Obs. — That a person in a Chi-istless, graceless state, is naked and unarmed, and so unfit to fight Christ's battles against sin and Satan. Or thus, a soul out of Christ is naked and destitute of all armour to defend them against sin and Satan. God at first sent man forth in complete armour, ' being created in righteousness and tnie holiness;' but by a wile the de\'il stripped him, and therefore as soon as the first sin was completed, it is written, Gen. iii. 7, ' They were naked,' that is, poor weak creatures, at the will of Satan, a subdued people, disanned by their proud conqueror, and unable to make head against him. Indeed it cost Satan some dispute to make the first breach, but after that he had once the gates opened to let him in as conqueror into the heart of man, he plays the king ; behold, a troop of other sins crowd in after him, without any stroke or strife ; instead of confessing their sins, they nm their head in a bush, and by their good-will would not come where God is ; and when they cannot flee from him, how do they prevaricate before him ! They accuse one another, shifting the sin, rather than suing for mercy. So quickly were their hearts hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And this is the woeful condition of every son and daughter of Adam ; naked he finds us, and slaves he makes us, till God, by his effectual call, delivers us from the power of Satan into the king- dom of his dear Son : which shall further appear, if we consider this Christless state in a fourfold notion.
First, It is a state of alienation from God, ' Ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise,' Eph. ii. 12. Such a one hath no more to do with any covenant-promise, than he that lives at Rome has to do with the charter of London, which is the birth- right of its own denizens, not of strangers. He is without God in the world ; he can claim no more protection from God than an outlawed subject from his prince; if any mischief befals him, the mends is in his own hands, whereas God hath his hedge of special providence about his saints : and the devil, though his spite be most at them, dares not come upon God's ground to touch any of them without particular leave. Now what a deplored condition is that wherein a soul is left to the wide world, in the midst of legions of lusts and devils, to be rent and torn like a silly hare among a pack of hounds, and no God to call them ofi'? Let God leave a people, though never so warlike, presently they lose their wits, cannot find their hands : a company of children or wounded men may rise up, and chase them out of their fenced cities, because God is not with them ; which made Caleb and Joshua pacify the mutinous Israelites at the tidings of giants and walled cities, with this : ' They are bread for us, their defence is departed from them.' How much more must that soul be as bread to Satan, that hath no defence from the Almighty ! Take men of the greatest parts, natural or acqiiired accomplishments, who only want an union with Christ, and renewing grace from Christ: O what fools doth the devil make of them ! leading them at his pleasure, some to one lust, some to another ; the proudest of them all is slave to one or other, though it be to the ruining of body and soul for ever. Where lies the mystery, that men of such parts and wisdom should debase themselves to such drudgery work of hell ? Even here, they are in a state of alienation from God, and no more able of themselves to break the devil's prison, than a slave to run from his chain.
Second, The Christless state is a state of ignorance, and such must needs be naked and unanned. He that cannot see his enemy, how can he ward off the blow he sends? One seeing prophet leads a whole army of blind men whither he pleaseth. The impeifect knowledge saints have hei-e, is Satan's advantage against them ; he often takes them on the blind side ; how easily then may he, with a parcel of good words, carry the blind soul out of his way, who knows not
■gg PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD.