The Christian in complete armour Author:William Gurnall Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. III. WHEREIN IS CONTAINED THE THIRD AND LAST IMPORTANCE OF THE WORD " STAND," AND THE CHRIS- TIAN's DUTY OF STANDING ON HIS WATCH SPOKEN TO, WHY HE I TO... more » WATCH, AND HOW HE SHOULD. THIRDLY, " to stand," is here opposed to sleep and sloth, standing is a waking, watching, posture. When the captain sees his soldiers lying secure upon the ground asleep, he bids ' stand to your arms," that is, stand and watch. In some cases it is death for a soldier to be found asleep, as when he is appointed to stand sentinel, or the like; now to sleep, deserves death, because he is to wake, that the whole army may sleep, and his sleep may cost them their lives; therefore a great captain thought he gave that soldier but his due, whom he run through with his sword, because he found him asleep when he should have stood sentinel, excusing his severity with this, that he left him but as he found him : Mortuum invent et mortuam reliqui, " I found him dead in sleep, and left him but asleep in death." Watchfulness is more needful for the Christian soldier than any other, because other soldiers fight with men that need sleep as well as themselves; but the Christian's grand enemy Satan is ever awake and walking his rounds, seeking whom he may surprise. And if Satan be always awake, it is dangerous for the Christian at any time to be spiritually asleep; that is, secure and careless. The Christian is seldom worsted by this his enemy, but there is either treachery or negligence in the business ; either the unre- generate part betrays him, or grace is not wakeful to make a timely discovery of him, so as to prepare for the encounter; the enemy is upon him before he is thoroughly awake to draw his sword. The saint's sleeping time is Satan's tempting time; every fly dares venture to creep on a sleeping lion...« less