The Christian in Complete Armour - Gurnall - XXXVIII - Direction Seventh continued

Required reading
The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence the First Doctrine of the Third General Part of Direction Seventh by reading up to the heading 'Use or Application'.

My summary

This week we continue Direction Seventh, 'And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace'.

In the first part of this direction, Gurnall told us what is meant by 'the gospel'.  Then in the second part we learned what is meant by 'peace'.

So today Gurnall gives us the third part of the direction and begins to explain what is meant by 'preparation'.

We learn that the first doctrine is that it is our duty, as Christians, to be always prepared and ready to meet with any trial, and endure any hardship which God may lay out for us in our Christian warfare.  

This is because:

(i) there are reasons taken from Christ, for or from whom we suffer;

(ii) there are reasons taken from the excellency of the frame of spirit which such a holy readiness would import.

What grabbed me

I liked the encouragement to be ready due to Christ's readiness: 'Christ deserves this readiness to meet any suffering he lays out in his providence for us, if we consider his readiness to endure sorrow and trouble for us. When God called him to the work of mediatorship, he found the way laid with sharper stones, I hope, than we do in the road that is appointed us to walk in. He was to tread upon swords and spikes, all manner of sorrows—and those edged with the wrath of God; this was the sharpest stone of all, which he hath taken out of our way, and yet how light did he go upon the ground! O had not his feet been well shod with love to our souls, he would soon have turned back, and said the way was unpassable; but he goes on and blinks not; never did we sin more willingly, than he went to suffer for our sin. 'Lo, I come,' saith he to his Father, 'I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart,' Ps. 40:7, 8. O what a full consent did the heart of Christ rebound to his Father's call, like some echo that answers what is spoken twice or thrice over! Thus, when his Father speaks to him to undertake the work of saving poor lost man, he doth not give a bare assent to the call, but trebles it; 'I come...I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.' He was so ready, that before his enemies laid hands on him, in the instituting of the Lord's supper, and there did sacramentally rend the flesh of his own body, and broach his own heart to fill that cup with his precious blood, which with his own hand he gave them, that they might not look upon his death now at hand as a mere butchery from the hand of man's violence, but rather as a sacrifice, wherein he did freely offer up himself to God for them and all believers. And when the time was come that the sad tragedy should be acted, he, knowing the very place whither the traitor with his black guard would come, goes out, and marcheth into the very mouth of them. O what a shame were it, that we should be unwilling to go a mile or two of rugged way to bear so sweet a Saviour company in his sufferings! 'Could ye not watch with me one hour?' said Christ to Peter, Matt. 26:40—not with me, who am now going to meet with death itself, and ready to bid the bitterest pangs of it welcome for your sakes? not with me?'

How could we not follow in the footsteps of our Master and Saviour?

Next week's reading
Conclude the First Doctrine of the Third General Part of Direction Seventh by reading up to the heading 'Second Doctrine'.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.