Quotes from William Gurnall

It is a good gloss Augustine hath upon Esau's tears Heb. 12:16, 17. —Flevet quòd perdidit, non quòd vendidit —he wept that he lost the blessing, not that he sold it.

And what is the gospel of all this—for surely God hath an eye in that our marching to heaven, and our fighting with these cursed spirits and lusts that stand in our way—but that we should fight lawfully, using those means which we have from his mouth in his Word?

His subject thou art whom thou crownest in thy heart, and not whom thou flatterest with thy lips.

Christ and satan divide the whole world. Christ will bear no equal, and Satan no superior; and therefore, hold in with both thou canst not.

Tertullian, speaking of the assemblies of the church, saith, coimus in cætum et congregationem, ut ad Deum quasi manu facta precationibus ambiamus orantes, hæc vis Deo grata est—we meet in the congregation that we may by our fervent prayers environ God, as an army doth a castle, and this holy fore with which we assault heaven pleas eth him.

In order to the right conceiving of God, we must give him the infinitude of all his attributes; that is, conceive of him not only as wise—for that may be a man's name—but infinitely wise; not mighty, but almighty, &c.

This is a ground of consolation to the weak Christian, who disputes against the truth of his grace, from the inward conflicts and fightings he hath with his lusts, and is ready to say like Gideon, in regard of outward enemies, 'If God be with me, why is all this befallen me?' Why do I find such strugglings in me, provoking me to sin, pulling me back from that which is good? Why dost [thou] ask? The answer is soon given; because thou art a wrestler, not a conqueror.

Tertullian speaks of some that think satìs Deum habere si corde et animo suspiciatur, licèt actu minus fiat—'God hath enough,' they think, 'if he be feared and reverenced in their hearts, though in their actions they show it not so much;' and therefore they can sin, and believe in God, and fear him never the worse. This, saith he, is to play the adulteress, and yet be chaste; to prepare poison for one's father, and yet be dutiful.

A man may outlive many wounds received in the arms or legs, but a stab in the heart or other vital parts is the certain messenger of death approaching. Thus righteousness and holiness preserve the principal part of a Christian —his soul and conscience.

Words in prayer are but as powder; the promise is the bullet that doth the execution, faith the grace that chargeth the soul with it, and fervency that gives fire, and dischargeth it into God's bosom with such a force that the Almighty cannot deny it entrance, because indeed he will not.

A false heart yields when sin comes with a bribe in its hand.

Here is godliness in triumph—when the Christian can carve contentment out of God's providence, whatever the dish is that is set before him.

Never can we truly recover our courage, till we recover our holiness—'If

O guilt is an embit tering thing! It keeps the soul in a continual fear of hearing ill news from heaven; and a soul in fear is not in case to relish the sweetness of a mercy.

There is no more difference betwixt a hypocrite and an apostate, than betwixt a green apple and a ripe one; come a while hence, and you will see him fall rottenripe from his profession.

the devil is the merchant, and the sinner but the broker to trade for him, who at last puts all his gains into the devil's purse. Time,

Abstruse preachers; who do not make the mysteries of the gospel known, but make truths plain in themselves mysterious by their dark perplexed discourses upon them.

Fides pinguescit operibus—'faith fattens or becomes strong on works,' Luther.

What is said of some commentators, 'The places on which they treat were plain till they expounded them,' may be said of some preachers, their text was clear till their obscure dis course upon it darkened it.

That he who means to be a Christian indeed, must endeavour to maintain the power of holiness and righteousness in his life and conversation.

Our sin is the engine, Satan is the engineer; lust the bait, Satan the angler.

And the plot of all is, that he might gather these all together at last in heaven—some of which are already there, others of them at present on earth, and some yet unborn—and, when they shall all meet together in one glorious choir, that there they may, by their triumphant songs and hallelujahs, fill the heavens with praiseful acclam ations of thankfulness to the glory of that mercy which hath thus pardoned and saved them.

It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.

We are justified, not by giving anything to God,--what we do,--but by receiving from God, what Christ hath done for us.