and your lights burning, is that we should be ready for a march, having our annoiu- on, (for the belt goes over all,) and our matchlight ready to give fire at the first alarm of temptation. If as to servants, which seems more natural, then he bids us, (as our master that is gone abroad,) not through sloth or sleep put oft" our clothes, and put out our lights, but stand ready to open when he shall come, though at midnight. It is not fit the master should stand at the door knocking, and the servant within sleeping ; indeed there is no duty the Christian hath in charge but implies this daily exercise, ' Pray ;' but how ? 'without ceasing.' 'Rejoice;' but when ? 'evermore.' 'Give thanks;' for what? ' in everything,' 1 Thess. v. 16, 17. The shield of faith, and lielmet of hope, we must hold them to the end, 1 Pet. i. 13. The sum of all which is, that we should walk in the constant exercise of these duties and graces. Where the soldier is placed, there he stands, and must neither stir nor sleep till he be brought off'. When Christ comes, that soul shall only have his blessing whom ' he finds so doing.'
Secondlv, Satan's advantage is great when grace is not in exercise. When the devil found Christ so ready to receive his charge, and repel his temjjtation, he soon had enough; it is said, ' He departed for a season,' Luke iv. 13 ; as if in his shamefid retreat he had comforted himself with hopes of surprising Christ xmawares, at another season more advantageous to his design ; and we find him coming again, in the most likely time indeed to have attained his end, had his enemy been man, and not God. Now, if this bold fiend did thus watch and observe Christ from time to time, doth it not behove thee to look about thee, lest he take tliy grace at one time or other napping ? what he misseth now by thy watchfulness, he may gain anon by thy negligence. Indeed, he hopes thou wilt be tired out with continual duty : Surely, saith Satan, (when he sees the Christian up, and fervent in duty,) this will not hold long. When he finds him tender of conscience, and scrupidous of occasion to sin, this is but for a while ; ere long I shall have him unbend his bow, and unbuckle his armour, and then have at him. Satan knows what orders thou keepest in thy house and closet ; and though he hath not a key to thy heart, yet he can stand in the next room to it, and lightly hear what is whispered there. He hunts the Christian by the scent of his own feet, and if once he doth but smell which way thj' heart inclines, he knows liow to take the hint; if but one door be unbolted, one work unarmed, one grace off" its carriage, here is advantage enough.
Thirdly, Because it is so awkward a business, and hard a work, to recover the activity of grace once lost, and to revive a duty in disuse ; ' I have put off my coat,' saith the spouse. Cant. v. 3. She had given way to a lazy distemper, was laid upon her bed of sloth, and how hard is it to raise her ? Her beloved is at the door, beseeching her by all the means of love, which might bring to her remembrance the near relation between them ; ' My sister, my love, my dove, open to me ;' and yet she riseth not. He tells her, ' His locks are filled with the drops of the night;' yet she stirs not. What is the matter ? Her coat was off", and she is loth to put it on ; she had given way to her sloth, and now she knows not how to shake it off"; slie could have been glad to have her beloved's company, if himself would have opened the door ; and he desired as nntcli hers, if she would rise to let him in ; and upon these terms they part. The longer a soul hath lU'glected duty, the more ado there is to get it taken up ; partly through shame, the sold having played the truant, now knows not how to look God on the face ; and partly from the difficulty of the work, being double to what another finds, that walks in the exercise of his grace : here is all out of order. It requires more time and pains for him to tune his instrument, tlian for another to play the lesson. He goes to duty as to a new work, as a scholar that hath not looked on his book some while; his lesson is almost out of his head ; whereas another that was but even now conning it over, hath it ad utiguem. Perhaps it is an affliction thou art called to bear, and thy patience imexcrcised ; little or no thoughts thou hast had for such a time, (while thou wert frisking in a full pasture,) and now thou kickest and flingest, even ' as a bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke,' Jer. xxxi. 18; whereas another goes meekly and patiently under the like cross, because he had been stimng up his patience, and fitting the yoke to liis neck. You know what a confusion there
42 PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD.