblers or any other wicked persons These are the Devills factors and their dwelling his staple his schoole-house as S. Cyprian his throne as S. Iohn calls it Revel 2. 13. Now can a man be safe where Sathans throne is Amongst the children of disobedience where he beares rule Can a man take fire in his bosome or walke upon coales and not be burnt Surely the sweetest waters by running into the sea become salt and brackish And so men of sweet natures and excellent graces have beene perverted by the company of the wicked Witnesse Ioseph who was snared to sweare by the life of Pharaoh in the court of Aegypt And the Apostle Peter who was tempted to deny his Lord and Master in the Hall of Caiaphas To give the Devill therefore no advantage over us we must have no company with the wicked A fift way whereby we giue the Divell advantage against us is by living idly â—tium pulvinar Diaboli idlenesse is the Divells pillow to rest on Quem non invenit occupatum ipse occupat he will imploy those that will not imploy themselues The crabfish when as the oyster doth open flings into her a little stone so that shee cannot shut her selfe againe and so the crab devoures the oyster Even so saith Hierome our adversarie the Divell like the crab when he finds us idle and gaping like the oyster takes his opportunity to confound us When we sleepe and are secure then he will be sowing of tares in the field of the church and in the ground of our hearts Therefore let us follow the counsell of Christ which saith occupamini donec veniam that is occupie or be doing till I come Luke 19. Res age tutus eris A sixt way is by playing with the obiects of sinne it is not safe for the fish to play with the baite And no more is it for any man to play with the obiects of sinne A seuenth way is by not looking well to the outward senses of our bodies specially the two senses of learning Seeing and Hearing Can the heart or market-place of a Towne or City be safe from the siege of an enemy if the gates be cast open or the walls demollished or the ramparts bared of their fence and munition or can a kingdome be safe from an invading enemy unlesse the cinqueports be carefully looked to and watched Now the senses specially our seing and hearing are the gates of our hearts and the cinque-ports of our soules If we doe not then looke well to them and keepe a diligent watch over them we make our selues a prey to the enemy we open the gates for him to come in and therefore if we will not give the enemy too much advantage let us with David turne away our eyes from beholding vanitie and our eares also from hearing vanitie Let us looke to all the senses of our bodyes as so many gates and doores of our soules that Sathan enter not in that way locke them barre them bolt them fast Finally if you desire not to giue the divell advantage in this conflict then take heede of the intemperate use of Gods creatures by too much eating and drinking We read in the Gospell that the disposessed Divells entreated Christ that he would suffer them to goe into the herd of swine because the chiefe place of the Divells residence is the soule of the swilling drunkard as Bonaventure giues the reason In dry places he finds no rest saith Christ Mat. 12. 43. that is in sober minds he gets no footing as the same Author interprets it he dwells in lowe countries and wet grounds that is with such as are filled with wine wherein is excesse Invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultum When the Troians were dead drunke then the Grecians did set upon and overcame them saith the Poet When Benhadad king of Syria with two and thirtie kings more in his company were comming against Achab king of Israell and perceiving Achabs power to be small in respect of his did fall a banketing and drinking with the Kings his aiders and made themselues drunke Achab with his small power overcame them all And so when we haue distemperd our selues by eating or drinking then insteed of over coming the Divell our enemy he overcomes us making us to kill our deare friend Clitus with Alexander or to commit incest with Lot or to commit all ungodlinesse euen with greedinesse as the Sodomites Therfore if you will not giue place to the Divell follow the counsell of Christ that is take heed least at any time your hearts be over chared with surfetting and drunkenesse Luk. 21. 34. There be many other wayes whereby we giue place advantage unto the Divell against us As by immoderate anger and wrath Ephes 4. 26 27. By being wavering minded and unsetled in the faith Iam. 1. 6. By impatience and discontent by pride and ambition by yeelding to any corruption we giue the Devill so much ground and insteed of beating him out of our borders we let him in and betray our selues
he clapps them over his head in token of victory and triumph Thus the faithfull famously conquer when they seeme to bee conquered by their enemies Though they be cast downe one way either in body goods or good name yet they stand another way the best way they stand in the faith they stand in the grace and favour of God They stand in their soules before the Son of God though they fall in their bodies before the Sonnes of men They stand in great boldnesse before the face of such as have afflicted them and made no account of their labours Wisdom 〈◊〉 â—1 formido sublata est non pugna as Leo saith their feare is taken away though not their fight their feare of being overcome and utterly cast downe So that the state of the faithfull servants and souldiours of Christ is full of comfort and assurance though Sathan and all his forces set against them yet they shall not prevaile Let the Dragon and his Angels doe what they can yet Michael and his Angels shall overcome them by the blood of the lambe and by the world of the testimony Revel 12. 11. 't is not here as in the temporall warre there incertus belli exitus 't is uncertaine which way the victory will goe till the event declare it But here in the spirituall warfare pugna certa victoria est saith Tertullian fight and be sure of victory Having then such encouragement let us put on put on the whole armour all the graces of God here mentioned And then fight the good fight and finish your course in wrestling against flesh and blood against principalities and powers against the Rulers of the darknesse of this world against spirituall wickednesses in high places against all the fiery darts and fiery temptations of the wicked Doing so ye shall not neede to feare a small fall ye shall stand as the Apostle saith here Ye shall stand as in the grace of God here so in the glory of God hereafter and receive that crowne of righteousnesse which the Lord hath prepared for them that love him All which the Lord grant us for the alone merits of Christ Iesus to whom with the father and the holy spirit be all glory praise 〈◊〉 power both now and 〈◊〉 AMEN FINIS 1. Tim. 4. 7. 8. Iam. 4. 7. Ephes 4. 27. c. 6. 13. Vtile est plures à pluribus fieoi libros diverso stilo sed non diversa fide Etiam de iisdem questionibus c. August de Trinit l. 1. c. 3. The scope of the text The occasion 2. Cor. 16. 13. Heb. 12. v. 1. The generall parts of the text A Conflict wherein 3. things The combatants of both sides The cause of the combat The time of the Combate A Conquest wherin 3 things The meanes The manner The motive Conflict 1. Part. Combatants of the one side we A Christians life militarie Act. 20. Maâ—k 4. 25. 7 Properties whereby to approve ourselves good souldiours of Iesus Christ Virgil. Deut. 23. 9. Non est in terris mollis ad astra via Ordo est mater conservatrix rerum omnium Arist polit l. 2. Mat. 8. 9. Intenti fuerunt ad Ducis verbum imò ad nutum Curt. l. 4. Xiphlin in vita Trajan Rom. 12. 13. Gal. 6. 2. 10. 1. Tim. 6. v. 8. Mark 13. 33. 37. Rom. 10. 8. Luk. 22. 31. 32. 2. Cor. 5. Psal 1â—6 Gen. 3. 1. 3. 4. Mat. 3. 17. C. 4. 2. Thes 2. 3. 4. 1. Ioh. 11. 12. Mat. 10. 16. Ovid. Eccles 12. 1. 2. Sam. 11. â— Susanna 2. Tim. c. 4. 10. Iudith c. 12. 20. Dan. 5. 2. Isa 36. 4. Finis coronat opus Psal 78. v. 10. Combatants of the adverse part 3. The flesh Prov. 6. v. 10. Iudges 14. 18. Psal 111. v. 10. 7 Things to be done by us because the flesh is an adversary of ours Quocunque ingredimur sequitur unà adest in tuis aedibus unà bibit unà comedit unà dormit Terent. 1 Kings 12. v. 10. 1. Cor. 13. v. 32. Prov. 3. v. 5. 7. Ier. 9. v. 23. Mat. 3. v. 9. Psal 51. v. 5. Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus 1. Cor. 9. 27. 2. Sam. 20. 9. The second adversary of christians the world Iohn 16. 33. The army of the world against christians Aquinas in prima Iohn c. 5. 4. 1. Tim. 1. v. 19. Galat. 6. 12. Sam. 18. 7. Mundus obsidet me utrinque per quinque portas quinque sc corporis sensus sagitiis suis me vulnerat Bern. medit 14. 5 Things to be done because of the enmity of the world 1. Tim. 6. 9. 10. Colos 3. v. 2. 1. Iohn 3. v. 13. Oderunt hilarem tristes tristeque jocosi Sedatum celeres agilem gnavumque remissi Horat. lib. 1. epist 19. Amb. Ser. 87. Ephes 5. v. 11. Ephâ—s 2. 20. 2. Kings 2. 21. Rom. 13. 4. The third adversarie Christians the divell Calvin in so Gregor Moral l. 13. c. 15 Ioh. 12. 31. Ephes 2. v. 2 â—el 12. 3. 4. Gen. 3. 1. 9 Stratagems of the Devill to entrap men in 1. Cor. 5. 6. Mat. 4. v. 9. 1. Tim. 6. v. 6 Act. 28. v. 22. 2. Cor. 11. 4. 1. Sam. 18. v. 14. Prov. 8. 8 Wayes whereby we give the Devill advantage against us Acriùs urgeâ—hostis Ephes 2. 2. Mat. 13. 25. Psal 119. 37. Vrit videndo foemina activè passivè Mat. 8. 31. Vâ—gil 1. Kings 20 â—2 Gen. 19. 32. The cause of the Conflict Psal 137. v. â—9 The time of the Conflict Galat. 4. 29 Act. 7. 51. c. 13. 8. 2. Tim. 4. v. 15. Iob. 7. Ob. Sol â— Generall part 1 Conquest wherein 3 things The meanes of the Conquest Haec sunt sarcasmi Diaboli Chemnitius Ioh. 8. 44. 1. Sam. 17. 9. 10. 2 Sam. 17. 23. Luk. 18. 13. Isa 36. v. 6. 2 Cor. 10. v. 4. Particular meanes of the conquest Ioh. 17. 17. 2. Chron. 28. 9. 1. Pet. 1. 22. Act. 23. v. 1. Non eget Mauri jaculiâ— c. Psal 119. 106. 〈◊〉 1. v. 8. Ioh. 25. 5. Psal 1. v. 1. Exod. 17. v. 11. Eccles 4. 9. Mat. 18. 20. Psal 17. 1. 1. Thes 5. 17. Mat. 17. 21. Why the graces of God are called armour Q R Eccles 2. 8. 1. Pet. 3. 3. 4. The manner how to use the meanes of Conquest Appâ—re quod sis vel esto quod appares Parum sepultae distat iâ—â—rtiae caelata virtus 3 Parts specially to be armed Rom. 6. v. 13 Prov. 4. 23. Iob. 31. 1. Dan. 1. 8. Psal 26. 6. Gods armour to be put on in Gods serviceâ— The abuse of Gods armour Mat. 4. Hos 2. 8. 9. Amos. 6. 4. A passage of the preacher touching the repairing of Pauls Every one is to use Gods armour personally 1. Pet. 5. v. 8. Mat. 25. Rhem. Annot on Luk. 10. 35. 2. Cor. 8. 14. 1. Cor. 9. 16. Philip. 2. 12. We are to use Gods armour vvithout delay Isa 5 5. v. 3. 2. Cor. 6. 2. We are to put on Gods armour constantly Luk. 4. 13. Mat. 12. 44. 1. Sam. 30. 16. Psal 1. The motive to use the said meanes of Conquest Nemo nos laedit nisi qui Deum vincit Mat. 16. 18. Gen. 3. 15. Q R Q R Tertul. Apol. Act. 5. 41. cap. 16. â—â—usebius Rom. 8. 35. 37. Fox Acts and Mon. p. 1447. Leo ser 7. de jejun 10. mensis Mat. 16. 2. Tim. 4. 7 8.