William Gurnall (1617–1679)

Title: The Christian in Complete Armour

Author: William Gurnall edited by James S. Bell JR

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Goodreads: “If I might read only one book beside the Bible, I would choose The Christian in Complete Armour.” —John Newton

The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare is packed with truths for spiritual triumph.

Originally written in the seventeenth century by Pastor William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour is among the most highly regarded Christian books ever written in the English language. Charles Spurgeon called it “the best thought breeder in our library.”

This version, edited into modern English and compiled into 365 readings by editor James S. Bell Jr., gives Christians soul-searching and inspiring devotional supplements to the Bible. For baby believers and seasoned ones alike, The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare will help readers walk and stand in the triumph of Christ.
Review: This is a really great book. Since it is broken down into daily readings it only takes a few minutes each day to read the selected passage and each day it is less than a full page to read.

I love the passages and I am really excited to read these every morning. Starting off the day with this armor will help me to keep the right mindset throughout the day.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to any Christian. This is a book everyone should read.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this
review.*… (altro)

I have read a good chunk of the unabridged Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall, it is very good but HUGE, you kind of need to plough through it. This book, Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour was an excellent idea! Breaking it up into small chunks for daily reading makes it a much easier read, and gives you a good taste of Gurnall's great skill of teaching and illustrating various spiritual warfare concepts.

The best summary that I can come up with is that this book is like having a spiritual commanding officer giving you a rousing speech each day to be ready to fight the battles to come. Gurnall talks about the armor our General has provided for us and each individual piece's purpose, he instructs us to keep in mind that we should 'wrestle' with the enemy in the way our General has instructed us to do so, not merely in the way that we think we can defeat him, he also examines the strategy of our spiritual enemy, and gives many warnings about his tactics

Every day Gurnall will warn you about the enemy's deceptive tactics, alerting you with statements like, "When Satan cannot hide the truth, he works to hinder the practical application of it." and "If you wish to stand firm in the midst of suffering, forewarn yourself of this fact: Temptation is never stronger than when relief seems to dress itself in the very sin that Satan is suggesting." He'll remind you to be ready to follow the Commander's orders at any moment, "Sometimes soldiers do not have as much as an hour's warning before they must take the field. And so you, too, might be called out to suffer for God …. Abraham, for example, had very little time to deal with his heart and persuade it to obey God by offering his child. 'Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest' - not in a year, not a month or week, but now (Genesis 22:2). This command came during the night and 'early in the morning' he was on his way to the mountain (v.3). .....Sometimes God makes very sudden changes in our personal lives." He will remind you to keep your focus during suffering, "Let those who will, mock and scorn your faith. What is Heaven worth if you cannot bear a little shame? If they spit in your face, Christ will wipe it off. They may laugh at you now, but not later. The final outcome has already been declared, and you have sided with the victor." And reminds us that our Commander is invincible, "Let Lucifer choose his way; God is a match for him at every weapon. If he assaults the saint by persecution, God will oppose him. If he works by a subtlety, God is ready there also. The devil and his whole council are mere fools to God. The more wit and craft in sin, the worse, because it is employed against an all-wise God who cannot be outwitted."

But remember, this book shouldn't be used to replace the Word of God, if you are going to ready any book every day that book should be the Bible. Like any book, besides the Bible, this book has its flaws, to name a few, the author may give a bit too much credit to Satan in our spiritual warfare and even in this world in general (he seemed to think that Satan can control the weather), and I don't agree necessarily with all of his advice or application of certain texts, but overall I thought the book was very good, It's now one of my favorite books. It is VERY motivating and thought-provoking, it is a very good sort of 'push' to have in the mornings to get out and do the work, and fight the battles, that God has ordained for us to face.

I'll end with one of my favorite, motivating, go out and fight the good fight type of quotes from the book:

"You should find great strength and encouragement in the knowledge that your commission is divine. God Himself underwrites your battle and has appointed His own Son "the captain of [your] salvation" (Hebrews 2:10). He will lead you on to the field with courage, and bring you off with honor.......For bravery none compares with our Lord. He never turned His head from danger, not even when hell's hatred and heaven's justice appeared against Him. Knowing all that was about to happen, Jesus went forth and said, "Whom seek ye?" (John 18:4). Satan could not overcome Him - our Savior never lost a battle, not even when he lost His life. He won the victory, carrying His spoils to heaven in the triumphant chariot of His ascension. There He makes an open show of them, to the unspeakable joy of saints and angels. As part of Christ's army, you march in the ranks of gallant spirits. Every one of your fellow soldiers is a child of a King. Some, like you, are in the midst of battle, besieged on every side by affliction and temptation. Others, after many assaults, repulses and rallyings of their faith, are already standing upon the wall as conquerors. From there they look down and urge you, their comrades on earth, to march up the hill after them. This is their cry: 'Fight to the death , and the City is your own, as now it is ours! For the waging of a few days' conflict, you will be rewarded with Heaven's glory. One moment of this celestial joy will dry up all your tears, heal all your wounds, and erase the sharpness of the fight with all the joy of your permanent victory'"


Many thanks to Moody Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book to review (My review did not have to be favorable).
… (altro)

This was the first puritan work I have ever read. I’ve read books about Puritanism. And I’ve read books on sermons by puritans. But this is my first time reading a set by a puritan. And I must say, I’m very pleased.

This set was first published in three volumes in 1655, 1658 and 1662. All three volumes put together make it over 1,000 pages. But don’t let that intimidate you. It took me about two months to finish it (since I’m a slow reader). But I find it best, for me at least, that I can retain more of the book if I kind of read it slow and think about certain parts of the book. I also find it handy if you have someone to discuss it with you as you read it. I think if someone were to have a group study of this set, they could probably spend years within it. It’s one of those books where I felt like I wanted to highlight most of the book. However, I knew I had to be a little more choosey what I wanted to highlight. Or else It would be hard for me to go back and do some quick quotes. I’ve been doing that with my books for a few months now. I like to highlight certain parts. Then, I go back and take some time mediating upon those quotes.
Pros:

1. If you ever have read puritan works before you know they’re not the most easiest books to understand. Some are a little harder to read than others. But William Gurnall was surprisingly easy to understand most of the time. He had a few hard moments to try and wrap my brain around, but for most of the book he was very easy to read. It could just be that I was reading the modernized abridgment of his work. But I doubt it. I think that’s just the way Gurnall wrote.

2. Gurnall was a very gentle puritan. However, he was not squishy. He knew when to be stern. And when to be comforting. This is a pretty good work for those who need spiritual counseling, because they’re doubting whether they’re saved or not.

3. He uses Scripture a lot (of course, I think most of the puritans do). It’s hard to find a page where he doesn’t have a Bible reference.

4. Gurnall is very good with discussing spiritual warfare. It’s simply amazing how long Gurnall can expound upon Satan’s tricks, the evilness of sin (which puritans where good at that), the importance of reading our Bible, praying, etc, etc.

5. Would be very good for devotional reading. In Gurnall’s book he has a lot of really good life application.

6. The last piece of amour he expounds upon is “The Christian’s Sword.” And in my opinion it is the best chapter. It would be worth it to buy the whole set just for this chapter. In one section of the chapter, he explains how the Bible is indeed the holy word of God. And as you’re reading you think you’re reading an apologist. In fact, I think in some parts he did better than some apologists do today.

Cons:

1. It could just be the modernized abridgment of it, but every now and then you kind of wonder whether Gurnall believes in unconditional election and perseverance of the saints. Which you know he does believe in these great doctrines. But every now and then he says certain things that make you wonder if he does or not. So, it’s kind of confusing at certain moments.

2. Sometimes puritan works are a little hard to follow because of how they wrote. They have the main topic, then as they write about the main topic, they go expound upon an other topic, which they categorize into numbers. Then, they may go to letters. Then maybe more numbers. And at the time you’re done reading through all that you forget what they were first talking about. But if you can remember what the topic started with and the points they’re going through, you should be just fine.

3. Not too much mention of the cross. I would have liked Gurnall to take a little more time in talking about Christ and Him crucified.

Conclusion:
I got a lot of jewels from this beautiful puritan work. It may have a few cons. However, the pros outweigh them. Plus, the price is great! This is a great work, for a very affordable price. I would recommend this to every Christian.… (altro)