Oh, it is sad for a poor Christian to stand at the door of the promise, in the dark night of affliction, afraid to draw the latch, whereas he should then come boldly for shelter as a child into his father's house.
William GurnallGod is almighty to pardon, but He will not use His power for a shameless sinner. He is able to save and help in time of need, but if you have not repented, how can you expect His aid? The same power God expends on the believer's salvation will be spent on your damnation, for He has bound Himself under oath to destroy every impenitent soul.
William GurnallSet a strong guard about thy outward senses: these are Satan's landing places, especially the eye and the ear.
William GurnallGod, to prevent all escape, hath sown the seeds of death in our very constitution and nature, so that we can as soon run from ourselves, as run from death. We need no feller to come with a hand of violence and hew us down; there is in the tree a worm, which grows out of its own substance, that will destroy it; so in us, those infirmities of nature that will bring us down to the dust.
William GurnallWhoever hath a seed time of grace pass over his soul, shall have his harvest time also of joy.
William GurnallSay not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins; say not that thou art born of God if thou canst not prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy!
William GurnallAs the eye of the body once put out, can never be restored by the creature's art, so neither can the spiritual eye lost by Adam's sin be restored by the teaching of men or angels. It is one of the diseases which Christ came to cure.
William GurnallIndeed all the saints are taught the same lesson - to renounce their own strength, and rely on the power of God; their own policy, and cast themselves on the wisdom of God; their own righteousness, and expect all from the pure mercy of God in Christ, which act of faith is so pleasing to God, that such a soul shall never be ashamed.
William GurnallWe must not confide in the armour of God, but in the God of this armour, because all our weapons are only mighty through God.
William GurnallThe possessions God allows us to have are intended for our use, not our enjoyment. Trying to squeeze something out of them that was never in them in the first place is a futile endeavor. A cow's udders, gently pressed, will yield sweet milk, nourishing and refreshing. Applying more and more pressure will not produce greater quantities of milk. We lose the good of material things by expecting too much from them. Those who try hardest to please themselves with earthly goods find the least satisfaction in them.
William GurnallThere is no such way to be even with the devil and his instruments, for all their spite against us, as by doing what good we can wherever we be come.
William GurnallThe Christian in prayer comes up close to God, with a humble boldness of faith, and takes hold of him, wrestles with him; yea, will not let him go without a blessing... They are only a few noble-spirited souls, who dare take heaven by force, that are fit for this calling.
William GurnallThou hast no life to lose, because thou hast given it already to Christ, nor can man take away that without God's leave.
William GurnallLet thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death. Why shouldst thou be afraid to die, who hopest to live by dying!
William GurnallTruly, hope is the saint's covering, wherein he wraps himself, when he lays his body down to sleep in the grave: "My flesh," saith David, "shall rest in hope."
William GurnallHow many, alas, of the precious saints of God must we shut out from being believers, if there is no faith but what amounts to assurance.... shall we say their faith went away in the departure of their assurance?
William GurnallSatan cannot deny but that great wonders have been wrought by prayer. As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down. Satan's strategems against prayer are three. First, if he can, he will keep thee from prayer. If that be not feasible, secondly, he will strive to interrupt thee in prayer. And, thirdly, if that plot takes not, he will labour to hinder the success of thy prayer.
William GurnallCan Christ be in thou heart and thou not know it? Can one king be dethroned and another crowned in thy soul and thou hear no scuffle?
William GurnallGod Himself underwrites your battle and has appointed His own Son 'the captain of your salvation'.
William GurnallIf thou beest ever so exact in thy morals, and not a worshiper of God, then thou art an atheist.
William GurnallWe have peace with God as soon as we believe, but not always with ourselves. The pardon may be past the prince's hand and seal, and yet not put into the prisoner's hand.
William GurnallSometimes, perhaps, thou hearest another pray with much freedom and fluency, whilst thou canst hardly get out a few broken words. Hence thou art ready to accuse thyself and admire him, as if the gilding of the key made it open the door the better.
William GurnallCompare Scripture with Scripture. False doctrines, like false witnesses, agree not among themselves.
William GurnallIt is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.
William GurnallCease to pray and thou will begin to sin. Prayer is not only a means to prevail for mercy but also to prevent sin.
William GurnallHe that is impatient, and cannot wait on God for a mercy, will not easily submit to Him in a denial.
William GurnallPaul was Nero's prisoner, but Nero was much more God's... But how does the great apostle spend his time in prison?... We read of no dispatches sent to court to procure his liberty; but many to the churches, to help them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free... The devil had as good have let Paul alone, for he no sooner comes into prison but he falls a preaching, at which the gates of Satan's prison fly open, and poor sinners come forth.
William Gurnall