Ver. 7.-" The armour of riglitea'IM'T1e.~s." There 'W&S something soldierly both 1n the nature and in the life-course of the Apostle Paul. His resolution, courl\ge, forti- tude, capacity for endurancr, fidelity to his spiritual Commander, were all high military qualities. We do not wonder that he made in his writings use so frequent and so effective of the warrior's life. The Christian's career, and much more emphatically the apost.olic areer, appeared to him one large campaign. Hence his reliance upon "the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. n I. THE CHRISTIAN'S !."EED OF SPIRITUAL ARllOUB. 1. His foes are many, active, vigilant, formidable, untiring. 2. The warfare to which he is called is accordingly perilous and serious. 3. His own natural resources are utterly inadequate for his defence. Il. THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S SPIRITUAL ARllOUB. 1. It is not physical, or carnal, but moral. 2. It is described in one word as" the armour of righteousness," as opposed to fraud and cunning and iniquity of every kind. 3. It is adapted to the several necessities of the welfare. Vide Eph. vi., where the several weapons are enumerated aIJd described. ill. THE PURPOSES WHICH THE CHRISTIAN'S ARMOUR EFFECTS. 1. The right hand of the warrior wields the sword; and this is the emblem of the weapon of. attack which the Christian grasps-even "the sword of the Spirit," which is the Word of God. 2. The left hand of the warrior holds the shield, which is the symbol of. that mighty: principle of faith, which is the defe'T1.sive we.apon used by every soldier in the spiritual warfare, with which he quenches the fiery darts of the evil one. . JV. 'l'B:E RESULTS OF THE WARFARE WAGED :BY THE CHBI8TIAN THROUGH THE Ulil!l OF ms SPI.BITU.U. AllrOUB. L To himself, security and honour. He is delivered from his foes, and he fights the good fight of faith. 2. To his cause, victory. _Righteous- ness is destined to conquer; there is no uncertainty as to the issues of the holy war. 3. To his Commander, great and growing renown, as his foes are vanquished and his kingdom is consolidated and ext.ended.-T. Ver. 16.-.A temple of God. The temple at Jerusalem, built for the glory of Jehovah, and honoured by him as his dwelling-place and shrine, was &S edifice quite unique. No material structure can with justice be said to have replaced it; for, when the old dispensation passed away, all local and material sanctity vanished, and ~ spiritual dispensation surpassed as well as abolished the glory that had. been. 'l'he body of Christ was the temple of God, and when that had been taken down, the only temple which remained was the spiritual edifice, built of living stones and inhabited by the Holy Spirit of God. L THE BE8PECTil II!! WHICH THE CHBIBTIAJT CHURCH IS THE TE11PLE OF THE LIVING Gon. 1. Christians are separated from the w011d around. As the temple as Jerusalem was different from all other edifices, so the spiritual society designated the Chnrc,h is distinct from the common and secular associations which men form for their own con- venience, advantage, or pleasure. 2. In this spiritual temple the living God makes his chosen dwelling-place. 1'he Lord loved the gates of Zion; he reveal~d his glory in the Shechinah-cloud; he was sought and found in hie sanctuary. In hke manner the Eternal chooses the hearts of his people for his congenial abode, where he makes himself known, and especially reveals his holiness and his grace. 3. The Church is the scene of worship; there praise, prayer, and sacrifices of obedience are offered to God and acetpted by him. I!. 'l'HE PECULIAB CHABACTEBISTICS OF THE CHBISTU:t< CHUBCH AB THE 'l'EHPLE OF GoD. L It is holy. 2. It ii universals citending throughvut the world, and iucluding on. VI, 1-18.] 'rHE ~ECOND EPISTLE TO 'fHE CORINTHIANS. 157
within it men of every rnce and of every conrlition. 3. It is en,lnrin". For, whilst 0 tho individu11l members disappear from sight, th<lse who quit the Church militant do so only to join the Church triumph11nt. And whilst human societies, or"anization8, and Ht11tcs po.ss o.wo.y, this Divino society loses nothing of its glory, but lives from aue to 11gc. 4. It is growing, Every several stone built into it adds to its majestic pr~por- tions, o.nd prepares for its lino.I completeness; it "groweth an holy temple unto the Lord." Ill. Tm: PBAOTICJAL OBLIGATIONS LAID UPON ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH rN BEBPEOT OB' TBE1;11 l~CORPORA:ION ~ THE BPIBl'I'.°';AL TEMPLE. 1. Th:Y a:e called upon to uphold the d1gmty of their callmg o.nd pos1t1on. 2. And to mamtam that purity which is their distinctive quality-to be "separate, o.n.d to touch no unclean thinl7," 3. And to seek the consolidation and unitv of the spiritua.l edifice. 4. And at the sa.~e time to strive after its enlargement and ultimate completeness.-T.