Gleanings from William Gurnall. Selected by Hamilton Smith.
Published by Soli Deo Gloria Publications. Hardback, 147 pages, price £12.95. Available at £10.95 from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE
THIS selection of brief passages and short sayings, from the classic, The Christian in Complete Armour, by William Gurnall (1616-79, parish minister in Lavenham, Suffolk), is rich, substantial fare, and its striking illustrations and pithy sayings impinge on the mind. We believe that it will be an aid to preachers and useful for believers, as it proved to be when first published in 1914.
Although the book does not have an index, the quotations are grouped under a dozen heads, such as ‘Sin and Guilt’, ‘Profession and Hypocrisy’, ‘Faith and Holiness’, ‘Strife and Contention’, ‘Reading and Meditation’, and ‘Patience and Hope’. Under each head, each of the quotations has a title; for example, under ‘Sin and Guilt’ are the titles, The terror of sin, The love of sin, Secret sins, Forsaking sin, etc. A number of the longer pieces, some as long as one page, can conveniently be broken down into a number of separate quotations by those who wish to use them in preaching and teaching.
The reading of even a few pieces makes the reader realise that Gurnall was a preacher and writer who aimed at the heart and conscience of the believer. “A thorn in the foot will make any way uneasy to a traveller,” he says, “and guilt in the conscience will make any condition uncomfortable to the Christian, but most of all a suffering one. O, it is sad, to go with sore and smarting consciences into a suffering condition.”
Nor was Gurnall a mere theorist. The Christian in Complete Armour, (a work based on Ephesians 6:10-20, “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, . . .”) is intensely practical, and that is seen clearly in this selection. Says Gurnall: “Fall to the work God sets thee about, and thou engagest His strength for thee. ‘The way of the Lord is strength.’ Run from thy work and thou engagest God’s strength against thee; He will send some storm or other to bring home His runaway servant. How oft hath the coward been killed [when hiding] in a ditch or under some hedge, while the valiant soldier that stood his ground and kept his place, got off with safety and honours.”
We hope that the perusal of this interesting volume will prove helpful to those who are fighting the good fight of faith, and that it will whet their appetite for the feast to be found in The Christian in Complete Armour. ☐
Note: The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall, (Published by The Banner of Truth, hardback, 600 pages, at £21.95) is available from The Free Presbyterian Bookroom at £18.50.