as the Son of God and the Saviour of men. It is the faith which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen ; which at once appre- hends or discerns, and receives the things of the Spirit. It overcomes the world, as is proved by so many ex- amples: in the twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Faith being in itself so mighty, and having from the beginning proved itself so efficacious, the apostle adds, ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονη- pod τὰ πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι, whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. The obvious allusion here is to those missiles employed in ancient warfare, around which combustible materials were bound, which were ignited and projected against the enemy. Reference to these fiery darts is made in Ps. 7, 18, “He will make his arrows burning arrows ;” see Alexander on the Psalms. These darts are said to be τοῦ πονηροῦ, not of the wicked, as the words are translated in the English Version, but of the evil one, i.e. of the devil. Comp. Matt. 13, 19. 38. In the latter passage ὁ πονηρός is explained in ver. 39, ὁ διά- Boros. See also 1 John 2,13; 8,12; 5, 18, and other passages. As burning arrows not only pierced but set on fire what they pierced, they were doubly danger- ous. They serve here therefore as the symbol of the fierce onsets of Satan. He showers arrows of fire on the soul of the believer; who, if unprotected by the shield of faith, would soon perish. It is a common experience of the people of God that at times horrible thoughts, unholy, blasphemous, skeptical, malignant,
CHAP. γι. vs. 16. 17. 3887
crowd upon the mind, which cannot be accounted for on any ordinary law of mental action, and which can- not be dislodged. They stick like burning arrows ; and fill the soul with agony. They can be quenched only by faith; by calling on Christ for help. These, however, are not the only kind of fiery darts; nor are they the most dangerous. There are others which enkindle passion, inflame ambition, excite cupidity, pride, discontent, or vanity ; producing a flame which our deceitful heart is not so prompt to extinguish, and which is often allowed to burn until it produces great injury and even destruction. Against these most dan- gerous weapons of the evil one, the only protection is faith. It is only by looking to Christ and earnestly invoking his interposition in our behalf that we can resist these insidious assaults, which inflame evil with- out the warning of pain. The reference of the passage, however, is not to be confined to any particular forms of temptation. The allusion is general to all those attacks of Satan, by which the peace and a of the believer are specially endangered.
V.17. The most ornamental part of ancient armour, and scarcely less important than the breast-plate or the shield, was the helmet. The Christian, therefore, is exhorted to take τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου, the helmet of salvation. According to the analogy of the preceding expressions, “the breast-plate of righteous- ness,” and “shield of faith,’ salvation is itself the helmet. That which adorns and protects the Christian, which enables him to hold up his head with confidence