Book: The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume 3

Overview
Volume 3 of William Gurnall's The Christian in Complete Armour completes a sustained, verse-by-verse exposition of Ephesians 6 and brings the trilogy to its pastoral and practical culmination. Written in the mid-17th century, it addresses the ordinary Christian's need for vigilance, prayer, and perseverance amid spiritual conflict. Gurnall frames the Christian life as ongoing warfare that requires both inward holiness and outward steadfastness, offering guidance that is theological, vivid, and intensely practical.

Content and Structure
The volume proceeds as a close commentary on the concluding verses of Ephesians 6, drawing out the implications of the apostle's call to stand, to take up the whole armour of God, and to pray in the Spirit. Gurnall systematically treats each element of the armour in its practical bearings, but the third volume shifts attention more decisively to the duties that sustain the soldier: watchfulness, persevering prayer, habitual holiness, and the duties of public and private piety. Short expositions alternate with exhortation, pastoral application, and memorable illustrative material aimed at rousing courage and practical response.

Key Themes
Prayer occupies a central place as both the Christian's weapon and breath; Gurnall insists on constant, spiritual prayer as the engine of perseverance and the context in which all other graces are exercised. Perseverance and patience appear as fruits and tests of true faith, requiring mortification of sin and growth in grace. Union with Christ is repeatedly invoked as the believer's source of strength, while watchfulness guards against deceit, worldliness, and spiritual sloth. The cosmic dimension of the conflict, real spiritual adversaries and the church's corporate calling, recurs alongside attention to personal holiness.

Notable Passages and Exhortations
Gurnall is strongest where theology meets exhortation: his applications press the reader to vigilant self-examination, to sustained communion with God, and to an active, obedient faith that manifests itself in both suffering and service. He employs vivid imagery and anecdote to animate themes, contrasting the soldier who stands ready with the sluggard who loses ground. Practical counsel on resisting temptation, maintaining a life of prayer, and engaging in the ordinary duties of Christian life is given with urgency and pastoral care, designed to be read devotionally as well as doctrinally.

Style and Influence
Written in robust seventeenth-century English, the prose blends learned theological argument, sermonic rhetoric, and homely pastoral illustration. Gurnall's sentences can be ornate but are directed always toward spiritual awakening and moral reformation. The trilogy, and this concluding volume in particular, became a staple of English devotional literature, read by pastors and laypeople for generations. Its influence extends through subsequent pietistic and evangelical reading habits that prized practical theology and heart religion.

Practical Application
The final volume translates doctrine into daily discipline, urging readers to combine constant prayer with disciplined living: the armouring of the soul is not merely doctrinal assent but habitual obedience, mortification, and watchfulness. Gurnall's closing exhortations aim to equip believers for sustained faithfulness amid trials, calling them to a life where prayer girds every action and perseverance confirms the reality of grace. The volume still rewards readers seeking a pastoral, pastoral-theological guide to living out the Christian life under pressure.