When thoughts or inclinations contrary to the will and ways of God creep in, many dear Christians mistake these miserable orphans for their own children, and take upon themselves the full responsibility for these carnal passions. So deftly does the devil slip his own thoughts into the saints’ bosom that by the time they begin to whimper, he is already out of sight. And the Christian, seeing no one but himself at home, supposes these misbegotten notions are his own. So he bears the shame himself, and Satan has accomplished his purpose.
— William Gurnall (1616–1679), Puritanischer Pastor
Topics: Temptation & Struggle, Guilt & Forgiveness
Occasions: For Reflection
William Gurnall
William Gurnall war ein englischer puritanischer Geistlicher des 17. Jahrhunderts, der von 1644 bis zu seinem Tod als Pfarrer in Lavenham wirkte. Bekanntheit erlangte er durch sein umfangreiches Werk „The Christian in Complete Armour“ über die geistliche Waffenrüstung, geriet jedoch 1662 durch seine Anpassung an den staatlichen Act of Uniformity in Konflikt mit nonkonformistischen Puritanern. Heutigen Bibellesern bietet sein Werk eine detailreiche theologische und seelsorgliche Auslegung des Epheserbriefs zur Praxis von Gebet und geistlicher Wachsamkeit.
All quotes by William Gurnall (40)
The devil is a better theologian than any of us, and he is still a devil.
A.W. Tozer
Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now.
Craig Groeschel
Martin Luther
Fyodor Dostoevsky
And Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees.
William Cowper
Our old man is crucified, but he is long at dying.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Dante Alighieri
Gilbert Keith Chesterton