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there must be not one saving grace wanting. The spiritual soldier is armed cap-a-pie. The poets feign of their Achilles that he was vul- nerable only in his heel, and there he got his death's- wound. A chris- tian, though never so well furnished in other parts, yet if any part be left naked, he is in danger. Our first parents, and Solomon, who had the upper part of the soul so well guarded, were wounded in the heel, miscarried by sensual appetite. Many have ^reat sufficiencies of know- ledge, yet are intemperate and unmortified. Well then, a christian must be completely armed. The apostle there reckoneth up, ' the helmet of salvation,' which is hope ; ' the breast-plate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit,' and lastly, ' the shield of faith.' There is no piece of armour for the back-parts, because there is no flight in this spiritual warfare. We must stand to it — ' Resist the devil and he will flee from you,' James iv. 7. Now which is the choicest piece of this armour? ' Above all, eVt irdatv, take the shield of faith.' Why ? Because it giveth life, and being, and vigour to other graces ; it preserveth all the rest, and therefore is fitly compared to a shield which covereth the whole body. The apostle beginneth with ' the girdle of truth,' or sin- cerity ; or an honest intention to live according to the will of God : when a man endeavoureth to be, both to God and man, what he seemeth to be. Satan useth wiles, but we must be sincere. It is dangerous to fight against him with his own weapons ; we cannot match our adver- sary for craft and policy ; our strength lieth in truth and plain-dealing. A girdle strengtheneth the loins, so this giveth courage and boldness. Then there is ' the breast-plate of righteousness,' or that grace that puts us upon a holy conversation suitable to God's will revealed in the word, whereby we endeavour to give God and man their due. This secureth the Ijreast, or the vital parts ; that seed of inherent grace, or an honest, fixed purpose to obey God in all things. And then ' the feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.' We shall meet with rough ways as we are advancing towards heaven. And what is the ' pi'eparation of the gospel of peace ? ' A sense of the peace and friendship made up between God and us by Christ ; without this we shall never follow God in ways of duty, when we meet with difficulties and hardships. Then 'the helmet of salvation,' which is the hope of etei-nal life '. 1 Thes. v. 8, ' And for a helmet the hope of salvation,' which maketh us hold up our heads in the midst of all blows and sore assaults, and is our great motive and encouragement in the christian course. Then ' the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,' dwelling in us richly, furnishing us with arguments against eveiy particular temptation. These do all worthily. But ' above all, take the shield of faith,' wliich covereth all the other armour. Who would care for the girdle of truth, if he did not believe there was a God to see and reward all that he doth. The breast-plate of righteousness would lie by neglected if faith did not persuade us this is the way to please God, and attain our own happiness. We should never learn to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace if we were not justified by faith in Christ's death ; for so we come to have peace with God : Rom. v. 1, 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.' Hope would languish did not faith give us a real and an effective sight of the world
106 THE LIFE OF FAITH.
to come. And 'the sworJ of the Spirit,' or word of God, is only managed by faith persuading ns of the truth of the threatenings, and promises, and precepts, that these are of God. So that it is faith, or a constant adhering to the truth of the gospel, that quickeneth, and covereth, and enableth us to make use of all the other parts of the spi- ritual armour. And therefore in another place it is said, ' Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life,' 1 Tim. vi. 12. The whole spiritual combat is a fight between faith and sense, faith and Satan. The great thing for which we fight is faith : 2 Tim. i\', 7, * I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.' And the great thing by which we fight is faith ; this is evident in those words of Christ to Peter : Luke xxii. Bl, 32, ' Satan hath desired to winnow you as wheat, but I have prayed that thy faith fail not ; ' implying that we shall be able to abide the encounter while faith holdeth out. Why ?
[1.] Because by faith we set God before us as the spectator and helper in the conflict : Heb. xi. 27, ' He endured, as seeing him that is invisible.' And so we see more for us than against us: 2 Kings vi. 16, ' Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.'