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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Whole Armour of God
+
+Author: John Henry Jowett
+
+Release Date: July 10, 2011 [EBook #36692]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Júlio Reis and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ *** Transcription notes:
+
+ The following typos were fixed:
+
+ page 11: Moffat -> Moffatt
+ page 57: loathesome -> loathsome
+ page 60: fellowmen -> fellow-men
+ page 115: battle-fields -> battlefields
+ page 145: baptised -> baptized
+ page 153: multidudinous -> multitudinous
+ page 225: today -> to-day
+ page 233: pruninghooks -> pruning-hooks
+ page 260: frost-bitten -> frostbitten
+
+ There are text lines missing on page 112, which were marked with
+ "[missing text]". The missing text could not be found anywhere,
+ so most likely all subsequent editions reproduced this error.
+ Anyway, the meaning of the paragraph is evident from the
+ context.
+
+ Bold text is marked with =, italics with _.
+
+ *** End of the transcription notes
+
+
+
+
+THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
+
+
+
+
+By J. H. JOWETT, D.D.
+
+
+ The Whole Armour of God
+
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year
+
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ "There is something to think about each day. It is
+ scriptural, spiritual, stimulating."
+
+ --_Herald and Presbyter_.
+
+ Things That Matter Most
+
+ Devotional Papers. A Book of Spiritual Uplift and
+ Comfort. 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The Transfigured Church
+
+ A Portrayal of the Possibilities Within the Church.
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The High Calling
+
+ Meditations on St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The Silver Lining
+
+ A Message of Hope and Cheer, for the Troubled and
+ Tried. 12mo, cloth net $1.15
+
+ Our Blessed Dead
+
+ 16mo, boards net 25c
+
+ The Passion for Souls
+
+ Devotional Messages for Christian Workers. 16mo, cloth net 60c
+
+ The Folly of Unbelief
+
+ And Other Meditations for Quiet Moments. 12mo, cloth net 60c
+
+
+ _SENTENCE PRAYERS for EVERY DAY_
+
+ The Daily Altar
+
+ A Prayer for Each Day. Cloth net 25c
+ Leather net 35c
+
+ Yet Another Day
+
+ A Prayer for Each Day. 32mo, cloth, net 25c
+ Leather net 35c
+ A new large type edition. Cloth net 75c
+ Leather net $1.00
+
+
+
+
+ THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
+
+ BY
+
+ JOHN HENRY JOWETT, M.A., D.D.
+
+ _Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City_
+
+ [Illustration: Logo of Fleming H. Revell Company]
+
+ NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
+
+ Fleming H. Revell Company
+
+ LONDON AND EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+ Copyright, 1916, by
+ FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
+
+ New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
+ Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
+ London: 21 Paternoster Square
+ Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS 9
+
+ II. THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH 25
+
+ III. THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 41
+
+ IV. READY! 59
+
+ V. THE SHIELD OF FAITH 77
+
+ VI. THE HELMET OF HOPE 91
+
+ VII. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 109
+
+ VIII. THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER 127
+
+ IX. WATCH YE! 143
+
+ X. ENDURING HARDNESS 161
+
+ XI. THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER ON THE FIELD 179
+
+ XII. THE SOLDIER'S FIRE 197
+
+ XIII. THE VICTORY OVER THE BEAST 215
+
+ XIV. THE COMING GOLDEN AGE 231
+
+ XV. MORE THAN CONQUERORS 249
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS
+
+
+ _Eternal God, may no distraction draw us away from our communion
+ with Thee. May we come to Thee like children going home,
+ jubilant and glad. We have been in the far country and our
+ garments are stained. May we hasten to the ministry of
+ forgiveness and reconciliation. If we have been on fields of
+ heavy battle, where the fire of the enemy has been awful and
+ unceasing, may we hasten to Thee for the overhauling of our
+ armor, and for the renewal of our strength. If we have been
+ called upon to walk weary roads of unfamiliar sorrow, may we
+ turn to Thee as to refreshing springs. If we have lapsed from
+ our high calling, may we renew our covenant. If we have missed a
+ gracious opportunity, may we seek another chance. If we have
+ been counted faithful in any service, and have fulfilled our
+ commission by the help of Thy grace, may we hasten to give the
+ glory to Thee. Unite us, we humbly pray Thee, in the holy bonds
+ of Christian sympathy. Deepen our pity so that we may share the
+ sorrows of people far away. May we feel the burden of the
+ burdened and weep with them that weep. May we not add to our sin
+ by ceasing to remember those who are in need. Grant peace in our
+ time, O Lord, the peace which is the fruit of righteousness. Let
+ Thy will be done among all the peoples, so that in common
+ obedience to Thee all the nations may find abiding union. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS
+
+ "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
+ able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to
+ stand." Eph. 6:13.
+
+
+Let me give one or two other translations which devout scholars have
+made in the attempt to bring out the precise significance of Paul's
+original words. Many interpreting minds act like the solar spectrum, and
+they help to display the wealthy contents in the pure white light of
+gospel truth. Here then is Dr. Moffat's translation: "So take God's
+armour that you may be able to make a stand in the evil day and hold
+your ground by overcoming all your foes." And here is Dr. Weymouth's
+fine attempt to elicit the buried wealth of the apostle's words: "Put on
+the complete armour of God so that you may be able to stand your ground
+on the day of battle, and having fought to the end to remain victors on
+the field." That is a translation which stirs one's blood, and I am
+inclined to regard it as a very vital interpretation of the rousing,
+soldierly counsel of the apostle Paul.
+
+The apostle is writing to a tiny company of Christians at Ephesus, so
+tiny that they are like a drop in a bucket in the midst of that teaming
+population. For this is what has happened. Under the constraining
+influence of the gospel of Christ this little handful of men and women
+have done one of the hardest things we are ever called upon to do. They
+have cut themselves away from old fellowships. They have separated
+themselves from the fond attachments of a lifetime. They have severed
+themselves from venerable roots. They have forfeited dear and vital
+friendships, and they are now living an alien life within the circle of
+their own city. They are strangers in their own home. They are
+foreigners in their native land. They are pilgrims in their own country.
+They are in it and yet not of it. They are like tropical plants which
+find themselves in the Arctic Zone. And it is to this little company
+that the apostle writes this letter, and to them he gives the inspiring
+counsel of my text: "Put on the complete armour of God that ye may be
+able to stand your ground in the day of battle."
+
+In what sort of circumstances did these people live? Let us take a swift
+survey of the hostility of their surroundings. What was the nature of
+the antagonisms by which this little company were beset? First of all,
+there was the overwhelming power of the world. Their city itself was
+luxuriously placed. The very location of Ephesus was favourable to
+prosperity, enjoying as it did the double advantage of shelter and of
+openness to the outer world. I was amazed when I walked among its ruins
+in the late spring at the magnificence of its position. If you will
+think of a cup, with more than a third of its rim broken down to its
+base, you will gain a rough but practical suggestion of the groundwork
+of this ancient city. About two-thirds of the city are immediately
+engirt with noble and richly verdured hills. Then this sheltering rim of
+hills is broken, and the cup opens out in one direction to a port on
+the open sea, and in the other direction to a rich alluvial plain,
+famous for its wonderful fertility. Such was Ephesus, sheltered and yet
+open, with protective arms of hills about it, and yet widely hospitable
+to the trade and wealth of the world. No wonder Ephesus was luxurious,
+no wonder she was carnal, and no wonder she was ennervated. She was the
+very hunting ground of the garish world, and in this mesmeric garishness
+this little company of Christians had their home. This was the first of
+their antagonisms.
+
+Well, then, to mention a second antagonism, there was the majestic power
+of an alien religion. The magnificent Temple of Diana, which is now only
+a little heap of stones, with literally not one stone resting orderly
+upon another, then dominated the city by its splendour, and represented
+a religion which held the people in the loose leash of easy and
+licentious morals. Just think of that resplendent temple, that gorgeous
+temple, and then think of some obscure house in some obscure street,
+where this little company of Christians met to commune with their Lord,
+and in the contrast you will realize another of the antagonisms which
+assailed their discipleship every hour of the day. The Temple of Diana
+versus the little Christian meeting-house! It makes one think of another
+contrast in the grey and windy city of Edinburgh; the dark, frowning
+Palace of Holyrood versus John Knox's small house in Canongate! And
+history tells us which of these two proved to be the dwelling-place of
+invincible strength. This was the second of their antagonisms.
+
+And then, to name a third of their antagonisms, there was the pervasive
+power of popular customs and traditions. Every day this little handful
+of Christians were up against customs that were like invisible bonds.
+Yes, religious and social customs always thread the common life, and to
+oppose them is to run up against antagonisms which are like invisible
+webs of barbed wire. We know what it means to oppose a popular custom
+to-day. Just oppose even a simple one; decide to wear no black in the
+hour of bereavement and you are up against a world of hostility and
+suspicion. And, still further, let the convention you defy be an
+ecclesiastical convention, or one which has somehow come to wear
+religious sanctions, and the antagonism is tremendous. Well, this little
+company of Christians in Ephesus were defying popular social customs and
+popular religious customs every day, and they were, therefore,
+confronted with a fierce and terrific opposition. And so they had all
+these antagonisms to meet, the hardening glare of the world, the
+far-reaching power of an alien religion, and the tyranny of popular
+custom and tradition. And in the very thick of all these you must
+imagine these comparatively youthful Christians seeking to live their
+separate and consecrated life.
+
+But in this strong and tender letter to this little flock of Christians,
+the apostle Paul looks beyond the opposition of flesh and blood, and the
+steelly barriers of usage and tradition; he pierces the visible veil and
+beholds invisible antagonists, spiritual, alive, active and hostile.
+Listen to him: "For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood,
+but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern
+this dark world, the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the
+heavenly warfare." When the apostle looked upon Ephesus it seemed as
+though the whole city became transparent, and behind the visible and
+transient veils he saw these spiritual foes. There was much mischief in
+Ephesus, there was much weaving of evil webs, there was much coming and
+going of worldly forces; but to Paul, the real prompters and instigators
+were back in the unseen. This is the teaching of this great apostle.
+These Christians in the early Church had to fight unseen enemies,
+antagonists in the spirit--"spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenly
+warfare." The real enemy is entrenched in the unseen, and he is ever
+active, night and day, and the early believer confronted him in ancient
+Ephesus, as the later believer confronts him in modern New York and
+London.
+
+Now it is of these invisible antagonists that the apostle most urgently
+warns these young disciples. He warns them of the extraordinary subtlety
+of the warfare, of the wiles of the devil, of the stratagems of these
+mysterious powers, of their traps and devices, of their diabolic
+cleverness, and of their amazing and manifold ingenuities. The
+instruments of modern material warfare are almost incredible in the
+refinement of their destructiveness, and I have no doubt in my own mind
+that even these ingenuities are also diabolic, and that if we could
+pierce the veil we should see the invisible enemies at their fiendish
+work. But these unseen antagonists out-do all the subtleties of the
+material instruments of destruction in the devices in which they lure
+and snare and entrap and overthrow the soul.
+
+Well, then, how do these antagonists work? How is this cunning
+antagonism exerted upon the soul? It is exerted both mediately and
+immediately. First of all, these invisible antagonists work immediately
+upon the soul. Spirit can work upon spirit; mind can lay pressure upon
+mind. There is a direct and immediate influence upon the secret life of
+man. That is the teaching of the Word of God, and I freely confess to
+you that there are phenomena in my own life, and in the lives of others
+which I cannot interpret in any other way. I know it is altogether
+mysterious, but it is by no means incredible. In our own day we are
+obtaining first glimpses into avenues of spiritual activity which
+hitherto have been shrouded in mist and darkness. The phenomena of
+thought transference, of telepathy, of hypnotism, are lifting the veil
+upon modes of influence of which we have scarcely dreamed. One mind can
+influence another mind directly without either speech or deed, leaving
+upon the other the seal and imprint of its own mould. When I see this I
+do not count it incredible when it is reported to me that there are
+spiritual antagonists in Ephesus and in New York who prey upon the
+thoughts of man, and work upon his imagination, and engage his
+sentiments and ambitions with the purpose of luring him from his sacred
+loyalties, and inciting him to rebellion against the holy and most high
+God. "Ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood," says the
+apostle. We have invisible foes.
+
+And then, in the second place, these spiritual antagonists work
+mediately upon the soul. They work upon the soul through the medium of
+human ministries--through the contagious power of crowds, through the
+gravitation of the age, through the general spirit of society, through
+the psychological climate in which our life is cast. And they also work
+upon the soul through the medium of individuals, through men and women
+who have been captured by the evil one and who are now used in his
+purposes of moral and spiritual destruction. Our invisible antagonists
+cast their lure upon us through the ministry of our fellow-men.
+
+Now all these antagonisms, seen and unseen, mediate and immediate, this
+little company of Christians had to meet in ancient Ephesus. You say the
+antagonisms are tremendous! Yes, indeed they are, and the Christian life
+is a tremendous thing. That is what tens of thousands of professing
+Christians have yet to learn. Let it be said that of all tremendous
+things the Christian life is the most tremendous. It is not something we
+can play with in idle hours, it is not a merely pleasant fellowship, it
+is not the bloodless act of joining the visible Church. No, it is not
+the carrying of a highly imposing label; it is a desperate, continuous,
+but withal, a glorious campaign. Speaking for myself, I confess that I
+have to have my fingers on the throat of the devil every day of my
+mortal life. This is how I find it. I do not gain a single inch without
+a fight. No fine victory is ever gained by me without blood. O, the
+sternness of the Christian fight! and O, its attractiveness and its
+glory! Yes, indeed, you are right; the antagonisms are tremendous.
+
+How then, are they to be met? If these are our antagonisms, seen and
+unseen, in New York as well as in Ephesus, how can we meet and overcome
+them? Let us listen to the Word: "Put on the complete armour of _God_."
+Let us begin there. Our first need is God. Without God we are beaten
+even before the fight begins. We have no more likelihood of vanquishing
+our spiritual foes without God than this unaided hand of mine would be
+able to drive back the solid phalanxes of the German hosts. We must
+begin with God. In the tenth verse of this chapter the apostle unfolds
+the primary secret of victory. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power
+of His might." But that is a very imperfect translation, laying too much
+emphasis upon the soldier and too little upon his Lord. I greatly like
+the marginal rendering of the revised version: "Be made powerful in the
+Lord." Does not that word sound full of promise for soldiers who are
+about to storm a difficult position? "Be made powerful in the Lord." Let
+God make you powerful! Such power is not a trophy of battle; it is the
+fruit of communion. It is a bequest and not a conquest. This power is
+not something we have to win; it is something we have to receive. It is
+not something we have to gain; it is something we have to take. "Be made
+powerful in the Lord!" And listen again: "Ye shall receive power when
+the Holy Spirit is come upon you." That power, that vital endowment of
+strength, is the gift of God, one of the ministries of the divine grace,
+and it is offered to every soldier without money and without price. So
+is it true that our first necessity in battle is to hasten away to the
+Lord to receive the gifts of the soldier's strength.
+
+But not only is there the imperative need of God for our initial
+strength, but for every piece of armour which may be needful in the
+fight. Armour for offence, and armour for defence; armour to meet every
+device and stratagem with which we may be assailed. I propose to
+consider this armour, piece by piece, and over and over again I shall
+have to tell you that you may find every piece of armour in the
+abundantly stocked and open and free armoury of God. And therefore do I
+say again that if we are to be triumphant over our antagonists, our
+first need is God. "Seek ye the Lord." "O come, let us kneel before the
+Lord our Maker."
+
+And then, our other great requirement is the ceaseless co-operation of
+our wills. The life of a Christian soldier is not a continuous reclining
+on "flowery beds of ease." Having obtained the strength we must
+ceaselessly exercise it in the practice of our wills. Listen to the
+divine challenge to the will: "Be made powerful in the Lord!" Well,
+then, exercise the will you have, your weak will, and go and kneel in
+humility at the source of power, and receive the promised gift. "Put on
+the whole armour of God!" Well, then, exercise the will and go to the
+armoury of grace for thine arms. "Stand therefore!" Well, then, having
+received the gift of power, exercise thy will in stubborn and invincible
+resistance. "Here stand I," said one who had received the strength,
+"Here stand I; I can do no other, God help me!" "Having done all,
+stand"--and victory shall be yours! In the name of God the Father, God
+the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, victory shall most certainly be yours!
+
+Says Dr. Weymouth: "Stand your ground in the day of battle, and having
+fought to the end remain victors on the field." "Victors on the field."
+I am thrilled by the inspiring word--"Victors on the field." After every
+temptation--the temptation that comes to me in sunshine, or the
+temptation that comes to me in the gloom--after every fight, victors on
+the field! The Lord's banner flying, His banner of love and grace; and
+the evil one and all his host in utter rout, and in full and dire
+retreat!
+
+ Soldiers of Christ arise,
+ And put your armour on;
+ Strong in the strength which God supplies
+ Through His eternal Son.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH
+
+
+ _Holy Father, we humbly pray Thee to reveal unto us the
+ unsearchable riches of Christ. Refine our discernments in order
+ that we may behold them; and deepen our hearts in order that we
+ may long to possess them. Unveil to us our poverty so that we
+ may seek Thy wealth. Lead us through meekness and penitence to
+ the reception of spiritual power. May our loins be girt about
+ with truth. May we drink deeply at the waters of promise and
+ find refreshment in immediate duty. We pray that Thou wilt bind
+ us together in the bonds of holy sympathy. Help us to gather up
+ the needs of others in common intercession. Make us ready to
+ bear the burden of the race. Quicken our imaginations in order
+ that we may enter into the sorrows of Thy children in every
+ land. We humbly pray Thee to steady our faith in these days of
+ bewilderment. In all the confusion of our time may we never lose
+ sight of Thy throne. In all the obscuring of our ideals may we
+ never lose sight of Christ. And O, Lord, out of our disorder may
+ we be led into larger ways. Let Thy Holy Spirit brood over us,
+ quickening all that is full of sacred promise, and destroying
+ all that hinders our friendship with Thee. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH
+
+ "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth." Eph.
+ 6:14.
+
+
+The girdle was just a strong belt holding the different pieces of a
+soldier's armour securely in their place. Even in the ordinary Oriental
+attire the girdle was a necessity. Without the girdle the loose, flowing
+garments became very cumbersome, flapping about the feet, and especially
+hindering the movements in a hostile wind. Even the most graceful attire
+became an entanglement unless the girdle held it in serviceable bonds.
+But the necessity of a girdle was still more imperative on the field of
+war. In active fighting loose pieces of armour would be like
+embarrassing articles hanging on the soldier rather than appropriate
+implements to make him efficient. Loose armour was troublesome and
+distressing, making the soldier feel soft, and awkward, and unready,
+giving him a sense of going to pieces. The belt bound the loose pieces
+together, creating a healthy sense of firmness, compactness, and making
+the soldier feel that he had everything well in hand, and enabling him
+to meet the enemy's attack with united strength and confidence.
+
+Now it is that figure of the military belt which the apostle is using
+in our text, "Let your loins be girt about with truth." The soldier of
+Jesus can have his armour flapping about him in disorderly array. He can
+be loose and distracted. His energies can be scattered. He can be just a
+mass of incoherences and inconsistencies in the presence of the foe. Or
+a soldier of Jesus can be firm, and collected, and decisive. He can be
+"all there," with every ounce of his strength available for the
+immediate fight. And the apostle teaches that this bracing sense of
+collectedness, this fine, firm feeling of moral and spiritual
+concentration, can only be obtained by binding the entire life with the
+splendid and tenacious girdle of gospel truth.
+
+I want to approach the apostle's central teaching along roads which
+will gather up the testimony of common experience. We all know the
+strength which is imparted to a life when it is girt about with firm
+principle. It is even so in the life of a boy when he is passing his
+earliest days at school. Is there anything nobler to contemplate than a
+fine boy whose life and character are held firm and free in the bond and
+girdle of moral principle? It is even so in the later days of college
+and university. What college or university graduate has not admired the
+decisive strength of some man or woman whose character was held in
+splendid consistency by the girdle of moral conviction! What joyful and
+boisterous liberty there is in such a life! And it is all the more free
+and jubilant because it recognizes fields of license into which it never
+strays. And in the broader fields of the world we have the witness of
+the same experience. Life that is held in a girdle quadruples its
+strength. Life which is bound together even by a strong expediency
+gathers force in the bondage. A life which is held in the constraint of
+a policy is far mightier than a life which is trailing in scattered
+indifference. But a life which is bound together in moral principle,
+having all its faculties and powers gathered under one control, has
+tremendous force both of attack and resistance.
+
+You may study the contents of that statement and find abundant
+illustrations in the lives of men like Lincoln, and Mazzini, and
+Gladstone, and John Bright, and John Morley, and James Bryce. All these
+men, whether we approve or disapprove their political programmes and
+ambitions, are men whose characters reveal no loose ends, no trailing
+garments, no unchartered opinions, no vagrant and unlicensed moods, but
+rather a moral wholeness and solidity which we know will retain its
+splendid consistency in the teeth of the fiercest storm. Yes, even in
+the ways of the world men recognize the man who is wearing the belt of
+principle, and whose loins are girt about with truth.
+
+But the apostle Paul is thinking of something more than moral
+principle, splendid as is the influence of a great principle on the
+healthy action of a life. He is thinking of something even finer and
+deeper than this, and in which the moral principle is included. He is
+thinking of a soul belted with the more distinctive truth of the
+Scriptures, a soul girt about with gospel truth and with the ample
+promises of God. He is thinking of a man who takes some great truth of
+revelation, some mighty word of life, or some broad and bracing promise
+of grace, and who belts it about his soul and wears it on active service
+in seeking to do the sovereign will. I know not where to begin, or where
+to end, when I turn to the pages of biography for examples of men and
+women who have worn the girdle of gospel truth and promise. Let me dip
+here and there in the many and brilliant records.
+
+Well, then, let us begin with Martin Luther. It is one of the strong
+characteristics of Luther that he is ever wearing the girdle of truth,
+and bracing himself with the promises of grace. I open his letters
+almost at random, in the great year of his life when he defied the pope,
+and opposed himself to the strength of uncounted hosts. He is writing to
+Melanchthon on May 26, 1521: "Do not be troubled in spirit; but sing the
+Lord's song in the night, as we are commanded, and I shall join in. Let
+us only be concerned about the Word." There you find him putting on the
+girdle! Once again I find him writing a letter to a poor little company
+of Christians at Wittenberg: "I send you this thirty-seventh Psalm for
+your consolation and instruction. Take comfort and remain steadfast. Do
+not be alarmed through the raging of the godless." There again he is
+wearing the girdle and urging others to wear it. His loins are girt
+about with truth.
+
+Then again there is John Wesley. Let me give you a glimpse of that
+noble servant of the spirit as he is putting on the girdle of truth:
+"When I opened the New Testament at five o'clock in the morning my eyes
+fell on the words, 'There are given unto us exceeding great and precious
+promises that we should be partakers of the divine nature.'" He girt his
+loins with that truth. "Just before I left the room I opened the Book
+again, and this sentence gleamed from the open page, 'Thou art not far
+from the Kingdom of God.'" And he girt himself with that promise. He
+went to St. Paul's that morning, and in the chant there came to him this
+personal message from the Word: "O Israel, trust in the Lord, for in the
+Lord there is mercy and in Him there is plenteous redemption, and He
+shall redeem Israel from all his sins." Do you not see this noble knight
+belting himself for the great crusade that even now awaits him at the
+gate?
+
+Then I think I will mention General Gordon, who laid down his life at
+Khartoum. Only, if you want to see Gordon girding himself with truth,
+and see it adequately, you will have to quote from almost every letter
+he ever wrote, and especially his wonderful correspondence with his
+sister. Take this sentence from a letter written in Cairo in 1884: "I
+have taken the words, 'He will hide me in His hands'; good-night, my
+dear sister, I am not moved, even a little." Or take this sentence from
+a letter written in Khartoum toward the end of his days: "This word has
+been given me, 'It is nothing to our God to help with many or with few,'
+and I now take my worries more quietly than before." He put on the
+girdle of truth, and his worries were leashed in the girdle, and his
+soul was quieted in gospel confidence and serenity.
+
+And I had other examples to offer you, but these must suffice. I had on
+my table David Livingstone, and John Woolman, and Josephine Butler, and
+Frances Willard, and Catherine Booth, and I wanted to give you glimpses
+of all these notable soldiers of the Lord girding themselves for the
+open field. But their names shall be their witness. I might have quoted,
+had I the knowledge and the time, the testimony of all the saints who
+from their labours rest. And concerning them all we should have seen
+that their loins were girt about with truth.
+
+Now it was to spiritual equipment of this kind that the apostle was
+directing the little company of Christians at Ephesus. Think of their
+surroundings:--the overwhelming worldliness, the dominating influence of
+an alien religion, the fierce antagonisms of popular customs and
+traditions, and all of these backed by invisible hosts of wickedness in
+heavenly places. Now what chance would a loose, shuffling Christian have
+in circumstances so hostile as these? The Christian in Ephesus, if he is
+to be a conqueror, must not slouch along the way with a loose, hang-dog
+sort of air, but rather with all the poise and movement of a lion. The
+Christian must belt himself about with big truth, truth that will not
+only confirm but invigorate, truth that will not only define his creed
+but vitalize his soul. And these Ephesian Christians followed the
+apostle's counsel and they girded themselves with truth, and so were
+able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
+
+Let us watch how they did it. They had been converted to the Christian
+faith and life. One sure effect of their conversion was a more vivid
+sense of sin. After their conversion their own sinfulness began to
+reveal itself in more awful relief. The nearer they got to the light the
+more their sin appeared, just like invisible writing emerging from its
+secrecy when exposed to the open fire. They saw their sin, and they saw
+the sin of the people. They were like the prophet Isaiah, to whom also
+there came the awakening sense of sin, and with him they could have
+cried: "Woe is me, for I am unclean, and I dwell in the midst of a
+people of unclean lips." Well, now, how could that little company of
+Christians deal with the sin? It was like trying to drain a vast and
+bitter marsh that was fed by secret springs. How could they do it? And
+the tremendous task only emphasized their weakness, and might have
+depressed them into a feeling of helplessness and despair. And we share
+that feeling to-day. Think of the colossal sins of Europe, and think of
+the sins and moral indifference of the great cities. If the sin be like
+a bitter marsh, what is going to drain it? Nay, how are we going to get
+the confidence that it can be drained? Well what did Paul do, and what
+did he teach his fellow-disciples to do? This is what he did. He found
+something even bigger than sin, and he girded himself with the bigger
+thing when he confronted the appalling task. Listen to him: "Where sin
+abounds grace does much more abound." Yes, sin is a big thing, but grace
+is a bigger thing; the biggest thing even in this rebellious and
+indifferent world. Sin is a strong thing, but grace is a stronger thing,
+even the strongest thing in a revolting and alienated world. Well then,
+let your loins be girt about with that truth! Put it around your fears
+and uncertainties like a strong girdle. Wear it ever night and day. Go
+up to every stupendous task in the vigour of its bracing grip. Begin at
+the piece of the bitter marsh nearest to you, and begin to drain it. And
+wear the truth--"Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound." Wear
+the truth, say it, sing it, and you will be amazed how the difficulty
+will be subdued; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
+
+There was something else in Ephesus for which these Christians needed
+the girdle of truth. Ephesus was a vast city, and these Christians were
+only a tiny and obscure fellowship. And even this small fellowship had
+to be broken up during the hours of labour, and in those hours each
+believer had to stand alone. One of them was perhaps a slave, and there
+was no fellow-believer in the house. Or perhaps one was a soldier, and
+there wasn't another believer in his regiment, and he had to face it all
+alone. We have been reading that one reason for the massed solidity of
+the German advance is that the individual German soldier craves the
+mystic strength of fellowship, and desires even the physical touch of a
+comrade-in-arms. I can understand it. And so could the Ephesian
+Christians have understood it. They felt strong when they touched their
+fellow-believers, and they felt weakened when the visible communion was
+broken.
+
+What, then, shall they do when alone? They must let their loins be girt
+about with truth. But what truth? What did the apostle Paul wear in such
+isolation? He took this girdle and wrapped it round his loins: "He loved
+me, and gave Himself for me." And that girdle gives a man a sense of
+glorious fellowship along the emptiest and loneliest road. Put that
+girdle on, lonely soul! "He loves me, and gave Himself for me!" Wear it
+ever, night and day. And wear it consciously! Say it; sing it--"He loved
+me, and gave Himself for me." "Let your loins be girt about with that
+truth."
+
+And so have we seen these Ephesian soldiers putting on the girdle. In
+the presence of threat and persecution they wore this girdle, "We are
+more than conquerors through Him that loved us." When their
+circumstances were a medley and a confusion, full of ups and downs, of
+strange comings and goings, of mingled joy and sorrow, foul and fair,
+they wore this girdle: "All things work together for good to them that
+love God." And thus they were braced for all the changes of the
+ever-changing day.
+
+So do I urge my fellow-soldiers in this later day to wear the belt.
+"Let your loins be girt about with truth." Let us pray the good Lord to
+help us even now to put it on. Is the girdle we need this--"He loved me
+and gave Himself for me?" Well, put it on. Or is it this--"We have
+forgiveness through His blood?" Put it on. Or is it this--"I will come
+again and receive you unto myself?" Put it on. Or is it this--"In My
+Father's house are many mansions?" Put it on. Or is it this--"I will
+never leave thee nor forsake thee?" Put it on. Or is it this great
+girdle--"When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and
+through the rivers, they shall not overthrow thee, when thou walkest
+through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame
+kindle upon thee?" Put on the girdle, wear it ever, night and day, and
+thou shalt find that in the strength of gospel truth thou are competent
+to meet all circumstances, and triumphantly perfect thy Saviour's will.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
+
+
+ _Almighty God, our Father, it is by Thy grace that we attain
+ unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we find wisdom. We
+ humbly pray that Thy grace and light may be given unto us so
+ that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth. Wilt Thou
+ graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly
+ places in Christ Jesus. Impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction
+ with everything that is low, and mean, and unclean, and create
+ within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things
+ which Thou hast prepared for them that love Thee. Wilt Thou
+ receive us as guests of Thy table. Give us the glorious sense of
+ Thy presence, and the precious privilege of intimate communion.
+ Feed us with the bread of life; nourish all our spiritual
+ powers; help us to find our delight in such things as please
+ Thee. Give us strength to fight the good fight of faith. Give us
+ holy courage, that we may not be daunted by any fear, or turn
+ aside from our appointed task. Make us calm when we have to
+ tread an unfamiliar road, and may Thy presence give us
+ companionship divine. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
+
+ "Having on the breastplate of righteousness." Ephesians 6:14.
+
+
+This is counsel given to a little company of Christians, so little as
+to be almost submerged and lost in the great unfriendly city of Ephesus,
+so little as to be like a tiny boat in the midst of a vast and
+threatening sea. A missionary of the gospel has been among them and they
+have received the word of the Lord Jesus. They have answered the
+constraint of redeeming love and they have confessed their faith in
+Christ. And what has happened? Their confession has compelled their
+separation from many of their old fellowships and attachments. They are
+loosened from many of their old affections. The forces that were once
+friendly to them have become unfriendly, and they are now confronted by
+overwhelming hostilities on every side.
+
+We must try to feel the power and peril of their isolation if we would
+understand the force of the apostle's words. Imagine then the lot of
+some German in Germany who espoused the cause of the Allies, or conceive
+the lot of some Englishman in England who sided with Germany, and you
+may realize the heat and fierceness of the antagonism with which these
+immature Christians were surrounded in the city of Ephesus. But their
+peril was not only found in the hostility of their old friends. There
+was the enervating moral atmosphere which they had to breathe; there was
+the recurring inclination of their own riotous passions; there was a
+remnant of appetite for the old delights; and there was the nervous fear
+that the forces against them might prove overwhelming.
+
+What should they do? How should they be able to stand? And especially
+how should they be able to stand in the evil day, the day when external
+circumstances might culminate in some terrific assault, or when their
+own passions might rise against them in some particularly fierce
+resurgence? Well, this chapter records the counsel of a great and
+experienced apostle, a mighty soldier of the Lord, in which he advises
+these young recruits of the Kingdom what armour they must wear if they
+would be victorious on the field. "Put on the whole armour of God." And
+we are considering these noble pieces of armour if haply we too may
+possess the equipment and so turn our days of battle into days of
+glorious victory.
+
+And now, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I bring you this piece of
+armour, "the breastplate of righteousness," and it is to be worn in our
+modern warfare in this difficult city of New York. What is this
+breastplate of righteousness? What indeed was the Roman breastplate from
+which the figure of speech is taken? Unfortunately, the word breastplate
+is very inaccurate and misleading. The piece of armour to which the
+apostle refers protected the back as well as the breast, and in addition
+it gave protection to the neck and the hips. It would be much more truly
+described by the phrase, "a coat of mail," because it was a sort of vest
+made of small metal plates, overlapping one another like shield upon
+shield, wrapping the body in its defences, and protecting the vital
+organs, back and front, from every assault of the foe.
+
+Let us then venture to lift this more accurate description into our
+text, "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail, wear it in all your
+comings and goings in the city of Ephesus, and in it meet all the
+malicious antagonisms of devils and of men." Now I wonder how the
+apostle's counsel affected these fearful struggling Christians in
+Ephesus. Let us look at them. Let us assume that we are with them, and
+that we are about to give them the counsel offered in the text. How will
+they receive it? Remember that they have just been lifted out of the
+horrible pit and out of the miry clay of long-continued sin, and that
+they are oppressed by their own weakness and helplessness, and by the
+strength of the evil inclinations and habits which they have just
+renounced. Well, now, let us offer these inexperienced disciples the
+apostle's counsel: "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail!" Why, they
+just look at you in utter despair! It is their very weakness that they
+cannot forge and weave such a coat of mail to cover them in the day of
+battle. The counsel would surely seem like the taunting cry of the foe.
+
+Suppose we had waylaid poor Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress" when
+he was struggling with his oppressive burden up the hill, and with the
+fiery darts of the devil hurtling around him on every side, and suppose
+we had called out to him, "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail!" We
+should surely only have added heaviness to his burden and crushed him to
+the ground in despair. "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail?" he
+would have moaned in his reply, "My righteousness is like unto filthy
+rags!"
+
+One poor, sorrowful correspondent wrote to me some weeks ago who was
+the victim of alcohol and drugs. For years he had walked in ways of
+uncleanness, but he was now just waking from his awful sleep and turning
+his thoughts toward home. Suppose now I had written to him and said "Put
+on righteousness like a coat of mail!" I think his eyes would have
+dulled into weariness again, and he would have slipped back to his drugs
+and his despair. This cannot be the meaning of the apostle's counsel, or
+this coat of mail would never be worn.
+
+What, then, does the apostle mean when he says "Put on righteousness
+like a coat of mail"? Let us seek for light in his own life, for he is a
+soldier as well as a counsellor, and we shall find him following his own
+advice and wearing the armour which he recommends to others. Let us
+listen then to this word, and let us mark its significance; "Touching
+the righteousness which is in the law I was found blameless." That seems
+like an invincible protection. "Touching the righteousness which is in
+the law I was found blameless!" But there was nothing invincible about
+it. It was no more a coat of mail than an ordinary vest, and the devil
+smote through the defences a dozen times a day.
+
+Listen again to the apostle when he has passed into the intimate
+friendship of Christ: "Not having a righteousness of mine own." Mark
+that; yea verily mark that;--"Not having a righteousness of mine own."
+This coat of mail he wears is not his own righteousness. Whose, then, is
+it? It is the righteousness of Christ. As Paul declares: "It is the
+righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
+which is of God by faith." The apostle is wearing the righteousness of
+Christ, and he wears it like a coat of mail, covering back and front,
+shielding him before and behind.
+
+I want to pause a little there because we are very near one of the
+deepest mysteries in the gospel of grace, and I want to state the
+mystery as plainly as words can express it. This, then, is what the
+Scriptures state: The Lord Jesus Christ was absolutely righteous, so
+righteous that human imagination and human dream cannot conceive it
+excelled. His holy obedience was perfect. There was no rent in the
+vesture of His holiness. There was no frayed edge, there was no
+imperfect strand, there were no stains. "In Him was no sin." We must
+begin there.
+
+And now let us assume that a poor penitent comes to this perfectly holy
+Lord. Let us make the sinner as nauseous and repulsive as you please.
+Let us make him a moral leper, the wretched victim of uncleanness,
+befouled by his own habits, consumed in his own sin, eaten without and
+within. That poor penitent sinner, laden with defilement, comes to the
+holy Lord Jesus, humbly seeking His favour and grace.
+
+Now what happens? What do the Scriptures tell us about the happening?
+They tell us that the holy Saviour covers the sinner with the robe of
+His own righteousness. The Lord puts His merits on to the sinner who has
+no merits. He puts His obedience on to the sinner who has nothing but a
+record of disobedience. He puts His spiritual conquests on to the sinner
+who is torn and scarred by nothing but appalling defeats. He puts His
+holiness on to a sinner who has been raked by defilements. That is the
+proclamation of the gospel. That poor penitent believing sinner stands
+now before the devil, and before men and angels, and before the presence
+of God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ! What, in all his
+imperfections? Yes. In all his weaknesses? Yes. With the scorching marks
+of hell-fire still upon him? Yes. He is covered with the robe of
+Christ's righteousness. He wears the merits and the strength and the
+defences of the Lord's obedience. Have we not read of one who wrapped
+himself in his country's flag and then dared an alien power to fire? It
+is an altogether imperfect illustration, but it offers me some faint and
+helpful analogy when I hear the saints give this witness: "He hath
+clothed me with the robe of righteousness, and covered me with the
+garments of salvation." No, it was not Paul's own righteousness which
+constituted his coat of mail. It was the righteousness of his Lord.
+
+Now, this is the word of grace, and this is the message of the gospel.
+It is this of which Toplady sings in his immortal hymn--"Rock of Ages":
+
+ "Naked, look to Thee for dress."
+
+It is this also of which Charles Wesley sings in his also immortal
+hymn--"Jesus, Lover of my Soul":
+
+ "I am all unrighteousness,
+ Thou art full of truth and grace."
+
+It is this which was discovered by George Fox, the founder of the
+Society of Friends, and of which he tells us so rapturously in the early
+pages of his journal. It was this which John Bunyan found, and of which
+he tells us in the pages of "Grace Abounding": "One day, as I was
+passing into the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience,
+suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, 'Thy righteousness is in
+heaven,' and me thought that I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus
+Christ at God's right hand. There, I saw, was my righteousness; so that
+wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, He
+wants my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw,
+moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my
+righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness
+worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, the same
+yesterday, to-day and forever. Now did my chains fall off my legs
+indeed; I was loosened from my afflictions and irons.... Now went I also
+home rejoicing for the grace and love of God." All these men, at the
+beginning of their Christian life, were covered not with a righteousness
+of their own, but with the righteousness of Christ, and they could sing
+with Paul that they were clothed in the garments of His salvation. Their
+coat of mail was the righteousness of Christ.
+
+Now I recognize, and I experience the difficulty, of realizing all
+this, and I sympathize with you in the poverty of our apprehension. But
+I think our difficulty is in some ways occasioned by the inadequacy of
+all figures of speech to convey to us the real vitality of the truth.
+For instance, a coat of mail is something detached, separate and
+external, and so is a robe, and they have no vital relation to the body
+which wears them. And therefore, when we think of the righteousness of
+Christ covering another like a robe or a coat of mail, it appears
+something unreal, a superficial ministry, or even a fine pretence. We
+think of some villain clothed in the garb of a minister, but all the
+more a villain because of the robes which cover him. Or we think of some
+vile woman wearing the habits of a nun, and all the more vile because of
+the significant garments in which she is clothed. A leprous sinner
+wearing the robe of Christ's righteousness! It all appears detached and
+superficial, like a climbing rose hiding a rubbish heap, or some lovely
+ferns and greenery concealing an open sewer. There appears no deep
+reality in it,--a sinner just covered with the robe of Christ's
+holiness, and wearing the Lord's righteousness as a coat of mail.
+
+Yes, I admit that the figures all fail. The figure of a robe leaves the
+sinner and the Saviour in no vital relation. And so it is with the coat
+of mail. But in the blessed reality there is no detachment. There is
+union between the sinner and the Saviour of the most profound and vital
+kind. You must remember our assumption; the sinner who comes to the
+Saviour comes in faith, and in penitence and in prayer, and these things
+never leave a soul separate and detached from the life and love of the
+Lord. Faith itself, even amid human relationships, is never a dividing
+ministry; it always consolidates and unites. You may trace the vital
+unifying influence of faith in a score of relations. The faith which a
+patient has in a doctor is a minister of very vital union in every
+effort to recover the lost genius of health. The faith which a pupil has
+in a teacher unites the two in a very vital relation, and puts the pupil
+into communion with the knowledge which is stored up in the teacher's
+mind. The faith which one man has in another incorporates the two in
+one. Faith always unifies; it never divides.
+
+And all this has its supreme application in the relation of the soul to
+Christ. A poor penitent sinner who comes to the Lord in faith becomes
+one with the Lord in the profoundest union which the mind of man can
+conceive. Faith in Christ unites the soul with Christ just as in
+grafting the engrafted scion becomes one with the vital stock.
+
+Now this is the beginning of our reasoning. We are assuming a poor,
+penitent, weary soul flinging himself by faith on Christ, and thereby
+becoming one with Christ, one with all He is; one with all He has been;
+one with all He shall be, sharing His merits, His holiness, His
+obedience! By faith in Christ I become one with Christ, and all He is is
+thrown over me! And now before the devil I stand as one in Christ; and
+in the day of judgment I shall stand as one in Christ, one with Him in
+spite of all the sins of my past, and all the weaknesses and
+immaturities of the present. "Thou hast covered me with the robe of
+righteousness, and clothed me in the garment of salvation." I wear the
+righteousness of Christ, and I wear it as a coat of mail.
+
+Now is not that a strong defence? Go back to the illustration of
+grafting. I saw a young graft which had just been newly related to a
+strong and healthy stock. The graft still looked very poor and weak and
+sickly, but it had become vitally one with the healthy stock; it stood
+no longer in its own strength. All the resources of the stock were
+thrown about it, the merits of the stock were now the scion's, all the
+victories of its yesterdays, and all the sap and energies of to-morrow.
+The stock is to the scion as a coat of mail! And so it is with the soul
+which has become by faith the scion of the Lord.
+
+ "All my trust on Thee is stayed,
+ All my help from Thee I bring;
+ Cover my defenseless head
+ With the shadow of Thy wing."
+
+The righteousness of Christ is the breastplate of the soul.
+
+Now let us gather up our practical conclusions: The righteousness of
+Christ becomes immediately mine by the act and attitude of faith. Yea,
+verily, the most leprous and unclean soul in this city, with a history
+unutterably loathsome, whose faith looks up tremblingly to the Saviour,
+is immediately covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness, for by
+faith he immediately becomes one with the righteousness of Christ. By
+faith I can here and now become one with Christ; however poor and
+wretched I be, and however sinful I have been, the righteousness of
+Christ becomes the armour of my soul. You say that is very dogmatic.
+Yes, blessed be God, it is dogmatic, but it is justified dogmatism, for
+it is the glorious dogmatism of the gospel of Christ.
+
+And covered with the righteousness of Christ, that imputed
+righteousness becomes progressively mine in the appropriation of
+experience. His life flows into me like the life of stock into scion,
+and all through my days I am assimilating more and more the
+righteousness which covers me. His covering righteousness becomes more
+and more my rectitude. His covering holiness becomes more and more my
+obedience. His righteousness passes more and more into my conscience and
+makes it holy; more and more into my affections and makes them lovely;
+more and more into my will to make it rich and dutiful in obedience.
+Forever and ever His righteousness will cover me, and forever and
+forever I shall be growing into His likeness. His righteousness is my
+defence. Yes, it is a coat of mail, a protection for breast and back.
+His righteousness protects me from the things that are behind, the guilt
+and the sins of my yesterdays. His righteousness protects me from the
+things of to-morrow, from all the assaults of the unknown way, from the
+fear of death, and from the day of judgment.
+
+ "When I soar through worlds unknown,
+ See Thee on Thy Judgment Throne,
+ Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
+ Let me hide myself in Thee."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+READY!
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, we thank Thee we are called to be children of
+ the light. Even though we have been children of the darkness,
+ and have loved the ways of error rather than of truth, and of
+ sin rather than of holiness, Thou art calling us to the light of
+ eternal day. We would answer Thy call in penitence, and we would
+ return to Thee like wayward children who are coming home again.
+ We do not ask to lose the sense of our shame, but we ask to
+ taste the sweetness of Thy forgiveness. We do not ask to forget
+ our rebelliousness, but we ask to be assured that we are
+ reconciled to Thee. We would sit at Thy table and receive the
+ bread of life. We would worship at Thy feet and receive the
+ baptism of the Holy Spirit. We would stand before Thee with our
+ feet shod with the shoes of readiness, willing to go out on
+ errands of Christian love and service. If we are inclined to
+ frivolity may we become inclined to be serious and reverent. If
+ we are heedless may we become fired with heavenly ambition and
+ spiritual devotion. Redeem us from the littleness of selfishness
+ and lift us into the blessed communion of our fellow-men. Give
+ us a wide and generous outlook upon human affairs. Endow us with
+ the sympathy that rejoices with them who are rejoicing and that
+ weeps with them that weep. If Thou art leading us through the
+ gloom of adversity may we find that even the clouds drop
+ fatness. If Thou art leading us through the green pastures and
+ by the still waters, may we recognize the presence of the great
+ Shepherd and may our joys be sanctified. Hallow all our
+ experiences, we humbly pray Thee, and may we all become branches
+ in the vine of our Lord. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+READY!
+
+ "Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
+ Ephesians 6:15.
+
+
+A little while ago an article appeared in one of the daily papers with
+this startling title: "Boots and shoes may be vital determining factors
+in the war." And contrasts and comparisons were made between the
+opposing forces in respect to their footgear, and the provision which
+had been made for keeping the soldiers' feet strong and hardy. And
+allowing even for the ordinary journalistic exaggeration, it is a most
+reasonable thing to assume that good, durable, well-fitting boots are
+part of the requisite armour for all soldiers who are called to
+prolonged and exacting service. Think of those heavy tramps in the early
+days of the war, whether in advance or in retreat; and think of the miry
+roads and the marshy ground since the rains have fallen; and think of
+the wet and soaking trenches where the men have to stand for hours
+together; and you will begin to realize what a vital part boots may play
+in the terrible hardships of a long and wintry campaign.
+
+In the Roman Empire scrupulous care was given to the feet of the
+fighting men. The shoes were specially made, not only for long marches,
+but for protection against the secret dangers of the way. They had not
+arrived at some of our refinements in devilry, but some of their
+subtleties occasioned great destruction. Gall-traps were set along the
+road, multitudes of sharp sticks were inserted on the surface of the
+road, keen as dagger points, to obstruct the advance of an enemy, and to
+maim his soldiers and compel them to fall out by the way. And so it was
+an imperative necessity that the Roman soldier be well shod, his feet
+made easy for the most exacting march, and defended against the hidden
+perils which would maim him in service and spoil him for the fray.
+
+Now the apostle Paul had seen the Roman soldier marching as to war. I
+think he must have been particularly fond of watching soldiers because
+we can so often see and hear them reflected in his letters. We can
+always learn a great deal from a man by studying his metaphors and
+figures of speech, and we can get some very suggestive glimpses of his
+tastes and interests by watching the analogies of the apostle Paul,
+where the army is often tramping through his letters, and the Roman
+soldier is often presented to offer counsel to the soldiers of the Lord.
+And here in my text we are bidden to look to the soldier's shoes. He is
+well shod, so splendidly shod that in a moment he is ready for any call,
+along any road, and for any service.
+
+And the Christian, too, has long marches, and often along difficult and
+trying roads, and there are flints about and sharp thorns, and other
+things that wound and make him stumble. And sometimes there is scarcely
+a road at all, and we have never been that way before, and it is like
+the work of a pioneer cutting his way through the jungle. What roads we
+have to tramp! Especially when we are apostles sent forth on the King's
+bidding! And, says the great apostle, "You need shoes for the roads or
+you will be unfit for the long journeys, and you will easily become
+tired and sore, and you may even drop out of the ranks." And what kind
+of shoes are we to wear as soldiers of Christ? How can we be defended in
+our long journeyings and in our crusades in the service of the King? The
+answer to these questions is given in the words: "Have your feet shod
+with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Now what is that?
+
+Let me slightly recast the phrase. One of the words has slightly
+altered its colour and significance since the days of the Authorized
+Version. I mean the word "preparation." In the earlier days if you spoke
+of a man of "preparation" you meant a man who was prepared, a man who
+was equal to opportunity, a man who was awaiting the opening of the
+door, having everything ready for the call of obligation and service. So
+that the word "preparedness" would now be more accurate than the
+authorized word "preparation." "Having your feet shod with the
+preparedness of the gospel of peace." But I think we shall do even
+better if instead of either of these we use the word "readiness."
+"Having your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace." What
+is that? Look at it a little more closely. "The readiness of the
+gospel"; that is the readiness which is born of the gospel as heat is
+born of the sun. The gospel of peace enters the soul of a man and takes
+possession of it, and then inspires the man with readiness. What for?
+Readiness to take the road to tell others the good tidings which have
+filled his own soul. That is it. The gospel of peace enters and
+glorifies the soul, and it then imparts to the feet a readiness to take
+the road, the long and difficult road, if need be, in order to tell to
+others the good news which has set it free. That is it. Have your feet
+shod with the readiness begotten of the gospel of peace!
+
+Let me give an example, and let it be taken from the book of the
+prophet Isaiah. Here, then, are people in exile, sitting in the cold
+shadow of oppression, and longing for freedom and home. And over the
+hard mountain tracks there come messengers, swift messengers carrying
+the glad tidings of emancipation. There they come over the long roads!
+And when the suffering exiles see and hear them they break into this
+song: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
+bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings
+of God, that publisheth salvation; that saith to Zion, Thy God reigneth!
+Break forth into joy! Sing together!" The feet of the messengers were
+shod with the readiness begotten of good news, and they were speeding
+with comfort to the desolate and distressed.
+
+We have another example in the same book where messengers who were
+ladened with a rich experience were bidden to take the high road and
+tell their news to others. "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee
+up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift
+up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the
+cities of Judah, Behold your God!... He shall feed His flock like a
+shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His
+bosom; and shall gently lead those that are with young." That was the
+good news, and with the readiness begotten of the good news the
+messengers hastened to make it known. And so it is that our feet, as
+disciples of the Lord Jesus, are to be shod with similar readiness, the
+readiness begotten of our own experience of the goodness of God, the
+readiness to go out on the rough and troubled roads of life, into its
+highways and its byways, its broad streets and its narrow streets,
+carrying the good cheer of the news of God's redeeming love and grace.
+To be ready to go wherever there is any form of bondage, singing the
+gospel song of joy and freedom,--that is the privileged service of the
+soldiers of the Lord. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
+him that bringeth good tidings!" "Have your feet shod with the readiness
+of the gospel of peace."
+
+Now I think it might be good for us to just glance along the roads of
+life and look at one or two sorts of people who are held in spiritual
+bondage, and who are therefore in need of good news and cheer, and we
+will challenge ourselves if our feet are shod with readiness to take
+them the gospel of peace. Well, then, look down this road, for here is a
+soul who is held in the bondage of despondency and despair. You will
+find such souls upon almost any road you like to tread. They are souls
+who somehow have fainted; they have lost the warm, cheering, kindling
+light of hope. Now failure is never really deadly until it puts out our
+hope and freezes the springs of resolution. The only really fatal
+element in defeat is the resolution not to try again. We have only
+terribly failed when we have furled our sails. Yes, I repeat it; failure
+only becomes virulent when it breeds despair.
+
+Now these folk are on the road. They have so utterly failed that they
+have lost their vital confidence, and they have become pathetic victims
+of self-disparagement. What do they need? They need to have their lamps
+re-lit with the cheering light of hope. They need to have their fires
+rekindled with the blessed warmth of confidence. They need to hear of
+new dawnings, of radiant to-morrows, of larger, brighter coming days.
+And if they do need light and fire and sunrise, what is that but to say
+that they need to hear again the good tidings of the inexhaustible love
+of the risen Lord. They just need Jesus, and the comforting gospel of
+His peace.
+
+Yes, but who is to take it? Messengers are wanted, messengers shod with
+"the readiness of the gospel of peace," messengers swift and ready to
+run these glorious errands as the ministers of eternal hope. Now, are we
+shod with that gospel readiness? Are our feet ready for the road? It is
+a noble and a gracious ministry. How beautiful upon the mountains are
+the feet of him that bringeth oil to smouldering lamps, and fuel to
+dying fires, and that cheer and illumine the cold haunts of despondency
+and despair! It is Mark Rutherford who says somewhere in what is to me
+an unforgettable word: "Blessed are they who heal us of our
+self-despisings." Yes, verily it is a beautiful ministry to kindle again
+the lovely light of confidence and hope. Are we ready for such service?
+Soldiers of Jesus, are our feet "shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace"?
+
+Look again along the road. Here is another lonely soul, held in the
+bondage of a blinding experience. Let us say it is Saul of Tarsus, who
+is now on the road to Damascus: "And as he journeyed, he came near
+Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
+and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him: Saul, Saul,
+why persecuteth thou me?... And Saul arose from the earth, and when his
+eyes were opened he saw no man: but they led him by the hand and brought
+him into Damascus." Now here is a man who is held in the bondage of a
+blinding experience. He has been smitten in the midnight, but has not
+yet seen the dawn. He is convicted of sin, but has not yet found peace.
+He has lost his old life but has not yet found the new one. His old
+delights have gone, but the new joys have not yet arrived. He has been
+stunned, but he is not yet free! And there he is! What is needed? O
+surely, what is needed is some human messenger in whom the gospel of
+peace dwells like summer sunshine and fragrance, and whose feet are shod
+with readiness to carry that gracious summer to others. "And the Lord
+said unto Ananias, Arise and go into the street which is called
+Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul.... And
+Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands
+on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
+thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive
+thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell
+from his eyes as it had been scales." And so the blinded found his
+sight, and the enslaved found his liberty, and the bewildered found his
+peace; and one of the Lord's messengers was the human minister in the
+great emancipation. His feet were shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
+bringeth good tidings."
+
+There are other blinded people along the road, people who are stunned
+and bewildered, not by dazzling light but by fierce lightning. There are
+people who are just blinded by calamity. They have suffered the
+lightning stroke of disaster or bereavement. I was talking to one such
+troubled soul this very week; and speaking of the repeated blows of her
+heavy sorrows she said: "They just left me blind and dumb!" Blind and
+dumb along the road! What did she need? O, she just needed the restoring
+balm and cordials of heavenly comfort. She needed the soft consolations
+of divine grace. And what is that but to say again that she needed the
+gospel of peace? And where are the messengers, with feet shod with the
+readiness of the gospel of peace, to carry the good tidings to this soul
+held in the bondage of silence and night? How unspeakable is the
+privilege of carrying this holy grace, and seeing the holy light of
+faith breaking upon the face of bewilderment, lovelier far than the
+glory of sunrise breaking upon the mountains, flushing the cold snows,
+and suffusing with living color the gloominess of the pines! Yes, it is
+a beautiful service to carry good tidings to those who are stunned. "How
+beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good
+tidings!" Soldiers of Jesus, are our feet shod with this readiness of
+the gospel of peace?
+
+Look once more down the road, for there is another soul held in the
+bondage of ignorance. Let it be a man of Ethiopia. Let the road be the
+steep descent which leadeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza. "A man of
+Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, Queen of the
+Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and did go to
+Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot,
+read Esaias, the prophet." This man has the Word, but he has not got the
+clue. He has the Scriptures, but he has no interpreter. What is needed?
+He needs some messenger in whom the Word has become life, and who has
+discovered the central secret of the Scriptures in the companionship of
+the Lord. "The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and
+go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto
+Gaza. And he arose and went." "How beautiful upon the mountain are the
+feet of him that bringeth good tidings!" "And Philip ran thither to him,
+and heard him read the prophet Esaias." He ran on his errand because his
+feet were shod with readiness!
+
+ "Take my feet and let them be
+ Swift and beautiful for Thee."
+
+"And Philip said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" So he
+explained to him the Word, and through the Word led him unto the Lord.
+And this is the last word we read about this man going down to Egypt:
+"He went on his way rejoicing!" What a ministry for a servant of the
+Lord! And that is your gracious service, fellow-preacher, in the
+ministry of the Word. And that is your privilege, Sunday-school teacher,
+when you meet your children in the class. You are appointed by the Lord
+to light up words that will burn in your scholars' minds to the very end
+of the pilgrim way. And that is the privilege of all of us if we will
+just have confidence in the guiding grace of the Lord. We need not be
+stars in order to light lamps and kindle fires. A taper is quite enough
+if it burns with genuine flame. Our greatest fitness for this kind of
+service is to be ready to do it, and the Lord Himself will provide the
+needful equipment. To have feet shod with readiness, that is what we
+need. Then through our ministry it may joyfully happen that many of
+
+ "The sons of ignorance and night
+ Will dwell in the eternal light
+ Through the eternal love."
+
+There is only one thing remaining to be said. The apostle teaches that
+such readiness is armour for our own souls, it is defensive armour
+against the world, the flesh and the devil. To be ready to tell the good
+news of grace, the gospel of peace, is to have stout protection as you
+trudge along the road. Readiness is one piece of armour in the panoply
+of God. The soul which is not ready to serve is an easy prey to the evil
+one. A man whose feet are swift to carry the good tidings of grace is
+the favoured child of glorious promise: "He shall give His angels charge
+over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." While we are ministering to
+others we are being ministered unto by the spirits that surround His
+throne, and our security is complete.
+
+Then let us pray for the grace and protection of readiness. Let us
+pray that the gospel of peace may more and more deeply possess our
+souls, so that we may be inspired with that spontaneous readiness which
+awaits the King's bidding, and which speeds on its way carrying the
+glorious treasures of grace. "Have your feet shod with the readiness of
+the gospel of peace." "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
+him that bringeth good tidings!"
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH
+
+
+ _Most Holy God, Who lightenest every man that cometh into the
+ world, enlighten our hearts, we pray Thee, with the light of Thy
+ grace, that we may fully know our sins and our shortcomings, and
+ may confess them with true sorrow and contrition of heart.
+ Unveil Thy love to us, so that in its clear shining we may
+ behold the sin of our rebellion, and may turn unto Thee in
+ humility and fervent devotion. Deliver us, we pray Thee, from
+ the tyranny of evil habit. Save us from acknowledging any
+ sovereignty above Thine. Keep us in sight of the great white
+ throne, and may Thy judgments determine all our ways. Defend us
+ when we are tempted to fields of transgression. Protect us from
+ the allurements which assail the senses, and which entice us,
+ through our fleshly desires, into impure delights. Loose us from
+ the bonds of vanity and pride, and remove every perverting
+ prejudice which blinds our vision. Impart unto us the grace of
+ simplicity. May our worship be perfectly candid and sincere.
+ Give us a healthy recoil from all hypocrisy, from all mere
+ acting in Thy holy Presence. Quicken our perception that we may
+ realize Thy Presence, and feel the awe of the unseen. Lead us,
+ we pray Thee, to the fountain of life. Quicken our souls so that
+ we may apprehend the things that concern our peace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH
+
+ "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
+ able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Ephesians
+ 6:16.
+
+
+But did the apostle who gives the counsel find his faith an
+all-sufficient shield? He recommends the shield of faith, but is the
+recommendation based on personal experience? And if so, what is the
+nature and value of that experience? What sort of protection did his
+faith give to him? When I examine his life what tokens do I find of
+guardianship and strong defence? When I move through the ways of his
+experience is it like passing through quiet and shady cloisters shut
+away from the noise and heat of the fierce and feverish world? Is his
+protected life like a garden walled around, full of sweet and pleasant
+things, and secured against the maraudings of robber and beast? Let us
+look at this protected life. Let us glance at the outer circumstances.
+Here is one glimpse of his experience: "Of the Jews five times received
+I forty stripes save one; once was I stoned; thrice have I suffered
+shipwreck; a day and a night have I been in the deep; in stripes above
+measure; in prisons more frequent; in deaths oft; in weariness and
+painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
+often, in cold and nakedness." And yet this is the man who speaks about
+the shield of faith, and in spite of the protecting shield all these
+things happened unto him!
+
+Look at his bodily infirmities. "There was given unto me a thorn in the
+flesh." Where was the shield? It is not necessary for us to know the
+character of his thorn. But assuredly it was some ailment which appeared
+to interfere with the completeness of his work. Some think it was an
+affliction of the eyes; others think that it was a proneness to some
+form of malarial fever which frequently brought him into a state of
+collapse and exhaustion. But there it was, and the shield of faith did
+not keep it away.
+
+Or look again at his exhausting labours. There is no word concerning his
+ministry more pregnant with meaning than this word "labour," which the
+apostle so frequently used to describe his work. "In labours oft;"
+"whereunto I labour;" "I laboured more abundantly than they all." This
+is not the labour of ordinary toil. It is the labour of travail. It is
+labour to the degree of poignant pang. It is labour that so expends the
+strength as to empty the fountain. It is the labour of sacrifice. And I
+thought that perhaps a protected life might have been spared the
+sufferings of a living martyrdom and that the service such a man
+rendered might have been made fruitful without pain. I thought God might
+have protected His servant. But the shield of faith did not deliver him
+from the labour of travail through which he sought the birth of the
+children of grace.
+
+Or look once more at his repeated failures. You can hear the wail of
+sadness as he frequently contemplates his ruined hopes concerning little
+churches which he had built, or concerning fellow-believers whom he had
+won to Christ. "Are ye so soon fallen away?" "Ye would have given your
+eyes to me but now--." "I hear that there is strife among you." "It is
+reported that there is uncleanness among you." "Demus hath forsaken me."
+And it is wail after wail, for it is failure after failure. Defeat is
+piled upon defeat. It is declared to be a protected life, and yet
+disasters litter the entire way. It is perfectly clear that the shield
+of faith did not guard him from the agony of defeat.
+
+Such are the experiences of the man who gave his strength to proclaim
+the all-sufficiency of the shield of faith, who spent his days in
+recommending it to his fellow-men, and whose own life was nevertheless
+noisy with tumult, and burdened with antagonisms, and crippled by
+infirmity, and clouded with defeat. Can this life be said to be wearing
+a shield? We have so far been looking at the man's environment, at his
+bodily infirmities, at his activities of labor, at his external defeats.
+What if in all these things we have not come within sight of the realm
+which the apostle would describe as his life? When Paul speaks of life
+he means the life of the soul. When he thinks of life his eyes are on
+the soul. In all the estimates and values which he makes of life he is
+fixedly regarding the soul. The question of success or failure in life
+is judged by him in the courthouse of the soul. You cannot entice the
+apostle away to life's accidents and induce him to take his measurements
+there. He always measures life with the measurement of an angel, and
+thus he busies himself not with the amplitude of possessions, but with
+the quality of being, not with the outer estates of circumstances but
+with the central keep and citadel of the soul. We never find the apostle
+Paul with his eyes glued upon the wealth or poverty of his surroundings.
+But everywhere and always and with endless fascination, he watches the
+growth or decay of the soul. When, therefore, this man speaks of the
+shield of faith we may be quite sure that he is still dwelling near the
+soul and that he is speaking of a protection which will defend the
+innermost life from foul and destructive invasion.
+
+Now our emphasis is prone to be entirely the other way, and therefore
+we are very apt to misinterpret the teachings of the apostle Paul and to
+misunderstand the holy promises of the Lord. We are prone to live in the
+incidents of life rather than in its essentials, in environment rather
+than in character, in possessions rather than in dispositions, in the
+body rather than in the soul. The consequence is that we seek our
+shields in the realms in which we live. We live only in the things of
+the body and therefore against bodily ills we seek our shields. We want
+a shield against sorrow, to keep it away, a shield to protect us against
+the break-up of our happy estate. We want a shield against adversity, to
+keep it away, a shield against the darkening eclipse of the sunny day.
+We want a shield against loss, to keep it away, a shield against the
+rupture of pleasant relations, a shield to protect us against the
+bereavements which destroy the completeness of our fellowships. We want
+a shield against pain, to keep it away, a shield against the pricks and
+goads of piercing circumstances, against the stings and arrows of
+outrageous fortune.
+
+In a word, we want a shield to make us comfortable, and because the
+shield of faith does not do it we are often stunned and confused, and
+our thin reasonings are often twisted and broken, and the world appears
+a labyrinth without a providence and without a plan. It is just here
+that our false emphasis leads us astray. We live in circumstances and
+seek a shield to make us comfortable; but the apostle Paul lived in
+character and sought a shield to make him holy. He was not concerned
+with the arrangement of circumstances, but he was concerned with the
+aspiration that, be the circumstances what they might, they should never
+bring disaster to his soul. He did not seek a shield to keep off
+ill-circumstances, but he sought a shield to keep ill-circumstances from
+doing him harm. He sought a shield to defend him from the
+destructiveness of every kind of circumstance, whether fair or foul,
+whether laden with sunshine or heavy with gloom. Paul wanted a shield
+against all circumstances in order that no circumstance might unman him
+and impoverish the wealth of his soul.
+
+Let me offer a simple illustration. A ray of white light is made up of
+many colors, but we can devise screens to keep back any one of these
+colors and to let through those we please. We can filter the rays. Or we
+can devise a screen to let in rays of light and to keep out rays of
+heat. We can intercept certain rays and forbid their presence. Now, to
+the apostle Paul the shield of faith was a screen to intercept the
+deadly rays which dwell in every kind of circumstance; and to Paul the
+deadly rays in circumstances, whether the circumstances were bright or
+cloudy, were just those that consumed his spiritual susceptibilities and
+lessened his communion with God, the things that ate out his moral
+fibre, and that destroyed the wholeness and wholesomeness of his human
+sympathies, and impaired his intimacy with God and man. It was against
+these deadly rays he needed a shield, and he found it in the shield of
+faith.
+
+Paul wanted a shield, not against failure; that might come or stay
+away. But he wanted a shield against the pessimism that may be born of
+failure, and which holds the soul in the fierce bondage of an Arctic
+winter. Paul wanted a shield, not against injury; that might come or
+stay away; but against the deadly thing that is born of injury, even the
+foul offspring of revenge. Paul wanted a shield, not against pain; that
+might come or might not come; he sought a shield against the spirit of
+murmuring which is so frequently born of pain, the deadly, deadening
+mood of complaint. Paul wanted a shield, not against disappointment,
+that might come or might not come; but against the bitterness that is
+born of disappointment, the mood of cynicism which sours the milk of
+human kindness and perverts all the gentle currents of the soul. Paul
+wanted a shield, not against difficulty; that might come or might not
+come; but against the fear that is born of difficulty, the cowardice and
+the disloyalty which are so often bred of stupendous tasks. Paul did not
+want a shield against success; that might come or might not come; but
+against the pride that is born of success, the deadly vanity and
+self-conceit which scorch the fair and gracious things of the soul as a
+prairie-fire snaps up a homestead or a farm. Paul did not want a shield
+against wealth; that might come or might not come; but against the
+materialism that is born of wealth, the deadly petrifying influence
+which turns flesh into stone, spirituality into benumbment, and which
+makes a soul unconscious of God and of eternity. The apostle did not
+want a shield against any particular circumstance, but against every
+kind of circumstance, that in everything he might be defended against
+the fiery darts of the devil.
+
+He found the shield he needed in a vital faith in Christ. First of all
+the faith-life cultivates the personal fellowship of the Lord Jesus
+Christ. The ultimate concern of faith is not with a polity, not with a
+creed, not with a church, and not with a sacrament, but with the person
+of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore the first thing we have to do if
+we wish to wear the shield of faith is to cultivate the companionship of
+the Lord. We must seek His holy presence. We must let His purpose enter
+into and possess our minds. We must let His promises distil into our
+hearts. And we must let our own hearts and minds dwell upon the Lord
+Jesus in holy thought and aspiration, just as our hearts and minds dwell
+upon the loved ones who have gone from our side. We must talk to Him in
+secret and we must let Him talk to us. We must consult Him about our
+affairs, and then take His counsels as our statutes, and pay such heed
+to them that the statutes will become our songs. Faith-life cultivates
+the friendship of Christ, and leans upon it, and surrenders itself with
+glorious abandon to the sovereign decrees of His grace and love.
+
+And then, secondly, the faith-life puts first things first, and in its
+list of primary values it gives first place to the treasures of the
+soul. Faith-life is more concerned with habits than with things, with
+character than with office, with self-respect than with popular esteem.
+The faith-life puts first things first, the clean mind and the pure
+heart, and from these it never turns its eyes away.
+
+And, lastly, the faith-life contemplates the campaign rather than the
+single battle. One battle may seem to go against it. But faith knows
+that one battle is not the end of the world. "I will see you again, and
+your sorrow shall be turned into joy." Faith takes the long view, the
+view of the entire campaign. "I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
+coming down out of heaven from God." "The kingdoms of this world shall
+become the kingdom of our God." Such a relationship to the Lord protects
+our life as with an invincible shield. It may please God to conduct our
+life through long reaches of cloudless noon; the shield of faith will be
+our defence. It may please God to lead us through the gloom of a long
+and terrible night; the shield of faith will be our defence. "Thou shalt
+not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the
+destruction that wasteth at noonday."
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE HELMET OF HOPE
+
+
+ _Eternal God, mercifully help us to unitedly draw near to the
+ atoning Saviour, and through His mercies find access into the
+ inheritance of the saints in light. Forgive the sins of our
+ rebellion and redeem us from our guilt. Transform our spiritual
+ habits that we may find ourselves able to fix our minds upon
+ things above. Cleanse our hearts by the waters of regeneration,
+ in order that our inclinations may be fixed upon the things that
+ please Thee. Rekindle the fire of our affections, purify the
+ light of our conscience. Broaden our compassions and make them
+ more delicate in their discernments. Impart unto us the saving
+ sense of Thy Companionship, and in the assurance of Thy Presence
+ may we know ourselves competent to do Thy will. Meet with us one
+ by one. Equip us with all needful armour for our daily battle.
+ Feed us with hidden manna, that so our strength may be equal to
+ our task. Unite us in the bonds of holy fear, and may we all be
+ partakers of Thy love and grace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE HELMET OF HOPE
+
+ "And take the helmet of salvation." Ephesians 6:17.
+
+ "And for an helmet the hope of salvation." I Thessalonians 5:8.
+
+
+The helmet of hope! Who has not experienced the energy of a mighty
+hope? It is always a force to be reckoned with in the day of life's
+battle. Hope is a splendid helmet, firmly covering the head, and
+defending all its thoughts and purposes and visions from the subtle
+assaults of the evil one. The helmet of hope is one of the best
+protections against "losing one's head"; it is the best security against
+all attacks made upon the mind by small but deadly fears; it is the only
+effective safeguard against petty but deadly compromise. Far away the
+best defence against all sorts of mental vagrancy and distraction is to
+have the executive chambers of the life encircled and possessed by a
+strong and brilliant hope.
+
+Now every student of the apostle Paul knows that he is an optimist. But
+he is an optimist, not because he closes his eyes, but because he opens
+them and uses them to survey the entire field of vision and possibility.
+He is an optimist, not because he cannot see the gross darkness,--no one
+has painted the darkness in blacker hues,--but because he can also see
+the light; and no one has portrayed the light with more alluring
+brilliance and glory. He is an optimist, not because he cannot see the
+loathsome presence of weakness, but because he sees the unutterable
+grace and love of God.
+
+Yes, he is a reasonable optimist, and I dare to say that you cannot
+find anywhere in human literature a hundred pages more glowing and
+radiant with the spirit of hope than in the letters of the apostle Paul.
+Nowhere can you travel with him, not even to the darkest and most tragic
+realms of human need, without catching the bright shining of a splendid
+hope. You know how it is when you walk along the shore with the full
+moon riding over the sea. Between you and the moon, and right across the
+troubled waters, there is a broad pathway of silver light. If you move
+up the shore the shining path moves with you. If you move down the shore
+still you have the silver path across the waves. Wherever you stand
+there is always between you and the moon a shining vista stretching
+athwart the restless sea. And wherever the great apostle journeyed, and
+through whatever cold or desolate circumstances, there was always
+between him and the risen Lord, the Lord of grace and love, a bright and
+broadening way of eternal hope. No matter where he is, and how appalling
+the need, no matter what corruption may gather about the shore on which
+he is walking, always there is the silver path of gospel-hope stretching
+from the human shore-line to the burning bliss of the eternal Presence.
+In Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Lystra, in Ephesus, in Philippi, in Rome,
+he was never without these holy beams. They moved with him wherever he
+went, for they were the outshining rays of the mercy of the eternal God.
+Yes indeed, he was an optimist born and sustained in grace. He saw a
+shining road of hope out of every pit, stretching from the miry clay to
+the awful and yet glorious sanctities of holiness and peace.
+
+Now our ordinary experience teaches us how much energy resides in a
+commanding hope. A big expectation is stored with wonderful dynamic, and
+it transmits its power to every faculty in the soul. The influence of a
+great hope fills the mind with an alert and sensitive trembling,
+inspiring every thought to rise as it were on tiptoe to await and greet
+the expected guest. A great hope pours its energy into the will,
+endowing it with the strength of marvellous patience and perseverance. I
+have lately read of an ingenious contrivance, which is now being used in
+some parts of Egypt, in which, by a subtle combination of glass
+receivers, the heat of the sun is collected, and the gathered energy
+concentrated and used in turning machinery in the varied ministries of
+agriculture. That is to say, the power of a diffused shining is directed
+to an engine and its strength enlisted in practical service. And so it
+is with the sunny light of a large hope. Its gathered energy is poured
+into the engine of the will, imparting glorious driving power, the power
+of "go" and laborious persistence.
+
+Every sphere of human interest provides examples of this principle.
+Turn to the realm of invention. An inventor has a great hope shining
+before him as a brilliant vision of possible achievement. With what
+energy of will it endows him, and with what tireless, sleepless,
+invincible patience! Think of the immeasurable endurance of the brothers
+Wright who were inspired by the great hope of achieving the conquest of
+the air! Their hope was indeed a helmet defending them against all
+withering suggestions of ease, protecting them against the call of an
+ignoble indolence which is so often heard in hours of defeat. An
+electric railway has just been introduced by its inventor to the British
+Government, which is capable of transmitting mails and parcels along a
+prepared track at the rate of three hundred miles per hour; and the
+inventor has recently quietly told us that he has been at work upon it
+for thirty years! But think how, all through those long and many
+fruitless years, his helmet of hope defended him, and especially
+protected him from those alluring suggestions which come from the mild
+climate of Lotus-Land, and which tempt a man to relax his tension and
+lie down in the pleasant and thymy banks of rest and ease.
+
+Or seek your examples in the realms of discovery. Read the chapters in
+Lord Lister's life which tell how he, braced and inspired by a mighty
+hope, laboured and laboured in the quest of an anćsthetic. Or turn to
+the equally fascinating pages which tell how Sir James Simpson toiled,
+and moiled, and dared, and suffered in the long researches which led to
+the discovery of chloroform. His will was rendered indomitable by the
+splendid hope of assuaging human pain.
+
+Or think again of the restless, tireless labours of hundreds of men who
+are to-day engaged in searching for the microscopic cause of cancer,
+that having found it they might isolate it, and discover an antagonist
+which shall work its complete destruction. There is a glorious hope
+shining across the cancer waste, and it is nerving the will of research
+with unconquerable perseverance. Yes, indeed, men wear a splendid
+helmet, even in the ways of common experience, when they wear the helmet
+of hope.
+
+And mark their condition when they lose it. Turn to the scriptural
+record of the voyage when Paul and his fellow-prisoners were being
+escorted by soldiers to take their trial in Rome: A tempestuous storm
+arose, and, in the power of a mighty hope to save the boat and
+themselves the men called out every ounce of their strength. But now
+note this connection in the narrative as I read it to you: "All hope was
+taken away." ... "We let her drift." That is it, and it offers a
+striking symbol of a common experience. While our hope is burning we
+steer; when our hope is gone out we drift. The motive power is gone, and
+the hopeless man is like a drifting hull in the midst of a wild and
+desolate sea.
+
+Or turn to the pages of Capt. Scott's journal when he and his party are
+surmounting colossal tasks in the chivalrous hope of winning for their
+country the honourable distinction of first discovery of the South Pole.
+The narrative just blazes with hope, and therefore it tingles with
+energy and shouts with song! But when Amundsen's flag was seen at the
+Pole, and their strong hope was gone, and the disappointed company began
+to return--O what heavy feet, and what accumulated burdens, and what
+fiercely added laboriousness to an already laborious road! Hope had
+gone, and they nobly trudged, and trudged, and trudged, to faint, and
+fall, and die! Aye, men and women, hope is a tremendous power. To have
+hope is to have always fresh reserves to meet every new expenditure of
+the will. To lose hope is like losing the dynamo, the secret of
+inspiration, and the once indomitable will droops and faints away. It
+just makes an infinite difference whether or not we are wearing the
+helmet of hope.
+
+But now, if all this is true of common hope and common experience, how
+is it with the supreme hope, "the hope of salvation?" What is this
+hope,--"the hope of salvation?" To whom is the apostle Paul giving this
+counsel? He is giving it to Christian believers in Ephesus: But were
+they not already saved? Why should he speak to them of "the hope of
+salvation" as though it were something still to be won? I remember when
+I was a mere boy going to Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and as I was retiring
+from the building at the close of the service, a gentleman laid his hand
+upon my shoulder, and said: "My boy, are you saved?" His question
+suggested that it was something I might already have experienced. Well,
+had not the Ephesian disciples passed through that same experience? A
+little while ago a London cabman stood at the foot of the pulpit-stairs
+in our church, and told me that by the grace of God he had been
+wonderfully saved. But the apostle speaks to these believers of "the
+hope of salvation" as though it were something still before them. They
+had taken a great step in discipleship in that vast and wicked city of
+Ephesus, crowded with all sorts of antagonisms, and they had boldly
+confessed themselves on the side of Christ. And yet, the apostle
+counsels them to wear as a helmet "the hope of salvation."
+
+The truth is that the apostle Paul uses all the three primary tenses
+in speaking of salvation. He speaks to believers in the past tense, and
+he says: "We were saved." And to the same believers he uses the present
+tense, and he says: "Ye are being saved." And yet again to the same
+believers he uses the future tense, "Ye shall be saved." All of which
+means that to this great apostle a gloriously full salvation stretches
+across the years from past to future, gathering riches with every
+passing day. Salvation to Paul was more than a step, it was also a walk.
+It was more than a crisis, it was also a prolonged process. It was more
+than the gift of new life, it was the maturing in growth and power. A
+drowning man, when he is lifted out of the water, is in a very profound
+sense vitally saved. But after this initial salvation there is the
+further salvation of re-collecting his scattered consciousness, and of
+recovering his exhausted strength. And in a very glorious sense a man is
+spiritually saved in a moment; in a moment in Christ Jesus he passed
+from death into life. But it is also equally true that a man is only
+saved in a lifetime, as he appropriates to himself more and more the
+grace and truth of the risen Lord. Yes, after we have been converted and
+saved, there is a further salvation in self-recovery, in self-discovery,
+all of which becomes ours in a fuller and richer discovery of Christ.
+Our possibilities of salvation in Christ Jesus stretch before us like
+range upon range of glorious mountains. When we have attained one range
+we have only obtained a new vantage-ground for beholding another; when
+that, too, has been climbed, still vaster and grander ranges rise into
+view. Every fresh addition to our Christlikeness increases our power of
+discernment, and every added power of discernment unfolds a larger
+vision and a more glorious and alluring hope. All believers in Christ
+Jesus have been saved. All believers in Christ Jesus are being saved.
+All believers in Christ Jesus will be saved. And therefore, says the
+apostle, always wear the helmet of hope, "the hope of salvation."
+
+Now perhaps we cannot better draw this meditation to a close in more
+immediate and practical purpose than by just gazing upon one or two of
+the hopes of the apostle Paul, if perchance by God's good grace we may
+appropriate them to our own souls. For he, too, is wearing the helmet of
+hope, the hope of salvation. What, then, does he hope for? What mighty
+hope is throwing the energies of its defences upon and around his soul?
+Here is one of his hopes; look at it: "In hope of the glory of God." He
+wore that hope, and he wore it like a helmet, and he wore it night and
+day. He had gazed upon the glory of the Lord, the wondrous light of
+grace and truth which shone in the face of Jesus Christ. And now he
+dared to hold the glorious hope of becoming glorified with the same
+glory. He dared to hope that his own soul would become translucent with
+the holy light of divine truth and purity. It almost makes one catch the
+breath to see such spiritual audacity. One has read of young boys
+trembling with artistic sensibility, bowing in the presence of the
+world's masterpieces in art or music, and becoming possessed with the
+amazing hope of one day sharing the master's light and glory. But here
+is a man who has been prostrate in the presence of his God. He has been
+humbly gazing upon "the chief among ten thousand and the altogether
+lovely." And now, in a daring which yet quiets the soul in reverence and
+prayerful lowliness, he tells his fellow-believers that he lives "in
+hope of the glory of God." What a hope! The hope of being glorified with
+God's glory, of being made gracious with His grace, of being made
+truthful with His truth, of being sanctified with His holiness, of being
+transformed into the same image, from glory unto glory! I say, what a
+hope, and therefore, what a helmet! With a helmet like that defending a
+man's brain, what a defence he has against all the petty devilries which
+seek to enter among our thoughts in the shape of mean purposes, and
+petty moral triflings, such as so often invade and desolate the whole
+realm of the mind! What a hope this is, and what a helmet; "the hope of
+the glory of God."
+
+And here is another way the apostle has of describing the hope he
+wears, "the hope of salvation;"--"To present us spotless before His
+throne." Quietly and reverently repeat that phrase, again, and again,
+and again, until something of its grandeur begins to fill your soul as
+the advancing light of the rising sun fills a vale in Switzerland with
+its soft and mellowing glory. "To present us spotless before His
+throne." What a hope! And yet this man wore it every day, in all the ups
+and downs, the victories and defeats of his ever-changing life. "To
+present us spotless before His throne!" Just think of wearing that hope
+in New York! And by God's good grace we can wear it; yes, indeed, we
+can, and what a helmet to wear! When a man has got that helmet on, and
+some sharp temptation is hurled at him, it will fall away from him like
+a paper pellet thrown against the armour plate of a mighty dreadnought.
+"To present us spotless!" Wear that helmet of hope, and the devil shall
+batter thee in vain. For what can the devil do with men and women in
+whom these hopes are blazing? He offers us his glittering snares, and
+they are revealed as common paste in the presence of genuine stones.
+They stand exposed as noisy fireworks in the presence of the stars.
+
+Let us wear the helmet of hope, the helmet of salvation, and we are
+quite secure. But let us put it on every day. Every morning let us put
+on the helmet, and often and again during the day let us feel that it is
+in its place. Let us begin the day by saying, "Now, my soul, live to-day
+in hope of the glory of God! Live to-day in the hope of being presented
+spotless before His throne! Live to-day in the hope of being 'filled
+unto all the fulness of God'." Let us put that helmet on, and let us do
+it deliberately, prayerfully, and trustfully, and in life's evil day we
+shall be able to stand, and having done all, to stand.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, Who hast given Thy Holy Spirit to comfort and
+ to guide Thy servants, teach us to trust His leading. Day by day
+ we would listen to His consolation and direction. When we open
+ Thy Word of Life we would rely upon His illuminating
+ interpretation. When the story of the character and the depths
+ of the teaching of Jesus are far beyond us, and seem
+ unapproachable, when doubts and fears assail the mind, let us
+ abide in quiet repose under the tuition of the indwelling
+ Spirit. When desire for the highest life fails, and hunger and
+ thirst after righteousness are forgotten in other pursuits, may
+ the kindly Spirit inspire afresh the ardor of enthusiasm which
+ He alone can create. When we have lost our bearings in the maze
+ of life teach us to look to the ever-present Guide Who brings
+ back into the clear path all Who trust Him; through Jesus
+ Christ. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
+
+ "Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."
+ Ephesians 6:17.
+
+
+Here is the Christian soldier with his sword, and his sword is the Word
+of God. And what a sword it is! "Then said Mr. Greatheart to Mr.
+Valiant-for-truth, Thou hast worthily behaved thyself; let me see thy
+sword. So he showed it him. When he had taken it into his hand and
+looked thereon a while, he said, Ha, it is a right Jerusalem blade. Then
+said Mr. Valiant-for-truth, It is so. Let a man have one of these
+blades, with a hand to wield it, and skill to use it, and he may venture
+upon an angel with it. He need not fear its holding if he can but tell
+how to lay on. Its edge will never blunt. It will cut flesh and bones,
+and soul and spirit and all." Yes indeed, this sword is a serviceable
+and most efficient weapon. And it might be profitable, in the very
+beginning of our meditation, to go on to the field of actual battle and
+watch one or two mighty swordsmen wielding the sword in actual war. And
+let us begin with Him who could wield the sword as none other could do
+and who never drew it in vain. "And the tempter came to Him and said, If
+Thou art the Son of God command that these stones be made bread." At
+once the Master's hand was on the hilt of His sword and He drew it forth
+for combat. "It is written man shall not live by bread alone." It was
+"the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!" The place of battle
+is now changed, but the [missing text] unto Him, "All these things will
+I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." And again the Master
+whipped out His sword;--"Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou
+shalt worship the Lord Thy God, and Him only shalt Thou serve." It was
+"the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God!"
+
+Now turn your eyes to quite another field of battle where one of the
+Master's disciples, a very skilful swordsman, is in combat with a very
+deadly foe. "And when the people saw what Paul had done"--he had just
+given a cripple the power to walk--"they lifted up their voices saying,
+The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called
+Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker."
+Now what did the apostle do in the presence of so deadly a peril, a
+peril which garbed itself in the attractive robes of light? Immediately
+he drew out his sword, and fought his shining antagonist with a word
+from the 146th Psalm! That is excellent swordwork, by a most excellent
+swordsman! And he used "the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of
+God."
+
+Or turn once more to another field of battle, to the Valley of
+Humiliation, where "poor Christian was hard put to it. For he had gone
+but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to
+meet him; his name was Apollyon." "Then did Christian draw, for he saw
+it was time to bestir him; Apollyon as fast made at him, throwing darts
+as thick as hail.... The sword combat lasted for about half a day, even
+till Christian was almost quite spent; for you must know that Christian,
+by reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and weaker. Then
+Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close to
+Christian, and wrestling with him gave him a dreadful fall; and with
+that Christian's sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am
+sure of thee now. And with that he had almost pressed him to death, so
+that Christian began to despair of life. But as God would have it, while
+Apollyon was fetching his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this
+good man, Christian nimbly reached out his hand for his sword, saying,
+Rejoice not against me, oh mine enemy: when I fall I shall arise; and
+with that gave him a deadly thrust which made him give back as one that
+had received his mortal wound. Christian perceiving that made at him
+again, saying, 'Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
+through Him that loved us.' And with that Apollyon spread forth his
+broken wings, and sped him away, so that Christian saw him no more.... I
+never saw Christian all this while give as much as one pleasant look,
+till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged sword; then
+indeed he did smile and look upward.... Then there came to him a man
+with some of the leaves of the tree of life, the which Christian took
+and applied to the wounds that he had received in the battle and was
+healed immediately." Surely to watch expert fighters like these, who
+turn their battlefields into fields of glory, makes one more ambitious
+to possess and wield that same two-edged sword, the sword of the Spirit
+which is the Word of God!
+
+Well now, it is this sword which Paul advises these young disciples at
+Ephesus to get and hold at all costs, and never to leave it rusting in
+the scabbard at home. And surely, if there was need for swordwork
+anywhere it was in that gay, shallow, materialistic city of Ephesus. We
+have been reading many terrible accounts of late of bayonet fighting in
+the trenches in Belgium and France, where gunnery attacks were
+unavailable, and where men came face to face in the hot breath of one
+another's passions, and were locked in the death-grip of hand-to-hand
+encounter. It was even so with the spiritual warfare in Ephesus. There
+was no long-range fighting, no far distant antagonisms, no remote or
+merely theoretical persecution. The foes of the soul were exceedingly
+real, exceedingly near, and exceedingly intimate. In Ephesus your enemy
+was upon you in a moment, and there was nothing for it but never to let
+the sword fall from your hand. Spiritual enemies approached the soul
+every hour of the day, and it was imperative to run them through with
+the sword of the truth. There were falsities, and subtleties, and
+evasions; there were ambiguities and sophistries; there were half truths
+linked with black falsehood, and white lies linked with snatches of
+truth; there were exaggerations and perversions; there were insinuations
+and evil counsels; there were mean expediencies and illicit compromises;
+there were hypocrisies of every kind in that prosperous city of Ephesus,
+tricked out in apparent seemliness, and perilous in all the wiles of the
+devil. What, then, was a young Christian to do in all that immoral
+welter? He must have his sword in hand, always in hand, and he must
+prick these bubbles, and pierce these showy disguises, and rend these
+deceptive veils, and he must do it at once, before they mastered him
+with the plausible counterfeits of the truth.
+
+I saw a photograph the other day from the European field of war, in
+which a company of soldiers were examining a load of hay. They were
+piercing it with their swords in the endeavour to find out if any foe
+lay hidden in the fragrant pile. And I could not but think of the
+warfare of the soul, and of the sweet and fragrant disguises in which
+the devil is so often concealed. The devil in a hay-rick! I have
+experienced it a thousand times. A deadly temptation hidden in some
+innocent expediency! Some fatal lure concealed in a popular custom!
+Corruption housing itself in a white lie! The enemy wearing a white
+robe! The devil, I say, in a hay-rick! In such conditions there was only
+one resource for these disciples in Ephesus, as there is only one
+resource for you and me to-day, to have our swords always ready, and to
+pierce these glistening falsities in the blessed name of the holy and
+unchanging God. Yes, whip out your sword, the sword of the Spirit, which
+is the Word of God.
+
+What, then, is this sword? It is "the Word of God." And what is this
+Word of God which we are to flash through all falsehood like the thrust
+of a gleaming sword? What is this Word which is to be our sword? Well,
+first of all, it is the word of divine truth; God's way of thinking
+about things. And therefore when we are wielding the sword we are using
+a thought of God. We are to use God's thought about a thing in fighting
+all other thoughts about that thing. For instance, we are to take God's
+thought about life, and use it as a sword to meet and destroy all mean
+and unworthy conceptions of life. We are to take God's thought about sin
+and use it in combating all the lax and deadly conceptions of sin which
+are so loose and rampant in our own day. We are to take God's thought
+about holiness, and use it in fighting all ignoble compromises which may
+satisfy a poor standard in the kingdom of the letter, but which have no
+standing in the more glorious realm of the spirit. We are to take God's
+thought about worship, and fight all the little, mean, seductive
+ritualisms which so frequently strut about in royal and gorgeous robes,
+but which are empty of all vital spiritual wealth and power.
+
+And so with a thousand other relations. God's thought about a thing is
+to be our sword in fighting all the debasing thoughts of that thing; it
+may be God's thought of work, or of wealth, or of success, or of
+failure, or God's thought of pleasure, or of service, or of death. What
+does God think about a thing? That is my sword, the thought of God which
+is the word of God. And we are to take that shining, flaming, flashing
+thought, and use it as a sword among all the creeping, crawling things,
+or against all the flying and bewitching subtleties of things which
+abounded in Ephesus, and which are equally prolific in London or New
+York. And so does the apostle give us this counsel: "Take the sword of
+the spirit, which is the thought or word of God."
+
+And now I can add a second characteristic of the sword, a
+characteristic which amplifies and corroborates the first. This word of
+God, which is to be our sword, is not only the word of divine truth as
+laid upon the mind. It is also the word of divine commandment as laid
+upon the will. It is a word which divinely reveals our personal duty,
+imposing upon us some imperative mission. Some word of God comes to us
+with the mysterious suggestion of obligation, and we often receive it
+over against some soft and wooing temptation to an indulgent indolence;
+and we are to take the divine word of obligation, and with it fight and
+slay the soft seduction to ease.
+
+We have this sort of warfare most vividly described in the experience
+of the prophet Jonah. Let me set it before you. "And the word of the
+Lord came unto Jonah, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
+cry against it!" Let us note the lines of this experience. The word of
+the Lord came to Jonah as an imperative and an obligation. It said
+"Nineveh!" But another word came to Jonah, a soft, luxurious, seductive
+word, luring him to Tarshish. And there you have all the conditions of
+spiritual warfare; and the only way for the believer is to take the word
+of obligation, and use it as a mighty sword against the word of
+seduction; he must take his sword and slay it, or chase it in miserable
+flight from the field. The word of duty is the word of God, and
+therefore the word of duty is thy sword against every plausible
+temptation that would snare thee to disloyal ease.
+
+There is still a third descriptive word about the sword, and which
+again corroborates and enriches the others. The word of God, which is
+the sword of the spirit, is not only the word of divine truth laying
+God's thought upon the mind; and not only the word of divine commandment
+laying God's purpose upon the will; it is also the word of divine
+promise laying God's strengthening comfort upon the heart. Just think of
+that fine sword, the word of promise, being handed to these young and
+tempted disciples in this awful, hostile city of Ephesus. I think we may
+easily imagine, without presumption, how they would apply the apostle's
+counsel, and how the older men among them would train the younger men in
+the expert use of this shining sword. They would say: "Whenever you go
+out to your work, amid all the cold, bristling antagonisms of the world,
+carry the sword of promise! When your circumstances seem to mock you
+because of your unnerving loneliness, whip out the sword of promise!
+When you appear to be in a minority of one, and the enemy swarms in
+menace around you on every side, carry this sword of promise in your
+right hand, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' And when the
+enemy taunts you because of your weakness, or your want of culture, or
+your lack of rank and social prestige, or your nobodyism and nothingism,
+whip out the sword and fight the taunt with this word of promise,
+'Neither shall any one pluck you out of my hand'!" Thus do I think these
+disciples would speak to one another, as, blessed be God, disciples can
+speak to one another to-day. When the devil comes to us in our
+loneliness, in our weakness, in our seeming abandonment, let us lay hold
+of the word of grace, and fight all the enemies' taunts with the divine
+promise, and pierce them through and through, turning the foe to rout,
+and remaining more than conquerors on the hard and finely won field.
+
+Well, such is what I think to be the sword. It is the word of divine
+truth, it is the word of divine commandment, and it is the word of
+divine promise. It is a superlatively excellent sword, "it is a right
+Jerusalem blade." "Let a man have one of these blades, with a hand to
+wield it, and skill to use it, and he may venture upon an angel with
+it." Its edge will never blunt, for it is "the sword of the spirit,
+which is the word of God."
+
+Where, then, can we find this word of God which is to be our sword of
+the spirit. Well, first of all, we can find the word of God in the
+sacred Scriptures. We can get our sword from its splendid armoury. Here
+is the word which gives the revelation of truth, telling me how the
+great God thinks about things, and therefore, telling me how to think
+amid all the plausible errors of our time. And here, too, is the word
+which gives the revelation of duty, telling me what the great God would
+have me do. And here also is the word which gives the revelation of
+promise, telling me what resources are prepared for them who follow the
+fair gleams of truth and take the divine road of duty and obedience.
+Yes, the word of God is in the old Book, and here you can find your
+sword.
+
+But sometimes the word of God is given to us, not through the medium of
+a book, not even the book of the Scriptures, but in a direct and
+immediate message to our own souls. Oh, yes, sometimes the Captain of
+our salvation gives me my sword without my having to make recourse to
+the written word. He speaks to me and hands me my sword with no
+intermediary between us. The word of the Lord comes unto thee and unto
+me as it came to the herdman Amos, and the courtier Isaiah, and to the
+fisherman Peter, and to the university student Paul. He speaks to thee
+and to me. "Hath He not promised, and shall He not do it"? "Thine ears
+shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way; walk ye in it."
+
+ "And His that gentle voice we hear,
+ Soft as the breath of even;
+ That checks each fault, and calms each fear,
+ And speaks of heaven!"
+
+If the sword of the spirit is the word of God, then sometimes I take my
+sword immediately from my Sovereign's hand,--the word of truth, the word
+of duty, and the word of promise,--and like St. Francis of Assisi, and
+St. Catherine of Sienna, and George Fox, all of them mystics, and all of
+them deep in the knowledge of the mind and heart of God, I, too, can
+take the sword and use it on the wide and changing battlefields of life,
+and be more than conqueror through Him Who loved me and gave Himself for
+me. "Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."
+
+Well, then, let us take the sword; let us draw it, and let us use it.
+Let us reverently find the word in the Book of Holy Writ, or in the
+secret chamber of our own soul; and then let us carry it as our sword to
+the immediate occasion, and to the next stage upon life's road. Let us
+have the sword ready, always ready; let us be always at attention,
+waiting with the word of God to meet the tempting word of man. A man
+without a sword is in a sorry way when the devil leaps upon him. That
+was the tragic plight of Judas Iscariot. When the chief priests and
+scribes came to bargain with him, to induce him to sell his Lord, he
+ought to have had his sword ready, and to have run it through the
+devilish suggestion when it was only newly born. But somehow, somehow,
+he had lost his sword, and he was undone--"and he covenanted with them
+for thirty pieces of silver"! And when you and I are tempted to sell the
+Lord, when we are tempted to make a dirty bargain of any kind, when we
+are tempted to prefer money to integrity, or unholy ease to stern duty,
+or soft flattery to rugged truth, let us have our swords in our
+hands,--"the sword of the spirit which is the word of God"--and let us
+slay the suggestion at its very birth. Have your sword ready. You may
+need it before you get home. Have your sword ready! Fight the good fight
+of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER
+
+
+ _Almighty God, Our Father, it is by Thy grace that we attain
+ unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we find wisdom. We
+ humbly pray that Thy grace and light may be given unto us, so
+ that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth. Wilt Thou
+ graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly
+ places in Christ Jesus? Impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction
+ with everything that is low, and mean, and unclean, and create
+ within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things
+ which Thou hast prepared for them that love Thee. Wilt Thou
+ receive us as guests of Thy table? Give us the glorious sense of
+ Thy presence, and the precious privilege of intimate communion.
+ Feed us with the bread of life; nourish all our spiritual
+ powers; help us to find our delight in such things as please
+ Thee. Give us strength to fight the good fight of faith. Give us
+ holy courage, that we may not be daunted by any fear, or turn
+ aside from our appointed task. Make us calm when we are to tread
+ an unfamiliar road, and may Thy presence give us companionship
+ divine. Meet with us, we humbly pray Thee, in all the appointed
+ means of grace, and may the joyful remembrance of this service
+ inspire us in all common life and service of after days. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER
+
+ "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
+ and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
+ for all saints; and for me that utterance may be given unto me,
+ that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of
+ the gospel." Ephesians 6:18, 19.
+
+
+We have been engaged in studying the different pieces of the Christian
+soldier's armour as it is described to us by the apostle Paul. Let us
+now glance at the warrior as he stands before us fully armed and ready
+for the field. His loins are girt about with truth, the truth revealed
+in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is protected back and front with a coat of
+mail, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, a righteousness which covers
+him in a moment as with a garment, and then little by little imparts to
+him the holy likeness of his Lord. His feet are shod with readiness, and
+are swiftly obedient to do the King's bidding and to carry his message
+of grace and good-will. He bears the shield of faith, his sure screen
+from every deadly dart springing from any kind of circumstance, whether
+in the cloudless noon or in the blackest midnight. On his head there is
+the helmet of salvation, the helmet of a mighty hope, protecting his
+mind from the invasion of deadly distractions, and from all the
+belittling suggestions of the evil one. In his hand he carries the sword
+of the Spirit, the word or thought of God, the shining thought wherewith
+every other kind of thought is overthrown or put to utter rout.
+
+Now that, surely, is a brave and gleaming equipment. Surely the armour
+is all-sufficient, and the well-appointed, well-defended warrior is now
+ready for the field! Let him go forth to meet the great enemy of souls.
+Let him encounter all the wiles of the devil, and let him so hold
+himself and so use himself as to convert every hour of opportunity into
+a season of spiritual glory. No, no, not yet! Says the apostle,
+"Steady!" With all his shining armour his equipment is not yet complete.
+There is one other vital thing to be named, and this the Christian
+warrior must take along with him, for his warfare will be hopeless if he
+leaves it behind. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
+the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
+supplication for all saints."
+
+Now why should the Christian warrior pray? He must pray as a suppliant
+for the robust health of his own spirit. Yes, but why should he pray for
+the maintenance of his own spiritual health? What is the vital
+relationship between the praying soul and the attainment of moral and
+spiritual robustness? How is prayer related to a man's moral force? This
+is the relationship. A praying warrior receives into his soul the
+grace-energies of the eternal God. The power of grace is just the holy
+love and strength and beauty of the holy Godhead flowing into the needs
+of the soul and filling them with its own completeness. Now we do not
+pray in order to make God willing to impart this grace, but in order to
+fit ourselves to receive it. We do not pray to ingratiate God's
+good-will, but to open our souls in hospitality. We do not pray in order
+to create a friendly air, but to let it in, not to propitiate God but to
+appropriate Him. We do not pray to turn a reluctant God toward
+ourselves, but to turn our reluctant selves toward a ready and bountiful
+God.
+
+It is imperative that we should lay hold of this teaching very firmly.
+It is of the utmost moment we should know what we are doing when we pray
+for the bracing and sanctifying energies of the Holy Spirit. Prayer
+then, I say, is first and chiefly the establishment of communion with
+God. Prayer is the clearing of the blocked roads which are crowded with
+all sorts of worldly hindrances. Prayer is the preparing of the way of
+the Lord. When I turn to the Lord in prayer I open the doors and windows
+of my soul toward the heavenlies, and I open them for the reception of
+any gifts of grace which God's holy love may wish me to receive. My
+reverent thought in prayer perfects communion between my soul and God.
+
+Let me offer an illustration. I am told there is electricity in my
+house. I am told that this mysterious, invisible, electric spirit is
+waiting to be my minister and to serve me in a dozen different ways. I
+go into a room where the genius is said to be waiting, and yet the room
+is held in darkness. Where is this friendly spirit? Where is the light
+which is one of its promised services? And then I am told that an action
+of mine, quite a simple one, is required, and that when the action has
+been performed the waiting spirit will reveal itself in radiant beams.
+And so I bring my will into play, and I push a button, or I lift a tiny
+lever, and my action completes the circuit, and the subtle energy leaps
+into the carbon filament and turns my darkness into light.
+
+That is it! My action completes the circuit! And when I turn my will to
+pray, when I seek the holy, sanctifying power of God, my prayer
+completes the circuit between my soul and God, and I receive whatever
+the inexhaustible fountain of grace is always waiting to bestow. And so
+do I say that prayer is first of all, and most of all, the establishing
+of a vital _communion_ between the soul and God.
+
+Lord Tennyson, in what must have been a wonderful conversation on the
+subject of prayer with Mr. Gladstone, and Holman Hunt, and James
+Addington Symonds, said that to him prayer was the opening of the
+sluice-gates between his soul and the waters of eternal life. It is
+worth while just to dwell upon Tennyson's figure for a moment. The
+figure may have been taken from a canal. You enter a lock and you are
+shut up within its prison. And then you open the sluice-gates, and the
+water pours into your prison and lifts you up to the higher level, and
+your boat emerges again on a loftier plane of your journey.
+
+Or the figure may have been taken from a miller's wheel: There are the
+miller and his mill. And the wheel is standing idle, or it is running
+but sluggishly and wearily at its work. And then the miller opens the
+sluice-gate, and the waiting water rushes along, and leaps upon the
+wheel, and makes it sing in the bounding rapidity of its motion. Prayer,
+says Tennyson, is the opening of the sluice-gates and the letting into
+the soul of the waiting life and power of God. Prayer opens the
+sluice-gates, and the water of life floods the sluggish affections, and
+freshens the drowsy sympathies, and braces and speeds the will like the
+glorious rush of the stream upon the miller's wheel.
+
+That, to me, is the dominant conception of prayer. Prayer opens the
+soul to God. Prayer opens the life to the workings of infinite grace.
+And now I see why the Christian soldier should be so urgently counselled
+to pray. Prayer keeps open his lines of communication. Prayer keeps him
+in touch with his base of supplies. Without prayer he is isolated by the
+flanking movements of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and he will
+speedily give out in the dark and cloudy day. "Men ought always to pray
+and not to faint."
+
+If that is one reason why the Christian soldier should pray in order to
+maintain the bounding health of his own spirit, we are now faced with
+the second question as to when he should pray. And here is the answer of
+the veteran warrior Paul: "Praying always." Not at some time, but at all
+times! "Praying always." But can we do that? "Always"? But I am called
+upon to earn my daily bread. I have to face a hundred different
+problems. Every bit of gray matter in my brain is devoting its strength
+to the immediate task. Is it possible for us to think of two things at
+once? Can we be thinking out some absorbing question in business, and at
+the same time be praying to God? One thing is surely perfectly clear, we
+cannot always be thinking of God: It is constitutionally impossible.
+
+But now, while we cannot always be thinking of God, and always speaking
+to God, we can always be mentally disposed toward Him, so that whatever
+we are doing there can be a mental leaning or bias towards His most holy
+will. Let me show you what I mean. We must reverently dare to reason in
+this great matter as we reason in other relationships. Turn, then, for
+an illustration, to common gymnastics. In physical gymnastics there is
+no need for us to be always exercising, to be at it every moment of the
+waking day. The body does not need it. Indeed, it would resent it, and
+rebel against it. But here is the healthy genius of gymnastic exercises.
+Regular exercises give the body a certain healthy pose, a certain vigour
+and excellence of carriage, which the body retains between the exercises
+when we are going about our accustomed work. That is to say, conscious
+exercise makes unconscious habit. Our conscious exercise forces the body
+into attitudes which persist as habits when we are doing something else.
+We can retain the pose of the gymnasium on the street, and we can retain
+it without thinking.
+
+And so it is with spiritual exercises when they are as real as the
+exercises in the gymnasium. When a man prays, and prays as deliberately
+and purposely as he practices physical exercises, when he drills his
+soul as he drills his body, he gives his mind and soul a certain pose, a
+certain attitude, a certain stateliness and loftiness of carriage. He
+gives his soul a healthy bias towards God, and the soul retains the bias
+when he is no longer upon his knees. His soul carries itself Godward
+even when he is earning his daily bread. God can get at him any time and
+anywhere! The way is open, the communion is unbroken!
+
+That is the vital logic of the matter. By regular spiritual exercises
+we can subdue the soul to spiritual habit. Again and again throughout
+the day it is possible for us, by a conscious upward glance, to confirm
+the habit; until it happens that the soul is always in the posture of
+prayer,--in business, in laughter, in trade, at home, or abroad, always
+in prayer,--and therefore, in every part of the wide and varied
+battleground of life receiving the all-sufficient grace and love of God.
+And so the Christian soldier is to be "Praying always, with all prayer
+and supplication in the spirit."
+
+But the Christian soldier is not only a suppliant for his own spiritual
+health. He is much more than this. The apostle counsels him to be a
+suppliant for the health of the entire Christian army. "Praying always,
+with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto
+with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." That is to say,
+the Christian soldier not only prays for the health of his own spirit,
+but for a healthy "esprit de corps" throughout the whole militant Church
+of Christ. It is his duty and privilege to be prayerfully jealous for
+all the saints, and for the spiritual equipment of all his
+fellow-soldiers on the field.
+
+Now this is a very wonderful privilege entrusted to the disciple of
+Christ. To every believer there is entrusted the marvellous ministry of
+helping others to receive the energies of divine grace, and to
+strengthen them in the fierce combats of their own "evil day." For the
+character of our evil days is very varied. Your evil day may not be
+mine, and my evil day may not be yours. What makes an evil day for you
+may never trouble me, and what makes my day difficult and tempestuous
+may leave you perfectly serene. It is to be accounted for in many ways.
+The differences in our circumstances account, to some extent, for the
+differences in our evil days. The differences in our occupations create
+great differences in our daily warfare in the spirit. The differences in
+our temperaments make no two persons' battles quite alike. And yet, with
+all our differences, we are all called upon to stand in our own evil
+day, "and having done all, to stand." Peter's evil day would be very
+different from John's. Thomas' evil day would be very different from
+Nathanael's. Dorcas' evil day would be quite different to the evil days
+which gloomed upon Euodia and Synteche. But blessed be God, by the holy
+ministry of prayer we can strengthen one another to "stand in the evil
+day." We can help every soldier to keep his spiritual roads open and to
+prepare the way of the Lord. We are called upon to be sentinel
+suppliants on their behalf, "watching thereunto with all perseverance
+and supplication for all saints." We are to be ever on the look-out,
+vigilant for the entire army of the Lord, divinely jealous for its
+healthy spirit, and seeking for every man in the ranks the grace and
+glory which we seek for ourselves. What a magnificent man this true
+soldier of the Lord must be!
+
+And then, just to finish it all, and by one example to show us how deep
+and wide is this ministry of supplication, the apostle Paul asks the
+young Ephesian soldiers to pray for him. "And for me, that utterance may
+be given unto me." Let us carefully note this, and let us observe its
+heartening significance. These young, immature Christians in Ephesus,
+trembling in their early faith, are asked to pray for the old warrior in
+Rome. He is now "an ambassador in bonds," held in captivity in imperial
+Rome, and the young soldiers in Ephesus are asked to be
+sentinel-suppliants for the stricken soldier far away. Do you believe
+this? And what does he want them to pray for? Listen to him again. "And
+for me, that utterance may be given unto me." Have you got the real
+inwardness of that appeal? A poor slave in Ephesus may, by his own
+prayer, anoint the lips of a great apostle with grace and power. What a
+vista of powerful possibility! Do all congregations realize that
+privilege and service concerning their ministers? "For me, that
+utterance may be given unto me." Do I realize that my prayers, obscure
+and nameless though I be, can give utterance to a Paul, a Livingstone, a
+Moffatt, or a Chalmers? Do I realize that I can pour grace upon their
+lips? What a brave and splendid privilege! Am I using it? I cannot get
+out of my mind the vision of some poor slave in Ephesus pouring grace
+and truth upon the apostle's lips in Rome, and I cannot get out of my
+imagination the surprise which awaited the slave in glory, when Paul
+asked him, as a fellow-labourer, to share in gathering in the sheaves.
+
+"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my
+mouth boldly." And can we do that for a man, and do it by prayer? Can
+one soldier give another soldier nerve, and can he do it by prayer? Can
+he chase away his fears? Can he change timidity into pluck? Can he
+transform a lamb into a lion? What a marvellous power has God given to
+me and thee! The unbounded privilege of it all! Some slave in Ephesus
+giving new boldness to Paul in Rome, and enabling Paul to take some new
+ground and conquer it for the Lord! And once again I say, to be called
+to share in the apostle's triumphs! If any one has prayed for me, your
+fellow-soldier, that utterance and courage may be given unto me, and if
+by my ministry some depressed and retreating soldier finds heart again,
+and takes up his fallen sword, and fights anew the good fight, then that
+suppliant shall share my holy conquest in the Lord, and the joy of the
+Lord shall be his strength.
+
+So once again, let us hear the apostle's counsel, and keep it in our
+hearts. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
+and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
+saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
+my mouth boldly, to make known the mysteries of the gospel."
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+"WATCH YE!"
+
+
+ _Eternal God, we bow before Thee as the children of grace and
+ love. Purify our souls, make our eyes keen and watchful, in
+ order that we may discern Thy purpose at every turning of the
+ way. Help us to hallow all our circumstances whether they appear
+ friendly or adverse, and may we subdue them all to the King's
+ will. We pray that we may obtain new visions of the glory of
+ Christ. May His gospel of grace become more exceedingly precious
+ as we gaze into its unsearchable wealth. Let in the light as our
+ eyes are able to bear it. Tell us some of the many things which
+ are yet withholden because we are not able to bear them. May we
+ exercise our senses in discernment, that so we may be led into
+ the deeper secrets of Thy truth. And wilt Thou graciously grant
+ unto us new possibilities of service. May we light lamps on many
+ a dark road. May we give help to many a tired pilgrim who is
+ burdened by the greatness of the way. May we give cups of
+ refreshment to those who are thirsty and faint. And may our own
+ faith and hope restore the flickering light where courage is
+ nearly spent. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+WATCH YE!
+
+ "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be
+ strong." I Corinthians 16:13.
+
+
+This is the counsel of a brave warrior, experienced and weather-beaten,
+writing to raw and comparatively untried recruits. One is reminded of
+the veteran Lord Roberts when he lately spake to young English recruits
+who had not yet been baptized in the actual flames of battle, advising
+them about their own warfare of the spirit, and counselling them on no
+account to forfeit their self-respect and self-control. And this tried
+warrior, Paul, is addressing a little company of Christian recruits in
+the city of Corinth. Corinth is now wiped out, buried in the accumulated
+débris of the centuries. Here and there an excavated column bears
+desolate witness to the glory of former days, but Corinth as a city is
+sealed up in an unknown grave. But just behind the site of the city
+there appears the Acrocorinthius, rising to the height of two thousand
+feet. I climbed this famous hill in the spring because I wanted to see
+the panorama on which the apostle had gazed, and also to see the setting
+and relations of this once imperial city. It was a wonderful vision of
+natural glory, with deep, far-stretching valleys, and distant gleams of
+the sea, and range upon range of hills, many of them snow-covered and
+glistening in the blazing sunshine of a splendid noon. There below was
+the plain on which Corinth found her shelter, and beyond the plain the
+narrow water-way, which gave her such intimate relations with the
+commerce of the Mediterranean; and beyond the water-way there is a touch
+of old romance, for there rise the shrines of the muses, the twin peaks
+of Helicon and Parnassus.
+
+Standing on this elevated eminence I tried to realize the conditions in
+which this little company of Christian recruits had to live the
+consecrated life. They had to fight the Christian warfare amid the soft
+luxuriousness of Corinth, a luxuriousness which relaxed the moral fibre,
+and made the Corinthians conspicuous for their depravity, "even amid all
+the depraved cities of a dying heathenism." Corinth was a city of
+abyssmal profligacy; "it was the Vanity Fair of the Roman Empire, at
+once the London and Paris of the ancient world"! And it was in this
+city, away there on the plain before me, that these untried Christian
+recruits had to "fight the good fight of faith."
+
+Then I thought of the little church in which they found their
+fellowship. It was besieged by continual assaults of their Jewish foes.
+It was torn with internal divisions. It was honeycombed by deadly
+heresies. It was defiled by sensuality. Nearly all the members of the
+church were of obscure origin and standing. Many of them were slaves. It
+was in these conditions of fierce and growing difficulties that these
+disciples had to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. And it is to this
+little company of Christian recruits that the apostle sends this
+challenging letter in which is found the rousing bugle-peal of my text.
+"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
+
+Now I will confess to you that times and again during the last few
+months this trumpet-blast has sounded in my ears, as though it were a
+clarion-call to the Christians of to-day. For we too have our warfare
+upon a most exacting field. We have fallen upon gravely troubled times.
+We are witnessing a resurgence of devilry that is perfectly appalling.
+The baser passions have become frightfully aggressive, and a crude
+animalism is at large like a surging, boiling sea which has burst its
+dykes. Some of us had begun to dream that the sweet angel of peace was
+almost at our gates, and that nothing could happen to drive her away;
+and now, when we look out of the gate, it is no fair angel-messenger
+which we see, but the red fury of unprecedented strife and slaughter.
+And amid all this we have to live the Christian life.
+
+But it is not only the "fightings without" which trouble us. There are
+also "the fears within." Many of our venerable assumptions are lying in
+ruin. Our spiritual world has suffered an upheaval as though with the
+convulsion of an earthquake, and many of us are trembling and confused.
+What then shall we do in this terrible hour? What path shall we take?
+Can we settle our goings upon any promising road of purpose and
+endeavour? Along what lines shall we pull ourselves together? And in
+answer to all these questions I bring you this well-tried counsel of the
+great Christian apostle, this bugle-peal from the first century, and I
+ask you to let it be to you as the inspired word of the living God.
+"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Let
+us examine the counsel in order that we may buckle it on to our souls.
+
+Here then is the first note of this soldierly blast. "Watch ye!" The
+phrase literally means "keep awake!" You perhaps think there is no need
+of that counsel to-day. You probably think that in times like these our
+difficulty is not to keep awake but to go to sleep. I am not so sure
+about that. If we have loved ones at the war there will not be the
+remotest peril of our going to sleep. Every post that comes to our door
+will startle us like the crack of doom. Every headline in the daily
+press will tighten our nerves in sleepless attention. But when we have
+no flesh and blood at the front, when many miles roll between us and the
+fields of war, when we are only spectators, a certain drowsiness is not
+so far away as we may suppose. When we only read about things, things
+become familiar, and the familiar is apt to lose its terror. Custom is a
+dull narcotic, and frequent repetition dims our apprehension. When the
+Titanic went down the whole city spoke in whispers, such a dread was
+resting over our souls. But now a dreadnought goes down, or a half dozen
+cruisers, and we scarcely catch our breath at the news. The cushion of
+familiarity is thickening between us and realities, and awful facts do
+not hit us on the raw. The awful becomes less awful by repetition, and
+we grow less sensitive as the tragedies increase. The newspaper
+statistics cease to be significant, and the descriptive adjectives
+become the tamest blanks. And therefore there is need for the apostle's
+trumpet blast to sound in our ears. "Keep awake!" Do not let familiarity
+become an opiate, so putting the senses to sleep that the direst woes
+become a painless commonplace. "Keep awake!" Make it a matter of will.
+Bring the stream of vital thought to bear upon the field. Exercise the
+imagination. Nourish the sympathies. We must keep awake, for our primary
+hope of emancipation in this dark hour is to remain sensitive, to be
+capable of being shocked and wounded with the appalling blows of every
+succeeding day.
+
+But it is not only wakefulness, but also watchfulness which the apostle
+enjoins in the counsel of our text. The soldier of Jesus is to be awake
+and watchful with all the keen quest of a sentinel peering about him
+night and day. But our watchfulness must be intelligent and disciplined,
+and we must carefully survey the entire field. We must keep awake, and
+we must diligently watch for all enemies of the sanctified brotherhood
+of the race, as a sentry would watch every suspicious movement in the
+night. What are the real enemies behind all the appalling desolation and
+sorrow of our time? Is it militarism? Then "Watch ye!" Is it something
+deeper than militarism? Is it racial animosity and jealousy and
+prejudice? Then "Watch ye!" Is it something even deeper than racial
+antipathy? Is it a profound and deadly materialism in all the nations--a
+materialism which has been tricked out in the ribbons of culture, and
+disguised in the glamour of progress? Then "Keep awake, Watch ye!" Or is
+it a faithless church, muttering many shibboleths, but confessing no
+vital faith; a church which has been too much a pretense, offering no
+strong moral and spiritual preservatives, and supplying no saving salt
+to social fellowships, and, therefore, not exercising any restraint upon
+moral degeneracy and corruption? "Keep awake, and Watch ye!" And amid
+all the horrors and agonies of our day fasten your eyes upon the real
+enemy of the Lord Jesus, the outstanding antagonist of His kingdom of
+righteousness and truth.
+
+But there is a further word to say about our vigilance. We must keep
+awake and watchful, not only to detect the busy lurking, ambushed foes,
+but also to see all the bright and wonderful things of the hour, all the
+splendid happenings which are favourable to the holy will and Kingdom of
+our Lord. What should we think of a sentinel who could not distinguish
+between enemy and friend? And what shall we say of a soldier-sentinel of
+Christ who has no eye for the great and friendly happenings on the
+field? Watch ye, and behold the growing seriousness of the world;
+frivolity has almost begun to apologize for itself, and tinselled gaiety
+is ill at ease. Watch ye, and behold the unsealing of multitudinous
+springs of human sympathy, and the flowing of holy currents from the
+ends of the earth. Watch ye, and behold the magnificent courage which in
+every land of strife is purging families from the dross of indolence and
+indifference, and educing the gold of chivalry and sacrifice. Watch ye,
+and behold the marvellous re-equipment of Christian motive--thousands
+upon thousands of Christian disciples realizing as they have never done
+before that the world needs the vital redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus,
+and that without Him human brotherhood will remain a phantom and a
+dream. A real wakeful watchman will see these things. He will not only
+record the things of the night and the nightmares, but he will be as
+"they who watch for the morning." The Moslem priest appears on the tower
+of his mosque half an hour after sunset to call the people to prayer,
+but he also appears on the tower half an hour before sunrise, when the
+grey gleams of morning are faintly falling upon the night. And we too,
+watchmen of Jesus, must watch for the sunrise as well as for the
+sunsets, and we too must tell what fair jewels of hope we see shining on
+the dark robe of the night. Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ is abroad!
+"Watch ye, for at such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man will
+come."
+
+Now let us consider the second note of the counsel which is given by
+this warrior, Paul. "Stand fast in the faith." Just try to realize that
+bracing counsel coming to these young recruits in the city of Corinth.
+Let me try to paraphrase it as I think it would be interpreted to them.
+"When the soft, enervating air of Corinth's luxuriousness steals over
+you like the mild air of Lotus-Land, 'Stand fast in the faith'! When the
+cold wind of persecution assails you like an icy blast from the north,
+'Stand fast in the faith'! If some supercilious philosopher comes along
+and breathes cynically upon your new-found piety and devotion, 'Stand
+fast in the faith'! Stand fast in your faith and meet all your
+antagonisms there."
+
+And has that counsel no pertinency for the Christian believers of our
+own time? There are some among us who are ready, because of the
+unspeakable horrors through which we are passing, to throw their faith
+away like obsolete arms and armour. Now men who can drop their faith in
+the day of real emergency have never been really held by it. That is
+surely true; men who can drop their faith like a handkerchief have never
+known their faith as a strong and vital defence. And yet that is what
+you sometimes find them doing in modern novels. They just drop their
+faith as they would drop a pair of gloves. Robert Elsmere, in Mrs.
+Humphry Ward's story of twenty years ago, dropped his faith in about ten
+days. If my memory serves me truly, George Eliot dropped her faith in
+about the same length of time. If our faith has ever meant anything
+vital, it will be as difficult to drop it as to drop our skin. But it is
+the inexperienced who are in peril. It is the young recruit who is
+dangerously convulsed by the upheavals of our day, and it is to him I
+bring the nerving counsel of the Lord: "Stand fast in the faith!"
+
+"Stand fast in the faith!" What faith? "The faith once for all delivered
+to the saints." Stand fast in the faith of the atoning Saviour as the
+secret of the reconciliation of mankind. Stand fast in the faith of the
+risen Lord as the secret and promise of racial union and brotherhood.
+Stand fast in the faith of the Holy Spirit as the source of all the
+light and cheer which illumines the race. Stand fast in your own
+personal faith in the exalted Lord. Don't doubt Him! Don't suspect Him!
+Don't desert Him! Above all, don't sell Him! In this hour of darkness,
+when devilry seems to be pulling down the very pillars of the temple,
+stand fast in the faith, and let this be your strong but humble cry:
+
+ "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom,
+ Neither shall fruit be in the vines;
+ The labour of the olive shall fail,
+ And the fields shall yield no meat;
+ The flock shall be cut off from the fold,
+ And there shall be no herd in the stalls:
+ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
+ I will joy in the God of my salvation."
+
+And the third note in the great apostle's counsel in this: "Quit you
+like men." Our translators have taken four words to express a single
+word in the original letter. We have no one English word which can carry
+the splendid load of meaning. It really means--play the man! It really
+means--no funk! All the school children will know the value of that
+word. It is a good strong vital English word, and I am sure it expresses
+the spirit of the apostle's counsel to these young recruits. Lowell uses
+it in the Bigelow Papers: "To funk right out o' p'litical strife ain't
+thought to be the thing." No funk, soldiers of Christ! I have sometimes
+heard men talk of late as though the Lord were dead, and the game is up,
+and the Kingdom is in ruins. "Play the man!" The European soldiers of
+every nation are showing the world in their own sphere what it means to
+play the man. Some of us are becoming almost afraid to call ourselves
+soldiers of Jesus when we see what a true soldier really is. Think of
+it! Think of his readiness for the front! Think of his laughter in
+sacrifice! Think of his song in the midst of danger and pain! Think of
+his endurance even unto death! And then, think how we stand up and sing
+"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war"! And shall we funk in
+the day of darkness and disaster, and after months of appalling
+bloodshed and woe shall we talk as if the campaign of righteousness were
+ended, and the Kingdom of Jesus is overturned? Let us stop this kind of
+talk. Let us silence this sort of fear. Let us crush this type of
+disloyalty. It is an insult to our flag; it is a dishonour to our Lord.
+
+"Quit you like men, be strong!" Put strength into everything, and do
+everything strongly. Do not let us speak or serve in a faint, lax,
+irresolute, anćmic, dying sort of way. "Be strong!" Be strong in your
+prayers. Be strong in your moral and spiritual ambitions. Be strong in
+your visions and hopes. Be strong in your beneficence; strengthen it to
+the vigour of sacrifice. And if there be a devil, as more than ever I
+believe there is, let the Church surprise him by her strength. Let her
+turn the day of calamity into the day of opportunity. Let her
+transfigure the hour of disaster into the hour of deeper consecration.
+Let us make new vows. Let us enter into new devotion. Let us exercise
+ourselves in new chivalry. Let us go out in new ways of sacrifice. My
+brethren, God is not dead! "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you
+like men, be strong!"
+
+ "Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
+ The trumpet call obey;
+ Forth to the mighty conflict
+ In this His glorious day.
+ Ye that are men now serve Him
+ Against unnumbered foes,
+ Let courage rise with danger
+ And strength to strength oppose.
+
+ "Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
+ Ye soldiers of the Cross.
+ Lift high His royal banner,
+ It must not suffer loss.
+ From victory unto victory
+ His army shall He lead,
+ Till every foe is vanquished,
+ And Christ is Lord indeed!"
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+ENDURING HARDNESS
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, may all our hearts be filled with Thy praise.
+ May the spirit of Thanksgiving fill all our days, and deliver us
+ from the mood of murmuring and complaint. Graciously remove the
+ scales from our eyes, so that we may look upon our life with
+ eyes anointed with the eye-salve of grace. Help us to discern
+ Thy footprints in the ordinary road. Grant that we may now
+ review our yesterdays and see the providences which have crowded
+ our paths. Help us to see Thy name on blessings that we never
+ recognized, so that we may now be praiseful where we have been
+ indifferent. Redeem us from our spiritual sloth. Awake us out of
+ our perilous sleep. May our consciences goad us when we are in
+ peril. May the good desires within us be so strengthened as to
+ destroy every desire that is vain. Sow in our hearts the word of
+ Thy truth. Guard the seed with the vigilance of Thy blessed
+ Spirit, and let it appear in our life as a fragrant and
+ bountiful harvest. Graciously watch us and defend us and make us
+ mighty in consecration, and may we place our all upon the altar.
+ Amen._
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+ENDURING HARDNESS
+
+ "Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
+ Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3.
+
+
+Any military metaphor which is used to-day will surely have a very
+arresting significance. Many of our hymns are crowded with military
+terminology. In the Wesleyan Methodist Hymn-Book there is a whole
+section entitled "For Believers Fighting." We are all familiar with
+these martial hymns: "Onward, Christian Soldiers", "The Son of God goes
+forth to war", "Soldiers of Christ arise", "Stand up, stand up, for
+Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross", "Oft in danger, oft in woe, onward
+Christians, onward go." But too often the soldier-like hymn is only a
+bit of martial poetry which pleases the emotions but does not stir the
+will. We like the swing of the theme. It brings a sort of exhilaration
+into our moods, just as lively dance music awakes a nimble restlessness
+in our feet. Too often it is the song of the parade ground, and it is
+not broken with the awful thundering of the guns in actual war. But just
+now when we hear the phrase, "Endure hardness as a good soldier," our
+thoughts are carried away to the battlefields of Europe. We recall those
+roads like deeply ploughed fields! Those fields scooped by the shells
+into graves in which you can bury a score of men! Those trenches filling
+with the rain or snows, the hiding place of disease, and assailed
+continually with the most frightful engines of destruction! Pestilence
+on the prowl! Frost stiffening the limbs into benumbment! Death always
+possible before the next breath! These military metaphors in our hymns
+get some red blood into them when we use them against backgrounds and
+scenes like these. "Endure hardness as a good soldier."
+
+Now the apostle calls for this soldierly spirit in Thessalonica. He is
+writing to young recruits in the army of the Lord. They are having their
+first baptism of fire. Their enemies are strong, subtle, ubiquitous. To
+be a Christian in Thessalonica was to face the fierce onslaught of
+overwhelming odds. But indeed in those early days, Christian believers,
+wherever they lived, had to be heroic in the defence of their faith and
+obedience. Everywhere circumstances were hostile. Nothing was won
+without sacrifice. Nothing was held without blood. To be a witness was
+to be a martyr. If a believer would be faithful to his Lord he must
+"fight the good fight of faith"; if he would extend the frontiers of the
+Kingdom of Heaven he must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
+Christ.
+
+What are the circumstances amid which the modern Church is placed? The
+Christian believer in our day is confronted with stupendous
+difficulties. Look at the present field on which our Christian warfare
+is to be waged. When the European war broke out I was staying at a quiet
+seaside village, from which I could see the soft green beauty of the
+mountains which encircle the English lakes. On the morning that war was
+proclaimed I felt as though some venerable and majestic temple had
+suddenly crumbled into dust. One of my most intimate friends, a noble
+German, was staying in my home, and we both felt as though some devil of
+mischief and disaster had toppled human affairs into confusion. The
+quiet sequence of human progress seemed to have been smashed at a
+stroke. The nations drew apart, and gulfs of isolation yawned between
+them, and down the gulfs there swept the cruel shrieking blasts of
+racial hatred and antipathy. Holy ministries which had been leagued in
+sacred fellowship were wrenched asunder. Spiritual communions which had
+been sweet and welcome curdled in the biting blast of resentment. The
+work of the Kingdom of our Lord was smitten as by an enemy; ploughshares
+were beaten into swords; pruning-hooks were transformed into spears; and
+instead of the fir and the myrtle-tree there sprang up the thorns and
+the briars. And then, to crown our difficulties, the red fury of war
+leaped into countries where our missionaries are proclaiming the gospel
+of peace, and the passion of battle began to burn where they are telling
+the story of the passion of Calvary, that holy passion of sacrifice
+which brought to the whole world redemption from sin, and reconciliation
+with God, and the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is
+to come.
+
+Our immediate circumstances do not offer the soldiers of Jesus an easy
+parade ground where we can just loll and sing our lilting songs; they
+rather offer us a fearfully rugged and broken field which demands as
+heroic and chivalrous virtues as ever clothed a child of God. What shall
+we do? Is it the hour for craven fear or for a noble courage? What shall
+we do on our mission fields? Shall we cry "forward," or shall we sound
+the depressing and despairing note of retreat? Shall we throw up the
+sponge, or shall we, in the spirit of unprecedented sacrifice, march
+forward in our campaign, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus
+Christ?
+
+First of all, we must keep our eyes steadily fixed upon the object for
+which Christ died, that solemn and holy end for which He created and
+appointed His own Church. And what is that object? It is to let "all men
+know that all men move under a canopy of love" as broad as the blue sky
+above. It is to break down all middle walls of partition, and to merge
+the sundered peoples in the quickening communion of His grace. It is to
+unite all the kingdoms of the world in the one and radiant Kingdom of
+His love. That is the aim and purpose of our blessed Lord, and in all
+the shock and convulsions of to-day we must keep that object steadfastly
+in sight. It was said of Napoleon that "he never for a moment lost sight
+of his way onward in the dazzle and uproar of present circumstances."
+That is to say, Napoleon was never blinded by the glare of victory or by
+the lowering cloud of defeat. "He saw only the object." Quietness did
+not throw its perilous spell about him. Calamity did not turn his eyes
+from the forward way. He saw only the object, and the glory of the goal
+sent streams of energy into his will and into his feet at every step of
+the changing road.
+
+Now our temptation is to permit events to determine our sight. There is
+the shimmer of gold on the right hand, and we turn to covet. There is
+the gleam of the sword on the left hand, and we turn in fear. We allow
+circumstances to govern our aims. Our eyes are deflected from their
+object by the dazzle or the uproar around us. And here is the peril of
+it all. When we lose the object of our warfare we begin to lose the
+campaign. And, therefore, one of the first necessities of the Christian
+Church in the present hour is to have our Lord's own purpose steadily in
+view, to keep her eyes glued upon that supreme end, and to allow nothing
+to turn her aside. "Let thine eyes look right on;" "Thy kingdom come;"
+"The kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God;" "He
+must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet." This, I say,
+is the pressing and immediate need of the good soldier of Christ Jesus,
+to refuse to have his single aim complicated by the entanglement of
+passing circumstances, and to constantly "apprehend that for which we
+also were apprehended by Christ Jesus our Lord."
+
+What else shall we do in this hour of upheaval and disaster? The Church
+must eclipse the exploits of carnal warfare by the more glorious warfare
+of the spirit. Just recall the heroisms which are happening every day in
+Europe, and on which the eyes of the world are riveted with an almost
+mesmerized wonder! Think of the magnificent sacrifices! Think of the
+splendid courage! Think of the exquisite chivalry! Think of the
+incredible powers of endurance! And then, further, think that the Church
+of Christ is called upon to outshine these glories with demonstrations
+more glorious still.
+
+This was surely one of the outstanding distinctions of apostolic life.
+Whenever hostilities confronted the early Church, whenever the first
+disciples were opposed by the gathered forces of the world, wherever the
+sword was bared and active, wherever tyranny exulted in sheer brutality,
+these early disciples unveiled a more splendid strength, and threw the
+carnal power into the shade. They faced their difficulties with such
+force and splendour of character that their very antagonisms became only
+the dark background on which the glory of the Lord was more manifestly
+revealed. Their courage rose with danger and eclipsed it!
+
+Let me open one or two windows in the apostolic record which give us
+glimpses of this conquering life. Here, then, is a glimpse of the
+hostilities: "Let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth
+to no man in this name." There you have the naked tyranny of carnal
+power, and there you have the threat that burns through carnal speech.
+And now, over against that power put the action of the Church: "And they
+spake the word of God with boldness!" They were good soldiers of Jesus
+Christ, and by that boldness the tyranny and threat of carnal power were
+completely eclipsed.
+
+Here is another glimpse of those heroic days: "And when they had called
+the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak
+in the name of Jesus." There again you have the demonstration of carnal
+power; and here again is the demonstration of the power of the spirit:
+"And they departed from the presence of the counsel, rejoicing that they
+were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And they ceased not to
+teach and preach Jesus Christ." I say that this "rejoicing" eclipses
+that beating, and the good soldier of Jesus Christ puts the Roman
+soldier into the shade.
+
+Let me open another window: "And they cast Stephen out of the city and
+stoned him." Get your eyes on that display of carnal passion and
+tyranny; and then lift your eyes upon the victim of it: "And he kneeled
+down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their
+charge." Who is the conqueror in that tragedy, the stoners or the
+stoned, the ministers of destruction or the good soldier of Jesus
+Christ? The carnal power was terrific and deadly, but it was utterly
+eclipsed by the power of grace, the power which blazed forth in this
+redeemed and consecrated life. Open yet another window upon this day of
+shining exploits: "Having stoned Paul they drew him out of the city,
+supposing he had been dead." That incident seems to record the
+coronation and sovereignty of brutal strength. Now read: "And they
+returned again to Lystra." Paul went back to the place where he had been
+stoned, to tell again the good news of grace, and to carry to broken
+people the ministries of healing. And I say that this bruised man,
+beaten and sore, returning again to the scene of the stoning, is a good
+soldier of Jesus Christ, and by his magnificent courage and grace he
+eclipsed all the rough strength of the world and threw its achievements
+into the shade.
+
+But it is not only in apostolic days that you can find these brilliant
+contrasts. The Church has been distinguished by such demonstrations of
+spiritual glory all along her history. When material power has been
+riotous and rampant, when rude, crude passions have blazed through the
+earth, the chivalry of the Church has shone resplendent in the murky
+night, and she has eclipsed the dread shocks of the world and the flesh
+and the devil by her noble sacrifices, and by her serenity, and by her
+spontaneous joy. The Church has distinguished herself by her
+manifestations of spiritual strength, by her lofty Christian purpose, by
+her glowing devotional enthusiasm, and this over against gigantic
+obstacles, and in the face of enemies who seemed to be overwhelming.
+
+I think of James Chalmers, the martyred missionary of New Guinea. How
+well I remember the last time I met him; his big, powerful body, his
+lion-like head, his shock of rough hair, his face with such a strange
+commingling of strength and gentleness, indomitableness and grace! And
+what he went through in New Guinea in carrying to the natives the story
+of our Saviour's love! And then, having gone through it all, he stood up
+there in England, on the platform of Exeter Hall, and said: "Recall
+these twenty-one years, give me back all its experiences, give me its
+shipwrecks, give me its standings in the face of death, give it me
+surrounded with savages with spears and clubs, give it me back again
+with spears flying about me, with the club knocking me to the ground,
+give it me back, and I will still be your missionary." What is happening
+in Europe just now that can put that exploit in the shade? I do not
+wonder that when that man thought of heaven he used these words: "There
+will be much visiting in heaven, and much work. I guess I shall have
+good mission work to do, great, brave work for Christ. He will have to
+find it, for I can be nothing else than a missionary." James Chalmers
+went back to New Guinea to tell and retell to the natives why Jesus came
+to thee and me and all men, and he won the martyr's crown. The love of
+Christ constrained him. And again I ask, what incidents in carnal
+warfare are not eclipsed by shining heroisms like these?
+
+I might go on telling you these glorious exploits of grace, but I hasten
+to say that it is our privilege to continue the story. To-day carnal
+strength is stalking in deadly stride through a whole continent. And
+to-day the Church must do something so splendid and so heroic as will
+outshine the glamour of material war. This is the hour when we must send
+out more men and women who are willing to live and toil and die for the
+Hindu, and for the Turk, and the Persian, and the Chinese and the
+Japanese, and all the dusky sons of Africa. I verily believe that if the
+apostle Paul were in our midst to-day, with the war raging in Europe, he
+would sound an advance all along the line. He would call us in this hour
+to send out more men and women to save, and to comfort, and to heal; men
+and women who will lay down their lives in bringing life to their
+fellow-men. We must send forth new army corps of the soldiers of Christ,
+and we must give them more abundant means, endowing them so plentifully
+that they can go out into the needy places of Asia and Africa, and
+assuage the pains and burdens of the body, and dispel the darkness of
+the mind, and give liberty to the imprisoned spirit, and lead the souls
+of men into the life and joy and peace of our blessed Lord. If the
+Church would, and if the Church will, she can so arrest the attention
+and win the hearts of the natives of Africa and Asia with the grace and
+gentleness of the Lord Jesus, a grace and gentleness made incarnate
+again in you and me, and in those whom we send to the field, that the
+excellent glory of the Spirit shall shine pre-eminent, and in this hour
+of world-wide disaster the risen Lord shall again be glorified.
+
+Shall we quietly challenge ourselves amid all the awful happenings of
+to-day? Here are the terms of the challenge. Shall the good soldier of
+Christ Jesus be overshadowed by the soldiers of the world? Or shall the
+courage and ingenuities of the world be eclipsed by the heroism and the
+wise audacity of the Church? Shall we withdraw our army from the field
+because the war is raging in Europe, or shall we send it reinforcements?
+Shall we practice a more severe economy and straiten our army's
+equipment for service; or shall we practice a more glorious
+self-sacrifice, and make its equipment more efficient? Shall we exalt
+and glorify our Saviour, or shall we allow Him to be put in the shade?
+Shall we endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ, or shall we take
+to the fields of indulgence, and allow the Church of the Living God to
+be outshone by the army of the world? Which shall it be?
+
+Our holy battlefield is as wide as the world. The needs are clamant. The
+opportunities of victory are on every side. Our Captain is calling! What
+then, shall it be? Advance or retreat? What answer can there be but one?
+Surely the answer must be that we will advance, even though it mean the
+shedding of the blood of sacrifice.
+
+One of our medical missionaries was Dr. Francis J. Hall of Peking,
+China. He had been graduated with high honours at the Johns Hopkins
+Medical School in Baltimore, and had consecrated his life to medical
+missionary work in China, where his large abilities promptly won him
+wide influence. In 1913 he said to one of his associates: "I have just
+been called to a Chinese who has typhus fever. Many physicians have
+died of that disease, but I must go." Two weeks later he was stricken.
+As he lay dying his mind wandered, and he was heard to exclaim: "I hear
+them calling, I must go; I hear them calling!" Do we hear them calling?
+Is the answer "Yes"? Then let us joyfully register a vow that, God
+helping us, the army of the Lord shall not be maimed because of our
+indifference, but as good soldiers of Jesus Christ we will, if need be,
+endure hardness, and give of our possessions, even unto the shedding of
+our blood.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER
+
+
+ _Eternal God, we rejoice in the security that is offered to us
+ in our midnights and in our noons. Thou wilt not leave us to the
+ loneliness of self-communion, but Thou wilt hold fellowship with
+ us along the way. Come to us as the Lord Jesus came to the men
+ who were journeying to Emmaus, and make our hearts burn within
+ us in the revelation of light and grace. Especially in these
+ bewildering times wilt Thou steady our minds with Thy councils
+ and inspire our hearts in the assurance of Thy sovereign love.
+ Lead us along our troubled road. Let the heavenly light break
+ upon our darkness. Help us to believe in Thy peace even when the
+ world is at strife. Let Thy kingdom come. Even when the world is
+ filled with the smoke of battle may we discern the presence of
+ the Lord. Save us from the sin of unbelief. Reveal to us, we
+ humbly pray Thee, the sin in which this strife has been born,
+ and help the nations to turn from it in new consecration to
+ Thee. In this gracious purpose wilt Thou possess our services.
+ Help us to look beyond the seen into the strength and glory of
+ the unseen. Cheer us with Thy consolations. Uphold us with Thine
+ hand, and impart to us the gift of Thy gracious peace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER ON THE FIELD
+
+ "And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will
+ hiss unto them from the end of the earth." Isaiah 5:26.
+
+ "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss
+ for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of
+ Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria." Isaiah
+ 7:18.
+
+
+That was a startling word to fall upon the ears of the people of Judah.
+It shocked them into confusion. It was an altogether revolutionary word.
+It played havoc with their traditional beliefs. It smashed up all their
+easy securities. It turned their world upside down, and all their
+ancient confidences were broken. Let us try to feel the shock of the
+message. The people had come to regard their land as a sort of divine
+reservation, and they looked upon their nation as a specially favoured
+instrument in the hand of the Lord. They esteemed themselves as being in
+the friendly grip and fellowship of the Lord of hosts. All their
+movements were the inspirations of His counsels, and in the strength of
+His providence their nation's progress and destiny were assured. They
+lived in the assumption that every step in their national life was
+foreseen, and planned, and provided for, and that they were always being
+led towards divinely appointed goals. There was nothing of chance in
+their journeyings, and nothing of uncertainty in their ends. For them
+there was no blind groping in the darkness, for the Lord of hosts had
+charge of their national life; and "the sure mercies of David" would
+secure it from calamity and destruction.
+
+That was what they thought about themselves. What did they think of the
+nations beyond their frontier? That was quite another story. They looked
+upon other nations as struggling blindly, and in their dark rage
+imagining vain things. These other nations had the promptings of
+passion, but they had no divine and mystic leadership. They moved
+hither and thither, but it was under no divine appointment, and a
+thousand traps were laid for their unhallowed feet. Yonder was Assyria,
+full of strength and full of movement, expressing herself in the might
+of tremendous armies, but she was under no divine command or
+inspiration. Assyria was like a boat in unknown waters, without a pilot,
+and she was marked for inevitable destruction. And yonder was proud
+Egypt, swelling with her power and renown, colossal in her material
+achievements, but she had no divinely enlightened eyes, she was blind in
+her goings, and her marching was in reality a staggering towards doom.
+And yonder were other nations from afar; but they were all just chance
+masses, looked upon as existing outside the frontier line of divine
+favour and enlightenment. They dwelt in some hinterland of life where
+God's gracious decrees do not run. They were beyond the orbit of divine
+thought and grace. Now that was the kind of thinking which the prophet
+had to meet. Judah regarded herself as nestling within the home circle
+of Providence, and all other nations were outcasts living beyond the
+sacred pale.
+
+And now perhaps we shall be able to feel something of the astounding
+effect of the prophet's words. "And the Lord shall lift up an ensign to
+the nations from far." Far-away peoples are to move under the impulse
+and inspiration of the Lord, and in the light of His guiding command.
+"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the
+rivers of Egypt." A far-away nation, thick as flies, is to move under
+the touch and ordination of God! "The Lord shall hiss for the bee that
+is in the land of Assyria." A far-away nation, thick as a hive of bees,
+is to move under the controlling purpose of the Lord! Can you feel the
+shock of the prophet's words? It is the shock of a larger thought which
+shakes the nations out of their small and cosey contentment. They had
+conceived the divine Providence as being confined exclusively to Judah's
+particular guidance and defence. They had thought within the limits of a
+country; they are now bidden to cross the frontier and conceive a
+Providence which encircles a continent and a world. The fly in Egypt,
+and the bee in Assyria, raising their wings at the touch of the
+Lord,--it staggered them into incredulity!
+
+Now we can see what the prophet was doing. He was seeking to enlarge
+their sense of the orbit of the divine movement. For the little ripples
+on their pool he was substituting the ocean tides. For the circle of
+their native hills and valleys he was substituting a line which embraced
+the uttermost parts of the earth. And that is what I wish to do in this
+meditation. I wish to proclaim the vastness of the divine orbit, the
+tremendous sweep of the divine decrees, and I wish to emphasize the
+teaching of this great prophet, that momentous destinies may be born in
+far-away places, even at the very end of the world. "The Lord shall hiss
+for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and
+for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."
+
+Well then, under the power of this teaching, let us think in wider
+orbits of the divine inspiration of nations. For we are apt to imprison
+our thought within very narrow and artificial restraints. Much of our
+thought about providential movements shuts God up to the circle of
+so-called Christian nations: But what if a fierce and decadent
+civilization is to be corrected by the inspired influence of such
+peoples as are described by Rudyard Kipling as "lesser breeds without
+the law?" What if our God will hiss for the fly and the bee among just
+such peoples as we are inclined to patronize or despise? Let us imagine
+some modern Isaiah standing up in London or New York and uttering words
+like these;--"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
+part of China, and for the bee that is in the land of India." I know
+that such a doctrine shocks our national susceptibilities, just as a
+similar doctrine shocked the national pride of the ancient Jews. But
+such a doctrine offers the only true interpretation of the range of the
+divine orbit. It may be that the reinforcements of civilization are to
+come from the movements of the stagnant waters of China. It may be that
+rivers of vitality are to flow into our life from the meditative,
+contemplative, philosophic, mystic races of India. Just think of their
+quiet, lofty, serious brooding, stealing into our feverish materialism
+and sobering the fierceness of the quest. I cannot but wonder what the
+good Lord, in the vastness of His orbit, is even now preparing for the
+world on the far-away plains of India and China.
+
+Let your imagination exercise itself again in the larger orbit, and
+think of some modern prophet standing up in London with this message
+upon his lips;--"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost parts of Russia." The message strikes us as incredible, but it
+is only because, like the people of Judah, our conception of the divine
+orbit is so small and circumscribed. I for one am watching with
+fascinated eyes the movements of Russia. I am wondering what is coming
+to us from that great people, so long and patiently sad, so full of
+reverence, going on long, weary pilgrimages to bow at holy shrines.
+Superstition? Yes, if you please. But I am wondering what is going to
+happen when the dogged strength of that superstition becomes an
+enlightened faith. I am wondering what will happen when that rich,
+fertile bed of national reverence begins to bear the full and matured
+fruits of the Spirit. What then? I know it is not easy to think it. It
+is not easy to widen the orbit of one's thought. It is never easy to
+stretch a neglected or unused muscle. But the wider thought is the orbit
+of our God, and in the mysterious land of Russia untold destinies may be
+even now at the birth.
+
+And so do I urge that we think in vaster orbits of the divine
+inspiration of nations. Let us reject the atheism of incredulity, and
+let us encourage ourselves in the boundless hope of an all-encompassing
+God of the human race. The great God journeys on in His tremendous
+orbit, and who knows from what unlikely peoples the rejuvenation of the
+world is to come? "The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the
+land of Assyria."
+
+Now I want to go further, and under the power of the prophet's teaching
+I would urge that we think in wide orbits of the divine raising of the
+heroic leaders of men. In what wide and mysterious sweeps the great God
+works when He wants a leader of men! The man is wanted here at the
+center, but he is being prepared yonder on the remote circumference! God
+hisses for the fly or the bee, and He calls it from very obscure and
+unlikely fields.
+
+Here is ancient Israel. Her altars are defiled, and her balances are
+perverted. She is hollow in worship, and she is crooked in trade, and
+the people are listless in their debasement. A leader is wanted to awake
+and scourge the people. Where shall he be found? The Lord hisses for a
+fly in Tekoa, a wretched little village, in a mean and scanty setting;
+and the fly was a poor herdman, following the flock, and eking out his
+miserable living by gathering the figs of the sycamore. And this Amos
+was God's man! A prophet of fire was wanted in Bethel, and God prepared
+him in Tekoa! But what an orbit, and who would have thought that Tekoa
+would have been a school of the prophets?
+
+Stride across the centuries. The religion of Europe has become a gloss
+for indulgence. Nay, it has become an excuse for it. The Father's house
+has become a den of thieves. The doctrines of grace have been wiped out
+by a system of man-devised works. Religion is devitalized, and morals
+have become dissolute. Wanted, a man, who shall be both scourge and
+evangelist! Where shall he be found? "The Lord hissed for the fly" that
+was in Eisleben, in the house of a poor miner, and Martin Luther came
+forth to grapple with all the corruptions of established religion. But
+what an orbit! A fire was wanted to burn up the refuse which had
+accumulated over spiritual religion, and the fire was first kindled in a
+little home, in a little village, far away from the broad highways of
+social privilege and advantage. Again, I say, what an orbit!
+
+March forward again across the years. Here is England under the
+oppression of a king who claims divine sanction for his oppression.
+There is no tyranny like the tyranny which stamps itself with a holy
+seal. And in those old days of Charles I, tyranny wore a sacred badge.
+Tyranny carried a cross. It was tyranny by divine right. Wrong was
+justified by grace. I say, of all tyrannies, this is the most
+tyrannical. Wanted, a man to meet and overthrow it! Where will he be
+found? Will he be found in some national centre of learning where
+wealthy privilege holds her seat? Oh, no! The Lord hissed for a fly on
+the fens, from a little farm at Huntington, and Oliver Cromwell
+emerged, to try swords with the king on his throne! Let me give the
+familiar glimpse which Sir Philip Warwick offers us of Cromwell making
+his first speech in the House of Commons. "I came into the House one
+morning, well clad, and perceived a gentleman speaking whom I knew not,
+very ordinarily appareled, for it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed
+to have been made by an ill country tailor. His linen was plain and not
+very clean, and I remember a speck or two of blood upon his little band,
+which was not much larger than his collar. His hat was without a
+hat-band. His stature was of a good size; his sword stuck close to his
+side; his countenance swollen and reddish; his voice sharp and
+untunable, and his eloquence full of fervour." And there is God's man!
+But what an orbit! A man was wanted for the defence of liberty and
+spiritual religion, and God prepared this man in the obscurity of a
+little farm among the fens. What an orbit is marked by the goings of the
+Lord. The Lord hissed for the fly on the fen.
+
+March forward across the centuries. Here is slavery in the American
+republic. In spite of the noble words of the Declaration of
+Independence: "That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by
+their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
+life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"--in spite of these ringing
+human claims slavery nestled beneath the American flag. Well, wanted a
+man to deal with it! Where will he be found? Will he be found in some
+university centre? Will he be a paragon of intellectual learning and
+accomplishment? Oh no! The Lord hissed for a fly in Harden, in a scraggy
+part of Kentucky, Harden with its "barren hillocks and weedy hollows,
+and stunted and scrubby underbush,"--and there in a dismal solitude, and
+in a cheerless home, and in the deepest poverty, the great God made His
+man, and Abraham Lincoln came forth to cross swords with the great
+wrong, and to ring the bells of freedom from the "frozen North to the
+glowing South, and from the stormy waters of the Atlantic westward to
+the calmer waters of the Pacific Main." But what an orbit of divine
+providence! Who would have guessed that just there, in that poor,
+unschooled, and unprivileged family the great God was doing His
+momentous work? And I wonder where now in the vast orbit of His
+providence He is rearing the leaders of to-morrow? Our God moves in
+mighty sweeps, and He is even now at work in the mysterious ministries
+of His grace. "The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
+part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of
+Assyria."
+
+And then, under the influence of the prophet's teaching I want once more
+to urge that we think in wider orbits of the divine presence in the
+individual life. For instance, in what sweeping orbits the Lord moves on
+His journeys in seeking to bring us to Himself, and to fashion us into
+the strength and beauty of His own image. He lifts an ensign to some
+remote circumstance, and from afar there comes an influence which sets
+me on the road to God. He calls a ministry from distant Egypt, or from
+far off Assyria, and my life is turned to the home of my Lord.
+
+Here is a careless young son of wealth in Cambridge University. Life for
+him is just an idle sport, a careless revel, a jaunty outing, an
+enjoyable extravagance. Life is just a shallow, shimmering pool; not an
+ocean with momentous tidal forces, and with the voice of the great
+Eternal speaking in its mighty tones. Wanted a man to awake this
+indolent son of wealth! And in what an orbit God moved to find the man!
+The Lord hissed for a fly in Massachusetts, and there, in Northfield,
+was a poor homestead, encumbered with mortgage; and a poor widow with
+seven children, so poor that the very kindling wood was taken by the
+creditors from the shed. And there in that poor woman's house God made
+His man, and Dwight Moody came forth, and went to Cambridge University,
+and proclaimed the evangel of grace, and by the love of God won this
+young fellow from a loose and jaunty and indifferent life, and kindled
+in him a passionate devotion to Christ which is now blazing away on the
+Southern Soudan in a campaign to light a line of Christian beacon-fires
+which shall stretch from coast to coast! But what an orbit! From a poor
+widow's homestead in Northfield to a sporting young fellow in Cambridge
+University!
+
+I met a cultured man the other day, a man who has enjoyed all the
+academic advantages that money can provide, a man of university culture
+and distinction, but whose life has been spiritually indifferent, and
+who has held coldly aloof from God and the Kingdom of God. And in the
+vast orbit of His providence the great God brought this man into
+communion with Billy Sunday, and all the stubble of his neglected life
+was burned up in the consuming fire of his kindled love for the Lord.
+But just think of the orbit! The Lord hissed for His fly, and from the
+apparently incredible circumstance of a slangy evangelist this man was
+brought to his Father's House in reconciliation and peace. Again I say,
+what an orbit! "I will bring the blind by a way that they know not," and
+under His wide and mysterious leadership the blind find themselves at
+home.
+
+And so, my friends, our God is still moving in these vast orbits. He
+hisses for a disappointment, and it comes and throws its shadow upon our
+life, but the shadow is purposed to be one of the healing shadows of
+grace. "I will command the clouds, saith the Lord." Yes, even our cloudy
+experiences move under command. They travel in the tremendous orbit of
+His providence. "I will command the ravens, saith the Lord God." Yes,
+there are diverse circumstances that come to us on wings,--kind words,
+cheering messages, bright inspirations, and they are the commanded
+ministers of God's providence. They are God's messengers on wings!
+
+We can never tell in what remote circumstances the good Lord is even now
+preparing our to-morrow. But of one thing we may be perfectly sure, the
+great Lord is at work, and He is at work over wide fields. "Rest in the
+Lord, and wait patiently for Him." "The Lord is thy keeper.... The Lord
+shall keep thee from all evil, He shall keep thy soul. The Lord shall
+keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for
+evermore."
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, may we experience that deepest of all joys
+ which is born of holy communion with Thee. Lead us into new
+ fields of our wonderful inheritance in Christ. May we have new
+ surprises of grace. May some fresh revelations of Thy love break
+ upon our astonished vision. Remove the scales from our eyes, so
+ that we may see clearly the things which are waiting to be
+ unveiled. Graciously make known to us what Thou wouldst have us
+ be in order that we may then more clearly apprehend what Thou
+ wouldst have us do. Help us to remember what we ought not to
+ forget, and help us to forget what we ought not to remember. May
+ our minds be the servants of Thy truth. Let the beams of
+ heavenly light chase out the darkness of error and let it be all
+ glorious within. We humbly pray Thee to deliver us from our
+ selfishness, and enlarge and refine our sympathies until they
+ express themselves in willing sacrifice. May we feel the pains
+ of others, and carry their burdens and share their yokes. May
+ the circles of our compassion grow larger every day. Let the
+ ends of the earth be at our own doors, and so may we hear the
+ cry which is very far off. Illumine our lives in this service,
+ and send us forth to enlighten and kindle the lives of others.
+ Make us missionaries of Thy truth and ambassadors of Thy grace
+ and love. May we be quick to discern opportunity, and ready to
+ use it in the service of the King. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE
+
+ "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."
+ Matthew 3:11.
+
+
+Such is the divine promise. Let me read the story of its fulfilment.
+"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one
+accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
+rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
+sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire,
+and it sat upon each of them." Do not let us become victims of the
+letter and become entangled in the symbolism. It is possible so to
+regard material signs as to lose their spiritual significance. A musical
+word may conceal its own thought. Words are purposed to be the vehicles
+of mind. Symbols are intended to be transparencies, losing themselves
+in something better. They are ordained to be thoroughfares through which
+we pass to nobler destinations. The sign is to be the servant of its own
+significance.
+
+Here then are men and women who are about to receive the promised gift
+of the Spirit of God. They have been waiting as their Master directed,
+waiting in prayer, and in prayer incalculably strengthened by community
+of desire, waiting in trembling watchfulness and expectation. Then the
+much-hoped-for day arrives and their spirits receive the infinite
+reinforcement of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
+
+We have a very pale reflection of this experience when two human spirits
+are given to each other in deep and vital communion. When David received
+the gift of Jonathan's spirit, and Jonathan received the gift of David's
+spirit, each of them obtained immeasurable enrichment. When Robert
+Browning received the gift of Elizabeth Barrett's spirit, and Elizabeth
+Barrett received the gift of Robert Browning's spirit, who can calculate
+the wealth which each of them found in the other's possession?
+
+But these examples, and others even more sacred which we could gather
+from our own experience, are only pale and wan and shadowy, compared
+with the wonder which breaks upon the soul when the spirit of man
+receives the gift of the Spirit of God, and the two dwell together in
+mystic and glorious communion. What happens to the human spirit is
+suggested to us under the familiar symbols of wind and fire. "Like unto
+a rushing mighty wind;" "like unto fire." Do not let us be enslaved by
+any hampering details in the figures. Let us seek their broad
+significance. And what is the characteristic of a rushing mighty wind?
+It dispels the fog. It freshens the atmosphere. It gives life and
+nimbleness to the air. It is the minister of vitality. And the breath of
+God's Spirit is like that; it clears the human spirit, and freshens it,
+and vitalizes it; it acts upon the soul like the air of a spiritual
+spring. And as for the symbol of the fire; fire is the antagonist of all
+that is frozen; it is the antagonist of the torpid, the tepid; it is the
+minister of fervour, and buoyancy, and expansion. The wind changes the
+atmosphere, the fire changes the temperature; and the holy Spirit of
+God changes the atmosphere and temperature of the soul; and when you
+have changed the atmosphere and temperature of a soul you have
+accomplished a mighty transformation. It is about this change in the
+moral and spiritual temperature that I want to meditate, the gift of
+fire which we receive in the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If the spirit of
+man and the spirit of God come into blessed communion, and the fire of
+God is given, how will it reveal and express itself? For if there be a
+gift of fire in the soul we shall most surely know it. Fire is one of
+the things which cannot be hid. You can hide a painted sun in your
+parlour and no one will know it is there, but you cannot hide a glowing
+fire. A man can hide a denominational label, he cannot possibly hide the
+holy fire of God. How, then, shall we know that the fire is there?
+
+First of all I think I should look for the holy fire on the common
+hearthstone of human love. If the fire of God does not warm up the
+affections I fail to recognize what its heat can be worth. The first
+thing to warm up is the heart. The intimate friend of the Holy Spirit
+is known by the ardour of his affections. He loves with a pure heart
+fervently. He is baptized with fire. Now I need not seek to prove the
+existence of cold hearts among us. I am afraid we must accept them
+without question. Whether there are hearts like fire-grates without a
+spark of fire I cannot tell. Personally, I have never met with anyone in
+whose soul the fire of love had gone quite out. I think that if we
+sought very diligently among the gray dusty ashes of any burnt-out life
+we should find a little love somewhere. Yes, even in Judas Iscariot, or
+in the dingy soul-grate of old frozen-out Scrooge. But there are surely
+souls so cold, and so destitute of love, that the poor fire never leaps
+up in dancing, cheering, welcome flames. Their temperature is zero.
+
+There are other souls with a little fire of love burning, but it is very
+sad, very sodden, very sullen, very dull. There is more smoke than fire.
+There is more surliness than love. Their fire is not inviting and
+attractive. There is a little spitting, and spluttering, and crackling,
+but there is no fine, honest, ruddy glow. Their temperature is about
+ten above freezing. They are not frozen but they are not comforting.
+
+There are other lives where the fire of affection is burning more
+brightly, and certainly with more attractive glow, but where it seems as
+if the quality of the fuel must be poor because the fire gives out
+comparatively little heat. The heart sends out a cheery beam across the
+family circle, but it does not reach beyond. There is no cordial warmth
+for the wider circles of fellowship. The fire burns in the home but it
+does not affect the office. It encompasses the child but it has no cheer
+for the stranger. What is the temperature of such a life? It is very
+difficult to appraise it. Perhaps it will be best to say that in one
+room of the soul the temperature is 60, while in all the other rooms it
+is down towards freezing.
+
+And, therefore, I need not say how profound is the need in the world for
+warm, glowing, affectional fires. What awfully cold lives there are in
+the city, just waiting for the cheer of "the flame of sacred love!"
+There are souls whose fires have died down at the touch of death. There
+are others whose glow has been dulled by heavy sorrow. There are others
+whose love has been slaked by the pitiless rains of pelting defeat.
+There are others again whose hearts are cold in the midst of material
+wealth. They have richly furnished dwellings, but their hearts are like
+ice. They are unloved and unlovely, and they are frostbitten in the
+realms of luxury. Wealth can buy attention; it can never purchase love.
+My God! What cold souls there are in this great city!
+
+And, therefore, what a clamant and urgent need there is for love-fires
+at which to kindle these souls that are heavy, and burdened, and cold.
+And when the Holy Spirit is given to a man, and he is baptized with
+fire, it must surely, first of all, be the fire of cordial, human
+affection. And such is the teaching of experience. When John Wesley came
+into the fulness of the divine blessing in a little service at
+Aldersgate Street, London, he said that he "felt his heart strangely
+warmed." He was receiving the gift of holy fire. And I cannot but think
+that Charles Wesley was thinking about his brother's experience on that
+day when he wrote his own immortal hymn which includes the prayerful
+lines:
+
+ "Kindle a flame of sacred love
+ In these cold hearts of ours."
+
+You find and feel the glow of that love-fire throughout the New
+Testament Scriptures. They who have the most of God's Spirit have the
+most of the fire. There was Barnabas, who was declared to be "full of
+the Holy Spirit," and he is also described as "the son of consolation."
+What a consummate title! Cannot we feel the love-fire burning and
+glowing in all his ample ministry? Full of the Spirit, and therefore
+full of consolation! The truth of the matter is this,--we cannot be much
+with the Spirit of Christ, and not take fire from His presence. In these
+high realms, communing is partaking, and we kindle to the same affection
+as fills the heart of the Lord. "We love because He first loved us." His
+fire lights our fire, and we burn in kindred passion. So do I proclaim
+that when the fire of God falls upon our spirits the sacred gift kindles
+and inflames the soul's affections. When we are baptized with the Holy
+Ghost and with fire, we receive the glowing power of Christian love.
+
+Where else shall we look for that holy fire in human life? I think I
+should look for the presence of the fire of the Holy Ghost in fervent
+enthusiasm for the cause of Christ's Kingdom. And that indeed is what I
+find. The New Testament instructs me in this, and it teaches me that
+where man is baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire his own spirit
+becomes fervent. He is declared to be "_fervent_ in spirit," and the
+original word means to bubble up, to boil, as in a boiling kettle; it is
+the emergence of the mighty power of steam. And so the significance is
+this: the fire of God generates steam, it creates driving power, it
+produces forceful and invincible enthusiasm. You will find abundant
+examples of this spiritual miracle in the Acts of the Apostles; perhaps
+the Book might be more truly named "The Acts of the Holy Spirit," for
+all the glorious activity is generated by His holy fire. Let your eyes
+glance over the apostolic record. Mark how the fire of God endows man
+with the power of magnificent initiative. Take the apostle Peter;--once
+his strength was the strength of impulse, a spurt and then a collapse, a
+spasm and then a retreat, proud beginnings bereft of patience and
+perseverance. But see him when the Spirit of God has got hold upon him,
+and what a gift he has received of initial and sustained enthusiasm!
+"And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit!" You should see him then, and
+note the strength of his drive, and the ardour of his enterprise! And
+the example of Peter would be confirmed by the examples of all the other
+apostles, if only we knew their personal history and experience. I wish
+there had been given to us just a glimpse of doubting Thomas, slow,
+hesitant, reluctant, uncertain, when the Holy Spirit had him in
+possession. "And Thomas filled with the Holy Spirit,"--I would give
+something to know the end of that sentence. And I wish we had one
+glimpse of timid, fearful, night-walking Nicodemus, when the fire of
+God's Spirit blazed in his soul. "Then Nicodemus, filled with the Holy
+Spirit,"--I wonder what notable exploits would complete that unfinished
+sentence. This we know; the holy fire transformed the timid into the
+courageous, the lukewarm into the fervent, it generated a moral steam
+which made them invincible.
+
+The first apostles drove through tremendous obstacles. Indeed, they
+never had the comfort of an open and unimpeded road. Every road was
+thick with adversaries. What then? Through them or over them! "But,
+Sire," said a timid and startled officer to Napoleon, on receiving
+apparently impossible commands, "But, Sire, there are the Alps!" "Then
+there must be no Alps," replied his audacious chief. "There must be no
+Alps!" That was the very spirit of the first apostles. Mighty
+antagonisms reared themselves in their way,--ecclesiastical prejudices,
+the prejudices of culture, social hostilities, political expediences,
+and all the subtle and violent contrivances of the world, the flesh and
+the devil. "But, Sire, there are the Alps!" "There must be no Alps!"
+Through them! Over them! What that coward Peter got through when the
+fire of God glowed in his soul! When a man has the holy fire of God
+within him he has a boiling fervency of spirit, and he can drive through
+anything.
+
+And that same holy fire gives the same terrific power to-day, the same
+driving enthusiasm, the same patient, dogged, invincible perseverance.
+If a man declares that he has received the fire of God's Holy Spirit, I
+will look eagerly for the impetus of his sacred enthusiasm. If he be a
+preacher I will look for labour in the passion, and the unsnarable
+energy and patience which he will assuredly put into his work. If he be
+a teacher, I will examine the generated steam, and note how much he can
+do, how far he can travel, and how long he can hold out in the service
+of his Lord. If he be a man who has set himself to some piece of social
+reconstruction I will watch with what ardour, and ingenuity, and
+inevitableness he is moving towards his goal. Is it the smashing of the
+saloons? "Then Peter, filled with the Holy fire;"--what if that power
+were harnessed to the enterprise? Or is it the awful plague and blight
+of impurity; or is it the cleaning up of politics; the establishment of
+rectitude in civic and national life? Whatever it be, the holy fire of
+God will reveal its presence in the soul of man in an ardent enthusiasm
+which cannot be quenched. It is the promise of our God, and shall He not
+do it? "He maketh His ministers a flaming fire,"--and that fire can
+never be blown out in the darkest and most tempestuous nights.
+
+And lastly, I shall look for the signs of the presence of the Holy
+Spirit in the fire of sacred resentment. If a man is baptized with the
+Holy Ghost, and with fire, I shall expect to see the presence of that
+fire in the capacity of hot and sensitive indignation. I need not say
+that there is a mighty difference between hot temper and hot
+indignation. Hot temper is a firing of loose powder upon a shovel. It is
+just a flare, and an annoyance, and a danger. But hot indignation is
+powder concentrated in the muzzle of a gun, and intelligently directed
+to the overthrow of some stronghold of iniquity. Hot temper is the fire
+of the devil. Hot indignation is the fire of God; it is the wrath of the
+Lamb. What is this capacity of indignation? It is the opposite to frozen
+antipathy, to tepid curiosity, to sinful "don't care," to all immoral
+coldness and calculated indifference. There are many people who can be
+irritated, but they are never indignant. They can be offended, but they
+are never nobly angry. The souls who are possessed with the fire of God
+are the very opposite to all these. I said at the very beginning of this
+meditation that the breath of God is like the quickening atmosphere of
+the Spring; but it is equally true to say that it can be like the
+destructive blast of the African sirocco--"The grass withereth and the
+flower fadeth _because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it_." The hot
+breath of God is like unto a blast that scorches things in their very
+roots. And if we share the breath of God's Spirit we too shall be
+endowed with the ministry of the destructive blast, even the power of a
+consuming indignation. Any form of public iniquity will make our fire
+blaze with purifying wrath. Corruption in civic or national government,
+inhumanity in the treatment of the criminal and the unfortunate, the
+oppression of the poor, the brutal disregard of the rights of the weak
+and the defenceless, any one of these will draw out our souls in the hot
+and aggressive indignation which is the imparted fire of the Holy Ghost.
+If any one claims to have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and with
+fire, and he is indifferent in the presence of licensed iniquity, and
+apathetic and lukewarm when gigantic wrongs glare and stare upon him,
+that man's spiritual baptism is a pathetic fiction, and his boasted fire
+is only a painted flame.
+
+But if a man suffer a personal injury, if some wrong is done to him,
+what kind of fire shall I expect to see in his life if he is filled with
+the Holy Ghost? Yes, if some one has done an injury to another, and the
+other has been baptized with the Holy Ghost, what kind of fire will he
+reveal? Listen to this: "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,
+give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
+head!" It is the very fire that rains upon us from the Cross of our
+Lord: "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary,
+there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and
+the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they
+know not what they do." What kind of fire is that? It is the same holy
+fire which flowed from the soul of the martyr Stephen as he was being
+stoned to death: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." It is a
+marvellous fire, a most arresting fire; and we simply cannot withstand
+it. It is the very fire of grace; it is live coal from the altar of God.
+
+So this is the sort of fire I look for when a man claims to be filled
+with the Holy Spirit,--the glowing fire of humble affection, the glowing
+fire of noble enthusiasm, the glowing fire of indignation, and the
+marvellous fire of self-forgetting grace. "He shall baptize you with the
+Holy Ghost and with fire."
+
+ "He came in tongues of living flame,
+ To teach, convince, subdue,
+ All powerful as the wind He came,
+ And viewless too.
+
+ Spirit of purity and grace,
+ Our weakness, pitying see,
+ Oh, make our hearts Thy dwelling-place,
+ And worthier Thee."
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for our knowledge that all our
+ springs are in Thee. Wilt Thou deliver us from any sense of
+ self-dependence, and lead us into an intimate fellowship with
+ the ministers of Thy grace. If any triumph has made us
+ self-confident, if any earthly success has made us proud, may
+ Thy Holy Spirit lead our spirits into the lowliness which is the
+ beginning of true wisdom and strength. We humbly ask that Thou
+ wilt deliver us from the sins which have become our masters, and
+ in which we find unholy delight. Incline our hearts unto Thy
+ law, and help us to find pleasure in obedience to Thy holy will.
+ Graciously redeem us from every care which fetters our souls,
+ and give us such an assurance of Thy providential love that we
+ may exult in the glorious liberty of the children of God.
+ Graciously remember us one by one. Be very near to those who
+ scarcely have the heart to pray. Mercifully meet with those who
+ have been stunned with sorrow, and who have not yet regained the
+ comforts of Thy peace. Remember all who are in grave perplexity,
+ and graciously light Thy lamp on their bewildered way. Receive
+ all our little ones into the circle of Thy blessing, and may
+ they early rejoice in Thy friendship and become devoted to Thy
+ holy will. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST
+
+ "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and they
+ that had gotten the victory over the beast." Revelation 15:2.
+
+
+The symbolism of the city of God as given in the Book of Revelation
+represents the character of its citizens, and all the glories of the new
+Jerusalem have correspondences in the souls who live and move in that
+radiant land. The sea of glass represents a spiritual character of regal
+serenity, a character transparent in its limpid depths, and reflecting
+in its stillness the very image of the Lord. And the sea of glass,
+"mingled with fire," is significant of character made fervent by holy
+love, purity made genial, righteousness changed into goodness by the
+permeating heat of affectional enthusiasm and devotion.
+
+And now I wish to examine the next descriptive sentence, which tells us
+something of the history and experiences of those who have arrived at
+the sea of glass, and who have attained the serene and genial purity of
+those who hold immediate communion with God. And this is the sentence
+which records some of the happenings which have befallen them on the
+road; "_They have gotten the victory over the beast._" It is a very
+striking conjunction, this which tells me that they who dwell by the sea
+of glass have come by the way of the beast, and that they have conquered
+the beast by the way. What was the beast which these men and women had
+faced and conquered as they moved onward to the crystal sea? I do not
+profess to know the precise historic interpretation. The beast may have
+been the malignant and vindictive antagonism of the Emperor Nero. He may
+have been the beast. The beast may have been the hostile and suffocating
+pressure of the Roman Empire. The beast may have been the stealthy
+seductions of the imperial city of Rome. The beast may have been the
+fascinating and paralyzing charm of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
+Anyone or all of these together may have been the beast which straddled
+across the road and opposed these Christians on their journey towards
+home. I do not know, and I frankly confess I am not deeply concerned to
+know. The general boldness of the figure is quite enough for me.
+Whatever else the beast may mean it must essentially mean anti-God,
+anti-Christ, the antagonist of the divine. It must mean the animal side
+of our nature seeking to invade the realm of the spirit, to force its
+way among the executive powers of the soul, and to usurp the throne of
+God. The beast is triumphant when the flesh and all the works of the
+flesh have ousted the forces of the spirit. The beast is conquered when
+the powers of the spirit never surrender their holy sovereignty, when
+the forces of the flesh have been ordered to their place among the rank
+and file, and when they are never allowed to wear the honours and
+prerogatives of the commander-in-chief. "They that have gotten the
+victory over the beast." The beast is just anti-Christ, in whatever form
+he may appear.
+
+Let us spend a little while in first of all examining this beast who
+claims the control and mastery of our souls. Everybody has a vivid
+experience of his power, but it may help to clarify our minds if we
+consider what has been said about him by the recognized masters and
+counsellors of the soul. Let us turn, then, to the pages of literature,
+and first of all let us turn to the inspired literature itself. You have
+scarcely opened the Word of God before the beast makes his appearance in
+the form of a serpent. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
+of the field." And who has not experienced the wiles of the serpent when
+he approaches the soul in some charming seduction, in some fascinating
+crookedness, in some wriggling sophistry, in some twisted excuse, in
+some winding compromise? Who has not seen the beast when he has sought
+to persuade the soul that the wriggle is the most graceful form of
+motion, and that the curve is more acceptable than the straight line?
+Who has not heard him when he has argued that the detour is the shortest
+way home, and that a slight deviation from rectitude will lead to the
+noblest ends? Yes, this beast is the apostle of the serpentine, and this
+is his creed,--the wriggle is the best way to your goal. "The serpent
+was more subtle than any beast of the field."
+
+I turn over the pages of the old book, and I am confronted with an
+extraordinary change in the form of the beast. He is no longer a
+wriggling serpent but a prowling lion. "The devil goeth abroad like a
+roaring lion." He no longer makes a seductive approach to the intellect
+with his advocacy of the crooked way; he makes a passionate assault upon
+the spirit with all the fiery forces of the flesh. It is no longer the
+wriggle but a terrific leap. And who has not known him in this wild
+approach? It is just the tremendous weight and pounce of anti-spiritual
+impulse, the mighty onrush of carnal longing and desire. The lion is
+sheer mass and weight of hungry craving. Who has not known the lion in
+the way?... And yet beside the crystal sea are those "who have gotten
+the victory over the beast."
+
+Again I turn over the pages of the old book, and once again the form of
+the beast has changed and he appears before me in the guise of a fox. It
+is our Master's name for the foe. And who has not known the beast when
+he has assailed the soul in the manner of a fox? It is the assault of
+cunning, when things are made to appear in semblance what they are not
+in spirit and in truth. Nay, it is the very art of foxiness that the fox
+itself is made to look like a goose, and the wolf is given the
+appearance of a lamb. Vice is dressed up like virtue. Falsehood moves
+about in white robes and innocently accosts us in the dress of a white
+lie. License tricks itself out as gaiety. Sin clothes itself in the
+fashions of the hour and hides its talons in silks. I say this is the
+very genius of the fox,--he makes you think you are having converse with
+a harmless old goose! Who has not known the fox when he cunningly tried
+to persuade us that the devil was God, and that hell was heaven, and
+that death was.... But, O no, he never mentions death! In his scheme it
+is part of the trick that death shall never be known. The old fox! And
+yet, in spite of fox and lion and serpent, there were those beside the
+sea of glass "who had gotten the victory over the beast."
+
+Let me lead you further, for a moment or two, into the pages of a wider
+literature, and let it be into the pages of Dante and John Bunyan. In
+his immortal book Dante tells us that when he turned his feet to the
+pilgrim road he was successively confronted by three beasts which sought
+to stop his journey. And first he met a leopard:
+
+ "And lo! just as the sloping side I gained,
+ A leopard, subtle, lithe, exceeding fleet,
+ Whose skin full many a dusky spot did stain;
+ Nor did she from before my face retreat;
+ Nay, hindered so my journey on the way,
+ That many a time I backward turned my feet."
+
+The leopard which confronted Dante was the symbol of sensuous beauty
+which sought to block his road and ensnare his feet. Next he was
+confronted by a lion:
+
+ "Yet o'er me, spite of this, did terror creep--
+ From aspect of a lion drawing near.
+ He seemed as if upon me he would leap,
+ With head upraised and hunger fierce and wild,
+ So that a shudder through the air did sweep."
+
+The lion was to Dante the symbol of worldly pride. And next he met a
+wolf:
+
+ "A she-wolf, with all ill-greed defiled,
+ Laden with hungry leanness terrible."
+
+And the wolf was to Dante the lean symbol of a hungry greed; it was the
+beastly type of avarice. And who has not shared the experience of Dante
+on his own road and encountered the leopard, the lion and the wolf?...
+And yet there were those before the sea of glass who had got the victory
+over the beast.
+
+Turn to John Bunyan. There is a wonderful passage in the early part of
+John Bunyan's "Holy War," in which he describes the preparations which
+the beast has made for his attack upon the soul. He tells how beast held
+counsel with beast, and how it was agreed that they should assume forms
+with which the soul was quite familiar; such as were accounted harmless,
+lest the soul should be alarmed when they made their deadly approach.
+"Therefore let us assault the soul in all pretended fairness, covering
+our intentions with all manner of lies, flatteries, and illusive words;
+feigning things that will never be, and promising that to them which
+they shall never find." And so they marched toward the soul, "all in a
+manner invisible," save only one, and he took on a shape as harmless and
+familiar as a bird, and when he spoke he spake with such gentleness "as
+if he had been a lamb." And I for one put myself side by side with John
+Bunyan, for I too have known the beast when he has come disguised, and
+has addressed me with all the harmlessness and innocence of a lamb.
+
+I will add one further word in our consideration of the beast. When I
+look around on the world to-day, upon the appalling scenes of passion
+and hatred and slaughter,--it is to me very significant that so many of
+the national emblems, which represent the corporate life of peoples, are
+different types of beasts. It is the beast which still provides the
+symbols of our national life. There is the lion; there is the bear;
+there is the wolf, and I know not what besides! We talk of rousing the
+bear and of twisting the lion's tail! Our national emblems are beasts.
+The American nation has happily discarded the beast, but it has chosen
+one of the fiercest among the birds--the bird whose talons are more
+obtrusive than its song. I am suggesting the significance of the fact
+that we have found nothing above the beast to symbolize the
+individuality of national life. Perhaps some day we may "move upward,"
+and we may erase the beasts from our emblems, but it will only be when
+we have driven the beasts from our souls!
+
+Well, then, after this swift glimpse into inspired and general
+literature, and this glance upon the typical symbols of the national
+life, we are more disposed than ever to say that the beast is just
+anti-Christ, the presumptuous claim of the animal to take the place of
+the spiritual, the defiant claim of the devil to usurp the throne of
+God. But here are men and women whose triumph is recorded in my text,
+who have conquered the beast, and who have attained a strong and fervent
+purity in which the spirit is all in all. What was the secret of their
+triumph? By what means and ministries did they conquer the beast?
+Happily we are left in no manner of doubt, and the means by which they
+conquered are offered to you and me. What says the Old Book?--"They
+overcame by the blood of the Lamb." Let us tell their secret very
+quietly and very simply, without any waste of words,--they shared the
+blood of Jesus Christ and it changed them into giants. In some way or
+other a communion was formed between their life and His life, and His
+mighty life flowed into their life as vine-blood flows into the branch
+of the vine. They shared the strength of Him who fought the beast in the
+wilderness of Judea, and who fought him again in still more alluring
+forms in the courts of Jerusalem and by the shores of the Lake of
+Galilee. Yes, if you had asked these radiant victors by the sea of glass
+to tell you how they triumphed, they would have reverently turned their
+faces towards the Lord and eagerly answered, "By the blood of the Lamb!"
+
+ "I asked them whence their victory came,
+ They with united breath
+ Ascribed their conquest to the Lamb,
+ Their triumph to His death."
+
+And the second secret of their triumph is to be found in their
+continual warfare. They drank his blood to fight his fights. It is a
+fight that knows no armistice. It acknowledges no flag of truce. Eternal
+vigilance and eternal struggle is the price of spiritual freedom. Life
+is warfare; it is never parade-drill; it is never holiday review; we are
+never off duty; the contest is constant, and the close of every day
+records a victory or a defeat. Our Master never promised his soldiers a
+life of ease. The beast promises roads which are pleasant as field paths
+that lead through grassy meadows. There shall be no flints, no thorns,
+no briars; and if we choose, we can lie down in the meadows morning,
+noon and night! That is the promise that the beast makes,--a promise
+which is always broken. Our Lord always calls us to battles, to noble
+crusades and prolonged campaigns. "His blood-red banner streams afar!"
+He calls us to share the travail that makes His Kingdom come. Yes, He
+calls us to glorious, endless battles, but He promises sure and certain
+victory if we drink His blood along the way.
+
+And so they conquered the beast by the blood of the Lamb. They
+conquered by the continual battles of their faith. And lastly they
+conquered by their songs of victory. They sang their way to the sea of
+glass, and their songs were songs of victory all along the road. They
+did not moan in misereres; they did not wail in lamentations as if the
+beast were mightier than their Lord. They knew their Lord was mightier
+than all; and their songs of victory were the beginning of their
+triumph. O, the singing that abounds in the Word of God! O, the singing
+you may hear in the Acts of the Apostles! And, O, the singing that
+sounds through the Book of Revelation; the song of victory, the song of
+Moses and the Lamb! At the battle of Dunbar, in the great critical days
+of English freedom, Cromwell's troops sang their way to victory. They
+could hear the roaring of the sea. The land was swept with deluges of
+rain. But above the roar of the sea, and the sound of the pelting rain,
+they lifted their voices in praise to God, and as they swept into battle
+their song rang out; "God is our refuge and strength, a very present
+help in time of trouble; therefore will we not fear if the earth be
+removed and the mountains be shaken in the heart of the seas! The Lord
+of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge!" Their song was
+part of their armour; it was indeed the armour of their souls. I greatly
+like that word of the Christian, Appollinaris, in Ibsen's play,--"The
+Emperor Julian," which he spake when the forces of the beast were massed
+against the soldiers of the cross;--"Verily I say unto you, so long as
+song rings out above our sorrows, Satan shall never conquer!" Verily, I
+too will say that our praise is an invincible armour,--we sing our way
+to the triumph we seek!
+
+Men and women, the beast can be conquered, for the mouth of the Lord
+hath spoken it! You and I may stand at the sea of glass, pure,
+transparent, fervent with divine love, victors over the beast, through
+the blood of the Lamb, through constancy in battle, and in songs which
+ring out above our sorrows, as we push along life's way.
+
+ "Soldiers of Christ, arise!
+ And put your armour on;
+ Strong in the strength which God supplies
+ Through His eternal Son.
+
+ From strength to strength go on,
+ Wrestle, and fight and pray;
+ Tread all the powers of darkness down
+ And win the well-fought day."
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE
+
+
+ _Holy Father, we thank Thee for the privilege of fellowship, and
+ for the help which we can give to one another. May the faith of
+ everyone be strengthened by the faith of all. May our penitence
+ be deepened because we are all engaged in common confession. May
+ our joys be enriched because we are all contemplating the
+ unsearchable riches of Christ. May our obedience become more
+ devoted because we all drink of the waters of inspiration.
+ Impart unto us the grace of sacred sympathy. May we reverently
+ bear one another's burdens and carry them in the arms of
+ intercession. We beseech Thee to grant unto us visions of Thy
+ glory in so far as our eyes are able to bear them. May we make
+ new discoveries among the mysteries of Thy truth. May the whole
+ worship prepare us for a larger ministry in the service of Thy
+ kingdom. Wilt Thou give us the armor we need for the great
+ campaign. Especially may we receive the endowment of the love
+ that never grows faint. Reveal to us our work, and then lead us
+ into a devotion which will never be satisfied until the work is
+ finished. Look upon the whole world in this hour of desolation
+ and woe. Enlarge our hearts to comprehend the sorrow, and may we
+ share the sufferings of our Lord in sacrificial labors. Let Thy
+ kingdom come, O Lord, and let Thy will be done on earth as it is
+ in heaven. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE
+
+ "And many people shall go up and say, Come ye and let us go up
+ to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
+ and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
+ for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
+ from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall
+ rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
+ ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall
+ not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
+ any more." Isaiah 2: 3, 4.
+
+
+There is something almost unreal in these words when they are read
+aloud in the times through which we are passing. They sound like the
+voice of a mocking-bird calling from the midst of the dust and the
+débris of a ruined world. It is like hearing the gentle peal of church
+bells on the bloody field of battle. It is like anything you choose
+which has become unreal, and which has been transferred from the healthy
+book of noble prophecy to the bitter pages of satire and the sour lips
+of the cynic. Yes, I grant that the great passage unfolds ideals which
+have become mere scraps of paper, torn and retorn into a thousand
+pieces, and blown about like withered leaves in an autumn gale. What,
+then, are we to do? I am reminded of what Lord Morley said in Manchester
+a few weeks ago. "When the war is ended,--this mournful chapter of sore
+bereavement and wasted treasure, when all that is gone, I ask is there
+not a moral loss which ought to be counted, a moral loss in the wreck of
+ideals in which the men of my generation were deeply concerned? That
+loss has got to be counted and retrieved. The fabric of those ideals has
+to be built up again in the hearts and minds of men and women." Surely
+that is an opportune word, and it offers both counsel and warning to the
+Christian Church. We must not just sit down in the bloody dust, and wail
+our misereres in deadly impotence. We have got to reconstruct the ruined
+pile, and we must begin the reconstruction by rebuilding the golden
+palace of our dreams.
+
+And if we are going to rear again that stately temple of vision and
+dream, who can give us nobler help than the Hebrew prophets, and who
+among the prophets can help us more than Isaiah? Isaiah was a prophet
+interpreting the mind of God. He was a statesman with a keen and
+comprehensive outlook on human affairs. He was also a poet bringing to
+human problems the illuminating imagination of the seer. He lived in a
+time of grave national disloyalties, a time when peoples were abandoning
+their most sacred trust. His were days of international strife and
+convulsion, days witnessing vast world movements in which empires were
+seen at their birth, and empires were seen in withering decline and
+death. Isaiah was a man whose thought was distinguished by breadth and
+depth and length. He saw things broadly, he saw things deeply, and he
+also saw the things which gleamed afar. And as he looked out upon the
+world to his vision the troubled and chaotic day merged into a
+reconstituted order of active concord and peace. Isaiah was a confirmed
+optimist. He had a keen sense of the future. He felt the days before
+him. He could scent the waving harvest while yet the snow was on the
+ground. He could catch the sound of harvest-home while the wintry wind
+was whistling across the ice-bound field. And looking out over the dark
+scene of convulsion and disaster, and amid the rude and brutal clamour
+of international strife, he sang this song of the morning,--"They shall
+beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into
+pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
+shall they learn war any more." If we are purposing to rebuild the
+fallen ideals of our own day, and so reconstruct our common life, can we
+do better than stand near this man for guidance and inspiration?
+
+How, then, does this man say that the golden dream is to be realized?
+Through what preparatory stages are we to pass before we reach the
+shining consummation? Isaiah declares that the fulfilment of the dream
+is to begin in _the profound revival of spiritual religion_. "It shall
+come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house
+shall be established at the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted
+above the hills." That is to say, the dominant peak in the reconstructed
+landscape is to be a shining spirituality of pure and undefiled
+religion. Man's relationship to God is to be the supreme relation
+overtopping and overseeing everything else. "And many peoples shall say,
+Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
+the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in
+His paths." That is to say, in the golden age this is to be the common
+aspiration; spiritual desire and spiritual ambition are to be dominant;
+the biggest thing in life is to be the yearning for the divine
+communion, the gladsome craving for fellowship in the heavenly quest.
+That is how the golden dream is to begin to be fulfilled; it is to begin
+in the recovery of vital worship, in the profound revival of spiritual
+religion.
+
+Now, all the best things can be mimicked in the cheapest counterfeits!
+Pearls can be so skilfully manufactured that even the expert eye can be
+deceived. There are diamonds about, common as window glass, and their
+dancing gleams can delude the very elect. Yes, the best things can be
+cleverly imitated, and their counterfeits can move unsuspected in the
+most exalted places. It would be an amusing trait, if it were not a
+tragic characteristic of human nature, how willing we are to borrow the
+clothes of realities, and just strut about in our cheap and glittering
+attire. And it is so easily done! Anybody can borrow the jolly meters of
+Rudyard Kipling and put their own tawdry stuff into his caskets; and a
+thousand people have done it! Anybody can borrow the disorderly
+irregularities of Walt Whitman, and into his eccentric bottles they can
+pour their own cheap wine; and crowds of people have done it! It is so
+easy to borrow clothes, and bottles, and outer forms. Yes, and it is so
+easy to borrow the outer garments of religion and to move about in the
+mere trappings of devotion. We can borrow the sacramental cup and put
+into it the thinnest and the most diluted wine of life. Our apparent
+religion can be just an affair of clothes, a borrowed skin, an acted
+thing, a play, a theatricality with feigned postures and emotions,
+altogether devoid of blood-red life, and having no deep and vital
+commerce with the Infinite. Religion can be conventional, having no
+inner sanction of fine awe and godly fear. We can get religion while all
+the time religion has not got us. It can be just a light performance, a
+social convention and not a solemn travail in which the soul is doing
+great business in deep waters in communion with the eternal God.
+
+Now, is not this the religious condition into which the world has
+drifted in these latter days? I do not make exception of any country,
+not even of America. This country is delivered from the horrors of the
+European convulsion, not by a separating gulf of moral and spiritual
+condition, but by 3,000 miles of sea. If the coast line of America had
+been twenty-five miles from the coast of Europe she would have been
+involved in the woes of the boiling cauldron. And therefore do I put the
+inclusive question,--and I venture to challenge your judgments,--is not
+the religious condition which I have suggested one into which the entire
+Christian world appears to have fallen? Multitudes of Christian people
+are just wearing the clothes of religion. We have religious professions
+without spiritual possessions. We have religious conventionality without
+devotional vitality. We have the show without the life. We have the skin
+of religion without its sacrificial heart. We have the crucifix without
+the Saviour. We have the altar but not the open heaven.
+
+You may make the test in any way you please. Let us test our condition
+by any one of the primary characteristics of true and vital religion.
+Let us apply one test. Let us test our condition by our own secret and
+personal communion with the Lord. I am speaking in a Christian church,
+and I am addressing professedly Christian people; well, how do we stand
+the test? What proportion of the members of the Church of Christ in this
+country have a really living and fruitful fellowship with God? How many
+have walked the way of communion so frequently that it is now a
+much-beloved and well-trodden road, along which they can easily and
+naturally make their way in the dark, yea, even in the stormy midnight
+when the floods are out, and the tempest howls about their ways?
+
+For we cannot have religion with God wiped out! If religion is only
+beneficence, if it is only decent, respectable living, if it is only a
+comfortable conformity with accepted social standards,--if that is all
+it is, then let us say so and have done with it. Let us pull down our
+altars and fling their useless stones to the winds. But this is not
+religion. True religion is more than this. True religion is the reverent
+and most solemn recognition of the eternal God. It is the conscious
+prostration of the soul in His most holy Presence. It is the free
+because reverent fellowship of a child with the Father. It is the loyal
+acceptance of the Father's will. It is the humble reception of His grace
+as offered to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the assumption of our
+life as a sacred trust accepted from the hands of God. It is the
+anticipation of His glory in our eternal home. Religion has great human
+relationships with our fellowman, and these shall not be overlooked. But
+for the moment, I am speaking of the fontal relationship of the soul
+with God, that fundamental fellowship in which all other worthy
+fellowships are born, and I ask you whether all the peoples of all
+professing Christian nations have not wandered far from the vitalizing
+bond of this primary communion? Let your eyes roam over the darkened
+world; dense clouds are still rising everywhere on the ominous horizon.
+How is that night-time to be turned into day, yea, into a day like unto
+a lovely summer's morning? Here is the answer of the greatest of the
+prophets when he, too, was confronted with tempest and night;--the first
+thing we have to pray for, and work for, and seek for, in every
+Christian country, is a profound revival of spiritual religion, when
+"the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the head of
+the mountains, and when many peoples shall say, Let us go up to the
+mountain of the Lord, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk
+in His paths." This, I say, is needed in every country, until in every
+country all who profess the Saviour's name shall cry out in the fervour
+of a great and quenchless desire,--"As the hart panteth after the water
+brook, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God!"
+
+Now look at the second stage in the realization of the golden dream.
+"He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.... And He
+shall judge between the nations." That is to say, a profound revival of
+spiritual religion will be accompanied by _loftier and more exacting
+moral standards_. He will teach and we will walk. Morals always grow lax
+when piety gets cool. When religion becomes a mere conventionality,
+morality always loses its awful sanctions. Wipe out God and your moral
+standards will surely fall. If I neglect the temperature of my
+greenhouse, or if I play fast and loose with it, my tender plants will
+assuredly droop. And if I neglect my spiritual temperature, which is the
+climate of my soul, my moral and spiritual flowers will be smitten and
+pinched. We cannot lower our spirituality and yet have our morality keep
+its winsome bloom. Let me ask you,--have you ever known anyone grow
+loose and careless in their religion, and at the same time become
+correspondingly nobler and purer, and more scrupulously faithful in
+their daily life? Have you ever known anyone drop Christ and then become
+more like Him? Have you ever had occasion to whisper this secret
+concerning any living woman,--"O, yes, she broke off communion with
+Christ, and then she put on moral grace and beauty like a robe?" The
+very question is an insult to our intelligence, as it is an affront to
+our experience; for this is the eternal law, whose workings can be
+witnessed every day,--when the spirit deteriorates the moral life
+becomes diseased.
+
+On the other hand, let there be an enrichment in vital godliness and
+our conduct will begin to shine like burnished gold. "He will teach,"
+says the prophet, "and we will walk." _He_, with Whom we hold vital
+communion, _He_ will be the teacher of the spirit, and the illuminant of
+the conscience and the inspiration of the will; a nobler conduct will be
+born of that fellowship as surely as the choicest grapes are the
+children of the healthiest vines. When we are all in living and deep
+communion with Christ, truly worshipping in the innermost secret
+place,--English, and German, and American, and Japanese,--a finer spirit
+of judgment will be abroad in the earth, a healthier moral climate, and
+we shall naturally and instinctively seek to do what Jesus did, and in
+the way that Jesus did it, when He came and dwelt among us as a
+carpenter's Son, Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God!
+
+Only one thing remains to be said as to the process by which the
+radiant dream of the prophet is to be fulfilled. When there has come a
+profound revival of spiritual religion, and, consequently, a loftier and
+more exacting moral standard, there will be a wonderful conversion of
+destructive forces in the personal and national life. "They shall beat
+their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks." I
+want you carefully to notice that the sword is not to be destroyed; it
+is to be transformed; it is to become a ploughshare. The spear is not to
+be broken and thrown away; it is to be converted into a pruning-hook.
+That is to say, the rudely destructive energies in human life are to be
+changed into constructive energies. What was darkly negative is to
+become brightly positive. The martial is to be transformed into the
+pastoral. The rude implement of slaughter is to become the breaker of
+the earth-clod or the helpful friend of the vine. "They shall beat their
+swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks." After the
+first historic siege of Antwerp, the cannon balls were taken and
+converted into church bells; and may the gracious and holy Lord grant
+that there may speedily come such a transformation in modern Antwerp,
+when all the ministers of carnage shall be changed into sweet and sacred
+ministers of worship and devotion!
+
+But now, if swords are to be beaten into ploughshares and spears into
+pruning-hooks, where must that work begin? It must begin in the
+individual heart. We are never going to get the swords out of the
+nations until we have got them out of the hearts. There is a sword in
+the heart, a cruel sword, a minister of destruction. There is a sword in
+the German heart, and a sword in the English heart, and a sword in the
+American heart, and that sword has got to be transformed before the
+material sword can become a ploughshare of the field! We are all
+familiar with our own swords; perhaps I had better say, we are all
+acquainted with one another's swords. There is the sword of ill-will.
+There is the spear of deadly gossip. There is the sword of evil
+prejudice. There is the spear of petty spite and contempt. Yea, surely
+there is a sordid armoury in the soul. And this has to be converted into
+a tool-house of a noble Christian culture before the material armouries
+can be emptied and the sound of war is heard no more.
+
+And therefore, the great national revolution is to begin in individual
+conversions, and these are to be the children of a vital and saving
+religion. The transformation of the world is to begin in the conversion
+of people like you and me. There is no other way. When our own
+militaristic armour, the one stored in our own soul, is changed into a
+garden tool-house,--malice changed into good-will, suspicion into
+enlightened understanding, cynicism into genial and gracious esteem, and
+foul hatred into Christ's own strong and fruitful love, then we are
+bringing the day nearer of which the herald angels sang, when there
+shall be "peace on earth and good will among men."
+
+All this cannot be done by scholarship. We cannot do it by legislation.
+We cannot do it by commerce. It is the vital work of salvation, and it
+only can be done by the Saviour of the world. And He must do it in His
+own way, and His work must be thorough, profound, fundamental. He must
+search the very cellarings of our being, seeking out our wickednesses as
+with a candle, and cleansing and purifying us in the deepest and most
+secret rooms of the soul. And when we thus come to know our Saviour, we
+shall most surely come to know our brother, for we shall see him with
+ourselves in the radiant light of the same eternal grace and love. Then
+will our swords be beaten into ploughshares and our spears into
+pruning-hooks and we shall learn war no more!
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, wilt Thou graciously redeem us from any
+ perilous mood of independence which sets our wills against
+ Thine. Help us to find ourselves in Thee, and to come to our
+ inheritance in the riches of Thy grace. Give us that lowliness
+ of spirit which will enable us to find the gate of higher life
+ and to enter in. Forgive the sin that binds our judgment and
+ enable us through a pure heart to see ourselves in Christ, and
+ to behold ourselves perfected in the power of His love. Save us
+ from low ideals. Lift us out of the thoughts that belittle us
+ and which check and destroy our powers of growth. Give us wider
+ and deeper conceptions of all things. May the experiences of our
+ life come to us as helpful disciplines, through which we may
+ apprehend more of Thy purpose, and more swiftly put on the
+ likeness of our Lord. May we not be mastered by our
+ circumstances, but may we be so strong in Thy strength, that
+ every circumstance may be our servant, adding some fresh grace
+ to our spirits, and some new influence to our lives. May we lose
+ the things we ought not to keep, and may we desire the things we
+ ought to find. Control us, O Lord, by Thy spirit, taking us away
+ from the shallows of common life into the great deep privileges
+ of communion with Thee. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS
+
+ "In all these things, we are more than conquerors." Rom. 8:37.
+
+
+Was the writer of these words himself a conqueror? To whom is he making
+the proud boast? He is writing his letter to the people of Rome. And it
+is in this letter to Rome that the apostle claims to be a conqueror. If
+he had been writing to a little company of people living in some quiet
+and remote district in Asia Minor, far away from the movement and
+pageantry of imperial life, his boast of being a conqueror might have
+been received without surprise. But think of the daring of making his
+claim in a letter to the Romans, who were accustomed to gaze upon their
+conquerors as they returned in glory from triumphant wars of conquest,
+dragging their distinguished captives at their chariot wheels! When the
+apostle claims to be a conqueror he is using a word which to the Romans
+is weighted with pomp and glory, suggesting cities ablaze with emblems
+of festivity, and streets thronged with cheering multitudes, and a hero
+upon whom favours are being showered thick as the flowers which are
+flung upon his triumphal car. When Paul dares to call himself a
+conqueror in a letter to the Romans he is using a word significant of
+all this wealth and effulgence, and he is using it to describe the
+passage of his own life down the ways of time. "We are more than
+conquerors." Such a claim would surely strike the Roman reader with
+amazement.
+
+What was there in the apostle's life to correspond to the claim? What
+was there about it which in any way recalled the radiant entry of an
+acclaimed warrior into the festive city of Rome? Let us glance at the
+external circumstances of his Christian life. Is there anything in these
+circumstances of pomp, and flowers, and favour, and acclamation? Run
+your eye over the apostle's road. What are its features? What is it like
+as it stretches from Damascus to Rome? In peril of his life in Damascus,
+his enemies watching the gates day and night to kill him; coldly
+suspected by his fellow-believers in Jerusalem; persecuted at Antioch;
+assaulted in Iconium; stoned in Lystra; beaten with many stripes in
+Philippi; attacked by a lewd and envious crowd in Thessalonica; pursued
+by callous enmity in Berea; despised in Athens; blasphemed in Corinth
+and dragged before the judgment-seat; exposed to the fierce wrath of the
+Ephesians; bound with chains in Jerusalem, and finally imprisoned at
+Rome! Such is the character of his cold, storm-swept, painful road. And
+yet he dares to call himself a conqueror, and to so style himself to the
+men of imperial Rome! When I turn away from the gay and rapturous
+streets, through which the Roman conqueror made his tumultuous entry,
+and then gaze on the long, dark, cruel road on which this man trudged
+throughout all his public days, his life seems to be broken up in
+successive tragedies, and to sink at last in the black defeat of utter
+and complete eclipse. And yet he sings aloud in joyful pride: "We are
+more than conquerors"! Where, then, shall we look for the signs of
+conquest, and for the waving banners, and the rapturous shouts?
+
+There are two ways of estimating a triumphant life. We may trace the
+line of external circumstances, and we make an inventory of the material
+treasures, and the flattering diplomas, and the public honours that have
+been gained along the way. That road winds by the bank, and the Stock
+Exchange, through Wall Street, or Threadneedle Street, and thence it
+stretches away through fair suburbs of material comforts, and through
+gardens of enticing ease, ascending even to lofty eminences of public
+favour and regard. We may walk along this road in our desire to estimate
+a man's standing, and to reckon the degree and quality of his conquests.
+And judged by that standard Paul's circumstances were disastrous, and
+his life was just a dismal succession of appalling defeats. Indeed the
+apostle himself has given his own verdict upon his life when it is
+judged by the standard of Wall Street, and he has done it in two words
+of pregnant and sweeping brevity--"having nothing"! And yet he claimed
+to be "more than conqueror"!
+
+But there is another way of judging the failure or triumph of a life. We
+may follow the line of character. We may register the success of the
+soul in its mastery of circumstances, in its refusal to be submerged by
+evil antagonisms, in its preservation of a diamond-like translucency
+amid engulfing floods of defilement, in its buoyancy in the days of
+prolonged disappointment, in its quiet and firm ascendency over the
+beast, in its inevitable emergence from every kind of hostility in
+increasing majesty and strength. These are the two lines of
+investigation. These are the possible criteria of judgment. On the one
+hand we may measure the success of a life by the progressive enrichment
+of circumstances; on the other hand we may estimate its conquests by the
+progressive growth of the soul. We may make our valuation in the
+material world or in the spiritual world; that is to say, we may value
+the man or we may value his possessions.
+
+Now the circumstantial happenings in a life had little or no interest
+for the apostle Paul. All his concern followed the inward line of the
+spirit. He kept his eyes on spiritual processes and never on material
+results. He did not busy himself with a man's happenings; he busied
+himself with the effect of the happenings on the man. Always and
+everywhere he pressed through condition to character; his thought always
+took the short cut to the soul. If in the streets of Rome or of Ephesus
+you had pointed out to him some rich man, Paul would have immediately
+leaped the adjective and inquired about the noun. He would have had no
+interest whatever in the man's riches; riches are no criterion of
+triumph; but he would have been devouringly interested in what the
+riches had done with the man. While the man has been making riches, what
+have riches made of the man? Measure the man! Is the man who is within
+the riches a victor or a victim, a noble master or a poor ignoble slave.
+
+And so also do I believe that if you had pointed out to the apostle
+some poor man, he would have left the adjective and fixed upon the noun.
+What about the man inside the poverty? What about the soul so ill-housed
+in indigence? Is the soul royal or servile? Is it crouching or has it a
+noble and stately rectitude? That would be the concern of the apostle
+Paul. He would get behind the riches to the man. He would get behind the
+poverty to the man. For every external happening or every material
+possession is only a house, and within the happening there is the man or
+the woman, the tenant of the house. What about them? What about the
+quality of their manliness or womanliness? That was the apostle's line
+of investigation. The apostle Paul was not much concerned about the
+character of the road, whether it was bare or flowery, but he was
+vitally concerned with the spiritual condition of the traveller. How is
+it with the pilgrim soul? What spiritual conquests has the soul made
+along the road? That is the apostle's standard of measurement, and by
+its records he registers life's conquests or defeats.
+
+Well, then, what was the quality of his own life when it is measured by
+these interior standards? For, after all, these are the only standards
+worth naming, as in our sober and thoughtful moments we all very well
+know. We are not here to make fortunes, we are here to grow souls. How
+then does the apostle bear the supreme test of his own spiritual
+standards? Is he master or slave? Are the streets of his soul festive
+with triumph, or are they dull and cheerless in defeat? Is he more than
+conqueror?
+
+Let us begin the test with a day when his external circumstances were
+brilliant. Brilliant days came but rarely to the apostle Paul; they were
+as infrequent as oases in Sahara's thirsty waste. Test him then on one
+of his rare, brilliant days, for the dazzling circumstance is often our
+severest test. Some souls shrivel in the bright sunshine. They grow less
+in their enlarging circumstances as some nut-kernels contract in the
+expanding shell. Here is Paul on a great day, when by the mighty grace
+of God he has made an impotent man to walk. How is the deed regarded?
+What does the crowd think about him? Listen to the records: "And when
+the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying
+in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness
+of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because
+he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before
+their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have
+done sacrifice with the people." How now? The public favour is dazzling!
+What about the man inside the dazzling happenings? Is the man
+contracting in pride or is his soul expanding in humility? "Which, when
+the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and
+ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these
+things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you
+that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made
+heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." Do you
+mark that? This man shines in the sunshine. Popular favour made him
+kneel before his God, and God's gentleness made him great. The
+circumstances did not lessen him. His soul did not shrivel and wither in
+the popular blaze. His soul grew larger, and the man mastered his
+circumstances; he was bigger than his blazing fate, he was "more than
+conqueror."
+
+But I have said that brilliant days were rare with the apostle Paul:
+Let us test him, then, when his days were frowning, when the clouds were
+lowering, and when his circumstances nipped him like the winter frosts.
+Does his soul expand in the winter, or does it shrink like frostbitten
+fruit? Take this little glimpse of one of his days: "And there came to
+Lystra certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people,
+and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been
+dead." Having stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city. How swift
+and red is the record! Did he grow hard in the stoning? Did he become
+small and petty and peevish and revengeful? Let me read to you: "And
+when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many,
+they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming
+the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith,
+and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of
+God." This man's fruit grew sweeter at the touch of the frost. This soul
+grew larger in the season of apparent defeat. He was "more than
+conqueror."
+
+Look again through this window. Here is a very dark and bitter
+happening: "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast
+them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: who, having
+received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made
+their feet fast in the stocks." How now? Will this man Paul scowl in the
+darkness? Will his magnanimity sour into the bitter mood of revenge?
+Listen to the record: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
+praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Do you mark that? This
+man was a victim but he was also a victor. We almost forget his
+sufferings in the sound of his praise. Adversity did not rob him of his
+crown. He was "more than conqueror."
+
+And so I might go on introducing instance after instance, in every
+record of his turbulent life, showing how he attained to magnificent
+mastery in the spirit. When Paul speaks of being a "conqueror" he means
+that he is on the top of his circumstances and not beneath them. To be
+more than conqueror is to be on the top of your wealth and not beneath
+it; to be on the top of your poverty and not beneath it; to be on the
+top of your joy and not beneath it; to be on the top of your sorrow and
+not beneath it; to be on the top of your disappointment and not beneath
+it. To be more than conqueror is to be on the top of the old serpent,
+and, as Browning says, to stand upon him and to feel him wriggle beneath
+your feet! The real conqueror, the only one worthy of that royal name,
+is he who makes every circumstance his subject, permitting no
+circumstance to be the lord and master of his soul. He is "more than
+conqueror."
+
+And what is the secret of such conquest? Here is the secret: "We are
+more than conquerors _through Christ that loved us_." It is conquest
+through the energy of an imparted love. Nay, it is much more than that.
+It is conquest through humble yet intimate communion with the eternal
+Lover. You remember what conquests the knights of the olden time could
+achieve when they were conscious that love-eyes were fixed upon them in
+the jousts. And if this were so with knights of ancient chivalry, when
+love inspired them in the fray, how infinitely more must it be so with
+the knights of King Jesus' Order when they know that the love-eyes of
+the Lord are always fixed upon them in the field! "He loved me" sings
+the greatest of the apostolic knights. "He loved me and gave Himself for
+me." What tremendous exploits of patience and of service lie latent in
+that supreme assurance!
+
+For, mark you, all love conveys the lover to the beloved. The very
+secret of love is self-impartation to the beloved. Love can never
+content herself with the gifts of things. Charity gives things. Love
+always gives herself. Yes, the lover gives herself! And if love is thus
+self-giving tell me, then, what inconceivable giving is wrapped up in
+the love of Christ for Paul, and in the love of Christ for thee and me?
+In an infinitely deeper and richer sense than ever a loving bridegroom
+gives himself to his loving bride, our great and gracious Lover, the
+Christ, gives Himself to all who will receive Him. The Saviour's love is
+the giving of Himself.
+
+Shall I now dare to put that vast and awe-inspiring content into my
+text? Listen again to the text: "We are more than conquerors through
+Christ who loved us." Now hear it: "We are more than conquerors through
+Him who has given himself to us." That word expresses the very gospel of
+His grace. The Christian believer faces all his circumstances, not
+merely with a love but with a Lover, and with a Lover who Himself
+mastered every circumstance, and was the conqueror of sin and death. So
+this is how the Gospel music rings: "We are more than conquerors through
+Him the Conqueror"! By reverent faith we share His very love, we drink
+His very blood, and all our circumstances are made to pay tribute to the
+health and welfare of our souls. We are more than conquerors through Him
+Who is ever riding forth, conquering, and to conquer.
+
+Now I think I can go back to those streets of Rome where we began, and
+where we watched the triumphant conqueror returning home with his
+spoils. And now I am not surprised at Paul's daring to use the glowing
+word "Conqueror" to portray the glorious victories of the soul. When I
+go into the realm of his soul the roadway is lined with a cheering
+multitude; he is "compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses." A
+blood-red banner is waving triumphantly in all his goings; "His banner
+over me is love!" A garland of victory awaits the victor's brow;
+"henceforth there is laid up for me a crown." And as for his spirits,
+they are festive in the love of the Lord, and they dance in the joy of
+blessed assurance. "I know in whom I have believed!" "I can do all
+things through Christ who strengtheneth me!" We are more than conquerors
+in the conquering fellowship of our holy and gracious Lord. And this
+song of the conqueror is intended to be sung by thee and me. O, let us
+believe it!
+
+ "Shall this divinely-urgéd heart
+ Half toward its glory move?
+ What! shall I love in part--in part
+ Yield to the Lord of love?
+ O sweetest freedom, Lord, to be
+ Thy love's full prisoner!
+ Take me all captive; make of me
+ A more than conqueror!"
+
+ _Printed in the United States of America_
+
+
+
+
+DEVOTIONAL
+
+
+_JOHN HENRY JOWETT_
+
+=My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.35
+
+ A series of choice, tabloid talks--a spiritual meditation for
+ every day in the year. Dr. Jowett points every word of these
+ brief expositions so that it tells, while the lessons he seeks
+ to convey are so propounded as to enter the understanding of his
+ readers along a pathway of light. The whole volume is of true
+ mintage, bearing the impress of Dr. Jowett's ripest thought and
+ fruitful mind.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks About the Crowned Christ=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 85c.
+
+ After many years' study of the one book of the Bible devoted to
+ the subject of the crowned Christ--the Revelation of John--Mr.
+ Gordon has put these latest talks together. No book of the
+ sixty-six has seemed so much like a riddle, and set so many
+ guessing. Mr. Gordon, however, holds the deep conviction that it
+ is wholly a _practical book_, and concerned wholly with our
+ practical daily lives.
+
+
+_F. B. MEYER, B.A._
+
+=My Daily Prayer=
+
+A Short Supplication for Every Day in the Year. 32mo, leather, net 35c;
+cloth, net 25c.
+
+ "This is a tiny volume, in the 'Yet Another Day' series, and
+ contains a brief prayer for each day in the year. Some of the
+ petitions contain only one sentence, but each one is simple,
+ pertinent, and helpful."--_Zion's Herald_.
+
+
+_GEORGE MATHESON_
+
+=Day Unto Day=
+
+A Brief Prayer for Every Day. _New Edition._ 16mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+ These choice prayers will be valued by the Christian world for
+ the stimulus, inspiration, and wide spiritual outlook which have
+ made the memory of their author a cherished possession.
+
+
+_HENRY WARD BEECHER_
+
+=A Book of Public Prayer=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 75c.
+
+ "A distinct addition to our devotional literature. It is good
+ for private reading; but would be especially valuable for
+ ministers as an aid to the difficult, but immensely important,
+ service of voicing the petitions of a congregation in public
+ prayer."--_Standard_.
+
+
+BIBLE STUDY, Etc.
+
+
+_B. H. CARROLL, D.D._
+
+=An Interpretation of the English Bible=
+
+=Numbers to Ruth=. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+
+ "These works are designed especially for class use in the
+ Seminary, Christian Colleges and Bible Schools, as well as the
+ Sunday School. That they will make the greatest commentary on
+ the English Bible ever published, is our sincere
+ conviction."--_Baptist and Reflector_.
+
+ _OTHER VOLUMES NOW READY_
+
+ =The Book of Revelation=. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+ =The Book of Genesis=. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.
+ =Exodus and Leviticus=. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.
+
+
+_J. FRANK SMITH, D.D._
+
+=My Father's Business--And Mine=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ Dr. Smith devotes the earlier part of his book to a study of
+ Christ's historic pronouncement concerning His Father's
+ business, presenting an examination of the analogical content of
+ the word "Father," and an analysis of the Master's own sayings
+ respecting His earthly mission.
+
+
+_JOHN F. STIRLING_
+
+ _Author of "An Atlas of the Life of Christ"_
+
+=An Atlas of the Acts and Epistles=
+
+A Complete Outline of Apostolic History, Showing the Details of the
+Apostles' Journeys and the Area of the Epistles in Specially Drawn Maps.
+8vo, limp cloth, net 50c.
+
+ "Gives at a glance a complete and graphic outline of apostolic
+ history. The outline follows the narrative of the Acts of the
+ Apostles, supplemented by the data furnished in the epistles,
+ and interpreted in the light of the best scholarship. The
+ historical details are presented in their geographical and
+ chronological setting, on a series of specially drawn maps, so
+ that the student may follow easily the movements of the leading
+ figures in the growth of the early church."--_Service_.
+
+
+_JESSE FOREST SILVER_
+
+=The Lord's Return=
+
+Seen in History and in Scripture as Pre-Millennial and Imminent. With an
+Introduction by Bishop Wilson T. Hogue, Ph.D. 8vo, cloth, net $1.15.
+
+ In his Introductory Preface, Bishop Hogue of the Free Methodist
+ Church says: "An encyclopedia of valuable information condensed
+ into a convenient hand-book for ready reference."
+
+
+_PROF. EDOUARD NAVILLE, C.D.L., LL.D., F.R.S._
+
+=Archćology of the Old Testament=
+
+Was the Old Testament Written in Hebrew? _Library of Historic Theology_.
+8vo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ Professor A. H. Sayce says: "A very remarkable work, and coming
+ as it does from one of the leading Egyptologists of the day, who
+ is also a practical archćologist, its arguments and conclusions
+ carry unusual weight."
+
+
+_A. R. BUCKLAND, M.A._ (_Editor_)
+
+ _An Entirely New Bible Dictionary_
+
+=Universal Bible Dictionary=
+
+Large 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ A work prepared with the definite aim of aiding the ordinary
+ reader and Bible student, rather than critic and scholar. It is
+ also arranged so as to serve as an introduction to systematic
+ theology study, and contains extended articles on the cardinal
+ doctrines of the Christian faith by such experienced teachers as
+ Prof. S. W. Green, Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas, Principal Warman,
+ and others of equal standing. On questions of modern criticism,
+ the general exposition taken by the compilers is a conservative
+ one, although exhaustive account has been taken of the
+ conclusion of up-to-date criticism and research. The volume
+ extends to about five hundred pages, and contains upwards of
+ four thousand five hundred articles.
+
+
+_PHILIP MAURO_
+
+_EXPOSITORY READINGS IN THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS_
+
+=God's Gospel and God's Righteousness=
+
+ Romans I-V. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+=God's Gift and Our Response=
+
+ Romans VI-VIII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+=God's Love and God's Children=
+
+ Romans IX-XVII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+ A helpful and clearly-written body of comment on St. Paul's
+ Letter to the Romans. The author is a layman whose work is known
+ and valued on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Mauro does not
+ write for scholars, but for devout and worshipful believers--for
+ men and women whose faith is simple, yet grounded on the Word of
+ the Living God.
+
+
+SERMONS--LECTURES--ADDRESSES
+
+
+_JAMES L. GORDON, D.D._
+
+=All's Love Yet All's Law=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ "Discloses the secret of Dr. Gordon's eloquence--fresh, and
+ intimate presentations of truth which always keep close to
+ reality. Dr. Gordon also seems to have the world's literature at
+ his command. A few of the titles will give an idea of the scope
+ of his preaching. 'The Law of Truth: The Science of Universal
+ Relationships'; 'The Law of Inspiration: The Vitalizing Power of
+ Truth'; 'The Law of Vibration'; 'The Law of Beauty: The
+ Spiritualizing Power of Thought'; The Soul's Guarantee of
+ Immortality."--_Christian Work_.
+
+
+_BISHOP FRANCIS J. McCONNELL_
+
+ _Cole Lectures_
+
+=Personal Christianity=
+
+Instruments and Ends in the Kingdom of God. 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ The latest volume of the famous "Cole Lectures" delivered at
+ Vanderbilt University. The subjects are: I. The Personal in
+ Christianity. II. The Instrumental in Christianity. III. The
+ Mastery of World-Views. IV. The Invigoration of Morality. V. The
+ Control of Social Advance. VI. "Every Kindred, and People, and
+ Tongue."
+
+
+_NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, D.D._
+
+=Lectures and Orations by Henry Ward Beecher=
+
+Collected by Newell Dwight Hillis. 12mo, net $1.20.
+
+ It is fitting that one who is noted for the grace, finish and
+ eloquence of his own addresses should choose those of his
+ predecessor which he deems worthy to be preserved in a bound
+ volume as the most desirable, the most characteristic and the
+ most dynamic utterances of America's greatest pulpit orator.
+
+
+_W. L. WATKINSON, D.D._
+
+=The Moral Paradoxes of St. Paul=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 75c.
+
+ "These sermons are marked, even to greater degree than is usual
+ with their talented preacher, by clearness, force and
+ illustrative aptness. He penetrates unerringly to the heart of
+ Paul's paradoxical settings forth of great truths, and illumines
+ them with pointed comment and telling illustration. The sermons
+ while thoroughly practical are garbed in striking and eloquent
+ sentences, terse, nervous, attention-compelling."--_Christian
+ World_.
+
+
+_LEN G. BROUGHTON, D.D._
+
+=The Prodigal and Others=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ "The discourses are vital, bright, interesting and helpful. It
+ makes a preacher feel like preaching once more on this
+ exhaustless parable, and will prove helpful to all young
+ people--and elder ones, too. Dr. Broughton does not hesitate to
+ make his utterances striking and entertaining by the
+ introduction of numerous appropriate and homely stories and
+ illustrations. He reaches the heart."--_Review and Expositor_.
+
+
+ESSAYS, STUDIES, ADDRESSES
+
+
+_PROF. HUGH BLACK_
+
+=The New World=
+
+16mo, cloth, net $1.15.
+
+ "The old order changeth, bringing in the new." To a review of
+ our changing world--religious, scientific, social--Hugh Black
+ brings that interpretative skill and keen insight which
+ distinguishes all his writings and thinking. Especially does he
+ face the problem of the present-day unsettlement and unrest in
+ religious beliefs with sanity and courage, furnishing in this,
+ as in other aspects of his enquiry, a new viewpoint and
+ clarified outlook.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks on John's Gospel=
+
+As Presented in the Gospel of John. Cloth, net 85c.
+
+ Mr. Gordon halts his reader here and there, at some precious
+ text, some outstanding instance of God's tenderness, much as a
+ traveller lingers for refreshment at a wayside spring, and bids
+ us hearken as God's wooing note is heard pleading for
+ consecrated service. An enheartening book, and a restful. A book
+ of the winning Voice, of outstretched Hands.
+
+
+_ROBERT F. HORTON, D.D._
+
+=The Springs Of Joy and Other Addresses=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ "Scholarly, reverent, penetrating, human. The product of a
+ mature mind and of a genuine and sustained religious experience.
+ The message of a thinker and a saint, which will be found to be
+ very helpful."--_Christian Intelligencer_.
+
+
+_BISHOP WALTER R. LAMBUTH_
+
+=Winning the World for Christ=
+
+A Study of Dynamics. Cole Lectures for 1915. 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ This Lecture-Course is a spirited contribution to the dynamics
+ of Missions. It presents a study of the sources of inspiration
+ and power in the lives of missionaries, native and foreign, who
+ with supreme abandon gave themselves utterly to the work to
+ which they were called.
+
+
+_FREDERICK F. SHANNON, D.D._
+
+=The New Personality and Other Sermons=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ Mr. Shannon, pastor of the Reformed Church on the Heights,
+ Brooklyn, is possessed of lofty ideals, is purposeful, more than
+ ordinarily eloquent and has the undoubted gifts of felicitous
+ and epigrammatic expression. This new volume by the popular
+ preacher is a contribution of distinct value to current sermonic
+ literature.
+
+
+EARLIER WORKS IN DEMAND
+
+
+_WAYNE WHIPPLE_
+
+=The Story-Life of the Son of Man=
+
+8vo, illustrated, net $2.50.
+
+ "A literary mosaic, consisting of quotations from a great number
+ of writers concerning all the events of the Gospels. The
+ sub-title accurately describes its contents. That sub-title is
+ 'Nearly a thousand stories from sacred and secular sources in a
+ continuous and complete chronicle of the earth life of the
+ Saviour.' The book was prepared for the general reader, but will
+ be valuable to minister, teacher and student. There are many
+ full-page engravings from historic paintings and sacred
+ originals, some reproduced for the first time."--_Christian
+ Observer_.
+
+
+_GAIUS GLENN ATKINS, D.D._
+
+=Pilgrims of the Lonely Road=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ "A rare book for its style, its theme and the richness of its
+ insight. Seldom is seen a book of more exquisite grace of
+ diction--happy surprises of phrase, and lovely lengths of
+ haunting prose to delight the eye. Each of the great pilgrim's
+ studies is followed step by step along the lonely way of the
+ soul in its quest of light, toward the common goal of all--union
+ with the eternal."--_Chicago Record-Herald_.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks on Following The Christ=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 85c.
+
+ "This volume is well calculated to aid in Christian life, to
+ give strength, courage and light on difficult problems. It grips
+ one's very life, brings one face to face with God's word, ways
+ of understanding it and, even its every day application. It is
+ plain, clear, direct, no confusion of dark sentences."--_Bapt.
+ Observer_.
+
+
+_G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D._
+
+=The Teaching of Christ=
+
+A Companion Volume to "The Crises of The Christ." 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+
+ "One does not read far before he is amazed at the clear and
+ logical grasp Dr. Morgan has upon divine truths. Could a copy of
+ this book, with its marvelous insight, its straightforwardness,
+ its masterly appeal, be placed in the hands of our church
+ leaders, it would go far toward negativing the spiritual
+ barrenness of destructive criticism. Here is a work that may
+ profitably occupy a prominent place in the minister's
+ library."--_Augsburg Teacher_.
+
+
+_ZEPHINE HUMPHREY_
+
+=The Edge of the Woods And Other Papers=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ "Sane optimism, an appreciation of the beautiful and a delicate
+ humor pervades the book which is one for lovers of real
+ literature to enjoy."--_Pittsburgh Post_.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
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+Title: The Whole Armour of God
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+Author: John Henry Jowett
+
+Release Date: July 10, 2011 [EBook #36692]
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+Language: English
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+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD ***
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+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="mynote">
+<p><strong>Transcription notes:</strong></p>
+
+<p>The following typos were fixed:</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#Page_11">page 11</a>: Moffat &rarr; Moffatt</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_57">page 57</a>: loathesome &rarr; loathsome</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_60">page 60</a>: fellowmen &rarr; fellow-men</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_115">page 115</a>: battle-fields &rarr; battlefields</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_145">page 145</a>: baptised &rarr; baptized</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_153">page 153</a>: multidudinous &rarr; multitudinous</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_225">page 225</a>: today &rarr; to-day</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_233">page 233</a>: pruninghooks &rarr; pruning-hooks</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_260">page 260</a>: frost-bitten &rarr; frostbitten</li>
+</ul>
+<p id="missingtext">There are text lines missing on <a href="#Page_112">page 112</a>, which were marked with "[missing text]". The missing text could not be found anywhere, so most likely all subsequent editions reproduced this error. Anyway, the meaning of the paragraph is evident from the context.</p>
+<p>The table of contents is <a href="#CONTENTS">here</a>.</p>
+<p>The only illustration present is a low-quality logo of the printing company (Fleming H. Revell) on <a href="#Page_5">page 5</a>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></div>
+
+<h1>THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD</h1>
+
+<div class="bbox">
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></div>
+<h2 class="spaced">By J. H. JOWETT, D.D.</h2>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Whole Armour of God</p>
+<p class="p4type">12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.35</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year</p>
+<p class="p4type">12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.35</span></p>
+<blockquote><div>"There is something to think about each day. It is scriptural,
+spiritual, stimulating."</div>
+<div class="right">&mdash;<i>Herald and Presbyter</i>.</div></blockquote>
+
+<p class="p4title">Things That Matter Most</p>
+<p class="p4type">Devotional Papers. A Book of Spiritual Uplift and
+Comfort. 12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.35</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Transfigured Church</p>
+<p class="p4type">A Portrayal of the Possibilities Within the Church.
+12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.35</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">The High Calling</p>
+<p class="p4type">Meditations on St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.
+12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.35</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Silver Lining</p>
+<p class="p4type">A Message of Hope and Cheer, for the Troubled and
+Tried. 12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net $1.15</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">Our Blessed Dead</p>
+<p class="p4type">16mo, boards <span class="p4price">net 25c</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Passion for Souls</p>
+<p class="p4type">Devotional Messages for Christian Workers. 16mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net 60c</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Folly of Unbelief</p>
+<p class="p4type">And Other Meditations for Quiet Moments. 12mo, cloth <span class="p4price">net 60c</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="p4subtitle">SENTENCE PRAYERS for EVERY DAY</h2>
+
+<p class="p4title">The Daily Altar</p>
+<p class="p4type">A Prayer for Each Day. Cloth <span class="p4price">net 25c</span></p>
+<p class="p4type">Leather <span class="p4price">net 35c</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4title">Yet Another Day</p>
+<p class="p4type">A Prayer for Each Day. 32mo, cloth, <span class="p4price">net 25c</span></p>
+<p class="p4type">Leather <span class="p4price">net 35c</span></p>
+<p class="p4type">A new large type edition. Cloth <span class="p4price">net 75c</span></p>
+<p class="p4type">Leather <span class="p4price">net $1.00</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></div>
+<div class="center">
+<h1 class="p5title">THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD</h1>
+<p>BY</p>
+<p id="p5author">JOHN HENRY JOWETT, M.A., D.D.</p>
+<p><i>Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City</i></p>
+<p><img src="images/image005.png" alt="Logo of Fleming H. Revell Company" title="Logo of Fleming H. Revell Company" id="fhrlogo" /></p>
+<p class="smcap">New York &nbsp; &nbsp; Chicago &nbsp; &nbsp; Toronto</p>
+<p id="p5company">Fleming H. Revell Company</p>
+<p id="p5england">London &nbsp; and &nbsp; Edinburgh</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></div>
+<div class="center">
+<p id="p6copy">Copyright, 1916, by<br />
+FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY</p>
+<p>New York: 158 Fifth Avenue<br />
+Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.<br />
+London: 21 Paternoster Square<br />
+Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></div>
+<h1><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h1>
+
+<div id="toc">
+<p><small>CHAPTER <span class="tocpage">PAGE</span></small></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">I.</span> The Invisible Antagonisms <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">II.</span> The Girdle of Truth <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">III.</span> The Breastplate of Righteousness <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">IV.</span> Ready! <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">V.</span> The Shield of Faith <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">VI.</span> The Helmet of Hope <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">VII.</span> The Sword of the Spirit <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">VIII.</span> The Soldier's Use of Prayer <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">IX.</span> Watch Ye! <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">X.</span> Enduring Hardness <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">XI.</span> The Invisible Commander on the Field <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">XII.</span> The Soldier's Fire <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">XIII.</span> The Victory Over the Beast <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">XIV.</span> The Coming Golden Age <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="tocchapter">XV.</span> More Than Conquerors <span class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></span></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></div>
+<h1>I<br />
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Eternal God, may no distraction draw us away from
+our communion with Thee. May we come to Thee like children
+going home, jubilant and glad. We have been in the far country
+and our garments are stained. May we hasten to the ministry
+of forgiveness and reconciliation. If we have been on fields
+of heavy battle, where the fire of the enemy has been awful and
+unceasing, may we hasten to Thee for the overhauling of our
+armor, and for the renewal of our strength. If we have been
+called upon to walk weary roads of unfamiliar sorrow, may we
+turn to Thee as to refreshing springs. If we have lapsed from
+our high calling, may we renew our covenant. If we have
+missed a gracious opportunity, may we seek another chance.
+If we have been counted faithful in any service, and have fulfilled
+our commission by the help of Thy grace, may we hasten
+to give the glory to Thee. Unite us, we humbly pray Thee,
+in the holy bonds of Christian sympathy. Deepen our pity
+so that we may share the sorrows of people far away. May
+we feel the burden of the burdened and weep with them that weep.
+May we not add to our sin by ceasing to remember those who
+are in need. Grant peace in our time, O Lord, the peace
+which is the fruit of righteousness. Let Thy will be done
+among all the peoples, so that in common obedience to Thee
+all the nations may find abiding union. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></div>
+<h1>I<br />
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Wherefore take unto you the
+whole armour of God, that ye may
+be able to withstand in the evil day,
+and having done all to stand."
+Eph. 6:13.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Let me give one or two other translations
+which devout scholars have
+made in the attempt to bring out
+the precise significance of Paul's original
+words. Many interpreting minds act like
+the solar spectrum, and they help to display
+the wealthy contents in the pure white
+light of gospel truth. Here then is Dr.
+Moffatt's translation: "So take God's
+armour that you may be able to make a
+stand in the evil day and hold your ground
+by overcoming all your foes." And here
+is Dr. Weymouth's fine attempt to elicit
+the buried wealth of the apostle's words:
+"Put on the complete armour of God so
+that you may be able to stand your ground<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+on the day of battle, and having fought to
+the end to remain victors on the field."
+That is a translation which stirs one's
+blood, and I am inclined to regard
+it as a very vital interpretation of the
+rousing, soldierly counsel of the apostle
+Paul.</p>
+
+<p>The apostle is writing to a tiny company
+of Christians at Ephesus, so tiny
+that they are like a drop in a bucket in the
+midst of that teaming population. For
+this is what has happened. Under the
+constraining influence of the gospel of
+Christ this little handful of men and women
+have done one of the hardest things we are
+ever called upon to do. They have cut
+themselves away from old fellowships.
+They have separated themselves from the
+fond attachments of a lifetime. They have
+severed themselves from venerable roots.
+They have forfeited dear and vital friendships,
+and they are now living an alien
+life within the circle of their own city.
+They are strangers in their own home.
+They are foreigners in their native land.
+They are pilgrims in their own country.
+They are in it and yet not of it. They
+are like tropical plants which find them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>selves in the Arctic
+Zone. And it is to this
+little company that the apostle writes this
+letter, and to them he gives the inspiring
+counsel of my text: "Put on the complete
+armour of God that ye may be
+able to stand your ground in the day of
+battle."</p>
+
+<p>In what sort of circumstances did these
+people live? Let us take a swift survey of
+the hostility of their surroundings. What
+was the nature of the antagonisms by which
+this little company were beset? First of
+all, there was the overwhelming power of
+the world. Their city itself was luxuriously
+placed. The very location of
+Ephesus was favourable to prosperity, enjoying
+as it did the double advantage of
+shelter and of openness to the outer world.
+I was amazed when I walked among its
+ruins in the late spring at the magnificence
+of its position. If you will think of a cup,
+with more than a third of its rim broken
+down to its base, you will gain a rough but
+practical suggestion of the groundwork
+of this ancient city. About two-thirds of
+the city are immediately engirt with noble
+and richly verdured hills. Then this sheltering
+rim of hills is broken, and the cup<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+opens out in one direction to a port on the
+open sea, and in the other direction to a
+rich alluvial plain, famous for its wonderful
+fertility. Such was Ephesus, sheltered
+and yet open, with protective arms of hills
+about it, and yet widely hospitable to the
+trade and wealth of the world. No wonder
+Ephesus was luxurious, no wonder she
+was carnal, and no wonder she was ennervated.
+She was the very hunting
+ground of the garish world, and in this
+mesmeric garishness this little company
+of Christians had their home. This was
+the first of their antagonisms.</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, to mention a second antagonism,
+there was the majestic power of an
+alien religion. The magnificent Temple of
+Diana, which is now only a little heap of
+stones, with literally not one stone resting
+orderly upon another, then dominated the
+city by its splendour, and represented a
+religion which held the people in the loose
+leash of easy and licentious morals. Just
+think of that resplendent temple, that gorgeous
+temple, and then think of some obscure
+house in some obscure street, where
+this little company of Christians met to
+commune with their Lord, and in the contrast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> you will
+realize another of the antagonisms
+which assailed their discipleship
+every hour of the day. The Temple of
+Diana versus the little Christian meeting-house!
+It makes one think of another contrast
+in the grey and windy city of Edinburgh;
+the dark, frowning Palace of Holyrood
+versus John Knox's small house in
+Canongate! And history tells us which of
+these two proved to be the dwelling-place
+of invincible strength. This was the second
+of their antagonisms.</p>
+
+<p>And then, to name a third of their
+antagonisms, there was the pervasive
+power of popular customs and traditions.
+Every day this little handful of Christians
+were up against customs that were
+like invisible bonds. Yes, religious and
+social customs always thread the common
+life, and to oppose them is to run up
+against antagonisms which are like invisible
+webs of barbed wire. We know
+what it means to oppose a popular custom
+to-day. Just oppose even a simple one;
+decide to wear no black in the hour of bereavement
+and you are up against a world
+of hostility and suspicion. And, still further,
+let the convention you defy be an ec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>clesiastical
+convention, or one which has
+somehow come to wear religious sanctions,
+and the antagonism is tremendous. Well,
+this little company of Christians in Ephesus
+were defying popular social customs
+and popular religious customs every day,
+and they were, therefore, confronted with
+a fierce and terrific opposition. And so
+they had all these antagonisms to meet,
+the hardening glare of the world, the far-reaching
+power of an alien religion, and
+the tyranny of popular custom and tradition.
+And in the very thick of all these
+you must imagine these comparatively
+youthful Christians seeking to live their
+separate and consecrated life.</p>
+
+<p>But in this strong and tender letter to
+this little flock of Christians, the apostle
+Paul looks beyond the opposition of flesh
+and blood, and the steelly barriers of usage
+and tradition; he pierces the visible veil
+and beholds invisible antagonists, spiritual,
+alive, active and hostile. Listen to him:
+"For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh
+and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires,
+the forces that control and govern
+this dark world, the spiritual hosts of evil
+arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>." When the apostle looked upon
+Ephesus it seemed as though the whole city
+became transparent, and behind the visible
+and transient veils he saw these spiritual
+foes. There was much mischief in Ephesus,
+there was much weaving of evil webs, there
+was much coming and going of worldly
+forces; but to Paul, the real prompters and
+instigators were back in the unseen. This
+is the teaching of this great apostle. These
+Christians in the early Church had to fight
+unseen enemies, antagonists in the spirit&mdash;"spiritual
+hosts of evil in the heavenly
+warfare." The real enemy is entrenched
+in the unseen, and he is ever active, night
+and day, and the early believer confronted
+him in ancient Ephesus, as the later believer
+confronts him in modern New York
+and London.</p>
+
+<p>Now it is of these invisible antagonists
+that the apostle most urgently warns these
+young disciples. He warns them of the extraordinary
+subtlety of the warfare, of the
+wiles of the devil, of the stratagems of
+these mysterious powers, of their traps
+and devices, of their diabolic cleverness,
+and of their amazing and manifold ingenuities.
+The instruments of modern material<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+warfare are almost incredible in the refinement
+of their destructiveness, and I have
+no doubt in my own mind that even these
+ingenuities are also diabolic, and that if
+we could pierce the veil we should see the
+invisible enemies at their fiendish work.
+But these unseen antagonists out-do all the
+subtleties of the material instruments of
+destruction in the devices in which they
+lure and snare and entrap and overthrow
+the soul.</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, how do these antagonists
+work? How is this cunning antagonism
+exerted upon the soul? It is exerted both
+mediately and immediately. First of all,
+these invisible antagonists work immediately
+upon the soul. Spirit can work
+upon spirit; mind can lay pressure upon
+mind. There is a direct and immediate influence
+upon the secret life of man. That
+is the teaching of the Word of God, and I
+freely confess to you that there are phenomena
+in my own life, and in the lives of
+others which I cannot interpret in any
+other way. I know it is altogether mysterious,
+but it is by no means incredible. In
+our own day we are obtaining first glimpses
+into avenues of spiritual activity which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+hitherto have been shrouded in mist and
+darkness. The phenomena of thought
+transference, of telepathy, of hypnotism,
+are lifting the veil upon modes of influence
+of which we have scarcely dreamed. One
+mind can influence another mind directly
+without either speech or deed, leaving upon
+the other the seal and imprint of its own
+mould. When I see this I do not count it
+incredible when it is reported to me that
+there are spiritual antagonists in Ephesus
+and in New York who prey upon the
+thoughts of man, and work upon his imagination,
+and engage his sentiments and
+ambitions with the purpose of luring him
+from his sacred loyalties, and inciting him
+to rebellion against the holy and most
+high God. "Ours is not a conflict with
+mere flesh and blood," says the apostle.
+We have invisible foes.</p>
+
+<p>And then, in the second place, these
+spiritual antagonists work mediately upon
+the soul. They work upon the soul through
+the medium of human ministries&mdash;through
+the contagious power of crowds,
+through the gravitation of the age,
+through the general spirit of society,
+through the psychological climate in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+our life is cast. And they also work upon
+the soul through the medium of individuals,
+through men and women who have
+been captured by the evil one and who are
+now used in his purposes of moral and
+spiritual destruction. Our invisible antagonists
+cast their lure upon us through the
+ministry of our fellow-men.</p>
+
+<p>Now all these antagonisms, seen and unseen,
+mediate and immediate, this little
+company of Christians had to meet in ancient
+Ephesus. You say the antagonisms
+are tremendous! Yes, indeed they are,
+and the Christian life is a tremendous
+thing. That is what tens of thousands of
+professing Christians have yet to learn.
+Let it be said that of all tremendous things
+the Christian life is the most tremendous.
+It is not something we can play with in idle
+hours, it is not a merely pleasant fellowship,
+it is not the bloodless act of joining
+the visible Church. No, it is not the carrying
+of a highly imposing label; it is a desperate,
+continuous, but withal, a glorious
+campaign. Speaking for myself, I confess
+that I have to have my fingers on the throat
+of the devil every day of my mortal life.
+This is how I find it. I do not gain a single<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+inch without a fight. No fine victory is
+ever gained by me without blood. O, the
+sternness of the Christian fight! and O,
+its attractiveness and its glory! Yes, indeed,
+you are right; the antagonisms are
+tremendous.</p>
+
+<p>How then, are they to be met? If these
+are our antagonisms, seen and unseen, in
+New York as well as in Ephesus, how can
+we meet and overcome them? Let us listen
+to the Word: "Put on the complete
+armour of <i>God</i>." Let us begin there. Our
+first need is God. Without God we are
+beaten even before the fight begins. We
+have no more likelihood of vanquishing
+our spiritual foes without God than this unaided
+hand of mine would be able to drive
+back the solid phalanxes of the German
+hosts. We must begin with God. In the
+tenth verse of this chapter the apostle
+unfolds the primary secret of victory. "Be
+strong in the Lord and in the power of His
+might." But that is a very imperfect
+translation, laying too much emphasis upon
+the soldier and too little upon his Lord. I
+greatly like the marginal rendering of the
+revised version: "Be made powerful in the
+Lord." Does not that word sound full of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+promise for soldiers who are about to
+storm a difficult position? "Be made
+powerful in the Lord." Let God make you
+powerful! Such power is not a trophy of
+battle; it is the fruit of communion. It
+is a bequest and not a conquest. This
+power is not something we have to win;
+it is something we have to receive. It is
+not something we have to gain; it is something
+we have to take. "Be made powerful
+in the Lord!" And listen again: "Ye
+shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is
+come upon you." That power, that vital
+endowment of strength, is the gift of God,
+one of the ministries of the divine grace,
+and it is offered to every soldier without
+money and without price. So is it true that
+our first necessity in battle is to hasten
+away to the Lord to receive the gifts of
+the soldier's strength.</p>
+
+<p>But not only is there the imperative need
+of God for our initial strength, but for
+every piece of armour which may be needful
+in the fight. Armour for offence, and
+armour for defence; armour to meet every
+device and stratagem with which we may
+be assailed. I propose to consider this
+armour, piece by piece, and over and over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+again I shall have to tell you that you may
+find every piece of armour in the abundantly
+stocked and open and free armoury
+of God. And therefore do I say again that
+if we are to be triumphant over our antagonists,
+our first need is God. "Seek
+ye the Lord." "O come, let us kneel
+before the Lord our Maker."</p>
+
+<p>And then, our other great requirement is
+the ceaseless co-operation of our wills.
+The life of a Christian soldier is not a continuous
+reclining on "flowery beds of
+ease." Having obtained the strength we
+must ceaselessly exercise it in the practice
+of our wills. Listen to the divine challenge
+to the will: "Be made powerful in the
+Lord!" Well, then, exercise the will you
+have, your weak will, and go and kneel in
+humility at the source of power, and receive
+the promised gift. "Put on the whole
+armour of God!" Well, then, exercise
+the will and go to the armoury of grace for
+thine arms. "Stand therefore!" Well, then,
+having received the gift of power, exercise
+thy will in stubborn and invincible resistance.
+"Here stand I," said one who had
+received the strength, "Here stand I; I
+can do no other, God help me!" "Having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+done all, stand"&mdash;and victory shall be
+yours! In the name of God the Father,
+God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
+victory shall most certainly be yours!</p>
+
+<p>Says Dr. Weymouth: "Stand your
+ground in the day of battle, and having
+fought to the end remain victors on the
+field." "Victors on the field." I am
+thrilled by the inspiring word&mdash;"Victors
+on the field." After every temptation&mdash;the
+temptation that comes to me in sunshine,
+or the temptation that comes to me in the
+gloom&mdash;after every fight, victors on the
+field! The Lord's banner flying, His
+banner of love and grace; and the evil one
+and all his host in utter rout, and in full
+and dire retreat!</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+Soldiers of Christ arise,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And put your armour on;</span><br />
+Strong in the strength which God supplies<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through His eternal Son.</span></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></div>
+<h1>II<br />
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Holy Father, we humbly pray Thee to reveal unto us
+the unsearchable riches of Christ. Refine our discernments
+in order that we may behold them; and deepen our hearts in
+order that we may long to possess them. Unveil to us our
+poverty so that we may seek Thy wealth. Lead us through meekness
+and penitence to the reception of spiritual power. May
+our loins be girt about with truth. May we drink deeply at
+the waters of promise and find refreshment in immediate duty.
+We pray that Thou wilt bind us together in the bonds of holy
+sympathy. Help us to gather up the needs of others in common
+intercession. Make us ready to bear the burden of the
+race. Quicken our imaginations in order that we may enter
+into the sorrows of Thy children in every land. We humbly
+pray Thee to steady our faith in these days of bewilderment.
+In all the confusion of our time may we never lose sight of Thy
+throne. In all the obscuring of our ideals may we never lose
+sight of Christ. And O, Lord, out of our disorder may we
+be led into larger ways. Let Thy Holy Spirit brood over us,
+quickening all that is full of sacred promise, and destroying
+all that hinders our friendship with Thee. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></div>
+<h1>II<br />
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Stand therefore, having your
+loins girt about with truth."
+Eph. 6:14.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The girdle was just a strong belt
+holding the different pieces of a soldier's
+armour securely in their place.
+Even in the ordinary Oriental attire the
+girdle was a necessity. Without the girdle
+the loose, flowing garments became very
+cumbersome, flapping about the feet, and
+especially hindering the movements in
+a hostile wind. Even the most graceful
+attire became an entanglement unless
+the girdle held it in serviceable bonds.
+But the necessity of a girdle was still
+more imperative on the field of war. In
+active fighting loose pieces of armour
+would be like embarrassing articles hanging
+on the soldier rather than appropriate
+implements to make him efficient.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
+Loose armour was troublesome and distressing,
+making the soldier feel soft, and
+awkward, and unready, giving him a sense
+of going to pieces. The belt bound the
+loose pieces together, creating a healthy
+sense of firmness, compactness, and making
+the soldier feel that he had everything well
+in hand, and enabling him to meet the
+enemy's attack with united strength and
+confidence.</p>
+
+<p>Now it is that figure of the military belt
+which the apostle is using in our text,
+"Let your loins be girt about with truth."
+The soldier of Jesus can have his armour
+flapping about him in disorderly array.
+He can be loose and distracted. His energies
+can be scattered. He can be just a
+mass of incoherences and inconsistencies
+in the presence of the foe. Or a soldier of
+Jesus can be firm, and collected, and decisive.
+He can be "all there," with every
+ounce of his strength available for the immediate
+fight. And the apostle teaches
+that this bracing sense of collectedness,
+this fine, firm feeling of moral and spiritual
+concentration, can only be obtained by
+binding the entire life with the splendid
+and tenacious girdle of gospel truth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I want to approach the apostle's central
+teaching along roads which will
+gather up the testimony of common experience.
+We all know the strength which
+is imparted to a life when it is girt about
+with firm principle. It is even so in the life
+of a boy when he is passing his earliest
+days at school. Is there anything nobler
+to contemplate than a fine boy whose life
+and character are held firm and free in
+the bond and girdle of moral principle?
+It is even so in the later
+days of college and university. What
+college or university graduate has not
+admired the decisive strength of some
+man or woman whose character was held
+in splendid consistency by the girdle
+of moral conviction! What joyful and
+boisterous liberty there is in such a life!
+And it is all the more free and jubilant
+because it recognizes fields of license into
+which it never strays. And in the broader
+fields of the world we have the witness of
+the same experience. Life that is held
+in a girdle quadruples its strength. Life
+which is bound together even by a strong
+expediency gathers force in the bondage.
+A life which is held in the constraint of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
+policy is far mightier than a life which is
+trailing in scattered indifference. But a
+life which is bound together in moral principle,
+having all its faculties and powers
+gathered under one control, has tremendous
+force both of attack and resistance.</p>
+
+<p>You may study the contents of that statement
+and find abundant illustrations in
+the lives of men like Lincoln, and Mazzini,
+and Gladstone, and John Bright,
+and John Morley, and James Bryce. All
+these men, whether we approve or disapprove
+their political programmes and
+ambitions, are men whose characters reveal
+no loose ends, no trailing garments, no unchartered
+opinions, no vagrant and unlicensed
+moods, but rather a moral wholeness
+and solidity which we know will retain
+its splendid consistency in the teeth
+of the fiercest storm. Yes, even in the
+ways of the world men recognize the man
+who is wearing the belt of principle, and
+whose loins are girt about with truth.</p>
+
+<p>But the apostle Paul is thinking of
+something more than moral principle,
+splendid as is the influence of a great
+principle on the healthy action of a life.
+He is thinking of something even finer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+and deeper than this, and in which the
+moral principle is included. He is thinking
+of a soul belted with the more distinctive
+truth of the Scriptures, a soul girt
+about with gospel truth and with the
+ample promises of God. He is thinking of
+a man who takes some great truth of revelation,
+some mighty word of life, or some
+broad and bracing promise of grace, and
+who belts it about his soul and wears it
+on active service in seeking to do the
+sovereign will. I know not where to
+begin, or where to end, when I turn to the
+pages of biography for examples of men
+and women who have worn the girdle of
+gospel truth and promise. Let me dip
+here and there in the many and brilliant
+records.</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, let us begin with Martin
+Luther. It is one of the strong characteristics
+of Luther that he is ever wearing
+the girdle of truth, and bracing himself
+with the promises of grace. I open his
+letters almost at random, in the great
+year of his life when he defied the pope,
+and opposed himself to the strength of
+uncounted hosts. He is writing to Melanchthon
+on May 26, 1521: "Do not be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
+troubled in spirit; but sing the Lord's
+song in the night, as we are commanded,
+and I shall join in. Let us only be concerned
+about the Word." There you find
+him putting on the girdle! Once again I
+find him writing a letter to a poor little
+company of Christians at Wittenberg: "I
+send you this thirty-seventh Psalm for
+your consolation and instruction. Take
+comfort and remain steadfast. Do not be
+alarmed through the raging of the godless."
+There again he is wearing the
+girdle and urging others to wear it. His
+loins are girt about with truth.</p>
+
+<p>Then again there is John Wesley. Let
+me give you a glimpse of that noble servant
+of the spirit as he is putting on the
+girdle of truth: "When I opened the New
+Testament at five o'clock in the morning
+my eyes fell on the words, 'There are
+given unto us exceeding great and precious
+promises that we should be partakers
+of the divine nature.'" He girt his loins
+with that truth. "Just before I left the
+room I opened the Book again, and this
+sentence gleamed from the open page,
+'Thou art not far from the Kingdom of
+God.'" And he girt himself with that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+promise. He went to St. Paul's that morning,
+and in the chant there came to him
+this personal message from the Word: "O
+Israel, trust in the Lord, for in the Lord
+there is mercy and in Him there is plenteous
+redemption, and He shall redeem
+Israel from all his sins." Do you not see
+this noble knight belting himself for the
+great crusade that even now awaits him
+at the gate?</p>
+
+<p>Then I think I will mention General
+Gordon, who laid down his life at Khartoum.
+Only, if you want to see Gordon
+girding himself with truth, and see it adequately,
+you will have to quote from
+almost every letter he ever wrote, and
+especially his wonderful correspondence
+with his sister. Take this sentence from
+a letter written in Cairo in 1884: "I have
+taken the words, 'He will hide me in His
+hands'; good-night, my dear sister, I am
+not moved, even a little." Or take this
+sentence from a letter written in Khartoum
+toward the end of his days: "This
+word has been given me, 'It is nothing to
+our God to help with many or with few,'
+and I now take my worries more quietly
+than before." He put on the girdle of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+truth, and his worries were leashed in the
+girdle, and his soul was quieted in gospel
+confidence and serenity.</p>
+
+<p>And I had other examples to offer you,
+but these must suffice. I had on my table
+David Livingstone, and John Woolman,
+and Josephine Butler, and Frances Willard,
+and Catherine Booth, and I wanted
+to give you glimpses of all these notable
+soldiers of the Lord girding themselves
+for the open field. But their names shall
+be their witness. I might have quoted,
+had I the knowledge and the time, the testimony
+of all the saints who from their
+labours rest. And concerning them all we
+should have seen that their loins were girt
+about with truth.</p>
+
+<p>Now it was to spiritual equipment of
+this kind that the apostle was directing
+the little company of Christians at Ephesus.
+Think of their surroundings:&mdash;the
+overwhelming worldliness, the dominating
+influence of an alien religion, the fierce
+antagonisms of popular customs and traditions,
+and all of these backed by invisible
+hosts of wickedness in heavenly
+places. Now what chance would a loose,
+shuffling Christian have in circumstances<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+so hostile as these? The Christian in
+Ephesus, if he is to be a conqueror, must
+not slouch along the way with a loose,
+hang-dog sort of air, but rather with all
+the poise and movement of a lion. The
+Christian must belt himself about with
+big truth, truth that will not only confirm
+but invigorate, truth that will not only
+define his creed but vitalize his soul. And
+these Ephesian Christians followed the
+apostle's counsel and they girded themselves
+with truth, and so were able to
+stand in the evil day, and having done
+all, to stand.</p>
+
+<p>Let us watch how they did it. They
+had been converted to the Christian faith
+and life. One sure effect of their conversion
+was a more vivid sense of sin. After
+their conversion their own sinfulness
+began to reveal itself in more awful relief.
+The nearer they got to the light the more
+their sin appeared, just like invisible writing
+emerging from its secrecy when exposed
+to the open fire. They saw their
+sin, and they saw the sin of the people.
+They were like the prophet Isaiah, to
+whom also there came the awakening
+sense of sin, and with him they could have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+cried: "Woe is me, for I am unclean,
+and I dwell in the midst of a people of
+unclean lips." Well, now, how could that
+little company of Christians deal with the
+sin? It was like trying to drain a vast
+and bitter marsh that was fed by secret
+springs. How could they do it? And
+the tremendous task only emphasized their
+weakness, and might have depressed them
+into a feeling of helplessness and despair.
+And we share that feeling to-day. Think
+of the colossal sins of Europe, and think
+of the sins and moral indifference of the
+great cities. If the sin be like a bitter
+marsh, what is going to drain it? Nay,
+how are we going to get the confidence
+that it can be drained? Well what did
+Paul do, and what did he teach his fellow-disciples
+to do? This is what he did. He
+found something even bigger than sin, and
+he girded himself with the bigger thing
+when he confronted the appalling task.
+Listen to him: "Where sin abounds grace
+does much more abound." Yes, sin is a
+big thing, but grace is a bigger thing; the
+biggest thing even in this rebellious and
+indifferent world. Sin is a strong thing,
+but grace is a stronger thing, even the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
+strongest thing in a revolting and alienated
+world. Well then, let your loins be
+girt about with that truth! Put it around
+your fears and uncertainties like a strong
+girdle. Wear it ever night and day. Go
+up to every stupendous task in the vigour
+of its bracing grip. Begin at the piece
+of the bitter marsh nearest to you, and
+begin to drain it. And wear the truth&mdash;"Where
+sin abounds, grace doth much
+more abound." Wear the truth, say it,
+sing it, and you will be amazed how the
+difficulty will be subdued; for the mouth
+of the Lord hath spoken it.</p>
+
+<p>There was something else in Ephesus
+for which these Christians needed the
+girdle of truth. Ephesus was a vast city,
+and these Christians were only a tiny and
+obscure fellowship. And even this small
+fellowship had to be broken up during the
+hours of labour, and in those hours each
+believer had to stand alone. One of them
+was perhaps a slave, and there was no
+fellow-believer in the house. Or perhaps
+one was a soldier, and there wasn't
+another believer in his regiment, and he
+had to face it all alone. We have been
+reading that one reason for the massed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+solidity of the German advance is that the
+individual German soldier craves the
+mystic strength of fellowship, and desires
+even the physical touch of a comrade-in-arms.
+I can understand it. And so could
+the Ephesian Christians have understood
+it. They felt strong when they touched
+their fellow-believers, and they felt weakened
+when the visible communion was
+broken.</p>
+
+<p>What, then, shall they do when alone?
+They must let their loins be girt about
+with truth. But what truth? What
+did the apostle Paul wear in such isolation?
+He took this girdle and wrapped it
+round his loins: "He loved me, and gave
+Himself for me." And that girdle gives
+a man a sense of glorious fellowship along
+the emptiest and loneliest road. Put that
+girdle on, lonely soul! "He loves me, and
+gave Himself for me!" Wear it ever,
+night and day. And wear it consciously!
+Say it; sing it&mdash;"He loved me, and gave
+Himself for me." "Let your loins be girt
+about with that truth."</p>
+
+<p>And so have we seen these Ephesian
+soldiers putting on the girdle. In the
+presence of threat and persecution they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
+wore this girdle, "We are more than
+conquerors through Him that loved us."
+When their circumstances were a medley
+and a confusion, full of ups and downs,
+of strange comings and goings, of mingled
+joy and sorrow, foul and fair, they wore
+this girdle: "All things work together for
+good to them that love God." And thus
+they were braced for all the changes of
+the ever-changing day.</p>
+
+<p>So do I urge my fellow-soldiers in this
+later day to wear the belt. "Let your
+loins be girt about with truth." Let us
+pray the good Lord to help us even now
+to put it on. Is the girdle we need this&mdash;"He
+loved me and gave Himself for
+me?" Well, put it on. Or is it this&mdash;"We
+have forgiveness through His blood?"
+Put it on. Or is it this&mdash;"I will come
+again and receive you unto myself?" Put
+it on. Or is it this&mdash;"In My Father's
+house are many mansions?" Put it on.
+Or is it this&mdash;"I will never leave thee
+nor forsake thee?" Put it on. Or is it
+this great girdle&mdash;"When thou passest
+through the waters I will be with thee,
+and through the rivers, they shall not
+overthrow thee, when thou walkest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+through the fire thou shalt not be burned,
+neither shall the flame kindle upon thee?"
+Put on the girdle, wear it ever, night and
+day, and thou shalt find that in the
+strength of gospel truth thou are competent
+to meet all circumstances, and triumphantly
+perfect thy Saviour's will.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></div>
+<h1>III<br />
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Almighty God, our Father, it is by Thy grace that
+we attain unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we find
+wisdom. We humbly pray that Thy grace and light may be
+given unto us so that we may come into the liberty of purity
+and truth. Wilt Thou graciously exalt our spirits and enable
+us to live in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Impart unto
+us a deep dissatisfaction with everything that is low, and mean,
+and unclean, and create within us such pure desire that we may
+appreciate the things which Thou hast prepared for them that
+love Thee. Wilt Thou receive us as guests of Thy table. Give
+us the glorious sense of Thy presence, and the precious privilege
+of intimate communion. Feed us with the bread of life;
+nourish all our spiritual powers; help us to find our delight
+in such things as please Thee. Give us strength to fight the good
+fight of faith. Give us holy courage, that we may not be daunted
+by any fear, or turn aside from our appointed task. Make
+us calm when we have to tread an unfamiliar road, and may
+Thy presence give us companionship divine. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></div>
+<h1>III<br />
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Having on the breastplate of
+righteousness." Ephesians 6:14.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>This is counsel given to a little company
+of Christians, so little as to
+be almost submerged and lost in
+the great unfriendly city of Ephesus, so little
+as to be like a tiny boat in the midst of
+a vast and threatening sea. A missionary
+of the gospel has been among them and
+they have received the word of the Lord
+Jesus. They have answered the constraint
+of redeeming love and they have confessed
+their faith in Christ. And what has happened?
+Their confession has compelled
+their separation from many of their old
+fellowships and attachments. They are
+loosened from many of their old affections.
+The forces that were once friendly
+to them have become unfriendly, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+are now confronted by overwhelming hostilities
+on every side.</p>
+
+<p>We must try to feel the power and peril
+of their isolation if we would understand
+the force of the apostle's words. Imagine
+then the lot of some German in Germany
+who espoused the cause of the Allies, or
+conceive the lot of some Englishman in
+England who sided with Germany, and you
+may realize the heat and fierceness of the
+antagonism with which these immature
+Christians were surrounded in the city of
+Ephesus. But their peril was not only
+found in the hostility of their old friends.
+There was the enervating moral atmosphere
+which they had to breathe; there
+was the recurring inclination of their own
+riotous passions; there was a remnant of
+appetite for the old delights; and there
+was the nervous fear that the forces
+against them might prove overwhelming.</p>
+
+<p>What should they do? How should they
+be able to stand? And especially how
+should they be able to stand in the evil
+day, the day when external circumstances
+might culminate in some terrific assault,
+or when their own passions might rise
+against them in some particularly fierce<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+resurgence? Well, this chapter records
+the counsel of a great and experienced
+apostle, a mighty soldier of the Lord, in
+which he advises these young recruits of
+the Kingdom what armour they must
+wear if they would be victorious on the
+field. "Put on the whole armour of God."
+And we are considering these noble pieces
+of armour if haply we too may possess the
+equipment and so turn our days of battle
+into days of glorious victory.</p>
+
+<p>And now, in the name of the Lord
+Jesus, I bring you this piece of armour,
+"the breastplate of righteousness," and it
+is to be worn in our modern warfare in
+this difficult city of New York. What is
+this breastplate of righteousness? What
+indeed was the Roman breastplate from
+which the figure of speech is taken? Unfortunately,
+the word breastplate is very
+inaccurate and misleading. The piece of
+armour to which the apostle refers protected
+the back as well as the breast, and
+in addition it gave protection to the neck
+and the hips. It would be much more truly
+described by the phrase, "a coat of mail,"
+because it was a sort of vest made of small
+metal plates, overlapping one another like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
+shield upon shield, wrapping the body in
+its defences, and protecting the vital
+organs, back and front, from every assault
+of the foe.</p>
+
+<p>Let us then venture to lift this more
+accurate description into our text, "Put on
+righteousness like a coat of mail, wear it
+in all your comings and goings in the city
+of Ephesus, and in it meet all the malicious
+antagonisms of devils and of men." Now
+I wonder how the apostle's counsel affected
+these fearful struggling Christians
+in Ephesus. Let us look at them. Let us
+assume that we are with them, and that
+we are about to give them the counsel
+offered in the text. How will they receive
+it? Remember that they have just been
+lifted out of the horrible pit and out of
+the miry clay of long-continued sin, and
+that they are oppressed by their own weakness
+and helplessness, and by the strength
+of the evil inclinations and habits which
+they have just renounced. Well, now, let
+us offer these inexperienced disciples the
+apostle's counsel: "Put on righteousness
+like a coat of mail!" Why, they just look
+at you in utter despair! It is their very
+weakness that they cannot forge and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
+weave such a coat of mail to cover
+them in the day of battle. The counsel
+would surely seem like the taunting cry of
+the foe.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose we had waylaid poor Christian
+in "The Pilgrim's Progress" when he was
+struggling with his oppressive burden up
+the hill, and with the fiery darts of the
+devil hurtling around him on every side,
+and suppose we had called out to him,
+"Put on righteousness like a coat of
+mail!" We should surely only have
+added heaviness to his burden and
+crushed him to the ground in despair.
+"Put on righteousness like a coat of
+mail?" he would have moaned in his reply,
+"My righteousness is like unto filthy
+rags!"</p>
+
+<p>One poor, sorrowful correspondent
+wrote to me some weeks ago who was the
+victim of alcohol and drugs. For years he
+had walked in ways of uncleanness, but he
+was now just waking from his awful sleep
+and turning his thoughts toward home.
+Suppose now I had written to him and
+said "Put on righteousness like a coat of
+mail!" I think his eyes would have dulled
+into weariness again, and he would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+slipped back to his drugs and his despair.
+This cannot be the meaning of the apostle's
+counsel, or this coat of mail would
+never be worn.</p>
+
+<p>What, then, does the apostle mean when
+he says "Put on righteousness like a coat
+of mail"? Let us seek for light in his own
+life, for he is a soldier as well as a counsellor,
+and we shall find him following his
+own advice and wearing the armour which
+he recommends to others. Let us listen
+then to this word, and let us mark its significance;
+"Touching the righteousness
+which is in the law I was found blameless."
+That seems like an invincible protection.
+"Touching the righteousness
+which is in the law I was found blameless!"
+But there was nothing invincible
+about it. It was no more a coat of mail
+than an ordinary vest, and the devil smote
+through the defences a dozen times a day.</p>
+
+<p>Listen again to the apostle when he has
+passed into the intimate friendship of
+Christ: "Not having a righteousness of
+mine own." Mark that; yea verily mark
+that;&mdash;"Not having a righteousness of
+mine own." This coat of mail he wears
+is not his own righteousness. Whose, then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>,
+is it? It is the righteousness of Christ.
+As Paul declares: "It is the righteousness
+which is through the faith of Christ, the
+righteousness which is of God by faith."
+The apostle is wearing the righteousness
+of Christ, and he wears it like a coat of
+mail, covering back and front, shielding
+him before and behind.</p>
+
+<p>I want to pause a little there because
+we are very near one of the deepest mysteries
+in the gospel of grace, and I want
+to state the mystery as plainly as words can
+express it. This, then, is what the Scriptures
+state: The Lord Jesus Christ was
+absolutely righteous, so righteous that
+human imagination and human dream cannot
+conceive it excelled. His holy obedience
+was perfect. There was no rent in
+the vesture of His holiness. There was no
+frayed edge, there was no imperfect
+strand, there were no stains. "In Him
+was no sin." We must begin there.</p>
+
+<p>And now let us assume that a poor penitent
+comes to this perfectly holy Lord.
+Let us make the sinner as nauseous and
+repulsive as you please. Let us make him
+a moral leper, the wretched victim of uncleanness,
+befouled by his own habits,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+consumed in his own sin, eaten without
+and within. That poor penitent sinner,
+laden with defilement, comes to the holy
+Lord Jesus, humbly seeking His favour
+and grace.</p>
+
+<p>Now what happens? What do the Scriptures
+tell us about the happening? They
+tell us that the holy Saviour covers the
+sinner with the robe of His own righteousness.
+The Lord puts His merits on to
+the sinner who has no merits. He puts
+His obedience on to the sinner who has
+nothing but a record of disobedience. He
+puts His spiritual conquests on to the sinner
+who is torn and scarred by nothing
+but appalling defeats. He puts His holiness
+on to a sinner who has been raked
+by defilements. That is the proclamation
+of the gospel. That poor penitent believing
+sinner stands now before the devil,
+and before men and angels, and before the
+presence of God, clothed in the righteousness
+of Christ! What, in all his imperfections?
+Yes. In all his weaknesses?
+Yes. With the scorching marks of hell-fire
+still upon him? Yes. He is covered
+with the robe of Christ's righteousness.
+He wears the merits and the strength and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+the defences of the Lord's obedience. Have
+we not read of one who wrapped himself
+in his country's flag and then dared an
+alien power to fire? It is an altogether
+imperfect illustration, but it offers me
+some faint and helpful analogy when I
+hear the saints give this witness: "He
+hath clothed me with the robe of righteousness,
+and covered me with the garments
+of salvation." No, it was not Paul's
+own righteousness which constituted his
+coat of mail. It was the righteousness of
+his Lord.</p>
+
+<p>Now, this is the word of grace, and this
+is the message of the gospel. It is this of
+which Toplady sings in his immortal hymn&mdash;"Rock
+of Ages":</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Naked, look to Thee for dress."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>It is this also of which Charles Wesley
+sings in his also immortal hymn&mdash;"Jesus,
+Lover of my Soul":</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"I am all unrighteousness,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thou art full of truth and grace."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>It is this which was discovered by George
+Fox, the founder of the Society of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+Friends, and of which he tells us so rapturously
+in the early pages of his journal.
+It was this which John Bunyan found, and
+of which he tells us in the pages of "Grace
+Abounding": "One day, as I was passing
+into the field, and that too with some
+dashes on my conscience, suddenly this
+sentence fell upon my soul, 'Thy righteousness
+is in heaven,' and me thought
+that I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus
+Christ at God's right hand. There, I saw,
+was my righteousness; so that wherever I
+was, or whatever I was doing, God could
+not say of me, He wants my righteousness,
+for that was just before Him. I also saw,
+moreover, that it was not my good frame
+of heart that made my righteousness better,
+nor yet my bad frame that made my
+righteousness worse; for my righteousness
+was Jesus Christ Himself, the same yesterday,
+to-day and forever. Now did my
+chains fall off my legs indeed; I was
+loosened from my afflictions and irons....
+Now went I also home rejoicing for
+the grace and love of God." All these
+men, at the beginning of their Christian
+life, were covered not with a righteousness
+of their own, but with the righteousness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
+of Christ, and they could sing with Paul
+that they were clothed in the garments
+of His salvation. Their coat of mail was
+the righteousness of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Now I recognize, and I experience the
+difficulty, of realizing all this, and I sympathize
+with you in the poverty of our
+apprehension. But I think our difficulty
+is in some ways occasioned by the inadequacy
+of all figures of speech to convey
+to us the real vitality of the truth. For
+instance, a coat of mail is something detached,
+separate and external, and so is a
+robe, and they have no vital relation to
+the body which wears them. And therefore,
+when we think of the righteousness
+of Christ covering another like a robe or
+a coat of mail, it appears something unreal,
+a superficial ministry, or even a fine
+pretence. We think of some villain clothed
+in the garb of a minister, but all the more
+a villain because of the robes which cover
+him. Or we think of some vile woman
+wearing the habits of a nun, and all the
+more vile because of the significant garments
+in which she is clothed. A leprous
+sinner wearing the robe of Christ's righteousness!
+It all appears detached and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+superficial, like a climbing rose hiding a
+rubbish heap, or some lovely ferns and
+greenery concealing an open sewer. There
+appears no deep reality in it,&mdash;a sinner
+just covered with the robe of Christ's holiness,
+and wearing the Lord's righteousness
+as a coat of mail.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, I admit that the figures all fail.
+The figure of a robe leaves the sinner and
+the Saviour in no vital relation. And so
+it is with the coat of mail. But in the
+blessed reality there is no detachment.
+There is union between the sinner and the
+Saviour of the most profound and vital
+kind. You must remember our assumption;
+the sinner who comes to the Saviour
+comes in faith, and in penitence and in
+prayer, and these things never leave a soul
+separate and detached from the life and
+love of the Lord. Faith itself, even amid
+human relationships, is never a dividing
+ministry; it always consolidates and
+unites. You may trace the vital unifying
+influence of faith in a score of relations.
+The faith which a patient has in a doctor
+is a minister of very vital union in every
+effort to recover the lost genius of health.
+The faith which a pupil has in a teacher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+unites the two in a very vital relation, and
+puts the pupil into communion with the
+knowledge which is stored up in the teacher's
+mind. The faith which one man has
+in another incorporates the two in one.
+Faith always unifies; it never divides.</p>
+
+<p>And all this has its supreme application
+in the relation of the soul to Christ. A
+poor penitent sinner who comes to the
+Lord in faith becomes one with the Lord
+in the profoundest union which the mind
+of man can conceive. Faith in Christ
+unites the soul with Christ just as in grafting
+the engrafted scion becomes one with
+the vital stock.</p>
+
+<p>Now this is the beginning of our reasoning.
+We are assuming a poor, penitent,
+weary soul flinging himself by faith
+on Christ, and thereby becoming one with
+Christ, one with all He is; one with all He
+has been; one with all He shall be, sharing
+His merits, His holiness, His obedience!
+By faith in Christ I become one with
+Christ, and all He is is thrown over me!
+And now before the devil I stand as one
+in Christ; and in the day of judgment I
+shall stand as one in Christ, one with Him
+in spite of all the sins of my past, and all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+the weaknesses and immaturities of the
+present. "Thou hast covered me with the
+robe of righteousness, and clothed me in
+the garment of salvation." I wear the
+righteousness of Christ, and I wear it as
+a coat of mail.</p>
+
+<p>Now is not that a strong defence? Go
+back to the illustration of grafting. I saw
+a young graft which had just been newly
+related to a strong and healthy stock. The
+graft still looked very poor and weak and
+sickly, but it had become vitally one with
+the healthy stock; it stood no longer in
+its own strength. All the resources of the
+stock were thrown about it, the merits of
+the stock were now the scion's, all the
+victories of its yesterdays, and all the
+sap and energies of to-morrow. The stock
+is to the scion as a coat of mail! And so
+it is with the soul which has become by
+faith the scion of the Lord.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"All my trust on Thee is stayed,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">All my help from Thee I bring;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Cover my defenseless head</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With the shadow of Thy wing."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The righteousness of Christ is the breastplate
+of the soul.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
+Now let us gather up our practical conclusions:
+The righteousness of Christ becomes
+immediately mine by the act and
+attitude of faith. Yea, verily, the most
+leprous and unclean soul in this city, with
+a history unutterably loathsome, whose
+faith looks up tremblingly to the Saviour,
+is immediately covered with the robe of
+Christ's righteousness, for by faith he immediately
+becomes one with the righteousness
+of Christ. By faith I can here and
+now become one with Christ; however
+poor and wretched I be, and however sinful
+I have been, the righteousness of
+Christ becomes the armour of my soul.
+You say that is very dogmatic. Yes,
+blessed be God, it is dogmatic, but it is
+justified dogmatism, for it is the glorious
+dogmatism of the gospel of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>And covered with the righteousness of
+Christ, that imputed righteousness becomes
+progressively mine in the appropriation
+of experience. His life flows into
+me like the life of stock into scion, and
+all through my days I am assimilating
+more and more the righteousness which
+covers me. His covering righteousness
+becomes more and more my rectitude. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
+covering holiness becomes more and more
+my obedience. His righteousness passes
+more and more into my conscience and
+makes it holy; more and more into my affections
+and makes them lovely; more and
+more into my will to make it rich and dutiful
+in obedience. Forever and ever His
+righteousness will cover me, and forever
+and forever I shall be growing into His
+likeness. His righteousness is my defence.
+Yes, it is a coat of mail, a protection for
+breast and back. His righteousness protects
+me from the things that are behind,
+the guilt and the sins of my yesterdays.
+His righteousness protects me from the
+things of to-morrow, from all the assaults
+of the unknown way, from the fear of
+death, and from the day of judgment.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"When I soar through worlds unknown,<br />
+See Thee on Thy Judgment Throne,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Let me hide myself in Thee."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></div>
+<h1>IV<br />
+READY!</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, we thank Thee we are called to
+be children of the light. Even though we have been children of the
+darkness, and have loved the ways of error rather than of truth,
+and of sin rather than of holiness, Thou art calling us to the
+light of eternal day. We would answer Thy call in penitence,
+and we would return to Thee like wayward children who are
+coming home again. We do not ask to lose the sense of our
+shame, but we ask to taste the sweetness of Thy forgiveness.
+We do not ask to forget our rebelliousness, but we ask to be assured
+that we are reconciled to Thee. We would sit at Thy table
+and receive the bread of life. We would worship at Thy feet
+and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We would stand
+before Thee with our feet shod with the shoes of readiness, willing
+to go out on errands of Christian love and service. If we are
+inclined to frivolity may we become inclined to be serious and
+reverent. If we are heedless may we become fired with heavenly
+ambition and spiritual devotion. Redeem us from the littleness
+of selfishness and lift us into the blessed communion of
+our fellow-men. Give us a wide and generous outlook upon human
+affairs. Endow us with the sympathy that rejoices with them
+who are rejoicing and that weeps with them that weep. If
+Thou art leading us through the gloom of adversity may we find
+that even the clouds drop fatness. If Thou art leading us
+through the green pastures and by the still waters, may we
+recognize the presence of the great Shepherd and may our
+joys be sanctified. Hallow all our experiences, we humbly
+pray Thee, and may we all become branches in the vine of our
+Lord. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></div>
+<h1>IV<br />
+READY!</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Your feet shod with the preparation
+of the gospel of peace."
+Ephesians 6:15.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>A little while ago an article appeared
+in one of the daily papers
+with this startling title: "Boots
+and shoes may be vital determining factors
+in the war." And contrasts and comparisons
+were made between the opposing
+forces in respect to their footgear, and
+the provision which had been made for
+keeping the soldiers' feet strong and
+hardy. And allowing even for the ordinary
+journalistic exaggeration, it is a most reasonable
+thing to assume that good, durable,
+well-fitting boots are part of the requisite
+armour for all soldiers who are called
+to prolonged and exacting service. Think
+of those heavy tramps in the early days
+of the war, whether in advance or in retreat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>;
+and think of the miry roads and the
+marshy ground since the rains have fallen;
+and think of the wet and soaking trenches
+where the men have to stand for hours together;
+and you will begin to realize what
+a vital part boots may play in the terrible
+hardships of a long and wintry campaign.</p>
+
+<p>In the Roman Empire scrupulous care
+was given to the feet of the fighting men.
+The shoes were specially made, not only
+for long marches, but for protection
+against the secret dangers of the way.
+They had not arrived at some of our refinements
+in devilry, but some of their
+subtleties occasioned great destruction.
+Gall-traps were set along the road, multitudes
+of sharp sticks were inserted on the
+surface of the road, keen as dagger points,
+to obstruct the advance of an enemy, and
+to maim his soldiers and compel them to
+fall out by the way. And so it was an imperative
+necessity that the Roman soldier
+be well shod, his feet made easy for the
+most exacting march, and defended against
+the hidden perils which would maim him
+in service and spoil him for the fray.</p>
+
+<p>Now the apostle Paul had seen the
+Roman soldier marching as to war. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+think he must have been particularly fond
+of watching soldiers because we can so
+often see and hear them reflected in his
+letters. We can always learn a great deal
+from a man by studying his metaphors
+and figures of speech, and we can get some
+very suggestive glimpses of his tastes and
+interests by watching the analogies of the
+apostle Paul, where the army is often
+tramping through his letters, and the
+Roman soldier is often presented to offer
+counsel to the soldiers of the Lord. And
+here in my text we are bidden to look to
+the soldier's shoes. He is well shod, so
+splendidly shod that in a moment he is
+ready for any call, along any road, and
+for any service.</p>
+
+<p>And the Christian, too, has long
+marches, and often along difficult and trying
+roads, and there are flints about and
+sharp thorns, and other things that wound
+and make him stumble. And sometimes
+there is scarcely a road at all, and we have
+never been that way before, and it is like
+the work of a pioneer cutting his way
+through the jungle. What roads we have
+to tramp! Especially when we are apostles
+sent forth on the King's bidding!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+And, says the great apostle, "You need
+shoes for the roads or you will be unfit
+for the long journeys, and you will easily
+become tired and sore, and you may even
+drop out of the ranks." And what kind
+of shoes are we to wear as soldiers of
+Christ? How can we be defended in our
+long journeyings and in our crusades in
+the service of the King? The answer to
+these questions is given in the words:
+"Have your feet shod with the preparation
+of the gospel of peace." Now what
+is that?</p>
+
+<p>Let me slightly recast the phrase. One
+of the words has slightly altered its colour
+and significance since the days of the Authorized
+Version. I mean the word "preparation."
+In the earlier days if you spoke
+of a man of "preparation" you meant a
+man who was prepared, a man who was
+equal to opportunity, a man who was
+awaiting the opening of the door, having
+everything ready for the call of obligation
+and service. So that the word "preparedness"
+would now be more accurate than
+the authorized word "preparation."
+"Having your feet shod with the preparedness
+of the gospel of peace." But I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>
+think we shall do even better if instead of
+either of these we use the word "readiness."
+"Having your feet shod with the
+readiness of the gospel of peace." What
+is that? Look at it a little more closely.
+"The readiness of the gospel"; that is
+the readiness which is born of the gospel
+as heat is born of the sun. The gospel of
+peace enters the soul of a man and takes
+possession of it, and then inspires the man
+with readiness. What for? Readiness to
+take the road to tell others the good tidings
+which have filled his own soul. That
+is it. The gospel of peace enters and
+glorifies the soul, and it then imparts to the
+feet a readiness to take the road, the long
+and difficult road, if need be, in order to
+tell to others the good news which has set
+it free. That is it. Have your feet shod
+with the readiness begotten of the gospel
+of peace!</p>
+
+<p>Let me give an example, and let it be
+taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
+Here, then, are people in exile, sitting in
+the cold shadow of oppression, and longing
+for freedom and home. And over the
+hard mountain tracks there come messengers,
+swift messengers carrying the glad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+tidings of emancipation. There they come
+over the long roads! And when the suffering
+exiles see and hear them they break
+into this song: "How beautiful upon the
+mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
+good tidings, that publisheth peace;
+that bringeth good tidings of God, that
+publisheth salvation; that saith to Zion,
+Thy God reigneth! Break forth into joy!
+Sing together!" The feet of the messengers
+were shod with the readiness begotten
+of good news, and they were speeding
+with comfort to the desolate and distressed.</p>
+
+<p>We have another example in the same
+book where messengers who were ladened
+with a rich experience were bidden to take
+the high road and tell their news to others.
+"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get
+thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem,
+that bringest good tidings, lift up thy
+voice with strength; lift it up, be not
+afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold
+your God!... He shall feed His
+flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the
+lambs with His arm, and carry them in
+His bosom; and shall gently lead those
+that are with young." That was the good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
+news, and with the readiness begotten of
+the good news the messengers hastened to
+make it known. And so it is that our
+feet, as disciples of the Lord Jesus, are to
+be shod with similar readiness, the readiness
+begotten of our own experience of the
+goodness of God, the readiness to go out
+on the rough and troubled roads of life,
+into its highways and its byways, its broad
+streets and its narrow streets, carrying the
+good cheer of the news of God's redeeming
+love and grace. To be ready to go
+wherever there is any form of bondage,
+singing the gospel song of joy and freedom,&mdash;that
+is the privileged service of the
+soldiers of the Lord. "How beautiful
+upon the mountains are the feet of him
+that bringeth good tidings!" "Have your
+feet shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace."</p>
+
+<p>Now I think it might be good for us
+to just glance along the roads of life and
+look at one or two sorts of people who
+are held in spiritual bondage, and who
+are therefore in need of good news and
+cheer, and we will challenge ourselves if
+our feet are shod with readiness to take
+them the gospel of peace. Well, then, look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+down this road, for here is a soul who is
+held in the bondage of despondency and
+despair. You will find such souls upon
+almost any road you like to tread. They
+are souls who somehow have fainted; they
+have lost the warm, cheering, kindling light
+of hope. Now failure is never really
+deadly until it puts out our hope and
+freezes the springs of resolution. The only
+really fatal element in defeat is the resolution
+not to try again. We have only
+terribly failed when we have furled our
+sails. Yes, I repeat it; failure only becomes
+virulent when it breeds despair.</p>
+
+<p>Now these folk are on the road. They
+have so utterly failed that they have lost
+their vital confidence, and they have become
+pathetic victims of self-disparagement.
+What do they need? They need
+to have their lamps re-lit with the cheering
+light of hope. They need to have their
+fires rekindled with the blessed warmth of
+confidence. They need to hear of new
+dawnings, of radiant to-morrows, of
+larger, brighter coming days. And if they
+do need light and fire and sunrise, what
+is that but to say that they need to hear
+again the good tidings of the inexhaustible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
+love of the risen Lord. They just
+need Jesus, and the comforting gospel of
+His peace.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, but who is to take it? Messengers
+are wanted, messengers shod with "the
+readiness of the gospel of peace," messengers
+swift and ready to run these glorious
+errands as the ministers of eternal hope.
+Now, are we shod with that gospel readiness?
+Are our feet ready for the road?
+It is a noble and a gracious ministry.
+How beautiful upon the mountains are the
+feet of him that bringeth oil to smouldering
+lamps, and fuel to dying fires, and that
+cheer and illumine the cold haunts of despondency
+and despair! It is Mark Rutherford
+who says somewhere in what is
+to me an unforgettable word: "Blessed
+are they who heal us of our self-despisings."
+Yes, verily it is a beautiful ministry
+to kindle again the lovely light of
+confidence and hope. Are we ready for
+such service? Soldiers of Jesus, are our
+feet "shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace"?</p>
+
+<p>Look again along the road. Here is
+another lonely soul, held in the bondage
+of a blinding experience. Let us say it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>
+Saul of Tarsus, who is now on the road to
+Damascus: "And as he journeyed, he
+came near Damascus: and suddenly there
+shined round about him a light from
+heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard
+a voice saying unto him: Saul, Saul, why
+persecuteth thou me?... And Saul
+arose from the earth, and when his eyes
+were opened he saw no man: but they
+led him by the hand and brought him into
+Damascus." Now here is a man who is
+held in the bondage of a blinding experience.
+He has been smitten in the midnight,
+but has not yet seen the dawn. He is convicted
+of sin, but has not yet found peace.
+He has lost his old life but has not yet
+found the new one. His old delights have
+gone, but the new joys have not yet arrived.
+He has been stunned, but he is
+not yet free! And there he is! What is
+needed? O surely, what is needed is some
+human messenger in whom the gospel of
+peace dwells like summer sunshine and
+fragrance, and whose feet are shod with
+readiness to carry that gracious summer
+to others. "And the Lord said unto Ananias,
+Arise and go into the street which
+is called Straight, and inquire in the house<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+of Judas for one called Saul.... And
+Ananias went his way, and entered into
+the house; and putting his hands on him,
+said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus,
+that appeared unto thee on the way as thou
+camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest
+receive thy sight, and be filled with the
+Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell
+from his eyes as it had been scales." And
+so the blinded found his sight, and the enslaved
+found his liberty, and the bewildered
+found his peace; and one of the
+Lord's messengers was the human minister
+in the great emancipation. His feet were
+shod with the readiness of the gospel of
+peace. "How beautiful upon the mountains
+are the feet of him that bringeth good
+tidings."</p>
+
+<p>There are other blinded people along the
+road, people who are stunned and bewildered,
+not by dazzling light but by
+fierce lightning. There are people who are
+just blinded by calamity. They have suffered
+the lightning stroke of disaster or
+bereavement. I was talking to one such
+troubled soul this very week; and speaking
+of the repeated blows of her heavy sorrows
+she said: "They just left me blind and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
+dumb!" Blind and dumb along the road!
+What did she need? O, she just needed
+the restoring balm and cordials of heavenly
+comfort. She needed the soft consolations
+of divine grace. And what is that but to
+say again that she needed the gospel of
+peace? And where are the messengers,
+with feet shod with the readiness of the
+gospel of peace, to carry the good tidings
+to this soul held in the bondage of silence
+and night? How unspeakable is the privilege
+of carrying this holy grace, and seeing
+the holy light of faith breaking upon
+the face of bewilderment, lovelier far than
+the glory of sunrise breaking upon the
+mountains, flushing the cold snows, and
+suffusing with living color the gloominess
+of the pines! Yes, it is a beautiful service
+to carry good tidings to those who are
+stunned. "How beautiful upon the mountain
+are the feet of him that bringeth good
+tidings!" Soldiers of Jesus, are our feet
+shod with this readiness of the gospel of
+peace?</p>
+
+<p>Look once more down the road, for there
+is another soul held in the bondage of ignorance.
+Let it be a man of Ethiopia. Let
+the road be the steep descent which leadeth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> down from Jerusalem to Gaza. "A
+man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority
+under Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians,
+who had the charge of all her treasure,
+and did go to Jerusalem for to
+worship, was returning, and sitting in his
+chariot, read Esaias, the prophet." This
+man has the Word, but he has not got the
+clue. He has the Scriptures, but he has
+no interpreter. What is needed? He needs
+some messenger in whom the Word has
+become life, and who has discovered the
+central secret of the Scriptures in the companionship
+of the Lord. "The angel of
+the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise,
+and go toward the south, unto the way
+that goeth down from Jerusalem unto
+Gaza. And he arose and went." "How
+beautiful upon the mountain are the feet
+of him that bringeth good tidings!" "And
+Philip ran thither to him, and heard him
+read the prophet Esaias." He ran on his
+errand because his feet were shod with
+readiness!</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Take my feet and let them be<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Swift and beautiful for Thee."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+"And Philip said, Understandest thou
+what thou readest?" So he explained to
+him the Word, and through the Word led
+him unto the Lord. And this is the last
+word we read about this man going down
+to Egypt: "He went on his way rejoicing!"
+What a ministry for a servant of
+the Lord! And that is your gracious service,
+fellow-preacher, in the ministry of
+the Word. And that is your privilege, Sunday-school
+teacher, when you meet your
+children in the class. You are appointed
+by the Lord to light up words that will
+burn in your scholars' minds to the very
+end of the pilgrim way. And that is the
+privilege of all of us if we will just have
+confidence in the guiding grace of the
+Lord. We need not be stars in order to
+light lamps and kindle fires. A taper is
+quite enough if it burns with genuine
+flame. Our greatest fitness for this kind
+of service is to be ready to do it, and
+the Lord Himself will provide the needful
+equipment. To have feet shod with readiness,
+that is what we need. Then through
+our ministry it may joyfully happen that
+many of</p>
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p>
+"The sons of ignorance and night<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Will dwell in the eternal light</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Through the eternal love."</span><br />
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There is only one thing remaining to be
+said. The apostle teaches that such readiness
+is armour for our own souls, it is
+defensive armour against the world, the
+flesh and the devil. To be ready to tell
+the good news of grace, the gospel of
+peace, is to have stout protection as you
+trudge along the road. Readiness is one
+piece of armour in the panoply of God.
+The soul which is not ready to serve is
+an easy prey to the evil one. A man whose
+feet are swift to carry the good tidings
+of grace is the favoured child of glorious
+promise: "He shall give His angels charge
+over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."
+While we are ministering to others we are
+being ministered unto by the spirits that
+surround His throne, and our security is
+complete.</p>
+
+<p>Then let us pray for the grace and protection
+of readiness. Let us pray that the
+gospel of peace may more and more deeply
+possess our souls, so that we may be inspired
+with that spontaneous readiness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>
+which awaits the King's bidding, and which
+speeds on its way carrying the glorious
+treasures of grace. "Have your feet shod
+with the readiness of the gospel of
+peace." "How beautiful upon the mountains
+are the feet of him that bringeth
+good tidings!"</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></div>
+<h1>V<br />
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Most Holy God, Who lightenest every man that cometh
+into the world, enlighten our hearts, we pray Thee, with the
+light of Thy grace, that we may fully know our sins and our
+shortcomings, and may confess them with true sorrow and
+contrition of heart. Unveil Thy love to us, so that in its clear
+shining we may behold the sin of our rebellion, and may turn
+unto Thee in humility and fervent devotion. Deliver us, we
+pray Thee, from the tyranny of evil habit. Save us from
+acknowledging any sovereignty above Thine. Keep us in sight
+of the great white throne, and may Thy judgments determine
+all our ways. Defend us when we are tempted to fields of
+transgression. Protect us from the allurements which assail
+the senses, and which entice us, through our fleshly desires,
+into impure delights. Loose us from the bonds of vanity and
+pride, and remove every perverting prejudice which blinds our
+vision. Impart unto us the grace of simplicity. May our
+worship be perfectly candid and sincere. Give us a healthy
+recoil from all hypocrisy, from all mere acting in Thy holy
+Presence. Quicken our perception that we may realize Thy
+Presence, and feel the awe of the unseen. Lead us, we pray
+Thee, to the fountain of life. Quicken our souls so that we
+may apprehend the things that concern our peace. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></div>
+<h1>V<br />
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Above all, taking the shield of
+faith, wherewith ye shall be able
+to quench all the fiery darts of the
+wicked." Ephesians 6:16.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>But did the apostle who gives the
+counsel find his faith an all-sufficient
+shield? He recommends the
+shield of faith, but is the recommendation
+based on personal experience? And if so,
+what is the nature and value of that experience?
+What sort of protection did his
+faith give to him? When I examine his
+life what tokens do I find of guardianship
+and strong defence? When I move through
+the ways of his experience is it like passing
+through quiet and shady cloisters shut
+away from the noise and heat of the fierce
+and feverish world? Is his protected life
+like a garden walled around, full of sweet
+and pleasant things, and secured against
+the maraudings of robber and beast? Let<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+us look at this protected life. Let us glance
+at the outer circumstances. Here is one
+glimpse of his experience: "Of the Jews
+five times received I forty stripes save
+one; once was I stoned; thrice have I suffered
+shipwreck; a day and a night have
+I been in the deep; in stripes above measure;
+in prisons more frequent; in deaths
+oft; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings
+often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
+often, in cold and nakedness." And
+yet this is the man who speaks about the
+shield of faith, and in spite of the protecting
+shield all these things happened unto
+him!</p>
+
+<p>Look at his bodily infirmities. "There
+was given unto me a thorn in the flesh."
+Where was the shield? It is not necessary
+for us to know the character of his thorn.
+But assuredly it was some ailment which
+appeared to interfere with the completeness
+of his work. Some think it was an
+affliction of the eyes; others think that it
+was a proneness to some form of malarial
+fever which frequently brought him into
+a state of collapse and exhaustion. But
+there it was, and the shield of faith did not
+keep it away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Or look again at his exhausting labours.
+There is no word concerning his ministry
+more pregnant with meaning than this
+word "labour," which the apostle so frequently
+used to describe his work. "In
+labours oft;" "whereunto I labour;" "I
+laboured more abundantly than they all."
+This is not the labour of ordinary toil.
+It is the labour of travail. It is labour to
+the degree of poignant pang. It is labour
+that so expends the strength as to empty
+the fountain. It is the labour of sacrifice.
+And I thought that perhaps a protected
+life might have been spared the sufferings
+of a living martyrdom and that the
+service such a man rendered might have
+been made fruitful without pain. I thought
+God might have protected His servant.
+But the shield of faith did not deliver him
+from the labour of travail through which
+he sought the birth of the children of
+grace.</p>
+
+<p>Or look once more at his repeated failures.
+You can hear the wail of sadness
+as he frequently contemplates his ruined
+hopes concerning little churches which he
+had built, or concerning fellow-believers
+whom he had won to Christ. "Are ye so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+soon fallen away?" "Ye would have
+given your eyes to me but now&mdash;." "I
+hear that there is strife among you." "It
+is reported that there is uncleanness among
+you." "Demus hath forsaken me." And
+it is wail after wail, for it is failure after
+failure. Defeat is piled upon defeat. It
+is declared to be a protected life, and yet
+disasters litter the entire way. It is perfectly
+clear that the shield of faith did not
+guard him from the agony of defeat.</p>
+
+<p>Such are the experiences of the man who
+gave his strength to proclaim the all-sufficiency
+of the shield of faith, who spent
+his days in recommending it to his fellow-men,
+and whose own life was nevertheless
+noisy with tumult, and burdened with
+antagonisms, and crippled by infirmity,
+and clouded with defeat. Can this life be
+said to be wearing a shield? We have so
+far been looking at the man's environment,
+at his bodily infirmities, at his activities
+of labor, at his external defeats. What if
+in all these things we have not come within
+sight of the realm which the apostle would
+describe as his life? When Paul speaks of
+life he means the life of the soul. When
+he thinks of life his eyes are on the soul.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+In all the estimates and values which he
+makes of life he is fixedly regarding the
+soul. The question of success or failure
+in life is judged by him in the courthouse
+of the soul. You cannot entice the apostle
+away to life's accidents and induce him
+to take his measurements there. He always
+measures life with the measurement of an
+angel, and thus he busies himself not with
+the amplitude of possessions, but with the
+quality of being, not with the outer estates
+of circumstances but with the central keep
+and citadel of the soul. We never find the
+apostle Paul with his eyes glued upon the
+wealth or poverty of his surroundings.
+But everywhere and always and with endless
+fascination, he watches the growth or
+decay of the soul. When, therefore, this
+man speaks of the shield of faith we may
+be quite sure that he is still dwelling near
+the soul and that he is speaking of a protection
+which will defend the innermost
+life from foul and destructive invasion.</p>
+
+<p>Now our emphasis is prone to be entirely
+the other way, and therefore we are
+very apt to misinterpret the teachings of
+the apostle Paul and to misunderstand the
+holy promises of the Lord. We are prone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+to live in the incidents of life rather than
+in its essentials, in environment rather
+than in character, in possessions rather
+than in dispositions, in the body rather
+than in the soul. The consequence is that
+we seek our shields in the realms in which
+we live. We live only in the things of
+the body and therefore against bodily ills
+we seek our shields. We want a shield
+against sorrow, to keep it away, a shield
+to protect us against the break-up of our
+happy estate. We want a shield against
+adversity, to keep it away, a shield against
+the darkening eclipse of the sunny day.
+We want a shield against loss, to keep it
+away, a shield against the rupture of
+pleasant relations, a shield to protect us
+against the bereavements which destroy
+the completeness of our fellowships. We
+want a shield against pain, to keep it away,
+a shield against the pricks and goads of
+piercing circumstances, against the stings
+and arrows of outrageous fortune.</p>
+
+<p>In a word, we want a shield to make us
+comfortable, and because the shield of faith
+does not do it we are often stunned and
+confused, and our thin reasonings are often
+twisted and broken, and the world appears<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> a labyrinth without a providence
+and without a plan. It is just here that our
+false emphasis leads us astray. We live in
+circumstances and seek a shield to make us
+comfortable; but the apostle Paul lived in
+character and sought a shield to make him
+holy. He was not concerned with the arrangement
+of circumstances, but he was
+concerned with the aspiration that, be the
+circumstances what they might, they should
+never bring disaster to his soul. He did
+not seek a shield to keep off ill-circumstances,
+but he sought a shield to keep ill-circumstances
+from doing him harm. He
+sought a shield to defend him from the destructiveness
+of every kind of circumstance,
+whether fair or foul, whether laden
+with sunshine or heavy with gloom. Paul
+wanted a shield against all circumstances
+in order that no circumstance might unman
+him and impoverish the wealth of his soul.</p>
+
+<p>Let me offer a simple illustration. A ray
+of white light is made up of many colors,
+but we can devise screens to keep back
+any one of these colors and to let through
+those we please. We can filter the rays.
+Or we can devise a screen to let in rays
+of light and to keep out rays of heat. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+can intercept certain rays and forbid their
+presence. Now, to the apostle Paul the
+shield of faith was a screen to intercept
+the deadly rays which dwell in every kind
+of circumstance; and to Paul the deadly
+rays in circumstances, whether the circumstances
+were bright or cloudy, were
+just those that consumed his spiritual susceptibilities
+and lessened his communion
+with God, the things that ate out his moral
+fibre, and that destroyed the wholeness and
+wholesomeness of his human sympathies,
+and impaired his intimacy with God and
+man. It was against these deadly rays he
+needed a shield, and he found it in the
+shield of faith.</p>
+
+<p>Paul wanted a shield, not against failure;
+that might come or stay away. But
+he wanted a shield against the pessimism
+that may be born of failure, and which
+holds the soul in the fierce bondage of an
+Arctic winter. Paul wanted a shield, not
+against injury; that might come or stay
+away; but against the deadly thing that
+is born of injury, even the foul offspring
+of revenge. Paul wanted a shield, not
+against pain; that might come or might
+not come; he sought a shield against the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+spirit of murmuring which is so frequently
+born of pain, the deadly, deadening mood
+of complaint. Paul wanted a shield, not
+against disappointment, that might come
+or might not come; but against the bitterness
+that is born of disappointment, the
+mood of cynicism which sours the milk of
+human kindness and perverts all the gentle
+currents of the soul. Paul wanted a shield,
+not against difficulty; that might come or
+might not come; but against the fear that
+is born of difficulty, the cowardice and the
+disloyalty which are so often bred of stupendous
+tasks. Paul did not want a shield
+against success; that might come or might
+not come; but against the pride that is
+born of success, the deadly vanity and
+self-conceit which scorch the fair and
+gracious things of the soul as a prairie-fire
+snaps up a homestead or a farm. Paul
+did not want a shield against wealth; that
+might come or might not come; but
+against the materialism that is born of
+wealth, the deadly petrifying influence
+which turns flesh into stone, spirituality
+into benumbment, and which makes a soul
+unconscious of God and of eternity. The
+apostle did not want a shield against any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+particular circumstance, but against every
+kind of circumstance, that in everything
+he might be defended against the fiery
+darts of the devil.</p>
+
+<p>He found the shield he needed in a vital
+faith in Christ. First of all the faith-life
+cultivates the personal fellowship of
+the Lord Jesus Christ. The ultimate concern
+of faith is not with a polity, not with
+a creed, not with a church, and not with
+a sacrament, but with the person of the
+Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore the
+first thing we have to do if we wish to
+wear the shield of faith is to cultivate the
+companionship of the Lord. We must
+seek His holy presence. We must let His
+purpose enter into and possess our minds.
+We must let His promises distil into our
+hearts. And we must let our own hearts
+and minds dwell upon the Lord Jesus in
+holy thought and aspiration, just as our
+hearts and minds dwell upon the loved ones
+who have gone from our side. We must
+talk to Him in secret and we must let Him
+talk to us. We must consult Him about
+our affairs, and then take His counsels as
+our statutes, and pay such heed to them
+that the statutes will become our songs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
+Faith-life cultivates the friendship of
+Christ, and leans upon it, and surrenders
+itself with glorious abandon to the sovereign
+decrees of His grace and love.</p>
+
+<p>And then, secondly, the faith-life puts
+first things first, and in its list of primary
+values it gives first place to the treasures
+of the soul. Faith-life is more concerned
+with habits than with things, with character
+than with office, with self-respect
+than with popular esteem. The faith-life
+puts first things first, the clean mind and
+the pure heart, and from these it never
+turns its eyes away.</p>
+
+<p>And, lastly, the faith-life contemplates
+the campaign rather than the single battle.
+One battle may seem to go against it.
+But faith knows that one battle is not the
+end of the world. "I will see you again,
+and your sorrow shall be turned into joy."
+Faith takes the long view, the view of the
+entire campaign. "I saw the holy city, the
+new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
+from God." "The kingdoms of this world
+shall become the kingdom of our God."
+Such a relationship to the Lord protects
+our life as with an invincible shield. It
+may please God to conduct our life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>
+through long reaches of cloudless noon; the
+shield of faith will be our defence. It may
+please God to lead us through the gloom
+of a long and terrible night; the shield of
+faith will be our defence. "Thou shalt
+not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh
+in darkness nor for the destruction that
+wasteth at noonday."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></div>
+<h1>VI<br />
+THE HELMET OF HOPE</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Eternal God, mercifully help us to unitedly draw near to
+the atoning Saviour, and through His mercies find access into
+the inheritance of the saints in light. Forgive the sins of our
+rebellion and redeem us from our guilt. Transform our spiritual
+habits that we may find ourselves able to fix our minds
+upon things above. Cleanse our hearts by the waters of regeneration,
+in order that our inclinations may be fixed upon
+the things that please Thee. Rekindle the fire of our affections,
+purify the light of our conscience. Broaden our compassions
+and make them more delicate in their discernments. Impart
+unto us the saving sense of Thy Companionship, and
+in the assurance of Thy Presence may we know ourselves competent
+to do Thy will. Meet with us one by one. Equip us
+with all needful armour for our daily battle. Feed us with
+hidden manna, that so our strength may be equal to our task.
+Unite us in the bonds of holy fear, and may we all be partakers
+of Thy love and grace. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></div>
+<h1>VI<br />
+THE HELMET OF HOPE</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And take the helmet of salvation."
+Ephesians 6:17.</p>
+
+<p>"And for an helmet the hope of
+salvation." I Thessalonians 5:8.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The helmet of hope! Who has not
+experienced the energy of a mighty
+hope? It is always a force to be
+reckoned with in the day of life's battle.
+Hope is a splendid helmet, firmly covering
+the head, and defending all its thoughts
+and purposes and visions from the subtle
+assaults of the evil one. The helmet of
+hope is one of the best protections against
+"losing one's head"; it is the best security
+against all attacks made upon the mind
+by small but deadly fears; it is the only
+effective safeguard against petty but
+deadly compromise. Far away the best
+defence against all sorts of mental vagrancy
+and distraction is to have the executive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+chambers of the life encircled and possessed
+by a strong and brilliant hope.</p>
+
+<p>Now every student of the apostle Paul
+knows that he is an optimist. But he is
+an optimist, not because he closes his eyes,
+but because he opens them and uses them
+to survey the entire field of vision and possibility.
+He is an optimist, not because
+he cannot see the gross darkness,&mdash;no one
+has painted the darkness in blacker hues,&mdash;but
+because he can also see the light; and
+no one has portrayed the light with more
+alluring brilliance and glory. He is an
+optimist, not because he cannot see the
+loathsome presence of weakness, but because
+he sees the unutterable grace and
+love of God.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, he is a reasonable optimist, and I
+dare to say that you cannot find anywhere
+in human literature a hundred pages more
+glowing and radiant with the spirit of
+hope than in the letters of the apostle
+Paul. Nowhere can you travel with him,
+not even to the darkest and most tragic
+realms of human need, without catching
+the bright shining of a splendid hope. You
+know how it is when you walk along the
+shore with the full moon riding over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+sea. Between you and the moon, and right
+across the troubled waters, there is a
+broad pathway of silver light. If you move
+up the shore the shining path moves with
+you. If you move down the shore still
+you have the silver path across the waves.
+Wherever you stand there is always between
+you and the moon a shining vista
+stretching athwart the restless sea. And
+wherever the great apostle journeyed, and
+through whatever cold or desolate circumstances,
+there was always between him and
+the risen Lord, the Lord of grace and love,
+a bright and broadening way of eternal
+hope. No matter where he is, and how
+appalling the need, no matter what corruption
+may gather about the shore on which
+he is walking, always there is the silver
+path of gospel-hope stretching from the
+human shore-line to the burning bliss of
+the eternal Presence. In Jerusalem, in
+Antioch, in Lystra, in Ephesus, in Philippi,
+in Rome, he was never without these holy
+beams. They moved with him wherever
+he went, for they were the outshining rays
+of the mercy of the eternal God. Yes indeed,
+he was an optimist born and sustained
+in grace. He saw a shining road<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+of hope out of every pit, stretching from
+the miry clay to the awful and yet glorious
+sanctities of holiness and peace.</p>
+
+<p>Now our ordinary experience teaches us
+how much energy resides in a commanding
+hope. A big expectation is stored with
+wonderful dynamic, and it transmits its
+power to every faculty in the soul. The
+influence of a great hope fills the mind with
+an alert and sensitive trembling, inspiring
+every thought to rise as it were on tiptoe
+to await and greet the expected guest. A
+great hope pours its energy into the will,
+endowing it with the strength of marvellous
+patience and perseverance. I have
+lately read of an ingenious contrivance,
+which is now being used in some parts of
+Egypt, in which, by a subtle combination
+of glass receivers, the heat of the sun is
+collected, and the gathered energy concentrated
+and used in turning machinery in
+the varied ministries of agriculture. That
+is to say, the power of a diffused shining
+is directed to an engine and its strength
+enlisted in practical service. And so it is
+with the sunny light of a large hope. Its
+gathered energy is poured into the engine
+of the will, imparting glorious driving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
+power, the power of "go" and laborious
+persistence.</p>
+
+<p>Every sphere of human interest provides
+examples of this principle. Turn to the
+realm of invention. An inventor has a
+great hope shining before him as a brilliant
+vision of possible achievement. With
+what energy of will it endows him, and
+with what tireless, sleepless, invincible patience!
+Think of the immeasurable endurance
+of the brothers Wright who were
+inspired by the great hope of achieving
+the conquest of the air! Their hope was
+indeed a helmet defending them against
+all withering suggestions of ease, protecting
+them against the call of an ignoble
+indolence which is so often heard in hours
+of defeat. An electric railway has just
+been introduced by its inventor to the
+British Government, which is capable of
+transmitting mails and parcels along a
+prepared track at the rate of three hundred
+miles per hour; and the inventor has
+recently quietly told us that he has been
+at work upon it for thirty years! But
+think how, all through those long and many
+fruitless years, his helmet of hope defended
+him, and especially protected him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
+from those alluring suggestions which
+come from the mild climate of Lotus-Land,
+and which tempt a man to relax his tension
+and lie down in the pleasant and
+thymy banks of rest and ease.</p>
+
+<p>Or seek your examples in the realms of
+discovery. Read the chapters in Lord
+Lister's life which tell how he, braced and
+inspired by a mighty hope, laboured and
+laboured in the quest of an anćsthetic. Or
+turn to the equally fascinating pages which
+tell how Sir James Simpson toiled, and
+moiled, and dared, and suffered in the long
+researches which led to the discovery of
+chloroform. His will was rendered indomitable
+by the splendid hope of assuaging
+human pain.</p>
+
+<p>Or think again of the restless, tireless
+labours of hundreds of men who are to-day
+engaged in searching for the microscopic
+cause of cancer, that having found it they
+might isolate it, and discover an antagonist
+which shall work its complete destruction.
+There is a glorious hope shining
+across the cancer waste, and it is nerving
+the will of research with unconquerable
+perseverance. Yes, indeed, men wear a
+splendid helmet, even in the ways of common<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
+experience, when they wear the helmet
+of hope.</p>
+
+<p>And mark their condition when they
+lose it. Turn to the scriptural record of
+the voyage when Paul and his fellow-prisoners
+were being escorted by soldiers to
+take their trial in Rome: A tempestuous
+storm arose, and, in the power of a mighty
+hope to save the boat and themselves the
+men called out every ounce of their
+strength. But now note this connection
+in the narrative as I read it to you: "All
+hope was taken away." ... "We let her
+drift." That is it, and it offers a striking
+symbol of a common experience. While
+our hope is burning we steer; when our
+hope is gone out we drift. The motive
+power is gone, and the hopeless man is
+like a drifting hull in the midst of a wild
+and desolate sea.</p>
+
+<p>Or turn to the pages of Capt. Scott's
+journal when he and his party are surmounting
+colossal tasks in the chivalrous
+hope of winning for their country the honourable
+distinction of first discovery of the
+South Pole. The narrative just blazes with
+hope, and therefore it tingles with energy
+and shouts with song! But when Amundsen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>'s
+flag was seen at the Pole, and their
+strong hope was gone, and the disappointed
+company began to return&mdash;O what
+heavy feet, and what accumulated burdens,
+and what fiercely added laboriousness to
+an already laborious road! Hope had
+gone, and they nobly trudged, and trudged,
+and trudged, to faint, and fall, and die!
+Aye, men and women, hope is a tremendous
+power. To have hope is to have always
+fresh reserves to meet every new expenditure
+of the will. To lose hope is like
+losing the dynamo, the secret of inspiration,
+and the once indomitable will droops
+and faints away. It just makes an infinite
+difference whether or not we are wearing
+the helmet of hope.</p>
+
+<p>But now, if all this is true of common
+hope and common experience, how is it
+with the supreme hope, "the hope of salvation?"
+What is this hope,&mdash;"the hope
+of salvation?" To whom is the apostle
+Paul giving this counsel? He is giving it
+to Christian believers in Ephesus: But
+were they not already saved? Why should
+he speak to them of "the hope of salvation"
+as though it were something still to
+be won? I remember when I was a mere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>
+boy going to Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and
+as I was retiring from the building at the
+close of the service, a gentleman laid his
+hand upon my shoulder, and said: "My
+boy, are you saved?" His question suggested
+that it was something I might
+already have experienced. Well, had not
+the Ephesian disciples passed through
+that same experience? A little while ago
+a London cabman stood at the foot of the
+pulpit-stairs in our church, and told me
+that by the grace of God he had been wonderfully
+saved. But the apostle speaks to
+these believers of "the hope of salvation"
+as though it were something still before
+them. They had taken a great step in discipleship
+in that vast and wicked city of
+Ephesus, crowded with all sorts of antagonisms,
+and they had boldly confessed themselves
+on the side of Christ. And yet, the
+apostle counsels them to wear as a helmet
+"the hope of salvation."</p>
+
+<p>The truth is that the apostle Paul uses
+all the three primary tenses in speaking
+of salvation. He speaks to believers in the
+past tense, and he says: "We were saved."
+And to the same believers he uses the
+present tense, and he says: "Ye are being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
+saved." And yet again to the same believers
+he uses the future tense, "Ye shall
+be saved." All of which means that to
+this great apostle a gloriously full salvation
+stretches across the years from past
+to future, gathering riches with every
+passing day. Salvation to Paul was more
+than a step, it was also a walk. It was
+more than a crisis, it was also a prolonged
+process. It was more than the gift of new
+life, it was the maturing in growth and
+power. A drowning man, when he is lifted
+out of the water, is in a very profound
+sense vitally saved. But after this initial
+salvation there is the further salvation of
+re-collecting his scattered consciousness,
+and of recovering his exhausted strength.
+And in a very glorious sense a man is
+spiritually saved in a moment; in a moment
+in Christ Jesus he passed from death
+into life. But it is also equally true that
+a man is only saved in a lifetime, as he
+appropriates to himself more and more
+the grace and truth of the risen Lord. Yes,
+after we have been converted and saved,
+there is a further salvation in self-recovery,
+in self-discovery, all of which becomes
+ours in a fuller and richer discovery of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
+Christ. Our possibilities of salvation in
+Christ Jesus stretch before us like range
+upon range of glorious mountains. When
+we have attained one range we have only
+obtained a new vantage-ground for beholding
+another; when that, too, has been
+climbed, still vaster and grander ranges
+rise into view. Every fresh addition to our
+Christlikeness increases our power of discernment,
+and every added power of discernment
+unfolds a larger vision and a
+more glorious and alluring hope. All believers
+in Christ Jesus have been saved.
+All believers in Christ Jesus are being
+saved. All believers in Christ Jesus will
+be saved. And therefore, says the apostle,
+always wear the helmet of hope, "the hope
+of salvation."</p>
+
+<p>Now perhaps we cannot better draw
+this meditation to a close in more immediate
+and practical purpose than by
+just gazing upon one or two of the hopes
+of the apostle Paul, if perchance by God's
+good grace we may appropriate them to
+our own souls. For he, too, is wearing
+the helmet of hope, the hope of salvation.
+What, then, does he hope for? What
+mighty hope is throwing the energies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+its defences upon and around his soul?
+Here is one of his hopes; look at it: "In
+hope of the glory of God." He wore that
+hope, and he wore it like a helmet, and
+he wore it night and day. He had gazed
+upon the glory of the Lord, the wondrous
+light of grace and truth which shone in the
+face of Jesus Christ. And now he dared
+to hold the glorious hope of becoming glorified
+with the same glory. He dared to
+hope that his own soul would become translucent
+with the holy light of divine truth
+and purity. It almost makes one catch
+the breath to see such spiritual audacity.
+One has read of young boys trembling with
+artistic sensibility, bowing in the presence
+of the world's masterpieces in art or
+music, and becoming possessed with the
+amazing hope of one day sharing the master's
+light and glory. But here is a man
+who has been prostrate in the presence of
+his God. He has been humbly gazing upon
+"the chief among ten thousand and the
+altogether lovely." And now, in a daring
+which yet quiets the soul in reverence and
+prayerful lowliness, he tells his fellow-believers
+that he lives "in hope of the
+glory of God." What a hope! The hope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
+of being glorified with God's glory, of being
+made gracious with His grace, of being
+made truthful with His truth, of being
+sanctified with His holiness, of being transformed
+into the same image, from glory
+unto glory! I say, what a hope, and therefore,
+what a helmet! With a helmet like
+that defending a man's brain, what a defence
+he has against all the petty devilries
+which seek to enter among our
+thoughts in the shape of mean purposes,
+and petty moral triflings, such as so often
+invade and desolate the whole realm of the
+mind! What a hope this is, and what a
+helmet; "the hope of the glory of God."</p>
+
+<p>And here is another way the apostle has
+of describing the hope he wears, "the hope
+of salvation;"&mdash;"To present us spotless before
+His throne." Quietly and reverently
+repeat that phrase, again, and again, and
+again, until something of its grandeur
+begins to fill your soul as the advancing
+light of the rising sun fills a vale in Switzerland
+with its soft and mellowing glory.
+"To present us spotless before His
+throne." What a hope! And yet this man
+wore it every day, in all the ups and downs,
+the victories and defeats of his ever-changing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+life. "To present us spotless before
+His throne!" Just think of wearing that
+hope in New York! And by God's good
+grace we can wear it; yes, indeed, we can,
+and what a helmet to wear! When a man
+has got that helmet on, and some sharp
+temptation is hurled at him, it will fall
+away from him like a paper pellet thrown
+against the armour plate of a mighty
+dreadnought. "To present us spotless!"
+Wear that helmet of hope, and the devil
+shall batter thee in vain. For what can
+the devil do with men and women in whom
+these hopes are blazing? He offers us his
+glittering snares, and they are revealed
+as common paste in the presence of genuine
+stones. They stand exposed as noisy fireworks
+in the presence of the stars.</p>
+
+<p>Let us wear the helmet of hope, the
+helmet of salvation, and we are quite secure.
+But let us put it on every day.
+Every morning let us put on the helmet,
+and often and again during the day let us
+feel that it is in its place. Let us begin
+the day by saying, "Now, my soul, live
+to-day in hope of the glory of God! Live
+to-day in the hope of being presented spotless
+before His throne! Live to-day in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+hope of being 'filled unto all the fulness
+of God'." Let us put that helmet on, and let
+us do it deliberately, prayerfully, and trustfully,
+and in life's evil day we shall be able
+to stand, and having done all, to stand.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></div>
+<h1>VII<br />
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, Who hast given Thy Holy Spirit
+to comfort and to guide Thy servants, teach us to trust His leading.
+Day by day we would listen to His consolation and direction.
+When we open Thy Word of Life we would rely upon His
+illuminating interpretation. When the story of the character
+and the depths of the teaching of Jesus are far beyond us, and
+seem unapproachable, when doubts and fears assail the mind,
+let us abide in quiet repose under the tuition of the indwelling
+Spirit. When desire for the highest life fails, and hunger and
+thirst after righteousness are forgotten in other pursuits, may
+the kindly Spirit inspire afresh the ardor of enthusiasm which
+He alone can create. When we have lost our bearings in the
+maze of life teach us to look to the ever-present Guide Who
+brings back into the clear path all Who trust Him; through
+Jesus Christ. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></div>
+<h1>VII<br />
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Take the sword of the Spirit
+which is the Word of God."
+Ephesians 6:17.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Here is the Christian soldier with
+his sword, and his sword is the
+Word of God. And what a sword
+it is! "Then said Mr. Greatheart to Mr.
+Valiant-for-truth, Thou hast worthily behaved
+thyself; let me see thy sword. So
+he showed it him. When he had taken it
+into his hand and looked thereon a while,
+he said, Ha, it is a right Jerusalem blade.
+Then said Mr. Valiant-for-truth, It is so.
+Let a man have one of these blades, with
+a hand to wield it, and skill to use it, and
+he may venture upon an angel with it.
+He need not fear its holding if he can but
+tell how to lay on. Its edge will never
+blunt. It will cut flesh and bones, and soul
+and spirit and all." Yes indeed, this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+sword is a serviceable and most efficient
+weapon. And it might be profitable, in the
+very beginning of our meditation, to go
+on to the field of actual battle and watch
+one or two mighty swordsmen wielding the
+sword in actual war. And let us begin
+with Him who could wield the sword as
+none other could do and who never drew
+it in vain. "And the tempter came to Him
+and said, If Thou art the Son of God command
+that these stones be made bread."
+At once the Master's hand was on the hilt
+of His sword and He drew it forth for
+combat. "It is written man shall not live
+by bread alone." It was "the sword of the
+Spirit, which is the Word of God!" The
+place of battle is now changed, but the <a href="#missingtext">[missing text]</a>
+unto Him, "All these things will I give
+Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship
+me." And again the Master whipped out
+His sword;&mdash;"Get thee hence, Satan, for
+it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord
+Thy God, and Him only shalt Thou serve."
+It was "the sword of the Spirit which is
+the Word of God!"</p>
+
+<p>Now turn your eyes to quite another
+field of battle where one of the Master's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+disciples, a very skilful swordsman, is in
+combat with a very deadly foe. "And
+when the people saw what Paul had done"&mdash;he
+had just given a cripple the power to
+walk&mdash;"they lifted up their voices saying,
+The gods are come down to us in the likeness
+of men. And they called Barnabas
+Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he
+was the chief speaker." Now what did
+the apostle do in the presence of so deadly
+a peril, a peril which garbed itself in the
+attractive robes of light? Immediately he
+drew out his sword, and fought his shining
+antagonist with a word from the 146th
+Psalm! That is excellent swordwork, by
+a most excellent swordsman! And he used
+"the sword of the Spirit which is the Word
+of God."</p>
+
+<p>Or turn once more to another field of
+battle, to the Valley of Humiliation, where
+"poor Christian was hard put to it. For
+he had gone but a little way before he
+espied a foul fiend coming over the field to
+meet him; his name was Apollyon."
+"Then did Christian draw, for he saw it
+was time to bestir him; Apollyon as fast
+made at him, throwing darts as thick as
+hail.... The sword combat lasted for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+about half a day, even till Christian was
+almost quite spent; for you must know that
+Christian, by reason of his wounds, must
+needs grow weaker and weaker. Then
+Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began
+to gather up close to Christian, and wrestling
+with him gave him a dreadful fall;
+and with that Christian's sword flew out
+of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am
+sure of thee now. And with that he had
+almost pressed him to death, so that
+Christian began to despair of life. But as
+God would have it, while Apollyon was
+fetching his last blow, thereby to make a
+full end of this good man, Christian nimbly
+reached out his hand for his sword, saying,
+Rejoice not against me, oh mine
+enemy: when I fall I shall arise; and with
+that gave him a deadly thrust which made
+him give back as one that had received his
+mortal wound. Christian perceiving that
+made at him again, saying, 'Nay, in all
+these things we are more than conquerors
+through Him that loved us.' And with
+that Apollyon spread forth his broken
+wings, and sped him away, so that Christian
+saw him no more.... I never saw
+Christian all this while give as much as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>
+one pleasant look, till he perceived he had
+wounded Apollyon with his two-edged
+sword; then indeed he did smile and look
+upward.... Then there came to him a
+man with some of the leaves of the tree
+of life, the which Christian took and applied
+to the wounds that he had received
+in the battle and was healed immediately."
+Surely to watch expert fighters like these,
+who turn their battlefields into fields of
+glory, makes one more ambitious to possess
+and wield that same two-edged sword,
+the sword of the Spirit which is the Word
+of God!</p>
+
+<p>Well now, it is this sword which Paul
+advises these young disciples at Ephesus
+to get and hold at all costs, and never to
+leave it rusting in the scabbard at home.
+And surely, if there was need for swordwork
+anywhere it was in that gay, shallow,
+materialistic city of Ephesus. We
+have been reading many terrible accounts
+of late of bayonet fighting in the trenches
+in Belgium and France, where gunnery attacks
+were unavailable, and where men
+came face to face in the hot breath of one
+another's passions, and were locked in the
+death-grip of hand-to-hand encounter. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+was even so with the spiritual warfare in
+Ephesus. There was no long-range fighting,
+no far distant antagonisms, no remote
+or merely theoretical persecution. The
+foes of the soul were exceedingly real,
+exceedingly near, and exceedingly intimate.
+In Ephesus your enemy was upon
+you in a moment, and there was nothing
+for it but never to let the sword fall from
+your hand. Spiritual enemies approached
+the soul every hour of the day, and it was
+imperative to run them through with the
+sword of the truth. There were falsities,
+and subtleties, and evasions; there were
+ambiguities and sophistries; there were
+half truths linked with black falsehood,
+and white lies linked with snatches of
+truth; there were exaggerations and perversions;
+there were insinuations and evil
+counsels; there were mean expediencies
+and illicit compromises; there were hypocrisies
+of every kind in that prosperous
+city of Ephesus, tricked out in apparent
+seemliness, and perilous in all the wiles of
+the devil. What, then, was a young Christian
+to do in all that immoral welter? He
+must have his sword in hand, always in
+hand, and he must prick these bubbles, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
+pierce these showy disguises, and rend
+these deceptive veils, and he must do it at
+once, before they mastered him with the
+plausible counterfeits of the truth.</p>
+
+<p>I saw a photograph the other day from
+the European field of war, in which a company
+of soldiers were examining a load of
+hay. They were piercing it with their
+swords in the endeavour to find out if any
+foe lay hidden in the fragrant pile. And
+I could not but think of the warfare of the
+soul, and of the sweet and fragrant disguises
+in which the devil is so often concealed.
+The devil in a hay-rick! I have
+experienced it a thousand times. A deadly
+temptation hidden in some innocent expediency!
+Some fatal lure concealed in a
+popular custom! Corruption housing itself
+in a white lie! The enemy wearing a white
+robe! The devil, I say, in a hay-rick! In
+such conditions there was only one resource
+for these disciples in Ephesus, as there is
+only one resource for you and me to-day,
+to have our swords always ready, and to
+pierce these glistening falsities in the
+blessed name of the holy and unchanging
+God. Yes, whip out your sword, the sword
+of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>What, then, is this sword? It is "the
+Word of God." And what is this Word
+of God which we are to flash through all
+falsehood like the thrust of a gleaming
+sword? What is this Word which is to
+be our sword? Well, first of all, it is the
+word of divine truth; God's way of thinking
+about things. And therefore when we
+are wielding the sword we are using a
+thought of God. We are to use God's
+thought about a thing in fighting all other
+thoughts about that thing. For instance,
+we are to take God's thought about life,
+and use it as a sword to meet and destroy
+all mean and unworthy conceptions of life.
+We are to take God's thought about sin
+and use it in combating all the lax and
+deadly conceptions of sin which are so
+loose and rampant in our own day. We
+are to take God's thought about holiness,
+and use it in fighting all ignoble compromises
+which may satisfy a poor standard
+in the kingdom of the letter, but which
+have no standing in the more glorious
+realm of the spirit. We are to take God's
+thought about worship, and fight all the
+little, mean, seductive ritualisms which so
+frequently strut about in royal and gorgeous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
+robes, but which are empty of all
+vital spiritual wealth and power.</p>
+
+<p>And so with a thousand other relations.
+God's thought about a thing is to be our
+sword in fighting all the debasing thoughts
+of that thing; it may be God's thought of
+work, or of wealth, or of success, or of
+failure, or God's thought of pleasure, or
+of service, or of death. What does God
+think about a thing? That is my sword,
+the thought of God which is the word of
+God. And we are to take that shining,
+flaming, flashing thought, and use it as a
+sword among all the creeping, crawling
+things, or against all the flying and
+bewitching subtleties of things which
+abounded in Ephesus, and which are
+equally prolific in London or New York.
+And so does the apostle give us this counsel:
+"Take the sword of the spirit, which
+is the thought or word of God."</p>
+
+<p>And now I can add a second characteristic
+of the sword, a characteristic which
+amplifies and corroborates the first. This
+word of God, which is to be our sword, is
+not only the word of divine truth as laid
+upon the mind. It is also the word of
+divine commandment as laid upon the will.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+It is a word which divinely reveals our
+personal duty, imposing upon us some imperative
+mission. Some word of God
+comes to us with the mysterious suggestion
+of obligation, and we often receive
+it over against some soft and wooing temptation
+to an indulgent indolence; and we
+are to take the divine word of obligation,
+and with it fight and slay the soft seduction
+to ease.</p>
+
+<p>We have this sort of warfare most
+vividly described in the experience of the
+prophet Jonah. Let me set it before you.
+"And the word of the Lord came unto
+Jonah, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that
+great city, and cry against it!" Let us
+note the lines of this experience. The
+word of the Lord came to Jonah as an
+imperative and an obligation. It said
+"Nineveh!" But another word came to
+Jonah, a soft, luxurious, seductive word,
+luring him to Tarshish. And there you
+have all the conditions of spiritual warfare;
+and the only way for the believer is
+to take the word of obligation, and use
+it as a mighty sword against the word of
+seduction; he must take his sword and slay
+it, or chase it in miserable flight from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>
+field. The word of duty is the word of
+God, and therefore the word of duty is
+thy sword against every plausible temptation
+that would snare thee to disloyal
+ease.</p>
+
+<p>There is still a third descriptive word
+about the sword, and which again corroborates
+and enriches the others. The word
+of God, which is the sword of the spirit,
+is not only the word of divine truth laying
+God's thought upon the mind; and not
+only the word of divine commandment laying
+God's purpose upon the will; it is
+also the word of divine promise laying
+God's strengthening comfort upon the
+heart. Just think of that fine sword, the
+word of promise, being handed to these
+young and tempted disciples in this awful,
+hostile city of Ephesus. I think we may
+easily imagine, without presumption, how
+they would apply the apostle's counsel,
+and how the older men among them would
+train the younger men in the expert use
+of this shining sword. They would say:
+"Whenever you go out to your work,
+amid all the cold, bristling antagonisms of
+the world, carry the sword of promise!
+When your circumstances seem to mock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
+you because of your unnerving loneliness,
+whip out the sword of promise! When you
+appear to be in a minority of one, and the
+enemy swarms in menace around you on
+every side, carry this sword of promise in
+your right hand, 'I will never leave thee
+nor forsake thee.' And when the enemy
+taunts you because of your weakness, or
+your want of culture, or your lack of rank
+and social prestige, or your nobodyism and
+nothingism, whip out the sword and fight
+the taunt with this word of promise,
+'Neither shall any one pluck you out of
+my hand'!" Thus do I think these disciples
+would speak to one another, as,
+blessed be God, disciples can speak to one
+another to-day. When the devil comes to
+us in our loneliness, in our weakness, in
+our seeming abandonment, let us lay hold
+of the word of grace, and fight all the
+enemies' taunts with the divine promise,
+and pierce them through and through,
+turning the foe to rout, and remaining
+more than conquerors on the hard and
+finely won field.</p>
+
+<p>Well, such is what I think to be the
+sword. It is the word of divine truth,
+it is the word of divine commandment, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
+it is the word of divine promise. It is a
+superlatively excellent sword, "it is a
+right Jerusalem blade." "Let a man have
+one of these blades, with a hand to wield
+it, and skill to use it, and he may venture
+upon an angel with it." Its edge will
+never blunt, for it is "the sword of the
+spirit, which is the word of God."</p>
+
+<p>Where, then, can we find this word of
+God which is to be our sword of the spirit.
+Well, first of all, we can find the word of
+God in the sacred Scriptures. We can get
+our sword from its splendid armoury.
+Here is the word which gives the revelation
+of truth, telling me how the great God
+thinks about things, and therefore, telling
+me how to think amid all the plausible
+errors of our time. And here, too, is the
+word which gives the revelation of duty,
+telling me what the great God would have
+me do. And here also is the word which
+gives the revelation of promise, telling me
+what resources are prepared for them who
+follow the fair gleams of truth and take
+the divine road of duty and obedience.
+Yes, the word of God is in the old Book,
+and here you can find your sword.</p>
+
+<p>But sometimes the word of God is given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
+to us, not through the medium of a book,
+not even the book of the Scriptures, but in
+a direct and immediate message to our
+own souls. Oh, yes, sometimes the Captain
+of our salvation gives me my sword
+without my having to make recourse to
+the written word. He speaks to me and
+hands me my sword with no intermediary
+between us. The word of the Lord comes
+unto thee and unto me as it came to the
+herdman Amos, and the courtier Isaiah,
+and to the fisherman Peter, and to the
+university student Paul. He speaks to thee
+and to me. "Hath He not promised, and
+shall He not do it"? "Thine ears shall
+hear a word behind thee, saying, This is
+the way; walk ye in it."</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"And His that gentle voice we hear,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Soft as the breath of even;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That checks each fault, and calms each fear,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And speaks of heaven!"</span>
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>If the sword of the spirit is the word
+of God, then sometimes I take my sword
+immediately from my Sovereign's hand,&mdash;the
+word of truth, the word of duty, and
+the word of promise,&mdash;and like St. Francis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
+of Assisi, and St. Catherine of Sienna, and
+George Fox, all of them mystics, and all
+of them deep in the knowledge of the mind
+and heart of God, I, too, can take the sword
+and use it on the wide and changing battlefields
+of life, and be more than conqueror
+through Him Who loved me and
+gave Himself for me. "Take the sword
+of the spirit, which is the word of God."</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, let us take the sword; let
+us draw it, and let us use it. Let us reverently
+find the word in the Book of Holy
+Writ, or in the secret chamber of our own
+soul; and then let us carry it as our sword
+to the immediate occasion, and to the next
+stage upon life's road. Let us have the
+sword ready, always ready; let us be
+always at attention, waiting with the word
+of God to meet the tempting word of man.
+A man without a sword is in a sorry way
+when the devil leaps upon him. That was
+the tragic plight of Judas Iscariot. When
+the chief priests and scribes came to bargain
+with him, to induce him to sell his
+Lord, he ought to have had his sword
+ready, and to have run it through the
+devilish suggestion when it was only newly
+born. But somehow, somehow, he had lost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+his sword, and he was undone&mdash;"and he
+covenanted with them for thirty pieces of
+silver"! And when you and I are tempted
+to sell the Lord, when we are tempted to
+make a dirty bargain of any kind, when
+we are tempted to prefer money to integrity,
+or unholy ease to stern duty, or soft
+flattery to rugged truth, let us have our
+swords in our hands,&mdash;"the sword of the
+spirit which is the word of God"&mdash;and
+let us slay the suggestion at its very birth.
+Have your sword ready. You may need
+it before you get home. Have your sword
+ready! Fight the good fight of faith, and
+lay hold on eternal life.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></div>
+<h1>VIII<br />
+THE SOLDIER'S USE
+OF PRAYER</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Almighty God, Our Father, it is by Thy grace
+that we attain unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we
+find wisdom. We humbly pray that Thy grace and light may
+be given unto us, so that we may come into the liberty of purity
+and truth. Wilt Thou graciously exalt our spirits and enable
+us to live in heavenly places in Christ Jesus? Impart unto us
+a deep dissatisfaction with everything that is low, and mean,
+and unclean, and create within us such pure desire that we may
+appreciate the things which Thou hast prepared for them that
+love Thee. Wilt Thou receive us as guests of Thy table? Give
+us the glorious sense of Thy presence, and the precious privilege
+of intimate communion. Feed us with the bread of life; nourish
+all our spiritual powers; help us to find our delight in such
+things as please Thee. Give us strength to fight the good fight
+of faith. Give us holy courage, that we may not be daunted by
+any fear, or turn aside from our appointed task. Make us
+calm when we are to tread an unfamiliar road, and may Thy
+presence give us companionship divine. Meet with us, we
+humbly pray Thee, in all the appointed means of grace, and
+may the joyful remembrance of this service inspire us in all
+common life and service of after days. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></div>
+<h1>VIII<br />
+THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Praying always with all prayer
+and supplication in the Spirit, and
+watching thereunto with all perseverance
+and supplication for all
+saints; and for me that utterance
+may be given unto me, that I may
+open my mouth boldly, to make
+known the mystery of the gospel."
+Ephesians 6:18, 19.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>We have been engaged in studying
+the different pieces of the Christian
+soldier's armour as it is
+described to us by the apostle Paul. Let
+us now glance at the warrior as he stands
+before us fully armed and ready for the
+field. His loins are girt about with truth,
+the truth revealed in Jesus Christ our
+Lord. He is protected back and front with
+a coat of mail, the righteousness of the
+Lord Jesus, a righteousness which covers
+him in a moment as with a garment, and
+then little by little imparts to him the holy
+likeness of his Lord. His feet are shod
+with readiness, and are swiftly obedient to
+do the King's bidding and to carry his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
+message of grace and good-will. He bears
+the shield of faith, his sure screen from
+every deadly dart springing from any kind
+of circumstance, whether in the cloudless
+noon or in the blackest midnight. On his
+head there is the helmet of salvation, the
+helmet of a mighty hope, protecting his
+mind from the invasion of deadly distractions,
+and from all the belittling suggestions
+of the evil one. In his hand he carries
+the sword of the Spirit, the word or
+thought of God, the shining thought wherewith
+every other kind of thought is overthrown
+or put to utter rout.</p>
+
+<p>Now that, surely, is a brave and gleaming
+equipment. Surely the armour is all-sufficient,
+and the well-appointed, well-defended
+warrior is now ready for the field!
+Let him go forth to meet the great enemy of
+souls. Let him encounter all the wiles of
+the devil, and let him so hold himself and so
+use himself as to convert every hour of
+opportunity into a season of spiritual
+glory. No, no, not yet! Says the apostle,
+"Steady!" With all his shining armour
+his equipment is not yet complete. There
+is one other vital thing to be named, and
+this the Christian warrior must take along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
+with him, for his warfare will be hopeless
+if he leaves it behind. "Praying always with
+all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
+and watching thereunto with all perseverance
+and supplication for all saints."</p>
+
+<p>Now why should the Christian warrior
+pray? He must pray as a suppliant for
+the robust health of his own spirit. Yes,
+but why should he pray for the maintenance
+of his own spiritual health? What
+is the vital relationship between the praying
+soul and the attainment of moral and
+spiritual robustness? How is prayer related
+to a man's moral force? This is the
+relationship. A praying warrior receives
+into his soul the grace-energies of the
+eternal God. The power of grace is just
+the holy love and strength and beauty of
+the holy Godhead flowing into the needs
+of the soul and filling them with its own
+completeness. Now we do not pray in
+order to make God willing to impart this
+grace, but in order to fit ourselves to receive
+it. We do not pray to ingratiate
+God's good-will, but to open our souls in
+hospitality. We do not pray in order to
+create a friendly air, but to let it in, not
+to propitiate God but to appropriate Him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+We do not pray to turn a reluctant God
+toward ourselves, but to turn our reluctant
+selves toward a ready and bountiful God.</p>
+
+<p>It is imperative that we should lay hold
+of this teaching very firmly. It is of the
+utmost moment we should know what we
+are doing when we pray for the bracing
+and sanctifying energies of the Holy
+Spirit. Prayer then, I say, is first and
+chiefly the establishment of communion
+with God. Prayer is the clearing of the
+blocked roads which are crowded with all
+sorts of worldly hindrances. Prayer is
+the preparing of the way of the Lord.
+When I turn to the Lord in prayer I open
+the doors and windows of my soul toward
+the heavenlies, and I open them for the
+reception of any gifts of grace which God's
+holy love may wish me to receive. My
+reverent thought in prayer perfects communion
+between my soul and God.</p>
+
+<p>Let me offer an illustration. I am told
+there is electricity in my house. I am
+told that this mysterious, invisible, electric
+spirit is waiting to be my minister and
+to serve me in a dozen different ways. I
+go into a room where the genius is said
+to be waiting, and yet the room is held in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+darkness. Where is this friendly spirit?
+Where is the light which is one of its
+promised services? And then I am told
+that an action of mine, quite a simple one,
+is required, and that when the action has
+been performed the waiting spirit will reveal
+itself in radiant beams. And so I
+bring my will into play, and I push a
+button, or I lift a tiny lever, and my
+action completes the circuit, and the subtle
+energy leaps into the carbon filament and
+turns my darkness into light.</p>
+
+<p>That is it! My action completes the
+circuit! And when I turn my will to pray,
+when I seek the holy, sanctifying power of
+God, my prayer completes the circuit between
+my soul and God, and I receive
+whatever the inexhaustible fountain of
+grace is always waiting to bestow. And
+so do I say that prayer is first of all, and
+most of all, the establishing of a vital
+<i>communion</i> between the soul and God.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Tennyson, in what must have been
+a wonderful conversation on the subject of
+prayer with Mr. Gladstone, and Holman
+Hunt, and James Addington Symonds,
+said that to him prayer was the opening of
+the sluice-gates between his soul and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+waters of eternal life. It is worth while
+just to dwell upon Tennyson's figure for
+a moment. The figure may have been
+taken from a canal. You enter a lock
+and you are shut up within its prison.
+And then you open the sluice-gates, and
+the water pours into your prison and lifts
+you up to the higher level, and your boat
+emerges again on a loftier plane of your
+journey.</p>
+
+<p>Or the figure may have been taken from
+a miller's wheel: There are the miller and
+his mill. And the wheel is standing idle,
+or it is running but sluggishly and wearily
+at its work. And then the miller opens
+the sluice-gate, and the waiting water
+rushes along, and leaps upon the wheel,
+and makes it sing in the bounding rapidity
+of its motion. Prayer, says Tennyson, is
+the opening of the sluice-gates and the
+letting into the soul of the waiting life and
+power of God. Prayer opens the sluice-gates,
+and the water of life floods the sluggish
+affections, and freshens the drowsy
+sympathies, and braces and speeds the will
+like the glorious rush of the stream upon
+the miller's wheel.</p>
+
+<p>That, to me, is the dominant conception<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+of prayer. Prayer opens the soul to God.
+Prayer opens the life to the workings of
+infinite grace. And now I see why the
+Christian soldier should be so urgently
+counselled to pray. Prayer keeps open his
+lines of communication. Prayer keeps him
+in touch with his base of supplies. Without
+prayer he is isolated by the flanking
+movements of the world, the flesh, and the
+devil, and he will speedily give out in the
+dark and cloudy day. "Men ought always
+to pray and not to faint."</p>
+
+<p>If that is one reason why the Christian
+soldier should pray in order to maintain
+the bounding health of his own spirit,
+we are now faced with the second question
+as to when he should pray. And here is
+the answer of the veteran warrior Paul:
+"Praying always." Not at some time, but
+at all times! "Praying always." But can
+we do that? "Always"? But I am called
+upon to earn my daily bread. I have to
+face a hundred different problems. Every
+bit of gray matter in my brain is devoting
+its strength to the immediate task. Is it
+possible for us to think of two things at
+once? Can we be thinking out some absorbing
+question in business, and at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+same time be praying to God? One thing
+is surely perfectly clear, we cannot always
+be thinking of God: It is constitutionally
+impossible.</p>
+
+<p>But now, while we cannot always be
+thinking of God, and always speaking to
+God, we can always be mentally disposed
+toward Him, so that whatever we are doing
+there can be a mental leaning or bias towards
+His most holy will. Let me show
+you what I mean. We must reverently
+dare to reason in this great matter as we
+reason in other relationships. Turn, then,
+for an illustration, to common gymnastics.
+In physical gymnastics there is no need for
+us to be always exercising, to be at it every
+moment of the waking day. The body does
+not need it. Indeed, it would resent it,
+and rebel against it. But here is the
+healthy genius of gymnastic exercises.
+Regular exercises give the body a certain
+healthy pose, a certain vigour and excellence
+of carriage, which the body retains
+between the exercises when we are going
+about our accustomed work. That is to
+say, conscious exercise makes unconscious
+habit. Our conscious exercise forces the
+body into attitudes which persist as habits<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
+when we are doing something else. We
+can retain the pose of the gymnasium on
+the street, and we can retain it without
+thinking.</p>
+
+<p>And so it is with spiritual exercises
+when they are as real as the exercises in
+the gymnasium. When a man prays, and
+prays as deliberately and purposely as he
+practices physical exercises, when he drills
+his soul as he drills his body, he gives his
+mind and soul a certain pose, a certain
+attitude, a certain stateliness and loftiness
+of carriage. He gives his soul a healthy
+bias towards God, and the soul retains the
+bias when he is no longer upon his knees.
+His soul carries itself Godward even
+when he is earning his daily bread. God
+can get at him any time and anywhere!
+The way is open, the communion is unbroken!</p>
+
+<p>That is the vital logic of the matter.
+By regular spiritual exercises we can subdue
+the soul to spiritual habit. Again and
+again throughout the day it is possible
+for us, by a conscious upward glance, to
+confirm the habit; until it happens that the
+soul is always in the posture of prayer,&mdash;in
+business, in laughter, in trade, at home,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>
+or abroad, always in prayer,&mdash;and therefore,
+in every part of the wide and varied
+battleground of life receiving the all-sufficient
+grace and love of God. And so
+the Christian soldier is to be "Praying
+always, with all prayer and supplication in
+the spirit."</p>
+
+<p>But the Christian soldier is not only a
+suppliant for his own spiritual health. He
+is much more than this. The apostle counsels
+him to be a suppliant for the health
+of the entire Christian army. "Praying
+always, with all prayer and supplication
+in the spirit, and watching thereunto with
+all perseverance and supplication for all
+saints." That is to say, the Christian soldier
+not only prays for the health of his
+own spirit, but for a healthy "esprit de
+corps" throughout the whole militant
+Church of Christ. It is his duty and privilege
+to be prayerfully jealous for all the
+saints, and for the spiritual equipment of
+all his fellow-soldiers on the field.</p>
+
+<p>Now this is a very wonderful privilege
+entrusted to the disciple of Christ. To
+every believer there is entrusted the marvellous
+ministry of helping others to receive
+the energies of divine grace, and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
+strengthen them in the fierce combats of
+their own "evil day." For the character
+of our evil days is very varied. Your
+evil day may not be mine, and my evil
+day may not be yours. What makes an
+evil day for you may never trouble me,
+and what makes my day difficult and tempestuous
+may leave you perfectly serene.
+It is to be accounted for in many ways. The
+differences in our circumstances account,
+to some extent, for the differences in our
+evil days. The differences in our occupations
+create great differences in our daily
+warfare in the spirit. The differences in
+our temperaments make no two persons'
+battles quite alike. And yet, with all our
+differences, we are all called upon to stand
+in our own evil day, "and having done all,
+to stand." Peter's evil day would be very
+different from John's. Thomas' evil day
+would be very different from Nathanael's.
+Dorcas' evil day would be quite different
+to the evil days which gloomed upon
+Euodia and Synteche. But blessed be God,
+by the holy ministry of prayer we can
+strengthen one another to "stand in the
+evil day." We can help every soldier to
+keep his spiritual roads open and to prepare<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+the way of the Lord. We are called
+upon to be sentinel suppliants on their
+behalf, "watching thereunto with all perseverance
+and supplication for all saints."
+We are to be ever on the look-out, vigilant
+for the entire army of the Lord, divinely
+jealous for its healthy spirit, and seeking
+for every man in the ranks the grace and
+glory which we seek for ourselves. What
+a magnificent man this true soldier of the
+Lord must be!</p>
+
+<p>And then, just to finish it all, and by one
+example to show us how deep and wide is
+this ministry of supplication, the apostle
+Paul asks the young Ephesian soldiers to
+pray for him. "And for me, that utterance
+may be given unto me." Let us carefully
+note this, and let us observe its
+heartening significance. These young, immature
+Christians in Ephesus, trembling
+in their early faith, are asked to pray for
+the old warrior in Rome. He is now "an
+ambassador in bonds," held in captivity
+in imperial Rome, and the young soldiers
+in Ephesus are asked to be sentinel-suppliants
+for the stricken soldier far away.
+Do you believe this? And what does he
+want them to pray for? Listen to him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
+again. "And for me, that utterance may
+be given unto me." Have you got the
+real inwardness of that appeal? A poor
+slave in Ephesus may, by his own prayer,
+anoint the lips of a great apostle with
+grace and power. What a vista of powerful
+possibility! Do all congregations realize
+that privilege and service concerning
+their ministers? "For me, that utterance
+may be given unto me." Do I realize that
+my prayers, obscure and nameless though
+I be, can give utterance to a Paul, a Livingstone,
+a Moffatt, or a Chalmers? Do
+I realize that I can pour grace upon their
+lips? What a brave and splendid privilege!
+Am I using it? I cannot get out
+of my mind the vision of some poor slave
+in Ephesus pouring grace and truth upon
+the apostle's lips in Rome, and I cannot
+get out of my imagination the surprise
+which awaited the slave in glory, when
+Paul asked him, as a fellow-labourer, to
+share in gathering in the sheaves.</p>
+
+<p>"And for me, that utterance may be
+given unto me, that I may open my mouth
+boldly." And can we do that for a man,
+and do it by prayer? Can one soldier give
+another soldier nerve, and can he do it by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
+prayer? Can he chase away his fears?
+Can he change timidity into pluck? Can
+he transform a lamb into a lion? What a
+marvellous power has God given to me
+and thee! The unbounded privilege of it
+all! Some slave in Ephesus giving new
+boldness to Paul in Rome, and enabling
+Paul to take some new ground and conquer
+it for the Lord! And once again I say, to
+be called to share in the apostle's triumphs!
+If any one has prayed for me,
+your fellow-soldier, that utterance and
+courage may be given unto me, and if by
+my ministry some depressed and retreating
+soldier finds heart again, and takes up
+his fallen sword, and fights anew the good
+fight, then that suppliant shall share my
+holy conquest in the Lord, and the joy of
+the Lord shall be his strength.</p>
+
+<p>So once again, let us hear the apostle's
+counsel, and keep it in our hearts. "Praying
+always with all prayer and supplication
+in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with
+all perseverance and supplication for all
+saints; and for me, that utterance may
+be given unto me, that I may open my
+mouth boldly, to make known the mysteries
+of the gospel."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></div>
+<h1>IX<br />
+"WATCH YE!"</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Eternal God, we bow before Thee as the children of grace
+and love. Purify our souls, make our eyes keen and watchful, in
+order that we may discern Thy purpose at every turning of the way.
+Help us to hallow all our circumstances whether they appear
+friendly or adverse, and may we subdue them all to the King's
+will. We pray that we may obtain new visions of the glory
+of Christ. May His gospel of grace become more exceedingly
+precious as we gaze into its unsearchable wealth. Let in the
+light as our eyes are able to bear it. Tell us some of the many
+things which are yet withholden because we are not able to bear
+them. May we exercise our senses in discernment, that so
+we may be led into the deeper secrets of Thy truth. And wilt
+Thou graciously grant unto us new possibilities of service.
+May we light lamps on many a dark road. May we give help
+to many a tired pilgrim who is burdened by the greatness of the
+way. May we give cups of refreshment to those who are thirsty
+and faint. And may our own faith and hope restore the flickering
+light where courage is nearly spent. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></div>
+<h1>IX<br />
+WATCH YE!</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Watch ye, stand fast in the
+faith, quit you like men, be strong."
+I Corinthians 16:13.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>This is the counsel of a brave warrior,
+experienced and weather-beaten,
+writing to raw and comparatively
+untried recruits. One is reminded
+of the veteran Lord Roberts when
+he lately spake to young English recruits
+who had not yet been baptized in the
+actual flames of battle, advising them
+about their own warfare of the spirit, and
+counselling them on no account to forfeit
+their self-respect and self-control. And
+this tried warrior, Paul, is addressing a
+little company of Christian recruits in the
+city of Corinth. Corinth is now wiped out,
+buried in the accumulated débris of the
+centuries. Here and there an excavated
+column bears desolate witness to the glory
+of former days, but Corinth as a city is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>
+sealed up in an unknown grave. But just
+behind the site of the city there appears
+the Acrocorinthius, rising to the height of
+two thousand feet. I climbed this famous
+hill in the spring because I wanted to see
+the panorama on which the apostle had
+gazed, and also to see the setting and relations
+of this once imperial city. It was
+a wonderful vision of natural glory, with
+deep, far-stretching valleys, and distant
+gleams of the sea, and range upon range
+of hills, many of them snow-covered and
+glistening in the blazing sunshine of a
+splendid noon. There below was the plain
+on which Corinth found her shelter, and
+beyond the plain the narrow water-way,
+which gave her such intimate relations
+with the commerce of the Mediterranean;
+and beyond the water-way there is a touch
+of old romance, for there rise the shrines
+of the muses, the twin peaks of Helicon
+and Parnassus.</p>
+
+<p>Standing on this elevated eminence I
+tried to realize the conditions in which this
+little company of Christian recruits had to
+live the consecrated life. They had to fight
+the Christian warfare amid the soft luxuriousness
+of Corinth, a luxuriousness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
+which relaxed the moral fibre, and made
+the Corinthians conspicuous for their depravity,
+"even amid all the depraved cities
+of a dying heathenism." Corinth was a
+city of abyssmal profligacy; "it was the
+Vanity Fair of the Roman Empire, at once
+the London and Paris of the ancient
+world"! And it was in this city, away
+there on the plain before me, that these
+untried Christian recruits had to "fight
+the good fight of faith."</p>
+
+<p>Then I thought of the little church in
+which they found their fellowship. It was
+besieged by continual assaults of their
+Jewish foes. It was torn with internal
+divisions. It was honeycombed by deadly
+heresies. It was defiled by sensuality.
+Nearly all the members of the church were
+of obscure origin and standing. Many of
+them were slaves. It was in these conditions
+of fierce and growing difficulties that
+these disciples had to be good soldiers of
+Jesus Christ. And it is to this little company
+of Christian recruits that the apostle
+sends this challenging letter in which is
+found the rousing bugle-peal of my text.
+"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit
+you like men, be strong."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Now I will confess to you that times and
+again during the last few months this
+trumpet-blast has sounded in my ears, as
+though it were a clarion-call to the Christians
+of to-day. For we too have our warfare
+upon a most exacting field. We have
+fallen upon gravely troubled times. We
+are witnessing a resurgence of devilry that
+is perfectly appalling. The baser passions
+have become frightfully aggressive, and a
+crude animalism is at large like a surging,
+boiling sea which has burst its dykes.
+Some of us had begun to dream that the
+sweet angel of peace was almost at our
+gates, and that nothing could happen to
+drive her away; and now, when we look
+out of the gate, it is no fair angel-messenger
+which we see, but the red fury of unprecedented
+strife and slaughter. And
+amid all this we have to live the Christian
+life.</p>
+
+<p>But it is not only the "fightings without"
+which trouble us. There are also
+"the fears within." Many of our venerable
+assumptions are lying in ruin. Our
+spiritual world has suffered an upheaval
+as though with the convulsion of an earthquake,
+and many of us are trembling and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+confused. What then shall we do in this
+terrible hour? What path shall we take?
+Can we settle our goings upon any promising
+road of purpose and endeavour?
+Along what lines shall we pull ourselves
+together? And in answer to all these questions
+I bring you this well-tried counsel
+of the great Christian apostle, this bugle-peal
+from the first century, and I ask you
+to let it be to you as the inspired word of
+the living God. "Watch ye, stand fast
+in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
+Let us examine the counsel in order that
+we may buckle it on to our souls.</p>
+
+<p>Here then is the first note of this soldierly
+blast. "Watch ye!" The phrase
+literally means "keep awake!" You perhaps
+think there is no need of that counsel
+to-day. You probably think that in times
+like these our difficulty is not to keep
+awake but to go to sleep. I am not so
+sure about that. If we have loved ones
+at the war there will not be the remotest
+peril of our going to sleep. Every post
+that comes to our door will startle us like
+the crack of doom. Every headline in the
+daily press will tighten our nerves in
+sleepless attention. But when we have no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+flesh and blood at the front, when many
+miles roll between us and the fields of war,
+when we are only spectators, a certain
+drowsiness is not so far away as we
+may suppose. When we only read about
+things, things become familiar, and the
+familiar is apt to lose its terror. Custom
+is a dull narcotic, and frequent repetition
+dims our apprehension. When the
+Titanic went down the whole city spoke in
+whispers, such a dread was resting over
+our souls. But now a dreadnought goes
+down, or a half dozen cruisers, and we
+scarcely catch our breath at the news. The
+cushion of familiarity is thickening between
+us and realities, and awful facts
+do not hit us on the raw. The awful becomes
+less awful by repetition, and we
+grow less sensitive as the tragedies increase.
+The newspaper statistics cease to
+be significant, and the descriptive adjectives
+become the tamest blanks. And
+therefore there is need for the apostle's
+trumpet blast to sound in our ears.
+"Keep awake!" Do not let familiarity
+become an opiate, so putting the senses to
+sleep that the direst woes become a painless
+commonplace. "Keep awake!" Make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>
+it a matter of will. Bring the stream of
+vital thought to bear upon the field. Exercise
+the imagination. Nourish the sympathies.
+We must keep awake, for our
+primary hope of emancipation in this dark
+hour is to remain sensitive, to be capable
+of being shocked and wounded with the
+appalling blows of every succeeding
+day.</p>
+
+<p>But it is not only wakefulness, but also
+watchfulness which the apostle enjoins in
+the counsel of our text. The soldier of
+Jesus is to be awake and watchful with all
+the keen quest of a sentinel peering about
+him night and day. But our watchfulness
+must be intelligent and disciplined, and
+we must carefully survey the entire field.
+We must keep awake, and we must diligently
+watch for all enemies of the sanctified
+brotherhood of the race, as a sentry
+would watch every suspicious movement
+in the night. What are the real enemies
+behind all the appalling desolation and
+sorrow of our time? Is it militarism?
+Then "Watch ye!" Is it something deeper
+than militarism? Is it racial animosity
+and jealousy and prejudice? Then "Watch
+ye!" Is it something even deeper than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
+racial antipathy? Is it a profound and
+deadly materialism in all the nations&mdash;a
+materialism which has been tricked out in
+the ribbons of culture, and disguised in
+the glamour of progress? Then "Keep
+awake, Watch ye!" Or is it a faithless
+church, muttering many shibboleths, but
+confessing no vital faith; a church which
+has been too much a pretense, offering no
+strong moral and spiritual preservatives,
+and supplying no saving salt to social fellowships,
+and, therefore, not exercising
+any restraint upon moral degeneracy and
+corruption? "Keep awake, and Watch
+ye!" And amid all the horrors and agonies
+of our day fasten your eyes upon the real
+enemy of the Lord Jesus, the outstanding
+antagonist of His kingdom of righteousness
+and truth.</p>
+
+<p>But there is a further word to say about
+our vigilance. We must keep awake and
+watchful, not only to detect the busy lurking,
+ambushed foes, but also to see all the
+bright and wonderful things of the hour,
+all the splendid happenings which are
+favourable to the holy will and Kingdom
+of our Lord. What should we think of a
+sentinel who could not distinguish between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>
+enemy and friend? And what shall we say
+of a soldier-sentinel of Christ who has no
+eye for the great and friendly happenings
+on the field? Watch ye, and behold the
+growing seriousness of the world; frivolity
+has almost begun to apologize for itself,
+and tinselled gaiety is ill at ease. Watch
+ye, and behold the unsealing of multitudinous
+springs of human sympathy, and the
+flowing of holy currents from the ends of
+the earth. Watch ye, and behold the magnificent
+courage which in every land of
+strife is purging families from the dross
+of indolence and indifference, and educing
+the gold of chivalry and sacrifice. Watch
+ye, and behold the marvellous re-equipment
+of Christian motive&mdash;thousands upon
+thousands of Christian disciples realizing
+as they have never done before that the
+world needs the vital redeeming grace of
+the Lord Jesus, and that without Him
+human brotherhood will remain a phantom
+and a dream. A real wakeful watchman
+will see these things. He will not only
+record the things of the night and the
+nightmares, but he will be as "they who
+watch for the morning." The Moslem
+priest appears on the tower of his mosque<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+half an hour after sunset to call the people
+to prayer, but he also appears on the tower
+half an hour before sunrise, when the grey
+gleams of morning are faintly falling upon
+the night. And we too, watchmen of Jesus,
+must watch for the sunrise as well as for
+the sunsets, and we too must tell what fair
+jewels of hope we see shining on the dark
+robe of the night. Brethren, the Lord
+Jesus Christ is abroad! "Watch ye, for
+at such an hour as ye think not, the Son
+of Man will come."</p>
+
+<p>Now let us consider the second note of
+the counsel which is given by this warrior,
+Paul. "Stand fast in the faith." Just
+try to realize that bracing counsel coming
+to these young recruits in the city of Corinth.
+Let me try to paraphrase it as I
+think it would be interpreted to them.
+"When the soft, enervating air of Corinth's
+luxuriousness steals over you like
+the mild air of Lotus-Land, 'Stand fast in
+the faith'! When the cold wind of persecution
+assails you like an icy blast from
+the north, 'Stand fast in the faith'! If
+some supercilious philosopher comes along
+and breathes cynically upon your new-found
+piety and devotion, 'Stand fast in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+the faith'! Stand fast in your faith and
+meet all your antagonisms there."</p>
+
+<p>And has that counsel no pertinency for
+the Christian believers of our own time?
+There are some among us who are ready,
+because of the unspeakable horrors
+through which we are passing, to throw
+their faith away like obsolete arms and
+armour. Now men who can drop their
+faith in the day of real emergency have
+never been really held by it. That is
+surely true; men who can drop their faith
+like a handkerchief have never known their
+faith as a strong and vital defence. And
+yet that is what you sometimes find them
+doing in modern novels. They just drop
+their faith as they would drop a pair of
+gloves. Robert Elsmere, in Mrs. Humphry
+Ward's story of twenty years ago,
+dropped his faith in about ten days. If
+my memory serves me truly, George Eliot
+dropped her faith in about the same length
+of time. If our faith has ever meant anything
+vital, it will be as difficult to drop
+it as to drop our skin. But it is the inexperienced
+who are in peril. It is the
+young recruit who is dangerously convulsed
+by the upheavals of our day, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
+it is to him I bring the nerving counsel
+of the Lord: "Stand fast in the faith!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stand fast in the faith!" What faith?
+"The faith once for all delivered to the
+saints." Stand fast in the faith of the
+atoning Saviour as the secret of the reconciliation
+of mankind. Stand fast in
+the faith of the risen Lord as the secret
+and promise of racial union and brotherhood.
+Stand fast in the faith of the Holy
+Spirit as the source of all the light and
+cheer which illumines the race. Stand fast
+in your own personal faith in the exalted
+Lord. Don't doubt Him! Don't suspect
+Him! Don't desert Him! Above all,
+don't sell Him! In this hour of darkness,
+when devilry seems to be pulling down the
+very pillars of the temple, stand fast in
+the faith, and let this be your strong but
+humble cry:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Although the fig-tree shall not blossom,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Neither shall fruit be in the vines;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The labour of the olive shall fail,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And the fields shall yield no meat;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The flock shall be cut off from the fold,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And there shall be no herd in the stalls:</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I will joy in the God of my salvation."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+And the third note in the great apostle's
+counsel in this: "Quit you like men."
+Our translators have taken four words to
+express a single word in the original letter.
+We have no one English word which can
+carry the splendid load of meaning. It
+really means&mdash;play the man! It really
+means&mdash;no funk! All the school children
+will know the value of that word. It
+is a good strong vital English word, and
+I am sure it expresses the spirit of the
+apostle's counsel to these young recruits.
+Lowell uses it in the Bigelow Papers: "To
+funk right out o' p'litical strife ain't
+thought to be the thing." No funk, soldiers
+of Christ! I have sometimes heard
+men talk of late as though the Lord were
+dead, and the game is up, and the Kingdom
+is in ruins. "Play the man!" The
+European soldiers of every nation are
+showing the world in their own sphere
+what it means to play the man. Some of
+us are becoming almost afraid to call ourselves
+soldiers of Jesus when we see what
+a true soldier really is. Think of it!
+Think of his readiness for the front!
+Think of his laughter in sacrifice! Think
+of his song in the midst of danger and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
+pain! Think of his endurance even unto
+death! And then, think how we stand up
+and sing "Onward, Christian soldiers,
+marching as to war"! And shall we funk
+in the day of darkness and disaster, and
+after months of appalling bloodshed
+and woe shall we talk as if the campaign
+of righteousness were ended, and the
+Kingdom of Jesus is overturned? Let us
+stop this kind of talk. Let us silence this
+sort of fear. Let us crush this type of
+disloyalty. It is an insult to our flag;
+it is a dishonour to our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>"Quit you like men, be strong!" Put
+strength into everything, and do everything
+strongly. Do not let us speak or
+serve in a faint, lax, irresolute, anćmic,
+dying sort of way. "Be strong!" Be
+strong in your prayers. Be strong in your
+moral and spiritual ambitions. Be strong
+in your visions and hopes. Be strong in
+your beneficence; strengthen it to the
+vigour of sacrifice. And if there be a
+devil, as more than ever I believe there
+is, let the Church surprise him by her
+strength. Let her turn the day of calamity
+into the day of opportunity. Let her
+transfigure the hour of disaster into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
+hour of deeper consecration. Let us make
+new vows. Let us enter into new devotion.
+Let us exercise ourselves in new chivalry.
+Let us go out in new ways of sacrifice.
+My brethren, God is not dead! "Watch
+ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like
+men, be strong!"</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Stand up, stand up for Jesus!<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The trumpet call obey;</span><br />
+Forth to the mighty conflict<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In this His glorious day.</span><br />
+Ye that are men now serve Him<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Against unnumbered foes,</span><br />
+Let courage rise with danger<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And strength to strength oppose.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Stand up, stand up for Jesus!<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ye soldiers of the Cross.</span><br />
+Lift high His royal banner,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It must not suffer loss.</span><br />
+From victory unto victory<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His army shall He lead,</span><br />
+Till every foe is vanquished,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Christ is Lord indeed!"</span></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></div>
+<h1>X<br />
+ENDURING HARDNESS</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, may all our hearts be filled
+with Thy praise. May the spirit of Thanksgiving fill all our
+days, and deliver us from the mood of murmuring and complaint.
+Graciously remove the scales from our eyes, so that
+we may look upon our life with eyes anointed with the eye-salve
+of grace. Help us to discern Thy footprints in the
+ordinary road. Grant that we may now review our yesterdays
+and see the providences which have crowded our paths. Help
+us to see Thy name on blessings that we never recognized, so
+that we may now be praiseful where we have been indifferent.
+Redeem us from our spiritual sloth. Awake us out of our
+perilous sleep. May our consciences goad us when we are in
+peril. May the good desires within us be so strengthened as
+to destroy every desire that is vain. Sow in our hearts the word
+of Thy truth. Guard the seed with the vigilance of Thy blessed
+Spirit, and let it appear in our life as a fragrant and bountiful
+harvest. Graciously watch us and defend us and make
+us mighty in consecration, and may we place our all upon
+the altar. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></div>
+<h1>X<br />
+ENDURING HARDNESS</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Thou therefore endure hardness
+as a good soldier of Jesus
+Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Any military metaphor which is used
+to-day will surely have a very
+arresting significance. Many of
+our hymns are crowded with military terminology.
+In the Wesleyan Methodist
+Hymn-Book there is a whole section entitled
+"For Believers Fighting." We
+are all familiar with these martial hymns:
+"Onward, Christian Soldiers", "The Son
+of God goes forth to war", "Soldiers of
+Christ arise", "Stand up, stand up, for
+Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross", "Oft in
+danger, oft in woe, onward Christians,
+onward go." But too often the soldier-like
+hymn is only a bit of martial poetry
+which pleases the emotions but does not
+stir the will. We like the swing of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
+theme. It brings a sort of exhilaration
+into our moods, just as lively dance music
+awakes a nimble restlessness in our feet.
+Too often it is the song of the parade
+ground, and it is not broken with the
+awful thundering of the guns in actual
+war. But just now when we hear the
+phrase, "Endure hardness as a good soldier,"
+our thoughts are carried away to
+the battlefields of Europe. We recall those
+roads like deeply ploughed fields! Those
+fields scooped by the shells into graves in
+which you can bury a score of men! Those
+trenches filling with the rain or snows, the
+hiding place of disease, and assailed continually
+with the most frightful engines
+of destruction! Pestilence on the prowl!
+Frost stiffening the limbs into benumbment!
+Death always possible before the
+next breath! These military metaphors in
+our hymns get some red blood into them
+when we use them against backgrounds
+and scenes like these. "Endure hardness
+as a good soldier."</p>
+
+<p>Now the apostle calls for this soldierly
+spirit in Thessalonica. He is writing to
+young recruits in the army of the Lord.
+They are having their first baptism of fire.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>
+Their enemies are strong, subtle, ubiquitous.
+To be a Christian in Thessalonica
+was to face the fierce onslaught of overwhelming
+odds. But indeed in those early
+days, Christian believers, wherever they
+lived, had to be heroic in the defence of
+their faith and obedience. Everywhere
+circumstances were hostile. Nothing was
+won without sacrifice. Nothing was held
+without blood. To be a witness was to be
+a martyr. If a believer would be faithful
+to his Lord he must "fight the good fight
+of faith"; if he would extend the frontiers
+of the Kingdom of Heaven he must endure
+hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
+Christ.</p>
+
+<p>What are the circumstances amid which
+the modern Church is placed? The Christian
+believer in our day is confronted with
+stupendous difficulties. Look at the present
+field on which our Christian warfare
+is to be waged. When the European war
+broke out I was staying at a quiet seaside
+village, from which I could see the soft
+green beauty of the mountains which encircle
+the English lakes. On the morning
+that war was proclaimed I felt as though
+some venerable and majestic temple had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+suddenly crumbled into dust. One of my
+most intimate friends, a noble German,
+was staying in my home, and we both felt
+as though some devil of mischief and disaster
+had toppled human affairs into confusion.
+The quiet sequence of human
+progress seemed to have been smashed at
+a stroke. The nations drew apart, and
+gulfs of isolation yawned between them,
+and down the gulfs there swept the cruel
+shrieking blasts of racial hatred and antipathy.
+Holy ministries which had been
+leagued in sacred fellowship were
+wrenched asunder. Spiritual communions
+which had been sweet and welcome curdled
+in the biting blast of resentment. The
+work of the Kingdom of our Lord was
+smitten as by an enemy; ploughshares
+were beaten into swords; pruning-hooks
+were transformed into spears; and instead
+of the fir and the myrtle-tree there sprang
+up the thorns and the briars. And then,
+to crown our difficulties, the red fury of
+war leaped into countries where our missionaries
+are proclaiming the gospel of
+peace, and the passion of battle began to
+burn where they are telling the story of
+the passion of Calvary, that holy passion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
+of sacrifice which brought to the whole
+world redemption from sin, and reconciliation
+with God, and the promise of the life
+that now is, and of that which is to come.</p>
+
+<p>Our immediate circumstances do not
+offer the soldiers of Jesus an easy parade
+ground where we can just loll and sing
+our lilting songs; they rather offer us a
+fearfully rugged and broken field which
+demands as heroic and chivalrous virtues
+as ever clothed a child of God. What
+shall we do? Is it the hour for craven
+fear or for a noble courage? What shall
+we do on our mission fields? Shall we
+cry "forward," or shall we sound the depressing
+and despairing note of retreat?
+Shall we throw up the sponge, or shall we,
+in the spirit of unprecedented sacrifice,
+march forward in our campaign, and endure
+hardness as good soldiers of Jesus
+Christ?</p>
+
+<p>First of all, we must keep our eyes
+steadily fixed upon the object for which
+Christ died, that solemn and holy end for
+which He created and appointed His own
+Church. And what is that object? It is
+to let "all men know that all men move
+under a canopy of love" as broad as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
+blue sky above. It is to break down all
+middle walls of partition, and to merge
+the sundered peoples in the quickening
+communion of His grace. It is to unite all
+the kingdoms of the world in the one and
+radiant Kingdom of His love. That is the
+aim and purpose of our blessed Lord, and
+in all the shock and convulsions of to-day
+we must keep that object steadfastly in
+sight. It was said of Napoleon that "he
+never for a moment lost sight of his way
+onward in the dazzle and uproar of present
+circumstances." That is to say, Napoleon
+was never blinded by the glare of victory
+or by the lowering cloud of defeat. "He
+saw only the object." Quietness did not
+throw its perilous spell about him. Calamity
+did not turn his eyes from the forward
+way. He saw only the object, and
+the glory of the goal sent streams of
+energy into his will and into his feet at
+every step of the changing road.</p>
+
+<p>Now our temptation is to permit events
+to determine our sight. There is the shimmer
+of gold on the right hand, and we
+turn to covet. There is the gleam of the
+sword on the left hand, and we turn in
+fear. We allow circumstances to govern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
+our aims. Our eyes are deflected from
+their object by the dazzle or the uproar
+around us. And here is the peril of it all.
+When we lose the object of our warfare
+we begin to lose the campaign. And,
+therefore, one of the first necessities of
+the Christian Church in the present hour
+is to have our Lord's own purpose steadily
+in view, to keep her eyes glued upon that
+supreme end, and to allow nothing to turn
+her aside. "Let thine eyes look right on;"
+"Thy kingdom come;" "The kingdoms of
+this world shall become the Kingdom of
+our God;" "He must reign until He hath
+put all enemies under His feet." This, I
+say, is the pressing and immediate need of
+the good soldier of Christ Jesus, to refuse
+to have his single aim complicated by the
+entanglement of passing circumstances,
+and to constantly "apprehend that for
+which we also were apprehended by Christ
+Jesus our Lord."</p>
+
+<p>What else shall we do in this hour of
+upheaval and disaster? The Church must
+eclipse the exploits of carnal warfare by
+the more glorious warfare of the spirit.
+Just recall the heroisms which are happening
+every day in Europe, and on which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
+the eyes of the world are riveted with an
+almost mesmerized wonder! Think of the
+magnificent sacrifices! Think of the splendid
+courage! Think of the exquisite chivalry!
+Think of the incredible powers of
+endurance! And then, further, think that
+the Church of Christ is called upon to outshine
+these glories with demonstrations
+more glorious still.</p>
+
+<p>This was surely one of the outstanding
+distinctions of apostolic life. Whenever
+hostilities confronted the early Church,
+whenever the first disciples were opposed
+by the gathered forces of the world, wherever
+the sword was bared and active, wherever
+tyranny exulted in sheer brutality,
+these early disciples unveiled a more
+splendid strength, and threw the carnal
+power into the shade. They faced their
+difficulties with such force and splendour
+of character that their very antagonisms
+became only the dark background on which
+the glory of the Lord was more manifestly
+revealed. Their courage rose with danger
+and eclipsed it!</p>
+
+<p>Let me open one or two windows in the
+apostolic record which give us glimpses of
+this conquering life. Here, then, is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
+glimpse of the hostilities: "Let us
+straightly threaten them that they speak
+henceforth to no man in this name." There
+you have the naked tyranny of carnal
+power, and there you have the threat that
+burns through carnal speech. And now,
+over against that power put the action of
+the Church: "And they spake the word of
+God with boldness!" They were good soldiers
+of Jesus Christ, and by that boldness
+the tyranny and threat of carnal
+power were completely eclipsed.</p>
+
+<p>Here is another glimpse of those heroic
+days: "And when they had called the
+apostles, and beaten them, they commanded
+that they should not speak in the name of
+Jesus." There again you have the demonstration
+of carnal power; and here again
+is the demonstration of the power of the
+spirit: "And they departed from the
+presence of the counsel, rejoicing that they
+were counted worthy to suffer shame for
+his name. And they ceased not to teach
+and preach Jesus Christ." I say that this
+"rejoicing" eclipses that beating, and the
+good soldier of Jesus Christ puts the
+Roman soldier into the shade.</p>
+
+<p>Let me open another window: "And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>
+they cast Stephen out of the city and
+stoned him." Get your eyes on that display
+of carnal passion and tyranny; and
+then lift your eyes upon the victim of it:
+"And he kneeled down and cried with a
+loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their
+charge." Who is the conqueror in that
+tragedy, the stoners or the stoned, the
+ministers of destruction or the good soldier
+of Jesus Christ? The carnal power was
+terrific and deadly, but it was utterly
+eclipsed by the power of grace, the power
+which blazed forth in this redeemed and
+consecrated life. Open yet another window
+upon this day of shining exploits:
+"Having stoned Paul they drew him
+out of the city, supposing he had been
+dead." That incident seems to record the
+coronation and sovereignty of brutal
+strength. Now read: "And they returned
+again to Lystra." Paul went back to the
+place where he had been stoned, to tell
+again the good news of grace, and to carry
+to broken people the ministries of healing.
+And I say that this bruised man,
+beaten and sore, returning again to the
+scene of the stoning, is a good soldier of
+Jesus Christ, and by his magnificent courage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
+and grace he eclipsed all the rough
+strength of the world and threw its
+achievements into the shade.</p>
+
+<p>But it is not only in apostolic days that
+you can find these brilliant contrasts. The
+Church has been distinguished by such
+demonstrations of spiritual glory all along
+her history. When material power has
+been riotous and rampant, when rude,
+crude passions have blazed through the
+earth, the chivalry of the Church has shone
+resplendent in the murky night, and she
+has eclipsed the dread shocks of the world
+and the flesh and the devil by her noble
+sacrifices, and by her serenity, and by her
+spontaneous joy. The Church has distinguished
+herself by her manifestations of
+spiritual strength, by her lofty Christian
+purpose, by her glowing devotional enthusiasm,
+and this over against gigantic obstacles,
+and in the face of enemies who
+seemed to be overwhelming.</p>
+
+<p>I think of James Chalmers, the martyred
+missionary of New Guinea. How well I
+remember the last time I met him; his big,
+powerful body, his lion-like head, his shock
+of rough hair, his face with such a strange
+commingling of strength and gentleness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
+indomitableness and grace! And what
+he went through in New Guinea in carrying
+to the natives the story of our
+Saviour's love! And then, having gone
+through it all, he stood up there in England,
+on the platform of Exeter Hall, and
+said: "Recall these twenty-one years, give
+me back all its experiences, give me its
+shipwrecks, give me its standings in the
+face of death, give it me surrounded with
+savages with spears and clubs, give it me
+back again with spears flying about me,
+with the club knocking me to the ground,
+give it me back, and I will still be your
+missionary." What is happening in Europe
+just now that can put that exploit
+in the shade? I do not wonder that when
+that man thought of heaven he used these
+words: "There will be much visiting in
+heaven, and much work. I guess I shall
+have good mission work to do, great, brave
+work for Christ. He will have to find
+it, for I can be nothing else than a missionary."
+James Chalmers went back to
+New Guinea to tell and retell to the
+natives why Jesus came to thee and
+me and all men, and he won the martyr's
+crown. The love of Christ constrained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
+him. And again I ask, what incidents in
+carnal warfare are not eclipsed by shining
+heroisms like these?</p>
+
+<p>I might go on telling you these glorious
+exploits of grace, but I hasten to say that
+it is our privilege to continue the story.
+To-day carnal strength is stalking in
+deadly stride through a whole continent.
+And to-day the Church must do something
+so splendid and so heroic as will outshine
+the glamour of material war. This is
+the hour when we must send out more men
+and women who are willing to live and toil
+and die for the Hindu, and for the Turk,
+and the Persian, and the Chinese and the
+Japanese, and all the dusky sons of Africa.
+I verily believe that if the apostle Paul
+were in our midst to-day, with the war raging
+in Europe, he would sound an advance
+all along the line. He would call us in this
+hour to send out more men and women to
+save, and to comfort, and to heal; men and
+women who will lay down their lives in
+bringing life to their fellow-men. We must
+send forth new army corps of the soldiers
+of Christ, and we must give them more
+abundant means, endowing them so plentifully
+that they can go out into the needy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>
+places of Asia and Africa, and assuage the
+pains and burdens of the body, and dispel
+the darkness of the mind, and give liberty
+to the imprisoned spirit, and lead the souls
+of men into the life and joy and peace of
+our blessed Lord. If the Church would,
+and if the Church will, she can so arrest
+the attention and win the hearts of the
+natives of Africa and Asia with the grace
+and gentleness of the Lord Jesus, a grace
+and gentleness made incarnate again in
+you and me, and in those whom we send
+to the field, that the excellent glory of the
+Spirit shall shine pre-eminent, and in this
+hour of world-wide disaster the risen Lord
+shall again be glorified.</p>
+
+<p>Shall we quietly challenge ourselves
+amid all the awful happenings of to-day?
+Here are the terms of the challenge.
+Shall the good soldier of Christ Jesus be
+overshadowed by the soldiers of the world?
+Or shall the courage and ingenuities of the
+world be eclipsed by the heroism and the
+wise audacity of the Church? Shall we
+withdraw our army from the field because
+the war is raging in Europe, or shall we
+send it reinforcements? Shall we practice
+a more severe economy and straiten our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>
+army's equipment for service; or shall we
+practice a more glorious self-sacrifice, and
+make its equipment more efficient? Shall
+we exalt and glorify our Saviour, or shall
+we allow Him to be put in the shade?
+Shall we endure hardness, as good soldiers
+of Christ, or shall we take to the
+fields of indulgence, and allow the Church
+of the Living God to be outshone by the
+army of the world? Which shall it be?</p>
+
+<p>Our holy battlefield is as wide as the
+world. The needs are clamant. The opportunities
+of victory are on every side.
+Our Captain is calling! What then, shall
+it be? Advance or retreat? What answer
+can there be but one? Surely the answer
+must be that we will advance, even though
+it mean the shedding of the blood of sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>One of our medical missionaries was
+Dr. Francis J. Hall of Peking, China. He
+had been graduated with high honours at
+the Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore,
+and had consecrated his life to
+medical missionary work in China, where
+his large abilities promptly won him wide
+influence. In 1913 he said to one of his
+associates: "I have just been called to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+a Chinese who has typhus fever. Many
+physicians have died of that disease, but
+I must go." Two weeks later he was
+stricken. As he lay dying his mind wandered,
+and he was heard to exclaim: "I
+hear them calling, I must go; I hear them
+calling!" Do we hear them calling? Is
+the answer "Yes"? Then let us joyfully
+register a vow that, God helping us, the
+army of the Lord shall not be maimed because
+of our indifference, but as good soldiers
+of Jesus Christ we will, if need be,
+endure hardness, and give of our possessions,
+even unto the shedding of our
+blood.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></div>
+<h1>XI<br />
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Eternal God, we rejoice in the security that is offered
+to us in our midnights and in our noons. Thou wilt not leave
+us to the loneliness of self-communion, but Thou wilt hold fellowship
+with us along the way. Come to us as the Lord Jesus came
+to the men who were journeying to Emmaus, and make our
+hearts burn within us in the revelation of light and grace.
+Especially in these bewildering times wilt Thou steady our
+minds with Thy councils and inspire our hearts in the assurance
+of Thy sovereign love. Lead us along our troubled road.
+Let the heavenly light break upon our darkness. Help us to
+believe in Thy peace even when the world is at strife. Let
+Thy kingdom come. Even when the world is filled with the
+smoke of battle may we discern the presence of the Lord. Save
+us from the sin of unbelief. Reveal to us, we humbly pray
+Thee, the sin in which this strife has been born, and help the
+nations to turn from it in new consecration to Thee. In this
+gracious purpose wilt Thou possess our services. Help us to
+look beyond the seen into the strength and glory of the unseen.
+Cheer us with Thy consolations. Uphold us with Thine
+hand, and impart to us the gift of Thy gracious peace. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></div>
+<h1>XI<br />
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER ON THE FIELD</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And He will lift up an ensign
+to the nations from far, and will
+hiss unto them from the end of
+the earth." Isaiah 5:26.</p>
+
+<p>"And it shall come to pass in
+that day that the Lord shall hiss
+for the fly that is in the uttermost
+part of the rivers of Egypt, and
+for the bee that is in the land of
+Assyria." Isaiah 7:18.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>That was a startling word to fall
+upon the ears of the people of
+Judah. It shocked them into confusion.
+It was an altogether revolutionary
+word. It played havoc with their traditional
+beliefs. It smashed up all their
+easy securities. It turned their world upside
+down, and all their ancient confidences
+were broken. Let us try to feel the
+shock of the message. The people had
+come to regard their land as a sort of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
+divine reservation, and they looked upon
+their nation as a specially favoured instrument
+in the hand of the Lord. They esteemed
+themselves as being in the friendly
+grip and fellowship of the Lord of hosts.
+All their movements were the inspirations
+of His counsels, and in the strength of
+His providence their nation's progress and
+destiny were assured. They lived in the assumption
+that every step in their national
+life was foreseen, and planned, and provided
+for, and that they were always being
+led towards divinely appointed goals.
+There was nothing of chance in their
+journeyings, and nothing of uncertainty
+in their ends. For them there was no
+blind groping in the darkness, for the
+Lord of hosts had charge of their national
+life; and "the sure mercies of David"
+would secure it from calamity and destruction.</p>
+
+<p>That was what they thought about themselves.
+What did they think of the nations
+beyond their frontier? That was quite
+another story. They looked upon other
+nations as struggling blindly, and in their
+dark rage imagining vain things. These
+other nations had the promptings of passion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>,
+but they had no divine and mystic
+leadership. They moved hither and
+thither, but it was under no divine appointment,
+and a thousand traps were laid for
+their unhallowed feet. Yonder was Assyria,
+full of strength and full of movement,
+expressing herself in the might of
+tremendous armies, but she was under no
+divine command or inspiration. Assyria
+was like a boat in unknown waters, without
+a pilot, and she was marked for inevitable
+destruction. And yonder was proud
+Egypt, swelling with her power and renown,
+colossal in her material achievements,
+but she had no divinely enlightened
+eyes, she was blind in her goings, and her
+marching was in reality a staggering
+towards doom. And yonder were other
+nations from afar; but they were all just
+chance masses, looked upon as existing outside
+the frontier line of divine favour and
+enlightenment. They dwelt in some hinterland
+of life where God's gracious decrees
+do not run. They were beyond the orbit
+of divine thought and grace. Now that
+was the kind of thinking which the prophet
+had to meet. Judah regarded herself as
+nestling within the home circle of Providence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>,
+and all other nations were outcasts
+living beyond the sacred pale.</p>
+
+<p>And now perhaps we shall be able to
+feel something of the astounding effect
+of the prophet's words. "And the Lord
+shall lift up an ensign to the nations from
+far." Far-away peoples are to move
+under the impulse and inspiration of the
+Lord, and in the light of His guiding command.
+"The Lord shall hiss for the fly
+that is in the uttermost part of the rivers
+of Egypt." A far-away nation, thick as
+flies, is to move under the touch and ordination
+of God! "The Lord shall hiss for
+the bee that is in the land of Assyria."
+A far-away nation, thick as a hive of bees,
+is to move under the controlling purpose
+of the Lord! Can you feel the shock of
+the prophet's words? It is the shock of
+a larger thought which shakes the nations
+out of their small and cosey contentment.
+They had conceived the divine Providence
+as being confined exclusively to Judah's
+particular guidance and defence. They had
+thought within the limits of a country; they
+are now bidden to cross the frontier and
+conceive a Providence which encircles a
+continent and a world. The fly in Egypt,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
+and the bee in Assyria, raising their wings
+at the touch of the Lord,&mdash;it staggered
+them into incredulity!</p>
+
+<p>Now we can see what the prophet was
+doing. He was seeking to enlarge their
+sense of the orbit of the divine movement.
+For the little ripples on their pool he was
+substituting the ocean tides. For the circle
+of their native hills and valleys he was
+substituting a line which embraced the uttermost
+parts of the earth. And that is
+what I wish to do in this meditation. I
+wish to proclaim the vastness of the divine
+orbit, the tremendous sweep of the divine
+decrees, and I wish to emphasize the teaching
+of this great prophet, that momentous
+destinies may be born in far-away places,
+even at the very end of the world. "The
+Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and
+for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."</p>
+
+<p>Well then, under the power of this teaching,
+let us think in wider orbits of the
+divine inspiration of nations. For we are
+apt to imprison our thought within very
+narrow and artificial restraints. Much of
+our thought about providential movements
+shuts God up to the circle of so-called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
+Christian nations: But what if a fierce and
+decadent civilization is to be corrected by
+the inspired influence of such peoples as
+are described by Rudyard Kipling as
+"lesser breeds without the law?" What
+if our God will hiss for the fly and the bee
+among just such peoples as we are inclined
+to patronize or despise? Let us
+imagine some modern Isaiah standing up
+in London or New York and uttering words
+like these;&mdash;"The Lord shall hiss for the
+fly that is in the uttermost part of China,
+and for the bee that is in the land of India."
+I know that such a doctrine shocks
+our national susceptibilities, just as a
+similar doctrine shocked the national pride
+of the ancient Jews. But such a doctrine
+offers the only true interpretation of the
+range of the divine orbit. It may be that
+the reinforcements of civilization are to
+come from the movements of the stagnant
+waters of China. It may be that rivers
+of vitality are to flow into our life from
+the meditative, contemplative, philosophic,
+mystic races of India. Just think of their
+quiet, lofty, serious brooding, stealing into
+our feverish materialism and sobering the
+fierceness of the quest. I cannot but wonder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
+what the good Lord, in the vastness of
+His orbit, is even now preparing for the
+world on the far-away plains of India and
+China.</p>
+
+<p>Let your imagination exercise itself
+again in the larger orbit, and think of some
+modern prophet standing up in London
+with this message upon his lips;&mdash;"The
+Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost parts of Russia." The message
+strikes us as incredible, but it is only because,
+like the people of Judah, our conception
+of the divine orbit is so small and
+circumscribed. I for one am watching
+with fascinated eyes the movements of
+Russia. I am wondering what is coming
+to us from that great people, so long and
+patiently sad, so full of reverence, going
+on long, weary pilgrimages to bow at holy
+shrines. Superstition? Yes, if you please.
+But I am wondering what is going to happen
+when the dogged strength of that
+superstition becomes an enlightened faith.
+I am wondering what will happen when
+that rich, fertile bed of national reverence
+begins to bear the full and matured fruits
+of the Spirit. What then? I know it is
+not easy to think it. It is not easy to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+widen the orbit of one's thought. It is
+never easy to stretch a neglected or unused
+muscle. But the wider thought is the orbit
+of our God, and in the mysterious land of
+Russia untold destinies may be even now
+at the birth.</p>
+
+<p>And so do I urge that we think in vaster
+orbits of the divine inspiration of nations.
+Let us reject the atheism of incredulity,
+and let us encourage ourselves in the
+boundless hope of an all-encompassing God
+of the human race. The great God journeys
+on in His tremendous orbit, and who
+knows from what unlikely peoples the
+rejuvenation of the world is to come?
+"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in
+the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt,
+and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."</p>
+
+<p>Now I want to go further, and under the
+power of the prophet's teaching I would
+urge that we think in wide orbits of the
+divine raising of the heroic leaders of men.
+In what wide and mysterious sweeps the
+great God works when He wants a leader
+of men! The man is wanted here at the
+center, but he is being prepared yonder on
+the remote circumference! God hisses for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
+the fly or the bee, and He calls it from very
+obscure and unlikely fields.</p>
+
+<p>Here is ancient Israel. Her altars are
+defiled, and her balances are perverted.
+She is hollow in worship, and she is
+crooked in trade, and the people are listless
+in their debasement. A leader is
+wanted to awake and scourge the people.
+Where shall he be found? The Lord hisses
+for a fly in Tekoa, a wretched little village,
+in a mean and scanty setting; and the fly
+was a poor herdman, following the flock,
+and eking out his miserable living by
+gathering the figs of the sycamore. And
+this Amos was God's man! A prophet of
+fire was wanted in Bethel, and God prepared
+him in Tekoa! But what an orbit,
+and who would have thought that Tekoa
+would have been a school of the prophets?</p>
+
+<p>Stride across the centuries. The religion
+of Europe has become a gloss for
+indulgence. Nay, it has become an excuse
+for it. The Father's house has become
+a den of thieves. The doctrines of
+grace have been wiped out by a system of
+man-devised works. Religion is devitalized,
+and morals have become dissolute.
+Wanted, a man, who shall be both scourge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>
+and evangelist! Where shall he be found?
+"The Lord hissed for the fly" that was in
+Eisleben, in the house of a poor miner, and
+Martin Luther came forth to grapple with
+all the corruptions of established religion.
+But what an orbit! A fire was wanted to
+burn up the refuse which had accumulated
+over spiritual religion, and the fire was
+first kindled in a little home, in a little
+village, far away from the broad highways
+of social privilege and advantage. Again,
+I say, what an orbit!</p>
+
+<p>March forward again across the years.
+Here is England under the oppression of
+a king who claims divine sanction for his
+oppression. There is no tyranny like the
+tyranny which stamps itself with a holy
+seal. And in those old days of Charles I,
+tyranny wore a sacred badge. Tyranny
+carried a cross. It was tyranny by divine
+right. Wrong was justified by grace. I
+say, of all tyrannies, this is the most tyrannical.
+Wanted, a man to meet and overthrow
+it! Where will he be found? Will
+he be found in some national centre of
+learning where wealthy privilege holds her
+seat? Oh, no! The Lord hissed for a fly
+on the fens, from a little farm at Huntington<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>,
+and Oliver Cromwell emerged, to try
+swords with the king on his throne! Let
+me give the familiar glimpse which Sir
+Philip Warwick offers us of Cromwell
+making his first speech in the House of
+Commons. "I came into the House one
+morning, well clad, and perceived a gentleman
+speaking whom I knew not, very
+ordinarily appareled, for it was a plain
+cloth suit, which seemed to have been made
+by an ill country tailor. His linen was
+plain and not very clean, and I remember
+a speck or two of blood upon his little band,
+which was not much larger than his collar.
+His hat was without a hat-band. His stature
+was of a good size; his sword stuck
+close to his side; his countenance swollen
+and reddish; his voice sharp and untunable,
+and his eloquence full of fervour."
+And there is God's man! But what an
+orbit! A man was wanted for the defence
+of liberty and spiritual religion, and God
+prepared this man in the obscurity of a
+little farm among the fens. What an orbit
+is marked by the goings of the Lord. The
+Lord hissed for the fly on the fen.</p>
+
+<p>March forward across the centuries.
+Here is slavery in the American republic.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
+In spite of the noble words of the Declaration
+of Independence: "That all men are
+created equal; that they are endowed by
+their Creator with certain inalienable
+rights; that among these are life, liberty
+and the pursuit of happiness"&mdash;in spite
+of these ringing human claims slavery
+nestled beneath the American flag. Well,
+wanted a man to deal with it! Where will
+he be found? Will he be found in some
+university centre? Will he be a paragon of
+intellectual learning and accomplishment?
+Oh no! The Lord hissed for a fly in Harden,
+in a scraggy part of Kentucky, Harden
+with its "barren hillocks and weedy
+hollows, and stunted and scrubby underbush,"&mdash;and
+there in a dismal solitude,
+and in a cheerless home, and in the deepest
+poverty, the great God made His man, and
+Abraham Lincoln came forth to cross
+swords with the great wrong, and to ring
+the bells of freedom from the "frozen
+North to the glowing South, and from the
+stormy waters of the Atlantic westward
+to the calmer waters of the Pacific Main."
+But what an orbit of divine providence!
+Who would have guessed that just there,
+in that poor, unschooled, and unprivileged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
+family the great God was doing His momentous
+work? And I wonder where now
+in the vast orbit of His providence He is
+rearing the leaders of to-morrow? Our
+God moves in mighty sweeps, and He is
+even now at work in the mysterious ministries
+of His grace. "The Lord shall hiss
+for the fly that is in the uttermost part of
+the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that
+is in the land of Assyria."</p>
+
+<p>And then, under the influence of the
+prophet's teaching I want once more to
+urge that we think in wider orbits of the
+divine presence in the individual life. For
+instance, in what sweeping orbits the Lord
+moves on His journeys in seeking to bring
+us to Himself, and to fashion us into the
+strength and beauty of His own image.
+He lifts an ensign to some remote circumstance,
+and from afar there comes an influence
+which sets me on the road to God.
+He calls a ministry from distant Egypt, or
+from far off Assyria, and my life is turned
+to the home of my Lord.</p>
+
+<p>Here is a careless young son of wealth
+in Cambridge University. Life for him is
+just an idle sport, a careless revel, a jaunty
+outing, an enjoyable extravagance. Life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
+is just a shallow, shimmering pool; not
+an ocean with momentous tidal forces, and
+with the voice of the great Eternal speaking
+in its mighty tones. Wanted a man to
+awake this indolent son of wealth! And in
+what an orbit God moved to find the man!
+The Lord hissed for a fly in Massachusetts,
+and there, in Northfield, was a poor homestead,
+encumbered with mortgage; and a
+poor widow with seven children, so poor
+that the very kindling wood was taken by
+the creditors from the shed. And there in
+that poor woman's house God made His
+man, and Dwight Moody came forth, and
+went to Cambridge University, and proclaimed
+the evangel of grace, and by the
+love of God won this young fellow from a
+loose and jaunty and indifferent life, and
+kindled in him a passionate devotion to
+Christ which is now blazing away on the
+Southern Soudan in a campaign to light a
+line of Christian beacon-fires which shall
+stretch from coast to coast! But what an
+orbit! From a poor widow's homestead
+in Northfield to a sporting young fellow
+in Cambridge University!</p>
+
+<p>I met a cultured man the other day, a
+man who has enjoyed all the academic advantages<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>
+that money can provide, a man
+of university culture and distinction, but
+whose life has been spiritually indifferent,
+and who has held coldly aloof from God
+and the Kingdom of God. And in the vast
+orbit of His providence the great God
+brought this man into communion with
+Billy Sunday, and all the stubble of his
+neglected life was burned up in the consuming
+fire of his kindled love for the
+Lord. But just think of the orbit! The
+Lord hissed for His fly, and from the apparently
+incredible circumstance of a
+slangy evangelist this man was brought to
+his Father's House in reconciliation and
+peace. Again I say, what an orbit! "I
+will bring the blind by a way that they
+know not," and under His wide and mysterious
+leadership the blind find themselves
+at home.</p>
+
+<p>And so, my friends, our God is still moving
+in these vast orbits. He hisses for a
+disappointment, and it comes and throws
+its shadow upon our life, but the shadow
+is purposed to be one of the healing
+shadows of grace. "I will command the
+clouds, saith the Lord." Yes, even our
+cloudy experiences move under command.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
+They travel in the tremendous orbit of His
+providence. "I will command the ravens,
+saith the Lord God." Yes, there are diverse
+circumstances that come to us on wings,&mdash;kind
+words, cheering messages, bright inspirations,
+and they are the commanded
+ministers of God's providence. They are
+God's messengers on wings!</p>
+
+<p>We can never tell in what remote circumstances
+the good Lord is even now preparing
+our to-morrow. But of one thing
+we may be perfectly sure, the great Lord
+is at work, and He is at work over wide
+fields. "Rest in the Lord, and wait
+patiently for Him." "The Lord is thy
+keeper.... The Lord shall keep thee
+from all evil, He shall keep thy soul. The
+Lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming
+in from this time forth, and even for
+evermore."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></div>
+<h1>XII<br />
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, may we experience that deepest of
+all joys which is born of holy communion with Thee. Lead us
+into new fields of our wonderful inheritance in Christ. May
+we have new surprises of grace. May some fresh revelations
+of Thy love break upon our astonished vision. Remove the
+scales from our eyes, so that we may see clearly the things which
+are waiting to be unveiled. Graciously make known to us what
+Thou wouldst have us be in order that we may then more clearly
+apprehend what Thou wouldst have us do. Help us to remember
+what we ought not to forget, and help us to forget what we ought
+not to remember. May our minds be the servants of Thy
+truth. Let the beams of heavenly light chase out the darkness
+of error and let it be all glorious within. We humbly pray
+Thee to deliver us from our selfishness, and enlarge and refine
+our sympathies until they express themselves in willing sacrifice.
+May we feel the pains of others, and carry their burdens
+and share their yokes. May the circles of our compassion
+grow larger every day. Let the ends of the earth be at our own
+doors, and so may we hear the cry which is very far off. Illumine
+our lives in this service, and send us forth to enlighten and
+kindle the lives of others. Make us missionaries of Thy truth
+and ambassadors of Thy grace and love. May we be quick
+to discern opportunity, and ready to use it in the service of the
+King. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></div>
+<h1>XII<br />
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"He shall baptize you with the
+Holy Ghost and with fire." Matthew
+3:11.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Such is the divine promise. Let me
+read the story of its fulfilment.
+"And when the day of Pentecost
+was fully come they were all with one accord
+in one place. And suddenly there
+came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
+mighty wind, and it filled all the house
+where they were sitting. And there appeared
+unto them cloven tongues, like as
+of fire, and it sat upon each of them." Do
+not let us become victims of the letter and
+become entangled in the symbolism. It is
+possible so to regard material signs as to
+lose their spiritual significance. A musical
+word may conceal its own thought.
+Words are purposed to be the vehicles of
+mind. Symbols are intended to be transparencies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>,
+losing themselves in something
+better. They are ordained to be thoroughfares
+through which we pass to nobler
+destinations. The sign is to be the servant
+of its own significance.</p>
+
+<p>Here then are men and women who are
+about to receive the promised gift of the
+Spirit of God. They have been waiting as
+their Master directed, waiting in prayer,
+and in prayer incalculably strengthened by
+community of desire, waiting in trembling
+watchfulness and expectation. Then the
+much-hoped-for day arrives and their
+spirits receive the infinite reinforcement of
+the gift of the Holy Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>We have a very pale reflection of this experience
+when two human spirits are given
+to each other in deep and vital communion.
+When David received the gift of Jonathan's
+spirit, and Jonathan received the
+gift of David's spirit, each of them obtained
+immeasurable enrichment. When
+Robert Browning received the gift of Elizabeth
+Barrett's spirit, and Elizabeth Barrett
+received the gift of Robert Browning's
+spirit, who can calculate the wealth which
+each of them found in the other's possession?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But these examples, and others even
+more sacred which we could gather from
+our own experience, are only pale and wan
+and shadowy, compared with the wonder
+which breaks upon the soul when the spirit
+of man receives the gift of the Spirit of
+God, and the two dwell together in mystic
+and glorious communion. What happens
+to the human spirit is suggested to us
+under the familiar symbols of wind and
+fire. "Like unto a rushing mighty wind;"
+"like unto fire." Do not let us be enslaved
+by any hampering details in the
+figures. Let us seek their broad significance.
+And what is the characteristic of a
+rushing mighty wind? It dispels the fog.
+It freshens the atmosphere. It gives life
+and nimbleness to the air. It is the minister
+of vitality. And the breath of God's
+Spirit is like that; it clears the human
+spirit, and freshens it, and vitalizes it; it
+acts upon the soul like the air of a spiritual
+spring. And as for the symbol of the fire;
+fire is the antagonist of all that is frozen;
+it is the antagonist of the torpid, the tepid;
+it is the minister of fervour, and buoyancy,
+and expansion. The wind changes the atmosphere,
+the fire changes the temperature<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>;
+and the holy Spirit of God changes
+the atmosphere and temperature of the
+soul; and when you have changed the atmosphere
+and temperature of a soul you
+have accomplished a mighty transformation.
+It is about this change in the moral
+and spiritual temperature that I want to
+meditate, the gift of fire which we receive
+in the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If the
+spirit of man and the spirit of God come
+into blessed communion, and the fire of
+God is given, how will it reveal and express
+itself? For if there be a gift of
+fire in the soul we shall most surely
+know it. Fire is one of the things which
+cannot be hid. You can hide a painted
+sun in your parlour and no one will
+know it is there, but you cannot hide a
+glowing fire. A man can hide a denominational
+label, he cannot possibly hide the
+holy fire of God. How, then, shall we know
+that the fire is there?</p>
+
+<p>First of all I think I should look for the
+holy fire on the common hearthstone of
+human love. If the fire of God does not
+warm up the affections I fail to recognize
+what its heat can be worth. The first thing
+to warm up is the heart. The intimate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
+friend of the Holy Spirit is known by the
+ardour of his affections. He loves with a
+pure heart fervently. He is baptized with
+fire. Now I need not seek to prove the
+existence of cold hearts among us. I am
+afraid we must accept them without question.
+Whether there are hearts like fire-grates
+without a spark of fire I cannot tell.
+Personally, I have never met with anyone
+in whose soul the fire of love had gone
+quite out. I think that if we sought very
+diligently among the gray dusty ashes of
+any burnt-out life we should find a little
+love somewhere. Yes, even in Judas Iscariot,
+or in the dingy soul-grate of old
+frozen-out Scrooge. But there are surely
+souls so cold, and so destitute of love, that
+the poor fire never leaps up in dancing,
+cheering, welcome flames. Their temperature
+is zero.</p>
+
+<p>There are other souls with a little fire
+of love burning, but it is very sad, very
+sodden, very sullen, very dull. There is
+more smoke than fire. There is more surliness
+than love. Their fire is not inviting
+and attractive. There is a little spitting,
+and spluttering, and crackling, but there
+is no fine, honest, ruddy glow. Their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
+temperature is about ten above freezing.
+They are not frozen but they are not comforting.</p>
+
+<p>There are other lives where the fire of
+affection is burning more brightly, and certainly
+with more attractive glow, but
+where it seems as if the quality of the
+fuel must be poor because the fire gives
+out comparatively little heat. The heart
+sends out a cheery beam across the family
+circle, but it does not reach beyond. There
+is no cordial warmth for the wider circles
+of fellowship. The fire burns in the home
+but it does not affect the office. It encompasses
+the child but it has no cheer for the
+stranger. What is the temperature of such
+a life? It is very difficult to appraise it.
+Perhaps it will be best to say that in one
+room of the soul the temperature is 60,
+while in all the other rooms it is down
+towards freezing.</p>
+
+<p>And, therefore, I need not say how profound
+is the need in the world for warm,
+glowing, affectional fires. What awfully
+cold lives there are in the city, just waiting
+for the cheer of "the flame of sacred
+love!" There are souls whose fires have
+died down at the touch of death. There are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>
+others whose glow has been dulled by
+heavy sorrow. There are others whose
+love has been slaked by the pitiless rains
+of pelting defeat. There are others again
+whose hearts are cold in the midst of
+material wealth. They have richly furnished
+dwellings, but their hearts are like
+ice. They are unloved and unlovely, and
+they are frostbitten in the realms of luxury.
+Wealth can buy attention; it can
+never purchase love. My God! What
+cold souls there are in this great city!</p>
+
+<p>And, therefore, what a clamant and urgent
+need there is for love-fires at which to
+kindle these souls that are heavy, and burdened,
+and cold. And when the Holy Spirit
+is given to a man, and he is baptized with
+fire, it must surely, first of all, be the fire
+of cordial, human affection. And such is
+the teaching of experience. When John
+Wesley came into the fulness of the divine
+blessing in a little service at Aldersgate
+Street, London, he said that he "felt his
+heart strangely warmed." He was receiving
+the gift of holy fire. And I cannot
+but think that Charles Wesley was thinking
+about his brother's experience on that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>
+day when he wrote his own immortal hymn
+which includes the prayerful lines:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Kindle a flame of sacred love<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">In these cold hearts of ours."</span><br />
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>You find and feel the glow of that love-fire
+throughout the New Testament Scriptures.
+They who have the most of God's
+Spirit have the most of the fire. There
+was Barnabas, who was declared to be
+"full of the Holy Spirit," and he is also
+described as "the son of consolation."
+What a consummate title! Cannot we
+feel the love-fire burning and glowing in
+all his ample ministry? Full of the Spirit,
+and therefore full of consolation! The
+truth of the matter is this,&mdash;we cannot be
+much with the Spirit of Christ, and not
+take fire from His presence. In these high
+realms, communing is partaking, and we
+kindle to the same affection as fills the
+heart of the Lord. "We love because He
+first loved us." His fire lights our fire,
+and we burn in kindred passion. So do I
+proclaim that when the fire of God falls
+upon our spirits the sacred gift kindles and
+inflames the soul's affections. When we
+are baptized with the Holy Ghost and with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
+fire, we receive the glowing power of
+Christian love.</p>
+
+<p>Where else shall we look for that holy
+fire in human life? I think I should look
+for the presence of the fire of the Holy
+Ghost in fervent enthusiasm for the cause
+of Christ's Kingdom. And that indeed is
+what I find. The New Testament instructs
+me in this, and it teaches me that where
+man is baptized with the Holy Spirit and
+with fire his own spirit becomes fervent.
+He is declared to be "<i>fervent</i> in spirit,"
+and the original word means to bubble up,
+to boil, as in a boiling kettle; it is the
+emergence of the mighty power of steam.
+And so the significance is this: the fire
+of God generates steam, it creates driving
+power, it produces forceful and invincible
+enthusiasm. You will find abundant
+examples of this spiritual miracle in
+the Acts of the Apostles; perhaps the
+Book might be more truly named "The
+Acts of the Holy Spirit," for all the
+glorious activity is generated by His holy
+fire. Let your eyes glance over the apostolic
+record. Mark how the fire of God
+endows man with the power of magnificent
+initiative. Take the apostle Peter;&mdash;once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
+his strength was the strength of impulse,
+a spurt and then a collapse, a spasm and
+then a retreat, proud beginnings bereft of
+patience and perseverance. But see him
+when the Spirit of God has got hold upon
+him, and what a gift he has received of
+initial and sustained enthusiasm! "And
+Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit!" You
+should see him then, and note the strength
+of his drive, and the ardour of his enterprise!
+And the example of Peter would be
+confirmed by the examples of all the other
+apostles, if only we knew their personal
+history and experience. I wish there had
+been given to us just a glimpse of doubting
+Thomas, slow, hesitant, reluctant, uncertain,
+when the Holy Spirit had him in
+possession. "And Thomas filled with the
+Holy Spirit,"&mdash;I would give something to
+know the end of that sentence. And I
+wish we had one glimpse of timid, fearful,
+night-walking Nicodemus, when the
+fire of God's Spirit blazed in his soul.
+"Then Nicodemus, filled with the Holy
+Spirit,"&mdash;I wonder what notable exploits
+would complete that unfinished sentence.
+This we know; the holy fire transformed
+the timid into the courageous, the lukewarm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>
+into the fervent, it generated a moral
+steam which made them invincible.</p>
+
+<p>The first apostles drove through tremendous
+obstacles. Indeed, they never
+had the comfort of an open and unimpeded
+road. Every road was thick with adversaries.
+What then? Through them or
+over them! "But, Sire," said a timid and
+startled officer to Napoleon, on receiving
+apparently impossible commands, "But,
+Sire, there are the Alps!" "Then there
+must be no Alps," replied his audacious
+chief. "There must be no Alps!" That
+was the very spirit of the first apostles.
+Mighty antagonisms reared themselves in
+their way,&mdash;ecclesiastical prejudices, the
+prejudices of culture, social hostilities,
+political expediences, and all the subtle and
+violent contrivances of the world, the flesh
+and the devil. "But, Sire, there are the
+Alps!" "There must be no Alps!"
+Through them! Over them! What that
+coward Peter got through when the fire of
+God glowed in his soul! When a man has
+the holy fire of God within him he has a
+boiling fervency of spirit, and he can drive
+through anything.</p>
+
+<p>And that same holy fire gives the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
+terrific power to-day, the same driving enthusiasm,
+the same patient, dogged, invincible
+perseverance. If a man declares
+that he has received the fire of God's Holy
+Spirit, I will look eagerly for the impetus
+of his sacred enthusiasm. If he be a
+preacher I will look for labour in the passion,
+and the unsnarable energy and
+patience which he will assuredly put into
+his work. If he be a teacher, I will examine
+the generated steam, and note how much he
+can do, how far he can travel, and how
+long he can hold out in the service of his
+Lord. If he be a man who has set himself
+to some piece of social reconstruction I will
+watch with what ardour, and ingenuity,
+and inevitableness he is moving towards
+his goal. Is it the smashing of the saloons?
+"Then Peter, filled with the Holy fire;"&mdash;what
+if that power were harnessed to the
+enterprise? Or is it the awful plague and
+blight of impurity; or is it the cleaning up
+of politics; the establishment of rectitude
+in civic and national life? Whatever it be,
+the holy fire of God will reveal its presence
+in the soul of man in an ardent enthusiasm
+which cannot be quenched. It is the
+promise of our God, and shall He not do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>
+it? "He maketh His ministers a flaming
+fire,"&mdash;and that fire can never be blown
+out in the darkest and most tempestuous
+nights.</p>
+
+<p>And lastly, I shall look for the signs of
+the presence of the Holy Spirit in the fire
+of sacred resentment. If a man is baptized
+with the Holy Ghost, and with fire, I shall
+expect to see the presence of that fire in
+the capacity of hot and sensitive indignation.
+I need not say that there is a mighty
+difference between hot temper and hot indignation.
+Hot temper is a firing of loose
+powder upon a shovel. It is just a flare,
+and an annoyance, and a danger. But hot
+indignation is powder concentrated in the
+muzzle of a gun, and intelligently directed
+to the overthrow of some stronghold of
+iniquity. Hot temper is the fire of the
+devil. Hot indignation is the fire of God;
+it is the wrath of the Lamb. What is this
+capacity of indignation? It is the opposite
+to frozen antipathy, to tepid curiosity,
+to sinful "don't care," to all immoral coldness
+and calculated indifference. There
+are many people who can be irritated, but
+they are never indignant. They can be
+offended, but they are never nobly angry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
+The souls who are possessed with the fire
+of God are the very opposite to all these.
+I said at the very beginning of this meditation
+that the breath of God is like the
+quickening atmosphere of the Spring; but
+it is equally true to say that it can be like
+the destructive blast of the African
+sirocco&mdash;"The grass withereth and the
+flower fadeth <i>because the Spirit of the
+Lord bloweth upon it</i>." The hot breath
+of God is like unto a blast that scorches
+things in their very roots. And if we
+share the breath of God's Spirit we too
+shall be endowed with the ministry of the
+destructive blast, even the power of a consuming
+indignation. Any form of public
+iniquity will make our fire blaze with purifying
+wrath. Corruption in civic or national
+government, inhumanity in the
+treatment of the criminal and the unfortunate,
+the oppression of the poor, the
+brutal disregard of the rights of the weak
+and the defenceless, any one of these will
+draw out our souls in the hot and aggressive
+indignation which is the imparted fire
+of the Holy Ghost. If any one claims to
+have been baptized with the Holy Ghost
+and with fire, and he is indifferent in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>
+presence of licensed iniquity, and apathetic
+and lukewarm when gigantic wrongs glare
+and stare upon him, that man's spiritual
+baptism is a pathetic fiction, and his
+boasted fire is only a painted flame.</p>
+
+<p>But if a man suffer a personal injury,
+if some wrong is done to him, what kind
+of fire shall I expect to see in his life if he
+is filled with the Holy Ghost? Yes, if
+some one has done an injury to another,
+and the other has been baptized with the
+Holy Ghost, what kind of fire will he reveal?
+Listen to this: "If thine enemy hunger,
+feed him; if he thirst, give him
+drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals
+of fire upon his head!" It is the very
+fire that rains upon us from the Cross of
+our Lord: "And when they were come to
+the place which is called Calvary, there
+they crucified Him, and the malefactors,
+one on the right hand and the other on the
+left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
+them, for they know not what they do."
+What kind of fire is that? It is the same
+holy fire which flowed from the soul of the
+martyr Stephen as he was being stoned
+to death: "Lord, lay not this sin to their
+charge." It is a marvellous fire, a most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+arresting fire; and we simply cannot withstand
+it. It is the very fire of grace; it is
+live coal from the altar of God.</p>
+
+<p>So this is the sort of fire I look for when
+a man claims to be filled with the Holy
+Spirit,&mdash;the glowing fire of humble affection,
+the glowing fire of noble enthusiasm,
+the glowing fire of indignation,
+and the marvellous fire of self-forgetting
+grace. "He shall baptize you with
+the Holy Ghost and with fire."</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"He came in tongues of living flame,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To teach, convince, subdue,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">All powerful as the wind He came,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And viewless too.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Spirit of purity and grace,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Our weakness, pitying see,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Oh, make our hearts Thy dwelling-place,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And worthier Thee."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></div>
+<h1>XIII<br />
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for our knowledge
+that all our springs are in Thee. Wilt Thou deliver us from
+any sense of self-dependence, and lead us into an intimate
+fellowship with the ministers of Thy grace. If any triumph
+has made us self-confident, if any earthly success has made
+us proud, may Thy Holy Spirit lead our spirits into the lowliness
+which is the beginning of true wisdom and strength. We
+humbly ask that Thou wilt deliver us from the sins which have
+become our masters, and in which we find unholy delight.
+Incline our hearts unto Thy law, and help us to find pleasure
+in obedience to Thy holy will. Graciously redeem us from
+every care which fetters our souls, and give us such an assurance
+of Thy providential love that we may exult in the glorious
+liberty of the children of God. Graciously remember us
+one by one. Be very near to those who scarcely have the heart
+to pray. Mercifully meet with those who have been stunned
+with sorrow, and who have not yet regained the comforts of Thy
+peace. Remember all who are in grave perplexity, and graciously
+light Thy lamp on their bewildered way. Receive all
+our little ones into the circle of Thy blessing, and may they
+early rejoice in Thy friendship and become devoted to Thy
+holy will. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></div>
+<h1>XIII<br />
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And I saw as it were a sea of
+glass mingled with fire: and they
+that had gotten the victory over the
+beast." Revelation 15:2.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The symbolism of the city of God as
+given in the Book of Revelation
+represents the character of its citizens,
+and all the glories of the new Jerusalem
+have correspondences in the souls
+who live and move in that radiant land.
+The sea of glass represents a spiritual
+character of regal serenity, a character
+transparent in its limpid depths, and reflecting
+in its stillness the very image of
+the Lord. And the sea of glass, "mingled
+with fire," is significant of character made
+fervent by holy love, purity made genial,
+righteousness changed into goodness by
+the permeating heat of affectional enthusiasm
+and devotion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And now I wish to examine the next descriptive
+sentence, which tells us something
+of the history and experiences of those who
+have arrived at the sea of glass, and who
+have attained the serene and genial purity
+of those who hold immediate communion
+with God. And this is the sentence which
+records some of the happenings which
+have befallen them on the road; "<i>They
+have gotten the victory over the beast.</i>"
+It is a very striking conjunction, this which
+tells me that they who dwell by the sea of
+glass have come by the way of the beast,
+and that they have conquered the beast
+by the way. What was the beast which
+these men and women had faced and conquered
+as they moved onward to the crystal
+sea? I do not profess to know the precise
+historic interpretation. The beast
+may have been the malignant and vindictive
+antagonism of the Emperor Nero. He
+may have been the beast. The beast may
+have been the hostile and suffocating pressure
+of the Roman Empire. The beast
+may have been the stealthy seductions of
+the imperial city of Rome. The beast may
+have been the fascinating and paralyzing
+charm of the world, the flesh, and the devil.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
+Anyone or all of these together may have
+been the beast which straddled across the
+road and opposed these Christians on their
+journey towards home. I do not know, and
+I frankly confess I am not deeply concerned
+to know. The general boldness of
+the figure is quite enough for me. Whatever
+else the beast may mean it must essentially
+mean anti-God, anti-Christ, the
+antagonist of the divine. It must mean the
+animal side of our nature seeking to invade
+the realm of the spirit, to force its
+way among the executive powers of the
+soul, and to usurp the throne of God. The
+beast is triumphant when the flesh and all
+the works of the flesh have ousted the
+forces of the spirit. The beast is conquered
+when the powers of the spirit never surrender
+their holy sovereignty, when the
+forces of the flesh have been ordered to
+their place among the rank and file, and
+when they are never allowed to wear the
+honours and prerogatives of the commander-in-chief.
+"They that have gotten
+the victory over the beast." The beast is
+just anti-Christ, in whatever form he may
+appear.</p>
+
+<p>Let us spend a little while in first of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
+examining this beast who claims the control
+and mastery of our souls. Everybody
+has a vivid experience of his power, but it
+may help to clarify our minds if we consider
+what has been said about him by the
+recognized masters and counsellors of the
+soul. Let us turn, then, to the pages of
+literature, and first of all let us turn to the
+inspired literature itself. You have
+scarcely opened the Word of God before
+the beast makes his appearance in the form
+of a serpent. "Now the serpent was more
+subtle than any beast of the field." And
+who has not experienced the wiles of the
+serpent when he approaches the soul in
+some charming seduction, in some fascinating
+crookedness, in some wriggling sophistry,
+in some twisted excuse, in some winding
+compromise? Who has not seen the
+beast when he has sought to persuade the
+soul that the wriggle is the most graceful
+form of motion, and that the curve is more
+acceptable than the straight line? Who
+has not heard him when he has argued that
+the detour is the shortest way home, and
+that a slight deviation from rectitude will
+lead to the noblest ends? Yes, this beast
+is the apostle of the serpentine, and this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>
+is his creed,&mdash;the wriggle is the best way
+to your goal. "The serpent was more subtle
+than any beast of the field."</p>
+
+<p>I turn over the pages of the old book,
+and I am confronted with an extraordinary
+change in the form of the beast. He is no
+longer a wriggling serpent but a prowling
+lion. "The devil goeth abroad like a roaring
+lion." He no longer makes a seductive
+approach to the intellect with his
+advocacy of the crooked way; he makes
+a passionate assault upon the spirit with
+all the fiery forces of the flesh. It is no
+longer the wriggle but a terrific leap. And
+who has not known him in this wild approach?
+It is just the tremendous weight
+and pounce of anti-spiritual impulse, the
+mighty onrush of carnal longing and desire.
+The lion is sheer mass and weight
+of hungry craving. Who has not known
+the lion in the way?... And yet beside
+the crystal sea are those "who have
+gotten the victory over the beast."</p>
+
+<p>Again I turn over the pages of the old
+book, and once again the form of the
+beast has changed and he appears before
+me in the guise of a fox. It is our Master's
+name for the foe. And who has not known<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>
+the beast when he has assailed the soul
+in the manner of a fox? It is the assault
+of cunning, when things are made to appear
+in semblance what they are not in
+spirit and in truth. Nay, it is the very art
+of foxiness that the fox itself is made to
+look like a goose, and the wolf is given the
+appearance of a lamb. Vice is dressed up
+like virtue. Falsehood moves about in
+white robes and innocently accosts us in
+the dress of a white lie. License tricks
+itself out as gaiety. Sin clothes itself in
+the fashions of the hour and hides its
+talons in silks. I say this is the very genius
+of the fox,&mdash;he makes you think you are
+having converse with a harmless old goose!
+Who has not known the fox when he cunningly
+tried to persuade us that the devil
+was God, and that hell was heaven, and
+that death was.... But, O no, he never
+mentions death! In his scheme it is part
+of the trick that death shall never be
+known. The old fox! And yet, in spite
+of fox and lion and serpent, there were
+those beside the sea of glass "who had
+gotten the victory over the beast."</p>
+
+<p>Let me lead you further, for a moment
+or two, into the pages of a wider literature,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>
+and let it be into the pages of Dante and
+John Bunyan. In his immortal book Dante
+tells us that when he turned his feet to the
+pilgrim road he was successively confronted
+by three beasts which sought to
+stop his journey. And first he met a
+leopard:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"And lo! just as the sloping side I gained,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">A leopard, subtle, lithe, exceeding fleet,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Whose skin full many a dusky spot did stain;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Nor did she from before my face retreat;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Nay, hindered so my journey on the way,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That many a time I backward turned my feet."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The leopard which confronted Dante
+was the symbol of sensuous beauty which
+sought to block his road and ensnare his
+feet. Next he was confronted by a lion:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Yet o'er me, spite of this, did terror creep&mdash;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">From aspect of a lion drawing near.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">He seemed as if upon me he would leap,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With head upraised and hunger fierce and wild,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">So that a shudder through the air did sweep."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The lion was to Dante the symbol of
+worldly pride. And next he met a wolf:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"A she-wolf, with all ill-greed defiled,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Laden with hungry leanness terrible."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>
+And the wolf was to Dante the lean symbol
+of a hungry greed; it was the beastly type
+of avarice. And who has not shared the
+experience of Dante on his own road and
+encountered the leopard, the lion and the
+wolf?... And yet there were those
+before the sea of glass who had got the
+victory over the beast.</p>
+
+<p>Turn to John Bunyan. There is a wonderful
+passage in the early part of John
+Bunyan's "Holy War," in which he describes
+the preparations which the beast
+has made for his attack upon the soul. He
+tells how beast held counsel with beast,
+and how it was agreed that they should assume
+forms with which the soul was quite
+familiar; such as were accounted harmless,
+lest the soul should be alarmed when they
+made their deadly approach. "Therefore
+let us assault the soul in all pretended
+fairness, covering our intentions with all
+manner of lies, flatteries, and illusive
+words; feigning things that will never be,
+and promising that to them which they
+shall never find." And so they marched
+toward the soul, "all in a manner invisible,"
+save only one, and he took on a
+shape as harmless and familiar as a bird,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>
+and when he spoke he spake with such
+gentleness "as if he had been a lamb."
+And I for one put myself side by side with
+John Bunyan, for I too have known the
+beast when he has come disguised, and has
+addressed me with all the harmlessness
+and innocence of a lamb.</p>
+
+<p>I will add one further word in our consideration
+of the beast. When I look
+around on the world to-day, upon the appalling
+scenes of passion and hatred and
+slaughter,&mdash;it is to me very significant
+that so many of the national emblems,
+which represent the corporate life of peoples,
+are different types of beasts. It is
+the beast which still provides the symbols
+of our national life. There is the lion;
+there is the bear; there is the wolf, and I
+know not what besides! We talk of rousing
+the bear and of twisting the lion's
+tail! Our national emblems are beasts.
+The American nation has happily discarded
+the beast, but it has chosen one of the fiercest
+among the birds&mdash;the bird whose talons
+are more obtrusive than its song. I am
+suggesting the significance of the fact that
+we have found nothing above the beast to
+symbolize the individuality of national<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
+life. Perhaps some day we may "move
+upward," and we may erase the beasts
+from our emblems, but it will only be when
+we have driven the beasts from our souls!</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, after this swift glimpse into
+inspired and general literature, and this
+glance upon the typical symbols of the
+national life, we are more disposed than
+ever to say that the beast is just anti-Christ,
+the presumptuous claim of the animal
+to take the place of the spiritual, the
+defiant claim of the devil to usurp the
+throne of God. But here are men and
+women whose triumph is recorded in my
+text, who have conquered the beast, and
+who have attained a strong and fervent
+purity in which the spirit is all in all.
+What was the secret of their triumph?
+By what means and ministries did they
+conquer the beast? Happily we are left
+in no manner of doubt, and the means by
+which they conquered are offered to you
+and me. What says the Old Book?&mdash;"They
+overcame by the blood of the Lamb." Let
+us tell their secret very quietly and very
+simply, without any waste of words,&mdash;they
+shared the blood of Jesus Christ and
+it changed them into giants. In some way<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+or other a communion was formed between
+their life and His life, and His mighty life
+flowed into their life as vine-blood flows
+into the branch of the vine. They shared
+the strength of Him who fought the beast
+in the wilderness of Judea, and who fought
+him again in still more alluring forms in
+the courts of Jerusalem and by the shores
+of the Lake of Galilee. Yes, if you had
+asked these radiant victors by the sea of
+glass to tell you how they triumphed, they
+would have reverently turned their faces
+towards the Lord and eagerly answered,
+"By the blood of the Lamb!"</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"I asked them whence their victory came,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">They with united breath</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Ascribed their conquest to the Lamb,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Their triumph to His death."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>And the second secret of their triumph
+is to be found in their continual warfare.
+They drank his blood to fight his fights.
+It is a fight that knows no armistice. It
+acknowledges no flag of truce. Eternal
+vigilance and eternal struggle is the price
+of spiritual freedom. Life is warfare; it
+is never parade-drill; it is never holiday
+review; we are never off duty; the contest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
+is constant, and the close of every day
+records a victory or a defeat. Our Master
+never promised his soldiers a life of ease.
+The beast promises roads which are pleasant
+as field paths that lead through grassy
+meadows. There shall be no flints, no
+thorns, no briars; and if we choose, we
+can lie down in the meadows morning,
+noon and night! That is the promise that
+the beast makes,&mdash;a promise which is always
+broken. Our Lord always calls us
+to battles, to noble crusades and prolonged
+campaigns. "His blood-red banner streams
+afar!" He calls us to share the travail
+that makes His Kingdom come. Yes, He
+calls us to glorious, endless battles, but
+He promises sure and certain victory if we
+drink His blood along the way.</p>
+
+<p>And so they conquered the beast by the
+blood of the Lamb. They conquered by
+the continual battles of their faith. And
+lastly they conquered by their songs of
+victory. They sang their way to the sea
+of glass, and their songs were songs of
+victory all along the road. They did not
+moan in misereres; they did not wail in
+lamentations as if the beast were mightier
+than their Lord. They knew their Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>
+was mightier than all; and their songs of
+victory were the beginning of their
+triumph. O, the singing that abounds in
+the Word of God! O, the singing you may
+hear in the Acts of the Apostles! And, O,
+the singing that sounds through the Book
+of Revelation; the song of victory, the
+song of Moses and the Lamb! At the
+battle of Dunbar, in the great critical days
+of English freedom, Cromwell's troops
+sang their way to victory. They could
+hear the roaring of the sea. The land was
+swept with deluges of rain. But above the
+roar of the sea, and the sound of the pelting
+rain, they lifted their voices in praise
+to God, and as they swept into battle their
+song rang out; "God is our refuge and
+strength, a very present help in time of
+trouble; therefore will we not fear if the
+earth be removed and the mountains be
+shaken in the heart of the seas! The
+Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of
+Jacob is our refuge!" Their song was part
+of their armour; it was indeed the armour
+of their souls. I greatly like that word of
+the Christian, Appollinaris, in Ibsen's
+play,&mdash;"The Emperor Julian," which he
+spake when the forces of the beast were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
+massed against the soldiers of the cross;&mdash;"Verily
+I say unto you, so long as song
+rings out above our sorrows, Satan shall
+never conquer!" Verily, I too will say that
+our praise is an invincible armour,&mdash;we
+sing our way to the triumph we seek!</p>
+
+<p>Men and women, the beast can be conquered,
+for the mouth of the Lord hath
+spoken it! You and I may stand at the
+sea of glass, pure, transparent, fervent
+with divine love, victors over the beast,
+through the blood of the Lamb, through
+constancy in battle, and in songs which
+ring out above our sorrows, as we push
+along life's way.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Soldiers of Christ, arise!<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And put your armour on;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Strong in the strength which God supplies</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Through His eternal Son.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">From strength to strength go on,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Wrestle, and fight and pray;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Tread all the powers of darkness down</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And win the well-fought day."</span></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></div>
+<h1>XIV<br />
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Holy Father, we thank Thee for the privilege of fellowship,
+and for the help which we can give to one another. May
+the faith of everyone be strengthened by the faith of all. May
+our penitence be deepened because we are all engaged in common
+confession. May our joys be enriched because we are all
+contemplating the unsearchable riches of Christ. May our
+obedience become more devoted because we all drink of the
+waters of inspiration. Impart unto us the grace of sacred
+sympathy. May we reverently bear one another's burdens
+and carry them in the arms of intercession. We beseech Thee
+to grant unto us visions of Thy glory in so far as our eyes
+are able to bear them. May we make new discoveries among
+the mysteries of Thy truth. May the whole worship prepare us
+for a larger ministry in the service of Thy kingdom. Wilt
+Thou give us the armor we need for the great campaign. Especially
+may we receive the endowment of the love that never grows
+faint. Reveal to us our work, and then lead us into a devotion
+which will never be satisfied until the work is finished.
+Look upon the whole world in this hour of desolation and woe.
+Enlarge our hearts to comprehend the sorrow, and may we share
+the sufferings of our Lord in sacrificial labors. Let Thy kingdom
+come, O Lord, and let Thy will be done on earth as it is in
+heaven. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></div>
+<h1>XIV<br />
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And many people shall go up
+and say, Come ye and let us go up
+to the mountain of the Lord, to the
+house of the God of Jacob; and
+he will teach us of his ways, and
+we will walk in his paths: for out
+of Zion shall go forth the law, and
+the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
+And he shall judge among
+the nations, and shall rebuke many
+people: and they shall beat their
+swords into ploughshares, and their
+spears into pruning-hooks: nation
+shall not lift up sword against
+nation, neither shall they learn war
+any more." Isaiah 2: 3, 4.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>There is something almost unreal in
+these words when they are read
+aloud in the times through which
+we are passing. They sound like the voice
+of a mocking-bird calling from the midst
+of the dust and the débris of a ruined
+world. It is like hearing the gentle peal
+of church bells on the bloody field of battle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>.
+It is like anything you choose which
+has become unreal, and which has been
+transferred from the healthy book of noble
+prophecy to the bitter pages of satire and
+the sour lips of the cynic. Yes, I grant
+that the great passage unfolds ideals which
+have become mere scraps of paper, torn
+and retorn into a thousand pieces, and
+blown about like withered leaves in an
+autumn gale. What, then, are we to do?
+I am reminded of what Lord Morley said
+in Manchester a few weeks ago. "When
+the war is ended,&mdash;this mournful chapter
+of sore bereavement and wasted treasure,
+when all that is gone, I ask is there not a
+moral loss which ought to be counted, a
+moral loss in the wreck of ideals in which
+the men of my generation were deeply
+concerned? That loss has got to be
+counted and retrieved. The fabric of those
+ideals has to be built up again in the
+hearts and minds of men and women."
+Surely that is an opportune word, and it
+offers both counsel and warning to the
+Christian Church. We must not just sit
+down in the bloody dust, and wail our misereres
+in deadly impotence. We have got to
+reconstruct the ruined pile, and we must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>
+begin the reconstruction by rebuilding the
+golden palace of our dreams.</p>
+
+<p>And if we are going to rear again that
+stately temple of vision and dream, who
+can give us nobler help than the Hebrew
+prophets, and who among the prophets
+can help us more than Isaiah? Isaiah
+was a prophet interpreting the mind
+of God. He was a statesman with a
+keen and comprehensive outlook on human
+affairs. He was also a poet bringing to
+human problems the illuminating imagination
+of the seer. He lived in a time of
+grave national disloyalties, a time when
+peoples were abandoning their most sacred
+trust. His were days of international
+strife and convulsion, days witnessing
+vast world movements in which empires
+were seen at their birth, and empires were
+seen in withering decline and death. Isaiah
+was a man whose thought was distinguished
+by breadth and depth and length.
+He saw things broadly, he saw things
+deeply, and he also saw the things which
+gleamed afar. And as he looked out
+upon the world to his vision the troubled
+and chaotic day merged into a reconstituted
+order of active concord and peace.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>
+Isaiah was a confirmed optimist. He had
+a keen sense of the future. He felt the
+days before him. He could scent the waving
+harvest while yet the snow was on the
+ground. He could catch the sound of
+harvest-home while the wintry wind was
+whistling across the ice-bound field. And
+looking out over the dark scene of convulsion
+and disaster, and amid the rude
+and brutal clamour of international strife,
+he sang this song of the morning,&mdash;"They
+shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
+and their spears into pruning-hooks;
+nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
+neither shall they learn war any
+more." If we are purposing to rebuild
+the fallen ideals of our own day, and so
+reconstruct our common life, can we do
+better than stand near this man for guidance
+and inspiration?</p>
+
+<p>How, then, does this man say that the
+golden dream is to be realized? Through
+what preparatory stages are we to pass
+before we reach the shining consummation?
+Isaiah declares that the fulfilment
+of the dream is to begin in <i>the profound
+revival of spiritual religion</i>. "It shall
+come to pass in the latter days that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
+mountain of the Lord's house shall be
+established at the head of the mountains,
+and shall be exalted above the hills." That
+is to say, the dominant peak in the reconstructed
+landscape is to be a shining
+spirituality of pure and undefiled religion.
+Man's relationship to God is to be the
+supreme relation overtopping and overseeing
+everything else. "And many peoples
+shall say, Come ye, and let us go
+up to the mountain of the Lord, to the
+house of the God of Jacob, and He will
+teach us of His ways, and we will walk
+in His paths." That is to say, in the
+golden age this is to be the common aspiration;
+spiritual desire and spiritual ambition
+are to be dominant; the biggest
+thing in life is to be the yearning for the
+divine communion, the gladsome craving
+for fellowship in the heavenly quest. That
+is how the golden dream is to begin to
+be fulfilled; it is to begin in the recovery
+of vital worship, in the profound revival
+of spiritual religion.</p>
+
+<p>Now, all the best things can be
+mimicked in the cheapest counterfeits!
+Pearls can be so skilfully manufactured
+that even the expert eye can be deceived.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
+There are diamonds about, common as
+window glass, and their dancing gleams
+can delude the very elect. Yes, the best
+things can be cleverly imitated, and their
+counterfeits can move unsuspected in the
+most exalted places. It would be an amusing
+trait, if it were not a tragic characteristic
+of human nature, how willing we
+are to borrow the clothes of realities, and
+just strut about in our cheap and glittering
+attire. And it is so easily done! Anybody
+can borrow the jolly meters of Rudyard
+Kipling and put their own tawdry
+stuff into his caskets; and a thousand people
+have done it! Anybody can borrow
+the disorderly irregularities of Walt Whitman,
+and into his eccentric bottles they
+can pour their own cheap wine; and crowds
+of people have done it! It is so easy to
+borrow clothes, and bottles, and outer
+forms. Yes, and it is so easy to borrow
+the outer garments of religion and to move
+about in the mere trappings of devotion.
+We can borrow the sacramental cup and
+put into it the thinnest and the most
+diluted wine of life. Our apparent religion
+can be just an affair of clothes, a
+borrowed skin, an acted thing, a play, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>
+theatricality with feigned postures and
+emotions, altogether devoid of blood-red
+life, and having no deep and vital commerce
+with the Infinite. Religion can be
+conventional, having no inner sanction of
+fine awe and godly fear. We can get religion
+while all the time religion has not
+got us. It can be just a light performance,
+a social convention and not a solemn
+travail in which the soul is doing great
+business in deep waters in communion
+with the eternal God.</p>
+
+<p>Now, is not this the religious condition
+into which the world has drifted in these
+latter days? I do not make exception
+of any country, not even of America.
+This country is delivered from the horrors
+of the European convulsion, not by a separating
+gulf of moral and spiritual condition,
+but by 3,000 miles of sea. If the
+coast line of America had been twenty-five
+miles from the coast of Europe she
+would have been involved in the woes of
+the boiling cauldron. And therefore do
+I put the inclusive question,&mdash;and I venture
+to challenge your judgments,&mdash;is not
+the religious condition which I have suggested
+one into which the entire Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
+world appears to have fallen? Multitudes
+of Christian people are just
+wearing the clothes of religion. We have
+religious professions without spiritual
+possessions. We have religious conventionality
+without devotional vitality. We
+have the show without the life. We have
+the skin of religion without its sacrificial
+heart. We have the crucifix without the
+Saviour. We have the altar but not the
+open heaven.</p>
+
+<p>You may make the test in any way you
+please. Let us test our condition by any
+one of the primary characteristics of true
+and vital religion. Let us apply one test.
+Let us test our condition by our own secret
+and personal communion with the Lord.
+I am speaking in a Christian church, and
+I am addressing professedly Christian
+people; well, how do we stand the test?
+What proportion of the members of the
+Church of Christ in this country have a
+really living and fruitful fellowship with
+God? How many have walked the way
+of communion so frequently that it is now
+a much-beloved and well-trodden road,
+along which they can easily and naturally
+make their way in the dark, yea, even in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
+the stormy midnight when the floods are
+out, and the tempest howls about their
+ways?</p>
+
+<p>For we cannot have religion with God
+wiped out! If religion is only beneficence,
+if it is only decent, respectable
+living, if it is only a comfortable conformity
+with accepted social standards,&mdash;if
+that is all it is, then let us say
+so and have done with it. Let us pull
+down our altars and fling their useless
+stones to the winds. But this is not
+religion. True religion is more than this.
+True religion is the reverent and most
+solemn recognition of the eternal God. It
+is the conscious prostration of the soul in
+His most holy Presence. It is the free
+because reverent fellowship of a child with
+the Father. It is the loyal acceptance of
+the Father's will. It is the humble reception
+of His grace as offered to us in
+Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the assumption
+of our life as a sacred trust accepted
+from the hands of God. It is the anticipation
+of His glory in our eternal home.
+Religion has great human relationships
+with our fellowman, and these shall not be
+overlooked. But for the moment, I am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
+speaking of the fontal relationship of the
+soul with God, that fundamental fellowship
+in which all other worthy fellowships
+are born, and I ask you whether all the
+peoples of all professing Christian nations
+have not wandered far from the vitalizing
+bond of this primary communion? Let
+your eyes roam over the darkened world;
+dense clouds are still rising everywhere
+on the ominous horizon. How is that
+night-time to be turned into day, yea, into
+a day like unto a lovely summer's morning?
+Here is the answer of the greatest
+of the prophets when he, too, was confronted
+with tempest and night;&mdash;the first
+thing we have to pray for, and work for,
+and seek for, in every Christian country,
+is a profound revival of spiritual religion,
+when "the mountain of the Lord's house
+shall be established at the head of the
+mountains, and when many peoples shall
+say, Let us go up to the mountain of the
+Lord, and He will teach us of His ways,
+and we will walk in His paths." This, I
+say, is needed in every country, until in
+every country all who profess the Saviour's
+name shall cry out in the fervour of
+a great and quenchless desire,&mdash;"As the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
+hart panteth after the water brook, so
+panteth my soul after Thee, O God!"</p>
+
+<p>Now look at the second stage in the realization
+of the golden dream. "He will
+teach us of His ways, and we will walk
+in His paths.... And He shall judge
+between the nations." That is to say, a
+profound revival of spiritual religion will
+be accompanied by <i>loftier and more exacting
+moral standards</i>. He will teach and we
+will walk. Morals always grow lax when
+piety gets cool. When religion becomes
+a mere conventionality, morality always
+loses its awful sanctions. Wipe out God
+and your moral standards will surely fall.
+If I neglect the temperature of my greenhouse,
+or if I play fast and loose with it,
+my tender plants will assuredly droop.
+And if I neglect my spiritual temperature,
+which is the climate of my soul, my moral
+and spiritual flowers will be smitten and
+pinched. We cannot lower our spirituality
+and yet have our morality keep its winsome
+bloom. Let me ask you,&mdash;have you
+ever known anyone grow loose and careless
+in their religion, and at the same time
+become correspondingly nobler and purer,
+and more scrupulously faithful in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>
+daily life? Have you ever known anyone
+drop Christ and then become more like
+Him? Have you ever had occasion to
+whisper this secret concerning any living
+woman,&mdash;"O, yes, she broke off communion
+with Christ, and then she put on
+moral grace and beauty like a robe?" The
+very question is an insult to our intelligence,
+as it is an affront to our experience;
+for this is the eternal law, whose
+workings can be witnessed every day,&mdash;when
+the spirit deteriorates the moral life
+becomes diseased.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, let there be an
+enrichment in vital godliness and our conduct
+will begin to shine like burnished
+gold. "He will teach," says the prophet,
+"and we will walk." <i>He</i>, with Whom we
+hold vital communion, <i>He</i> will be the
+teacher of the spirit, and the illuminant
+of the conscience and the inspiration of
+the will; a nobler conduct will be born of
+that fellowship as surely as the choicest
+grapes are the children of the healthiest
+vines. When we are all in living and deep
+communion with Christ, truly worshipping
+in the innermost secret place,&mdash;English,
+and German, and American, and Japanese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>,&mdash;a
+finer spirit of judgment will be
+abroad in the earth, a healthier moral
+climate, and we shall naturally and instinctively
+seek to do what Jesus did, and
+in the way that Jesus did it, when He came
+and dwelt among us as a carpenter's Son,
+Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God!</p>
+
+<p>Only one thing remains to be said as to
+the process by which the radiant dream of
+the prophet is to be fulfilled. When there
+has come a profound revival of spiritual
+religion, and, consequently, a loftier and
+more exacting moral standard, there will
+be a wonderful conversion of destructive
+forces in the personal and national life.
+"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares
+and their spears into pruning-hooks."
+I want you carefully to notice
+that the sword is not to be destroyed; it
+is to be transformed; it is to become a
+ploughshare. The spear is not to be broken
+and thrown away; it is to be converted
+into a pruning-hook. That is to say, the
+rudely destructive energies in human life
+are to be changed into constructive energies.
+What was darkly negative is to become
+brightly positive. The martial is to
+be transformed into the pastoral. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>
+rude implement of slaughter is to become
+the breaker of the earth-clod or the helpful
+friend of the vine. "They shall beat
+their swords into ploughshares and their
+spears into pruning-hooks." After the
+first historic siege of Antwerp, the cannon
+balls were taken and converted into church
+bells; and may the gracious and holy
+Lord grant that there may speedily come
+such a transformation in modern Antwerp,
+when all the ministers of carnage
+shall be changed into sweet and sacred
+ministers of worship and devotion!</p>
+
+<p>But now, if swords are to be beaten
+into ploughshares and spears into pruning-hooks,
+where must that work begin?
+It must begin in the individual heart.
+We are never going to get the swords
+out of the nations until we have got
+them out of the hearts. There is a sword
+in the heart, a cruel sword, a minister
+of destruction. There is a sword in
+the German heart, and a sword in the
+English heart, and a sword in the American
+heart, and that sword has got to be
+transformed before the material sword can
+become a ploughshare of the field! We
+are all familiar with our own swords;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>
+perhaps I had better say, we are all
+acquainted with one another's swords.
+There is the sword of ill-will. There is
+the spear of deadly gossip. There is the
+sword of evil prejudice. There is the spear
+of petty spite and contempt. Yea, surely
+there is a sordid armoury in the soul. And
+this has to be converted into a tool-house
+of a noble Christian culture before the
+material armouries can be emptied and the
+sound of war is heard no more.</p>
+
+<p>And therefore, the great national revolution
+is to begin in individual conversions,
+and these are to be the children of
+a vital and saving religion. The transformation
+of the world is to begin in the conversion
+of people like you and me. There
+is no other way. When our own militaristic
+armour, the one stored in our own
+soul, is changed into a garden tool-house,&mdash;malice
+changed into good-will, suspicion
+into enlightened understanding, cynicism
+into genial and gracious esteem, and foul
+hatred into Christ's own strong and fruitful
+love, then we are bringing the day
+nearer of which the herald angels sang,
+when there shall be "peace on earth and
+good will among men."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>All this cannot be done by scholarship.
+We cannot do it by legislation. We cannot
+do it by commerce. It is the vital
+work of salvation, and it only can be done
+by the Saviour of the world. And He
+must do it in His own way, and His work
+must be thorough, profound, fundamental.
+He must search the very cellarings of our
+being, seeking out our wickednesses as
+with a candle, and cleansing and purifying
+us in the deepest and most secret rooms
+of the soul. And when we thus come to
+know our Saviour, we shall most surely
+come to know our brother, for we shall
+see him with ourselves in the radiant light
+of the same eternal grace and love. Then
+will our swords be beaten into ploughshares
+and our spears into pruning-hooks
+and we shall learn war no more!</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></div>
+<h1>XV<br />
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS</h1>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></div>
+<blockquote><p><i>Heavenly Father, wilt Thou graciously redeem us
+from any perilous mood of independence which sets our wills
+against Thine. Help us to find ourselves in Thee, and to
+come to our inheritance in the riches of Thy grace. Give
+us that lowliness of spirit which will enable us to find the gate
+of higher life and to enter in. Forgive the sin that binds our
+judgment and enable us through a pure heart to see ourselves
+in Christ, and to behold ourselves perfected in the power of His
+love. Save us from low ideals. Lift us out of the thoughts
+that belittle us and which check and destroy our powers of
+growth. Give us wider and deeper conceptions of all things.
+May the experiences of our life come to us as helpful disciplines,
+through which we may apprehend more of Thy purpose,
+and more swiftly put on the likeness of our Lord. May we not
+be mastered by our circumstances, but may we be so strong
+in Thy strength, that every circumstance may be our servant,
+adding some fresh grace to our spirits, and some new influence
+to our lives. May we lose the things we ought not to keep,
+and may we desire the things we ought to find. Control us,
+O Lord, by Thy spirit, taking us away from the shallows of
+common life into the great deep privileges of communion with
+Thee. Amen.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></div>
+<h1>XV<br />
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS</h1>
+
+<blockquote><p>"In all these things, we are more
+than conquerors." Rom. 8:37.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p>Was the writer of these words himself
+a conqueror? To whom is
+he making the proud boast? He
+is writing his letter to the people of Rome.
+And it is in this letter to Rome that the
+apostle claims to be a conqueror. If he
+had been writing to a little company of
+people living in some quiet and remote
+district in Asia Minor, far away from the
+movement and pageantry of imperial life,
+his boast of being a conqueror might have
+been received without surprise. But think
+of the daring of making his claim in a
+letter to the Romans, who were accustomed
+to gaze upon their conquerors as they returned
+in glory from triumphant wars of
+conquest, dragging their distinguished
+captives at their chariot wheels! When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>
+the apostle claims to be a conqueror he is
+using a word which to the Romans is
+weighted with pomp and glory, suggesting
+cities ablaze with emblems of festivity, and
+streets thronged with cheering multitudes,
+and a hero upon whom favours are being
+showered thick as the flowers which are
+flung upon his triumphal car. When Paul
+dares to call himself a conqueror in a letter
+to the Romans he is using a word significant
+of all this wealth and effulgence,
+and he is using it to describe the passage
+of his own life down the ways of
+time. "We are more than conquerors."
+Such a claim would surely strike the
+Roman reader with amazement.</p>
+
+<p>What was there in the apostle's life to
+correspond to the claim? What was there
+about it which in any way recalled the
+radiant entry of an acclaimed warrior into
+the festive city of Rome? Let us glance
+at the external circumstances of his Christian
+life. Is there anything in these circumstances
+of pomp, and flowers, and
+favour, and acclamation? Run your eye
+over the apostle's road. What are its
+features? What is it like as it stretches
+from Damascus to Rome? In peril of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>
+life in Damascus, his enemies watching the
+gates day and night to kill him; coldly
+suspected by his fellow-believers in Jerusalem;
+persecuted at Antioch; assaulted in
+Iconium; stoned in Lystra; beaten with
+many stripes in Philippi; attacked by a
+lewd and envious crowd in Thessalonica;
+pursued by callous enmity in Berea; despised
+in Athens; blasphemed in Corinth
+and dragged before the judgment-seat; exposed
+to the fierce wrath of the Ephesians;
+bound with chains in Jerusalem, and finally
+imprisoned at Rome! Such is the character
+of his cold, storm-swept, painful road.
+And yet he dares to call himself a conqueror,
+and to so style himself to the men
+of imperial Rome! When I turn away
+from the gay and rapturous streets,
+through which the Roman conqueror made
+his tumultuous entry, and then gaze on the
+long, dark, cruel road on which this man
+trudged throughout all his public days, his
+life seems to be broken up in successive
+tragedies, and to sink at last in the black
+defeat of utter and complete eclipse. And
+yet he sings aloud in joyful pride: "We
+are more than conquerors"! Where, then,
+shall we look for the signs of conquest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
+and for the waving banners, and the rapturous
+shouts?</p>
+
+<p>There are two ways of estimating a
+triumphant life. We may trace the line of
+external circumstances, and we make an
+inventory of the material treasures, and
+the flattering diplomas, and the public
+honours that have been gained along the
+way. That road winds by the bank, and
+the Stock Exchange, through Wall Street,
+or Threadneedle Street, and thence it
+stretches away through fair suburbs of
+material comforts, and through gardens
+of enticing ease, ascending even to lofty
+eminences of public favour and regard. We
+may walk along this road in our desire to
+estimate a man's standing, and to reckon
+the degree and quality of his conquests.
+And judged by that standard Paul's circumstances
+were disastrous, and his life
+was just a dismal succession of appalling
+defeats. Indeed the apostle himself has
+given his own verdict upon his life when
+it is judged by the standard of Wall
+Street, and he has done it in two words of
+pregnant and sweeping brevity&mdash;"having
+nothing"! And yet he claimed to be
+"more than conqueror"!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But there is another way of judging the
+failure or triumph of a life. We may follow
+the line of character. We may register
+the success of the soul in its mastery
+of circumstances, in its refusal to be submerged
+by evil antagonisms, in its preservation
+of a diamond-like translucency amid
+engulfing floods of defilement, in its buoyancy
+in the days of prolonged disappointment,
+in its quiet and firm ascendency
+over the beast, in its inevitable emergence
+from every kind of hostility in increasing
+majesty and strength. These are the two
+lines of investigation. These are the possible
+criteria of judgment. On the one
+hand we may measure the success of a life
+by the progressive enrichment of circumstances;
+on the other hand we may estimate
+its conquests by the progressive
+growth of the soul. We may make our
+valuation in the material world or in the
+spiritual world; that is to say, we may
+value the man or we may value his possessions.</p>
+
+<p>Now the circumstantial happenings in a
+life had little or no interest for the apostle
+Paul. All his concern followed the inward
+line of the spirit. He kept his eyes on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>
+spiritual processes and never on material
+results. He did not busy himself with a
+man's happenings; he busied himself with
+the effect of the happenings on the man.
+Always and everywhere he pressed
+through condition to character; his
+thought always took the short cut to
+the soul. If in the streets of Rome
+or of Ephesus you had pointed out to
+him some rich man, Paul would have
+immediately leaped the adjective and
+inquired about the noun. He would
+have had no interest whatever in the
+man's riches; riches are no criterion
+of triumph; but he would have been devouringly
+interested in what the riches had
+done with the man. While the man has
+been making riches, what have riches made
+of the man? Measure the man! Is the
+man who is within the riches a victor or a
+victim, a noble master or a poor ignoble
+slave.</p>
+
+<p>And so also do I believe that if you had
+pointed out to the apostle some poor man,
+he would have left the adjective and fixed
+upon the noun. What about the man inside
+the poverty? What about the soul so ill-housed
+in indigence? Is the soul royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
+or servile? Is it crouching or has it a
+noble and stately rectitude? That would
+be the concern of the apostle Paul. He
+would get behind the riches to the man.
+He would get behind the poverty to the
+man. For every external happening or
+every material possession is only a house,
+and within the happening there is the man
+or the woman, the tenant of the house.
+What about them? What about the quality
+of their manliness or womanliness? That
+was the apostle's line of investigation.
+The apostle Paul was not much concerned
+about the character of the road, whether
+it was bare or flowery, but he was vitally
+concerned with the spiritual condition of
+the traveller. How is it with the pilgrim
+soul? What spiritual conquests has the
+soul made along the road? That is the
+apostle's standard of measurement, and by
+its records he registers life's conquests or
+defeats.</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, what was the quality of his
+own life when it is measured by these interior
+standards? For, after all, these are
+the only standards worth naming, as in
+our sober and thoughtful moments we all
+very well know. We are not here to make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>
+fortunes, we are here to grow souls. How
+then does the apostle bear the supreme test
+of his own spiritual standards? Is he
+master or slave? Are the streets of his
+soul festive with triumph, or are they dull
+and cheerless in defeat? Is he more than
+conqueror?</p>
+
+<p>Let us begin the test with a day when
+his external circumstances were brilliant.
+Brilliant days came but rarely to the
+apostle Paul; they were as infrequent as
+oases in Sahara's thirsty waste. Test him
+then on one of his rare, brilliant days, for
+the dazzling circumstance is often our severest
+test. Some souls shrivel in the
+bright sunshine. They grow less in their
+enlarging circumstances as some nut-kernels
+contract in the expanding shell.
+Here is Paul on a great day, when by the
+mighty grace of God he has made an impotent
+man to walk. How is the deed regarded?
+What does the crowd think about
+him? Listen to the records: "And when
+the people saw what Paul had done, they
+lifted up their voices, saying in the speech
+of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to
+us in the likeness of men. And they called
+Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
+because he was the chief speaker. Then
+the priest of Jupiter, which was before
+their city, brought oxen and garlands unto
+the gates, and would have done sacrifice
+with the people." How now? The public
+favour is dazzling! What about the man
+inside the dazzling happenings? Is the
+man contracting in pride or is his soul
+expanding in humility? "Which, when the
+apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they
+rent their clothes, and ran in among the
+people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why
+do ye these things? We also are men of
+like passions with you, and preach unto
+you that ye should turn from these vanities
+unto the living God, which made heaven,
+and earth, and the sea, and all things that
+are therein." Do you mark that? This
+man shines in the sunshine. Popular favour
+made him kneel before his God, and God's
+gentleness made him great. The circumstances
+did not lessen him. His soul did
+not shrivel and wither in the popular blaze.
+His soul grew larger, and the man mastered
+his circumstances; he was bigger
+than his blazing fate, he was "more than
+conqueror."</p>
+
+<p>But I have said that brilliant days were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>
+rare with the apostle Paul: Let us test
+him, then, when his days were frowning,
+when the clouds were lowering, and when
+his circumstances nipped him like the
+winter frosts. Does his soul expand in the
+winter, or does it shrink like frostbitten
+fruit? Take this little glimpse of one of
+his days: "And there came to Lystra
+certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium,
+who persuaded the people, and, having
+stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing
+he had been dead." Having stoned
+Paul, they dragged him out of the city.
+How swift and red is the record! Did he
+grow hard in the stoning? Did he become
+small and petty and peevish and revengeful?
+Let me read to you: "And when
+they had preached the gospel to that city,
+and had taught many, they returned again
+to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
+confirming the souls of the disciples, and
+exhorting them to continue in the faith,
+and that we must through much tribulation
+enter into the Kingdom of God." This
+man's fruit grew sweeter at the touch of
+the frost. This soul grew larger in the
+season of apparent defeat. He was "more
+than conqueror."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Look again through this window. Here
+is a very dark and bitter happening: "And
+when they had laid many stripes upon
+them, they cast them into prison, charging
+the jailer to keep them safely: who, having
+received such a charge, thrust them
+into the inner prison, and made their feet
+fast in the stocks." How now? Will this
+man Paul scowl in the darkness? Will his
+magnanimity sour into the bitter mood of
+revenge? Listen to the record: "And at
+midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
+praises unto God: and the prisoners heard
+them." Do you mark that? This man
+was a victim but he was also a victor. We
+almost forget his sufferings in the sound
+of his praise. Adversity did not rob him
+of his crown. He was "more than conqueror."</p>
+
+<p>And so I might go on introducing instance
+after instance, in every record of
+his turbulent life, showing how he attained
+to magnificent mastery in the spirit. When
+Paul speaks of being a "conqueror" he
+means that he is on the top of his circumstances
+and not beneath them. To be more
+than conqueror is to be on the top of your
+wealth and not beneath it; to be on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>
+top of your poverty and not beneath it;
+to be on the top of your joy and not beneath
+it; to be on the top of your sorrow
+and not beneath it; to be on the top of
+your disappointment and not beneath it.
+To be more than conqueror is to be on the
+top of the old serpent, and, as Browning
+says, to stand upon him and to feel him
+wriggle beneath your feet! The real conqueror,
+the only one worthy of that royal
+name, is he who makes every circumstance
+his subject, permitting no circumstance to
+be the lord and master of his soul. He is
+"more than conqueror."</p>
+
+<p>And what is the secret of such conquest?
+Here is the secret: "We are more than
+conquerors <i>through Christ that loved us</i>."
+It is conquest through the energy of an
+imparted love. Nay, it is much more than
+that. It is conquest through humble yet
+intimate communion with the eternal
+Lover. You remember what conquests the
+knights of the olden time could achieve
+when they were conscious that love-eyes
+were fixed upon them in the jousts. And
+if this were so with knights of ancient
+chivalry, when love inspired them in the
+fray, how infinitely more must it be so with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>
+the knights of King Jesus' Order when
+they know that the love-eyes of the Lord
+are always fixed upon them in the field!
+"He loved me" sings the greatest of the
+apostolic knights. "He loved me and gave
+Himself for me." What tremendous exploits
+of patience and of service lie latent
+in that supreme assurance!</p>
+
+<p>For, mark you, all love conveys the lover
+to the beloved. The very secret of love is
+self-impartation to the beloved. Love can
+never content herself with the gifts of
+things. Charity gives things. Love always
+gives herself. Yes, the lover gives herself!
+And if love is thus self-giving tell
+me, then, what inconceivable giving is
+wrapped up in the love of Christ for Paul,
+and in the love of Christ for thee and me?
+In an infinitely deeper and richer sense
+than ever a loving bridegroom gives himself
+to his loving bride, our great and
+gracious Lover, the Christ, gives Himself
+to all who will receive Him. The Saviour's
+love is the giving of Himself.</p>
+
+<p>Shall I now dare to put that vast and
+awe-inspiring content into my text? Listen
+again to the text: "We are more than
+conquerors through Christ who loved us."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
+Now hear it: "We are more than conquerors
+through Him who has given himself
+to us." That word expresses the very
+gospel of His grace. The Christian believer
+faces all his circumstances, not
+merely with a love but with a Lover, and
+with a Lover who Himself mastered every
+circumstance, and was the conqueror of sin
+and death. So this is how the Gospel music
+rings: "We are more than conquerors
+through Him the Conqueror"! By reverent
+faith we share His very love, we drink
+His very blood, and all our circumstances
+are made to pay tribute to the health and
+welfare of our souls. We are more than
+conquerors through Him Who is ever riding
+forth, conquering, and to conquer.</p>
+
+<p>Now I think I can go back to those
+streets of Rome where we began, and
+where we watched the triumphant conqueror
+returning home with his spoils.
+And now I am not surprised at Paul's daring
+to use the glowing word "Conqueror"
+to portray the glorious victories
+of the soul. When I go into the realm of
+his soul the roadway is lined with a cheering
+multitude; he is "compassed about
+with a great cloud of witnesses." A blood-red<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>
+banner is waving triumphantly in all
+his goings; "His banner over me is love!"
+A garland of victory awaits the victor's
+brow; "henceforth there is laid up for me
+a crown." And as for his spirits, they are
+festive in the love of the Lord, and they
+dance in the joy of blessed assurance.
+"I know in whom I have believed!" "I
+can do all things through Christ who
+strengtheneth me!" We are more than
+conquerors in the conquering fellowship
+of our holy and gracious Lord. And
+this song of the conqueror is intended to
+be sung by thee and me. O, let us believe
+it!</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Shall this divinely-urgéd heart<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Half toward its glory move?</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">What! shall I love in part&mdash;in part</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Yield to the Lord of love?</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">O sweetest freedom, Lord, to be</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Thy love's full prisoner!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Take me all captive; make of me</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A more than conqueror!"</span></p></blockquote>
+
+<p id="printnotice">Printed in the United States of America</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></div>
+<h2>DEVOTIONAL</h2>
+
+
+<p><i>JOHN HENRY JOWETT</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>My Daily Meditation</big> for the Circling Year</b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.35</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>A series of choice, tabloid talks&mdash;a spiritual meditation
+for every day in the year. Dr. Jowett points every word of
+these brief expositions so that it tells, while the lessons he
+seeks to convey are so propounded as to enter the understanding
+of his readers along a pathway of light. The whole
+volume is of true mintage, bearing the impress of Dr. Jowett's
+ripest thought and fruitful mind.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>S. D. GORDON</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Quiet Talks About the Crowned Christ</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net 85c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>After many years' study of the one book of the Bible
+devoted to the subject of the crowned Christ&mdash;the Revelation
+of John&mdash;Mr. Gordon has put these latest talks together. No
+book of the sixty-six has seemed so much like a riddle, and
+set so many guessing. Mr. Gordon, however, holds the deep
+conviction that it is wholly a <i>practical book</i>, and concerned
+wholly with our practical daily lives.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>F. B. MEYER, B.A.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>My Daily Prayer</big></b></p>
+
+<p>A Short Supplication for Every Day in the Year.
+32mo, leather, net 35c; cloth, net 25c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"This is a tiny volume, in the 'Yet Another Day' series,
+and contains a brief prayer for each day in the year. Some
+of the petitions contain only one sentence, but each one is
+simple, pertinent, and helpful."&mdash;<i>Zion's Herald</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>GEORGE MATHESON</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Day Unto Day</big></b></p>
+
+<p>A Brief Prayer for Every Day. <i>New Edition.</i>
+16mo, cloth, net 50c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>These choice prayers will be valued by the Christian
+world for the stimulus, inspiration, and wide spiritual outlook
+which have made the memory of their author a cherished
+possession.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>HENRY WARD BEECHER</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>A Book of Public Prayer</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net 75c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"A distinct addition to our devotional literature. It is good
+for private reading; but would be especially valuable for
+ministers as an aid to the difficult, but immensely important,
+service of voicing the petitions of a congregation in public
+prayer."&mdash;<i>Standard</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+<div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></div>
+<h2>BIBLE STUDY, Etc.</h2>
+
+
+<p><i>B. H. CARROLL, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>An Interpretation of the English Bible</big><br />
+Numbers to Ruth</b>. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"These works are designed especially for class use in the
+Seminary, Christian Colleges and Bible Schools, as well as
+the Sunday School. That they will make the greatest commentary
+on the English Bible ever published, is our sincere
+conviction."&mdash;<i>Baptist and Reflector</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="center"><i>OTHER VOLUMES NOW READY</i></p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+<b>The Book of Revelation</b>. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.<br />
+<b>The Book of Genesis</b>. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.<br />
+<b>Exodus and Leviticus</b>. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.<br />
+</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>J. FRANK SMITH, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>My Father's Business&mdash;And Mine</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.00.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Dr. Smith devotes the earlier part of his book to a study
+of Christ's historic pronouncement concerning His Father's
+business, presenting an examination of the analogical content
+of the word "Father," and an analysis of the Master's own
+sayings respecting His earthly mission.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>JOHN F. STIRLING</i> <span class="authornote">Author of "An Atlas of the Life of Christ"</span></p>
+
+<p><b><big>An Atlas of the Acts and Epistles</big></b></p>
+
+<p>A Complete Outline of Apostolic History, Showing
+the Details of the Apostles' Journeys and the
+Area of the Epistles in Specially Drawn Maps. 8vo,
+limp cloth, net 50c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Gives at a glance a complete and graphic outline of apostolic
+history. The outline follows the narrative of the Acts
+of the Apostles, supplemented by the data furnished in the
+epistles, and interpreted in the light of the best scholarship.
+The historical details are presented in their geographical and
+chronological setting, on a series of specially drawn maps, so
+that the student may follow easily the movements of the
+leading figures in the growth of the early church."&mdash;<i>Service</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>JESSE FOREST SILVER</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Lord's Return</big></b></p>
+
+<p>Seen in History and in Scripture as Pre-Millennial
+and Imminent. With an Introduction by Bishop
+Wilson T. Hogue, Ph.D. 8vo, cloth, net $1.15.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>In his Introductory Preface, Bishop Hogue of the Free
+Methodist Church says: "An encyclopedia of valuable information
+condensed into a convenient hand-book for ready reference."</p></blockquote><div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></div>
+
+
+<p><i>PROF. EDOUARD NAVILLE, C.D.L., LL.D., F.R.S.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Archćology of the Old Testament</big></b></p>
+
+<p>Was the Old Testament Written in Hebrew?
+<i>Library of Historic Theology</i>. 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Professor A. H. Sayce says: "A very remarkable work,
+and coming as it does from one of the leading Egyptologists
+of the day, who is also a practical archćologist, its arguments
+and conclusions carry unusual weight."</p></blockquote>
+
+<div class="bbox">
+<p><i>A. R. BUCKLAND, M.A.</i> (<i>Editor</i>) <span class="authornote">An Entirely New Bible Dictionary</span></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Universal Bible Dictionary</big></b></p>
+
+<p>Large 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>A work prepared with the definite aim of aiding the ordinary
+reader and Bible student, rather than critic and scholar.
+It is also arranged so as to serve as an introduction
+to systematic theology study, and contains extended articles
+on the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith by such
+experienced teachers as Prof. S. W. Green, Dr. W. H.
+Griffith Thomas, Principal Warman, and others of equal
+standing. On questions of modern criticism, the general
+exposition taken by the compilers is a conservative one, although
+exhaustive account has been taken of the conclusion
+of up-to-date criticism and research. The volume extends
+to about five hundred pages, and contains upwards of four
+thousand five hundred articles.</p></blockquote>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>PHILIP MAURO</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>EXPOSITORY READINGS IN THE EPISTLE
+TO THE ROMANS</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>God's Gospel and God's Righteousness</big></b></p>
+<blockquote><p>Romans I-V. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p><b><big>God's Gift and Our Response</big></b></p>
+<blockquote><p>Romans VI-VIII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p><b><big>God's Love and God's Children</big></b></p>
+<blockquote><p>Romans IX-XVII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.</p></blockquote>
+
+<blockquote><p>A helpful and clearly-written body of comment on St.
+Paul's Letter to the Romans. The author is a layman whose
+work is known and valued on both sides of the Atlantic.
+Mr. Mauro does not write for scholars, but for devout and
+worshipful believers&mdash;for men and women whose faith is
+simple, yet grounded on the Word of the Living God.</p></blockquote><div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></div>
+
+
+<h2>SERMONS&mdash;LECTURES&mdash;ADDRESSES</h2>
+
+
+<p><i>JAMES L. GORDON, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>All's Love Yet All's Law</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.25.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Discloses the secret of Dr. Gordon's eloquence&mdash;fresh,
+and intimate presentations of truth which always keep close
+to reality. Dr. Gordon also seems to have the world's literature
+at his command. A few of the titles will give an idea
+of the scope of his preaching. 'The Law of Truth: The
+Science of Universal Relationships'; 'The Law of Inspiration:
+The Vitalizing Power of Truth'; 'The Law of Vibration';
+'The Law of Beauty: The Spiritualizing Power of Thought';
+The Soul's Guarantee of Immortality."&mdash;<i>Christian Work</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>BISHOP FRANCIS J. McCONNELL</i> <span class="authornote">Cole Lectures</span></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Personal Christianity</big></b></p>
+
+<p>Instruments and Ends in the Kingdom of God.
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The latest volume of the famous "Cole Lectures" delivered
+at Vanderbilt University. The subjects are: I. The Personal
+in Christianity. II. The Instrumental in Christianity.
+III. The Mastery of World-Views. IV. The Invigoration
+of Morality. V. The Control of Social Advance. VI.
+"Every Kindred, and People, and Tongue."</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Lectures and Orations by Henry Ward Beecher</big></b></p>
+
+<p>Collected by Newell Dwight Hillis. 12mo, net $1.20.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>It is fitting that one who is noted for the grace, finish and
+eloquence of his own addresses should choose those of his
+predecessor which he deems worthy to be preserved in a
+bound volume as the most desirable, the most characteristic
+and the most dynamic utterances of America's greatest pulpit
+orator.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>W. L. WATKINSON, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Moral Paradoxes of St. Paul</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net 75c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"These sermons are marked, even to greater degree than
+is usual with their talented preacher, by clearness, force and
+illustrative aptness. He penetrates unerringly to the heart
+of Paul's paradoxical settings forth of great truths, and illumines
+them with pointed comment and telling illustration.
+The sermons while thoroughly practical are garbed in striking
+and eloquent sentences, terse, nervous, attention-compelling."&mdash;<i>Christian
+World</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>LEN G. BROUGHTON, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Prodigal and Others</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.00.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The discourses are vital, bright, interesting and helpful.
+It makes a preacher feel like preaching once more on this
+exhaustless parable, and will prove helpful to all young people&mdash;and
+elder ones, too. Dr. Broughton does not hesitate to
+make his utterances striking and entertaining by the introduction
+of numerous appropriate and homely stories and illustrations.
+He reaches the heart."&mdash;<i>Review and Expositor</i>.</p></blockquote><div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></div>
+
+
+<h2>ESSAYS, STUDIES, ADDRESSES</h2>
+
+
+<p><i>PROF. HUGH BLACK</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The New World</big></b></p>
+
+<p>16mo, cloth, net $1.15.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The old order changeth, bringing in the new." To a review
+of our changing world&mdash;religious, scientific, social&mdash;Hugh
+Black brings that interpretative skill and keen insight which
+distinguishes all his writings and thinking. Especially does he
+face the problem of the present-day unsettlement and unrest
+in religious beliefs with sanity and courage, furnishing in this,
+as in other aspects of his enquiry, a new viewpoint and clarified
+outlook.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>S. D. GORDON</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Quiet Talks on John's Gospel</big></b></p>
+
+<p>As Presented in the Gospel of John. Cloth, net 85c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Mr. Gordon halts his reader here and there, at some precious
+text, some outstanding instance of God's tenderness,
+much as a traveller lingers for refreshment at a wayside
+spring, and bids us hearken as God's wooing note is heard
+pleading for consecrated service. An enheartening book, and
+a restful. A book of the winning Voice, of outstretched
+Hands.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>ROBERT F. HORTON, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Springs Of Joy</big> and Other Addresses</b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.00.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Scholarly, reverent, penetrating, human. The product of
+a mature mind and of a genuine and sustained religious experience.
+The message of a thinker and a saint, which will
+be found to be very helpful."&mdash;<i>Christian Intelligencer</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>BISHOP WALTER R. LAMBUTH</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Winning the World for Christ</big></b></p>
+
+<p>A Study of Dynamics. Cole Lectures for 1915.
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>This Lecture-Course is a spirited contribution to the dynamics
+of Missions. It presents a study of the sources of inspiration
+and power in the lives of missionaries, native and
+foreign, who with supreme abandon gave themselves utterly
+to the work to which they were called.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>FREDERICK F. SHANNON, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The New Personality</big> and Other Sermons</b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.00.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Mr. Shannon, pastor of the Reformed Church on the
+Heights, Brooklyn, is possessed of lofty ideals, is purposeful,
+more than ordinarily eloquent and has the undoubted
+gifts of felicitous and epigrammatic expression. This new volume
+by the popular preacher is a contribution of distinct value
+to current sermonic literature.</p></blockquote><div class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></div>
+
+
+<h2>EARLIER WORKS IN DEMAND</h2>
+
+
+<p><i>WAYNE WHIPPLE</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Story-Life of the Son of Man</big></b></p>
+
+<p>8vo, illustrated, net $2.50.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"A literary mosaic, consisting of quotations from a great
+number of writers concerning all the events of the Gospels.
+The sub-title accurately describes its contents. That sub-title
+is 'Nearly a thousand stories from sacred and secular
+sources in a continuous and complete chronicle of the earth
+life of the Saviour.' The book was prepared for the general
+reader, but will be valuable to minister, teacher and student.
+There are many full-page engravings from historic paintings
+and sacred originals, some reproduced for the first time."&mdash;<i>Christian
+Observer</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>GAIUS GLENN ATKINS, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Pilgrims of the Lonely Road</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.50.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"A rare book for its style, its theme and the richness of
+its insight. Seldom is seen a book of more exquisite grace
+of diction&mdash;happy surprises of phrase, and lovely lengths of
+haunting prose to delight the eye. Each of the great pilgrim's
+studies is followed step by step along the lonely way
+of the soul in its quest of light, toward the common goal of
+all&mdash;union with the eternal."&mdash;<i>Chicago Record-Herald</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>S. D. GORDON</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>Quiet Talks on Following The Christ</big></b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net 85c.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"This volume is well calculated to aid in Christian life, to
+give strength, courage and light on difficult problems. It
+grips one's very life, brings one face to face with God's
+word, ways of understanding it and, even its every day application.
+It is plain, clear, direct, no confusion of dark
+sentences."&mdash;<i>Bapt. Observer</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D.</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Teaching of Christ</big></b></p>
+
+<p>A Companion Volume to "The Crises of The
+Christ." 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"One does not read far before he is amazed at the clear and
+logical grasp Dr. Morgan has upon divine truths. Could a
+copy of this book, with its marvelous insight, its straightforwardness,
+its masterly appeal, be placed in the hands of our
+church leaders, it would go far toward negativing the spiritual
+barrenness of destructive criticism. Here is a work
+that may profitably occupy a prominent place in the minister's
+library."&mdash;<i>Augsburg Teacher</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><i>ZEPHINE HUMPHREY</i></p>
+
+<p><b><big>The Edge of the Woods</big> And Other Papers</b></p>
+
+<p>12mo, cloth, net $1.25.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Sane optimism, an appreciation of the beautiful and a
+delicate humor pervades the book which is one for lovers of
+real literature to enjoy."&mdash;<i>Pittsburgh Post</i>.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Whole Armour of God
+
+Author: John Henry Jowett
+
+Release Date: July 10, 2011 [EBook #36692]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julio Reis and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ *** Transcription notes:
+
+ The following typos were fixed:
+
+ page 11: Moffat -> Moffatt
+ page 57: loathesome -> loathsome
+ page 60: fellowmen -> fellow-men
+ page 115: battle-fields -> battlefields
+ page 145: baptised -> baptized
+ page 153: multidudinous -> multitudinous
+ page 225: today -> to-day
+ page 233: pruninghooks -> pruning-hooks
+ page 260: frost-bitten -> frostbitten
+
+ There are text lines missing on page 112, which were marked with
+ "[missing text]". The missing text could not be found anywhere,
+ so most likely all subsequent editions reproduced this error.
+ Anyway, the meaning of the paragraph is evident from the
+ context.
+
+ Bold text is marked with =, italics with _.
+
+ *** End of the transcription notes
+
+
+
+
+THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
+
+
+
+
+By J. H. JOWETT, D.D.
+
+
+ The Whole Armour of God
+
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year
+
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ "There is something to think about each day. It is
+ scriptural, spiritual, stimulating."
+
+ --_Herald and Presbyter_.
+
+ Things That Matter Most
+
+ Devotional Papers. A Book of Spiritual Uplift and
+ Comfort. 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The Transfigured Church
+
+ A Portrayal of the Possibilities Within the Church.
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The High Calling
+
+ Meditations on St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.
+ 12mo, cloth net $1.35
+
+ The Silver Lining
+
+ A Message of Hope and Cheer, for the Troubled and
+ Tried. 12mo, cloth net $1.15
+
+ Our Blessed Dead
+
+ 16mo, boards net 25c
+
+ The Passion for Souls
+
+ Devotional Messages for Christian Workers. 16mo, cloth net 60c
+
+ The Folly of Unbelief
+
+ And Other Meditations for Quiet Moments. 12mo, cloth net 60c
+
+
+ _SENTENCE PRAYERS for EVERY DAY_
+
+ The Daily Altar
+
+ A Prayer for Each Day. Cloth net 25c
+ Leather net 35c
+
+ Yet Another Day
+
+ A Prayer for Each Day. 32mo, cloth, net 25c
+ Leather net 35c
+ A new large type edition. Cloth net 75c
+ Leather net $1.00
+
+
+
+
+ THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
+
+ BY
+
+ JOHN HENRY JOWETT, M.A., D.D.
+
+ _Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City_
+
+ [Illustration: Logo of Fleming H. Revell Company]
+
+ NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
+
+ Fleming H. Revell Company
+
+ LONDON AND EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+ Copyright, 1916, by
+ FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
+
+ New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
+ Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
+ London: 21 Paternoster Square
+ Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS 9
+
+ II. THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH 25
+
+ III. THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 41
+
+ IV. READY! 59
+
+ V. THE SHIELD OF FAITH 77
+
+ VI. THE HELMET OF HOPE 91
+
+ VII. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 109
+
+ VIII. THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER 127
+
+ IX. WATCH YE! 143
+
+ X. ENDURING HARDNESS 161
+
+ XI. THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER ON THE FIELD 179
+
+ XII. THE SOLDIER'S FIRE 197
+
+ XIII. THE VICTORY OVER THE BEAST 215
+
+ XIV. THE COMING GOLDEN AGE 231
+
+ XV. MORE THAN CONQUERORS 249
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS
+
+
+ _Eternal God, may no distraction draw us away from our communion
+ with Thee. May we come to Thee like children going home,
+ jubilant and glad. We have been in the far country and our
+ garments are stained. May we hasten to the ministry of
+ forgiveness and reconciliation. If we have been on fields of
+ heavy battle, where the fire of the enemy has been awful and
+ unceasing, may we hasten to Thee for the overhauling of our
+ armor, and for the renewal of our strength. If we have been
+ called upon to walk weary roads of unfamiliar sorrow, may we
+ turn to Thee as to refreshing springs. If we have lapsed from
+ our high calling, may we renew our covenant. If we have missed a
+ gracious opportunity, may we seek another chance. If we have
+ been counted faithful in any service, and have fulfilled our
+ commission by the help of Thy grace, may we hasten to give the
+ glory to Thee. Unite us, we humbly pray Thee, in the holy bonds
+ of Christian sympathy. Deepen our pity so that we may share the
+ sorrows of people far away. May we feel the burden of the
+ burdened and weep with them that weep. May we not add to our sin
+ by ceasing to remember those who are in need. Grant peace in our
+ time, O Lord, the peace which is the fruit of righteousness. Let
+ Thy will be done among all the peoples, so that in common
+ obedience to Thee all the nations may find abiding union. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE INVISIBLE ANTAGONISMS
+
+ "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
+ able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to
+ stand." Eph. 6:13.
+
+
+Let me give one or two other translations which devout scholars have
+made in the attempt to bring out the precise significance of Paul's
+original words. Many interpreting minds act like the solar spectrum, and
+they help to display the wealthy contents in the pure white light of
+gospel truth. Here then is Dr. Moffat's translation: "So take God's
+armour that you may be able to make a stand in the evil day and hold
+your ground by overcoming all your foes." And here is Dr. Weymouth's
+fine attempt to elicit the buried wealth of the apostle's words: "Put on
+the complete armour of God so that you may be able to stand your ground
+on the day of battle, and having fought to the end to remain victors on
+the field." That is a translation which stirs one's blood, and I am
+inclined to regard it as a very vital interpretation of the rousing,
+soldierly counsel of the apostle Paul.
+
+The apostle is writing to a tiny company of Christians at Ephesus, so
+tiny that they are like a drop in a bucket in the midst of that teaming
+population. For this is what has happened. Under the constraining
+influence of the gospel of Christ this little handful of men and women
+have done one of the hardest things we are ever called upon to do. They
+have cut themselves away from old fellowships. They have separated
+themselves from the fond attachments of a lifetime. They have severed
+themselves from venerable roots. They have forfeited dear and vital
+friendships, and they are now living an alien life within the circle of
+their own city. They are strangers in their own home. They are
+foreigners in their native land. They are pilgrims in their own country.
+They are in it and yet not of it. They are like tropical plants which
+find themselves in the Arctic Zone. And it is to this little company
+that the apostle writes this letter, and to them he gives the inspiring
+counsel of my text: "Put on the complete armour of God that ye may be
+able to stand your ground in the day of battle."
+
+In what sort of circumstances did these people live? Let us take a swift
+survey of the hostility of their surroundings. What was the nature of
+the antagonisms by which this little company were beset? First of all,
+there was the overwhelming power of the world. Their city itself was
+luxuriously placed. The very location of Ephesus was favourable to
+prosperity, enjoying as it did the double advantage of shelter and of
+openness to the outer world. I was amazed when I walked among its ruins
+in the late spring at the magnificence of its position. If you will
+think of a cup, with more than a third of its rim broken down to its
+base, you will gain a rough but practical suggestion of the groundwork
+of this ancient city. About two-thirds of the city are immediately
+engirt with noble and richly verdured hills. Then this sheltering rim of
+hills is broken, and the cup opens out in one direction to a port on
+the open sea, and in the other direction to a rich alluvial plain,
+famous for its wonderful fertility. Such was Ephesus, sheltered and yet
+open, with protective arms of hills about it, and yet widely hospitable
+to the trade and wealth of the world. No wonder Ephesus was luxurious,
+no wonder she was carnal, and no wonder she was ennervated. She was the
+very hunting ground of the garish world, and in this mesmeric garishness
+this little company of Christians had their home. This was the first of
+their antagonisms.
+
+Well, then, to mention a second antagonism, there was the majestic power
+of an alien religion. The magnificent Temple of Diana, which is now only
+a little heap of stones, with literally not one stone resting orderly
+upon another, then dominated the city by its splendour, and represented
+a religion which held the people in the loose leash of easy and
+licentious morals. Just think of that resplendent temple, that gorgeous
+temple, and then think of some obscure house in some obscure street,
+where this little company of Christians met to commune with their Lord,
+and in the contrast you will realize another of the antagonisms which
+assailed their discipleship every hour of the day. The Temple of Diana
+versus the little Christian meeting-house! It makes one think of another
+contrast in the grey and windy city of Edinburgh; the dark, frowning
+Palace of Holyrood versus John Knox's small house in Canongate! And
+history tells us which of these two proved to be the dwelling-place of
+invincible strength. This was the second of their antagonisms.
+
+And then, to name a third of their antagonisms, there was the pervasive
+power of popular customs and traditions. Every day this little handful
+of Christians were up against customs that were like invisible bonds.
+Yes, religious and social customs always thread the common life, and to
+oppose them is to run up against antagonisms which are like invisible
+webs of barbed wire. We know what it means to oppose a popular custom
+to-day. Just oppose even a simple one; decide to wear no black in the
+hour of bereavement and you are up against a world of hostility and
+suspicion. And, still further, let the convention you defy be an
+ecclesiastical convention, or one which has somehow come to wear
+religious sanctions, and the antagonism is tremendous. Well, this little
+company of Christians in Ephesus were defying popular social customs and
+popular religious customs every day, and they were, therefore,
+confronted with a fierce and terrific opposition. And so they had all
+these antagonisms to meet, the hardening glare of the world, the
+far-reaching power of an alien religion, and the tyranny of popular
+custom and tradition. And in the very thick of all these you must
+imagine these comparatively youthful Christians seeking to live their
+separate and consecrated life.
+
+But in this strong and tender letter to this little flock of Christians,
+the apostle Paul looks beyond the opposition of flesh and blood, and the
+steelly barriers of usage and tradition; he pierces the visible veil and
+beholds invisible antagonists, spiritual, alive, active and hostile.
+Listen to him: "For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood,
+but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern
+this dark world, the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the
+heavenly warfare." When the apostle looked upon Ephesus it seemed as
+though the whole city became transparent, and behind the visible and
+transient veils he saw these spiritual foes. There was much mischief in
+Ephesus, there was much weaving of evil webs, there was much coming and
+going of worldly forces; but to Paul, the real prompters and instigators
+were back in the unseen. This is the teaching of this great apostle.
+These Christians in the early Church had to fight unseen enemies,
+antagonists in the spirit--"spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenly
+warfare." The real enemy is entrenched in the unseen, and he is ever
+active, night and day, and the early believer confronted him in ancient
+Ephesus, as the later believer confronts him in modern New York and
+London.
+
+Now it is of these invisible antagonists that the apostle most urgently
+warns these young disciples. He warns them of the extraordinary subtlety
+of the warfare, of the wiles of the devil, of the stratagems of these
+mysterious powers, of their traps and devices, of their diabolic
+cleverness, and of their amazing and manifold ingenuities. The
+instruments of modern material warfare are almost incredible in the
+refinement of their destructiveness, and I have no doubt in my own mind
+that even these ingenuities are also diabolic, and that if we could
+pierce the veil we should see the invisible enemies at their fiendish
+work. But these unseen antagonists out-do all the subtleties of the
+material instruments of destruction in the devices in which they lure
+and snare and entrap and overthrow the soul.
+
+Well, then, how do these antagonists work? How is this cunning
+antagonism exerted upon the soul? It is exerted both mediately and
+immediately. First of all, these invisible antagonists work immediately
+upon the soul. Spirit can work upon spirit; mind can lay pressure upon
+mind. There is a direct and immediate influence upon the secret life of
+man. That is the teaching of the Word of God, and I freely confess to
+you that there are phenomena in my own life, and in the lives of others
+which I cannot interpret in any other way. I know it is altogether
+mysterious, but it is by no means incredible. In our own day we are
+obtaining first glimpses into avenues of spiritual activity which
+hitherto have been shrouded in mist and darkness. The phenomena of
+thought transference, of telepathy, of hypnotism, are lifting the veil
+upon modes of influence of which we have scarcely dreamed. One mind can
+influence another mind directly without either speech or deed, leaving
+upon the other the seal and imprint of its own mould. When I see this I
+do not count it incredible when it is reported to me that there are
+spiritual antagonists in Ephesus and in New York who prey upon the
+thoughts of man, and work upon his imagination, and engage his
+sentiments and ambitions with the purpose of luring him from his sacred
+loyalties, and inciting him to rebellion against the holy and most high
+God. "Ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood," says the
+apostle. We have invisible foes.
+
+And then, in the second place, these spiritual antagonists work
+mediately upon the soul. They work upon the soul through the medium of
+human ministries--through the contagious power of crowds, through the
+gravitation of the age, through the general spirit of society, through
+the psychological climate in which our life is cast. And they also work
+upon the soul through the medium of individuals, through men and women
+who have been captured by the evil one and who are now used in his
+purposes of moral and spiritual destruction. Our invisible antagonists
+cast their lure upon us through the ministry of our fellow-men.
+
+Now all these antagonisms, seen and unseen, mediate and immediate, this
+little company of Christians had to meet in ancient Ephesus. You say the
+antagonisms are tremendous! Yes, indeed they are, and the Christian life
+is a tremendous thing. That is what tens of thousands of professing
+Christians have yet to learn. Let it be said that of all tremendous
+things the Christian life is the most tremendous. It is not something we
+can play with in idle hours, it is not a merely pleasant fellowship, it
+is not the bloodless act of joining the visible Church. No, it is not
+the carrying of a highly imposing label; it is a desperate, continuous,
+but withal, a glorious campaign. Speaking for myself, I confess that I
+have to have my fingers on the throat of the devil every day of my
+mortal life. This is how I find it. I do not gain a single inch without
+a fight. No fine victory is ever gained by me without blood. O, the
+sternness of the Christian fight! and O, its attractiveness and its
+glory! Yes, indeed, you are right; the antagonisms are tremendous.
+
+How then, are they to be met? If these are our antagonisms, seen and
+unseen, in New York as well as in Ephesus, how can we meet and overcome
+them? Let us listen to the Word: "Put on the complete armour of _God_."
+Let us begin there. Our first need is God. Without God we are beaten
+even before the fight begins. We have no more likelihood of vanquishing
+our spiritual foes without God than this unaided hand of mine would be
+able to drive back the solid phalanxes of the German hosts. We must
+begin with God. In the tenth verse of this chapter the apostle unfolds
+the primary secret of victory. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power
+of His might." But that is a very imperfect translation, laying too much
+emphasis upon the soldier and too little upon his Lord. I greatly like
+the marginal rendering of the revised version: "Be made powerful in the
+Lord." Does not that word sound full of promise for soldiers who are
+about to storm a difficult position? "Be made powerful in the Lord." Let
+God make you powerful! Such power is not a trophy of battle; it is the
+fruit of communion. It is a bequest and not a conquest. This power is
+not something we have to win; it is something we have to receive. It is
+not something we have to gain; it is something we have to take. "Be made
+powerful in the Lord!" And listen again: "Ye shall receive power when
+the Holy Spirit is come upon you." That power, that vital endowment of
+strength, is the gift of God, one of the ministries of the divine grace,
+and it is offered to every soldier without money and without price. So
+is it true that our first necessity in battle is to hasten away to the
+Lord to receive the gifts of the soldier's strength.
+
+But not only is there the imperative need of God for our initial
+strength, but for every piece of armour which may be needful in the
+fight. Armour for offence, and armour for defence; armour to meet every
+device and stratagem with which we may be assailed. I propose to
+consider this armour, piece by piece, and over and over again I shall
+have to tell you that you may find every piece of armour in the
+abundantly stocked and open and free armoury of God. And therefore do I
+say again that if we are to be triumphant over our antagonists, our
+first need is God. "Seek ye the Lord." "O come, let us kneel before the
+Lord our Maker."
+
+And then, our other great requirement is the ceaseless co-operation of
+our wills. The life of a Christian soldier is not a continuous reclining
+on "flowery beds of ease." Having obtained the strength we must
+ceaselessly exercise it in the practice of our wills. Listen to the
+divine challenge to the will: "Be made powerful in the Lord!" Well,
+then, exercise the will you have, your weak will, and go and kneel in
+humility at the source of power, and receive the promised gift. "Put on
+the whole armour of God!" Well, then, exercise the will and go to the
+armoury of grace for thine arms. "Stand therefore!" Well, then, having
+received the gift of power, exercise thy will in stubborn and invincible
+resistance. "Here stand I," said one who had received the strength,
+"Here stand I; I can do no other, God help me!" "Having done all,
+stand"--and victory shall be yours! In the name of God the Father, God
+the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, victory shall most certainly be yours!
+
+Says Dr. Weymouth: "Stand your ground in the day of battle, and having
+fought to the end remain victors on the field." "Victors on the field."
+I am thrilled by the inspiring word--"Victors on the field." After every
+temptation--the temptation that comes to me in sunshine, or the
+temptation that comes to me in the gloom--after every fight, victors on
+the field! The Lord's banner flying, His banner of love and grace; and
+the evil one and all his host in utter rout, and in full and dire
+retreat!
+
+ Soldiers of Christ arise,
+ And put your armour on;
+ Strong in the strength which God supplies
+ Through His eternal Son.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH
+
+
+ _Holy Father, we humbly pray Thee to reveal unto us the
+ unsearchable riches of Christ. Refine our discernments in order
+ that we may behold them; and deepen our hearts in order that we
+ may long to possess them. Unveil to us our poverty so that we
+ may seek Thy wealth. Lead us through meekness and penitence to
+ the reception of spiritual power. May our loins be girt about
+ with truth. May we drink deeply at the waters of promise and
+ find refreshment in immediate duty. We pray that Thou wilt bind
+ us together in the bonds of holy sympathy. Help us to gather up
+ the needs of others in common intercession. Make us ready to
+ bear the burden of the race. Quicken our imaginations in order
+ that we may enter into the sorrows of Thy children in every
+ land. We humbly pray Thee to steady our faith in these days of
+ bewilderment. In all the confusion of our time may we never lose
+ sight of Thy throne. In all the obscuring of our ideals may we
+ never lose sight of Christ. And O, Lord, out of our disorder may
+ we be led into larger ways. Let Thy Holy Spirit brood over us,
+ quickening all that is full of sacred promise, and destroying
+ all that hinders our friendship with Thee. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH
+
+ "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth." Eph.
+ 6:14.
+
+
+The girdle was just a strong belt holding the different pieces of a
+soldier's armour securely in their place. Even in the ordinary Oriental
+attire the girdle was a necessity. Without the girdle the loose, flowing
+garments became very cumbersome, flapping about the feet, and especially
+hindering the movements in a hostile wind. Even the most graceful attire
+became an entanglement unless the girdle held it in serviceable bonds.
+But the necessity of a girdle was still more imperative on the field of
+war. In active fighting loose pieces of armour would be like
+embarrassing articles hanging on the soldier rather than appropriate
+implements to make him efficient. Loose armour was troublesome and
+distressing, making the soldier feel soft, and awkward, and unready,
+giving him a sense of going to pieces. The belt bound the loose pieces
+together, creating a healthy sense of firmness, compactness, and making
+the soldier feel that he had everything well in hand, and enabling him
+to meet the enemy's attack with united strength and confidence.
+
+Now it is that figure of the military belt which the apostle is using
+in our text, "Let your loins be girt about with truth." The soldier of
+Jesus can have his armour flapping about him in disorderly array. He can
+be loose and distracted. His energies can be scattered. He can be just a
+mass of incoherences and inconsistencies in the presence of the foe. Or
+a soldier of Jesus can be firm, and collected, and decisive. He can be
+"all there," with every ounce of his strength available for the
+immediate fight. And the apostle teaches that this bracing sense of
+collectedness, this fine, firm feeling of moral and spiritual
+concentration, can only be obtained by binding the entire life with the
+splendid and tenacious girdle of gospel truth.
+
+I want to approach the apostle's central teaching along roads which
+will gather up the testimony of common experience. We all know the
+strength which is imparted to a life when it is girt about with firm
+principle. It is even so in the life of a boy when he is passing his
+earliest days at school. Is there anything nobler to contemplate than a
+fine boy whose life and character are held firm and free in the bond and
+girdle of moral principle? It is even so in the later days of college
+and university. What college or university graduate has not admired the
+decisive strength of some man or woman whose character was held in
+splendid consistency by the girdle of moral conviction! What joyful and
+boisterous liberty there is in such a life! And it is all the more free
+and jubilant because it recognizes fields of license into which it never
+strays. And in the broader fields of the world we have the witness of
+the same experience. Life that is held in a girdle quadruples its
+strength. Life which is bound together even by a strong expediency
+gathers force in the bondage. A life which is held in the constraint of
+a policy is far mightier than a life which is trailing in scattered
+indifference. But a life which is bound together in moral principle,
+having all its faculties and powers gathered under one control, has
+tremendous force both of attack and resistance.
+
+You may study the contents of that statement and find abundant
+illustrations in the lives of men like Lincoln, and Mazzini, and
+Gladstone, and John Bright, and John Morley, and James Bryce. All these
+men, whether we approve or disapprove their political programmes and
+ambitions, are men whose characters reveal no loose ends, no trailing
+garments, no unchartered opinions, no vagrant and unlicensed moods, but
+rather a moral wholeness and solidity which we know will retain its
+splendid consistency in the teeth of the fiercest storm. Yes, even in
+the ways of the world men recognize the man who is wearing the belt of
+principle, and whose loins are girt about with truth.
+
+But the apostle Paul is thinking of something more than moral
+principle, splendid as is the influence of a great principle on the
+healthy action of a life. He is thinking of something even finer and
+deeper than this, and in which the moral principle is included. He is
+thinking of a soul belted with the more distinctive truth of the
+Scriptures, a soul girt about with gospel truth and with the ample
+promises of God. He is thinking of a man who takes some great truth of
+revelation, some mighty word of life, or some broad and bracing promise
+of grace, and who belts it about his soul and wears it on active service
+in seeking to do the sovereign will. I know not where to begin, or where
+to end, when I turn to the pages of biography for examples of men and
+women who have worn the girdle of gospel truth and promise. Let me dip
+here and there in the many and brilliant records.
+
+Well, then, let us begin with Martin Luther. It is one of the strong
+characteristics of Luther that he is ever wearing the girdle of truth,
+and bracing himself with the promises of grace. I open his letters
+almost at random, in the great year of his life when he defied the pope,
+and opposed himself to the strength of uncounted hosts. He is writing to
+Melanchthon on May 26, 1521: "Do not be troubled in spirit; but sing the
+Lord's song in the night, as we are commanded, and I shall join in. Let
+us only be concerned about the Word." There you find him putting on the
+girdle! Once again I find him writing a letter to a poor little company
+of Christians at Wittenberg: "I send you this thirty-seventh Psalm for
+your consolation and instruction. Take comfort and remain steadfast. Do
+not be alarmed through the raging of the godless." There again he is
+wearing the girdle and urging others to wear it. His loins are girt
+about with truth.
+
+Then again there is John Wesley. Let me give you a glimpse of that
+noble servant of the spirit as he is putting on the girdle of truth:
+"When I opened the New Testament at five o'clock in the morning my eyes
+fell on the words, 'There are given unto us exceeding great and precious
+promises that we should be partakers of the divine nature.'" He girt his
+loins with that truth. "Just before I left the room I opened the Book
+again, and this sentence gleamed from the open page, 'Thou art not far
+from the Kingdom of God.'" And he girt himself with that promise. He
+went to St. Paul's that morning, and in the chant there came to him this
+personal message from the Word: "O Israel, trust in the Lord, for in the
+Lord there is mercy and in Him there is plenteous redemption, and He
+shall redeem Israel from all his sins." Do you not see this noble knight
+belting himself for the great crusade that even now awaits him at the
+gate?
+
+Then I think I will mention General Gordon, who laid down his life at
+Khartoum. Only, if you want to see Gordon girding himself with truth,
+and see it adequately, you will have to quote from almost every letter
+he ever wrote, and especially his wonderful correspondence with his
+sister. Take this sentence from a letter written in Cairo in 1884: "I
+have taken the words, 'He will hide me in His hands'; good-night, my
+dear sister, I am not moved, even a little." Or take this sentence from
+a letter written in Khartoum toward the end of his days: "This word has
+been given me, 'It is nothing to our God to help with many or with few,'
+and I now take my worries more quietly than before." He put on the
+girdle of truth, and his worries were leashed in the girdle, and his
+soul was quieted in gospel confidence and serenity.
+
+And I had other examples to offer you, but these must suffice. I had on
+my table David Livingstone, and John Woolman, and Josephine Butler, and
+Frances Willard, and Catherine Booth, and I wanted to give you glimpses
+of all these notable soldiers of the Lord girding themselves for the
+open field. But their names shall be their witness. I might have quoted,
+had I the knowledge and the time, the testimony of all the saints who
+from their labours rest. And concerning them all we should have seen
+that their loins were girt about with truth.
+
+Now it was to spiritual equipment of this kind that the apostle was
+directing the little company of Christians at Ephesus. Think of their
+surroundings:--the overwhelming worldliness, the dominating influence of
+an alien religion, the fierce antagonisms of popular customs and
+traditions, and all of these backed by invisible hosts of wickedness in
+heavenly places. Now what chance would a loose, shuffling Christian have
+in circumstances so hostile as these? The Christian in Ephesus, if he is
+to be a conqueror, must not slouch along the way with a loose, hang-dog
+sort of air, but rather with all the poise and movement of a lion. The
+Christian must belt himself about with big truth, truth that will not
+only confirm but invigorate, truth that will not only define his creed
+but vitalize his soul. And these Ephesian Christians followed the
+apostle's counsel and they girded themselves with truth, and so were
+able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
+
+Let us watch how they did it. They had been converted to the Christian
+faith and life. One sure effect of their conversion was a more vivid
+sense of sin. After their conversion their own sinfulness began to
+reveal itself in more awful relief. The nearer they got to the light the
+more their sin appeared, just like invisible writing emerging from its
+secrecy when exposed to the open fire. They saw their sin, and they saw
+the sin of the people. They were like the prophet Isaiah, to whom also
+there came the awakening sense of sin, and with him they could have
+cried: "Woe is me, for I am unclean, and I dwell in the midst of a
+people of unclean lips." Well, now, how could that little company of
+Christians deal with the sin? It was like trying to drain a vast and
+bitter marsh that was fed by secret springs. How could they do it? And
+the tremendous task only emphasized their weakness, and might have
+depressed them into a feeling of helplessness and despair. And we share
+that feeling to-day. Think of the colossal sins of Europe, and think of
+the sins and moral indifference of the great cities. If the sin be like
+a bitter marsh, what is going to drain it? Nay, how are we going to get
+the confidence that it can be drained? Well what did Paul do, and what
+did he teach his fellow-disciples to do? This is what he did. He found
+something even bigger than sin, and he girded himself with the bigger
+thing when he confronted the appalling task. Listen to him: "Where sin
+abounds grace does much more abound." Yes, sin is a big thing, but grace
+is a bigger thing; the biggest thing even in this rebellious and
+indifferent world. Sin is a strong thing, but grace is a stronger thing,
+even the strongest thing in a revolting and alienated world. Well then,
+let your loins be girt about with that truth! Put it around your fears
+and uncertainties like a strong girdle. Wear it ever night and day. Go
+up to every stupendous task in the vigour of its bracing grip. Begin at
+the piece of the bitter marsh nearest to you, and begin to drain it. And
+wear the truth--"Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound." Wear
+the truth, say it, sing it, and you will be amazed how the difficulty
+will be subdued; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
+
+There was something else in Ephesus for which these Christians needed
+the girdle of truth. Ephesus was a vast city, and these Christians were
+only a tiny and obscure fellowship. And even this small fellowship had
+to be broken up during the hours of labour, and in those hours each
+believer had to stand alone. One of them was perhaps a slave, and there
+was no fellow-believer in the house. Or perhaps one was a soldier, and
+there wasn't another believer in his regiment, and he had to face it all
+alone. We have been reading that one reason for the massed solidity of
+the German advance is that the individual German soldier craves the
+mystic strength of fellowship, and desires even the physical touch of a
+comrade-in-arms. I can understand it. And so could the Ephesian
+Christians have understood it. They felt strong when they touched their
+fellow-believers, and they felt weakened when the visible communion was
+broken.
+
+What, then, shall they do when alone? They must let their loins be girt
+about with truth. But what truth? What did the apostle Paul wear in such
+isolation? He took this girdle and wrapped it round his loins: "He loved
+me, and gave Himself for me." And that girdle gives a man a sense of
+glorious fellowship along the emptiest and loneliest road. Put that
+girdle on, lonely soul! "He loves me, and gave Himself for me!" Wear it
+ever, night and day. And wear it consciously! Say it; sing it--"He loved
+me, and gave Himself for me." "Let your loins be girt about with that
+truth."
+
+And so have we seen these Ephesian soldiers putting on the girdle. In
+the presence of threat and persecution they wore this girdle, "We are
+more than conquerors through Him that loved us." When their
+circumstances were a medley and a confusion, full of ups and downs, of
+strange comings and goings, of mingled joy and sorrow, foul and fair,
+they wore this girdle: "All things work together for good to them that
+love God." And thus they were braced for all the changes of the
+ever-changing day.
+
+So do I urge my fellow-soldiers in this later day to wear the belt.
+"Let your loins be girt about with truth." Let us pray the good Lord to
+help us even now to put it on. Is the girdle we need this--"He loved me
+and gave Himself for me?" Well, put it on. Or is it this--"We have
+forgiveness through His blood?" Put it on. Or is it this--"I will come
+again and receive you unto myself?" Put it on. Or is it this--"In My
+Father's house are many mansions?" Put it on. Or is it this--"I will
+never leave thee nor forsake thee?" Put it on. Or is it this great
+girdle--"When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and
+through the rivers, they shall not overthrow thee, when thou walkest
+through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame
+kindle upon thee?" Put on the girdle, wear it ever, night and day, and
+thou shalt find that in the strength of gospel truth thou are competent
+to meet all circumstances, and triumphantly perfect thy Saviour's will.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
+
+
+ _Almighty God, our Father, it is by Thy grace that we attain
+ unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we find wisdom. We
+ humbly pray that Thy grace and light may be given unto us so
+ that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth. Wilt Thou
+ graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly
+ places in Christ Jesus. Impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction
+ with everything that is low, and mean, and unclean, and create
+ within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things
+ which Thou hast prepared for them that love Thee. Wilt Thou
+ receive us as guests of Thy table. Give us the glorious sense of
+ Thy presence, and the precious privilege of intimate communion.
+ Feed us with the bread of life; nourish all our spiritual
+ powers; help us to find our delight in such things as please
+ Thee. Give us strength to fight the good fight of faith. Give us
+ holy courage, that we may not be daunted by any fear, or turn
+ aside from our appointed task. Make us calm when we have to
+ tread an unfamiliar road, and may Thy presence give us
+ companionship divine. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
+
+ "Having on the breastplate of righteousness." Ephesians 6:14.
+
+
+This is counsel given to a little company of Christians, so little as
+to be almost submerged and lost in the great unfriendly city of Ephesus,
+so little as to be like a tiny boat in the midst of a vast and
+threatening sea. A missionary of the gospel has been among them and they
+have received the word of the Lord Jesus. They have answered the
+constraint of redeeming love and they have confessed their faith in
+Christ. And what has happened? Their confession has compelled their
+separation from many of their old fellowships and attachments. They are
+loosened from many of their old affections. The forces that were once
+friendly to them have become unfriendly, and they are now confronted by
+overwhelming hostilities on every side.
+
+We must try to feel the power and peril of their isolation if we would
+understand the force of the apostle's words. Imagine then the lot of
+some German in Germany who espoused the cause of the Allies, or conceive
+the lot of some Englishman in England who sided with Germany, and you
+may realize the heat and fierceness of the antagonism with which these
+immature Christians were surrounded in the city of Ephesus. But their
+peril was not only found in the hostility of their old friends. There
+was the enervating moral atmosphere which they had to breathe; there was
+the recurring inclination of their own riotous passions; there was a
+remnant of appetite for the old delights; and there was the nervous fear
+that the forces against them might prove overwhelming.
+
+What should they do? How should they be able to stand? And especially
+how should they be able to stand in the evil day, the day when external
+circumstances might culminate in some terrific assault, or when their
+own passions might rise against them in some particularly fierce
+resurgence? Well, this chapter records the counsel of a great and
+experienced apostle, a mighty soldier of the Lord, in which he advises
+these young recruits of the Kingdom what armour they must wear if they
+would be victorious on the field. "Put on the whole armour of God." And
+we are considering these noble pieces of armour if haply we too may
+possess the equipment and so turn our days of battle into days of
+glorious victory.
+
+And now, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I bring you this piece of
+armour, "the breastplate of righteousness," and it is to be worn in our
+modern warfare in this difficult city of New York. What is this
+breastplate of righteousness? What indeed was the Roman breastplate from
+which the figure of speech is taken? Unfortunately, the word breastplate
+is very inaccurate and misleading. The piece of armour to which the
+apostle refers protected the back as well as the breast, and in addition
+it gave protection to the neck and the hips. It would be much more truly
+described by the phrase, "a coat of mail," because it was a sort of vest
+made of small metal plates, overlapping one another like shield upon
+shield, wrapping the body in its defences, and protecting the vital
+organs, back and front, from every assault of the foe.
+
+Let us then venture to lift this more accurate description into our
+text, "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail, wear it in all your
+comings and goings in the city of Ephesus, and in it meet all the
+malicious antagonisms of devils and of men." Now I wonder how the
+apostle's counsel affected these fearful struggling Christians in
+Ephesus. Let us look at them. Let us assume that we are with them, and
+that we are about to give them the counsel offered in the text. How will
+they receive it? Remember that they have just been lifted out of the
+horrible pit and out of the miry clay of long-continued sin, and that
+they are oppressed by their own weakness and helplessness, and by the
+strength of the evil inclinations and habits which they have just
+renounced. Well, now, let us offer these inexperienced disciples the
+apostle's counsel: "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail!" Why, they
+just look at you in utter despair! It is their very weakness that they
+cannot forge and weave such a coat of mail to cover them in the day of
+battle. The counsel would surely seem like the taunting cry of the foe.
+
+Suppose we had waylaid poor Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress" when
+he was struggling with his oppressive burden up the hill, and with the
+fiery darts of the devil hurtling around him on every side, and suppose
+we had called out to him, "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail!" We
+should surely only have added heaviness to his burden and crushed him to
+the ground in despair. "Put on righteousness like a coat of mail?" he
+would have moaned in his reply, "My righteousness is like unto filthy
+rags!"
+
+One poor, sorrowful correspondent wrote to me some weeks ago who was
+the victim of alcohol and drugs. For years he had walked in ways of
+uncleanness, but he was now just waking from his awful sleep and turning
+his thoughts toward home. Suppose now I had written to him and said "Put
+on righteousness like a coat of mail!" I think his eyes would have
+dulled into weariness again, and he would have slipped back to his drugs
+and his despair. This cannot be the meaning of the apostle's counsel, or
+this coat of mail would never be worn.
+
+What, then, does the apostle mean when he says "Put on righteousness
+like a coat of mail"? Let us seek for light in his own life, for he is a
+soldier as well as a counsellor, and we shall find him following his own
+advice and wearing the armour which he recommends to others. Let us
+listen then to this word, and let us mark its significance; "Touching
+the righteousness which is in the law I was found blameless." That seems
+like an invincible protection. "Touching the righteousness which is in
+the law I was found blameless!" But there was nothing invincible about
+it. It was no more a coat of mail than an ordinary vest, and the devil
+smote through the defences a dozen times a day.
+
+Listen again to the apostle when he has passed into the intimate
+friendship of Christ: "Not having a righteousness of mine own." Mark
+that; yea verily mark that;--"Not having a righteousness of mine own."
+This coat of mail he wears is not his own righteousness. Whose, then, is
+it? It is the righteousness of Christ. As Paul declares: "It is the
+righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
+which is of God by faith." The apostle is wearing the righteousness of
+Christ, and he wears it like a coat of mail, covering back and front,
+shielding him before and behind.
+
+I want to pause a little there because we are very near one of the
+deepest mysteries in the gospel of grace, and I want to state the
+mystery as plainly as words can express it. This, then, is what the
+Scriptures state: The Lord Jesus Christ was absolutely righteous, so
+righteous that human imagination and human dream cannot conceive it
+excelled. His holy obedience was perfect. There was no rent in the
+vesture of His holiness. There was no frayed edge, there was no
+imperfect strand, there were no stains. "In Him was no sin." We must
+begin there.
+
+And now let us assume that a poor penitent comes to this perfectly holy
+Lord. Let us make the sinner as nauseous and repulsive as you please.
+Let us make him a moral leper, the wretched victim of uncleanness,
+befouled by his own habits, consumed in his own sin, eaten without and
+within. That poor penitent sinner, laden with defilement, comes to the
+holy Lord Jesus, humbly seeking His favour and grace.
+
+Now what happens? What do the Scriptures tell us about the happening?
+They tell us that the holy Saviour covers the sinner with the robe of
+His own righteousness. The Lord puts His merits on to the sinner who has
+no merits. He puts His obedience on to the sinner who has nothing but a
+record of disobedience. He puts His spiritual conquests on to the sinner
+who is torn and scarred by nothing but appalling defeats. He puts His
+holiness on to a sinner who has been raked by defilements. That is the
+proclamation of the gospel. That poor penitent believing sinner stands
+now before the devil, and before men and angels, and before the presence
+of God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ! What, in all his
+imperfections? Yes. In all his weaknesses? Yes. With the scorching marks
+of hell-fire still upon him? Yes. He is covered with the robe of
+Christ's righteousness. He wears the merits and the strength and the
+defences of the Lord's obedience. Have we not read of one who wrapped
+himself in his country's flag and then dared an alien power to fire? It
+is an altogether imperfect illustration, but it offers me some faint and
+helpful analogy when I hear the saints give this witness: "He hath
+clothed me with the robe of righteousness, and covered me with the
+garments of salvation." No, it was not Paul's own righteousness which
+constituted his coat of mail. It was the righteousness of his Lord.
+
+Now, this is the word of grace, and this is the message of the gospel.
+It is this of which Toplady sings in his immortal hymn--"Rock of Ages":
+
+ "Naked, look to Thee for dress."
+
+It is this also of which Charles Wesley sings in his also immortal
+hymn--"Jesus, Lover of my Soul":
+
+ "I am all unrighteousness,
+ Thou art full of truth and grace."
+
+It is this which was discovered by George Fox, the founder of the
+Society of Friends, and of which he tells us so rapturously in the early
+pages of his journal. It was this which John Bunyan found, and of which
+he tells us in the pages of "Grace Abounding": "One day, as I was
+passing into the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience,
+suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, 'Thy righteousness is in
+heaven,' and me thought that I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus
+Christ at God's right hand. There, I saw, was my righteousness; so that
+wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, He
+wants my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw,
+moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my
+righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness
+worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, the same
+yesterday, to-day and forever. Now did my chains fall off my legs
+indeed; I was loosened from my afflictions and irons.... Now went I also
+home rejoicing for the grace and love of God." All these men, at the
+beginning of their Christian life, were covered not with a righteousness
+of their own, but with the righteousness of Christ, and they could sing
+with Paul that they were clothed in the garments of His salvation. Their
+coat of mail was the righteousness of Christ.
+
+Now I recognize, and I experience the difficulty, of realizing all
+this, and I sympathize with you in the poverty of our apprehension. But
+I think our difficulty is in some ways occasioned by the inadequacy of
+all figures of speech to convey to us the real vitality of the truth.
+For instance, a coat of mail is something detached, separate and
+external, and so is a robe, and they have no vital relation to the body
+which wears them. And therefore, when we think of the righteousness of
+Christ covering another like a robe or a coat of mail, it appears
+something unreal, a superficial ministry, or even a fine pretence. We
+think of some villain clothed in the garb of a minister, but all the
+more a villain because of the robes which cover him. Or we think of some
+vile woman wearing the habits of a nun, and all the more vile because of
+the significant garments in which she is clothed. A leprous sinner
+wearing the robe of Christ's righteousness! It all appears detached and
+superficial, like a climbing rose hiding a rubbish heap, or some lovely
+ferns and greenery concealing an open sewer. There appears no deep
+reality in it,--a sinner just covered with the robe of Christ's
+holiness, and wearing the Lord's righteousness as a coat of mail.
+
+Yes, I admit that the figures all fail. The figure of a robe leaves the
+sinner and the Saviour in no vital relation. And so it is with the coat
+of mail. But in the blessed reality there is no detachment. There is
+union between the sinner and the Saviour of the most profound and vital
+kind. You must remember our assumption; the sinner who comes to the
+Saviour comes in faith, and in penitence and in prayer, and these things
+never leave a soul separate and detached from the life and love of the
+Lord. Faith itself, even amid human relationships, is never a dividing
+ministry; it always consolidates and unites. You may trace the vital
+unifying influence of faith in a score of relations. The faith which a
+patient has in a doctor is a minister of very vital union in every
+effort to recover the lost genius of health. The faith which a pupil has
+in a teacher unites the two in a very vital relation, and puts the pupil
+into communion with the knowledge which is stored up in the teacher's
+mind. The faith which one man has in another incorporates the two in
+one. Faith always unifies; it never divides.
+
+And all this has its supreme application in the relation of the soul to
+Christ. A poor penitent sinner who comes to the Lord in faith becomes
+one with the Lord in the profoundest union which the mind of man can
+conceive. Faith in Christ unites the soul with Christ just as in
+grafting the engrafted scion becomes one with the vital stock.
+
+Now this is the beginning of our reasoning. We are assuming a poor,
+penitent, weary soul flinging himself by faith on Christ, and thereby
+becoming one with Christ, one with all He is; one with all He has been;
+one with all He shall be, sharing His merits, His holiness, His
+obedience! By faith in Christ I become one with Christ, and all He is is
+thrown over me! And now before the devil I stand as one in Christ; and
+in the day of judgment I shall stand as one in Christ, one with Him in
+spite of all the sins of my past, and all the weaknesses and
+immaturities of the present. "Thou hast covered me with the robe of
+righteousness, and clothed me in the garment of salvation." I wear the
+righteousness of Christ, and I wear it as a coat of mail.
+
+Now is not that a strong defence? Go back to the illustration of
+grafting. I saw a young graft which had just been newly related to a
+strong and healthy stock. The graft still looked very poor and weak and
+sickly, but it had become vitally one with the healthy stock; it stood
+no longer in its own strength. All the resources of the stock were
+thrown about it, the merits of the stock were now the scion's, all the
+victories of its yesterdays, and all the sap and energies of to-morrow.
+The stock is to the scion as a coat of mail! And so it is with the soul
+which has become by faith the scion of the Lord.
+
+ "All my trust on Thee is stayed,
+ All my help from Thee I bring;
+ Cover my defenseless head
+ With the shadow of Thy wing."
+
+The righteousness of Christ is the breastplate of the soul.
+
+Now let us gather up our practical conclusions: The righteousness of
+Christ becomes immediately mine by the act and attitude of faith. Yea,
+verily, the most leprous and unclean soul in this city, with a history
+unutterably loathsome, whose faith looks up tremblingly to the Saviour,
+is immediately covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness, for by
+faith he immediately becomes one with the righteousness of Christ. By
+faith I can here and now become one with Christ; however poor and
+wretched I be, and however sinful I have been, the righteousness of
+Christ becomes the armour of my soul. You say that is very dogmatic.
+Yes, blessed be God, it is dogmatic, but it is justified dogmatism, for
+it is the glorious dogmatism of the gospel of Christ.
+
+And covered with the righteousness of Christ, that imputed
+righteousness becomes progressively mine in the appropriation of
+experience. His life flows into me like the life of stock into scion,
+and all through my days I am assimilating more and more the
+righteousness which covers me. His covering righteousness becomes more
+and more my rectitude. His covering holiness becomes more and more my
+obedience. His righteousness passes more and more into my conscience and
+makes it holy; more and more into my affections and makes them lovely;
+more and more into my will to make it rich and dutiful in obedience.
+Forever and ever His righteousness will cover me, and forever and
+forever I shall be growing into His likeness. His righteousness is my
+defence. Yes, it is a coat of mail, a protection for breast and back.
+His righteousness protects me from the things that are behind, the guilt
+and the sins of my yesterdays. His righteousness protects me from the
+things of to-morrow, from all the assaults of the unknown way, from the
+fear of death, and from the day of judgment.
+
+ "When I soar through worlds unknown,
+ See Thee on Thy Judgment Throne,
+ Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
+ Let me hide myself in Thee."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+READY!
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, we thank Thee we are called to be children of
+ the light. Even though we have been children of the darkness,
+ and have loved the ways of error rather than of truth, and of
+ sin rather than of holiness, Thou art calling us to the light of
+ eternal day. We would answer Thy call in penitence, and we would
+ return to Thee like wayward children who are coming home again.
+ We do not ask to lose the sense of our shame, but we ask to
+ taste the sweetness of Thy forgiveness. We do not ask to forget
+ our rebelliousness, but we ask to be assured that we are
+ reconciled to Thee. We would sit at Thy table and receive the
+ bread of life. We would worship at Thy feet and receive the
+ baptism of the Holy Spirit. We would stand before Thee with our
+ feet shod with the shoes of readiness, willing to go out on
+ errands of Christian love and service. If we are inclined to
+ frivolity may we become inclined to be serious and reverent. If
+ we are heedless may we become fired with heavenly ambition and
+ spiritual devotion. Redeem us from the littleness of selfishness
+ and lift us into the blessed communion of our fellow-men. Give
+ us a wide and generous outlook upon human affairs. Endow us with
+ the sympathy that rejoices with them who are rejoicing and that
+ weeps with them that weep. If Thou art leading us through the
+ gloom of adversity may we find that even the clouds drop
+ fatness. If Thou art leading us through the green pastures and
+ by the still waters, may we recognize the presence of the great
+ Shepherd and may our joys be sanctified. Hallow all our
+ experiences, we humbly pray Thee, and may we all become branches
+ in the vine of our Lord. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+READY!
+
+ "Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
+ Ephesians 6:15.
+
+
+A little while ago an article appeared in one of the daily papers with
+this startling title: "Boots and shoes may be vital determining factors
+in the war." And contrasts and comparisons were made between the
+opposing forces in respect to their footgear, and the provision which
+had been made for keeping the soldiers' feet strong and hardy. And
+allowing even for the ordinary journalistic exaggeration, it is a most
+reasonable thing to assume that good, durable, well-fitting boots are
+part of the requisite armour for all soldiers who are called to
+prolonged and exacting service. Think of those heavy tramps in the early
+days of the war, whether in advance or in retreat; and think of the miry
+roads and the marshy ground since the rains have fallen; and think of
+the wet and soaking trenches where the men have to stand for hours
+together; and you will begin to realize what a vital part boots may play
+in the terrible hardships of a long and wintry campaign.
+
+In the Roman Empire scrupulous care was given to the feet of the
+fighting men. The shoes were specially made, not only for long marches,
+but for protection against the secret dangers of the way. They had not
+arrived at some of our refinements in devilry, but some of their
+subtleties occasioned great destruction. Gall-traps were set along the
+road, multitudes of sharp sticks were inserted on the surface of the
+road, keen as dagger points, to obstruct the advance of an enemy, and to
+maim his soldiers and compel them to fall out by the way. And so it was
+an imperative necessity that the Roman soldier be well shod, his feet
+made easy for the most exacting march, and defended against the hidden
+perils which would maim him in service and spoil him for the fray.
+
+Now the apostle Paul had seen the Roman soldier marching as to war. I
+think he must have been particularly fond of watching soldiers because
+we can so often see and hear them reflected in his letters. We can
+always learn a great deal from a man by studying his metaphors and
+figures of speech, and we can get some very suggestive glimpses of his
+tastes and interests by watching the analogies of the apostle Paul,
+where the army is often tramping through his letters, and the Roman
+soldier is often presented to offer counsel to the soldiers of the Lord.
+And here in my text we are bidden to look to the soldier's shoes. He is
+well shod, so splendidly shod that in a moment he is ready for any call,
+along any road, and for any service.
+
+And the Christian, too, has long marches, and often along difficult and
+trying roads, and there are flints about and sharp thorns, and other
+things that wound and make him stumble. And sometimes there is scarcely
+a road at all, and we have never been that way before, and it is like
+the work of a pioneer cutting his way through the jungle. What roads we
+have to tramp! Especially when we are apostles sent forth on the King's
+bidding! And, says the great apostle, "You need shoes for the roads or
+you will be unfit for the long journeys, and you will easily become
+tired and sore, and you may even drop out of the ranks." And what kind
+of shoes are we to wear as soldiers of Christ? How can we be defended in
+our long journeyings and in our crusades in the service of the King? The
+answer to these questions is given in the words: "Have your feet shod
+with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Now what is that?
+
+Let me slightly recast the phrase. One of the words has slightly
+altered its colour and significance since the days of the Authorized
+Version. I mean the word "preparation." In the earlier days if you spoke
+of a man of "preparation" you meant a man who was prepared, a man who
+was equal to opportunity, a man who was awaiting the opening of the
+door, having everything ready for the call of obligation and service. So
+that the word "preparedness" would now be more accurate than the
+authorized word "preparation." "Having your feet shod with the
+preparedness of the gospel of peace." But I think we shall do even
+better if instead of either of these we use the word "readiness."
+"Having your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace." What
+is that? Look at it a little more closely. "The readiness of the
+gospel"; that is the readiness which is born of the gospel as heat is
+born of the sun. The gospel of peace enters the soul of a man and takes
+possession of it, and then inspires the man with readiness. What for?
+Readiness to take the road to tell others the good tidings which have
+filled his own soul. That is it. The gospel of peace enters and
+glorifies the soul, and it then imparts to the feet a readiness to take
+the road, the long and difficult road, if need be, in order to tell to
+others the good news which has set it free. That is it. Have your feet
+shod with the readiness begotten of the gospel of peace!
+
+Let me give an example, and let it be taken from the book of the
+prophet Isaiah. Here, then, are people in exile, sitting in the cold
+shadow of oppression, and longing for freedom and home. And over the
+hard mountain tracks there come messengers, swift messengers carrying
+the glad tidings of emancipation. There they come over the long roads!
+And when the suffering exiles see and hear them they break into this
+song: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
+bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings
+of God, that publisheth salvation; that saith to Zion, Thy God reigneth!
+Break forth into joy! Sing together!" The feet of the messengers were
+shod with the readiness begotten of good news, and they were speeding
+with comfort to the desolate and distressed.
+
+We have another example in the same book where messengers who were
+ladened with a rich experience were bidden to take the high road and
+tell their news to others. "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee
+up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift
+up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the
+cities of Judah, Behold your God!... He shall feed His flock like a
+shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His
+bosom; and shall gently lead those that are with young." That was the
+good news, and with the readiness begotten of the good news the
+messengers hastened to make it known. And so it is that our feet, as
+disciples of the Lord Jesus, are to be shod with similar readiness, the
+readiness begotten of our own experience of the goodness of God, the
+readiness to go out on the rough and troubled roads of life, into its
+highways and its byways, its broad streets and its narrow streets,
+carrying the good cheer of the news of God's redeeming love and grace.
+To be ready to go wherever there is any form of bondage, singing the
+gospel song of joy and freedom,--that is the privileged service of the
+soldiers of the Lord. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
+him that bringeth good tidings!" "Have your feet shod with the readiness
+of the gospel of peace."
+
+Now I think it might be good for us to just glance along the roads of
+life and look at one or two sorts of people who are held in spiritual
+bondage, and who are therefore in need of good news and cheer, and we
+will challenge ourselves if our feet are shod with readiness to take
+them the gospel of peace. Well, then, look down this road, for here is a
+soul who is held in the bondage of despondency and despair. You will
+find such souls upon almost any road you like to tread. They are souls
+who somehow have fainted; they have lost the warm, cheering, kindling
+light of hope. Now failure is never really deadly until it puts out our
+hope and freezes the springs of resolution. The only really fatal
+element in defeat is the resolution not to try again. We have only
+terribly failed when we have furled our sails. Yes, I repeat it; failure
+only becomes virulent when it breeds despair.
+
+Now these folk are on the road. They have so utterly failed that they
+have lost their vital confidence, and they have become pathetic victims
+of self-disparagement. What do they need? They need to have their lamps
+re-lit with the cheering light of hope. They need to have their fires
+rekindled with the blessed warmth of confidence. They need to hear of
+new dawnings, of radiant to-morrows, of larger, brighter coming days.
+And if they do need light and fire and sunrise, what is that but to say
+that they need to hear again the good tidings of the inexhaustible love
+of the risen Lord. They just need Jesus, and the comforting gospel of
+His peace.
+
+Yes, but who is to take it? Messengers are wanted, messengers shod with
+"the readiness of the gospel of peace," messengers swift and ready to
+run these glorious errands as the ministers of eternal hope. Now, are we
+shod with that gospel readiness? Are our feet ready for the road? It is
+a noble and a gracious ministry. How beautiful upon the mountains are
+the feet of him that bringeth oil to smouldering lamps, and fuel to
+dying fires, and that cheer and illumine the cold haunts of despondency
+and despair! It is Mark Rutherford who says somewhere in what is to me
+an unforgettable word: "Blessed are they who heal us of our
+self-despisings." Yes, verily it is a beautiful ministry to kindle again
+the lovely light of confidence and hope. Are we ready for such service?
+Soldiers of Jesus, are our feet "shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace"?
+
+Look again along the road. Here is another lonely soul, held in the
+bondage of a blinding experience. Let us say it is Saul of Tarsus, who
+is now on the road to Damascus: "And as he journeyed, he came near
+Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
+and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him: Saul, Saul,
+why persecuteth thou me?... And Saul arose from the earth, and when his
+eyes were opened he saw no man: but they led him by the hand and brought
+him into Damascus." Now here is a man who is held in the bondage of a
+blinding experience. He has been smitten in the midnight, but has not
+yet seen the dawn. He is convicted of sin, but has not yet found peace.
+He has lost his old life but has not yet found the new one. His old
+delights have gone, but the new joys have not yet arrived. He has been
+stunned, but he is not yet free! And there he is! What is needed? O
+surely, what is needed is some human messenger in whom the gospel of
+peace dwells like summer sunshine and fragrance, and whose feet are shod
+with readiness to carry that gracious summer to others. "And the Lord
+said unto Ananias, Arise and go into the street which is called
+Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul.... And
+Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands
+on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
+thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive
+thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell
+from his eyes as it had been scales." And so the blinded found his
+sight, and the enslaved found his liberty, and the bewildered found his
+peace; and one of the Lord's messengers was the human minister in the
+great emancipation. His feet were shod with the readiness of the gospel
+of peace. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
+bringeth good tidings."
+
+There are other blinded people along the road, people who are stunned
+and bewildered, not by dazzling light but by fierce lightning. There are
+people who are just blinded by calamity. They have suffered the
+lightning stroke of disaster or bereavement. I was talking to one such
+troubled soul this very week; and speaking of the repeated blows of her
+heavy sorrows she said: "They just left me blind and dumb!" Blind and
+dumb along the road! What did she need? O, she just needed the restoring
+balm and cordials of heavenly comfort. She needed the soft consolations
+of divine grace. And what is that but to say again that she needed the
+gospel of peace? And where are the messengers, with feet shod with the
+readiness of the gospel of peace, to carry the good tidings to this soul
+held in the bondage of silence and night? How unspeakable is the
+privilege of carrying this holy grace, and seeing the holy light of
+faith breaking upon the face of bewilderment, lovelier far than the
+glory of sunrise breaking upon the mountains, flushing the cold snows,
+and suffusing with living color the gloominess of the pines! Yes, it is
+a beautiful service to carry good tidings to those who are stunned. "How
+beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good
+tidings!" Soldiers of Jesus, are our feet shod with this readiness of
+the gospel of peace?
+
+Look once more down the road, for there is another soul held in the
+bondage of ignorance. Let it be a man of Ethiopia. Let the road be the
+steep descent which leadeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza. "A man of
+Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, Queen of the
+Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and did go to
+Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot,
+read Esaias, the prophet." This man has the Word, but he has not got the
+clue. He has the Scriptures, but he has no interpreter. What is needed?
+He needs some messenger in whom the Word has become life, and who has
+discovered the central secret of the Scriptures in the companionship of
+the Lord. "The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and
+go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto
+Gaza. And he arose and went." "How beautiful upon the mountain are the
+feet of him that bringeth good tidings!" "And Philip ran thither to him,
+and heard him read the prophet Esaias." He ran on his errand because his
+feet were shod with readiness!
+
+ "Take my feet and let them be
+ Swift and beautiful for Thee."
+
+"And Philip said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" So he
+explained to him the Word, and through the Word led him unto the Lord.
+And this is the last word we read about this man going down to Egypt:
+"He went on his way rejoicing!" What a ministry for a servant of the
+Lord! And that is your gracious service, fellow-preacher, in the
+ministry of the Word. And that is your privilege, Sunday-school teacher,
+when you meet your children in the class. You are appointed by the Lord
+to light up words that will burn in your scholars' minds to the very end
+of the pilgrim way. And that is the privilege of all of us if we will
+just have confidence in the guiding grace of the Lord. We need not be
+stars in order to light lamps and kindle fires. A taper is quite enough
+if it burns with genuine flame. Our greatest fitness for this kind of
+service is to be ready to do it, and the Lord Himself will provide the
+needful equipment. To have feet shod with readiness, that is what we
+need. Then through our ministry it may joyfully happen that many of
+
+ "The sons of ignorance and night
+ Will dwell in the eternal light
+ Through the eternal love."
+
+There is only one thing remaining to be said. The apostle teaches that
+such readiness is armour for our own souls, it is defensive armour
+against the world, the flesh and the devil. To be ready to tell the good
+news of grace, the gospel of peace, is to have stout protection as you
+trudge along the road. Readiness is one piece of armour in the panoply
+of God. The soul which is not ready to serve is an easy prey to the evil
+one. A man whose feet are swift to carry the good tidings of grace is
+the favoured child of glorious promise: "He shall give His angels charge
+over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." While we are ministering to
+others we are being ministered unto by the spirits that surround His
+throne, and our security is complete.
+
+Then let us pray for the grace and protection of readiness. Let us
+pray that the gospel of peace may more and more deeply possess our
+souls, so that we may be inspired with that spontaneous readiness which
+awaits the King's bidding, and which speeds on its way carrying the
+glorious treasures of grace. "Have your feet shod with the readiness of
+the gospel of peace." "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
+him that bringeth good tidings!"
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH
+
+
+ _Most Holy God, Who lightenest every man that cometh into the
+ world, enlighten our hearts, we pray Thee, with the light of Thy
+ grace, that we may fully know our sins and our shortcomings, and
+ may confess them with true sorrow and contrition of heart.
+ Unveil Thy love to us, so that in its clear shining we may
+ behold the sin of our rebellion, and may turn unto Thee in
+ humility and fervent devotion. Deliver us, we pray Thee, from
+ the tyranny of evil habit. Save us from acknowledging any
+ sovereignty above Thine. Keep us in sight of the great white
+ throne, and may Thy judgments determine all our ways. Defend us
+ when we are tempted to fields of transgression. Protect us from
+ the allurements which assail the senses, and which entice us,
+ through our fleshly desires, into impure delights. Loose us from
+ the bonds of vanity and pride, and remove every perverting
+ prejudice which blinds our vision. Impart unto us the grace of
+ simplicity. May our worship be perfectly candid and sincere.
+ Give us a healthy recoil from all hypocrisy, from all mere
+ acting in Thy holy Presence. Quicken our perception that we may
+ realize Thy Presence, and feel the awe of the unseen. Lead us,
+ we pray Thee, to the fountain of life. Quicken our souls so that
+ we may apprehend the things that concern our peace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE SHIELD OF FAITH
+
+ "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
+ able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Ephesians
+ 6:16.
+
+
+But did the apostle who gives the counsel find his faith an
+all-sufficient shield? He recommends the shield of faith, but is the
+recommendation based on personal experience? And if so, what is the
+nature and value of that experience? What sort of protection did his
+faith give to him? When I examine his life what tokens do I find of
+guardianship and strong defence? When I move through the ways of his
+experience is it like passing through quiet and shady cloisters shut
+away from the noise and heat of the fierce and feverish world? Is his
+protected life like a garden walled around, full of sweet and pleasant
+things, and secured against the maraudings of robber and beast? Let us
+look at this protected life. Let us glance at the outer circumstances.
+Here is one glimpse of his experience: "Of the Jews five times received
+I forty stripes save one; once was I stoned; thrice have I suffered
+shipwreck; a day and a night have I been in the deep; in stripes above
+measure; in prisons more frequent; in deaths oft; in weariness and
+painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
+often, in cold and nakedness." And yet this is the man who speaks about
+the shield of faith, and in spite of the protecting shield all these
+things happened unto him!
+
+Look at his bodily infirmities. "There was given unto me a thorn in the
+flesh." Where was the shield? It is not necessary for us to know the
+character of his thorn. But assuredly it was some ailment which appeared
+to interfere with the completeness of his work. Some think it was an
+affliction of the eyes; others think that it was a proneness to some
+form of malarial fever which frequently brought him into a state of
+collapse and exhaustion. But there it was, and the shield of faith did
+not keep it away.
+
+Or look again at his exhausting labours. There is no word concerning his
+ministry more pregnant with meaning than this word "labour," which the
+apostle so frequently used to describe his work. "In labours oft;"
+"whereunto I labour;" "I laboured more abundantly than they all." This
+is not the labour of ordinary toil. It is the labour of travail. It is
+labour to the degree of poignant pang. It is labour that so expends the
+strength as to empty the fountain. It is the labour of sacrifice. And I
+thought that perhaps a protected life might have been spared the
+sufferings of a living martyrdom and that the service such a man
+rendered might have been made fruitful without pain. I thought God might
+have protected His servant. But the shield of faith did not deliver him
+from the labour of travail through which he sought the birth of the
+children of grace.
+
+Or look once more at his repeated failures. You can hear the wail of
+sadness as he frequently contemplates his ruined hopes concerning little
+churches which he had built, or concerning fellow-believers whom he had
+won to Christ. "Are ye so soon fallen away?" "Ye would have given your
+eyes to me but now--." "I hear that there is strife among you." "It is
+reported that there is uncleanness among you." "Demus hath forsaken me."
+And it is wail after wail, for it is failure after failure. Defeat is
+piled upon defeat. It is declared to be a protected life, and yet
+disasters litter the entire way. It is perfectly clear that the shield
+of faith did not guard him from the agony of defeat.
+
+Such are the experiences of the man who gave his strength to proclaim
+the all-sufficiency of the shield of faith, who spent his days in
+recommending it to his fellow-men, and whose own life was nevertheless
+noisy with tumult, and burdened with antagonisms, and crippled by
+infirmity, and clouded with defeat. Can this life be said to be wearing
+a shield? We have so far been looking at the man's environment, at his
+bodily infirmities, at his activities of labor, at his external defeats.
+What if in all these things we have not come within sight of the realm
+which the apostle would describe as his life? When Paul speaks of life
+he means the life of the soul. When he thinks of life his eyes are on
+the soul. In all the estimates and values which he makes of life he is
+fixedly regarding the soul. The question of success or failure in life
+is judged by him in the courthouse of the soul. You cannot entice the
+apostle away to life's accidents and induce him to take his measurements
+there. He always measures life with the measurement of an angel, and
+thus he busies himself not with the amplitude of possessions, but with
+the quality of being, not with the outer estates of circumstances but
+with the central keep and citadel of the soul. We never find the apostle
+Paul with his eyes glued upon the wealth or poverty of his surroundings.
+But everywhere and always and with endless fascination, he watches the
+growth or decay of the soul. When, therefore, this man speaks of the
+shield of faith we may be quite sure that he is still dwelling near the
+soul and that he is speaking of a protection which will defend the
+innermost life from foul and destructive invasion.
+
+Now our emphasis is prone to be entirely the other way, and therefore
+we are very apt to misinterpret the teachings of the apostle Paul and to
+misunderstand the holy promises of the Lord. We are prone to live in the
+incidents of life rather than in its essentials, in environment rather
+than in character, in possessions rather than in dispositions, in the
+body rather than in the soul. The consequence is that we seek our
+shields in the realms in which we live. We live only in the things of
+the body and therefore against bodily ills we seek our shields. We want
+a shield against sorrow, to keep it away, a shield to protect us against
+the break-up of our happy estate. We want a shield against adversity, to
+keep it away, a shield against the darkening eclipse of the sunny day.
+We want a shield against loss, to keep it away, a shield against the
+rupture of pleasant relations, a shield to protect us against the
+bereavements which destroy the completeness of our fellowships. We want
+a shield against pain, to keep it away, a shield against the pricks and
+goads of piercing circumstances, against the stings and arrows of
+outrageous fortune.
+
+In a word, we want a shield to make us comfortable, and because the
+shield of faith does not do it we are often stunned and confused, and
+our thin reasonings are often twisted and broken, and the world appears
+a labyrinth without a providence and without a plan. It is just here
+that our false emphasis leads us astray. We live in circumstances and
+seek a shield to make us comfortable; but the apostle Paul lived in
+character and sought a shield to make him holy. He was not concerned
+with the arrangement of circumstances, but he was concerned with the
+aspiration that, be the circumstances what they might, they should never
+bring disaster to his soul. He did not seek a shield to keep off
+ill-circumstances, but he sought a shield to keep ill-circumstances from
+doing him harm. He sought a shield to defend him from the
+destructiveness of every kind of circumstance, whether fair or foul,
+whether laden with sunshine or heavy with gloom. Paul wanted a shield
+against all circumstances in order that no circumstance might unman him
+and impoverish the wealth of his soul.
+
+Let me offer a simple illustration. A ray of white light is made up of
+many colors, but we can devise screens to keep back any one of these
+colors and to let through those we please. We can filter the rays. Or we
+can devise a screen to let in rays of light and to keep out rays of
+heat. We can intercept certain rays and forbid their presence. Now, to
+the apostle Paul the shield of faith was a screen to intercept the
+deadly rays which dwell in every kind of circumstance; and to Paul the
+deadly rays in circumstances, whether the circumstances were bright or
+cloudy, were just those that consumed his spiritual susceptibilities and
+lessened his communion with God, the things that ate out his moral
+fibre, and that destroyed the wholeness and wholesomeness of his human
+sympathies, and impaired his intimacy with God and man. It was against
+these deadly rays he needed a shield, and he found it in the shield of
+faith.
+
+Paul wanted a shield, not against failure; that might come or stay
+away. But he wanted a shield against the pessimism that may be born of
+failure, and which holds the soul in the fierce bondage of an Arctic
+winter. Paul wanted a shield, not against injury; that might come or
+stay away; but against the deadly thing that is born of injury, even the
+foul offspring of revenge. Paul wanted a shield, not against pain; that
+might come or might not come; he sought a shield against the spirit of
+murmuring which is so frequently born of pain, the deadly, deadening
+mood of complaint. Paul wanted a shield, not against disappointment,
+that might come or might not come; but against the bitterness that is
+born of disappointment, the mood of cynicism which sours the milk of
+human kindness and perverts all the gentle currents of the soul. Paul
+wanted a shield, not against difficulty; that might come or might not
+come; but against the fear that is born of difficulty, the cowardice and
+the disloyalty which are so often bred of stupendous tasks. Paul did not
+want a shield against success; that might come or might not come; but
+against the pride that is born of success, the deadly vanity and
+self-conceit which scorch the fair and gracious things of the soul as a
+prairie-fire snaps up a homestead or a farm. Paul did not want a shield
+against wealth; that might come or might not come; but against the
+materialism that is born of wealth, the deadly petrifying influence
+which turns flesh into stone, spirituality into benumbment, and which
+makes a soul unconscious of God and of eternity. The apostle did not
+want a shield against any particular circumstance, but against every
+kind of circumstance, that in everything he might be defended against
+the fiery darts of the devil.
+
+He found the shield he needed in a vital faith in Christ. First of all
+the faith-life cultivates the personal fellowship of the Lord Jesus
+Christ. The ultimate concern of faith is not with a polity, not with a
+creed, not with a church, and not with a sacrament, but with the person
+of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore the first thing we have to do if
+we wish to wear the shield of faith is to cultivate the companionship of
+the Lord. We must seek His holy presence. We must let His purpose enter
+into and possess our minds. We must let His promises distil into our
+hearts. And we must let our own hearts and minds dwell upon the Lord
+Jesus in holy thought and aspiration, just as our hearts and minds dwell
+upon the loved ones who have gone from our side. We must talk to Him in
+secret and we must let Him talk to us. We must consult Him about our
+affairs, and then take His counsels as our statutes, and pay such heed
+to them that the statutes will become our songs. Faith-life cultivates
+the friendship of Christ, and leans upon it, and surrenders itself with
+glorious abandon to the sovereign decrees of His grace and love.
+
+And then, secondly, the faith-life puts first things first, and in its
+list of primary values it gives first place to the treasures of the
+soul. Faith-life is more concerned with habits than with things, with
+character than with office, with self-respect than with popular esteem.
+The faith-life puts first things first, the clean mind and the pure
+heart, and from these it never turns its eyes away.
+
+And, lastly, the faith-life contemplates the campaign rather than the
+single battle. One battle may seem to go against it. But faith knows
+that one battle is not the end of the world. "I will see you again, and
+your sorrow shall be turned into joy." Faith takes the long view, the
+view of the entire campaign. "I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
+coming down out of heaven from God." "The kingdoms of this world shall
+become the kingdom of our God." Such a relationship to the Lord protects
+our life as with an invincible shield. It may please God to conduct our
+life through long reaches of cloudless noon; the shield of faith will be
+our defence. It may please God to lead us through the gloom of a long
+and terrible night; the shield of faith will be our defence. "Thou shalt
+not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the
+destruction that wasteth at noonday."
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE HELMET OF HOPE
+
+
+ _Eternal God, mercifully help us to unitedly draw near to the
+ atoning Saviour, and through His mercies find access into the
+ inheritance of the saints in light. Forgive the sins of our
+ rebellion and redeem us from our guilt. Transform our spiritual
+ habits that we may find ourselves able to fix our minds upon
+ things above. Cleanse our hearts by the waters of regeneration,
+ in order that our inclinations may be fixed upon the things that
+ please Thee. Rekindle the fire of our affections, purify the
+ light of our conscience. Broaden our compassions and make them
+ more delicate in their discernments. Impart unto us the saving
+ sense of Thy Companionship, and in the assurance of Thy Presence
+ may we know ourselves competent to do Thy will. Meet with us one
+ by one. Equip us with all needful armour for our daily battle.
+ Feed us with hidden manna, that so our strength may be equal to
+ our task. Unite us in the bonds of holy fear, and may we all be
+ partakers of Thy love and grace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE HELMET OF HOPE
+
+ "And take the helmet of salvation." Ephesians 6:17.
+
+ "And for an helmet the hope of salvation." I Thessalonians 5:8.
+
+
+The helmet of hope! Who has not experienced the energy of a mighty
+hope? It is always a force to be reckoned with in the day of life's
+battle. Hope is a splendid helmet, firmly covering the head, and
+defending all its thoughts and purposes and visions from the subtle
+assaults of the evil one. The helmet of hope is one of the best
+protections against "losing one's head"; it is the best security against
+all attacks made upon the mind by small but deadly fears; it is the only
+effective safeguard against petty but deadly compromise. Far away the
+best defence against all sorts of mental vagrancy and distraction is to
+have the executive chambers of the life encircled and possessed by a
+strong and brilliant hope.
+
+Now every student of the apostle Paul knows that he is an optimist. But
+he is an optimist, not because he closes his eyes, but because he opens
+them and uses them to survey the entire field of vision and possibility.
+He is an optimist, not because he cannot see the gross darkness,--no one
+has painted the darkness in blacker hues,--but because he can also see
+the light; and no one has portrayed the light with more alluring
+brilliance and glory. He is an optimist, not because he cannot see the
+loathsome presence of weakness, but because he sees the unutterable
+grace and love of God.
+
+Yes, he is a reasonable optimist, and I dare to say that you cannot
+find anywhere in human literature a hundred pages more glowing and
+radiant with the spirit of hope than in the letters of the apostle Paul.
+Nowhere can you travel with him, not even to the darkest and most tragic
+realms of human need, without catching the bright shining of a splendid
+hope. You know how it is when you walk along the shore with the full
+moon riding over the sea. Between you and the moon, and right across the
+troubled waters, there is a broad pathway of silver light. If you move
+up the shore the shining path moves with you. If you move down the shore
+still you have the silver path across the waves. Wherever you stand
+there is always between you and the moon a shining vista stretching
+athwart the restless sea. And wherever the great apostle journeyed, and
+through whatever cold or desolate circumstances, there was always
+between him and the risen Lord, the Lord of grace and love, a bright and
+broadening way of eternal hope. No matter where he is, and how appalling
+the need, no matter what corruption may gather about the shore on which
+he is walking, always there is the silver path of gospel-hope stretching
+from the human shore-line to the burning bliss of the eternal Presence.
+In Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Lystra, in Ephesus, in Philippi, in Rome,
+he was never without these holy beams. They moved with him wherever he
+went, for they were the outshining rays of the mercy of the eternal God.
+Yes indeed, he was an optimist born and sustained in grace. He saw a
+shining road of hope out of every pit, stretching from the miry clay to
+the awful and yet glorious sanctities of holiness and peace.
+
+Now our ordinary experience teaches us how much energy resides in a
+commanding hope. A big expectation is stored with wonderful dynamic, and
+it transmits its power to every faculty in the soul. The influence of a
+great hope fills the mind with an alert and sensitive trembling,
+inspiring every thought to rise as it were on tiptoe to await and greet
+the expected guest. A great hope pours its energy into the will,
+endowing it with the strength of marvellous patience and perseverance. I
+have lately read of an ingenious contrivance, which is now being used in
+some parts of Egypt, in which, by a subtle combination of glass
+receivers, the heat of the sun is collected, and the gathered energy
+concentrated and used in turning machinery in the varied ministries of
+agriculture. That is to say, the power of a diffused shining is directed
+to an engine and its strength enlisted in practical service. And so it
+is with the sunny light of a large hope. Its gathered energy is poured
+into the engine of the will, imparting glorious driving power, the power
+of "go" and laborious persistence.
+
+Every sphere of human interest provides examples of this principle.
+Turn to the realm of invention. An inventor has a great hope shining
+before him as a brilliant vision of possible achievement. With what
+energy of will it endows him, and with what tireless, sleepless,
+invincible patience! Think of the immeasurable endurance of the brothers
+Wright who were inspired by the great hope of achieving the conquest of
+the air! Their hope was indeed a helmet defending them against all
+withering suggestions of ease, protecting them against the call of an
+ignoble indolence which is so often heard in hours of defeat. An
+electric railway has just been introduced by its inventor to the British
+Government, which is capable of transmitting mails and parcels along a
+prepared track at the rate of three hundred miles per hour; and the
+inventor has recently quietly told us that he has been at work upon it
+for thirty years! But think how, all through those long and many
+fruitless years, his helmet of hope defended him, and especially
+protected him from those alluring suggestions which come from the mild
+climate of Lotus-Land, and which tempt a man to relax his tension and
+lie down in the pleasant and thymy banks of rest and ease.
+
+Or seek your examples in the realms of discovery. Read the chapters in
+Lord Lister's life which tell how he, braced and inspired by a mighty
+hope, laboured and laboured in the quest of an anaesthetic. Or turn to
+the equally fascinating pages which tell how Sir James Simpson toiled,
+and moiled, and dared, and suffered in the long researches which led to
+the discovery of chloroform. His will was rendered indomitable by the
+splendid hope of assuaging human pain.
+
+Or think again of the restless, tireless labours of hundreds of men who
+are to-day engaged in searching for the microscopic cause of cancer,
+that having found it they might isolate it, and discover an antagonist
+which shall work its complete destruction. There is a glorious hope
+shining across the cancer waste, and it is nerving the will of research
+with unconquerable perseverance. Yes, indeed, men wear a splendid
+helmet, even in the ways of common experience, when they wear the helmet
+of hope.
+
+And mark their condition when they lose it. Turn to the scriptural
+record of the voyage when Paul and his fellow-prisoners were being
+escorted by soldiers to take their trial in Rome: A tempestuous storm
+arose, and, in the power of a mighty hope to save the boat and
+themselves the men called out every ounce of their strength. But now
+note this connection in the narrative as I read it to you: "All hope was
+taken away." ... "We let her drift." That is it, and it offers a
+striking symbol of a common experience. While our hope is burning we
+steer; when our hope is gone out we drift. The motive power is gone, and
+the hopeless man is like a drifting hull in the midst of a wild and
+desolate sea.
+
+Or turn to the pages of Capt. Scott's journal when he and his party are
+surmounting colossal tasks in the chivalrous hope of winning for their
+country the honourable distinction of first discovery of the South Pole.
+The narrative just blazes with hope, and therefore it tingles with
+energy and shouts with song! But when Amundsen's flag was seen at the
+Pole, and their strong hope was gone, and the disappointed company began
+to return--O what heavy feet, and what accumulated burdens, and what
+fiercely added laboriousness to an already laborious road! Hope had
+gone, and they nobly trudged, and trudged, and trudged, to faint, and
+fall, and die! Aye, men and women, hope is a tremendous power. To have
+hope is to have always fresh reserves to meet every new expenditure of
+the will. To lose hope is like losing the dynamo, the secret of
+inspiration, and the once indomitable will droops and faints away. It
+just makes an infinite difference whether or not we are wearing the
+helmet of hope.
+
+But now, if all this is true of common hope and common experience, how
+is it with the supreme hope, "the hope of salvation?" What is this
+hope,--"the hope of salvation?" To whom is the apostle Paul giving this
+counsel? He is giving it to Christian believers in Ephesus: But were
+they not already saved? Why should he speak to them of "the hope of
+salvation" as though it were something still to be won? I remember when
+I was a mere boy going to Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and as I was retiring
+from the building at the close of the service, a gentleman laid his hand
+upon my shoulder, and said: "My boy, are you saved?" His question
+suggested that it was something I might already have experienced. Well,
+had not the Ephesian disciples passed through that same experience? A
+little while ago a London cabman stood at the foot of the pulpit-stairs
+in our church, and told me that by the grace of God he had been
+wonderfully saved. But the apostle speaks to these believers of "the
+hope of salvation" as though it were something still before them. They
+had taken a great step in discipleship in that vast and wicked city of
+Ephesus, crowded with all sorts of antagonisms, and they had boldly
+confessed themselves on the side of Christ. And yet, the apostle
+counsels them to wear as a helmet "the hope of salvation."
+
+The truth is that the apostle Paul uses all the three primary tenses
+in speaking of salvation. He speaks to believers in the past tense, and
+he says: "We were saved." And to the same believers he uses the present
+tense, and he says: "Ye are being saved." And yet again to the same
+believers he uses the future tense, "Ye shall be saved." All of which
+means that to this great apostle a gloriously full salvation stretches
+across the years from past to future, gathering riches with every
+passing day. Salvation to Paul was more than a step, it was also a walk.
+It was more than a crisis, it was also a prolonged process. It was more
+than the gift of new life, it was the maturing in growth and power. A
+drowning man, when he is lifted out of the water, is in a very profound
+sense vitally saved. But after this initial salvation there is the
+further salvation of re-collecting his scattered consciousness, and of
+recovering his exhausted strength. And in a very glorious sense a man is
+spiritually saved in a moment; in a moment in Christ Jesus he passed
+from death into life. But it is also equally true that a man is only
+saved in a lifetime, as he appropriates to himself more and more the
+grace and truth of the risen Lord. Yes, after we have been converted and
+saved, there is a further salvation in self-recovery, in self-discovery,
+all of which becomes ours in a fuller and richer discovery of Christ.
+Our possibilities of salvation in Christ Jesus stretch before us like
+range upon range of glorious mountains. When we have attained one range
+we have only obtained a new vantage-ground for beholding another; when
+that, too, has been climbed, still vaster and grander ranges rise into
+view. Every fresh addition to our Christlikeness increases our power of
+discernment, and every added power of discernment unfolds a larger
+vision and a more glorious and alluring hope. All believers in Christ
+Jesus have been saved. All believers in Christ Jesus are being saved.
+All believers in Christ Jesus will be saved. And therefore, says the
+apostle, always wear the helmet of hope, "the hope of salvation."
+
+Now perhaps we cannot better draw this meditation to a close in more
+immediate and practical purpose than by just gazing upon one or two of
+the hopes of the apostle Paul, if perchance by God's good grace we may
+appropriate them to our own souls. For he, too, is wearing the helmet of
+hope, the hope of salvation. What, then, does he hope for? What mighty
+hope is throwing the energies of its defences upon and around his soul?
+Here is one of his hopes; look at it: "In hope of the glory of God." He
+wore that hope, and he wore it like a helmet, and he wore it night and
+day. He had gazed upon the glory of the Lord, the wondrous light of
+grace and truth which shone in the face of Jesus Christ. And now he
+dared to hold the glorious hope of becoming glorified with the same
+glory. He dared to hope that his own soul would become translucent with
+the holy light of divine truth and purity. It almost makes one catch the
+breath to see such spiritual audacity. One has read of young boys
+trembling with artistic sensibility, bowing in the presence of the
+world's masterpieces in art or music, and becoming possessed with the
+amazing hope of one day sharing the master's light and glory. But here
+is a man who has been prostrate in the presence of his God. He has been
+humbly gazing upon "the chief among ten thousand and the altogether
+lovely." And now, in a daring which yet quiets the soul in reverence and
+prayerful lowliness, he tells his fellow-believers that he lives "in
+hope of the glory of God." What a hope! The hope of being glorified with
+God's glory, of being made gracious with His grace, of being made
+truthful with His truth, of being sanctified with His holiness, of being
+transformed into the same image, from glory unto glory! I say, what a
+hope, and therefore, what a helmet! With a helmet like that defending a
+man's brain, what a defence he has against all the petty devilries which
+seek to enter among our thoughts in the shape of mean purposes, and
+petty moral triflings, such as so often invade and desolate the whole
+realm of the mind! What a hope this is, and what a helmet; "the hope of
+the glory of God."
+
+And here is another way the apostle has of describing the hope he
+wears, "the hope of salvation;"--"To present us spotless before His
+throne." Quietly and reverently repeat that phrase, again, and again,
+and again, until something of its grandeur begins to fill your soul as
+the advancing light of the rising sun fills a vale in Switzerland with
+its soft and mellowing glory. "To present us spotless before His
+throne." What a hope! And yet this man wore it every day, in all the ups
+and downs, the victories and defeats of his ever-changing life. "To
+present us spotless before His throne!" Just think of wearing that hope
+in New York! And by God's good grace we can wear it; yes, indeed, we
+can, and what a helmet to wear! When a man has got that helmet on, and
+some sharp temptation is hurled at him, it will fall away from him like
+a paper pellet thrown against the armour plate of a mighty dreadnought.
+"To present us spotless!" Wear that helmet of hope, and the devil shall
+batter thee in vain. For what can the devil do with men and women in
+whom these hopes are blazing? He offers us his glittering snares, and
+they are revealed as common paste in the presence of genuine stones.
+They stand exposed as noisy fireworks in the presence of the stars.
+
+Let us wear the helmet of hope, the helmet of salvation, and we are
+quite secure. But let us put it on every day. Every morning let us put
+on the helmet, and often and again during the day let us feel that it is
+in its place. Let us begin the day by saying, "Now, my soul, live to-day
+in hope of the glory of God! Live to-day in the hope of being presented
+spotless before His throne! Live to-day in the hope of being 'filled
+unto all the fulness of God'." Let us put that helmet on, and let us do
+it deliberately, prayerfully, and trustfully, and in life's evil day we
+shall be able to stand, and having done all, to stand.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, Who hast given Thy Holy Spirit to comfort and
+ to guide Thy servants, teach us to trust His leading. Day by day
+ we would listen to His consolation and direction. When we open
+ Thy Word of Life we would rely upon His illuminating
+ interpretation. When the story of the character and the depths
+ of the teaching of Jesus are far beyond us, and seem
+ unapproachable, when doubts and fears assail the mind, let us
+ abide in quiet repose under the tuition of the indwelling
+ Spirit. When desire for the highest life fails, and hunger and
+ thirst after righteousness are forgotten in other pursuits, may
+ the kindly Spirit inspire afresh the ardor of enthusiasm which
+ He alone can create. When we have lost our bearings in the maze
+ of life teach us to look to the ever-present Guide Who brings
+ back into the clear path all Who trust Him; through Jesus
+ Christ. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
+
+ "Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."
+ Ephesians 6:17.
+
+
+Here is the Christian soldier with his sword, and his sword is the Word
+of God. And what a sword it is! "Then said Mr. Greatheart to Mr.
+Valiant-for-truth, Thou hast worthily behaved thyself; let me see thy
+sword. So he showed it him. When he had taken it into his hand and
+looked thereon a while, he said, Ha, it is a right Jerusalem blade. Then
+said Mr. Valiant-for-truth, It is so. Let a man have one of these
+blades, with a hand to wield it, and skill to use it, and he may venture
+upon an angel with it. He need not fear its holding if he can but tell
+how to lay on. Its edge will never blunt. It will cut flesh and bones,
+and soul and spirit and all." Yes indeed, this sword is a serviceable
+and most efficient weapon. And it might be profitable, in the very
+beginning of our meditation, to go on to the field of actual battle and
+watch one or two mighty swordsmen wielding the sword in actual war. And
+let us begin with Him who could wield the sword as none other could do
+and who never drew it in vain. "And the tempter came to Him and said, If
+Thou art the Son of God command that these stones be made bread." At
+once the Master's hand was on the hilt of His sword and He drew it forth
+for combat. "It is written man shall not live by bread alone." It was
+"the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!" The place of battle
+is now changed, but the [missing text] unto Him, "All these things will
+I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." And again the Master
+whipped out His sword;--"Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou
+shalt worship the Lord Thy God, and Him only shalt Thou serve." It was
+"the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God!"
+
+Now turn your eyes to quite another field of battle where one of the
+Master's disciples, a very skilful swordsman, is in combat with a very
+deadly foe. "And when the people saw what Paul had done"--he had just
+given a cripple the power to walk--"they lifted up their voices saying,
+The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called
+Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker."
+Now what did the apostle do in the presence of so deadly a peril, a
+peril which garbed itself in the attractive robes of light? Immediately
+he drew out his sword, and fought his shining antagonist with a word
+from the 146th Psalm! That is excellent swordwork, by a most excellent
+swordsman! And he used "the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of
+God."
+
+Or turn once more to another field of battle, to the Valley of
+Humiliation, where "poor Christian was hard put to it. For he had gone
+but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to
+meet him; his name was Apollyon." "Then did Christian draw, for he saw
+it was time to bestir him; Apollyon as fast made at him, throwing darts
+as thick as hail.... The sword combat lasted for about half a day, even
+till Christian was almost quite spent; for you must know that Christian,
+by reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and weaker. Then
+Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close to
+Christian, and wrestling with him gave him a dreadful fall; and with
+that Christian's sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am
+sure of thee now. And with that he had almost pressed him to death, so
+that Christian began to despair of life. But as God would have it, while
+Apollyon was fetching his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this
+good man, Christian nimbly reached out his hand for his sword, saying,
+Rejoice not against me, oh mine enemy: when I fall I shall arise; and
+with that gave him a deadly thrust which made him give back as one that
+had received his mortal wound. Christian perceiving that made at him
+again, saying, 'Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
+through Him that loved us.' And with that Apollyon spread forth his
+broken wings, and sped him away, so that Christian saw him no more.... I
+never saw Christian all this while give as much as one pleasant look,
+till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged sword; then
+indeed he did smile and look upward.... Then there came to him a man
+with some of the leaves of the tree of life, the which Christian took
+and applied to the wounds that he had received in the battle and was
+healed immediately." Surely to watch expert fighters like these, who
+turn their battlefields into fields of glory, makes one more ambitious
+to possess and wield that same two-edged sword, the sword of the Spirit
+which is the Word of God!
+
+Well now, it is this sword which Paul advises these young disciples at
+Ephesus to get and hold at all costs, and never to leave it rusting in
+the scabbard at home. And surely, if there was need for swordwork
+anywhere it was in that gay, shallow, materialistic city of Ephesus. We
+have been reading many terrible accounts of late of bayonet fighting in
+the trenches in Belgium and France, where gunnery attacks were
+unavailable, and where men came face to face in the hot breath of one
+another's passions, and were locked in the death-grip of hand-to-hand
+encounter. It was even so with the spiritual warfare in Ephesus. There
+was no long-range fighting, no far distant antagonisms, no remote or
+merely theoretical persecution. The foes of the soul were exceedingly
+real, exceedingly near, and exceedingly intimate. In Ephesus your enemy
+was upon you in a moment, and there was nothing for it but never to let
+the sword fall from your hand. Spiritual enemies approached the soul
+every hour of the day, and it was imperative to run them through with
+the sword of the truth. There were falsities, and subtleties, and
+evasions; there were ambiguities and sophistries; there were half truths
+linked with black falsehood, and white lies linked with snatches of
+truth; there were exaggerations and perversions; there were insinuations
+and evil counsels; there were mean expediencies and illicit compromises;
+there were hypocrisies of every kind in that prosperous city of Ephesus,
+tricked out in apparent seemliness, and perilous in all the wiles of the
+devil. What, then, was a young Christian to do in all that immoral
+welter? He must have his sword in hand, always in hand, and he must
+prick these bubbles, and pierce these showy disguises, and rend these
+deceptive veils, and he must do it at once, before they mastered him
+with the plausible counterfeits of the truth.
+
+I saw a photograph the other day from the European field of war, in
+which a company of soldiers were examining a load of hay. They were
+piercing it with their swords in the endeavour to find out if any foe
+lay hidden in the fragrant pile. And I could not but think of the
+warfare of the soul, and of the sweet and fragrant disguises in which
+the devil is so often concealed. The devil in a hay-rick! I have
+experienced it a thousand times. A deadly temptation hidden in some
+innocent expediency! Some fatal lure concealed in a popular custom!
+Corruption housing itself in a white lie! The enemy wearing a white
+robe! The devil, I say, in a hay-rick! In such conditions there was only
+one resource for these disciples in Ephesus, as there is only one
+resource for you and me to-day, to have our swords always ready, and to
+pierce these glistening falsities in the blessed name of the holy and
+unchanging God. Yes, whip out your sword, the sword of the Spirit, which
+is the Word of God.
+
+What, then, is this sword? It is "the Word of God." And what is this
+Word of God which we are to flash through all falsehood like the thrust
+of a gleaming sword? What is this Word which is to be our sword? Well,
+first of all, it is the word of divine truth; God's way of thinking
+about things. And therefore when we are wielding the sword we are using
+a thought of God. We are to use God's thought about a thing in fighting
+all other thoughts about that thing. For instance, we are to take God's
+thought about life, and use it as a sword to meet and destroy all mean
+and unworthy conceptions of life. We are to take God's thought about sin
+and use it in combating all the lax and deadly conceptions of sin which
+are so loose and rampant in our own day. We are to take God's thought
+about holiness, and use it in fighting all ignoble compromises which may
+satisfy a poor standard in the kingdom of the letter, but which have no
+standing in the more glorious realm of the spirit. We are to take God's
+thought about worship, and fight all the little, mean, seductive
+ritualisms which so frequently strut about in royal and gorgeous robes,
+but which are empty of all vital spiritual wealth and power.
+
+And so with a thousand other relations. God's thought about a thing is
+to be our sword in fighting all the debasing thoughts of that thing; it
+may be God's thought of work, or of wealth, or of success, or of
+failure, or God's thought of pleasure, or of service, or of death. What
+does God think about a thing? That is my sword, the thought of God which
+is the word of God. And we are to take that shining, flaming, flashing
+thought, and use it as a sword among all the creeping, crawling things,
+or against all the flying and bewitching subtleties of things which
+abounded in Ephesus, and which are equally prolific in London or New
+York. And so does the apostle give us this counsel: "Take the sword of
+the spirit, which is the thought or word of God."
+
+And now I can add a second characteristic of the sword, a
+characteristic which amplifies and corroborates the first. This word of
+God, which is to be our sword, is not only the word of divine truth as
+laid upon the mind. It is also the word of divine commandment as laid
+upon the will. It is a word which divinely reveals our personal duty,
+imposing upon us some imperative mission. Some word of God comes to us
+with the mysterious suggestion of obligation, and we often receive it
+over against some soft and wooing temptation to an indulgent indolence;
+and we are to take the divine word of obligation, and with it fight and
+slay the soft seduction to ease.
+
+We have this sort of warfare most vividly described in the experience
+of the prophet Jonah. Let me set it before you. "And the word of the
+Lord came unto Jonah, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
+cry against it!" Let us note the lines of this experience. The word of
+the Lord came to Jonah as an imperative and an obligation. It said
+"Nineveh!" But another word came to Jonah, a soft, luxurious, seductive
+word, luring him to Tarshish. And there you have all the conditions of
+spiritual warfare; and the only way for the believer is to take the word
+of obligation, and use it as a mighty sword against the word of
+seduction; he must take his sword and slay it, or chase it in miserable
+flight from the field. The word of duty is the word of God, and
+therefore the word of duty is thy sword against every plausible
+temptation that would snare thee to disloyal ease.
+
+There is still a third descriptive word about the sword, and which
+again corroborates and enriches the others. The word of God, which is
+the sword of the spirit, is not only the word of divine truth laying
+God's thought upon the mind; and not only the word of divine commandment
+laying God's purpose upon the will; it is also the word of divine
+promise laying God's strengthening comfort upon the heart. Just think of
+that fine sword, the word of promise, being handed to these young and
+tempted disciples in this awful, hostile city of Ephesus. I think we may
+easily imagine, without presumption, how they would apply the apostle's
+counsel, and how the older men among them would train the younger men in
+the expert use of this shining sword. They would say: "Whenever you go
+out to your work, amid all the cold, bristling antagonisms of the world,
+carry the sword of promise! When your circumstances seem to mock you
+because of your unnerving loneliness, whip out the sword of promise!
+When you appear to be in a minority of one, and the enemy swarms in
+menace around you on every side, carry this sword of promise in your
+right hand, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' And when the
+enemy taunts you because of your weakness, or your want of culture, or
+your lack of rank and social prestige, or your nobodyism and nothingism,
+whip out the sword and fight the taunt with this word of promise,
+'Neither shall any one pluck you out of my hand'!" Thus do I think these
+disciples would speak to one another, as, blessed be God, disciples can
+speak to one another to-day. When the devil comes to us in our
+loneliness, in our weakness, in our seeming abandonment, let us lay hold
+of the word of grace, and fight all the enemies' taunts with the divine
+promise, and pierce them through and through, turning the foe to rout,
+and remaining more than conquerors on the hard and finely won field.
+
+Well, such is what I think to be the sword. It is the word of divine
+truth, it is the word of divine commandment, and it is the word of
+divine promise. It is a superlatively excellent sword, "it is a right
+Jerusalem blade." "Let a man have one of these blades, with a hand to
+wield it, and skill to use it, and he may venture upon an angel with
+it." Its edge will never blunt, for it is "the sword of the spirit,
+which is the word of God."
+
+Where, then, can we find this word of God which is to be our sword of
+the spirit. Well, first of all, we can find the word of God in the
+sacred Scriptures. We can get our sword from its splendid armoury. Here
+is the word which gives the revelation of truth, telling me how the
+great God thinks about things, and therefore, telling me how to think
+amid all the plausible errors of our time. And here, too, is the word
+which gives the revelation of duty, telling me what the great God would
+have me do. And here also is the word which gives the revelation of
+promise, telling me what resources are prepared for them who follow the
+fair gleams of truth and take the divine road of duty and obedience.
+Yes, the word of God is in the old Book, and here you can find your
+sword.
+
+But sometimes the word of God is given to us, not through the medium of
+a book, not even the book of the Scriptures, but in a direct and
+immediate message to our own souls. Oh, yes, sometimes the Captain of
+our salvation gives me my sword without my having to make recourse to
+the written word. He speaks to me and hands me my sword with no
+intermediary between us. The word of the Lord comes unto thee and unto
+me as it came to the herdman Amos, and the courtier Isaiah, and to the
+fisherman Peter, and to the university student Paul. He speaks to thee
+and to me. "Hath He not promised, and shall He not do it"? "Thine ears
+shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way; walk ye in it."
+
+ "And His that gentle voice we hear,
+ Soft as the breath of even;
+ That checks each fault, and calms each fear,
+ And speaks of heaven!"
+
+If the sword of the spirit is the word of God, then sometimes I take my
+sword immediately from my Sovereign's hand,--the word of truth, the word
+of duty, and the word of promise,--and like St. Francis of Assisi, and
+St. Catherine of Sienna, and George Fox, all of them mystics, and all of
+them deep in the knowledge of the mind and heart of God, I, too, can
+take the sword and use it on the wide and changing battlefields of life,
+and be more than conqueror through Him Who loved me and gave Himself for
+me. "Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."
+
+Well, then, let us take the sword; let us draw it, and let us use it.
+Let us reverently find the word in the Book of Holy Writ, or in the
+secret chamber of our own soul; and then let us carry it as our sword to
+the immediate occasion, and to the next stage upon life's road. Let us
+have the sword ready, always ready; let us be always at attention,
+waiting with the word of God to meet the tempting word of man. A man
+without a sword is in a sorry way when the devil leaps upon him. That
+was the tragic plight of Judas Iscariot. When the chief priests and
+scribes came to bargain with him, to induce him to sell his Lord, he
+ought to have had his sword ready, and to have run it through the
+devilish suggestion when it was only newly born. But somehow, somehow,
+he had lost his sword, and he was undone--"and he covenanted with them
+for thirty pieces of silver"! And when you and I are tempted to sell the
+Lord, when we are tempted to make a dirty bargain of any kind, when we
+are tempted to prefer money to integrity, or unholy ease to stern duty,
+or soft flattery to rugged truth, let us have our swords in our
+hands,--"the sword of the spirit which is the word of God"--and let us
+slay the suggestion at its very birth. Have your sword ready. You may
+need it before you get home. Have your sword ready! Fight the good fight
+of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER
+
+
+ _Almighty God, Our Father, it is by Thy grace that we attain
+ unto holiness, and it is by Thy light that we find wisdom. We
+ humbly pray that Thy grace and light may be given unto us, so
+ that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth. Wilt Thou
+ graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly
+ places in Christ Jesus? Impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction
+ with everything that is low, and mean, and unclean, and create
+ within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things
+ which Thou hast prepared for them that love Thee. Wilt Thou
+ receive us as guests of Thy table? Give us the glorious sense of
+ Thy presence, and the precious privilege of intimate communion.
+ Feed us with the bread of life; nourish all our spiritual
+ powers; help us to find our delight in such things as please
+ Thee. Give us strength to fight the good fight of faith. Give us
+ holy courage, that we may not be daunted by any fear, or turn
+ aside from our appointed task. Make us calm when we are to tread
+ an unfamiliar road, and may Thy presence give us companionship
+ divine. Meet with us, we humbly pray Thee, in all the appointed
+ means of grace, and may the joyful remembrance of this service
+ inspire us in all common life and service of after days. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S USE OF PRAYER
+
+ "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
+ and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
+ for all saints; and for me that utterance may be given unto me,
+ that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of
+ the gospel." Ephesians 6:18, 19.
+
+
+We have been engaged in studying the different pieces of the Christian
+soldier's armour as it is described to us by the apostle Paul. Let us
+now glance at the warrior as he stands before us fully armed and ready
+for the field. His loins are girt about with truth, the truth revealed
+in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is protected back and front with a coat of
+mail, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, a righteousness which covers
+him in a moment as with a garment, and then little by little imparts to
+him the holy likeness of his Lord. His feet are shod with readiness, and
+are swiftly obedient to do the King's bidding and to carry his message
+of grace and good-will. He bears the shield of faith, his sure screen
+from every deadly dart springing from any kind of circumstance, whether
+in the cloudless noon or in the blackest midnight. On his head there is
+the helmet of salvation, the helmet of a mighty hope, protecting his
+mind from the invasion of deadly distractions, and from all the
+belittling suggestions of the evil one. In his hand he carries the sword
+of the Spirit, the word or thought of God, the shining thought wherewith
+every other kind of thought is overthrown or put to utter rout.
+
+Now that, surely, is a brave and gleaming equipment. Surely the armour
+is all-sufficient, and the well-appointed, well-defended warrior is now
+ready for the field! Let him go forth to meet the great enemy of souls.
+Let him encounter all the wiles of the devil, and let him so hold
+himself and so use himself as to convert every hour of opportunity into
+a season of spiritual glory. No, no, not yet! Says the apostle,
+"Steady!" With all his shining armour his equipment is not yet complete.
+There is one other vital thing to be named, and this the Christian
+warrior must take along with him, for his warfare will be hopeless if he
+leaves it behind. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
+the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
+supplication for all saints."
+
+Now why should the Christian warrior pray? He must pray as a suppliant
+for the robust health of his own spirit. Yes, but why should he pray for
+the maintenance of his own spiritual health? What is the vital
+relationship between the praying soul and the attainment of moral and
+spiritual robustness? How is prayer related to a man's moral force? This
+is the relationship. A praying warrior receives into his soul the
+grace-energies of the eternal God. The power of grace is just the holy
+love and strength and beauty of the holy Godhead flowing into the needs
+of the soul and filling them with its own completeness. Now we do not
+pray in order to make God willing to impart this grace, but in order to
+fit ourselves to receive it. We do not pray to ingratiate God's
+good-will, but to open our souls in hospitality. We do not pray in order
+to create a friendly air, but to let it in, not to propitiate God but to
+appropriate Him. We do not pray to turn a reluctant God toward
+ourselves, but to turn our reluctant selves toward a ready and bountiful
+God.
+
+It is imperative that we should lay hold of this teaching very firmly.
+It is of the utmost moment we should know what we are doing when we pray
+for the bracing and sanctifying energies of the Holy Spirit. Prayer
+then, I say, is first and chiefly the establishment of communion with
+God. Prayer is the clearing of the blocked roads which are crowded with
+all sorts of worldly hindrances. Prayer is the preparing of the way of
+the Lord. When I turn to the Lord in prayer I open the doors and windows
+of my soul toward the heavenlies, and I open them for the reception of
+any gifts of grace which God's holy love may wish me to receive. My
+reverent thought in prayer perfects communion between my soul and God.
+
+Let me offer an illustration. I am told there is electricity in my
+house. I am told that this mysterious, invisible, electric spirit is
+waiting to be my minister and to serve me in a dozen different ways. I
+go into a room where the genius is said to be waiting, and yet the room
+is held in darkness. Where is this friendly spirit? Where is the light
+which is one of its promised services? And then I am told that an action
+of mine, quite a simple one, is required, and that when the action has
+been performed the waiting spirit will reveal itself in radiant beams.
+And so I bring my will into play, and I push a button, or I lift a tiny
+lever, and my action completes the circuit, and the subtle energy leaps
+into the carbon filament and turns my darkness into light.
+
+That is it! My action completes the circuit! And when I turn my will to
+pray, when I seek the holy, sanctifying power of God, my prayer
+completes the circuit between my soul and God, and I receive whatever
+the inexhaustible fountain of grace is always waiting to bestow. And so
+do I say that prayer is first of all, and most of all, the establishing
+of a vital _communion_ between the soul and God.
+
+Lord Tennyson, in what must have been a wonderful conversation on the
+subject of prayer with Mr. Gladstone, and Holman Hunt, and James
+Addington Symonds, said that to him prayer was the opening of the
+sluice-gates between his soul and the waters of eternal life. It is
+worth while just to dwell upon Tennyson's figure for a moment. The
+figure may have been taken from a canal. You enter a lock and you are
+shut up within its prison. And then you open the sluice-gates, and the
+water pours into your prison and lifts you up to the higher level, and
+your boat emerges again on a loftier plane of your journey.
+
+Or the figure may have been taken from a miller's wheel: There are the
+miller and his mill. And the wheel is standing idle, or it is running
+but sluggishly and wearily at its work. And then the miller opens the
+sluice-gate, and the waiting water rushes along, and leaps upon the
+wheel, and makes it sing in the bounding rapidity of its motion. Prayer,
+says Tennyson, is the opening of the sluice-gates and the letting into
+the soul of the waiting life and power of God. Prayer opens the
+sluice-gates, and the water of life floods the sluggish affections, and
+freshens the drowsy sympathies, and braces and speeds the will like the
+glorious rush of the stream upon the miller's wheel.
+
+That, to me, is the dominant conception of prayer. Prayer opens the
+soul to God. Prayer opens the life to the workings of infinite grace.
+And now I see why the Christian soldier should be so urgently counselled
+to pray. Prayer keeps open his lines of communication. Prayer keeps him
+in touch with his base of supplies. Without prayer he is isolated by the
+flanking movements of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and he will
+speedily give out in the dark and cloudy day. "Men ought always to pray
+and not to faint."
+
+If that is one reason why the Christian soldier should pray in order to
+maintain the bounding health of his own spirit, we are now faced with
+the second question as to when he should pray. And here is the answer of
+the veteran warrior Paul: "Praying always." Not at some time, but at all
+times! "Praying always." But can we do that? "Always"? But I am called
+upon to earn my daily bread. I have to face a hundred different
+problems. Every bit of gray matter in my brain is devoting its strength
+to the immediate task. Is it possible for us to think of two things at
+once? Can we be thinking out some absorbing question in business, and at
+the same time be praying to God? One thing is surely perfectly clear, we
+cannot always be thinking of God: It is constitutionally impossible.
+
+But now, while we cannot always be thinking of God, and always speaking
+to God, we can always be mentally disposed toward Him, so that whatever
+we are doing there can be a mental leaning or bias towards His most holy
+will. Let me show you what I mean. We must reverently dare to reason in
+this great matter as we reason in other relationships. Turn, then, for
+an illustration, to common gymnastics. In physical gymnastics there is
+no need for us to be always exercising, to be at it every moment of the
+waking day. The body does not need it. Indeed, it would resent it, and
+rebel against it. But here is the healthy genius of gymnastic exercises.
+Regular exercises give the body a certain healthy pose, a certain vigour
+and excellence of carriage, which the body retains between the exercises
+when we are going about our accustomed work. That is to say, conscious
+exercise makes unconscious habit. Our conscious exercise forces the body
+into attitudes which persist as habits when we are doing something else.
+We can retain the pose of the gymnasium on the street, and we can retain
+it without thinking.
+
+And so it is with spiritual exercises when they are as real as the
+exercises in the gymnasium. When a man prays, and prays as deliberately
+and purposely as he practices physical exercises, when he drills his
+soul as he drills his body, he gives his mind and soul a certain pose, a
+certain attitude, a certain stateliness and loftiness of carriage. He
+gives his soul a healthy bias towards God, and the soul retains the bias
+when he is no longer upon his knees. His soul carries itself Godward
+even when he is earning his daily bread. God can get at him any time and
+anywhere! The way is open, the communion is unbroken!
+
+That is the vital logic of the matter. By regular spiritual exercises
+we can subdue the soul to spiritual habit. Again and again throughout
+the day it is possible for us, by a conscious upward glance, to confirm
+the habit; until it happens that the soul is always in the posture of
+prayer,--in business, in laughter, in trade, at home, or abroad, always
+in prayer,--and therefore, in every part of the wide and varied
+battleground of life receiving the all-sufficient grace and love of God.
+And so the Christian soldier is to be "Praying always, with all prayer
+and supplication in the spirit."
+
+But the Christian soldier is not only a suppliant for his own spiritual
+health. He is much more than this. The apostle counsels him to be a
+suppliant for the health of the entire Christian army. "Praying always,
+with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto
+with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." That is to say,
+the Christian soldier not only prays for the health of his own spirit,
+but for a healthy "esprit de corps" throughout the whole militant Church
+of Christ. It is his duty and privilege to be prayerfully jealous for
+all the saints, and for the spiritual equipment of all his
+fellow-soldiers on the field.
+
+Now this is a very wonderful privilege entrusted to the disciple of
+Christ. To every believer there is entrusted the marvellous ministry of
+helping others to receive the energies of divine grace, and to
+strengthen them in the fierce combats of their own "evil day." For the
+character of our evil days is very varied. Your evil day may not be
+mine, and my evil day may not be yours. What makes an evil day for you
+may never trouble me, and what makes my day difficult and tempestuous
+may leave you perfectly serene. It is to be accounted for in many ways.
+The differences in our circumstances account, to some extent, for the
+differences in our evil days. The differences in our occupations create
+great differences in our daily warfare in the spirit. The differences in
+our temperaments make no two persons' battles quite alike. And yet, with
+all our differences, we are all called upon to stand in our own evil
+day, "and having done all, to stand." Peter's evil day would be very
+different from John's. Thomas' evil day would be very different from
+Nathanael's. Dorcas' evil day would be quite different to the evil days
+which gloomed upon Euodia and Synteche. But blessed be God, by the holy
+ministry of prayer we can strengthen one another to "stand in the evil
+day." We can help every soldier to keep his spiritual roads open and to
+prepare the way of the Lord. We are called upon to be sentinel
+suppliants on their behalf, "watching thereunto with all perseverance
+and supplication for all saints." We are to be ever on the look-out,
+vigilant for the entire army of the Lord, divinely jealous for its
+healthy spirit, and seeking for every man in the ranks the grace and
+glory which we seek for ourselves. What a magnificent man this true
+soldier of the Lord must be!
+
+And then, just to finish it all, and by one example to show us how deep
+and wide is this ministry of supplication, the apostle Paul asks the
+young Ephesian soldiers to pray for him. "And for me, that utterance may
+be given unto me." Let us carefully note this, and let us observe its
+heartening significance. These young, immature Christians in Ephesus,
+trembling in their early faith, are asked to pray for the old warrior in
+Rome. He is now "an ambassador in bonds," held in captivity in imperial
+Rome, and the young soldiers in Ephesus are asked to be
+sentinel-suppliants for the stricken soldier far away. Do you believe
+this? And what does he want them to pray for? Listen to him again. "And
+for me, that utterance may be given unto me." Have you got the real
+inwardness of that appeal? A poor slave in Ephesus may, by his own
+prayer, anoint the lips of a great apostle with grace and power. What a
+vista of powerful possibility! Do all congregations realize that
+privilege and service concerning their ministers? "For me, that
+utterance may be given unto me." Do I realize that my prayers, obscure
+and nameless though I be, can give utterance to a Paul, a Livingstone, a
+Moffatt, or a Chalmers? Do I realize that I can pour grace upon their
+lips? What a brave and splendid privilege! Am I using it? I cannot get
+out of my mind the vision of some poor slave in Ephesus pouring grace
+and truth upon the apostle's lips in Rome, and I cannot get out of my
+imagination the surprise which awaited the slave in glory, when Paul
+asked him, as a fellow-labourer, to share in gathering in the sheaves.
+
+"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my
+mouth boldly." And can we do that for a man, and do it by prayer? Can
+one soldier give another soldier nerve, and can he do it by prayer? Can
+he chase away his fears? Can he change timidity into pluck? Can he
+transform a lamb into a lion? What a marvellous power has God given to
+me and thee! The unbounded privilege of it all! Some slave in Ephesus
+giving new boldness to Paul in Rome, and enabling Paul to take some new
+ground and conquer it for the Lord! And once again I say, to be called
+to share in the apostle's triumphs! If any one has prayed for me, your
+fellow-soldier, that utterance and courage may be given unto me, and if
+by my ministry some depressed and retreating soldier finds heart again,
+and takes up his fallen sword, and fights anew the good fight, then that
+suppliant shall share my holy conquest in the Lord, and the joy of the
+Lord shall be his strength.
+
+So once again, let us hear the apostle's counsel, and keep it in our
+hearts. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
+and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
+saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
+my mouth boldly, to make known the mysteries of the gospel."
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+"WATCH YE!"
+
+
+ _Eternal God, we bow before Thee as the children of grace and
+ love. Purify our souls, make our eyes keen and watchful, in
+ order that we may discern Thy purpose at every turning of the
+ way. Help us to hallow all our circumstances whether they appear
+ friendly or adverse, and may we subdue them all to the King's
+ will. We pray that we may obtain new visions of the glory of
+ Christ. May His gospel of grace become more exceedingly precious
+ as we gaze into its unsearchable wealth. Let in the light as our
+ eyes are able to bear it. Tell us some of the many things which
+ are yet withholden because we are not able to bear them. May we
+ exercise our senses in discernment, that so we may be led into
+ the deeper secrets of Thy truth. And wilt Thou graciously grant
+ unto us new possibilities of service. May we light lamps on many
+ a dark road. May we give help to many a tired pilgrim who is
+ burdened by the greatness of the way. May we give cups of
+ refreshment to those who are thirsty and faint. And may our own
+ faith and hope restore the flickering light where courage is
+ nearly spent. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+WATCH YE!
+
+ "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be
+ strong." I Corinthians 16:13.
+
+
+This is the counsel of a brave warrior, experienced and weather-beaten,
+writing to raw and comparatively untried recruits. One is reminded of
+the veteran Lord Roberts when he lately spake to young English recruits
+who had not yet been baptized in the actual flames of battle, advising
+them about their own warfare of the spirit, and counselling them on no
+account to forfeit their self-respect and self-control. And this tried
+warrior, Paul, is addressing a little company of Christian recruits in
+the city of Corinth. Corinth is now wiped out, buried in the accumulated
+debris of the centuries. Here and there an excavated column bears
+desolate witness to the glory of former days, but Corinth as a city is
+sealed up in an unknown grave. But just behind the site of the city
+there appears the Acrocorinthius, rising to the height of two thousand
+feet. I climbed this famous hill in the spring because I wanted to see
+the panorama on which the apostle had gazed, and also to see the setting
+and relations of this once imperial city. It was a wonderful vision of
+natural glory, with deep, far-stretching valleys, and distant gleams of
+the sea, and range upon range of hills, many of them snow-covered and
+glistening in the blazing sunshine of a splendid noon. There below was
+the plain on which Corinth found her shelter, and beyond the plain the
+narrow water-way, which gave her such intimate relations with the
+commerce of the Mediterranean; and beyond the water-way there is a touch
+of old romance, for there rise the shrines of the muses, the twin peaks
+of Helicon and Parnassus.
+
+Standing on this elevated eminence I tried to realize the conditions in
+which this little company of Christian recruits had to live the
+consecrated life. They had to fight the Christian warfare amid the soft
+luxuriousness of Corinth, a luxuriousness which relaxed the moral fibre,
+and made the Corinthians conspicuous for their depravity, "even amid all
+the depraved cities of a dying heathenism." Corinth was a city of
+abyssmal profligacy; "it was the Vanity Fair of the Roman Empire, at
+once the London and Paris of the ancient world"! And it was in this
+city, away there on the plain before me, that these untried Christian
+recruits had to "fight the good fight of faith."
+
+Then I thought of the little church in which they found their
+fellowship. It was besieged by continual assaults of their Jewish foes.
+It was torn with internal divisions. It was honeycombed by deadly
+heresies. It was defiled by sensuality. Nearly all the members of the
+church were of obscure origin and standing. Many of them were slaves. It
+was in these conditions of fierce and growing difficulties that these
+disciples had to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. And it is to this
+little company of Christian recruits that the apostle sends this
+challenging letter in which is found the rousing bugle-peal of my text.
+"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
+
+Now I will confess to you that times and again during the last few
+months this trumpet-blast has sounded in my ears, as though it were a
+clarion-call to the Christians of to-day. For we too have our warfare
+upon a most exacting field. We have fallen upon gravely troubled times.
+We are witnessing a resurgence of devilry that is perfectly appalling.
+The baser passions have become frightfully aggressive, and a crude
+animalism is at large like a surging, boiling sea which has burst its
+dykes. Some of us had begun to dream that the sweet angel of peace was
+almost at our gates, and that nothing could happen to drive her away;
+and now, when we look out of the gate, it is no fair angel-messenger
+which we see, but the red fury of unprecedented strife and slaughter.
+And amid all this we have to live the Christian life.
+
+But it is not only the "fightings without" which trouble us. There are
+also "the fears within." Many of our venerable assumptions are lying in
+ruin. Our spiritual world has suffered an upheaval as though with the
+convulsion of an earthquake, and many of us are trembling and confused.
+What then shall we do in this terrible hour? What path shall we take?
+Can we settle our goings upon any promising road of purpose and
+endeavour? Along what lines shall we pull ourselves together? And in
+answer to all these questions I bring you this well-tried counsel of the
+great Christian apostle, this bugle-peal from the first century, and I
+ask you to let it be to you as the inspired word of the living God.
+"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Let
+us examine the counsel in order that we may buckle it on to our souls.
+
+Here then is the first note of this soldierly blast. "Watch ye!" The
+phrase literally means "keep awake!" You perhaps think there is no need
+of that counsel to-day. You probably think that in times like these our
+difficulty is not to keep awake but to go to sleep. I am not so sure
+about that. If we have loved ones at the war there will not be the
+remotest peril of our going to sleep. Every post that comes to our door
+will startle us like the crack of doom. Every headline in the daily
+press will tighten our nerves in sleepless attention. But when we have
+no flesh and blood at the front, when many miles roll between us and the
+fields of war, when we are only spectators, a certain drowsiness is not
+so far away as we may suppose. When we only read about things, things
+become familiar, and the familiar is apt to lose its terror. Custom is a
+dull narcotic, and frequent repetition dims our apprehension. When the
+Titanic went down the whole city spoke in whispers, such a dread was
+resting over our souls. But now a dreadnought goes down, or a half dozen
+cruisers, and we scarcely catch our breath at the news. The cushion of
+familiarity is thickening between us and realities, and awful facts do
+not hit us on the raw. The awful becomes less awful by repetition, and
+we grow less sensitive as the tragedies increase. The newspaper
+statistics cease to be significant, and the descriptive adjectives
+become the tamest blanks. And therefore there is need for the apostle's
+trumpet blast to sound in our ears. "Keep awake!" Do not let familiarity
+become an opiate, so putting the senses to sleep that the direst woes
+become a painless commonplace. "Keep awake!" Make it a matter of will.
+Bring the stream of vital thought to bear upon the field. Exercise the
+imagination. Nourish the sympathies. We must keep awake, for our primary
+hope of emancipation in this dark hour is to remain sensitive, to be
+capable of being shocked and wounded with the appalling blows of every
+succeeding day.
+
+But it is not only wakefulness, but also watchfulness which the apostle
+enjoins in the counsel of our text. The soldier of Jesus is to be awake
+and watchful with all the keen quest of a sentinel peering about him
+night and day. But our watchfulness must be intelligent and disciplined,
+and we must carefully survey the entire field. We must keep awake, and
+we must diligently watch for all enemies of the sanctified brotherhood
+of the race, as a sentry would watch every suspicious movement in the
+night. What are the real enemies behind all the appalling desolation and
+sorrow of our time? Is it militarism? Then "Watch ye!" Is it something
+deeper than militarism? Is it racial animosity and jealousy and
+prejudice? Then "Watch ye!" Is it something even deeper than racial
+antipathy? Is it a profound and deadly materialism in all the nations--a
+materialism which has been tricked out in the ribbons of culture, and
+disguised in the glamour of progress? Then "Keep awake, Watch ye!" Or is
+it a faithless church, muttering many shibboleths, but confessing no
+vital faith; a church which has been too much a pretense, offering no
+strong moral and spiritual preservatives, and supplying no saving salt
+to social fellowships, and, therefore, not exercising any restraint upon
+moral degeneracy and corruption? "Keep awake, and Watch ye!" And amid
+all the horrors and agonies of our day fasten your eyes upon the real
+enemy of the Lord Jesus, the outstanding antagonist of His kingdom of
+righteousness and truth.
+
+But there is a further word to say about our vigilance. We must keep
+awake and watchful, not only to detect the busy lurking, ambushed foes,
+but also to see all the bright and wonderful things of the hour, all the
+splendid happenings which are favourable to the holy will and Kingdom of
+our Lord. What should we think of a sentinel who could not distinguish
+between enemy and friend? And what shall we say of a soldier-sentinel of
+Christ who has no eye for the great and friendly happenings on the
+field? Watch ye, and behold the growing seriousness of the world;
+frivolity has almost begun to apologize for itself, and tinselled gaiety
+is ill at ease. Watch ye, and behold the unsealing of multitudinous
+springs of human sympathy, and the flowing of holy currents from the
+ends of the earth. Watch ye, and behold the magnificent courage which in
+every land of strife is purging families from the dross of indolence and
+indifference, and educing the gold of chivalry and sacrifice. Watch ye,
+and behold the marvellous re-equipment of Christian motive--thousands
+upon thousands of Christian disciples realizing as they have never done
+before that the world needs the vital redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus,
+and that without Him human brotherhood will remain a phantom and a
+dream. A real wakeful watchman will see these things. He will not only
+record the things of the night and the nightmares, but he will be as
+"they who watch for the morning." The Moslem priest appears on the tower
+of his mosque half an hour after sunset to call the people to prayer,
+but he also appears on the tower half an hour before sunrise, when the
+grey gleams of morning are faintly falling upon the night. And we too,
+watchmen of Jesus, must watch for the sunrise as well as for the
+sunsets, and we too must tell what fair jewels of hope we see shining on
+the dark robe of the night. Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ is abroad!
+"Watch ye, for at such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man will
+come."
+
+Now let us consider the second note of the counsel which is given by
+this warrior, Paul. "Stand fast in the faith." Just try to realize that
+bracing counsel coming to these young recruits in the city of Corinth.
+Let me try to paraphrase it as I think it would be interpreted to them.
+"When the soft, enervating air of Corinth's luxuriousness steals over
+you like the mild air of Lotus-Land, 'Stand fast in the faith'! When the
+cold wind of persecution assails you like an icy blast from the north,
+'Stand fast in the faith'! If some supercilious philosopher comes along
+and breathes cynically upon your new-found piety and devotion, 'Stand
+fast in the faith'! Stand fast in your faith and meet all your
+antagonisms there."
+
+And has that counsel no pertinency for the Christian believers of our
+own time? There are some among us who are ready, because of the
+unspeakable horrors through which we are passing, to throw their faith
+away like obsolete arms and armour. Now men who can drop their faith in
+the day of real emergency have never been really held by it. That is
+surely true; men who can drop their faith like a handkerchief have never
+known their faith as a strong and vital defence. And yet that is what
+you sometimes find them doing in modern novels. They just drop their
+faith as they would drop a pair of gloves. Robert Elsmere, in Mrs.
+Humphry Ward's story of twenty years ago, dropped his faith in about ten
+days. If my memory serves me truly, George Eliot dropped her faith in
+about the same length of time. If our faith has ever meant anything
+vital, it will be as difficult to drop it as to drop our skin. But it is
+the inexperienced who are in peril. It is the young recruit who is
+dangerously convulsed by the upheavals of our day, and it is to him I
+bring the nerving counsel of the Lord: "Stand fast in the faith!"
+
+"Stand fast in the faith!" What faith? "The faith once for all delivered
+to the saints." Stand fast in the faith of the atoning Saviour as the
+secret of the reconciliation of mankind. Stand fast in the faith of the
+risen Lord as the secret and promise of racial union and brotherhood.
+Stand fast in the faith of the Holy Spirit as the source of all the
+light and cheer which illumines the race. Stand fast in your own
+personal faith in the exalted Lord. Don't doubt Him! Don't suspect Him!
+Don't desert Him! Above all, don't sell Him! In this hour of darkness,
+when devilry seems to be pulling down the very pillars of the temple,
+stand fast in the faith, and let this be your strong but humble cry:
+
+ "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom,
+ Neither shall fruit be in the vines;
+ The labour of the olive shall fail,
+ And the fields shall yield no meat;
+ The flock shall be cut off from the fold,
+ And there shall be no herd in the stalls:
+ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
+ I will joy in the God of my salvation."
+
+And the third note in the great apostle's counsel in this: "Quit you
+like men." Our translators have taken four words to express a single
+word in the original letter. We have no one English word which can carry
+the splendid load of meaning. It really means--play the man! It really
+means--no funk! All the school children will know the value of that
+word. It is a good strong vital English word, and I am sure it expresses
+the spirit of the apostle's counsel to these young recruits. Lowell uses
+it in the Bigelow Papers: "To funk right out o' p'litical strife ain't
+thought to be the thing." No funk, soldiers of Christ! I have sometimes
+heard men talk of late as though the Lord were dead, and the game is up,
+and the Kingdom is in ruins. "Play the man!" The European soldiers of
+every nation are showing the world in their own sphere what it means to
+play the man. Some of us are becoming almost afraid to call ourselves
+soldiers of Jesus when we see what a true soldier really is. Think of
+it! Think of his readiness for the front! Think of his laughter in
+sacrifice! Think of his song in the midst of danger and pain! Think of
+his endurance even unto death! And then, think how we stand up and sing
+"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war"! And shall we funk in
+the day of darkness and disaster, and after months of appalling
+bloodshed and woe shall we talk as if the campaign of righteousness were
+ended, and the Kingdom of Jesus is overturned? Let us stop this kind of
+talk. Let us silence this sort of fear. Let us crush this type of
+disloyalty. It is an insult to our flag; it is a dishonour to our Lord.
+
+"Quit you like men, be strong!" Put strength into everything, and do
+everything strongly. Do not let us speak or serve in a faint, lax,
+irresolute, anaemic, dying sort of way. "Be strong!" Be strong in your
+prayers. Be strong in your moral and spiritual ambitions. Be strong in
+your visions and hopes. Be strong in your beneficence; strengthen it to
+the vigour of sacrifice. And if there be a devil, as more than ever I
+believe there is, let the Church surprise him by her strength. Let her
+turn the day of calamity into the day of opportunity. Let her
+transfigure the hour of disaster into the hour of deeper consecration.
+Let us make new vows. Let us enter into new devotion. Let us exercise
+ourselves in new chivalry. Let us go out in new ways of sacrifice. My
+brethren, God is not dead! "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you
+like men, be strong!"
+
+ "Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
+ The trumpet call obey;
+ Forth to the mighty conflict
+ In this His glorious day.
+ Ye that are men now serve Him
+ Against unnumbered foes,
+ Let courage rise with danger
+ And strength to strength oppose.
+
+ "Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
+ Ye soldiers of the Cross.
+ Lift high His royal banner,
+ It must not suffer loss.
+ From victory unto victory
+ His army shall He lead,
+ Till every foe is vanquished,
+ And Christ is Lord indeed!"
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+ENDURING HARDNESS
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, may all our hearts be filled with Thy praise.
+ May the spirit of Thanksgiving fill all our days, and deliver us
+ from the mood of murmuring and complaint. Graciously remove the
+ scales from our eyes, so that we may look upon our life with
+ eyes anointed with the eye-salve of grace. Help us to discern
+ Thy footprints in the ordinary road. Grant that we may now
+ review our yesterdays and see the providences which have crowded
+ our paths. Help us to see Thy name on blessings that we never
+ recognized, so that we may now be praiseful where we have been
+ indifferent. Redeem us from our spiritual sloth. Awake us out of
+ our perilous sleep. May our consciences goad us when we are in
+ peril. May the good desires within us be so strengthened as to
+ destroy every desire that is vain. Sow in our hearts the word of
+ Thy truth. Guard the seed with the vigilance of Thy blessed
+ Spirit, and let it appear in our life as a fragrant and
+ bountiful harvest. Graciously watch us and defend us and make us
+ mighty in consecration, and may we place our all upon the altar.
+ Amen._
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+ENDURING HARDNESS
+
+ "Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
+ Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3.
+
+
+Any military metaphor which is used to-day will surely have a very
+arresting significance. Many of our hymns are crowded with military
+terminology. In the Wesleyan Methodist Hymn-Book there is a whole
+section entitled "For Believers Fighting." We are all familiar with
+these martial hymns: "Onward, Christian Soldiers", "The Son of God goes
+forth to war", "Soldiers of Christ arise", "Stand up, stand up, for
+Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross", "Oft in danger, oft in woe, onward
+Christians, onward go." But too often the soldier-like hymn is only a
+bit of martial poetry which pleases the emotions but does not stir the
+will. We like the swing of the theme. It brings a sort of exhilaration
+into our moods, just as lively dance music awakes a nimble restlessness
+in our feet. Too often it is the song of the parade ground, and it is
+not broken with the awful thundering of the guns in actual war. But just
+now when we hear the phrase, "Endure hardness as a good soldier," our
+thoughts are carried away to the battlefields of Europe. We recall those
+roads like deeply ploughed fields! Those fields scooped by the shells
+into graves in which you can bury a score of men! Those trenches filling
+with the rain or snows, the hiding place of disease, and assailed
+continually with the most frightful engines of destruction! Pestilence
+on the prowl! Frost stiffening the limbs into benumbment! Death always
+possible before the next breath! These military metaphors in our hymns
+get some red blood into them when we use them against backgrounds and
+scenes like these. "Endure hardness as a good soldier."
+
+Now the apostle calls for this soldierly spirit in Thessalonica. He is
+writing to young recruits in the army of the Lord. They are having their
+first baptism of fire. Their enemies are strong, subtle, ubiquitous. To
+be a Christian in Thessalonica was to face the fierce onslaught of
+overwhelming odds. But indeed in those early days, Christian believers,
+wherever they lived, had to be heroic in the defence of their faith and
+obedience. Everywhere circumstances were hostile. Nothing was won
+without sacrifice. Nothing was held without blood. To be a witness was
+to be a martyr. If a believer would be faithful to his Lord he must
+"fight the good fight of faith"; if he would extend the frontiers of the
+Kingdom of Heaven he must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
+Christ.
+
+What are the circumstances amid which the modern Church is placed? The
+Christian believer in our day is confronted with stupendous
+difficulties. Look at the present field on which our Christian warfare
+is to be waged. When the European war broke out I was staying at a quiet
+seaside village, from which I could see the soft green beauty of the
+mountains which encircle the English lakes. On the morning that war was
+proclaimed I felt as though some venerable and majestic temple had
+suddenly crumbled into dust. One of my most intimate friends, a noble
+German, was staying in my home, and we both felt as though some devil of
+mischief and disaster had toppled human affairs into confusion. The
+quiet sequence of human progress seemed to have been smashed at a
+stroke. The nations drew apart, and gulfs of isolation yawned between
+them, and down the gulfs there swept the cruel shrieking blasts of
+racial hatred and antipathy. Holy ministries which had been leagued in
+sacred fellowship were wrenched asunder. Spiritual communions which had
+been sweet and welcome curdled in the biting blast of resentment. The
+work of the Kingdom of our Lord was smitten as by an enemy; ploughshares
+were beaten into swords; pruning-hooks were transformed into spears; and
+instead of the fir and the myrtle-tree there sprang up the thorns and
+the briars. And then, to crown our difficulties, the red fury of war
+leaped into countries where our missionaries are proclaiming the gospel
+of peace, and the passion of battle began to burn where they are telling
+the story of the passion of Calvary, that holy passion of sacrifice
+which brought to the whole world redemption from sin, and reconciliation
+with God, and the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is
+to come.
+
+Our immediate circumstances do not offer the soldiers of Jesus an easy
+parade ground where we can just loll and sing our lilting songs; they
+rather offer us a fearfully rugged and broken field which demands as
+heroic and chivalrous virtues as ever clothed a child of God. What shall
+we do? Is it the hour for craven fear or for a noble courage? What shall
+we do on our mission fields? Shall we cry "forward," or shall we sound
+the depressing and despairing note of retreat? Shall we throw up the
+sponge, or shall we, in the spirit of unprecedented sacrifice, march
+forward in our campaign, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus
+Christ?
+
+First of all, we must keep our eyes steadily fixed upon the object for
+which Christ died, that solemn and holy end for which He created and
+appointed His own Church. And what is that object? It is to let "all men
+know that all men move under a canopy of love" as broad as the blue sky
+above. It is to break down all middle walls of partition, and to merge
+the sundered peoples in the quickening communion of His grace. It is to
+unite all the kingdoms of the world in the one and radiant Kingdom of
+His love. That is the aim and purpose of our blessed Lord, and in all
+the shock and convulsions of to-day we must keep that object steadfastly
+in sight. It was said of Napoleon that "he never for a moment lost sight
+of his way onward in the dazzle and uproar of present circumstances."
+That is to say, Napoleon was never blinded by the glare of victory or by
+the lowering cloud of defeat. "He saw only the object." Quietness did
+not throw its perilous spell about him. Calamity did not turn his eyes
+from the forward way. He saw only the object, and the glory of the goal
+sent streams of energy into his will and into his feet at every step of
+the changing road.
+
+Now our temptation is to permit events to determine our sight. There is
+the shimmer of gold on the right hand, and we turn to covet. There is
+the gleam of the sword on the left hand, and we turn in fear. We allow
+circumstances to govern our aims. Our eyes are deflected from their
+object by the dazzle or the uproar around us. And here is the peril of
+it all. When we lose the object of our warfare we begin to lose the
+campaign. And, therefore, one of the first necessities of the Christian
+Church in the present hour is to have our Lord's own purpose steadily in
+view, to keep her eyes glued upon that supreme end, and to allow nothing
+to turn her aside. "Let thine eyes look right on;" "Thy kingdom come;"
+"The kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God;" "He
+must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet." This, I say,
+is the pressing and immediate need of the good soldier of Christ Jesus,
+to refuse to have his single aim complicated by the entanglement of
+passing circumstances, and to constantly "apprehend that for which we
+also were apprehended by Christ Jesus our Lord."
+
+What else shall we do in this hour of upheaval and disaster? The Church
+must eclipse the exploits of carnal warfare by the more glorious warfare
+of the spirit. Just recall the heroisms which are happening every day in
+Europe, and on which the eyes of the world are riveted with an almost
+mesmerized wonder! Think of the magnificent sacrifices! Think of the
+splendid courage! Think of the exquisite chivalry! Think of the
+incredible powers of endurance! And then, further, think that the Church
+of Christ is called upon to outshine these glories with demonstrations
+more glorious still.
+
+This was surely one of the outstanding distinctions of apostolic life.
+Whenever hostilities confronted the early Church, whenever the first
+disciples were opposed by the gathered forces of the world, wherever the
+sword was bared and active, wherever tyranny exulted in sheer brutality,
+these early disciples unveiled a more splendid strength, and threw the
+carnal power into the shade. They faced their difficulties with such
+force and splendour of character that their very antagonisms became only
+the dark background on which the glory of the Lord was more manifestly
+revealed. Their courage rose with danger and eclipsed it!
+
+Let me open one or two windows in the apostolic record which give us
+glimpses of this conquering life. Here, then, is a glimpse of the
+hostilities: "Let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth
+to no man in this name." There you have the naked tyranny of carnal
+power, and there you have the threat that burns through carnal speech.
+And now, over against that power put the action of the Church: "And they
+spake the word of God with boldness!" They were good soldiers of Jesus
+Christ, and by that boldness the tyranny and threat of carnal power were
+completely eclipsed.
+
+Here is another glimpse of those heroic days: "And when they had called
+the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak
+in the name of Jesus." There again you have the demonstration of carnal
+power; and here again is the demonstration of the power of the spirit:
+"And they departed from the presence of the counsel, rejoicing that they
+were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And they ceased not to
+teach and preach Jesus Christ." I say that this "rejoicing" eclipses
+that beating, and the good soldier of Jesus Christ puts the Roman
+soldier into the shade.
+
+Let me open another window: "And they cast Stephen out of the city and
+stoned him." Get your eyes on that display of carnal passion and
+tyranny; and then lift your eyes upon the victim of it: "And he kneeled
+down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their
+charge." Who is the conqueror in that tragedy, the stoners or the
+stoned, the ministers of destruction or the good soldier of Jesus
+Christ? The carnal power was terrific and deadly, but it was utterly
+eclipsed by the power of grace, the power which blazed forth in this
+redeemed and consecrated life. Open yet another window upon this day of
+shining exploits: "Having stoned Paul they drew him out of the city,
+supposing he had been dead." That incident seems to record the
+coronation and sovereignty of brutal strength. Now read: "And they
+returned again to Lystra." Paul went back to the place where he had been
+stoned, to tell again the good news of grace, and to carry to broken
+people the ministries of healing. And I say that this bruised man,
+beaten and sore, returning again to the scene of the stoning, is a good
+soldier of Jesus Christ, and by his magnificent courage and grace he
+eclipsed all the rough strength of the world and threw its achievements
+into the shade.
+
+But it is not only in apostolic days that you can find these brilliant
+contrasts. The Church has been distinguished by such demonstrations of
+spiritual glory all along her history. When material power has been
+riotous and rampant, when rude, crude passions have blazed through the
+earth, the chivalry of the Church has shone resplendent in the murky
+night, and she has eclipsed the dread shocks of the world and the flesh
+and the devil by her noble sacrifices, and by her serenity, and by her
+spontaneous joy. The Church has distinguished herself by her
+manifestations of spiritual strength, by her lofty Christian purpose, by
+her glowing devotional enthusiasm, and this over against gigantic
+obstacles, and in the face of enemies who seemed to be overwhelming.
+
+I think of James Chalmers, the martyred missionary of New Guinea. How
+well I remember the last time I met him; his big, powerful body, his
+lion-like head, his shock of rough hair, his face with such a strange
+commingling of strength and gentleness, indomitableness and grace! And
+what he went through in New Guinea in carrying to the natives the story
+of our Saviour's love! And then, having gone through it all, he stood up
+there in England, on the platform of Exeter Hall, and said: "Recall
+these twenty-one years, give me back all its experiences, give me its
+shipwrecks, give me its standings in the face of death, give it me
+surrounded with savages with spears and clubs, give it me back again
+with spears flying about me, with the club knocking me to the ground,
+give it me back, and I will still be your missionary." What is happening
+in Europe just now that can put that exploit in the shade? I do not
+wonder that when that man thought of heaven he used these words: "There
+will be much visiting in heaven, and much work. I guess I shall have
+good mission work to do, great, brave work for Christ. He will have to
+find it, for I can be nothing else than a missionary." James Chalmers
+went back to New Guinea to tell and retell to the natives why Jesus came
+to thee and me and all men, and he won the martyr's crown. The love of
+Christ constrained him. And again I ask, what incidents in carnal
+warfare are not eclipsed by shining heroisms like these?
+
+I might go on telling you these glorious exploits of grace, but I hasten
+to say that it is our privilege to continue the story. To-day carnal
+strength is stalking in deadly stride through a whole continent. And
+to-day the Church must do something so splendid and so heroic as will
+outshine the glamour of material war. This is the hour when we must send
+out more men and women who are willing to live and toil and die for the
+Hindu, and for the Turk, and the Persian, and the Chinese and the
+Japanese, and all the dusky sons of Africa. I verily believe that if the
+apostle Paul were in our midst to-day, with the war raging in Europe, he
+would sound an advance all along the line. He would call us in this hour
+to send out more men and women to save, and to comfort, and to heal; men
+and women who will lay down their lives in bringing life to their
+fellow-men. We must send forth new army corps of the soldiers of Christ,
+and we must give them more abundant means, endowing them so plentifully
+that they can go out into the needy places of Asia and Africa, and
+assuage the pains and burdens of the body, and dispel the darkness of
+the mind, and give liberty to the imprisoned spirit, and lead the souls
+of men into the life and joy and peace of our blessed Lord. If the
+Church would, and if the Church will, she can so arrest the attention
+and win the hearts of the natives of Africa and Asia with the grace and
+gentleness of the Lord Jesus, a grace and gentleness made incarnate
+again in you and me, and in those whom we send to the field, that the
+excellent glory of the Spirit shall shine pre-eminent, and in this hour
+of world-wide disaster the risen Lord shall again be glorified.
+
+Shall we quietly challenge ourselves amid all the awful happenings of
+to-day? Here are the terms of the challenge. Shall the good soldier of
+Christ Jesus be overshadowed by the soldiers of the world? Or shall the
+courage and ingenuities of the world be eclipsed by the heroism and the
+wise audacity of the Church? Shall we withdraw our army from the field
+because the war is raging in Europe, or shall we send it reinforcements?
+Shall we practice a more severe economy and straiten our army's
+equipment for service; or shall we practice a more glorious
+self-sacrifice, and make its equipment more efficient? Shall we exalt
+and glorify our Saviour, or shall we allow Him to be put in the shade?
+Shall we endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ, or shall we take
+to the fields of indulgence, and allow the Church of the Living God to
+be outshone by the army of the world? Which shall it be?
+
+Our holy battlefield is as wide as the world. The needs are clamant. The
+opportunities of victory are on every side. Our Captain is calling! What
+then, shall it be? Advance or retreat? What answer can there be but one?
+Surely the answer must be that we will advance, even though it mean the
+shedding of the blood of sacrifice.
+
+One of our medical missionaries was Dr. Francis J. Hall of Peking,
+China. He had been graduated with high honours at the Johns Hopkins
+Medical School in Baltimore, and had consecrated his life to medical
+missionary work in China, where his large abilities promptly won him
+wide influence. In 1913 he said to one of his associates: "I have just
+been called to a Chinese who has typhus fever. Many physicians have
+died of that disease, but I must go." Two weeks later he was stricken.
+As he lay dying his mind wandered, and he was heard to exclaim: "I hear
+them calling, I must go; I hear them calling!" Do we hear them calling?
+Is the answer "Yes"? Then let us joyfully register a vow that, God
+helping us, the army of the Lord shall not be maimed because of our
+indifference, but as good soldiers of Jesus Christ we will, if need be,
+endure hardness, and give of our possessions, even unto the shedding of
+our blood.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER
+
+
+ _Eternal God, we rejoice in the security that is offered to us
+ in our midnights and in our noons. Thou wilt not leave us to the
+ loneliness of self-communion, but Thou wilt hold fellowship with
+ us along the way. Come to us as the Lord Jesus came to the men
+ who were journeying to Emmaus, and make our hearts burn within
+ us in the revelation of light and grace. Especially in these
+ bewildering times wilt Thou steady our minds with Thy councils
+ and inspire our hearts in the assurance of Thy sovereign love.
+ Lead us along our troubled road. Let the heavenly light break
+ upon our darkness. Help us to believe in Thy peace even when the
+ world is at strife. Let Thy kingdom come. Even when the world is
+ filled with the smoke of battle may we discern the presence of
+ the Lord. Save us from the sin of unbelief. Reveal to us, we
+ humbly pray Thee, the sin in which this strife has been born,
+ and help the nations to turn from it in new consecration to
+ Thee. In this gracious purpose wilt Thou possess our services.
+ Help us to look beyond the seen into the strength and glory of
+ the unseen. Cheer us with Thy consolations. Uphold us with Thine
+ hand, and impart to us the gift of Thy gracious peace. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE INVISIBLE COMMANDER ON THE FIELD
+
+ "And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will
+ hiss unto them from the end of the earth." Isaiah 5:26.
+
+ "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss
+ for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of
+ Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria." Isaiah
+ 7:18.
+
+
+That was a startling word to fall upon the ears of the people of Judah.
+It shocked them into confusion. It was an altogether revolutionary word.
+It played havoc with their traditional beliefs. It smashed up all their
+easy securities. It turned their world upside down, and all their
+ancient confidences were broken. Let us try to feel the shock of the
+message. The people had come to regard their land as a sort of divine
+reservation, and they looked upon their nation as a specially favoured
+instrument in the hand of the Lord. They esteemed themselves as being in
+the friendly grip and fellowship of the Lord of hosts. All their
+movements were the inspirations of His counsels, and in the strength of
+His providence their nation's progress and destiny were assured. They
+lived in the assumption that every step in their national life was
+foreseen, and planned, and provided for, and that they were always being
+led towards divinely appointed goals. There was nothing of chance in
+their journeyings, and nothing of uncertainty in their ends. For them
+there was no blind groping in the darkness, for the Lord of hosts had
+charge of their national life; and "the sure mercies of David" would
+secure it from calamity and destruction.
+
+That was what they thought about themselves. What did they think of the
+nations beyond their frontier? That was quite another story. They looked
+upon other nations as struggling blindly, and in their dark rage
+imagining vain things. These other nations had the promptings of
+passion, but they had no divine and mystic leadership. They moved
+hither and thither, but it was under no divine appointment, and a
+thousand traps were laid for their unhallowed feet. Yonder was Assyria,
+full of strength and full of movement, expressing herself in the might
+of tremendous armies, but she was under no divine command or
+inspiration. Assyria was like a boat in unknown waters, without a pilot,
+and she was marked for inevitable destruction. And yonder was proud
+Egypt, swelling with her power and renown, colossal in her material
+achievements, but she had no divinely enlightened eyes, she was blind in
+her goings, and her marching was in reality a staggering towards doom.
+And yonder were other nations from afar; but they were all just chance
+masses, looked upon as existing outside the frontier line of divine
+favour and enlightenment. They dwelt in some hinterland of life where
+God's gracious decrees do not run. They were beyond the orbit of divine
+thought and grace. Now that was the kind of thinking which the prophet
+had to meet. Judah regarded herself as nestling within the home circle
+of Providence, and all other nations were outcasts living beyond the
+sacred pale.
+
+And now perhaps we shall be able to feel something of the astounding
+effect of the prophet's words. "And the Lord shall lift up an ensign to
+the nations from far." Far-away peoples are to move under the impulse
+and inspiration of the Lord, and in the light of His guiding command.
+"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the
+rivers of Egypt." A far-away nation, thick as flies, is to move under
+the touch and ordination of God! "The Lord shall hiss for the bee that
+is in the land of Assyria." A far-away nation, thick as a hive of bees,
+is to move under the controlling purpose of the Lord! Can you feel the
+shock of the prophet's words? It is the shock of a larger thought which
+shakes the nations out of their small and cosey contentment. They had
+conceived the divine Providence as being confined exclusively to Judah's
+particular guidance and defence. They had thought within the limits of a
+country; they are now bidden to cross the frontier and conceive a
+Providence which encircles a continent and a world. The fly in Egypt,
+and the bee in Assyria, raising their wings at the touch of the
+Lord,--it staggered them into incredulity!
+
+Now we can see what the prophet was doing. He was seeking to enlarge
+their sense of the orbit of the divine movement. For the little ripples
+on their pool he was substituting the ocean tides. For the circle of
+their native hills and valleys he was substituting a line which embraced
+the uttermost parts of the earth. And that is what I wish to do in this
+meditation. I wish to proclaim the vastness of the divine orbit, the
+tremendous sweep of the divine decrees, and I wish to emphasize the
+teaching of this great prophet, that momentous destinies may be born in
+far-away places, even at the very end of the world. "The Lord shall hiss
+for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and
+for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."
+
+Well then, under the power of this teaching, let us think in wider
+orbits of the divine inspiration of nations. For we are apt to imprison
+our thought within very narrow and artificial restraints. Much of our
+thought about providential movements shuts God up to the circle of
+so-called Christian nations: But what if a fierce and decadent
+civilization is to be corrected by the inspired influence of such
+peoples as are described by Rudyard Kipling as "lesser breeds without
+the law?" What if our God will hiss for the fly and the bee among just
+such peoples as we are inclined to patronize or despise? Let us imagine
+some modern Isaiah standing up in London or New York and uttering words
+like these;--"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
+part of China, and for the bee that is in the land of India." I know
+that such a doctrine shocks our national susceptibilities, just as a
+similar doctrine shocked the national pride of the ancient Jews. But
+such a doctrine offers the only true interpretation of the range of the
+divine orbit. It may be that the reinforcements of civilization are to
+come from the movements of the stagnant waters of China. It may be that
+rivers of vitality are to flow into our life from the meditative,
+contemplative, philosophic, mystic races of India. Just think of their
+quiet, lofty, serious brooding, stealing into our feverish materialism
+and sobering the fierceness of the quest. I cannot but wonder what the
+good Lord, in the vastness of His orbit, is even now preparing for the
+world on the far-away plains of India and China.
+
+Let your imagination exercise itself again in the larger orbit, and
+think of some modern prophet standing up in London with this message
+upon his lips;--"The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost parts of Russia." The message strikes us as incredible, but it
+is only because, like the people of Judah, our conception of the divine
+orbit is so small and circumscribed. I for one am watching with
+fascinated eyes the movements of Russia. I am wondering what is coming
+to us from that great people, so long and patiently sad, so full of
+reverence, going on long, weary pilgrimages to bow at holy shrines.
+Superstition? Yes, if you please. But I am wondering what is going to
+happen when the dogged strength of that superstition becomes an
+enlightened faith. I am wondering what will happen when that rich,
+fertile bed of national reverence begins to bear the full and matured
+fruits of the Spirit. What then? I know it is not easy to think it. It
+is not easy to widen the orbit of one's thought. It is never easy to
+stretch a neglected or unused muscle. But the wider thought is the orbit
+of our God, and in the mysterious land of Russia untold destinies may be
+even now at the birth.
+
+And so do I urge that we think in vaster orbits of the divine
+inspiration of nations. Let us reject the atheism of incredulity, and
+let us encourage ourselves in the boundless hope of an all-encompassing
+God of the human race. The great God journeys on in His tremendous
+orbit, and who knows from what unlikely peoples the rejuvenation of the
+world is to come? "The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the
+uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the
+land of Assyria."
+
+Now I want to go further, and under the power of the prophet's teaching
+I would urge that we think in wide orbits of the divine raising of the
+heroic leaders of men. In what wide and mysterious sweeps the great God
+works when He wants a leader of men! The man is wanted here at the
+center, but he is being prepared yonder on the remote circumference! God
+hisses for the fly or the bee, and He calls it from very obscure and
+unlikely fields.
+
+Here is ancient Israel. Her altars are defiled, and her balances are
+perverted. She is hollow in worship, and she is crooked in trade, and
+the people are listless in their debasement. A leader is wanted to awake
+and scourge the people. Where shall he be found? The Lord hisses for a
+fly in Tekoa, a wretched little village, in a mean and scanty setting;
+and the fly was a poor herdman, following the flock, and eking out his
+miserable living by gathering the figs of the sycamore. And this Amos
+was God's man! A prophet of fire was wanted in Bethel, and God prepared
+him in Tekoa! But what an orbit, and who would have thought that Tekoa
+would have been a school of the prophets?
+
+Stride across the centuries. The religion of Europe has become a gloss
+for indulgence. Nay, it has become an excuse for it. The Father's house
+has become a den of thieves. The doctrines of grace have been wiped out
+by a system of man-devised works. Religion is devitalized, and morals
+have become dissolute. Wanted, a man, who shall be both scourge and
+evangelist! Where shall he be found? "The Lord hissed for the fly" that
+was in Eisleben, in the house of a poor miner, and Martin Luther came
+forth to grapple with all the corruptions of established religion. But
+what an orbit! A fire was wanted to burn up the refuse which had
+accumulated over spiritual religion, and the fire was first kindled in a
+little home, in a little village, far away from the broad highways of
+social privilege and advantage. Again, I say, what an orbit!
+
+March forward again across the years. Here is England under the
+oppression of a king who claims divine sanction for his oppression.
+There is no tyranny like the tyranny which stamps itself with a holy
+seal. And in those old days of Charles I, tyranny wore a sacred badge.
+Tyranny carried a cross. It was tyranny by divine right. Wrong was
+justified by grace. I say, of all tyrannies, this is the most
+tyrannical. Wanted, a man to meet and overthrow it! Where will he be
+found? Will he be found in some national centre of learning where
+wealthy privilege holds her seat? Oh, no! The Lord hissed for a fly on
+the fens, from a little farm at Huntington, and Oliver Cromwell
+emerged, to try swords with the king on his throne! Let me give the
+familiar glimpse which Sir Philip Warwick offers us of Cromwell making
+his first speech in the House of Commons. "I came into the House one
+morning, well clad, and perceived a gentleman speaking whom I knew not,
+very ordinarily appareled, for it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed
+to have been made by an ill country tailor. His linen was plain and not
+very clean, and I remember a speck or two of blood upon his little band,
+which was not much larger than his collar. His hat was without a
+hat-band. His stature was of a good size; his sword stuck close to his
+side; his countenance swollen and reddish; his voice sharp and
+untunable, and his eloquence full of fervour." And there is God's man!
+But what an orbit! A man was wanted for the defence of liberty and
+spiritual religion, and God prepared this man in the obscurity of a
+little farm among the fens. What an orbit is marked by the goings of the
+Lord. The Lord hissed for the fly on the fen.
+
+March forward across the centuries. Here is slavery in the American
+republic. In spite of the noble words of the Declaration of
+Independence: "That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by
+their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
+life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"--in spite of these ringing
+human claims slavery nestled beneath the American flag. Well, wanted a
+man to deal with it! Where will he be found? Will he be found in some
+university centre? Will he be a paragon of intellectual learning and
+accomplishment? Oh no! The Lord hissed for a fly in Harden, in a scraggy
+part of Kentucky, Harden with its "barren hillocks and weedy hollows,
+and stunted and scrubby underbush,"--and there in a dismal solitude, and
+in a cheerless home, and in the deepest poverty, the great God made His
+man, and Abraham Lincoln came forth to cross swords with the great
+wrong, and to ring the bells of freedom from the "frozen North to the
+glowing South, and from the stormy waters of the Atlantic westward to
+the calmer waters of the Pacific Main." But what an orbit of divine
+providence! Who would have guessed that just there, in that poor,
+unschooled, and unprivileged family the great God was doing His
+momentous work? And I wonder where now in the vast orbit of His
+providence He is rearing the leaders of to-morrow? Our God moves in
+mighty sweeps, and He is even now at work in the mysterious ministries
+of His grace. "The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
+part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of
+Assyria."
+
+And then, under the influence of the prophet's teaching I want once more
+to urge that we think in wider orbits of the divine presence in the
+individual life. For instance, in what sweeping orbits the Lord moves on
+His journeys in seeking to bring us to Himself, and to fashion us into
+the strength and beauty of His own image. He lifts an ensign to some
+remote circumstance, and from afar there comes an influence which sets
+me on the road to God. He calls a ministry from distant Egypt, or from
+far off Assyria, and my life is turned to the home of my Lord.
+
+Here is a careless young son of wealth in Cambridge University. Life for
+him is just an idle sport, a careless revel, a jaunty outing, an
+enjoyable extravagance. Life is just a shallow, shimmering pool; not an
+ocean with momentous tidal forces, and with the voice of the great
+Eternal speaking in its mighty tones. Wanted a man to awake this
+indolent son of wealth! And in what an orbit God moved to find the man!
+The Lord hissed for a fly in Massachusetts, and there, in Northfield,
+was a poor homestead, encumbered with mortgage; and a poor widow with
+seven children, so poor that the very kindling wood was taken by the
+creditors from the shed. And there in that poor woman's house God made
+His man, and Dwight Moody came forth, and went to Cambridge University,
+and proclaimed the evangel of grace, and by the love of God won this
+young fellow from a loose and jaunty and indifferent life, and kindled
+in him a passionate devotion to Christ which is now blazing away on the
+Southern Soudan in a campaign to light a line of Christian beacon-fires
+which shall stretch from coast to coast! But what an orbit! From a poor
+widow's homestead in Northfield to a sporting young fellow in Cambridge
+University!
+
+I met a cultured man the other day, a man who has enjoyed all the
+academic advantages that money can provide, a man of university culture
+and distinction, but whose life has been spiritually indifferent, and
+who has held coldly aloof from God and the Kingdom of God. And in the
+vast orbit of His providence the great God brought this man into
+communion with Billy Sunday, and all the stubble of his neglected life
+was burned up in the consuming fire of his kindled love for the Lord.
+But just think of the orbit! The Lord hissed for His fly, and from the
+apparently incredible circumstance of a slangy evangelist this man was
+brought to his Father's House in reconciliation and peace. Again I say,
+what an orbit! "I will bring the blind by a way that they know not," and
+under His wide and mysterious leadership the blind find themselves at
+home.
+
+And so, my friends, our God is still moving in these vast orbits. He
+hisses for a disappointment, and it comes and throws its shadow upon our
+life, but the shadow is purposed to be one of the healing shadows of
+grace. "I will command the clouds, saith the Lord." Yes, even our cloudy
+experiences move under command. They travel in the tremendous orbit of
+His providence. "I will command the ravens, saith the Lord God." Yes,
+there are diverse circumstances that come to us on wings,--kind words,
+cheering messages, bright inspirations, and they are the commanded
+ministers of God's providence. They are God's messengers on wings!
+
+We can never tell in what remote circumstances the good Lord is even now
+preparing our to-morrow. But of one thing we may be perfectly sure, the
+great Lord is at work, and He is at work over wide fields. "Rest in the
+Lord, and wait patiently for Him." "The Lord is thy keeper.... The Lord
+shall keep thee from all evil, He shall keep thy soul. The Lord shall
+keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for
+evermore."
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, may we experience that deepest of all joys
+ which is born of holy communion with Thee. Lead us into new
+ fields of our wonderful inheritance in Christ. May we have new
+ surprises of grace. May some fresh revelations of Thy love break
+ upon our astonished vision. Remove the scales from our eyes, so
+ that we may see clearly the things which are waiting to be
+ unveiled. Graciously make known to us what Thou wouldst have us
+ be in order that we may then more clearly apprehend what Thou
+ wouldst have us do. Help us to remember what we ought not to
+ forget, and help us to forget what we ought not to remember. May
+ our minds be the servants of Thy truth. Let the beams of
+ heavenly light chase out the darkness of error and let it be all
+ glorious within. We humbly pray Thee to deliver us from our
+ selfishness, and enlarge and refine our sympathies until they
+ express themselves in willing sacrifice. May we feel the pains
+ of others, and carry their burdens and share their yokes. May
+ the circles of our compassion grow larger every day. Let the
+ ends of the earth be at our own doors, and so may we hear the
+ cry which is very far off. Illumine our lives in this service,
+ and send us forth to enlighten and kindle the lives of others.
+ Make us missionaries of Thy truth and ambassadors of Thy grace
+ and love. May we be quick to discern opportunity, and ready to
+ use it in the service of the King. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOLDIER'S FIRE
+
+ "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."
+ Matthew 3:11.
+
+
+Such is the divine promise. Let me read the story of its fulfilment.
+"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one
+accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
+rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
+sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire,
+and it sat upon each of them." Do not let us become victims of the
+letter and become entangled in the symbolism. It is possible so to
+regard material signs as to lose their spiritual significance. A musical
+word may conceal its own thought. Words are purposed to be the vehicles
+of mind. Symbols are intended to be transparencies, losing themselves
+in something better. They are ordained to be thoroughfares through which
+we pass to nobler destinations. The sign is to be the servant of its own
+significance.
+
+Here then are men and women who are about to receive the promised gift
+of the Spirit of God. They have been waiting as their Master directed,
+waiting in prayer, and in prayer incalculably strengthened by community
+of desire, waiting in trembling watchfulness and expectation. Then the
+much-hoped-for day arrives and their spirits receive the infinite
+reinforcement of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
+
+We have a very pale reflection of this experience when two human spirits
+are given to each other in deep and vital communion. When David received
+the gift of Jonathan's spirit, and Jonathan received the gift of David's
+spirit, each of them obtained immeasurable enrichment. When Robert
+Browning received the gift of Elizabeth Barrett's spirit, and Elizabeth
+Barrett received the gift of Robert Browning's spirit, who can calculate
+the wealth which each of them found in the other's possession?
+
+But these examples, and others even more sacred which we could gather
+from our own experience, are only pale and wan and shadowy, compared
+with the wonder which breaks upon the soul when the spirit of man
+receives the gift of the Spirit of God, and the two dwell together in
+mystic and glorious communion. What happens to the human spirit is
+suggested to us under the familiar symbols of wind and fire. "Like unto
+a rushing mighty wind;" "like unto fire." Do not let us be enslaved by
+any hampering details in the figures. Let us seek their broad
+significance. And what is the characteristic of a rushing mighty wind?
+It dispels the fog. It freshens the atmosphere. It gives life and
+nimbleness to the air. It is the minister of vitality. And the breath of
+God's Spirit is like that; it clears the human spirit, and freshens it,
+and vitalizes it; it acts upon the soul like the air of a spiritual
+spring. And as for the symbol of the fire; fire is the antagonist of all
+that is frozen; it is the antagonist of the torpid, the tepid; it is the
+minister of fervour, and buoyancy, and expansion. The wind changes the
+atmosphere, the fire changes the temperature; and the holy Spirit of
+God changes the atmosphere and temperature of the soul; and when you
+have changed the atmosphere and temperature of a soul you have
+accomplished a mighty transformation. It is about this change in the
+moral and spiritual temperature that I want to meditate, the gift of
+fire which we receive in the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If the spirit of
+man and the spirit of God come into blessed communion, and the fire of
+God is given, how will it reveal and express itself? For if there be a
+gift of fire in the soul we shall most surely know it. Fire is one of
+the things which cannot be hid. You can hide a painted sun in your
+parlour and no one will know it is there, but you cannot hide a glowing
+fire. A man can hide a denominational label, he cannot possibly hide the
+holy fire of God. How, then, shall we know that the fire is there?
+
+First of all I think I should look for the holy fire on the common
+hearthstone of human love. If the fire of God does not warm up the
+affections I fail to recognize what its heat can be worth. The first
+thing to warm up is the heart. The intimate friend of the Holy Spirit
+is known by the ardour of his affections. He loves with a pure heart
+fervently. He is baptized with fire. Now I need not seek to prove the
+existence of cold hearts among us. I am afraid we must accept them
+without question. Whether there are hearts like fire-grates without a
+spark of fire I cannot tell. Personally, I have never met with anyone in
+whose soul the fire of love had gone quite out. I think that if we
+sought very diligently among the gray dusty ashes of any burnt-out life
+we should find a little love somewhere. Yes, even in Judas Iscariot, or
+in the dingy soul-grate of old frozen-out Scrooge. But there are surely
+souls so cold, and so destitute of love, that the poor fire never leaps
+up in dancing, cheering, welcome flames. Their temperature is zero.
+
+There are other souls with a little fire of love burning, but it is very
+sad, very sodden, very sullen, very dull. There is more smoke than fire.
+There is more surliness than love. Their fire is not inviting and
+attractive. There is a little spitting, and spluttering, and crackling,
+but there is no fine, honest, ruddy glow. Their temperature is about
+ten above freezing. They are not frozen but they are not comforting.
+
+There are other lives where the fire of affection is burning more
+brightly, and certainly with more attractive glow, but where it seems as
+if the quality of the fuel must be poor because the fire gives out
+comparatively little heat. The heart sends out a cheery beam across the
+family circle, but it does not reach beyond. There is no cordial warmth
+for the wider circles of fellowship. The fire burns in the home but it
+does not affect the office. It encompasses the child but it has no cheer
+for the stranger. What is the temperature of such a life? It is very
+difficult to appraise it. Perhaps it will be best to say that in one
+room of the soul the temperature is 60, while in all the other rooms it
+is down towards freezing.
+
+And, therefore, I need not say how profound is the need in the world for
+warm, glowing, affectional fires. What awfully cold lives there are in
+the city, just waiting for the cheer of "the flame of sacred love!"
+There are souls whose fires have died down at the touch of death. There
+are others whose glow has been dulled by heavy sorrow. There are others
+whose love has been slaked by the pitiless rains of pelting defeat.
+There are others again whose hearts are cold in the midst of material
+wealth. They have richly furnished dwellings, but their hearts are like
+ice. They are unloved and unlovely, and they are frostbitten in the
+realms of luxury. Wealth can buy attention; it can never purchase love.
+My God! What cold souls there are in this great city!
+
+And, therefore, what a clamant and urgent need there is for love-fires
+at which to kindle these souls that are heavy, and burdened, and cold.
+And when the Holy Spirit is given to a man, and he is baptized with
+fire, it must surely, first of all, be the fire of cordial, human
+affection. And such is the teaching of experience. When John Wesley came
+into the fulness of the divine blessing in a little service at
+Aldersgate Street, London, he said that he "felt his heart strangely
+warmed." He was receiving the gift of holy fire. And I cannot but think
+that Charles Wesley was thinking about his brother's experience on that
+day when he wrote his own immortal hymn which includes the prayerful
+lines:
+
+ "Kindle a flame of sacred love
+ In these cold hearts of ours."
+
+You find and feel the glow of that love-fire throughout the New
+Testament Scriptures. They who have the most of God's Spirit have the
+most of the fire. There was Barnabas, who was declared to be "full of
+the Holy Spirit," and he is also described as "the son of consolation."
+What a consummate title! Cannot we feel the love-fire burning and
+glowing in all his ample ministry? Full of the Spirit, and therefore
+full of consolation! The truth of the matter is this,--we cannot be much
+with the Spirit of Christ, and not take fire from His presence. In these
+high realms, communing is partaking, and we kindle to the same affection
+as fills the heart of the Lord. "We love because He first loved us." His
+fire lights our fire, and we burn in kindred passion. So do I proclaim
+that when the fire of God falls upon our spirits the sacred gift kindles
+and inflames the soul's affections. When we are baptized with the Holy
+Ghost and with fire, we receive the glowing power of Christian love.
+
+Where else shall we look for that holy fire in human life? I think I
+should look for the presence of the fire of the Holy Ghost in fervent
+enthusiasm for the cause of Christ's Kingdom. And that indeed is what I
+find. The New Testament instructs me in this, and it teaches me that
+where man is baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire his own spirit
+becomes fervent. He is declared to be "_fervent_ in spirit," and the
+original word means to bubble up, to boil, as in a boiling kettle; it is
+the emergence of the mighty power of steam. And so the significance is
+this: the fire of God generates steam, it creates driving power, it
+produces forceful and invincible enthusiasm. You will find abundant
+examples of this spiritual miracle in the Acts of the Apostles; perhaps
+the Book might be more truly named "The Acts of the Holy Spirit," for
+all the glorious activity is generated by His holy fire. Let your eyes
+glance over the apostolic record. Mark how the fire of God endows man
+with the power of magnificent initiative. Take the apostle Peter;--once
+his strength was the strength of impulse, a spurt and then a collapse, a
+spasm and then a retreat, proud beginnings bereft of patience and
+perseverance. But see him when the Spirit of God has got hold upon him,
+and what a gift he has received of initial and sustained enthusiasm!
+"And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit!" You should see him then, and
+note the strength of his drive, and the ardour of his enterprise! And
+the example of Peter would be confirmed by the examples of all the other
+apostles, if only we knew their personal history and experience. I wish
+there had been given to us just a glimpse of doubting Thomas, slow,
+hesitant, reluctant, uncertain, when the Holy Spirit had him in
+possession. "And Thomas filled with the Holy Spirit,"--I would give
+something to know the end of that sentence. And I wish we had one
+glimpse of timid, fearful, night-walking Nicodemus, when the fire of
+God's Spirit blazed in his soul. "Then Nicodemus, filled with the Holy
+Spirit,"--I wonder what notable exploits would complete that unfinished
+sentence. This we know; the holy fire transformed the timid into the
+courageous, the lukewarm into the fervent, it generated a moral steam
+which made them invincible.
+
+The first apostles drove through tremendous obstacles. Indeed, they
+never had the comfort of an open and unimpeded road. Every road was
+thick with adversaries. What then? Through them or over them! "But,
+Sire," said a timid and startled officer to Napoleon, on receiving
+apparently impossible commands, "But, Sire, there are the Alps!" "Then
+there must be no Alps," replied his audacious chief. "There must be no
+Alps!" That was the very spirit of the first apostles. Mighty
+antagonisms reared themselves in their way,--ecclesiastical prejudices,
+the prejudices of culture, social hostilities, political expediences,
+and all the subtle and violent contrivances of the world, the flesh and
+the devil. "But, Sire, there are the Alps!" "There must be no Alps!"
+Through them! Over them! What that coward Peter got through when the
+fire of God glowed in his soul! When a man has the holy fire of God
+within him he has a boiling fervency of spirit, and he can drive through
+anything.
+
+And that same holy fire gives the same terrific power to-day, the same
+driving enthusiasm, the same patient, dogged, invincible perseverance.
+If a man declares that he has received the fire of God's Holy Spirit, I
+will look eagerly for the impetus of his sacred enthusiasm. If he be a
+preacher I will look for labour in the passion, and the unsnarable
+energy and patience which he will assuredly put into his work. If he be
+a teacher, I will examine the generated steam, and note how much he can
+do, how far he can travel, and how long he can hold out in the service
+of his Lord. If he be a man who has set himself to some piece of social
+reconstruction I will watch with what ardour, and ingenuity, and
+inevitableness he is moving towards his goal. Is it the smashing of the
+saloons? "Then Peter, filled with the Holy fire;"--what if that power
+were harnessed to the enterprise? Or is it the awful plague and blight
+of impurity; or is it the cleaning up of politics; the establishment of
+rectitude in civic and national life? Whatever it be, the holy fire of
+God will reveal its presence in the soul of man in an ardent enthusiasm
+which cannot be quenched. It is the promise of our God, and shall He not
+do it? "He maketh His ministers a flaming fire,"--and that fire can
+never be blown out in the darkest and most tempestuous nights.
+
+And lastly, I shall look for the signs of the presence of the Holy
+Spirit in the fire of sacred resentment. If a man is baptized with the
+Holy Ghost, and with fire, I shall expect to see the presence of that
+fire in the capacity of hot and sensitive indignation. I need not say
+that there is a mighty difference between hot temper and hot
+indignation. Hot temper is a firing of loose powder upon a shovel. It is
+just a flare, and an annoyance, and a danger. But hot indignation is
+powder concentrated in the muzzle of a gun, and intelligently directed
+to the overthrow of some stronghold of iniquity. Hot temper is the fire
+of the devil. Hot indignation is the fire of God; it is the wrath of the
+Lamb. What is this capacity of indignation? It is the opposite to frozen
+antipathy, to tepid curiosity, to sinful "don't care," to all immoral
+coldness and calculated indifference. There are many people who can be
+irritated, but they are never indignant. They can be offended, but they
+are never nobly angry. The souls who are possessed with the fire of God
+are the very opposite to all these. I said at the very beginning of this
+meditation that the breath of God is like the quickening atmosphere of
+the Spring; but it is equally true to say that it can be like the
+destructive blast of the African sirocco--"The grass withereth and the
+flower fadeth _because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it_." The hot
+breath of God is like unto a blast that scorches things in their very
+roots. And if we share the breath of God's Spirit we too shall be
+endowed with the ministry of the destructive blast, even the power of a
+consuming indignation. Any form of public iniquity will make our fire
+blaze with purifying wrath. Corruption in civic or national government,
+inhumanity in the treatment of the criminal and the unfortunate, the
+oppression of the poor, the brutal disregard of the rights of the weak
+and the defenceless, any one of these will draw out our souls in the hot
+and aggressive indignation which is the imparted fire of the Holy Ghost.
+If any one claims to have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and with
+fire, and he is indifferent in the presence of licensed iniquity, and
+apathetic and lukewarm when gigantic wrongs glare and stare upon him,
+that man's spiritual baptism is a pathetic fiction, and his boasted fire
+is only a painted flame.
+
+But if a man suffer a personal injury, if some wrong is done to him,
+what kind of fire shall I expect to see in his life if he is filled with
+the Holy Ghost? Yes, if some one has done an injury to another, and the
+other has been baptized with the Holy Ghost, what kind of fire will he
+reveal? Listen to this: "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,
+give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
+head!" It is the very fire that rains upon us from the Cross of our
+Lord: "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary,
+there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and
+the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they
+know not what they do." What kind of fire is that? It is the same holy
+fire which flowed from the soul of the martyr Stephen as he was being
+stoned to death: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." It is a
+marvellous fire, a most arresting fire; and we simply cannot withstand
+it. It is the very fire of grace; it is live coal from the altar of God.
+
+So this is the sort of fire I look for when a man claims to be filled
+with the Holy Spirit,--the glowing fire of humble affection, the glowing
+fire of noble enthusiasm, the glowing fire of indignation, and the
+marvellous fire of self-forgetting grace. "He shall baptize you with the
+Holy Ghost and with fire."
+
+ "He came in tongues of living flame,
+ To teach, convince, subdue,
+ All powerful as the wind He came,
+ And viewless too.
+
+ Spirit of purity and grace,
+ Our weakness, pitying see,
+ Oh, make our hearts Thy dwelling-place,
+ And worthier Thee."
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for our knowledge that all our
+ springs are in Thee. Wilt Thou deliver us from any sense of
+ self-dependence, and lead us into an intimate fellowship with
+ the ministers of Thy grace. If any triumph has made us
+ self-confident, if any earthly success has made us proud, may
+ Thy Holy Spirit lead our spirits into the lowliness which is the
+ beginning of true wisdom and strength. We humbly ask that Thou
+ wilt deliver us from the sins which have become our masters, and
+ in which we find unholy delight. Incline our hearts unto Thy
+ law, and help us to find pleasure in obedience to Thy holy will.
+ Graciously redeem us from every care which fetters our souls,
+ and give us such an assurance of Thy providential love that we
+ may exult in the glorious liberty of the children of God.
+ Graciously remember us one by one. Be very near to those who
+ scarcely have the heart to pray. Mercifully meet with those who
+ have been stunned with sorrow, and who have not yet regained the
+ comforts of Thy peace. Remember all who are in grave perplexity,
+ and graciously light Thy lamp on their bewildered way. Receive
+ all our little ones into the circle of Thy blessing, and may
+ they early rejoice in Thy friendship and become devoted to Thy
+ holy will. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+VICTORY OVER THE BEAST
+
+ "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and they
+ that had gotten the victory over the beast." Revelation 15:2.
+
+
+The symbolism of the city of God as given in the Book of Revelation
+represents the character of its citizens, and all the glories of the new
+Jerusalem have correspondences in the souls who live and move in that
+radiant land. The sea of glass represents a spiritual character of regal
+serenity, a character transparent in its limpid depths, and reflecting
+in its stillness the very image of the Lord. And the sea of glass,
+"mingled with fire," is significant of character made fervent by holy
+love, purity made genial, righteousness changed into goodness by the
+permeating heat of affectional enthusiasm and devotion.
+
+And now I wish to examine the next descriptive sentence, which tells us
+something of the history and experiences of those who have arrived at
+the sea of glass, and who have attained the serene and genial purity of
+those who hold immediate communion with God. And this is the sentence
+which records some of the happenings which have befallen them on the
+road; "_They have gotten the victory over the beast._" It is a very
+striking conjunction, this which tells me that they who dwell by the sea
+of glass have come by the way of the beast, and that they have conquered
+the beast by the way. What was the beast which these men and women had
+faced and conquered as they moved onward to the crystal sea? I do not
+profess to know the precise historic interpretation. The beast may have
+been the malignant and vindictive antagonism of the Emperor Nero. He may
+have been the beast. The beast may have been the hostile and suffocating
+pressure of the Roman Empire. The beast may have been the stealthy
+seductions of the imperial city of Rome. The beast may have been the
+fascinating and paralyzing charm of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
+Anyone or all of these together may have been the beast which straddled
+across the road and opposed these Christians on their journey towards
+home. I do not know, and I frankly confess I am not deeply concerned to
+know. The general boldness of the figure is quite enough for me.
+Whatever else the beast may mean it must essentially mean anti-God,
+anti-Christ, the antagonist of the divine. It must mean the animal side
+of our nature seeking to invade the realm of the spirit, to force its
+way among the executive powers of the soul, and to usurp the throne of
+God. The beast is triumphant when the flesh and all the works of the
+flesh have ousted the forces of the spirit. The beast is conquered when
+the powers of the spirit never surrender their holy sovereignty, when
+the forces of the flesh have been ordered to their place among the rank
+and file, and when they are never allowed to wear the honours and
+prerogatives of the commander-in-chief. "They that have gotten the
+victory over the beast." The beast is just anti-Christ, in whatever form
+he may appear.
+
+Let us spend a little while in first of all examining this beast who
+claims the control and mastery of our souls. Everybody has a vivid
+experience of his power, but it may help to clarify our minds if we
+consider what has been said about him by the recognized masters and
+counsellors of the soul. Let us turn, then, to the pages of literature,
+and first of all let us turn to the inspired literature itself. You have
+scarcely opened the Word of God before the beast makes his appearance in
+the form of a serpent. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
+of the field." And who has not experienced the wiles of the serpent when
+he approaches the soul in some charming seduction, in some fascinating
+crookedness, in some wriggling sophistry, in some twisted excuse, in
+some winding compromise? Who has not seen the beast when he has sought
+to persuade the soul that the wriggle is the most graceful form of
+motion, and that the curve is more acceptable than the straight line?
+Who has not heard him when he has argued that the detour is the shortest
+way home, and that a slight deviation from rectitude will lead to the
+noblest ends? Yes, this beast is the apostle of the serpentine, and this
+is his creed,--the wriggle is the best way to your goal. "The serpent
+was more subtle than any beast of the field."
+
+I turn over the pages of the old book, and I am confronted with an
+extraordinary change in the form of the beast. He is no longer a
+wriggling serpent but a prowling lion. "The devil goeth abroad like a
+roaring lion." He no longer makes a seductive approach to the intellect
+with his advocacy of the crooked way; he makes a passionate assault upon
+the spirit with all the fiery forces of the flesh. It is no longer the
+wriggle but a terrific leap. And who has not known him in this wild
+approach? It is just the tremendous weight and pounce of anti-spiritual
+impulse, the mighty onrush of carnal longing and desire. The lion is
+sheer mass and weight of hungry craving. Who has not known the lion in
+the way?... And yet beside the crystal sea are those "who have gotten
+the victory over the beast."
+
+Again I turn over the pages of the old book, and once again the form of
+the beast has changed and he appears before me in the guise of a fox. It
+is our Master's name for the foe. And who has not known the beast when
+he has assailed the soul in the manner of a fox? It is the assault of
+cunning, when things are made to appear in semblance what they are not
+in spirit and in truth. Nay, it is the very art of foxiness that the fox
+itself is made to look like a goose, and the wolf is given the
+appearance of a lamb. Vice is dressed up like virtue. Falsehood moves
+about in white robes and innocently accosts us in the dress of a white
+lie. License tricks itself out as gaiety. Sin clothes itself in the
+fashions of the hour and hides its talons in silks. I say this is the
+very genius of the fox,--he makes you think you are having converse with
+a harmless old goose! Who has not known the fox when he cunningly tried
+to persuade us that the devil was God, and that hell was heaven, and
+that death was.... But, O no, he never mentions death! In his scheme it
+is part of the trick that death shall never be known. The old fox! And
+yet, in spite of fox and lion and serpent, there were those beside the
+sea of glass "who had gotten the victory over the beast."
+
+Let me lead you further, for a moment or two, into the pages of a wider
+literature, and let it be into the pages of Dante and John Bunyan. In
+his immortal book Dante tells us that when he turned his feet to the
+pilgrim road he was successively confronted by three beasts which sought
+to stop his journey. And first he met a leopard:
+
+ "And lo! just as the sloping side I gained,
+ A leopard, subtle, lithe, exceeding fleet,
+ Whose skin full many a dusky spot did stain;
+ Nor did she from before my face retreat;
+ Nay, hindered so my journey on the way,
+ That many a time I backward turned my feet."
+
+The leopard which confronted Dante was the symbol of sensuous beauty
+which sought to block his road and ensnare his feet. Next he was
+confronted by a lion:
+
+ "Yet o'er me, spite of this, did terror creep--
+ From aspect of a lion drawing near.
+ He seemed as if upon me he would leap,
+ With head upraised and hunger fierce and wild,
+ So that a shudder through the air did sweep."
+
+The lion was to Dante the symbol of worldly pride. And next he met a
+wolf:
+
+ "A she-wolf, with all ill-greed defiled,
+ Laden with hungry leanness terrible."
+
+And the wolf was to Dante the lean symbol of a hungry greed; it was the
+beastly type of avarice. And who has not shared the experience of Dante
+on his own road and encountered the leopard, the lion and the wolf?...
+And yet there were those before the sea of glass who had got the victory
+over the beast.
+
+Turn to John Bunyan. There is a wonderful passage in the early part of
+John Bunyan's "Holy War," in which he describes the preparations which
+the beast has made for his attack upon the soul. He tells how beast held
+counsel with beast, and how it was agreed that they should assume forms
+with which the soul was quite familiar; such as were accounted harmless,
+lest the soul should be alarmed when they made their deadly approach.
+"Therefore let us assault the soul in all pretended fairness, covering
+our intentions with all manner of lies, flatteries, and illusive words;
+feigning things that will never be, and promising that to them which
+they shall never find." And so they marched toward the soul, "all in a
+manner invisible," save only one, and he took on a shape as harmless and
+familiar as a bird, and when he spoke he spake with such gentleness "as
+if he had been a lamb." And I for one put myself side by side with John
+Bunyan, for I too have known the beast when he has come disguised, and
+has addressed me with all the harmlessness and innocence of a lamb.
+
+I will add one further word in our consideration of the beast. When I
+look around on the world to-day, upon the appalling scenes of passion
+and hatred and slaughter,--it is to me very significant that so many of
+the national emblems, which represent the corporate life of peoples, are
+different types of beasts. It is the beast which still provides the
+symbols of our national life. There is the lion; there is the bear;
+there is the wolf, and I know not what besides! We talk of rousing the
+bear and of twisting the lion's tail! Our national emblems are beasts.
+The American nation has happily discarded the beast, but it has chosen
+one of the fiercest among the birds--the bird whose talons are more
+obtrusive than its song. I am suggesting the significance of the fact
+that we have found nothing above the beast to symbolize the
+individuality of national life. Perhaps some day we may "move upward,"
+and we may erase the beasts from our emblems, but it will only be when
+we have driven the beasts from our souls!
+
+Well, then, after this swift glimpse into inspired and general
+literature, and this glance upon the typical symbols of the national
+life, we are more disposed than ever to say that the beast is just
+anti-Christ, the presumptuous claim of the animal to take the place of
+the spiritual, the defiant claim of the devil to usurp the throne of
+God. But here are men and women whose triumph is recorded in my text,
+who have conquered the beast, and who have attained a strong and fervent
+purity in which the spirit is all in all. What was the secret of their
+triumph? By what means and ministries did they conquer the beast?
+Happily we are left in no manner of doubt, and the means by which they
+conquered are offered to you and me. What says the Old Book?--"They
+overcame by the blood of the Lamb." Let us tell their secret very
+quietly and very simply, without any waste of words,--they shared the
+blood of Jesus Christ and it changed them into giants. In some way or
+other a communion was formed between their life and His life, and His
+mighty life flowed into their life as vine-blood flows into the branch
+of the vine. They shared the strength of Him who fought the beast in the
+wilderness of Judea, and who fought him again in still more alluring
+forms in the courts of Jerusalem and by the shores of the Lake of
+Galilee. Yes, if you had asked these radiant victors by the sea of glass
+to tell you how they triumphed, they would have reverently turned their
+faces towards the Lord and eagerly answered, "By the blood of the Lamb!"
+
+ "I asked them whence their victory came,
+ They with united breath
+ Ascribed their conquest to the Lamb,
+ Their triumph to His death."
+
+And the second secret of their triumph is to be found in their
+continual warfare. They drank his blood to fight his fights. It is a
+fight that knows no armistice. It acknowledges no flag of truce. Eternal
+vigilance and eternal struggle is the price of spiritual freedom. Life
+is warfare; it is never parade-drill; it is never holiday review; we are
+never off duty; the contest is constant, and the close of every day
+records a victory or a defeat. Our Master never promised his soldiers a
+life of ease. The beast promises roads which are pleasant as field paths
+that lead through grassy meadows. There shall be no flints, no thorns,
+no briars; and if we choose, we can lie down in the meadows morning,
+noon and night! That is the promise that the beast makes,--a promise
+which is always broken. Our Lord always calls us to battles, to noble
+crusades and prolonged campaigns. "His blood-red banner streams afar!"
+He calls us to share the travail that makes His Kingdom come. Yes, He
+calls us to glorious, endless battles, but He promises sure and certain
+victory if we drink His blood along the way.
+
+And so they conquered the beast by the blood of the Lamb. They
+conquered by the continual battles of their faith. And lastly they
+conquered by their songs of victory. They sang their way to the sea of
+glass, and their songs were songs of victory all along the road. They
+did not moan in misereres; they did not wail in lamentations as if the
+beast were mightier than their Lord. They knew their Lord was mightier
+than all; and their songs of victory were the beginning of their
+triumph. O, the singing that abounds in the Word of God! O, the singing
+you may hear in the Acts of the Apostles! And, O, the singing that
+sounds through the Book of Revelation; the song of victory, the song of
+Moses and the Lamb! At the battle of Dunbar, in the great critical days
+of English freedom, Cromwell's troops sang their way to victory. They
+could hear the roaring of the sea. The land was swept with deluges of
+rain. But above the roar of the sea, and the sound of the pelting rain,
+they lifted their voices in praise to God, and as they swept into battle
+their song rang out; "God is our refuge and strength, a very present
+help in time of trouble; therefore will we not fear if the earth be
+removed and the mountains be shaken in the heart of the seas! The Lord
+of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge!" Their song was
+part of their armour; it was indeed the armour of their souls. I greatly
+like that word of the Christian, Appollinaris, in Ibsen's play,--"The
+Emperor Julian," which he spake when the forces of the beast were massed
+against the soldiers of the cross;--"Verily I say unto you, so long as
+song rings out above our sorrows, Satan shall never conquer!" Verily, I
+too will say that our praise is an invincible armour,--we sing our way
+to the triumph we seek!
+
+Men and women, the beast can be conquered, for the mouth of the Lord
+hath spoken it! You and I may stand at the sea of glass, pure,
+transparent, fervent with divine love, victors over the beast, through
+the blood of the Lamb, through constancy in battle, and in songs which
+ring out above our sorrows, as we push along life's way.
+
+ "Soldiers of Christ, arise!
+ And put your armour on;
+ Strong in the strength which God supplies
+ Through His eternal Son.
+
+ From strength to strength go on,
+ Wrestle, and fight and pray;
+ Tread all the powers of darkness down
+ And win the well-fought day."
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE
+
+
+ _Holy Father, we thank Thee for the privilege of fellowship, and
+ for the help which we can give to one another. May the faith of
+ everyone be strengthened by the faith of all. May our penitence
+ be deepened because we are all engaged in common confession. May
+ our joys be enriched because we are all contemplating the
+ unsearchable riches of Christ. May our obedience become more
+ devoted because we all drink of the waters of inspiration.
+ Impart unto us the grace of sacred sympathy. May we reverently
+ bear one another's burdens and carry them in the arms of
+ intercession. We beseech Thee to grant unto us visions of Thy
+ glory in so far as our eyes are able to bear them. May we make
+ new discoveries among the mysteries of Thy truth. May the whole
+ worship prepare us for a larger ministry in the service of Thy
+ kingdom. Wilt Thou give us the armor we need for the great
+ campaign. Especially may we receive the endowment of the love
+ that never grows faint. Reveal to us our work, and then lead us
+ into a devotion which will never be satisfied until the work is
+ finished. Look upon the whole world in this hour of desolation
+ and woe. Enlarge our hearts to comprehend the sorrow, and may we
+ share the sufferings of our Lord in sacrificial labors. Let Thy
+ kingdom come, O Lord, and let Thy will be done on earth as it is
+ in heaven. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE COMING GOLDEN AGE
+
+ "And many people shall go up and say, Come ye and let us go up
+ to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
+ and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
+ for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
+ from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall
+ rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
+ ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall
+ not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
+ any more." Isaiah 2: 3, 4.
+
+
+There is something almost unreal in these words when they are read
+aloud in the times through which we are passing. They sound like the
+voice of a mocking-bird calling from the midst of the dust and the
+debris of a ruined world. It is like hearing the gentle peal of church
+bells on the bloody field of battle. It is like anything you choose
+which has become unreal, and which has been transferred from the healthy
+book of noble prophecy to the bitter pages of satire and the sour lips
+of the cynic. Yes, I grant that the great passage unfolds ideals which
+have become mere scraps of paper, torn and retorn into a thousand
+pieces, and blown about like withered leaves in an autumn gale. What,
+then, are we to do? I am reminded of what Lord Morley said in Manchester
+a few weeks ago. "When the war is ended,--this mournful chapter of sore
+bereavement and wasted treasure, when all that is gone, I ask is there
+not a moral loss which ought to be counted, a moral loss in the wreck of
+ideals in which the men of my generation were deeply concerned? That
+loss has got to be counted and retrieved. The fabric of those ideals has
+to be built up again in the hearts and minds of men and women." Surely
+that is an opportune word, and it offers both counsel and warning to the
+Christian Church. We must not just sit down in the bloody dust, and wail
+our misereres in deadly impotence. We have got to reconstruct the ruined
+pile, and we must begin the reconstruction by rebuilding the golden
+palace of our dreams.
+
+And if we are going to rear again that stately temple of vision and
+dream, who can give us nobler help than the Hebrew prophets, and who
+among the prophets can help us more than Isaiah? Isaiah was a prophet
+interpreting the mind of God. He was a statesman with a keen and
+comprehensive outlook on human affairs. He was also a poet bringing to
+human problems the illuminating imagination of the seer. He lived in a
+time of grave national disloyalties, a time when peoples were abandoning
+their most sacred trust. His were days of international strife and
+convulsion, days witnessing vast world movements in which empires were
+seen at their birth, and empires were seen in withering decline and
+death. Isaiah was a man whose thought was distinguished by breadth and
+depth and length. He saw things broadly, he saw things deeply, and he
+also saw the things which gleamed afar. And as he looked out upon the
+world to his vision the troubled and chaotic day merged into a
+reconstituted order of active concord and peace. Isaiah was a confirmed
+optimist. He had a keen sense of the future. He felt the days before
+him. He could scent the waving harvest while yet the snow was on the
+ground. He could catch the sound of harvest-home while the wintry wind
+was whistling across the ice-bound field. And looking out over the dark
+scene of convulsion and disaster, and amid the rude and brutal clamour
+of international strife, he sang this song of the morning,--"They shall
+beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into
+pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
+shall they learn war any more." If we are purposing to rebuild the
+fallen ideals of our own day, and so reconstruct our common life, can we
+do better than stand near this man for guidance and inspiration?
+
+How, then, does this man say that the golden dream is to be realized?
+Through what preparatory stages are we to pass before we reach the
+shining consummation? Isaiah declares that the fulfilment of the dream
+is to begin in _the profound revival of spiritual religion_. "It shall
+come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house
+shall be established at the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted
+above the hills." That is to say, the dominant peak in the reconstructed
+landscape is to be a shining spirituality of pure and undefiled
+religion. Man's relationship to God is to be the supreme relation
+overtopping and overseeing everything else. "And many peoples shall say,
+Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
+the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in
+His paths." That is to say, in the golden age this is to be the common
+aspiration; spiritual desire and spiritual ambition are to be dominant;
+the biggest thing in life is to be the yearning for the divine
+communion, the gladsome craving for fellowship in the heavenly quest.
+That is how the golden dream is to begin to be fulfilled; it is to begin
+in the recovery of vital worship, in the profound revival of spiritual
+religion.
+
+Now, all the best things can be mimicked in the cheapest counterfeits!
+Pearls can be so skilfully manufactured that even the expert eye can be
+deceived. There are diamonds about, common as window glass, and their
+dancing gleams can delude the very elect. Yes, the best things can be
+cleverly imitated, and their counterfeits can move unsuspected in the
+most exalted places. It would be an amusing trait, if it were not a
+tragic characteristic of human nature, how willing we are to borrow the
+clothes of realities, and just strut about in our cheap and glittering
+attire. And it is so easily done! Anybody can borrow the jolly meters of
+Rudyard Kipling and put their own tawdry stuff into his caskets; and a
+thousand people have done it! Anybody can borrow the disorderly
+irregularities of Walt Whitman, and into his eccentric bottles they can
+pour their own cheap wine; and crowds of people have done it! It is so
+easy to borrow clothes, and bottles, and outer forms. Yes, and it is so
+easy to borrow the outer garments of religion and to move about in the
+mere trappings of devotion. We can borrow the sacramental cup and put
+into it the thinnest and the most diluted wine of life. Our apparent
+religion can be just an affair of clothes, a borrowed skin, an acted
+thing, a play, a theatricality with feigned postures and emotions,
+altogether devoid of blood-red life, and having no deep and vital
+commerce with the Infinite. Religion can be conventional, having no
+inner sanction of fine awe and godly fear. We can get religion while all
+the time religion has not got us. It can be just a light performance, a
+social convention and not a solemn travail in which the soul is doing
+great business in deep waters in communion with the eternal God.
+
+Now, is not this the religious condition into which the world has
+drifted in these latter days? I do not make exception of any country,
+not even of America. This country is delivered from the horrors of the
+European convulsion, not by a separating gulf of moral and spiritual
+condition, but by 3,000 miles of sea. If the coast line of America had
+been twenty-five miles from the coast of Europe she would have been
+involved in the woes of the boiling cauldron. And therefore do I put the
+inclusive question,--and I venture to challenge your judgments,--is not
+the religious condition which I have suggested one into which the entire
+Christian world appears to have fallen? Multitudes of Christian people
+are just wearing the clothes of religion. We have religious professions
+without spiritual possessions. We have religious conventionality without
+devotional vitality. We have the show without the life. We have the skin
+of religion without its sacrificial heart. We have the crucifix without
+the Saviour. We have the altar but not the open heaven.
+
+You may make the test in any way you please. Let us test our condition
+by any one of the primary characteristics of true and vital religion.
+Let us apply one test. Let us test our condition by our own secret and
+personal communion with the Lord. I am speaking in a Christian church,
+and I am addressing professedly Christian people; well, how do we stand
+the test? What proportion of the members of the Church of Christ in this
+country have a really living and fruitful fellowship with God? How many
+have walked the way of communion so frequently that it is now a
+much-beloved and well-trodden road, along which they can easily and
+naturally make their way in the dark, yea, even in the stormy midnight
+when the floods are out, and the tempest howls about their ways?
+
+For we cannot have religion with God wiped out! If religion is only
+beneficence, if it is only decent, respectable living, if it is only a
+comfortable conformity with accepted social standards,--if that is all
+it is, then let us say so and have done with it. Let us pull down our
+altars and fling their useless stones to the winds. But this is not
+religion. True religion is more than this. True religion is the reverent
+and most solemn recognition of the eternal God. It is the conscious
+prostration of the soul in His most holy Presence. It is the free
+because reverent fellowship of a child with the Father. It is the loyal
+acceptance of the Father's will. It is the humble reception of His grace
+as offered to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the assumption of our
+life as a sacred trust accepted from the hands of God. It is the
+anticipation of His glory in our eternal home. Religion has great human
+relationships with our fellowman, and these shall not be overlooked. But
+for the moment, I am speaking of the fontal relationship of the soul
+with God, that fundamental fellowship in which all other worthy
+fellowships are born, and I ask you whether all the peoples of all
+professing Christian nations have not wandered far from the vitalizing
+bond of this primary communion? Let your eyes roam over the darkened
+world; dense clouds are still rising everywhere on the ominous horizon.
+How is that night-time to be turned into day, yea, into a day like unto
+a lovely summer's morning? Here is the answer of the greatest of the
+prophets when he, too, was confronted with tempest and night;--the first
+thing we have to pray for, and work for, and seek for, in every
+Christian country, is a profound revival of spiritual religion, when
+"the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the head of
+the mountains, and when many peoples shall say, Let us go up to the
+mountain of the Lord, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk
+in His paths." This, I say, is needed in every country, until in every
+country all who profess the Saviour's name shall cry out in the fervour
+of a great and quenchless desire,--"As the hart panteth after the water
+brook, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God!"
+
+Now look at the second stage in the realization of the golden dream.
+"He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.... And He
+shall judge between the nations." That is to say, a profound revival of
+spiritual religion will be accompanied by _loftier and more exacting
+moral standards_. He will teach and we will walk. Morals always grow lax
+when piety gets cool. When religion becomes a mere conventionality,
+morality always loses its awful sanctions. Wipe out God and your moral
+standards will surely fall. If I neglect the temperature of my
+greenhouse, or if I play fast and loose with it, my tender plants will
+assuredly droop. And if I neglect my spiritual temperature, which is the
+climate of my soul, my moral and spiritual flowers will be smitten and
+pinched. We cannot lower our spirituality and yet have our morality keep
+its winsome bloom. Let me ask you,--have you ever known anyone grow
+loose and careless in their religion, and at the same time become
+correspondingly nobler and purer, and more scrupulously faithful in
+their daily life? Have you ever known anyone drop Christ and then become
+more like Him? Have you ever had occasion to whisper this secret
+concerning any living woman,--"O, yes, she broke off communion with
+Christ, and then she put on moral grace and beauty like a robe?" The
+very question is an insult to our intelligence, as it is an affront to
+our experience; for this is the eternal law, whose workings can be
+witnessed every day,--when the spirit deteriorates the moral life
+becomes diseased.
+
+On the other hand, let there be an enrichment in vital godliness and
+our conduct will begin to shine like burnished gold. "He will teach,"
+says the prophet, "and we will walk." _He_, with Whom we hold vital
+communion, _He_ will be the teacher of the spirit, and the illuminant of
+the conscience and the inspiration of the will; a nobler conduct will be
+born of that fellowship as surely as the choicest grapes are the
+children of the healthiest vines. When we are all in living and deep
+communion with Christ, truly worshipping in the innermost secret
+place,--English, and German, and American, and Japanese,--a finer spirit
+of judgment will be abroad in the earth, a healthier moral climate, and
+we shall naturally and instinctively seek to do what Jesus did, and in
+the way that Jesus did it, when He came and dwelt among us as a
+carpenter's Son, Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God!
+
+Only one thing remains to be said as to the process by which the
+radiant dream of the prophet is to be fulfilled. When there has come a
+profound revival of spiritual religion, and, consequently, a loftier and
+more exacting moral standard, there will be a wonderful conversion of
+destructive forces in the personal and national life. "They shall beat
+their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks." I
+want you carefully to notice that the sword is not to be destroyed; it
+is to be transformed; it is to become a ploughshare. The spear is not to
+be broken and thrown away; it is to be converted into a pruning-hook.
+That is to say, the rudely destructive energies in human life are to be
+changed into constructive energies. What was darkly negative is to
+become brightly positive. The martial is to be transformed into the
+pastoral. The rude implement of slaughter is to become the breaker of
+the earth-clod or the helpful friend of the vine. "They shall beat their
+swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks." After the
+first historic siege of Antwerp, the cannon balls were taken and
+converted into church bells; and may the gracious and holy Lord grant
+that there may speedily come such a transformation in modern Antwerp,
+when all the ministers of carnage shall be changed into sweet and sacred
+ministers of worship and devotion!
+
+But now, if swords are to be beaten into ploughshares and spears into
+pruning-hooks, where must that work begin? It must begin in the
+individual heart. We are never going to get the swords out of the
+nations until we have got them out of the hearts. There is a sword in
+the heart, a cruel sword, a minister of destruction. There is a sword in
+the German heart, and a sword in the English heart, and a sword in the
+American heart, and that sword has got to be transformed before the
+material sword can become a ploughshare of the field! We are all
+familiar with our own swords; perhaps I had better say, we are all
+acquainted with one another's swords. There is the sword of ill-will.
+There is the spear of deadly gossip. There is the sword of evil
+prejudice. There is the spear of petty spite and contempt. Yea, surely
+there is a sordid armoury in the soul. And this has to be converted into
+a tool-house of a noble Christian culture before the material armouries
+can be emptied and the sound of war is heard no more.
+
+And therefore, the great national revolution is to begin in individual
+conversions, and these are to be the children of a vital and saving
+religion. The transformation of the world is to begin in the conversion
+of people like you and me. There is no other way. When our own
+militaristic armour, the one stored in our own soul, is changed into a
+garden tool-house,--malice changed into good-will, suspicion into
+enlightened understanding, cynicism into genial and gracious esteem, and
+foul hatred into Christ's own strong and fruitful love, then we are
+bringing the day nearer of which the herald angels sang, when there
+shall be "peace on earth and good will among men."
+
+All this cannot be done by scholarship. We cannot do it by legislation.
+We cannot do it by commerce. It is the vital work of salvation, and it
+only can be done by the Saviour of the world. And He must do it in His
+own way, and His work must be thorough, profound, fundamental. He must
+search the very cellarings of our being, seeking out our wickednesses as
+with a candle, and cleansing and purifying us in the deepest and most
+secret rooms of the soul. And when we thus come to know our Saviour, we
+shall most surely come to know our brother, for we shall see him with
+ourselves in the radiant light of the same eternal grace and love. Then
+will our swords be beaten into ploughshares and our spears into
+pruning-hooks and we shall learn war no more!
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS
+
+
+ _Heavenly Father, wilt Thou graciously redeem us from any
+ perilous mood of independence which sets our wills against
+ Thine. Help us to find ourselves in Thee, and to come to our
+ inheritance in the riches of Thy grace. Give us that lowliness
+ of spirit which will enable us to find the gate of higher life
+ and to enter in. Forgive the sin that binds our judgment and
+ enable us through a pure heart to see ourselves in Christ, and
+ to behold ourselves perfected in the power of His love. Save us
+ from low ideals. Lift us out of the thoughts that belittle us
+ and which check and destroy our powers of growth. Give us wider
+ and deeper conceptions of all things. May the experiences of our
+ life come to us as helpful disciplines, through which we may
+ apprehend more of Thy purpose, and more swiftly put on the
+ likeness of our Lord. May we not be mastered by our
+ circumstances, but may we be so strong in Thy strength, that
+ every circumstance may be our servant, adding some fresh grace
+ to our spirits, and some new influence to our lives. May we lose
+ the things we ought not to keep, and may we desire the things we
+ ought to find. Control us, O Lord, by Thy spirit, taking us away
+ from the shallows of common life into the great deep privileges
+ of communion with Thee. Amen._
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+MORE THAN CONQUERORS
+
+ "In all these things, we are more than conquerors." Rom. 8:37.
+
+
+Was the writer of these words himself a conqueror? To whom is he making
+the proud boast? He is writing his letter to the people of Rome. And it
+is in this letter to Rome that the apostle claims to be a conqueror. If
+he had been writing to a little company of people living in some quiet
+and remote district in Asia Minor, far away from the movement and
+pageantry of imperial life, his boast of being a conqueror might have
+been received without surprise. But think of the daring of making his
+claim in a letter to the Romans, who were accustomed to gaze upon their
+conquerors as they returned in glory from triumphant wars of conquest,
+dragging their distinguished captives at their chariot wheels! When the
+apostle claims to be a conqueror he is using a word which to the Romans
+is weighted with pomp and glory, suggesting cities ablaze with emblems
+of festivity, and streets thronged with cheering multitudes, and a hero
+upon whom favours are being showered thick as the flowers which are
+flung upon his triumphal car. When Paul dares to call himself a
+conqueror in a letter to the Romans he is using a word significant of
+all this wealth and effulgence, and he is using it to describe the
+passage of his own life down the ways of time. "We are more than
+conquerors." Such a claim would surely strike the Roman reader with
+amazement.
+
+What was there in the apostle's life to correspond to the claim? What
+was there about it which in any way recalled the radiant entry of an
+acclaimed warrior into the festive city of Rome? Let us glance at the
+external circumstances of his Christian life. Is there anything in these
+circumstances of pomp, and flowers, and favour, and acclamation? Run
+your eye over the apostle's road. What are its features? What is it like
+as it stretches from Damascus to Rome? In peril of his life in Damascus,
+his enemies watching the gates day and night to kill him; coldly
+suspected by his fellow-believers in Jerusalem; persecuted at Antioch;
+assaulted in Iconium; stoned in Lystra; beaten with many stripes in
+Philippi; attacked by a lewd and envious crowd in Thessalonica; pursued
+by callous enmity in Berea; despised in Athens; blasphemed in Corinth
+and dragged before the judgment-seat; exposed to the fierce wrath of the
+Ephesians; bound with chains in Jerusalem, and finally imprisoned at
+Rome! Such is the character of his cold, storm-swept, painful road. And
+yet he dares to call himself a conqueror, and to so style himself to the
+men of imperial Rome! When I turn away from the gay and rapturous
+streets, through which the Roman conqueror made his tumultuous entry,
+and then gaze on the long, dark, cruel road on which this man trudged
+throughout all his public days, his life seems to be broken up in
+successive tragedies, and to sink at last in the black defeat of utter
+and complete eclipse. And yet he sings aloud in joyful pride: "We are
+more than conquerors"! Where, then, shall we look for the signs of
+conquest, and for the waving banners, and the rapturous shouts?
+
+There are two ways of estimating a triumphant life. We may trace the
+line of external circumstances, and we make an inventory of the material
+treasures, and the flattering diplomas, and the public honours that have
+been gained along the way. That road winds by the bank, and the Stock
+Exchange, through Wall Street, or Threadneedle Street, and thence it
+stretches away through fair suburbs of material comforts, and through
+gardens of enticing ease, ascending even to lofty eminences of public
+favour and regard. We may walk along this road in our desire to estimate
+a man's standing, and to reckon the degree and quality of his conquests.
+And judged by that standard Paul's circumstances were disastrous, and
+his life was just a dismal succession of appalling defeats. Indeed the
+apostle himself has given his own verdict upon his life when it is
+judged by the standard of Wall Street, and he has done it in two words
+of pregnant and sweeping brevity--"having nothing"! And yet he claimed
+to be "more than conqueror"!
+
+But there is another way of judging the failure or triumph of a life. We
+may follow the line of character. We may register the success of the
+soul in its mastery of circumstances, in its refusal to be submerged by
+evil antagonisms, in its preservation of a diamond-like translucency
+amid engulfing floods of defilement, in its buoyancy in the days of
+prolonged disappointment, in its quiet and firm ascendency over the
+beast, in its inevitable emergence from every kind of hostility in
+increasing majesty and strength. These are the two lines of
+investigation. These are the possible criteria of judgment. On the one
+hand we may measure the success of a life by the progressive enrichment
+of circumstances; on the other hand we may estimate its conquests by the
+progressive growth of the soul. We may make our valuation in the
+material world or in the spiritual world; that is to say, we may value
+the man or we may value his possessions.
+
+Now the circumstantial happenings in a life had little or no interest
+for the apostle Paul. All his concern followed the inward line of the
+spirit. He kept his eyes on spiritual processes and never on material
+results. He did not busy himself with a man's happenings; he busied
+himself with the effect of the happenings on the man. Always and
+everywhere he pressed through condition to character; his thought always
+took the short cut to the soul. If in the streets of Rome or of Ephesus
+you had pointed out to him some rich man, Paul would have immediately
+leaped the adjective and inquired about the noun. He would have had no
+interest whatever in the man's riches; riches are no criterion of
+triumph; but he would have been devouringly interested in what the
+riches had done with the man. While the man has been making riches, what
+have riches made of the man? Measure the man! Is the man who is within
+the riches a victor or a victim, a noble master or a poor ignoble slave.
+
+And so also do I believe that if you had pointed out to the apostle
+some poor man, he would have left the adjective and fixed upon the noun.
+What about the man inside the poverty? What about the soul so ill-housed
+in indigence? Is the soul royal or servile? Is it crouching or has it a
+noble and stately rectitude? That would be the concern of the apostle
+Paul. He would get behind the riches to the man. He would get behind the
+poverty to the man. For every external happening or every material
+possession is only a house, and within the happening there is the man or
+the woman, the tenant of the house. What about them? What about the
+quality of their manliness or womanliness? That was the apostle's line
+of investigation. The apostle Paul was not much concerned about the
+character of the road, whether it was bare or flowery, but he was
+vitally concerned with the spiritual condition of the traveller. How is
+it with the pilgrim soul? What spiritual conquests has the soul made
+along the road? That is the apostle's standard of measurement, and by
+its records he registers life's conquests or defeats.
+
+Well, then, what was the quality of his own life when it is measured by
+these interior standards? For, after all, these are the only standards
+worth naming, as in our sober and thoughtful moments we all very well
+know. We are not here to make fortunes, we are here to grow souls. How
+then does the apostle bear the supreme test of his own spiritual
+standards? Is he master or slave? Are the streets of his soul festive
+with triumph, or are they dull and cheerless in defeat? Is he more than
+conqueror?
+
+Let us begin the test with a day when his external circumstances were
+brilliant. Brilliant days came but rarely to the apostle Paul; they were
+as infrequent as oases in Sahara's thirsty waste. Test him then on one
+of his rare, brilliant days, for the dazzling circumstance is often our
+severest test. Some souls shrivel in the bright sunshine. They grow less
+in their enlarging circumstances as some nut-kernels contract in the
+expanding shell. Here is Paul on a great day, when by the mighty grace
+of God he has made an impotent man to walk. How is the deed regarded?
+What does the crowd think about him? Listen to the records: "And when
+the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying
+in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness
+of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because
+he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before
+their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have
+done sacrifice with the people." How now? The public favour is dazzling!
+What about the man inside the dazzling happenings? Is the man
+contracting in pride or is his soul expanding in humility? "Which, when
+the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and
+ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these
+things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you
+that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made
+heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." Do you
+mark that? This man shines in the sunshine. Popular favour made him
+kneel before his God, and God's gentleness made him great. The
+circumstances did not lessen him. His soul did not shrivel and wither in
+the popular blaze. His soul grew larger, and the man mastered his
+circumstances; he was bigger than his blazing fate, he was "more than
+conqueror."
+
+But I have said that brilliant days were rare with the apostle Paul:
+Let us test him, then, when his days were frowning, when the clouds were
+lowering, and when his circumstances nipped him like the winter frosts.
+Does his soul expand in the winter, or does it shrink like frostbitten
+fruit? Take this little glimpse of one of his days: "And there came to
+Lystra certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people,
+and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been
+dead." Having stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city. How swift
+and red is the record! Did he grow hard in the stoning? Did he become
+small and petty and peevish and revengeful? Let me read to you: "And
+when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many,
+they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming
+the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith,
+and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of
+God." This man's fruit grew sweeter at the touch of the frost. This soul
+grew larger in the season of apparent defeat. He was "more than
+conqueror."
+
+Look again through this window. Here is a very dark and bitter
+happening: "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast
+them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: who, having
+received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made
+their feet fast in the stocks." How now? Will this man Paul scowl in the
+darkness? Will his magnanimity sour into the bitter mood of revenge?
+Listen to the record: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
+praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Do you mark that? This
+man was a victim but he was also a victor. We almost forget his
+sufferings in the sound of his praise. Adversity did not rob him of his
+crown. He was "more than conqueror."
+
+And so I might go on introducing instance after instance, in every
+record of his turbulent life, showing how he attained to magnificent
+mastery in the spirit. When Paul speaks of being a "conqueror" he means
+that he is on the top of his circumstances and not beneath them. To be
+more than conqueror is to be on the top of your wealth and not beneath
+it; to be on the top of your poverty and not beneath it; to be on the
+top of your joy and not beneath it; to be on the top of your sorrow and
+not beneath it; to be on the top of your disappointment and not beneath
+it. To be more than conqueror is to be on the top of the old serpent,
+and, as Browning says, to stand upon him and to feel him wriggle beneath
+your feet! The real conqueror, the only one worthy of that royal name,
+is he who makes every circumstance his subject, permitting no
+circumstance to be the lord and master of his soul. He is "more than
+conqueror."
+
+And what is the secret of such conquest? Here is the secret: "We are
+more than conquerors _through Christ that loved us_." It is conquest
+through the energy of an imparted love. Nay, it is much more than that.
+It is conquest through humble yet intimate communion with the eternal
+Lover. You remember what conquests the knights of the olden time could
+achieve when they were conscious that love-eyes were fixed upon them in
+the jousts. And if this were so with knights of ancient chivalry, when
+love inspired them in the fray, how infinitely more must it be so with
+the knights of King Jesus' Order when they know that the love-eyes of
+the Lord are always fixed upon them in the field! "He loved me" sings
+the greatest of the apostolic knights. "He loved me and gave Himself for
+me." What tremendous exploits of patience and of service lie latent in
+that supreme assurance!
+
+For, mark you, all love conveys the lover to the beloved. The very
+secret of love is self-impartation to the beloved. Love can never
+content herself with the gifts of things. Charity gives things. Love
+always gives herself. Yes, the lover gives herself! And if love is thus
+self-giving tell me, then, what inconceivable giving is wrapped up in
+the love of Christ for Paul, and in the love of Christ for thee and me?
+In an infinitely deeper and richer sense than ever a loving bridegroom
+gives himself to his loving bride, our great and gracious Lover, the
+Christ, gives Himself to all who will receive Him. The Saviour's love is
+the giving of Himself.
+
+Shall I now dare to put that vast and awe-inspiring content into my
+text? Listen again to the text: "We are more than conquerors through
+Christ who loved us." Now hear it: "We are more than conquerors through
+Him who has given himself to us." That word expresses the very gospel of
+His grace. The Christian believer faces all his circumstances, not
+merely with a love but with a Lover, and with a Lover who Himself
+mastered every circumstance, and was the conqueror of sin and death. So
+this is how the Gospel music rings: "We are more than conquerors through
+Him the Conqueror"! By reverent faith we share His very love, we drink
+His very blood, and all our circumstances are made to pay tribute to the
+health and welfare of our souls. We are more than conquerors through Him
+Who is ever riding forth, conquering, and to conquer.
+
+Now I think I can go back to those streets of Rome where we began, and
+where we watched the triumphant conqueror returning home with his
+spoils. And now I am not surprised at Paul's daring to use the glowing
+word "Conqueror" to portray the glorious victories of the soul. When I
+go into the realm of his soul the roadway is lined with a cheering
+multitude; he is "compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses." A
+blood-red banner is waving triumphantly in all his goings; "His banner
+over me is love!" A garland of victory awaits the victor's brow;
+"henceforth there is laid up for me a crown." And as for his spirits,
+they are festive in the love of the Lord, and they dance in the joy of
+blessed assurance. "I know in whom I have believed!" "I can do all
+things through Christ who strengtheneth me!" We are more than conquerors
+in the conquering fellowship of our holy and gracious Lord. And this
+song of the conqueror is intended to be sung by thee and me. O, let us
+believe it!
+
+ "Shall this divinely-urged heart
+ Half toward its glory move?
+ What! shall I love in part--in part
+ Yield to the Lord of love?
+ O sweetest freedom, Lord, to be
+ Thy love's full prisoner!
+ Take me all captive; make of me
+ A more than conqueror!"
+
+ _Printed in the United States of America_
+
+
+
+
+DEVOTIONAL
+
+
+_JOHN HENRY JOWETT_
+
+=My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.35
+
+ A series of choice, tabloid talks--a spiritual meditation for
+ every day in the year. Dr. Jowett points every word of these
+ brief expositions so that it tells, while the lessons he seeks
+ to convey are so propounded as to enter the understanding of his
+ readers along a pathway of light. The whole volume is of true
+ mintage, bearing the impress of Dr. Jowett's ripest thought and
+ fruitful mind.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks About the Crowned Christ=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 85c.
+
+ After many years' study of the one book of the Bible devoted to
+ the subject of the crowned Christ--the Revelation of John--Mr.
+ Gordon has put these latest talks together. No book of the
+ sixty-six has seemed so much like a riddle, and set so many
+ guessing. Mr. Gordon, however, holds the deep conviction that it
+ is wholly a _practical book_, and concerned wholly with our
+ practical daily lives.
+
+
+_F. B. MEYER, B.A._
+
+=My Daily Prayer=
+
+A Short Supplication for Every Day in the Year. 32mo, leather, net 35c;
+cloth, net 25c.
+
+ "This is a tiny volume, in the 'Yet Another Day' series, and
+ contains a brief prayer for each day in the year. Some of the
+ petitions contain only one sentence, but each one is simple,
+ pertinent, and helpful."--_Zion's Herald_.
+
+
+_GEORGE MATHESON_
+
+=Day Unto Day=
+
+A Brief Prayer for Every Day. _New Edition._ 16mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+ These choice prayers will be valued by the Christian world for
+ the stimulus, inspiration, and wide spiritual outlook which have
+ made the memory of their author a cherished possession.
+
+
+_HENRY WARD BEECHER_
+
+=A Book of Public Prayer=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 75c.
+
+ "A distinct addition to our devotional literature. It is good
+ for private reading; but would be especially valuable for
+ ministers as an aid to the difficult, but immensely important,
+ service of voicing the petitions of a congregation in public
+ prayer."--_Standard_.
+
+
+BIBLE STUDY, Etc.
+
+
+_B. H. CARROLL, D.D._
+
+=An Interpretation of the English Bible=
+
+=Numbers to Ruth=. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+
+ "These works are designed especially for class use in the
+ Seminary, Christian Colleges and Bible Schools, as well as the
+ Sunday School. That they will make the greatest commentary on
+ the English Bible ever published, is our sincere
+ conviction."--_Baptist and Reflector_.
+
+ _OTHER VOLUMES NOW READY_
+
+ =The Book of Revelation=. 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+ =The Book of Genesis=. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.
+ =Exodus and Leviticus=. 8vo, cloth, net $2.25.
+
+
+_J. FRANK SMITH, D.D._
+
+=My Father's Business--And Mine=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ Dr. Smith devotes the earlier part of his book to a study of
+ Christ's historic pronouncement concerning His Father's
+ business, presenting an examination of the analogical content of
+ the word "Father," and an analysis of the Master's own sayings
+ respecting His earthly mission.
+
+
+_JOHN F. STIRLING_
+
+ _Author of "An Atlas of the Life of Christ"_
+
+=An Atlas of the Acts and Epistles=
+
+A Complete Outline of Apostolic History, Showing the Details of the
+Apostles' Journeys and the Area of the Epistles in Specially Drawn Maps.
+8vo, limp cloth, net 50c.
+
+ "Gives at a glance a complete and graphic outline of apostolic
+ history. The outline follows the narrative of the Acts of the
+ Apostles, supplemented by the data furnished in the epistles,
+ and interpreted in the light of the best scholarship. The
+ historical details are presented in their geographical and
+ chronological setting, on a series of specially drawn maps, so
+ that the student may follow easily the movements of the leading
+ figures in the growth of the early church."--_Service_.
+
+
+_JESSE FOREST SILVER_
+
+=The Lord's Return=
+
+Seen in History and in Scripture as Pre-Millennial and Imminent. With an
+Introduction by Bishop Wilson T. Hogue, Ph.D. 8vo, cloth, net $1.15.
+
+ In his Introductory Preface, Bishop Hogue of the Free Methodist
+ Church says: "An encyclopedia of valuable information condensed
+ into a convenient hand-book for ready reference."
+
+
+_PROF. EDOUARD NAVILLE, C.D.L., LL.D., F.R.S._
+
+=Archaeology of the Old Testament=
+
+Was the Old Testament Written in Hebrew? _Library of Historic Theology_.
+8vo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ Professor A. H. Sayce says: "A very remarkable work, and coming
+ as it does from one of the leading Egyptologists of the day, who
+ is also a practical archaeologist, its arguments and conclusions
+ carry unusual weight."
+
+
+_A. R. BUCKLAND, M.A._ (_Editor_)
+
+ _An Entirely New Bible Dictionary_
+
+=Universal Bible Dictionary=
+
+Large 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ A work prepared with the definite aim of aiding the ordinary
+ reader and Bible student, rather than critic and scholar. It is
+ also arranged so as to serve as an introduction to systematic
+ theology study, and contains extended articles on the cardinal
+ doctrines of the Christian faith by such experienced teachers as
+ Prof. S. W. Green, Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas, Principal Warman,
+ and others of equal standing. On questions of modern criticism,
+ the general exposition taken by the compilers is a conservative
+ one, although exhaustive account has been taken of the
+ conclusion of up-to-date criticism and research. The volume
+ extends to about five hundred pages, and contains upwards of
+ four thousand five hundred articles.
+
+
+_PHILIP MAURO_
+
+_EXPOSITORY READINGS IN THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS_
+
+=God's Gospel and God's Righteousness=
+
+ Romans I-V. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+=God's Gift and Our Response=
+
+ Romans VI-VIII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+=God's Love and God's Children=
+
+ Romans IX-XVII. 12mo, cloth, net 50c.
+
+ A helpful and clearly-written body of comment on St. Paul's
+ Letter to the Romans. The author is a layman whose work is known
+ and valued on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Mauro does not
+ write for scholars, but for devout and worshipful believers--for
+ men and women whose faith is simple, yet grounded on the Word of
+ the Living God.
+
+
+SERMONS--LECTURES--ADDRESSES
+
+
+_JAMES L. GORDON, D.D._
+
+=All's Love Yet All's Law=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ "Discloses the secret of Dr. Gordon's eloquence--fresh, and
+ intimate presentations of truth which always keep close to
+ reality. Dr. Gordon also seems to have the world's literature at
+ his command. A few of the titles will give an idea of the scope
+ of his preaching. 'The Law of Truth: The Science of Universal
+ Relationships'; 'The Law of Inspiration: The Vitalizing Power of
+ Truth'; 'The Law of Vibration'; 'The Law of Beauty: The
+ Spiritualizing Power of Thought'; The Soul's Guarantee of
+ Immortality."--_Christian Work_.
+
+
+_BISHOP FRANCIS J. McCONNELL_
+
+ _Cole Lectures_
+
+=Personal Christianity=
+
+Instruments and Ends in the Kingdom of God. 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ The latest volume of the famous "Cole Lectures" delivered at
+ Vanderbilt University. The subjects are: I. The Personal in
+ Christianity. II. The Instrumental in Christianity. III. The
+ Mastery of World-Views. IV. The Invigoration of Morality. V. The
+ Control of Social Advance. VI. "Every Kindred, and People, and
+ Tongue."
+
+
+_NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, D.D._
+
+=Lectures and Orations by Henry Ward Beecher=
+
+Collected by Newell Dwight Hillis. 12mo, net $1.20.
+
+ It is fitting that one who is noted for the grace, finish and
+ eloquence of his own addresses should choose those of his
+ predecessor which he deems worthy to be preserved in a bound
+ volume as the most desirable, the most characteristic and the
+ most dynamic utterances of America's greatest pulpit orator.
+
+
+_W. L. WATKINSON, D.D._
+
+=The Moral Paradoxes of St. Paul=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 75c.
+
+ "These sermons are marked, even to greater degree than is usual
+ with their talented preacher, by clearness, force and
+ illustrative aptness. He penetrates unerringly to the heart of
+ Paul's paradoxical settings forth of great truths, and illumines
+ them with pointed comment and telling illustration. The sermons
+ while thoroughly practical are garbed in striking and eloquent
+ sentences, terse, nervous, attention-compelling."--_Christian
+ World_.
+
+
+_LEN G. BROUGHTON, D.D._
+
+=The Prodigal and Others=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ "The discourses are vital, bright, interesting and helpful. It
+ makes a preacher feel like preaching once more on this
+ exhaustless parable, and will prove helpful to all young
+ people--and elder ones, too. Dr. Broughton does not hesitate to
+ make his utterances striking and entertaining by the
+ introduction of numerous appropriate and homely stories and
+ illustrations. He reaches the heart."--_Review and Expositor_.
+
+
+ESSAYS, STUDIES, ADDRESSES
+
+
+_PROF. HUGH BLACK_
+
+=The New World=
+
+16mo, cloth, net $1.15.
+
+ "The old order changeth, bringing in the new." To a review of
+ our changing world--religious, scientific, social--Hugh Black
+ brings that interpretative skill and keen insight which
+ distinguishes all his writings and thinking. Especially does he
+ face the problem of the present-day unsettlement and unrest in
+ religious beliefs with sanity and courage, furnishing in this,
+ as in other aspects of his enquiry, a new viewpoint and
+ clarified outlook.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks on John's Gospel=
+
+As Presented in the Gospel of John. Cloth, net 85c.
+
+ Mr. Gordon halts his reader here and there, at some precious
+ text, some outstanding instance of God's tenderness, much as a
+ traveller lingers for refreshment at a wayside spring, and bids
+ us hearken as God's wooing note is heard pleading for
+ consecrated service. An enheartening book, and a restful. A book
+ of the winning Voice, of outstretched Hands.
+
+
+_ROBERT F. HORTON, D.D._
+
+=The Springs Of Joy and Other Addresses=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ "Scholarly, reverent, penetrating, human. The product of a
+ mature mind and of a genuine and sustained religious experience.
+ The message of a thinker and a saint, which will be found to be
+ very helpful."--_Christian Intelligencer_.
+
+
+_BISHOP WALTER R. LAMBUTH_
+
+=Winning the World for Christ=
+
+A Study of Dynamics. Cole Lectures for 1915. 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ This Lecture-Course is a spirited contribution to the dynamics
+ of Missions. It presents a study of the sources of inspiration
+ and power in the lives of missionaries, native and foreign, who
+ with supreme abandon gave themselves utterly to the work to
+ which they were called.
+
+
+_FREDERICK F. SHANNON, D.D._
+
+=The New Personality and Other Sermons=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.00.
+
+ Mr. Shannon, pastor of the Reformed Church on the Heights,
+ Brooklyn, is possessed of lofty ideals, is purposeful, more than
+ ordinarily eloquent and has the undoubted gifts of felicitous
+ and epigrammatic expression. This new volume by the popular
+ preacher is a contribution of distinct value to current sermonic
+ literature.
+
+
+EARLIER WORKS IN DEMAND
+
+
+_WAYNE WHIPPLE_
+
+=The Story-Life of the Son of Man=
+
+8vo, illustrated, net $2.50.
+
+ "A literary mosaic, consisting of quotations from a great number
+ of writers concerning all the events of the Gospels. The
+ sub-title accurately describes its contents. That sub-title is
+ 'Nearly a thousand stories from sacred and secular sources in a
+ continuous and complete chronicle of the earth life of the
+ Saviour.' The book was prepared for the general reader, but will
+ be valuable to minister, teacher and student. There are many
+ full-page engravings from historic paintings and sacred
+ originals, some reproduced for the first time."--_Christian
+ Observer_.
+
+
+_GAIUS GLENN ATKINS, D.D._
+
+=Pilgrims of the Lonely Road=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.50.
+
+ "A rare book for its style, its theme and the richness of its
+ insight. Seldom is seen a book of more exquisite grace of
+ diction--happy surprises of phrase, and lovely lengths of
+ haunting prose to delight the eye. Each of the great pilgrim's
+ studies is followed step by step along the lonely way of the
+ soul in its quest of light, toward the common goal of all--union
+ with the eternal."--_Chicago Record-Herald_.
+
+
+_S. D. GORDON_
+
+=Quiet Talks on Following The Christ=
+
+12mo, cloth, net 85c.
+
+ "This volume is well calculated to aid in Christian life, to
+ give strength, courage and light on difficult problems. It grips
+ one's very life, brings one face to face with God's word, ways
+ of understanding it and, even its every day application. It is
+ plain, clear, direct, no confusion of dark sentences."--_Bapt.
+ Observer_.
+
+
+_G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D._
+
+=The Teaching of Christ=
+
+A Companion Volume to "The Crises of The Christ." 8vo, cloth, net $1.75.
+
+ "One does not read far before he is amazed at the clear and
+ logical grasp Dr. Morgan has upon divine truths. Could a copy of
+ this book, with its marvelous insight, its straightforwardness,
+ its masterly appeal, be placed in the hands of our church
+ leaders, it would go far toward negativing the spiritual
+ barrenness of destructive criticism. Here is a work that may
+ profitably occupy a prominent place in the minister's
+ library."--_Augsburg Teacher_.
+
+
+_ZEPHINE HUMPHREY_
+
+=The Edge of the Woods And Other Papers=
+
+12mo, cloth, net $1.25.
+
+ "Sane optimism, an appreciation of the beautiful and a delicate
+ humor pervades the book which is one for lovers of real
+ literature to enjoy."--_Pittsburgh Post_.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Whole Armour of God, by John Henry Jowett
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