several sorts.”^74 That reality reveals the wide spectrum of struggles experienced by
Puritans in the seventeenth-century. Henry Newcome, Ambrose’s close friend, often
wrestled with the use of his time, bemoaning the large quantities he spent playing
billiards and smoking rather than in meditation.^75 Conversely, Ralph Josselin the
Essex Puritan minister, in his idiosyncratic diary often seems preoccupied with his
health, especially his navel.^76 Ambrose referred to “our special sins, our Dalilah sins”
as those most challenging for us to face.^77 While he does not specifically name his
Dalilah sin, his diary reveals that he was more susceptible to the temptation of pride,
which will be examined later.
Traditionally Christians have examined the struggles of the soul according to
the three-fold temptations of the devil, the flesh, and the world.^78 Unlike some in the
modern scientific world, the Puritans believed in the reality of Satan’s presence.^79
Due to the vicious, virulent, and persistent nature of the devil to deceive or destroy
Christians Ambrose writes of the importance of entering into spiritual combat and
wrestling with the Satan.^80 The Puritans were well aware of the long tradition of
spiritual combat that can be traced back to the Bible.^81 William Gurnall’s The
(^74) Ambrose, Media (^) (1657), 286. (^)
(^75) On playing billiards see Newcome, Diary, 67, 72, 75, 82, 158n. On smoking
tobacco see 68, 70, 139, 166, 168, 182, 194, 196, 199, 218. 76
77 Macfarlane, Diary of Ralph Josselin, 140n1, 141.^
78 Ambrose, Media (1657), 47, 65, 100, 454.^
among Puritan authors. Ambrose employs this pattern and it will be followed in There appears to be no consistency in the arrangement of these three headings
examining his development of temptation. 79 Media (1657), 286-7.
80 Spurr, English Puritanism, 180.^
81 Ambrose, War with Devils, 2, 3, 5, 15, 17, 19, 22, 26, 29, 163.^
There is no adequate history that traces the Puritan awareness of this topic back to
the NT. The best historiography on this subject is Russell, Mephistopheles: Devil in
the Modern World. For Calvin’s understanding see Charles Hall, With the Spirit’s
SwordPrecisianist Strain. For Puritan sources see Wakefield, , esp. 110-3, 236-7; and Zacharias, Puritan DevotionEmbattled Christian, 132-5; Bozeman,.