William Gurnall (56)
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He who is his own teacher, is sure to have a fool for his master!
The Christian must always be at war. If he has peace with sin, he is at war with God.
If you allow your love of creature comforts — or even your pleasure in family and loved ones — to outrun your love for the Lord, you cannot be a victorious soldier for Christ.The Christian in Complete Armour, 1:72
The layman has a large field in which he may minister to his fellow man, even if he is not called to full time ministry.Christian in Complete Armour 1:300
Hypocrisy in religion springs from the bitter root of some carnal affection unmortified…. God is in the hypocrite's mouth, but the world is in his heart, which he expects to gain through his good reputation.
It is sincere faith that is the strong faith, sincere love that is the mighty love. Hypocrisy is to grace as the worm is to the oak, the rust to the iron—it weakens them because it corrupts them.
The Christian, by his sorrow, shows himself a conqueror of that sin which even now overcame him, while the hypocrite, by his pride, shows himself a slave to a worse lust than that he resists. While the Christian commits a sin, he hates it, whereas the other loves it while he forbears it.
Humility is a necessary veil to all other graces.
Can a bird fly when one of its wings is broken? Faith and a good conscience are hope's two wings; if, therefore, thou hast wounded thy conscience by any sin, renew thy repentance, that so thou mayest exercise faith for the pardon of it and redeem thy hope.
Hope is a prying grace; it is able to look beyond the exterior transactions of providence. It can, by the help of the promise, peep into the very bosom of God and read what thoughts and purposes are written there concerning the Christian's particular estate, and this it imparts to him, bidding him not to be at all troubled to hear God speaking roughly to him in the language of His providence. "For," saith hope, "I can assure thee He means thee well, whatever He saith that sounds otherwise."
Hope is a supernatural grace of God whereby the believer, through Christ, expects and waits for all those good things of the promise which at present he hath not fully received.
Hope is the handkerchief that God puts into His people's hands to wipe the tears from their eyes, which their present troubles and long stay of expected mercies draw from them
The Holy Spirit is often moving in the consciences and affections of carnal creatures, counseling, rebuking, and exciting them, so that upon His suggestions, some warm affections are raised in them to that which is good, but presently all is quashed and comes to nothing and the Spirit driven away by the entertainment He finds. Again, you cannot know by the common gifts of the Spirit— illumination, conviction, restraining grace, and assistance to perform the external part of religious duties; these are gifts of the Spirit, but such as do not prove he hath the Spirit that hath them. These gifts are beamed from the Spirit of God and show that the kingdom of God is come nigh such an one, but they do not demonstrate that God is come into that soul and hath taken possession of it for His temple.
The Spirit exactly knows the heart of God to the creature, with all His counsels and purposes concerning Him: the Spirit searches all things, the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10). And what are those deep things of God the apostle means but the counsels of love which lie deep in His heart, till the Spirit draws them forth and acquaints the creature with them, as appears by verse 9? And also He knows the whole frame of man's heart. It were strange if He that made the cabinet should not know every secret box in it.
Pray not only against the power of sin but for the power of holiness. A wicked man may pray against his sins not out of any inward enmity to them or love to holiness but because they are troublesome guests to his conscience. His zeal is false that seems hot against sin but is cold to holiness. A city is rebellious that keeps its rightful prince out, though it receives not his enemy in.
They say smelling of the earth is healthful for the body and taking in the scent of this sulphurous pit, by frequent meditation, cannot but be as wholesome for the soul. O Christian, be sometimes walking in the company of those scriptures which set out the state of the damned in hell and their exquisite torments. This is the true house of mourning, and the going into it by serious meditation is a sovereign means to make the living lay it to heart; and laying it to heart, there is the less fear that thou wilt throw thyself by thy impenitency into this uncomfortable place who art offered so fair a mansion in heaven through faith and repentance.
Many among us, I think, would be content if there were such a law that might tie up ministers' mouths from scaring them with their sins and the miseries that attend their unreconciled state. The most are more careful to run from the discourse of their misery than to get out of the danger of it, are more offended with the talk of hell than troubled for that sinful state that shall bring them thither.
Satan labors to put off the sinner with delays. Floating, flitting thoughts of repenting he fears not; he can give sinners leave to talk what they will do so he can beg time and by his art keep such thoughts from coming to a head and ripening into a perfect resolution. Few are in hell but thought of repenting.
Could the damned forget the way they went into hell, how oft the Spirit of God was wooing, and how far they were overcome by the conviction of it—in a word, how many turns and returns there were in their journey forward and backward, what possibilities—yea, probabilities—they had for heaven when on earth. Were but some hand so kind as to blot these tormenting passages out of their memories, it would ease them wonderfully.
The saints in heaven shall be like the angels in their alacrity, love, and constancy to serve God; and the damned, like the devils in sin as well as punishment.
David had sat many months under the lectures of the law, unhumbled for his complicated sin, but Nathan is sent to preach a rehearsal sermon to him of the many mercies that God had graced him with, and while those coals are pouring on his head, his heart dissolves presently (2 Sam. 12:13). The frost is seldom quite out of the earth till the sun hath gotten some power in the spring to dissolve its bands. Neither will hardness of heart be removed until the soul be thoroughly warmed with the sense of God's mercies.
A sincere heart is like a clear stream in a brook: you may see to the bottom of his plots in his words and take the measure of his heart by his tongue.
He that knows the true worth of grace thinks he hath never enough till satisfied with it in glory.
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 in all places and companies; it will buy with you and sell for you; it will have a hand in all your enterprises; it will comfort you when you are sincere and faithful for God, and it will complain and chide you when you are otherwise. Go to, stop its mouth and heaven shall hear its voice; it will groan, mourn, and strive even as a living man when you would smother him. I will as soon believe the man to be alive that lies peaceably as he is nailed up in his coffin, without strife or bustle, as that thou hast grace and never exercise it in any act of spiritual life.
The gospel presents us with the articles of peace, which God graciously offers to treat, and conclude an inviolable peace upon with rebellious man. In it we have the whole method which God laid in His own thoughts from eternity of reconciling poor sinners to Himself. The gospel, what is it but God's heart in print? The precious promises of the gospel, what are they but heaven's court rolls translated into the creature's language? Complete Armour
Gospel comfort springs from a gospel root, which is Christ.
God will not only be admired by His saints in glory for His love in their salvation but for His wisdom in the way to it. The love of God in saving them will be the sweet draft at the marriage feast, and the rare wisdom of God in effecting this as the curious workmanship with which the cup shall be enameled.
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Ignorance, above other sins, enslaves a soul to Satan; a knowing man may be his slave, but an ignorant one can be no other. Knowledge does not make the heart good, but it is impossible that without knowledge it should be good. There are some sins which an ignorant person cannot commit; there are more which he cannot but commit.
Evangelical holiness rather makes the creature willing than able to give full obedience. The saint's heart leaps when his legs do but creep in the way of God's commandments. Mary asked where they had laid Christ, meaning, it seems, to carry Him away on her shoulders, which she was not able for to do; her affections were stronger than her back.
They that will not love thee because thou art holy cannot choose but fear and reverence thee at the same time for what they hate thee. Let a saint comply with the wicked and remit a little of his holiness to correspond with them, he loses by the hand as to his interest, I mean, in them; for by gaining a little false love, he loses that true honor which inwardly their consciences paid to his holiness. A Christian walking in the power of holiness is like Samson in his strength; the wicked fear him. But when he shews an impotent spirit by any indecency in his course to his holy profession, then presently he is taken prisoner by them and falls under both the lash of their tongue and scorn of their hearts.
God is wise to conceal the succors He intends in the several changes of thy life, that so He may draw thy heart into an entire dependence on His faithful promise. Thus, to try the metal of Abraham's faith, He let him go on till his hand was stretched forth, and then He comes to his rescue. Christ sends His disciples to sea but stays behind Himself on a design to try their faith and show His love. Comfort thyself, therefore, with this: though thou cannot see thy God in the way, yet thou shalt find Him in the end.
One great part of justice consists in a faithful and punctual performance of promises. He is a just man that keeps his word. And can God be a just God if He doth not? The word is gone out of His mouth that He will forgive such. Yea, He is willing to be accounted just or unjust by us as He makes performance thereof. See where He pledges His attribute upon this very account: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). He doth not say "merciful" but "just," as the attribute which we fear most should vote against us; this, He would have us know, is bound for the performance of the promise. It was mercy in God to make the promise, but justice to perform what mercy hath promised.
The highest created throne that God can sit in is the soul of a believer.
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. Yet this promise is ushered in with the most magnificent titles: "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isa. 57:15).
We fear man so much because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. Complete Armour
True faith on the promise works obedience to the commmand.Christian in Complete Armour
Election indeed is first in order of divine acting—God chooses before we believe, yet faith is first in our acting—we must believe before we can know we be elected; yea, by believing we know it. The husbandman knows it is spring by the sprouting of the grass, though he hath no [astronomy] to know the position of the heavens; thou mayest know thou art elect as surely by a work of grace in thee as if thou hadst stood by God's elbow when He writ thy name in the Book of Life. It had been presumption for David to have thought he should have been king till Samuel anointed him, but then none at all.
Beware of curiosity. He is half gone into error that vainly covets novelties and listens after every newfangled opinion.
The devil's empire is confined to place as well as time: he is the ruler of this lower world, not of the heavenly. The highest the devil can go is the air, called the prince thereof, as being the utmost marches of his empire; he hath nothing to do with the upper world. Heaven fears no devil, and therefore its gates stand always open.
Thou art young; thou canst not therefore say thou shalt not die as yet. Alas! Measure the coffins in the churchyard and thou wilt find some of thy length. Young and old are within the reach of death's scythe. Old men, indeed, go to death; their age calls for it. But young men cannot hinder death's coming unto them.
You must know conscience is a faculty that is corrupted as much as any other by nature and is very often made use of by Satan to deceive both good and bad, godly and ungodly. Many that know their consciences, they say, speak peace to them will be found merely cheated and gulled when the books shall be opened; no such discharge will then be found entered in the book of the word as conscience hath put into their hand. And many gracious souls who passed their days in a continual fear of their spiritual state and were kept chained in the dark dungeon of a troublesome conscience shall then be acquitted and have their action against Satan for false imprisonment and accusing their consciences to the disturbing their peace.
Converse with the saints that have the Spirit of God in them. They that would learn a foreign language associate with men of the country whose natural tongue it is. Wouldst thou have God and learn to speak heaven's language? Associate with those who by reason of their heavenly nature will be speaking of the things of God. It is true, they cannot propagate their spiritual nature; but it is as true that the Spirit of God may take the gracious discourses which they breathe forth the means of quickening thee. While thou art with such, thou walkest in the Spirit's company.https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2025/09/the-grace-of-christian-fellowship/
Liberty is the Diana of our times. O what apologies are made for some suspicious practices: long hair; gaudy, garish apparel; spotted faces; naked breasts! These have been called to the bar in former times and censured by sober and solid Christians as things at least suspicious and of no good report, but now they have hit on a more favorable jury that find them not guilty; yea, many are so fond of them that they think Christian liberty is wronged in their censure. Professors are so far from a holy jealousy that should make them watch their hearts, lest they go too far, that they stretch their consciences to come up to the full length of their tether, as if he were the brave Christian that could come nearest the pit of sin and not fall in.Christian in Complete Armour, 306
Suppose a king's son should get out of a besieged city where he had left his wife and children, whom he loves as his own soul, and these all ready to die by sword or famine if supply came not the sooner. Could this prince, when he arrived at his father's house, please himself with the delights of the court and forget the distress of his family? Or rather would he not come post to his father, having their cries and groans always in his ears, and before he eat or drink do his errand to his father and entreat him, if ever he loved him, that he would send all the force of his kingdom to raise the siege rather than any of his dear relations should perish?
why do you let your souls from their work, make them idle and rest from their burdens, by telling them of long life while death chops in upon you unawares?Christian in Complete Armour, 179
Least doers are great boasters.
Thou a Christian and carry hellfire about thee! How can it be? When we see a child furious and revengeful who comes of merciful parents, we…say we wonder of whom he got his currish, churlish disposition; his father and mother were not so. Who learns thee, O Christian, to be so revengeful and unmerciful? Thou hast it not of thy heavenly Father, I am sure.Gems, 19
None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven, because they fall from the greatest height.
Christian, take special care not to trust in the armour of God, but in the God of the armour.
Let your hope of Heaven master your fear of death. Why should you be afraid to die, who hope to live by dying!
Temptation is never stronger than when relief seems to dress itself in the very sin that Satan is suggesting.Christian in Complete Armour, 1:84
What lust is so valuable that it is worth burning in hell for?
Pride loves to climb up, not as Zacchaeus Golden Treasury
Christians spend more time fretting about what the minister should do than praying for God's direction in their own lives.The Christian in Complete Armour, 1:292
Unholiness in a preacher's life will either stop his mouth from reproving or the people's ears from receiving.
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