999999 ,transcription notes3 ,the following typos were fixed3 page #aa3 ,moffat - ,moffatt page #eg3 loathesome - loathsome page #fj3 fellowmen - fellow-men page #aae3 battle-fields - battlefields page #ade3 baptised - baptized page #aec3 multidudinous - multitudinous page #bbe3 today - to-day page #bcc3 pruninghooks - pruning-hooks page #bfj3 frost-bitten - frostbitten ,there are text lines missing on page #aab1 which were marked with missing text4 ,the missing text could not be found anywhere1 so most likely all subsequent editions reproduced this error4 ,anyway1 the meaning of the paragraph is evident from the context4 ,bold text is marked with 1 italics with 4 999999 ,end of the transcription notes ,,the ,,whole ,,armour ,,of ,,god ,by ,j4 ,h4 ,,jowett1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,whole ,armour of ,god #abmo1 cloth net #a4ce ,my ,daily ,meditation for the ,circling ,year #abmo1 cloth net #a4ce ,there is something to think about each day4 ,it is scriptural1 spiritual1 stimulating4 --,herald and ,presbyter4 ,things ,that ,matter ,most ,devotional ,papers4 ,a ,book of ,spiritual ,uplift and ,comfort4 #abmo1 cloth net #a4ce ,the ,transfigured ,church ,a ,portrayal of the ,possibilities ,within the ,church4 #abmo1 cloth net #a4ce ,the ,high ,calling ,meditations on ,st4 ,paul's ,letter to the ,philippians4 #abmo1 cloth net #a4ce ,the ,silver ,lining ,a ,message of ,hope and ,cheer1 for the ,troubled and ,tried4 #abmo1 cloth net #a4ae ,our ,blessed ,dead #afmo1 boards net #be;c ,the ,passion for ,souls ,devotional ,messages for ,christian ,workers4 #afmo1 cloth net #fj;c ,the ,folly of ,unbelief ,and ,other ,meditations for ,quiet ,moments4 #abmo1 cloth net #fj;c ,,sentence ,,prayers for ,,every ,,day ,the ,daily ,altar ,a ,prayer for ,each ,day4 ,cloth net #be;c ,leather net #ce;c ,yet ,another ,day ,a ,prayer for ,each ,day4 #cbmo1 cloth1 net #be;c ,leather net #ce;c ,a new large type edition4 ,cloth net #ge;c ,leather net #a4jj ,,the ,,whole ,,armour ,,of ,,god ,,by ,,john ,,henry ,,jowett1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,fifth ,avenue ,presbyterian ,church1 ,new ,york ,city ,illustration3 ,logo of ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,toronto ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,,london ,,and ,,edinburgh ,copyright1 #aiaf1 by ,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company ,new ,york3 #aeh ,fifth ,avenue ,chicago3 #ag ,north ,wabash ,ave4 ,london3 #ba ,paternoster ,square ,edinburgh3 #ge ,princes ,street ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,invisible ,,antagonisms #i ,,ii4 ,,the ,,girdle ,,of ,,truth #be ,,iii4 ,,the ,,breastplate ,,of ,,righteousness #da ,,iv4 ,,ready6 #ei ,v4 ,,the ,,shield ,,of ,,faith #gg ,,vi4 ,,the ,,helmet ,,of ,,hope #ia ,,vii4 ,,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,spirit #aji ,,viii4 ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,use ,,of ,,prayer #abg ,,ix4 ,,watch ,,ye6 #adc ,x4 ,,enduring ,,hardness #afa ,,xi4 ,,the ,,invisible ,,commander ,,on ,,the ,,field #agi ,,xii4 ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,fire #aig ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,victory ,,over ,,the ,,beast #bae ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,coming ,,golden ,,age #bca ,,xv4 ,,more ,,than ,,conquerors #bdi ,i ,,the ,,invisible ,,antagonisms ,eternal ,god1 may no distraction draw us away from our communion with ,thee4 ,may we come to ,thee like children going home1 jubilant and glad4 ,we have been in the far country and our garments are stained4 ,may we hasten to the ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation4 ,if we have been on fields of heavy battle1 where the fire of the enemy has been awful and unceasing1 may we hasten to ,thee for the overhauling of our armor1 and for the renewal of our strength4 ,if we have been called upon to walk weary roads of unfamiliar sorrow1 may we turn to ,thee as to refreshing springs4 ,if we have lapsed from our high calling1 may we renew our covenant4 ,if we have missed a gracious opportunity1 may we seek another chance4 ,if we have been counted faithful in any service1 and have fulfilled our commission by the help of ,thy grace1 may we hasten to give the glory to ,thee4 ,unite us1 we humbly pray ,thee1 in the holy bonds of ,christian sympathy4 ,deepen our pity so that we may share the sorrows of people far away4 ,may we feel the burden of the burdened and weep with them that weep4 ,may we not add to our sin by ceasing to remember those who are in need4 ,grant peace in our time1 ,o ,lord1 the peace which is the fruit of righteousness4 ,let ,thy will be done among all the peoples1 so that in common obedience to ,thee all the nations may find abiding union4 ,amen4 ,i ,,the ,,invisible ,,antagonisms ,wherefore take unto you the whole armour of ,god1 that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day1 and having done all to stand4 ,eph4 #f3ac4 ,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 words4 ,many interpreting minds act like the solar spectrum1 and they help to display the wealthy contents in the pure white light of gospel truth4 ,here then is ,dr4 ,moffat's translation3 ,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 foes4 ,and here is ,dr4 ,weymouth's fine attempt to elicit the buried wealth of the apostle's words3 ,put on the complete armour of ,god so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle1 and having fought to the end to remain victors on the field4 ,that is a translation which stirs one's blood1 and ,i am inclined to regard it as a very vital interpretation of the rousing1 soldierly counsel of the apostle ,paul4 ,the apostle is writing to a tiny company of ,christians at ,ephesus1 so tiny that they are like a drop in a bucket in the midst of that teaming population4 ,for this is what has happened4 ,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 do4 ,they have cut themselves away from old fellowships4 ,they have separated themselves from the fond attachments of a lifetime4 ,they have severed themselves from venerable roots4 ,they have forfeited dear and vital friendships1 and they are now living an alien life within the circle of their own city4 ,they are strangers in their own home4 ,they are foreigners in their native land4 ,they are pilgrims in their own country4 ,they are in it and yet not of it4 ,they are like tropical plants which find themselves in the ,arctic ,zone4 ,and it is to this little company that the apostle writes this letter1 and to them he gives the inspiring counsel of my text3 ,put on the complete armour of ,god that ye may be able to stand your ground in the day of battle4 ,in what sort of circumstances did these people live8 ,let us take a swift survey of the hostility of their surroundings4 ,what was the nature of the antagonisms by which this little company were beset8 ,first of all1 there was the overwhelming power of the world4 ,their city itself was luxuriously placed4 ,the very location of ,ephesus was favourable to prosperity1 enjoying as it did the double advantage of shelter and of openness to the outer world4 ,i was amazed when ,i walked among its ruins in the late spring at the magnificence of its position4 ,if you will think of a cup1 with more than a third of its rim broken down to its base1 you will gain a rough but practical suggestion of the groundwork of this ancient city4 ,about two-thirds of the city are immediately engirt with noble and richly verdured hills4 ,then this sheltering rim of hills is broken1 and the cup opens out in one direction to a port on the open sea1 and in the other direction to a rich alluvial plain1 famous for its wonderful fertility4 ,such was ,ephesus1 sheltered and yet open1 with protective arms of hills about it1 and yet widely hospitable to the trade and wealth of the world4 ,no wonder ,ephesus was luxurious1 no wonder she was carnal1 and no wonder she was ennervated4 ,she was the very hunting ground of the garish world1 and in this mesmeric garishness this little company of ,christians had their home4 ,this was the first of their antagonisms4 ,well1 then1 to mention a second antagonism1 there was the majestic power of an alien religion4 ,the magnificent ,temple of ,diana1 which is now only a little heap of stones1 with literally not one stone resting orderly upon another1 then dominated the city by its splendour1 and represented a religion which held the people in the loose leash of easy and licentious morals4 ,just think of that resplendent temple1 that gorgeous temple1 and then think of some obscure house in some obscure street1 where this little company of ,christians met to commune with their ,lord1 and in the contrast you will realize another of the antagonisms which assailed their discipleship every hour of the day4 ,the ,temple of ,diana versus the little ,christian meeting-house6 ,it makes one think of another contrast in the grey and windy city of ,edinburgh2 the dark1 frowning ,palace of ,holyrood versus ,john ,knox's small house in ,canongate6 ,and history tells us which of these two proved to be the dwelling-place of invincible strength4 ,this was the second of their antagonisms4 ,and then1 to name a third of their antagonisms1 there was the pervasive power of popular customs and traditions4 ,every day this little handful of ,christians were up against customs that were like invisible bonds4 ,yes1 religious and social customs always thread the common life1 and to oppose them is to run up against antagonisms which are like invisible webs of barbed wire4 ,we know what it means to oppose a popular custom to-day4 ,just oppose even a simple one2 decide to wear no black in the hour of bereavement and you are up against a world of hostility and suspicion4 ,and1 still further1 let the convention you defy be an ecclesiastical convention1 or one which has somehow come to wear religious sanctions1 and the antagonism is tremendous4 ,well1 this little company of ,christians in ,ephesus were defying popular social customs and popular religious customs every day1 and they were1 therefore1 confronted with a fierce and terrific opposition4 ,and so they had all these antagonisms to meet1 the hardening glare of the world1 the far-reaching power of an alien religion1 and the tyranny of popular custom and tradition4 ,and in the very thick of all these you must imagine these comparatively youthful ,christians seeking to live their separate and consecrated life4 ,but in this strong and tender letter to this little flock of ,christians1 the apostle ,paul looks beyond the opposition of flesh and blood1 and the steelly barriers of usage and tradition2 he pierces the visible veil and beholds invisible antagonists1 spiritual1 alive1 active and hostile4 ,listen to him3 ,for ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood1 but with the despotisms1 the empires1 the forces that control and govern this dark world1 the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare4 ,when the apostle looked upon ,ephesus it seemed as though the whole city became transparent1 and behind the visible and transient veils he saw these spiritual foes4 ,there was much mischief in ,ephesus1 there was much weaving of evil webs1 there was much coming and going of worldly forces2 but to ,paul1 the real prompters and instigators were back in the unseen4 ,this is the teaching of this great apostle4 ,these ,christians in the early ,church had to fight unseen enemies1 antagonists in the spirit--spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenly warfare4 ,the real enemy is entrenched in the unseen1 and he is ever active1 night and day1 and the early believer confronted him in ancient ,ephesus1 as the later believer confronts him in modern ,new ,york and ,london4 ,now it is of these invisible antagonists that the apostle most urgently warns these young disciples4 ,he warns them of the extraordinary subtlety of the warfare1 of the wiles of the devil1 of the stratagems of these mysterious powers1 of their traps and devices1 of their diabolic cleverness1 and of their amazing and manifold ingenuities4 ,the instruments of modern material warfare are almost incredible in the refinement of their destructiveness1 and ,i have no doubt in my own mind that even these ingenuities are also diabolic1 and that if we could pierce the veil we should see the invisible enemies at their fiendish work4 ,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 soul4 ,well1 then1 how do these antagonists work8 ,how is this cunning antagonism exerted upon the soul8 ,it is exerted both mediately and immediately4 ,first of all1 these invisible antagonists work immediately upon the soul4 ,spirit can work upon spirit2 mind can lay pressure upon mind4 ,there is a direct and immediate influence upon the secret life of man4 ,that is the teaching of the ,word of ,god1 and ,i freely confess to you that there are phenomena in my own life1 and in the lives of others which ,i cannot interpret in any other way4 ,i know it is altogether mysterious1 but it is by no means incredible4 ,in our own day we are obtaining first glimpses into avenues of spiritual activity which hitherto have been shrouded in mist and darkness4 ,the phenomena of thought transference1 of telepathy1 of hypnotism1 are lifting the veil upon modes of influence of which we have scarcely dreamed4 ,one mind can influence another mind directly without either speech or deed1 leaving upon the other the seal and imprint of its own mould4 ,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 man1 and work upon his imagination1 and engage his sentiments and ambitions with the purpose of luring him from his sacred loyalties1 and inciting him to rebellion against the holy and most high ,god4 ,ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood1 says the apostle4 ,we have invisible foes4 ,and then1 in the second place1 these spiritual antagonists work mediately upon the soul4 ,they work upon the soul through the medium of human ministries--through the contagious power of crowds1 through the gravitation of the age1 through the general spirit of society1 through the psychological climate in which our life is cast4 ,and they also work upon the soul through the medium of individuals1 through men and women who have been captured by the evil one and who are now used in his purposes of moral and spiritual destruction4 ,our invisible antagonists cast their lure upon us through the ministry of our fellow-men4 ,now all these antagonisms1 seen and unseen1 mediate and immediate1 this little company of ,christians had to meet in ancient ,ephesus4 ,you say the antagonisms are tremendous6 ,yes1 indeed they are1 and the ,christian life is a tremendous thing4 ,that is what tens of thousands of professing ,christians have yet to learn4 ,let it be said that of all tremendous things the ,christian life is the most tremendous4 ,it is not something we can play with in idle hours1 it is not a merely pleasant fellowship1 it is not the bloodless act of joining the visible ,church4 ,no1 it is not the carrying of a highly imposing label2 it is a desperate1 continuous1 but withal1 a glorious campaign4 ,speaking for myself1 ,i confess that ,i have to have my fingers on the throat of the devil every day of my mortal life4 ,this is how ,i find it4 ,i do not gain a single inch without a fight4 ,no fine victory is ever gained by me without blood4 ,o1 the sternness of the ,christian fight6 and ,o1 its attractiveness and its glory6 ,yes1 indeed1 you are right2 the antagonisms are tremendous4 ,how then1 are they to be met8 ,if these are our antagonisms1 seen and unseen1 in ,new ,york as well as in ,ephesus1 how can we meet and overcome them8 ,let us listen to the ,word3 ,put on the complete armour of ,god4 ,let us begin there4 ,our first need is ,god4 ,without ,god we are beaten even before the fight begins4 ,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 hosts4 ,we must begin with ,god4 ,in the tenth verse of this chapter the apostle unfolds the primary secret of victory4 ,be strong in the ,lord and in the power of ,his might4 ,but that is a very imperfect translation1 laying too much emphasis upon the soldier and too little upon his ,lord4 ,i greatly like the marginal rendering of the revised version3 ,be made powerful in the ,lord4 ,does not that word sound full of promise for soldiers who are about to storm a difficult position8 ,be made powerful in the ,lord4 ,let ,god make you powerful6 ,such power is not a trophy of battle2 it is the fruit of communion4 ,it is a bequest and not a conquest4 ,this power is not something we have to win2 it is something we have to receive4 ,it is not something we have to gain2 it is something we have to take4 ,be made powerful in the ,lord6 ,and listen again3 ,ye shall receive power when the ,holy ,spirit is come upon you4 ,that power1 that vital endowment of strength1 is the gift of ,god1 one of the ministries of the divine grace1 and it is offered to every soldier without money and without price4 ,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 strength4 ,but not only is there the imperative need of ,god for our initial strength1 but for every piece of armour which may be needful in the fight4 ,armour for offence1 and armour for defence2 armour to meet every device and stratagem with which we may be assailed4 ,i propose to consider this armour1 piece by piece1 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 ,god4 ,and therefore do ,i say again that if we are to be triumphant over our antagonists1 our first need is ,god4 ,seek ye the ,lord4 ,o come1 let us kneel before the ,lord our ,maker4 ,and then1 our other great requirement is the ceaseless co-operation of our wills4 ,the life of a ,christian soldier is not a continuous reclining on flowery beds of ease4 ,having obtained the strength we must ceaselessly exercise it in the practice of our wills4 ,listen to the divine challenge to the will3 ,be made powerful in the ,lord6 ,well1 then1 exercise the will you have1 your weak will1 and go and kneel in humility at the source of power1 and receive the promised gift4 ,put on the whole armour of ,god6 ,well1 then1 exercise the will and go to the armoury of grace for thine arms4 ,stand therefore6 ,well1 then1 having received the gift of power1 exercise thy will in stubborn and invincible resistance4 ,here stand ,i1 said one who had received the strength1 ,here stand ,i2 ,i can do no other1 ,god help me6 ,having done all1 stand--and victory shall be yours6 ,in the name of ,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son1 and ,god the ,holy ,spirit1 victory shall most certainly be yours6 ,says ,dr4 ,weymouth3 ,stand your ground in the day of battle1 and having fought to the end remain victors on the field4 ,victors on the field4 ,i am thrilled by the inspiring word--,victors on the field4 ,after every temptation--the temptation that comes to me in sunshine1 or the temptation that comes to me in the gloom--after every fight1 victors on the field6 ,the ,lord's banner flying1 ,his banner of love and grace2 and the evil one and all his host in utter rout1 and in full and dire retreat6 ,soldiers of ,christ arise1 ,and put your armour on2 ,strong in the strength which ,god supplies ,through ,his eternal ,son4 ,,ii ,,the ,,girdle ,,of ,,truth ,holy ,father1 we humbly pray ,thee to reveal unto us the unsearchable riches of ,christ4 ,refine our discernments in order that we may behold them2 and deepen our hearts in order that we may long to possess them4 ,unveil to us our poverty so that we may seek ,thy wealth4 ,lead us through meekness and penitence to the reception of spiritual power4 ,may our loins be girt about with truth4 ,may we drink deeply at the waters of promise and find refreshment in immediate duty4 ,we pray that ,thou wilt bind us together in the bonds of holy sympathy4 ,help us to gather up the needs of others in common intercession4 ,make us ready to bear the burden of the race4 ,quicken our imaginations in order that we may enter into the sorrows of ,thy children in every land4 ,we humbly pray ,thee to steady our faith in these days of bewilderment4 ,in all the confusion of our time may we never lose sight of ,thy throne4 ,in all the obscuring of our ideals may we never lose sight of ,christ4 ,and ,o1 ,lord1 out of our disorder may we be led into larger ways4 ,let ,thy ,holy ,spirit brood over us1 quickening all that is full of sacred promise1 and destroying all that hinders our friendship with ,thee4 ,amen4 ,,ii ,,the ,,girdle ,,of ,,truth ,stand therefore1 having your loins girt about with truth4 ,eph4 #f3ad4 ,the girdle was just a strong belt holding the different pieces of a soldier's armour securely in their place4 ,even in the ordinary ,oriental attire the girdle was a necessity4 ,without the girdle the loose1 flowing garments became very cumbersome1 flapping about the feet1 and especially hindering the movements in a hostile wind4 ,even the most graceful attire became an entanglement unless the girdle held it in serviceable bonds4 ,but the necessity of a girdle was still more imperative on the field of war4 ,in active fighting loose pieces of armour would be like embarrassing articles hanging on the soldier rather than appropriate implements to make him efficient4 ,loose armour was troublesome and distressing1 making the soldier feel soft1 and awkward1 and unready1 giving him a sense of going to pieces4 ,the belt bound the loose pieces together1 creating a healthy sense of firmness1 compactness1 and making the soldier feel that he had everything well in hand1 and enabling him to meet the enemy's attack with united strength and confidence4 ,now it is that figure of the military belt which the apostle is using in our text1 ,let your loins be girt about with truth4 ,the soldier of ,jesus can have his armour flapping about him in disorderly array4 ,he can be loose and distracted4 ,his energies can be scattered4 ,he can be just a mass of incoherences and inconsistencies in the presence of the foe4 ,or a soldier of ,jesus can be firm1 and collected1 and decisive4 ,he can be all there1 with every ounce of his strength available for the immediate fight4 ,and the apostle teaches that this bracing sense of collectedness1 this fine1 firm feeling of moral and spiritual concentration1 can only be obtained by binding the entire life with the splendid and tenacious girdle of gospel truth4 ,i want to approach the apostle's central teaching along roads which will gather up the testimony of common experience4 ,we all know the strength which is imparted to a life when it is girt about with firm principle4 ,it is even so in the life of a boy when he is passing his earliest days at school4 ,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 principle8 ,it is even so in the later days of college and university4 ,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 conviction6 ,what joyful and boisterous liberty there is in such a life6 ,and it is all the more free and jubilant because it recognizes fields of license into which it never strays4 ,and in the broader fields of the world we have the witness of the same experience4 ,life that is held in a girdle quadruples its strength4 ,life which is bound together even by a strong expediency gathers force in the bondage4 ,a life which is held in the constraint of a policy is far mightier than a life which is trailing in scattered indifference4 ,but a life which is bound together in moral principle1 having all its faculties and powers gathered under one control1 has tremendous force both of attack and resistance4 ,you may study the contents of that statement and find abundant illustrations in the lives of men like ,lincoln1 and ,mazzini1 and ,gladstone1 and ,john ,bright1 and ,john ,morley1 and ,james ,bryce4 ,all these men1 whether we approve or disapprove their political programmes and ambitions1 are men whose characters reveal no loose ends1 no trailing garments1 no unchartered opinions1 no vagrant and unlicensed moods1 but rather a moral wholeness and solidity which we know will retain its splendid consistency in the teeth of the fiercest storm4 ,yes1 even in the ways of the world men recognize the man who is wearing the belt of principle1 and whose loins are girt about with truth4 ,but the apostle ,paul is thinking of something more than moral principle1 splendid as is the influence of a great principle on the healthy action of a life4 ,he is thinking of something even finer and deeper than this1 and in which the moral principle is included4 ,he is thinking of a soul belted with the more distinctive truth of the ,scriptures1 a soul girt about with gospel truth and with the ample promises of ,god4 ,he is thinking of a man who takes some great truth of revelation1 some mighty word of life1 or some broad and bracing promise of grace1 and who belts it about his soul and wears it on active service in seeking to do the sovereign will4 ,i know not where to begin1 or where to end1 when ,i turn to the pages of biography for examples of men and women who have worn the girdle of gospel truth and promise4 ,let me dip here and there in the many and brilliant records4 ,well1 then1 let us begin with ,martin ,luther4 ,it is one of the strong characteristics of ,luther that he is ever wearing the girdle of truth1 and bracing himself with the promises of grace4 ,i open his letters almost at random1 in the great year of his life when he defied the pope1 and opposed himself to the strength of uncounted hosts4 ,he is writing to ,melanchthon on ,may #bf1 #aeba3 ,do not be troubled in spirit2 but sing the ,lord's song in the night1 as we are commanded1 and ,i shall join in4 ,let us only be concerned about the ,word4 ,there you find him putting on the girdle6 ,once again ,i find him writing a letter to a poor little company of ,christians at ,wittenberg3 ,i send you this thirty-seventh ,psalm for your consolation and instruction4 ,take comfort and remain steadfast4 ,do not be alarmed through the raging of the godless4 ,there again he is wearing the girdle and urging others to wear it4 ,his loins are girt about with truth4 ,then again there is ,john ,wesley4 ,let me give you a glimpse of that noble servant of the spirit as he is putting on the girdle of truth3 ,when ,i opened the ,new ,testament at five o'clock in the morning my eyes fell on the words1 ',there are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that we should be partakers of the divine nature4' ,he girt his loins with that truth4 ,just before ,i left the room ,i opened the ,book again1 and this sentence gleamed from the open page1 ',thou art not far from the ,kingdom of ,god4' ,and he girt himself with that promise4 ,he went to ,st4 ,paul's that morning1 and in the chant there came to him this personal message from the ,word3 ,o ,israel1 trust in the ,lord1 for in the ,lord there is mercy and in ,him there is plenteous redemption1 and ,he shall redeem ,israel from all his sins4 ,do you not see this noble knight belting himself for the great crusade that even now awaits him at the gate8 ,then ,i think ,i will mention ,general ,gordon1 who laid down his life at ,khartoum4 ,only1 if you want to see ,gordon girding himself with truth1 and see it adequately1 you will have to quote from almost every letter he ever wrote1 and especially his wonderful correspondence with his sister4 ,take this sentence from a letter written in ,cairo in #ahhd3 ,i have taken the words1 ',he will hide me in ,his hands'2 good-night1 my dear sister1 ,i am not moved1 even a little4 ,or take this sentence from a letter written in ,khartoum toward the end of his days3 ,this word has been given me1 ',it is nothing to our ,god to help with many or with few1' and ,i now take my worries more quietly than before4 ,he put on the girdle of truth1 and his worries were leashed in the girdle1 and his soul was quieted in gospel confidence and serenity4 ,and ,i had other examples to offer you1 but these must suffice4 ,i had on my table ,david ,livingstone1 and ,john ,woolman1 and ,josephine ,butler1 and ,frances ,willard1 and ,catherine ,booth1 and ,i wanted to give you glimpses of all these notable soldiers of the ,lord girding themselves for the open field4 ,but their names shall be their witness4 ,i might have quoted1 had ,i the knowledge and the time1 the testimony of all the saints who from their labours rest4 ,and concerning them all we should have seen that their loins were girt about with truth4 ,now it was to spiritual equipment of this kind that the apostle was directing the little company of ,christians at ,ephesus4 ,think of their surroundings3--the overwhelming worldliness1 the dominating influence of an alien religion1 the fierce antagonisms of popular customs and traditions1 and all of these backed by invisible hosts of wickedness in heavenly places4 ,now what chance would a loose1 shuffling ,christian have in circumstances so hostile as these8 ,the ,christian in ,ephesus1 if he is to be a conqueror1 must not slouch along the way with a loose1 hang-dog sort of air1 but rather with all the poise and movement of a lion4 ,the ,christian must belt himself about with big truth1 truth that will not only confirm but invigorate1 truth that will not only define his creed but vitalize his soul4 ,and these ,ephesian ,christians followed the apostle's counsel and they girded themselves with truth1 and so were able to stand in the evil day1 and having done all1 to stand4 ,let us watch how they did it4 ,they had been converted to the ,christian faith and life4 ,one sure effect of their conversion was a more vivid sense of sin4 ,after their conversion their own sinfulness began to reveal itself in more awful relief4 ,the nearer they got to the light the more their sin appeared1 just like invisible writing emerging from its secrecy when exposed to the open fire4 ,they saw their sin1 and they saw the sin of the people4 ,they were like the prophet ,isaiah1 to whom also there came the awakening sense of sin1 and with him they could have cried3 ,woe is me1 for ,i am unclean1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips4 ,well1 now1 how could that little company of ,christians deal with the sin8 ,it was like trying to drain a vast and bitter marsh that was fed by secret springs4 ,how could they do it8 ,and the tremendous task only emphasized their weakness1 and might have depressed them into a feeling of helplessness and despair4 ,and we share that feeling to-day4 ,think of the colossal sins of ,europe1 and think of the sins and moral indifference of the great cities4 ,if the sin be like a bitter marsh1 what is going to drain it8 ,nay1 how are we going to get the confidence that it can be drained8 ,well what did ,paul do1 and what did he teach his fellow-disciples to do8 ,this is what he did4 ,he found something even bigger than sin1 and he girded himself with the bigger thing when he confronted the appalling task4 ,listen to him3 ,where sin abounds grace does much more abound4 ,yes1 sin is a big thing1 but grace is a bigger thing2 the biggest thing even in this rebellious and indifferent world4 ,sin is a strong thing1 but grace is a stronger thing1 even the strongest thing in a revolting and alienated world4 ,well then1 let your loins be girt about with that truth6 ,put it around your fears and uncertainties like a strong girdle4 ,wear it ever night and day4 ,go up to every stupendous task in the vigour of its bracing grip4 ,begin at the piece of the bitter marsh nearest to you1 and begin to drain it4 ,and wear the truth--,where sin abounds1 grace doth much more abound4 ,wear the truth1 say it1 sing it1 and you will be amazed how the difficulty will be subdued2 for the mouth of the ,lord hath spoken it4 ,there was something else in ,ephesus for which these ,christians needed the girdle of truth4 ,ephesus was a vast city1 and these ,christians were only a tiny and obscure fellowship4 ,and even this small fellowship had to be broken up during the hours of labour1 and in those hours each believer had to stand alone4 ,one of them was perhaps a slave1 and there was no fellow-believer in the house4 ,or perhaps one was a soldier1 and there wasn't another believer in his regiment1 and he had to face it all alone4 ,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 fellowship1 and desires even the physical touch of a comrade-in-arms4 ,i can understand it4 ,and so could the ,ephesian ,christians have understood it4 ,they felt strong when they touched their fellow-believers1 and they felt weakened when the visible communion was broken4 ,what1 then1 shall they do when alone8 ,they must let their loins be girt about with truth4 ,but what truth8 ,what did the apostle ,paul wear in such isolation8 ,he took this girdle and wrapped it round his loins3 ,he loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4 ,and that girdle gives a man a sense of glorious fellowship along the emptiest and loneliest road4 ,put that girdle on1 lonely soul6 ,he loves me1 and gave ,himself for me6 ,wear it ever1 night and day4 ,and wear it consciously6 ,say it2 sing it--,he loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4 ,let your loins be girt about with that truth4 ,and so have we seen these ,ephesian soldiers putting on the girdle4 ,in the presence of threat and persecution they wore this girdle1 ,we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,when their circumstances were a medley and a confusion1 full of ups and downs1 of strange comings and goings1 of mingled joy and sorrow1 foul and fair1 they wore this girdle3 ,all things work together for good to them that love ,god4 ,and thus they were braced for all the changes of the ever-changing day4 ,so do ,i urge my fellow-soldiers in this later day to wear the belt4 ,let your loins be girt about with truth4 ,let us pray the good ,lord to help us even now to put it on4 ,is the girdle we need this--,he loved me and gave ,himself for me8 ,well1 put it on4 ,or is it this--,we have forgiveness through ,his blood8 ,put it on4 ,or is it this--,i will come again and receive you unto myself8 ,put it on4 ,or is it this--,in ,my ,father's house are many mansions8 ,put it on4 ,or is it this--,i will never leave thee nor forsake thee8 ,put it on4 ,or is it this great girdle--,when thou passest through the waters ,i will be with thee1 and through the rivers1 they shall not overthrow thee1 when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned1 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee8 ,put on the girdle1 wear it ever1 night and day1 and thou shalt find that in the strength of gospel truth thou are competent to meet all circumstances1 and triumphantly perfect thy ,saviour's will4 ,,iii ,,the ,,breastplate ,,of ,,righteousness ,almighty ,god1 our ,father1 it is by ,thy grace that we attain unto holiness1 and it is by ,thy light that we find wisdom4 ,we humbly pray that ,thy grace and light may be given unto us so that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth4 ,wilt ,thou graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus4 ,impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction with everything that is low1 and mean1 and unclean1 and create within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things which ,thou hast prepared for them that love ,thee4 ,wilt ,thou receive us as guests of ,thy table4 ,give us the glorious sense of ,thy presence1 and the precious privilege of intimate communion4 ,feed us with the bread of life2 nourish all our spiritual powers2 help us to find our delight in such things as please ,thee4 ,give us strength to fight the good fight of faith4 ,give us holy courage1 that we may not be daunted by any fear1 or turn aside from our appointed task4 ,make us calm when we have to tread an unfamiliar road1 and may ,thy presence give us companionship divine4 ,amen4 ,,iii ,,the ,,breastplate ,,of ,,righteousness ,having on the breastplate of righteousness4 ,ephesians #f3ad4 ,this is counsel given to a little company of ,christians1 so little as to be almost submerged and lost in the great unfriendly city of ,ephesus1 so little as to be like a tiny boat in the midst of a vast and threatening sea4 ,a missionary of the gospel has been among them and they have received the word of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,they have answered the constraint of redeeming love and they have confessed their faith in ,christ4 ,and what has happened8 ,their confession has compelled their separation from many of their old fellowships and attachments4 ,they are loosened from many of their old affections4 ,the forces that were once friendly to them have become unfriendly1 and they are now confronted by overwhelming hostilities on every side4 ,we must try to feel the power and peril of their isolation if we would understand the force of the apostle's words4 ,imagine then the lot of some ,german in ,germany who espoused the cause of the ,allies1 or conceive the lot of some ,englishman in ,england who sided with ,germany1 and you may realize the heat and fierceness of the antagonism with which these immature ,christians were surrounded in the city of ,ephesus4 ,but their peril was not only found in the hostility of their old friends4 ,there was the enervating moral atmosphere which they had to breathe2 there was the recurring inclination of their own riotous passions2 there was a remnant of appetite for the old delights2 and there was the nervous fear that the forces against them might prove overwhelming4 ,what should they do8 ,how should they be able to stand8 ,and especially how should they be able to stand in the evil day1 the day when external circumstances might culminate in some terrific assault1 or when their own passions might rise against them in some particularly fierce resurgence8 ,well1 this chapter records the counsel of a great and experienced apostle1 a mighty soldier of the ,lord1 in which he advises these young recruits of the ,kingdom what armour they must wear if they would be victorious on the field4 ,put on the whole armour of ,god4 ,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 victory4 ,and now1 in the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 ,i bring you this piece of armour1 the breastplate of righteousness1 and it is to be worn in our modern warfare in this difficult city of ,new ,york4 ,what is this breastplate of righteousness8 ,what indeed was the ,roman breastplate from which the figure of speech is taken8 ,unfortunately1 the word breastplate is very inaccurate and misleading4 ,the piece of armour to which the apostle refers protected the back as well as the breast1 and in addition it gave protection to the neck and the hips4 ,it would be much more truly described by the phrase1 a coat of mail1 because it was a sort of vest made of small metal plates1 overlapping one another like shield upon shield1 wrapping the body in its defences1 and protecting the vital organs1 back and front1 from every assault of the foe4 ,let us then venture to lift this more accurate description into our text1 ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail1 wear it in all your comings and goings in the city of ,ephesus1 and in it meet all the malicious antagonisms of devils and of men4 ,now ,i wonder how the apostle's counsel affected these fearful struggling ,christians in ,ephesus4 ,let us look at them4 ,let us assume that we are with them1 and that we are about to give them the counsel offered in the text4 ,how will they receive it8 ,remember that they have just been lifted out of the horrible pit and out of the miry clay of long-continued sin1 and that they are oppressed by their own weakness and helplessness1 and by the strength of the evil inclinations and habits which they have just renounced4 ,well1 now1 let us offer these inexperienced disciples the apostle's counsel3 ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail6 ,why1 they just look at you in utter despair6 ,it is their very weakness that they cannot forge and weave such a coat of mail to cover them in the day of battle4 ,the counsel would surely seem like the taunting cry of the foe4 ,suppose we had waylaid poor ,christian in ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress when he was struggling with his oppressive burden up the hill1 and with the fiery darts of the devil hurtling around him on every side1 and suppose we had called out to him1 ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail6 ,we should surely only have added heaviness to his burden and crushed him to the ground in despair4 ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail8 he would have moaned in his reply1 ,my righteousness is like unto filthy rags6 ,one poor1 sorrowful correspondent wrote to me some weeks ago who was the victim of alcohol and drugs4 ,for years he had walked in ways of uncleanness1 but he was now just waking from his awful sleep and turning his thoughts toward home4 ,suppose now ,i had written to him and said ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail6 ,i think his eyes would have dulled into weariness again1 and he would have slipped back to his drugs and his despair4 ,this cannot be the meaning of the apostle's counsel1 or this coat of mail would never be worn4 ,what1 then1 does the apostle mean when he says ,put on righteousness like a coat of mail8 ,let us seek for light in his own life1 for he is a soldier as well as a counsellor1 and we shall find him following his own advice and wearing the armour which he recommends to others4 ,let us listen then to this word1 and let us mark its significance2 ,touching the righteousness which is in the law ,i was found blameless4 ,that seems like an invincible protection4 ,touching the righteousness which is in the law ,i was found blameless6 ,but there was nothing invincible about it4 ,it was no more a coat of mail than an ordinary vest1 and the devil smote through the defences a dozen times a day4 ,listen again to the apostle when he has passed into the intimate friendship of ,christ3 ,not having a righteousness of mine own4 ,mark that2 yea verily mark that2--,not having a righteousness of mine own4 ,this coat of mail he wears is not his own righteousness4 ,whose1 then1 is it8 ,it is the righteousness of ,christ4 ,as ,paul declares3 ,it is the righteousness which is through the faith of ,christ1 the righteousness which is of ,god by faith4 ,the apostle is wearing the righteousness of ,christ1 and he wears it like a coat of mail1 covering back and front1 shielding him before and behind4 ,i want to pause a little there because we are very near one of the deepest mysteries in the gospel of grace1 and ,i want to state the mystery as plainly as words can express it4 ,this1 then1 is what the ,scriptures state3 ,the ,lord ,jesus ,christ was absolutely righteous1 so righteous that human imagination and human dream cannot conceive it excelled4 ,his holy obedience was perfect4 ,there was no rent in the vesture of ,his holiness4 ,there was no frayed edge1 there was no imperfect strand1 there were no stains4 ,in ,him was no sin4 ,we must begin there4 ,and now let us assume that a poor penitent comes to this perfectly holy ,lord4 ,let us make the sinner as nauseous and repulsive as you please4 ,let us make him a moral leper1 the wretched victim of uncleanness1 befouled by his own habits1 consumed in his own sin1 eaten without and within4 ,that poor penitent sinner1 laden with defilement1 comes to the holy ,lord ,jesus1 humbly seeking ,his favour and grace4 ,now what happens8 ,what do the ,scriptures tell us about the happening8 ,they tell us that the holy ,saviour covers the sinner with the robe of ,his own righteousness4 ,the ,lord puts ,his merits on to the sinner who has no merits4 ,he puts ,his obedience on to the sinner who has nothing but a record of disobedience4 ,he puts ,his spiritual conquests on to the sinner who is torn and scarred by nothing but appalling defeats4 ,he puts ,his holiness on to a sinner who has been raked by defilements4 ,that is the proclamation of the gospel4 ,that poor penitent believing sinner stands now before the devil1 and before men and angels1 and before the presence of ,god1 clothed in the righteousness of ,christ6 ,what1 in all his imperfections8 ,yes4 ,in all his weaknesses8 ,yes4 ,with the scorching marks of hell-fire still upon him8 ,yes4 ,he is covered with the robe of ,christ's righteousness4 ,he wears the merits and the strength and the defences of the ,lord's obedience4 ,have we not read of one who wrapped himself in his country's flag and then dared an alien power to fire8 ,it is an altogether imperfect illustration1 but it offers me some faint and helpful analogy when ,i hear the saints give this witness3 ,he hath clothed me with the robe of righteousness1 and covered me with the garments of salvation4 ,no1 it was not ,paul's own righteousness which constituted his coat of mail4 ,it was the righteousness of his ,lord4 ,now1 this is the word of grace1 and this is the message of the gospel4 ,it is this of which ,toplady sings in his immortal hymn--,rock of ,ages3 ,naked1 look to ,thee for dress4 ,it is this also of which ,charles ,wesley sings in his also immortal hymn--,jesus1 ,lover of my ,soul3 ,i am all unrighteousness1 ,thou art full of truth and grace4 ,it is this which was discovered by ,george ,fox1 the founder of the ,society of ,friends1 and of which he tells us so rapturously in the early pages of his journal4 ,it was this which ,john ,bunyan found1 and of which he tells us in the pages of ,grace ,abounding3 ,one day1 as ,i was passing into the field1 and that too with some dashes on my conscience1 suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul1 ',thy righteousness is in heaven1' and me thought that ,i saw with the eyes of my soul1 ,jesus ,christ at ,god's right hand4 ,there1 ,i saw1 was my righteousness2 so that wherever ,i was1 or whatever ,i was doing1 ,god could not say of me1 ,he wants my righteousness1 for that was just before ,him4 ,i also saw1 moreover1 that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better1 nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse2 for my righteousness was ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 the same yesterday1 to-day and forever4 ,now did my chains fall off my legs indeed2 ,i was loosened from my afflictions and irons4444 ,now went ,i also home rejoicing for the grace and love of ,god4 ,all these men1 at the beginning of their ,christian life1 were covered not with a righteousness of their own1 but with the righteousness of ,christ1 and they could sing with ,paul that they were clothed in the garments of ,his salvation4 ,their coat of mail was the righteousness of ,christ4 ,now ,i recognize1 and ,i experience the difficulty1 of realizing all this1 and ,i sympathize with you in the poverty of our apprehension4 ,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 truth4 ,for instance1 a coat of mail is something detached1 separate and external1 and so is a robe1 and they have no vital relation to the body which wears them4 ,and therefore1 when we think of the righteousness of ,christ covering another like a robe or a coat of mail1 it appears something unreal1 a superficial ministry1 or even a fine pretence4 ,we think of some villain clothed in the garb of a minister1 but all the more a villain because of the robes which cover him4 ,or we think of some vile woman wearing the habits of a nun1 and all the more vile because of the significant garments in which she is clothed4 ,a leprous sinner wearing the robe of ,christ's righteousness6 ,it all appears detached and superficial1 like a climbing rose hiding a rubbish heap1 or some lovely ferns and greenery concealing an open sewer4 ,there appears no deep reality in it1--a sinner just covered with the robe of ,christ's holiness1 and wearing the ,lord's righteousness as a coat of mail4 ,yes1 ,i admit that the figures all fail4 ,the figure of a robe leaves the sinner and the ,saviour in no vital relation4 ,and so it is with the coat of mail4 ,but in the blessed reality there is no detachment4 ,there is union between the sinner and the ,saviour of the most profound and vital kind4 ,you must remember our assumption2 the sinner who comes to the ,saviour comes in faith1 and in penitence and in prayer1 and these things never leave a soul separate and detached from the life and love of the ,lord4 ,faith itself1 even amid human relationships1 is never a dividing ministry2 it always consolidates and unites4 ,you may trace the vital unifying influence of faith in a score of relations4 ,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 health4 ,the faith which a pupil has in a teacher unites the two in a very vital relation1 and puts the pupil into communion with the knowledge which is stored up in the teacher's mind4 ,the faith which one man has in another incorporates the two in one4 ,faith always unifies2 it never divides4 ,and all this has its supreme application in the relation of the soul to ,christ4 ,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 conceive4 ,faith in ,christ unites the soul with ,christ just as in grafting the engrafted scion becomes one with the vital stock4 ,now this is the beginning of our reasoning4 ,we are assuming a poor1 penitent1 weary soul flinging himself by faith on ,christ1 and thereby becoming one with ,christ1 one with all ,he is2 one with all ,he has been2 one with all ,he shall be1 sharing ,his merits1 ,his holiness1 ,his obedience6 ,by faith in ,christ ,i become one with ,christ1 and all ,he is is thrown over me6 ,and now before the devil ,i stand as one in ,christ2 and in the day of judgment ,i shall stand as one in ,christ1 one with ,him in spite of all the sins of my past1 and all the weaknesses and immaturities of the present4 ,thou hast covered me with the robe of righteousness1 and clothed me in the garment of salvation4 ,i wear the righteousness of ,christ1 and ,i wear it as a coat of mail4 ,now is not that a strong defence8 ,go back to the illustration of grafting4 ,i saw a young graft which had just been newly related to a strong and healthy stock4 ,the graft still looked very poor and weak and sickly1 but it had become vitally one with the healthy stock2 it stood no longer in its own strength4 ,all the resources of the stock were thrown about it1 the merits of the stock were now the scion's1 all the victories of its yesterdays1 and all the sap and energies of to-morrow4 ,the stock is to the scion as a coat of mail6 ,and so it is with the soul which has become by faith the scion of the ,lord4 ,all my trust on ,thee is stayed1 ,all my help from ,thee ,i bring2 ,cover my defenseless head ,with the shadow of ,thy wing4 ,the righteousness of ,christ is the breastplate of the soul4 ,now let us gather up our practical conclusions3 ,the righteousness of ,christ becomes immediately mine by the act and attitude of faith4 ,yea1 verily1 the most leprous and unclean soul in this city1 with a history unutterably loathsome1 whose faith looks up tremblingly to the ,saviour1 is immediately covered with the robe of ,christ's righteousness1 for by faith he immediately becomes one with the righteousness of ,christ4 ,by faith ,i can here and now become one with ,christ2 however poor and wretched ,i be1 and however sinful ,i have been1 the righteousness of ,christ becomes the armour of my soul4 ,you say that is very dogmatic4 ,yes1 blessed be ,god1 it is dogmatic1 but it is justified dogmatism1 for it is the glorious dogmatism of the gospel of ,christ4 ,and covered with the righteousness of ,christ1 that imputed righteousness becomes progressively mine in the appropriation of experience4 ,his life flows into me like the life of stock into scion1 and all through my days ,i am assimilating more and more the righteousness which covers me4 ,his covering righteousness becomes more and more my rectitude4 ,his covering holiness becomes more and more my obedience4 ,his righteousness passes more and more into my conscience and makes it holy2 more and more into my affections and makes them lovely2 more and more into my will to make it rich and dutiful in obedience4 ,forever and ever ,his righteousness will cover me1 and forever and forever ,i shall be growing into ,his likeness4 ,his righteousness is my defence4 ,yes1 it is a coat of mail1 a protection for breast and back4 ,his righteousness protects me from the things that are behind1 the guilt and the sins of my yesterdays4 ,his righteousness protects me from the things of to-morrow1 from all the assaults of the unknown way1 from the fear of death1 and from the day of judgment4 ,when ,i soar through worlds unknown1 ,see ,thee on ,thy ,judgment ,throne1 ,rock of ,ages1 cleft for me1 ,let me hide myself in ,thee4 ,,iv ,,ready6 ,heavenly ,father1 we thank ,thee we are called to be children of the light4 ,even though we have been children of the darkness1 and have loved the ways of error rather than of truth1 and of sin rather than of holiness1 ,thou art calling us to the light of eternal day4 ,we would answer ,thy call in penitence1 and we would return to ,thee like wayward children who are coming home again4 ,we do not ask to lose the sense of our shame1 but we ask to taste the sweetness of ,thy forgiveness4 ,we do not ask to forget our rebelliousness1 but we ask to be assured that we are reconciled to ,thee4 ,we would sit at ,thy table and receive the bread of life4 ,we would worship at ,thy feet and receive the baptism of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,we would stand before ,thee with our feet shod with the shoes of readiness1 willing to go out on errands of ,christian love and service4 ,if we are inclined to frivolity may we become inclined to be serious and reverent4 ,if we are heedless may we become fired with heavenly ambition and spiritual devotion4 ,redeem us from the littleness of selfishness and lift us into the blessed communion of our fellow-men4 ,give us a wide and generous outlook upon human affairs4 ,endow us with the sympathy that rejoices with them who are rejoicing and that weeps with them that weep4 ,if ,thou art leading us through the gloom of adversity may we find that even the clouds drop fatness4 ,if ,thou art leading us through the green pastures and by the still waters1 may we recognize the presence of the great ,shepherd and may our joys be sanctified4 ,hallow all our experiences1 we humbly pray ,thee1 and may we all become branches in the vine of our ,lord4 ,amen4 ,,iv ,,ready6 ,your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace4 ,ephesians #f3ae4 ,a little while ago an article appeared in one of the daily papers with this startling title3 ,boots and shoes may be vital determining factors in the war4 ,and contrasts and comparisons were made between the opposing forces in respect to their footgear1 and the provision which had been made for keeping the soldiers' feet strong and hardy4 ,and allowing even for the ordinary journalistic exaggeration1 it is a most reasonable thing to assume that good1 durable1 well-fitting boots are part of the requisite armour for all soldiers who are called to prolonged and exacting service4 ,think of those heavy tramps in the early days of the war1 whether in advance or in retreat2 and think of the miry roads and the marshy ground since the rains have fallen2 and think of the wet and soaking trenches where the men have to stand for hours together2 and you will begin to realize what a vital part boots may play in the terrible hardships of a long and wintry campaign4 ,in the ,roman ,empire scrupulous care was given to the feet of the fighting men4 ,the shoes were specially made1 not only for long marches1 but for protection against the secret dangers of the way4 ,they had not arrived at some of our refinements in devilry1 but some of their subtleties occasioned great destruction4 ,gall-traps were set along the road1 multitudes of sharp sticks were inserted on the surface of the road1 keen as dagger points1 to obstruct the advance of an enemy1 and to maim his soldiers and compel them to fall out by the way4 ,and so it was an imperative necessity that the ,roman soldier be well shod1 his feet made easy for the most exacting march1 and defended against the hidden perils which would maim him in service and spoil him for the fray4 ,now the apostle ,paul had seen the ,roman soldier marching as to war4 ,i think he must have been particularly fond of watching soldiers because we can so often see and hear them reflected in his letters4 ,we can always learn a great deal from a man by studying his metaphors and figures of speech1 and we can get some very suggestive glimpses of his tastes and interests by watching the analogies of the apostle ,paul1 where the army is often tramping through his letters1 and the ,roman soldier is often presented to offer counsel to the soldiers of the ,lord4 ,and here in my text we are bidden to look to the soldier's shoes4 ,he is well shod1 so splendidly shod that in a moment he is ready for any call1 along any road1 and for any service4 ,and the ,christian1 too1 has long marches1 and often along difficult and trying roads1 and there are flints about and sharp thorns1 and other things that wound and make him stumble4 ,and sometimes there is scarcely a road at all1 and we have never been that way before1 and it is like the work of a pioneer cutting his way through the jungle4 ,what roads we have to tramp6 ,especially when we are apostles sent forth on the ,king's bidding6 ,and1 says the great apostle1 ,you need shoes for the roads or you will be unfit for the long journeys1 and you will easily become tired and sore1 and you may even drop out of the ranks4 ,and what kind of shoes are we to wear as soldiers of ,christ8 ,how can we be defended in our long journeyings and in our crusades in the service of the ,king8 ,the answer to these questions is given in the words3 ,have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace4 ,now what is that8 ,let me slightly recast the phrase4 ,one of the words has slightly altered its colour and significance since the days of the ,authorized ,version4 ,i mean the word preparation4 ,in the earlier days if you spoke of a man of preparation you meant a man who was prepared1 a man who was equal to opportunity1 a man who was awaiting the opening of the door1 having everything ready for the call of obligation and service4 ,so that the word preparedness would now be more accurate than the authorized word preparation4 ,having your feet shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace4 ,but ,i think we shall do even better if instead of either of these we use the word readiness4 ,having your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace4 ,what is that8 ,look at it a little more closely4 ,the readiness of the gospel2 that is the readiness which is born of the gospel as heat is born of the sun4 ,the gospel of peace enters the soul of a man and takes possession of it1 and then inspires the man with readiness4 ,what for8 ,readiness to take the road to tell others the good tidings which have filled his own soul4 ,that is it4 ,the gospel of peace enters and glorifies the soul1 and it then imparts to the feet a readiness to take the road1 the long and difficult road1 if need be1 in order to tell to others the good news which has set it free4 ,that is it4 ,have your feet shod with the readiness begotten of the gospel of peace6 ,let me give an example1 and let it be taken from the book of the prophet ,isaiah4 ,here1 then1 are people in exile1 sitting in the cold shadow of oppression1 and longing for freedom and home4 ,and over the hard mountain tracks there come messengers1 swift messengers carrying the glad tidings of emancipation4 ,there they come over the long roads6 ,and when the suffering exiles see and hear them they break into this song3 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings1 that publisheth peace2 that bringeth good tidings of ,god1 that publisheth salvation2 that saith to ,zion1 ,thy ,god reigneth6 ,break forth into joy6 ,sing together6 ,the feet of the messengers were shod with the readiness begotten of good news1 and they were speeding with comfort to the desolate and distressed4 ,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 others4 ,o ,zion1 that bringest good tidings1 get thee up into the high mountain2 ,o ,jerusalem1 that bringest good tidings1 lift up thy voice with strength2 lift it up1 be not afraid2 say unto the cities of ,judah1 ,behold your ,god6444 ,he shall feed ,his flock like a shepherd3 ,he shall gather the lambs with ,his arm1 and carry them in ,his bosom2 and shall gently lead those that are with young4 ,that was the good news1 and with the readiness begotten of the good news the messengers hastened to make it known4 ,and so it is that our feet1 as disciples of the ,lord ,jesus1 are to be shod with similar readiness1 the readiness begotten of our own experience of the goodness of ,god1 the readiness to go out on the rough and troubled roads of life1 into its highways and its byways1 its broad streets and its narrow streets1 carrying the good cheer of the news of ,god's redeeming love and grace4 ,to be ready to go wherever there is any form of bondage1 singing the gospel song of joy and freedom1--that is the privileged service of the soldiers of the ,lord4 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings6 ,have your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace4 ,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 bondage1 and who are therefore in need of good news and cheer1 and we will challenge ourselves if our feet are shod with readiness to take them the gospel of peace4 ,well1 then1 look down this road1 for here is a soul who is held in the bondage of despondency and despair4 ,you will find such souls upon almost any road you like to tread4 ,they are souls who somehow have fainted2 they have lost the warm1 cheering1 kindling light of hope4 ,now failure is never really deadly until it puts out our hope and freezes the springs of resolution4 ,the only really fatal element in defeat is the resolution not to try again4 ,we have only terribly failed when we have furled our sails4 ,yes1 ,i repeat it2 failure only becomes virulent when it breeds despair4 ,now these folk are on the road4 ,they have so utterly failed that they have lost their vital confidence1 and they have become pathetic victims of self-disparagement4 ,what do they need8 ,they need to have their lamps re-lit with the cheering light of hope4 ,they need to have their fires rekindled with the blessed warmth of confidence4 ,they need to hear of new dawnings1 of radiant to-morrows1 of larger1 brighter coming days4 ,and if they do need light and fire and sunrise1 what is that but to say that they need to hear again the good tidings of the inexhaustible love of the risen ,lord4 ,they just need ,jesus1 and the comforting gospel of ,his peace4 ,yes1 but who is to take it8 ,messengers are wanted1 messengers shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace1 messengers swift and ready to run these glorious errands as the ministers of eternal hope4 ,now1 are we shod with that gospel readiness8 ,are our feet ready for the road8 ,it is a noble and a gracious ministry4 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth oil to smouldering lamps1 and fuel to dying fires1 and that cheer and illumine the cold haunts of despondency and despair6 ,it is ,mark ,rutherford who says somewhere in what is to me an unforgettable word3 ,blessed are they who heal us of our self-despisings4 ,yes1 verily it is a beautiful ministry to kindle again the lovely light of confidence and hope4 ,are we ready for such service8 ,soldiers of ,jesus1 are our feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace8 ,look again along the road4 ,here is another lonely soul1 held in the bondage of a blinding experience4 ,let us say it is ,saul of ,tarsus1 who is now on the road to ,damascus3 ,and as he journeyed1 he came near ,damascus3 and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven3 and he fell to the earth1 and heard a voice saying unto him3 ,saul1 ,saul1 why persecuteth thou me8444 ,and ,saul arose from the earth1 and when his eyes were opened he saw no man3 but they led him by the hand and brought him into ,damascus4 ,now here is a man who is held in the bondage of a blinding experience4 ,he has been smitten in the midnight1 but has not yet seen the dawn4 ,he is convicted of sin1 but has not yet found peace4 ,he has lost his old life but has not yet found the new one4 ,his old delights have gone1 but the new joys have not yet arrived4 ,he has been stunned1 but he is not yet free6 ,and there he is6 ,what is needed8 ,o surely1 what is needed is some human messenger in whom the gospel of peace dwells like summer sunshine and fragrance1 and whose feet are shod with readiness to carry that gracious summer to others4 ,and the ,lord said unto ,ananias1 ,arise and go into the street which is called ,straight1 and inquire in the house of ,judas for one called ,saul4444 ,and ,ananias went his way1 and entered into the house2 and putting his hands on him1 said1 ,brother ,saul1 the ,lord1 even ,jesus1 that appeared unto thee on the way as thou camest1 hath sent me1 that thou mightest receive thy sight1 and be filled with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales4 ,and so the blinded found his sight1 and the enslaved found his liberty1 and the bewildered found his peace2 and one of the ,lord's messengers was the human minister in the great emancipation4 ,his feet were shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace4 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings4 ,there are other blinded people along the road1 people who are stunned and bewildered1 not by dazzling light but by fierce lightning4 ,there are people who are just blinded by calamity4 ,they have suffered the lightning stroke of disaster or bereavement4 ,i was talking to one such troubled soul this very week2 and speaking of the repeated blows of her heavy sorrows she said3 ,they just left me blind and dumb6 ,blind and dumb along the road6 ,what did she need8 ,o1 she just needed the restoring balm and cordials of heavenly comfort4 ,she needed the soft consolations of divine grace4 ,and what is that but to say again that she needed the gospel of peace8 ,and where are the messengers1 with feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace1 to carry the good tidings to this soul held in the bondage of silence and night8 ,how unspeakable is the privilege of carrying this holy grace1 and seeing the holy light of faith breaking upon the face of bewilderment1 lovelier far than the glory of sunrise breaking upon the mountains1 flushing the cold snows1 and suffusing with living color the gloominess of the pines6 ,yes1 it is a beautiful service to carry good tidings to those who are stunned4 ,how beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings6 ,soldiers of ,jesus1 are our feet shod with this readiness of the gospel of peace8 ,look once more down the road1 for there is another soul held in the bondage of ignorance4 ,let it be a man of ,ethiopia4 ,let the road be the steep descent which leadeth down from ,jerusalem to ,gaza4 ,a man of ,ethiopia1 an eunuch of great authority under ,candace1 ,queen of the ,ethiopians1 who had the charge of all her treasure1 and did go to ,jerusalem for to worship1 was returning1 and sitting in his chariot1 read ,esaias1 the prophet4 ,this man has the ,word1 but he has not got the clue4 ,he has the ,scriptures1 but he has no interpreter4 ,what is needed8 ,he needs some messenger in whom the ,word has become life1 and who has discovered the central secret of the ,scriptures in the companionship of the ,lord4 ,the angel of the ,lord spake unto ,philip1 saying1 ,arise1 and go toward the south1 unto the way that goeth down from ,jerusalem unto ,gaza4 ,and he arose and went4 ,how beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings6 ,and ,philip ran thither to him1 and heard him read the prophet ,esaias4 ,he ran on his errand because his feet were shod with readiness6 ,take my feet and let them be ,swift and beautiful for ,thee4 ,and ,philip said1 ,understandest thou what thou readest8 ,so he explained to him the ,word1 and through the ,word led him unto the ,lord4 ,and this is the last word we read about this man going down to ,egypt3 ,he went on his way rejoicing6 ,what a ministry for a servant of the ,lord6 ,and that is your gracious service1 fellow-preacher1 in the ministry of the ,word4 ,and that is your privilege1 ,sunday-school teacher1 when you meet your children in the class4 ,you are appointed by the ,lord to light up words that will burn in your scholars' minds to the very end of the pilgrim way4 ,and that is the privilege of all of us if we will just have confidence in the guiding grace of the ,lord4 ,we need not be stars in order to light lamps and kindle fires4 ,a taper is quite enough if it burns with genuine flame4 ,our greatest fitness for this kind of service is to be ready to do it1 and the ,lord ,himself will provide the needful equipment4 ,to have feet shod with readiness1 that is what we need4 ,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 love4 ,there is only one thing remaining to be said4 ,the apostle teaches that such readiness is armour for our own souls1 it is defensive armour against the world1 the flesh and the devil4 ,to be ready to tell the good news of grace1 the gospel of peace1 is to have stout protection as you trudge along the road4 ,readiness is one piece of armour in the panoply of ,god4 ,the soul which is not ready to serve is an easy prey to the evil one4 ,a man whose feet are swift to carry the good tidings of grace is the favoured child of glorious promise3 ,he shall give ,his angels charge over thee1 to keep thee in all thy ways4 ,while we are ministering to others we are being ministered unto by the spirits that surround ,his throne1 and our security is complete4 ,then let us pray for the grace and protection of readiness4 ,let us pray that the gospel of peace may more and more deeply possess our souls1 so that we may be inspired with that spontaneous readiness which awaits the ,king's bidding1 and which speeds on its way carrying the glorious treasures of grace4 ,have your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace4 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings6 ,v ,,the ,,shield ,,of ,,faith ,most ,holy ,god1 ,who lightenest every man that cometh into the world1 enlighten our hearts1 we pray ,thee1 with the light of ,thy grace1 that we may fully know our sins and our shortcomings1 and may confess them with true sorrow and contrition of heart4 ,unveil ,thy love to us1 so that in its clear shining we may behold the sin of our rebellion1 and may turn unto ,thee in humility and fervent devotion4 ,deliver us1 we pray ,thee1 from the tyranny of evil habit4 ,save us from acknowledging any sovereignty above ,thine4 ,keep us in sight of the great white throne1 and may ,thy judgments determine all our ways4 ,defend us when we are tempted to fields of transgression4 ,protect us from the allurements which assail the senses1 and which entice us1 through our fleshly desires1 into impure delights4 ,loose us from the bonds of vanity and pride1 and remove every perverting prejudice which blinds our vision4 ,impart unto us the grace of simplicity4 ,may our worship be perfectly candid and sincere4 ,give us a healthy recoil from all hypocrisy1 from all mere acting in ,thy holy ,presence4 ,quicken our perception that we may realize ,thy ,presence1 and feel the awe of the unseen4 ,lead us1 we pray ,thee1 to the fountain of life4 ,quicken our souls so that we may apprehend the things that concern our peace4 ,amen4 ,v ,,the ,,shield ,,of ,,faith ,above all1 taking the shield of faith1 wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked4 ,ephesians #f3af4 ,but did the apostle who gives the counsel find his faith an all-sufficient shield8 ,he recommends the shield of faith1 but is the recommendation based on personal experience8 ,and if so1 what is the nature and value of that experience8 ,what sort of protection did his faith give to him8 ,when ,i examine his life what tokens do ,i find of guardianship and strong defence8 ,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 world8 ,is his protected life like a garden walled around1 full of sweet and pleasant things1 and secured against the maraudings of robber and beast8 ,let us look at this protected life4 ,let us glance at the outer circumstances4 ,here is one glimpse of his experience3 ,of the ,jews five times received ,i forty stripes save one2 once was ,i stoned2 thrice have ,i suffered shipwreck2 a day and a night have ,i been in the deep2 in stripes above measure2 in prisons more frequent2 in deaths oft2 in weariness and painfulness1 in watchings often1 in hunger and thirst1 in fastings often1 in cold and nakedness4 ,and yet this is the man who speaks about the shield of faith1 and in spite of the protecting shield all these things happened unto him6 ,look at his bodily infirmities4 ,there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh4 ,where was the shield8 ,it is not necessary for us to know the character of his thorn4 ,but assuredly it was some ailment which appeared to interfere with the completeness of his work4 ,some think it was an affliction of the eyes2 others think that it was a proneness to some form of malarial fever which frequently brought him into a state of collapse and exhaustion4 ,but there it was1 and the shield of faith did not keep it away4 ,or look again at his exhausting labours4 ,there is no word concerning his ministry more pregnant with meaning than this word labour1 which the apostle so frequently used to describe his work4 ,in labours oft2 whereunto ,i labour2 ,i laboured more abundantly than they all4 ,this is not the labour of ordinary toil4 ,it is the labour of travail4 ,it is labour to the degree of poignant pang4 ,it is labour that so expends the strength as to empty the fountain4 ,it is the labour of sacrifice4 ,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 pain4 ,i thought ,god might have protected ,his servant4 ,but the shield of faith did not deliver him from the labour of travail through which he sought the birth of the children of grace4 ,or look once more at his repeated failures4 ,you can hear the wail of sadness as he frequently contemplates his ruined hopes concerning little churches which he had built1 or concerning fellow-believers whom he had won to ,christ4 ,are ye so soon fallen away8 ,ye would have given your eyes to me but now--4 ,i hear that there is strife among you4 ,it is reported that there is uncleanness among you4 ,demus hath forsaken me4 ,and it is wail after wail1 for it is failure after failure4 ,defeat is piled upon defeat4 ,it is declared to be a protected life1 and yet disasters litter the entire way4 ,it is perfectly clear that the shield of faith did not guard him from the agony of defeat4 ,such are the experiences of the man who gave his strength to proclaim the all-sufficiency of the shield of faith1 who spent his days in recommending it to his fellow-men1 and whose own life was nevertheless noisy with tumult1 and burdened with antagonisms1 and crippled by infirmity1 and clouded with defeat4 ,can this life be said to be wearing a shield8 ,we have so far been looking at the man's environment1 at his bodily infirmities1 at his activities of labor1 at his external defeats4 ,what if in all these things we have not come within sight of the realm which the apostle would describe as his life8 ,when ,paul speaks of life he means the life of the soul4 ,when he thinks of life his eyes are on the soul4 ,in all the estimates and values which he makes of life he is fixedly regarding the soul4 ,the question of success or failure in life is judged by him in the courthouse of the soul4 ,you cannot entice the apostle away to life's accidents and induce him to take his measurements there4 ,he always measures life with the measurement of an angel1 and thus he busies himself not with the amplitude of possessions1 but with the quality of being1 not with the outer estates of circumstances but with the central keep and citadel of the soul4 ,we never find the apostle ,paul with his eyes glued upon the wealth or poverty of his surroundings4 ,but everywhere and always and with endless fascination1 he watches the growth or decay of the soul4 ,when1 therefore1 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 invasion4 ,now our emphasis is prone to be entirely the other way1 and therefore we are very apt to misinterpret the teachings of the apostle ,paul and to misunderstand the holy promises of the ,lord4 ,we are prone to live in the incidents of life rather than in its essentials1 in environment rather than in character1 in possessions rather than in dispositions1 in the body rather than in the soul4 ,the consequence is that we seek our shields in the realms in which we live4 ,we live only in the things of the body and therefore against bodily ills we seek our shields4 ,we want a shield against sorrow1 to keep it away1 a shield to protect us against the break-up of our happy estate4 ,we want a shield against adversity1 to keep it away1 a shield against the darkening eclipse of the sunny day4 ,we want a shield against loss1 to keep it away1 a shield against the rupture of pleasant relations1 a shield to protect us against the bereavements which destroy the completeness of our fellowships4 ,we want a shield against pain1 to keep it away1 a shield against the pricks and goads of piercing circumstances1 against the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune4 ,in a word1 we want a shield to make us comfortable1 and because the shield of faith does not do it we are often stunned and confused1 and our thin reasonings are often twisted and broken1 and the world appears a labyrinth without a providence and without a plan4 ,it is just here that our false emphasis leads us astray4 ,we live in circumstances and seek a shield to make us comfortable2 but the apostle ,paul lived in character and sought a shield to make him holy4 ,he was not concerned with the arrangement of circumstances1 but he was concerned with the aspiration that1 be the circumstances what they might1 they should never bring disaster to his soul4 ,he did not seek a shield to keep off ill-circumstances1 but he sought a shield to keep ill-circumstances from doing him harm4 ,he sought a shield to defend him from the destructiveness of every kind of circumstance1 whether fair or foul1 whether laden with sunshine or heavy with gloom4 ,paul wanted a shield against all circumstances in order that no circumstance might unman him and impoverish the wealth of his soul4 ,let me offer a simple illustration4 ,a ray of white light is made up of many colors1 but we can devise screens to keep back any one of these colors and to let through those we please4 ,we can filter the rays4 ,or we can devise a screen to let in rays of light and to keep out rays of heat4 ,we can intercept certain rays and forbid their presence4 ,now1 to the apostle ,paul the shield of faith was a screen to intercept the deadly rays which dwell in every kind of circumstance2 and to ,paul the deadly rays in circumstances1 whether the circumstances were bright or cloudy1 were just those that consumed his spiritual susceptibilities and lessened his communion with ,god1 the things that ate out his moral fibre1 and that destroyed the wholeness and wholesomeness of his human sympathies1 and impaired his intimacy with ,god and man4 ,it was against these deadly rays he needed a shield1 and he found it in the shield of faith4 ,paul wanted a shield1 not against failure2 that might come or stay away4 ,but he wanted a shield against the pessimism that may be born of failure1 and which holds the soul in the fierce bondage of an ,arctic winter4 ,paul wanted a shield1 not against injury2 that might come or stay away2 but against the deadly thing that is born of injury1 even the foul offspring of revenge4 ,paul wanted a shield1 not against pain2 that might come or might not come2 he sought a shield against the spirit of murmuring which is so frequently born of pain1 the deadly1 deadening mood of complaint4 ,paul wanted a shield1 not against disappointment1 that might come or might not come2 but against the bitterness that is born of disappointment1 the mood of cynicism which sours the milk of human kindness and perverts all the gentle currents of the soul4 ,paul wanted a shield1 not against difficulty2 that might come or might not come2 but against the fear that is born of difficulty1 the cowardice and the disloyalty which are so often bred of stupendous tasks4 ,paul did not want a shield against success2 that might come or might not come2 but against the pride that is born of success1 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 farm4 ,paul did not want a shield against wealth2 that might come or might not come2 but against the materialism that is born of wealth1 the deadly petrifying influence which turns flesh into stone1 spirituality into benumbment1 and which makes a soul unconscious of ,god and of eternity4 ,the apostle did not want a shield against any particular circumstance1 but against every kind of circumstance1 that in everything he might be defended against the fiery darts of the devil4 ,he found the shield he needed in a vital faith in ,christ4 ,first of all the faith-life cultivates the personal fellowship of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ultimate concern of faith is not with a polity1 not with a creed1 not with a church1 and not with a sacrament1 but with the person of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,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 ,lord4 ,we must seek ,his holy presence4 ,we must let ,his purpose enter into and possess our minds4 ,we must let ,his promises distil into our hearts4 ,and we must let our own hearts and minds dwell upon the ,lord ,jesus in holy thought and aspiration1 just as our hearts and minds dwell upon the loved ones who have gone from our side4 ,we must talk to ,him in secret and we must let ,him talk to us4 ,we must consult ,him about our affairs1 and then take ,his counsels as our statutes1 and pay such heed to them that the statutes will become our songs4 ,faith-life cultivates the friendship of ,christ1 and leans upon it1 and surrenders itself with glorious abandon to the sovereign decrees of ,his grace and love4 ,and then1 secondly1 the faith-life puts first things first1 and in its list of primary values it gives first place to the treasures of the soul4 ,faith-life is more concerned with habits than with things1 with character than with office1 with self-respect than with popular esteem4 ,the faith-life puts first things first1 the clean mind and the pure heart1 and from these it never turns its eyes away4 ,and1 lastly1 the faith-life contemplates the campaign rather than the single battle4 ,one battle may seem to go against it4 ,but faith knows that one battle is not the end of the world4 ,i will see you again1 and your sorrow shall be turned into joy4 ,faith takes the long view1 the view of the entire campaign4 ,i saw the holy city1 the new ,jerusalem1 coming down out of heaven from ,god4 ,the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our ,god4 ,such a relationship to the ,lord protects our life as with an invincible shield4 ,it may please ,god to conduct our life through long reaches of cloudless noon2 the shield of faith will be our defence4 ,it may please ,god to lead us through the gloom of a long and terrible night2 the shield of faith will be our defence4 ,thou shalt not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday4 ,,vi ,,the ,,helmet ,,of ,,hope ,eternal ,god1 mercifully help us to unitedly draw near to the atoning ,saviour1 and through ,his mercies find access into the inheritance of the saints in light4 ,forgive the sins of our rebellion and redeem us from our guilt4 ,transform our spiritual habits that we may find ourselves able to fix our minds upon things above4 ,cleanse our hearts by the waters of regeneration1 in order that our inclinations may be fixed upon the things that please ,thee4 ,rekindle the fire of our affections1 purify the light of our conscience4 ,broaden our compassions and make them more delicate in their discernments4 ,impart unto us the saving sense of ,thy ,companionship1 and in the assurance of ,thy ,presence may we know ourselves competent to do ,thy will4 ,meet with us one by one4 ,equip us with all needful armour for our daily battle4 ,feed us with hidden manna1 that so our strength may be equal to our task4 ,unite us in the bonds of holy fear1 and may we all be partakers of ,thy love and grace4 ,amen4 ,,vi ,,the ,,helmet ,,of ,,hope ,and take the helmet of salvation4 ,ephesians #f3ag4 ,and for an helmet the hope of salvation4 ,i ,thessalonians #e3h4 ,the helmet of hope6 ,who has not experienced the energy of a mighty hope8 ,it is always a force to be reckoned with in the day of life's battle4 ,hope is a splendid helmet1 firmly covering the head1 and defending all its thoughts and purposes and visions from the subtle assaults of the evil one4 ,the helmet of hope is one of the best protections against losing one's head2 it is the best security against all attacks made upon the mind by small but deadly fears2 it is the only effective safeguard against petty but deadly compromise4 ,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 hope4 ,now every student of the apostle ,paul knows that he is an optimist4 ,but he is an optimist1 not because he closes his eyes1 but because he opens them and uses them to survey the entire field of vision and possibility4 ,he is an optimist1 not because he cannot see the gross darkness1--no one has painted the darkness in blacker hues1--but because he can also see the light2 and no one has portrayed the light with more alluring brilliance and glory4 ,he is an optimist1 not because he cannot see the loathsome presence of weakness1 but because he sees the unutterable grace and love of ,god4 ,yes1 he is a reasonable optimist1 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 ,paul4 ,nowhere can you travel with him1 not even to the darkest and most tragic realms of human need1 without catching the bright shining of a splendid hope4 ,you know how it is when you walk along the shore with the full moon riding over the sea4 ,between you and the moon1 and right across the troubled waters1 there is a broad pathway of silver light4 ,if you move up the shore the shining path moves with you4 ,if you move down the shore still you have the silver path across the waves4 ,wherever you stand there is always between you and the moon a shining vista stretching athwart the restless sea4 ,and wherever the great apostle journeyed1 and through whatever cold or desolate circumstances1 there was always between him and the risen ,lord1 the ,lord of grace and love1 a bright and broadening way of eternal hope4 ,no matter where he is1 and how appalling the need1 no matter what corruption may gather about the shore on which he is walking1 always there is the silver path of gospel-hope stretching from the human shore-line to the burning bliss of the eternal ,presence4 ,in ,jerusalem1 in ,antioch1 in ,lystra1 in ,ephesus1 in ,philippi1 in ,rome1 he was never without these holy beams4 ,they moved with him wherever he went1 for they were the outshining rays of the mercy of the eternal ,god4 ,yes indeed1 he was an optimist born and sustained in grace4 ,he saw a shining road of hope out of every pit1 stretching from the miry clay to the awful and yet glorious sanctities of holiness and peace4 ,now our ordinary experience teaches us how much energy resides in a commanding hope4 ,a big expectation is stored with wonderful dynamic1 and it transmits its power to every faculty in the soul4 ,the influence of a great hope fills the mind with an alert and sensitive trembling1 inspiring every thought to rise as it were on tiptoe to await and greet the expected guest4 ,a great hope pours its energy into the will1 endowing it with the strength of marvellous patience and perseverance4 ,i have lately read of an ingenious contrivance1 which is now being used in some parts of ,egypt1 in which1 by a subtle combination of glass receivers1 the heat of the sun is collected1 and the gathered energy concentrated and used in turning machinery in the varied ministries of agriculture4 ,that is to say1 the power of a diffused shining is directed to an engine and its strength enlisted in practical service4 ,and so it is with the sunny light of a large hope4 ,its gathered energy is poured into the engine of the will1 imparting glorious driving power1 the power of go and laborious persistence4 ,every sphere of human interest provides examples of this principle4 ,turn to the realm of invention4 ,an inventor has a great hope shining before him as a brilliant vision of possible achievement4 ,with what energy of will it endows him1 and with what tireless1 sleepless1 invincible patience6 ,think of the immeasurable endurance of the brothers ,wright who were inspired by the great hope of achieving the conquest of the air6 ,their hope was indeed a helmet defending them against all withering suggestions of ease1 protecting them against the call of an ignoble indolence which is so often heard in hours of defeat4 ,an electric railway has just been introduced by its inventor to the ,british ,government1 which is capable of transmitting mails and parcels along a prepared track at the rate of three hundred miles per hour2 and the inventor has recently quietly told us that he has been at work upon it for thirty years6 ,but think how1 all through those long and many fruitless years1 his helmet of hope defended him1 and especially protected him from those alluring suggestions which come from the mild climate of ,lotus-,land1 and which tempt a man to relax his tension and lie down in the pleasant and thymy banks of rest and ease4 ,or seek your examples in the realms of discovery4 ,read the chapters in ,lord ,lister's life which tell how he1 braced and inspired by a mighty hope1 laboured and laboured in the quest of an anaesthetic4 ,or turn to the equally fascinating pages which tell how ,sir ,james ,simpson toiled1 and moiled1 and dared1 and suffered in the long researches which led to the discovery of chloroform4 ,his will was rendered indomitable by the splendid hope of assuaging human pain4 ,or think again of the restless1 tireless labours of hundreds of men who are to-day engaged in searching for the microscopic cause of cancer1 that having found it they might isolate it1 and discover an antagonist which shall work its complete destruction4 ,there is a glorious hope shining across the cancer waste1 and it is nerving the will of research with unconquerable perseverance4 ,yes1 indeed1 men wear a splendid helmet1 even in the ways of common experience1 when they wear the helmet of hope4 ,and mark their condition when they lose it4 ,turn to the scriptural record of the voyage when ,paul and his fellow-prisoners were being escorted by soldiers to take their trial in ,rome3 ,a tempestuous storm arose1 and1 in the power of a mighty hope to save the boat and themselves the men called out every ounce of their strength4 ,but now note this connection in the narrative as ,i read it to you3 ,all hope was taken away4 444 ,we let her drift4 ,that is it1 and it offers a striking symbol of a common experience4 ,while our hope is burning we steer2 when our hope is gone out we drift4 ,the motive power is gone1 and the hopeless man is like a drifting hull in the midst of a wild and desolate sea4 ,or turn to the pages of ,capt4 ,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 ,pole4 ,the narrative just blazes with hope1 and therefore it tingles with energy and shouts with song6 ,but when ,amundsen's flag was seen at the ,pole1 and their strong hope was gone1 and the disappointed company began to return--,o what heavy feet1 and what accumulated burdens1 and what fiercely added laboriousness to an already laborious road6 ,hope had gone1 and they nobly trudged1 and trudged1 and trudged1 to faint1 and fall1 and die6 ,aye1 men and women1 hope is a tremendous power4 ,to have hope is to have always fresh reserves to meet every new expenditure of the will4 ,to lose hope is like losing the dynamo1 the secret of inspiration1 and the once indomitable will droops and faints away4 ,it just makes an infinite difference whether or not we are wearing the helmet of hope4 ,but now1 if all this is true of common hope and common experience1 how is it with the supreme hope1 the hope of salvation8 ,what is this hope1--the hope of salvation8 ,to whom is the apostle ,paul giving this counsel8 ,he is giving it to ,christian believers in ,ephesus3 ,but were they not already saved8 ,why should he speak to them of the hope of salvation as though it were something still to be won8 ,i remember when ,i was a mere boy going to ,spurgeon's ,tabernacle1 and as ,i was retiring from the building at the close of the service1 a gentleman laid his hand upon my shoulder1 and said3 ,my boy1 are you saved8 ,his question suggested that it was something ,i might already have experienced4 ,well1 had not the ,ephesian disciples passed through that same experience8 ,a little while ago a ,london cabman stood at the foot of the pulpit-stairs in our church1 and told me that by the grace of ,god he had been wonderfully saved4 ,but the apostle speaks to these believers of the hope of salvation as though it were something still before them4 ,they had taken a great step in discipleship in that vast and wicked city of ,ephesus1 crowded with all sorts of antagonisms1 and they had boldly confessed themselves on the side of ,christ4 ,and yet1 the apostle counsels them to wear as a helmet the hope of salvation4 ,the truth is that the apostle ,paul uses all the three primary tenses in speaking of salvation4 ,he speaks to believers in the past tense1 and he says3 ,we were saved4 ,and to the same believers he uses the present tense1 and he says3 ,ye are being saved4 ,and yet again to the same believers he uses the future tense1 ,ye shall be saved4 ,all of which means that to this great apostle a gloriously full salvation stretches across the years from past to future1 gathering riches with every passing day4 ,salvation to ,paul was more than a step1 it was also a walk4 ,it was more than a crisis1 it was also a prolonged process4 ,it was more than the gift of new life1 it was the maturing in growth and power4 ,a drowning man1 when he is lifted out of the water1 is in a very profound sense vitally saved4 ,but after this initial salvation there is the further salvation of re-collecting his scattered consciousness1 and of recovering his exhausted strength4 ,and in a very glorious sense a man is spiritually saved in a moment2 in a moment in ,christ ,jesus he passed from death into life4 ,but it is also equally true that a man is only saved in a lifetime1 as he appropriates to himself more and more the grace and truth of the risen ,lord4 ,yes1 after we have been converted and saved1 there is a further salvation in self-recovery1 in self-discovery1 all of which becomes ours in a fuller and richer discovery of ,christ4 ,our possibilities of salvation in ,christ ,jesus stretch before us like range upon range of glorious mountains4 ,when we have attained one range we have only obtained a new vantage-ground for beholding another2 when that1 too1 has been climbed1 still vaster and grander ranges rise into view4 ,every fresh addition to our ,christlikeness increases our power of discernment1 and every added power of discernment unfolds a larger vision and a more glorious and alluring hope4 ,all believers in ,christ ,jesus have been saved4 ,all believers in ,christ ,jesus are being saved4 ,all believers in ,christ ,jesus will be saved4 ,and therefore1 says the apostle1 always wear the helmet of hope1 the hope of salvation4 ,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 ,paul1 if perchance by ,god's good grace we may appropriate them to our own souls4 ,for he1 too1 is wearing the helmet of hope1 the hope of salvation4 ,what1 then1 does he hope for8 ,what mighty hope is throwing the energies of its defences upon and around his soul8 ,here is one of his hopes2 look at it3 ,in hope of the glory of ,god4 ,he wore that hope1 and he wore it like a helmet1 and he wore it night and day4 ,he had gazed upon the glory of the ,lord1 the wondrous light of grace and truth which shone in the face of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and now he dared to hold the glorious hope of becoming glorified with the same glory4 ,he dared to hope that his own soul would become translucent with the holy light of divine truth and purity4 ,it almost makes one catch the breath to see such spiritual audacity4 ,one has read of young boys trembling with artistic sensibility1 bowing in the presence of the world's masterpieces in art or music1 and becoming possessed with the amazing hope of one day sharing the master's light and glory4 ,but here is a man who has been prostrate in the presence of his ,god4 ,he has been humbly gazing upon the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely4 ,and now1 in a daring which yet quiets the soul in reverence and prayerful lowliness1 he tells his fellow-believers that he lives in hope of the glory of ,god4 ,what a hope6 ,the hope of being glorified with ,god's glory1 of being made gracious with ,his grace1 of being made truthful with ,his truth1 of being sanctified with ,his holiness1 of being transformed into the same image1 from glory unto glory6 ,i say1 what a hope1 and therefore1 what a helmet6 ,with a helmet like that defending a man's brain1 what a defence he has against all the petty devilries which seek to enter among our thoughts in the shape of mean purposes1 and petty moral triflings1 such as so often invade and desolate the whole realm of the mind6 ,what a hope this is1 and what a helmet2 the hope of the glory of ,god4 ,and here is another way the apostle has of describing the hope he wears1 the hope of salvation2--,to present us spotless before ,his throne4 ,quietly and reverently repeat that phrase1 again1 and again1 and again1 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 glory4 ,to present us spotless before ,his throne4 ,what a hope6 ,and yet this man wore it every day1 in all the ups and downs1 the victories and defeats of his ever-changing life4 ,to present us spotless before ,his throne6 ,just think of wearing that hope in ,new ,york6 ,and by ,god's good grace we can wear it2 yes1 indeed1 we can1 and what a helmet to wear6 ,when a man has got that helmet on1 and some sharp temptation is hurled at him1 it will fall away from him like a paper pellet thrown against the armour plate of a mighty dreadnought4 ,to present us spotless6 ,wear that helmet of hope1 and the devil shall batter thee in vain4 ,for what can the devil do with men and women in whom these hopes are blazing8 ,he offers us his glittering snares1 and they are revealed as common paste in the presence of genuine stones4 ,they stand exposed as noisy fireworks in the presence of the stars4 ,let us wear the helmet of hope1 the helmet of salvation1 and we are quite secure4 ,but let us put it on every day4 ,every morning let us put on the helmet1 and often and again during the day let us feel that it is in its place4 ,let us begin the day by saying1 ,now1 my soul1 live to-day in hope of the glory of ,god6 ,live to-day in the hope of being presented spotless before ,his throne6 ,live to-day in the hope of being 'filled unto all the fulness of ,god'4 ,let us put that helmet on1 and let us do it deliberately1 prayerfully1 and trustfully1 and in life's evil day we shall be able to stand1 and having done all1 to stand4 ,,vii ,,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,spirit ,heavenly ,father1 ,who hast given ,thy ,holy ,spirit to comfort and to guide ,thy servants1 teach us to trust ,his leading4 ,day by day we would listen to ,his consolation and direction4 ,when we open ,thy ,word of ,life we would rely upon ,his illuminating interpretation4 ,when the story of the character and the depths of the teaching of ,jesus are far beyond us1 and seem unapproachable1 when doubts and fears assail the mind1 let us abide in quiet repose under the tuition of the indwelling ,spirit4 ,when desire for the highest life fails1 and hunger and thirst after righteousness are forgotten in other pursuits1 may the kindly ,spirit inspire afresh the ardor of enthusiasm which ,he alone can create4 ,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 ,him2 through ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4 ,,vii ,,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,spirit ,take the sword of the ,spirit which is the ,word of ,god4 ,ephesians #f3ag4 ,here is the ,christian soldier with his sword1 and his sword is the ,word of ,god4 ,and what a sword it is6 ,then said ,mr4 ,greatheart to ,mr4 ,valiant-for-truth1 ,thou hast worthily behaved thyself2 let me see thy sword4 ,so he showed it him4 ,when he had taken it into his hand and looked thereon a while1 he said1 ,ha1 it is a right ,jerusalem blade4 ,then said ,mr4 ,valiant-for-truth1 ,it is so4 ,let a man have one of these blades1 with a hand to wield it1 and skill to use it1 and he may venture upon an angel with it4 ,he need not fear its holding if he can but tell how to lay on4 ,its edge will never blunt4 ,it will cut flesh and bones1 and soul and spirit and all4 ,yes indeed1 this sword is a serviceable and most efficient weapon4 ,and it might be profitable1 in the very beginning of our meditation1 to go on to the field of actual battle and watch one or two mighty swordsmen wielding the sword in actual war4 ,and let us begin with ,him who could wield the sword as none other could do and who never drew it in vain4 ,and the tempter came to ,him and said1 ,if ,thou art the ,son of ,god command that these stones be made bread4 ,at once the ,master's hand was on the hilt of ,his sword and ,he drew it forth for combat4 ,it is written man shall not live by bread alone4 ,it was the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the ,word of ,god6 ,the place of battle is now changed1 but the missing text unto ,him1 ,all these things will ,i give ,thee if ,thou wilt fall down and worship me4 ,and again the ,master whipped out ,his sword2--,get thee hence1 ,satan1 for it is written1 ,thou shalt worship the ,lord ,thy ,god1 and ,him only shalt ,thou serve4 ,it was the sword of the ,spirit which is the ,word of ,god6 ,now turn your eyes to quite another field of battle where one of the ,master's disciples1 a very skilful swordsman1 is in combat with a very deadly foe4 ,and when the people saw what ,paul had done--he had just given a cripple the power to walk--they lifted up their voices saying1 ,the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men4 ,and they called ,barnabas ,jupiter1 and ,paul ,mercurius1 because he was the chief speaker4 ,now what did the apostle do in the presence of so deadly a peril1 a peril which garbed itself in the attractive robes of light8 ,immediately he drew out his sword1 and fought his shining antagonist with a word from the #adfth ,psalm6 ,that is excellent swordwork1 by a most excellent swordsman6 ,and he used the sword of the ,spirit which is the ,word of ,god4 ,or turn once more to another field of battle1 to the ,valley of ,humiliation1 where poor ,christian was hard put to it4 ,for he had gone but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him2 his name was ,apollyon4 ,then did ,christian draw1 for he saw it was time to bestir him2 ,apollyon as fast made at him1 throwing darts as thick as hail4444 ,the sword combat lasted for about half a day1 even till ,christian was almost quite spent2 for you must know that ,christian1 by reason of his wounds1 must needs grow weaker and weaker4 ,then ,apollyon1 espying his opportunity1 began to gather up close to ,christian1 and wrestling with him gave him a dreadful fall2 and with that ,christian's sword flew out of his hand4 ,then said ,apollyon1 ,i am sure of thee now4 ,and with that he had almost pressed him to death1 so that ,christian began to despair of life4 ,but as ,god would have it1 while ,apollyon was fetching his last blow1 thereby to make a full end of this good man1 ,christian nimbly reached out his hand for his sword1 saying1 ,rejoice not against me1 oh mine enemy3 when ,i fall ,i shall arise2 and with that gave him a deadly thrust which made him give back as one that had received his mortal wound4 ,christian perceiving that made at him again1 saying1 ',nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4' ,and with that ,apollyon spread forth his broken wings1 and sped him away1 so that ,christian saw him no more4444 ,i never saw ,christian all this while give as much as one pleasant look1 till he perceived he had wounded ,apollyon with his two-edged sword2 then indeed he did smile and look upward4444 ,then there came to him a man with some of the leaves of the tree of life1 the which ,christian took and applied to the wounds that he had received in the battle and was healed immediately4 ,surely to watch expert fighters like these1 who turn their battlefields into fields of glory1 makes one more ambitious to possess and wield that same two-edged sword1 the sword of the ,spirit which is the ,word of ,god6 ,well now1 it is this sword which ,paul advises these young disciples at ,ephesus to get and hold at all costs1 and never to leave it rusting in the scabbard at home4 ,and surely1 if there was need for swordwork anywhere it was in that gay1 shallow1 materialistic city of ,ephesus4 ,we have been reading many terrible accounts of late of bayonet fighting in the trenches in ,belgium and ,france1 where gunnery attacks were unavailable1 and where men came face to face in the hot breath of one another's passions1 and were locked in the death-grip of hand-to-hand encounter4 ,it was even so with the spiritual warfare in ,ephesus4 ,there was no long-range fighting1 no far distant antagonisms1 no remote or merely theoretical persecution4 ,the foes of the soul were exceedingly real1 exceedingly near1 and exceedingly intimate4 ,in ,ephesus your enemy was upon you in a moment1 and there was nothing for it but never to let the sword fall from your hand4 ,spiritual enemies approached the soul every hour of the day1 and it was imperative to run them through with the sword of the truth4 ,there were falsities1 and subtleties1 and evasions2 there were ambiguities and sophistries2 there were half truths linked with black falsehood1 and white lies linked with snatches of truth2 there were exaggerations and perversions2 there were insinuations and evil counsels2 there were mean expediencies and illicit compromises2 there were hypocrisies of every kind in that prosperous city of ,ephesus1 tricked out in apparent seemliness1 and perilous in all the wiles of the devil4 ,what1 then1 was a young ,christian to do in all that immoral welter8 ,he must have his sword in hand1 always in hand1 and he must prick these bubbles1 and pierce these showy disguises1 and rend these deceptive veils1 and he must do it at once1 before they mastered him with the plausible counterfeits of the truth4 ,i saw a photograph the other day from the ,european field of war1 in which a company of soldiers were examining a load of hay4 ,they were piercing it with their swords in the endeavour to find out if any foe lay hidden in the fragrant pile4 ,and ,i could not but think of the warfare of the soul1 and of the sweet and fragrant disguises in which the devil is so often concealed4 ,the devil in a hay-rick6 ,i have experienced it a thousand times4 ,a deadly temptation hidden in some innocent expediency6 ,some fatal lure concealed in a popular custom6 ,corruption housing itself in a white lie6 ,the enemy wearing a white robe6 ,the devil1 ,i say1 in a hay-rick6 ,in such conditions there was only one resource for these disciples in ,ephesus1 as there is only one resource for you and me to-day1 to have our swords always ready1 and to pierce these glistening falsities in the blessed name of the holy and unchanging ,god4 ,yes1 whip out your sword1 the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the ,word of ,god4 ,what1 then1 is this sword8 ,it is the ,word of ,god4 ,and what is this ,word of ,god which we are to flash through all falsehood like the thrust of a gleaming sword8 ,what is this ,word which is to be our sword8 ,well1 first of all1 it is the word of divine truth2 ,god's way of thinking about things4 ,and therefore when we are wielding the sword we are using a thought of ,god4 ,we are to use ,god's thought about a thing in fighting all other thoughts about that thing4 ,for instance1 we are to take ,god's thought about life1 and use it as a sword to meet and destroy all mean and unworthy conceptions of life4 ,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 day4 ,we are to take ,god's thought about holiness1 and use it in fighting all ignoble compromises which may satisfy a poor standard in the kingdom of the letter1 but which have no standing in the more glorious realm of the spirit4 ,we are to take ,god's thought about worship1 and fight all the little1 mean1 seductive ritualisms which so frequently strut about in royal and gorgeous robes1 but which are empty of all vital spiritual wealth and power4 ,and so with a thousand other relations4 ,god's thought about a thing is to be our sword in fighting all the debasing thoughts of that thing2 it may be ,god's thought of work1 or of wealth1 or of success1 or of failure1 or ,god's thought of pleasure1 or of service1 or of death4 ,what does ,god think about a thing8 ,that is my sword1 the thought of ,god which is the word of ,god4 ,and we are to take that shining1 flaming1 flashing thought1 and use it as a sword among all the creeping1 crawling things1 or against all the flying and bewitching subtleties of things which abounded in ,ephesus1 and which are equally prolific in ,london or ,new ,york4 ,and so does the apostle give us this counsel3 ,take the sword of the spirit1 which is the thought or word of ,god4 ,and now ,i can add a second characteristic of the sword1 a characteristic which amplifies and corroborates the first4 ,this word of ,god1 which is to be our sword1 is not only the word of divine truth as laid upon the mind4 ,it is also the word of divine commandment as laid upon the will4 ,it is a word which divinely reveals our personal duty1 imposing upon us some imperative mission4 ,some word of ,god comes to us with the mysterious suggestion of obligation1 and we often receive it over against some soft and wooing temptation to an indulgent indolence2 and we are to take the divine word of obligation1 and with it fight and slay the soft seduction to ease4 ,we have this sort of warfare most vividly described in the experience of the prophet ,jonah4 ,let me set it before you4 ,and the word of the ,lord came unto ,jonah1 saying1 ,arise1 go to ,nineveh1 that great city1 and cry against it6 ,let us note the lines of this experience4 ,the word of the ,lord came to ,jonah as an imperative and an obligation4 ,it said ,nineveh6 ,but another word came to ,jonah1 a soft1 luxurious1 seductive word1 luring him to ,tarshish4 ,and there you have all the conditions of spiritual warfare2 and the only way for the believer is to take the word of obligation1 and use it as a mighty sword against the word of seduction2 he must take his sword and slay it1 or chase it in miserable flight from the field4 ,the word of duty is the word of ,god1 and therefore the word of duty is thy sword against every plausible temptation that would snare thee to disloyal ease4 ,there is still a third descriptive word about the sword1 and which again corroborates and enriches the others4 ,the word of ,god1 which is the sword of the spirit1 is not only the word of divine truth laying ,god's thought upon the mind2 and not only the word of divine commandment laying ,god's purpose upon the will2 it is also the word of divine promise laying ,god's strengthening comfort upon the heart4 ,just think of that fine sword1 the word of promise1 being handed to these young and tempted disciples in this awful1 hostile city of ,ephesus4 ,i think we may easily imagine1 without presumption1 how they would apply the apostle's counsel1 and how the older men among them would train the younger men in the expert use of this shining sword4 ,they would say3 ,whenever you go out to your work1 amid all the cold1 bristling antagonisms of the world1 carry the sword of promise6 ,when your circumstances seem to mock you because of your unnerving loneliness1 whip out the sword of promise6 ,when you appear to be in a minority of one1 and the enemy swarms in menace around you on every side1 carry this sword of promise in your right hand1 ',i will never leave thee nor forsake thee4' ,and when the enemy taunts you because of your weakness1 or your want of culture1 or your lack of rank and social prestige1 or your nobodyism and nothingism1 whip out the sword and fight the taunt with this word of promise1 ',neither shall any one pluck you out of my hand'6 ,thus do ,i think these disciples would speak to one another1 as1 blessed be ,god1 disciples can speak to one another to-day4 ,when the devil comes to us in our loneliness1 in our weakness1 in our seeming abandonment1 let us lay hold of the word of grace1 and fight all the enemies' taunts with the divine promise1 and pierce them through and through1 turning the foe to rout1 and remaining more than conquerors on the hard and finely won field4 ,well1 such is what ,i think to be the sword4 ,it is the word of divine truth1 it is the word of divine commandment1 and it is the word of divine promise4 ,it is a superlatively excellent sword1 it is a right ,jerusalem blade4 ,let a man have one of these blades1 with a hand to wield it1 and skill to use it1 and he may venture upon an angel with it4 ,its edge will never blunt1 for it is the sword of the spirit1 which is the word of ,god4 ,where1 then1 can we find this word of ,god which is to be our sword of the spirit4 ,well1 first of all1 we can find the word of ,god in the sacred ,scriptures4 ,we can get our sword from its splendid armoury4 ,here is the word which gives the revelation of truth1 telling me how the great ,god thinks about things1 and therefore1 telling me how to think amid all the plausible errors of our time4 ,and here1 too1 is the word which gives the revelation of duty1 telling me what the great ,god would have me do4 ,and here also is the word which gives the revelation of promise1 telling me what resources are prepared for them who follow the fair gleams of truth and take the divine road of duty and obedience4 ,yes1 the word of ,god is in the old ,book1 and here you can find your sword4 ,but sometimes the word of ,god is given to us1 not through the medium of a book1 not even the book of the ,scriptures1 but in a direct and immediate message to our own souls4 ,oh1 yes1 sometimes the ,captain of our salvation gives me my sword without my having to make recourse to the written word4 ,he speaks to me and hands me my sword with no intermediary between us4 ,the word of the ,lord comes unto thee and unto me as it came to the herdman ,amos1 and the courtier ,isaiah1 and to the fisherman ,peter1 and to the university student ,paul4 ,he speaks to thee and to me4 ,hath ,he not promised1 and shall ,he not do it8 ,thine ears shall hear a word behind thee1 saying1 ,this is the way2 walk ye in it4 ,and ,his that gentle voice we hear1 ,soft as the breath of even2 ,that checks each fault1 and calms each fear1 ,and speaks of heaven6 ,if the sword of the spirit is the word of ,god1 then sometimes ,i take my sword immediately from my ,sovereign's hand1--the word of truth1 the word of duty1 and the word of promise1--and like ,st4 ,francis of ,assisi1 and ,st4 ,catherine of ,sienna1 and ,george ,fox1 all of them mystics1 and all of them deep in the knowledge of the mind and heart of ,god1 ,i1 too1 can take the sword and use it on the wide and changing battlefields of life1 and be more than conqueror through ,him ,who loved me and gave ,himself for me4 ,take the sword of the spirit1 which is the word of ,god4 ,well1 then1 let us take the sword2 let us draw it1 and let us use it4 ,let us reverently find the word in the ,book of ,holy ,writ1 or in the secret chamber of our own soul2 and then let us carry it as our sword to the immediate occasion1 and to the next stage upon life's road4 ,let us have the sword ready1 always ready2 let us be always at attention1 waiting with the word of ,god to meet the tempting word of man4 ,a man without a sword is in a sorry way when the devil leaps upon him4 ,that was the tragic plight of ,judas ,iscariot4 ,when the chief priests and scribes came to bargain with him1 to induce him to sell his ,lord1 he ought to have had his sword ready1 and to have run it through the devilish suggestion when it was only newly born4 ,but somehow1 somehow1 he had lost his sword1 and he was undone--and he covenanted with them for thirty pieces of silver6 ,and when you and ,i are tempted to sell the ,lord1 when we are tempted to make a dirty bargain of any kind1 when we are tempted to prefer money to integrity1 or unholy ease to stern duty1 or soft flattery to rugged truth1 let us have our swords in our hands1--the sword of the spirit which is the word of ,god--and let us slay the suggestion at its very birth4 ,have your sword ready4 ,you may need it before you get home4 ,have your sword ready6 ,fight the good fight of faith1 and lay hold on eternal life4 ,,viii ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,use ,,of ,,prayer ,almighty ,god1 ,our ,father1 it is by ,thy grace that we attain unto holiness1 and it is by ,thy light that we find wisdom4 ,we humbly pray that ,thy grace and light may be given unto us1 so that we may come into the liberty of purity and truth4 ,wilt ,thou graciously exalt our spirits and enable us to live in heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus8 ,impart unto us a deep dissatisfaction with everything that is low1 and mean1 and unclean1 and create within us such pure desire that we may appreciate the things which ,thou hast prepared for them that love ,thee4 ,wilt ,thou receive us as guests of ,thy table8 ,give us the glorious sense of ,thy presence1 and the precious privilege of intimate communion4 ,feed us with the bread of life2 nourish all our spiritual powers2 help us to find our delight in such things as please ,thee4 ,give us strength to fight the good fight of faith4 ,give us holy courage1 that we may not be daunted by any fear1 or turn aside from our appointed task4 ,make us calm when we are to tread an unfamiliar road1 and may ,thy presence give us companionship divine4 ,meet with us1 we humbly pray ,thee1 in all the appointed means of grace1 and may the joyful remembrance of this service inspire us in all common life and service of after days4 ,amen4 ,,viii ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,use ,,of ,,prayer ,praying always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints2 and for me that utterance may be given unto me1 that ,i may open my mouth boldly1 to make known the mystery of the gospel4 ,ephesians #f3ah1 #ai4 ,we have been engaged in studying the different pieces of the ,christian soldier's armour as it is described to us by the apostle ,paul4 ,let us now glance at the warrior as he stands before us fully armed and ready for the field4 ,his loins are girt about with truth1 the truth revealed in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,he is protected back and front with a coat of mail1 the righteousness of the ,lord ,jesus1 a righteousness which covers him in a moment as with a garment1 and then little by little imparts to him the holy likeness of his ,lord4 ,his feet are shod with readiness1 and are swiftly obedient to do the ,king's bidding and to carry his message of grace and good-will4 ,he bears the shield of faith1 his sure screen from every deadly dart springing from any kind of circumstance1 whether in the cloudless noon or in the blackest midnight4 ,on his head there is the helmet of salvation1 the helmet of a mighty hope1 protecting his mind from the invasion of deadly distractions1 and from all the belittling suggestions of the evil one4 ,in his hand he carries the sword of the ,spirit1 the word or thought of ,god1 the shining thought wherewith every other kind of thought is overthrown or put to utter rout4 ,now that1 surely1 is a brave and gleaming equipment4 ,surely the armour is all-sufficient1 and the well-appointed1 well-defended warrior is now ready for the field6 ,let him go forth to meet the great enemy of souls4 ,let him encounter all the wiles of the devil1 and let him so hold himself and so use himself as to convert every hour of opportunity into a season of spiritual glory4 ,no1 no1 not yet6 ,says the apostle1 ,steady6 ,with all his shining armour his equipment is not yet complete4 ,there is one other vital thing to be named1 and this the ,christian warrior must take along with him1 for his warfare will be hopeless if he leaves it behind4 ,praying always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints4 ,now why should the ,christian warrior pray8 ,he must pray as a suppliant for the robust health of his own spirit4 ,yes1 but why should he pray for the maintenance of his own spiritual health8 ,what is the vital relationship between the praying soul and the attainment of moral and spiritual robustness8 ,how is prayer related to a man's moral force8 ,this is the relationship4 ,a praying warrior receives into his soul the grace-energies of the eternal ,god4 ,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 completeness4 ,now we do not pray in order to make ,god willing to impart this grace1 but in order to fit ourselves to receive it4 ,we do not pray to ingratiate ,god's good-will1 but to open our souls in hospitality4 ,we do not pray in order to create a friendly air1 but to let it in1 not to propitiate ,god but to appropriate ,him4 ,we do not pray to turn a reluctant ,god toward ourselves1 but to turn our reluctant selves toward a ready and bountiful ,god4 ,it is imperative that we should lay hold of this teaching very firmly4 ,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 ,spirit4 ,prayer then1 ,i say1 is first and chiefly the establishment of communion with ,god4 ,prayer is the clearing of the blocked roads which are crowded with all sorts of worldly hindrances4 ,prayer is the preparing of the way of the ,lord4 ,when ,i turn to the ,lord in prayer ,i open the doors and windows of my soul toward the heavenlies1 and ,i open them for the reception of any gifts of grace which ,god's holy love may wish me to receive4 ,my reverent thought in prayer perfects communion between my soul and ,god4 ,let me offer an illustration4 ,i am told there is electricity in my house4 ,i am told that this mysterious1 invisible1 electric spirit is waiting to be my minister and to serve me in a dozen different ways4 ,i go into a room where the genius is said to be waiting1 and yet the room is held in darkness4 ,where is this friendly spirit8 ,where is the light which is one of its promised services8 ,and then ,i am told that an action of mine1 quite a simple one1 is required1 and that when the action has been performed the waiting spirit will reveal itself in radiant beams4 ,and so ,i bring my will into play1 and ,i push a button1 or ,i lift a tiny lever1 and my action completes the circuit1 and the subtle energy leaps into the carbon filament and turns my darkness into light4 ,that is it6 ,my action completes the circuit6 ,and when ,i turn my will to pray1 when ,i seek the holy1 sanctifying power of ,god1 my prayer completes the circuit between my soul and ,god1 and ,i receive whatever the inexhaustible fountain of grace is always waiting to bestow4 ,and so do ,i say that prayer is first of all1 and most of all1 the establishing of a vital communion between the soul and ,god4 ,lord ,tennyson1 in what must have been a wonderful conversation on the subject of prayer with ,mr4 ,gladstone1 and ,holman ,hunt1 and ,james ,addington ,symonds1 said that to him prayer was the opening of the sluice-gates between his soul and the waters of eternal life4 ,it is worth while just to dwell upon ,tennyson's figure for a moment4 ,the figure may have been taken from a canal4 ,you enter a lock and you are shut up within its prison4 ,and then you open the sluice-gates1 and the water pours into your prison and lifts you up to the higher level1 and your boat emerges again on a loftier plane of your journey4 ,or the figure may have been taken from a miller's wheel3 ,there are the miller and his mill4 ,and the wheel is standing idle1 or it is running but sluggishly and wearily at its work4 ,and then the miller opens the sluice-gate1 and the waiting water rushes along1 and leaps upon the wheel1 and makes it sing in the bounding rapidity of its motion4 ,prayer1 says ,tennyson1 is the opening of the sluice-gates and the letting into the soul of the waiting life and power of ,god4 ,prayer opens the sluice-gates1 and the water of life floods the sluggish affections1 and freshens the drowsy sympathies1 and braces and speeds the will like the glorious rush of the stream upon the miller's wheel4 ,that1 to me1 is the dominant conception of prayer4 ,prayer opens the soul to ,god4 ,prayer opens the life to the workings of infinite grace4 ,and now ,i see why the ,christian soldier should be so urgently counselled to pray4 ,prayer keeps open his lines of communication4 ,prayer keeps him in touch with his base of supplies4 ,without prayer he is isolated by the flanking movements of the world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 and he will speedily give out in the dark and cloudy day4 ,men ought always to pray and not to faint4 ,if that is one reason why the ,christian soldier should pray in order to maintain the bounding health of his own spirit1 we are now faced with the second question as to when he should pray4 ,and here is the answer of the veteran warrior ,paul3 ,praying always4 ,not at some time1 but at all times6 ,praying always4 ,but can we do that8 ,always8 ,but ,i am called upon to earn my daily bread4 ,i have to face a hundred different problems4 ,every bit of gray matter in my brain is devoting its strength to the immediate task4 ,is it possible for us to think of two things at once8 ,can we be thinking out some absorbing question in business1 and at the same time be praying to ,god8 ,one thing is surely perfectly clear1 we cannot always be thinking of ,god3 ,it is constitutionally impossible4 ,but now1 while we cannot always be thinking of ,god1 and always speaking to ,god1 we can always be mentally disposed toward ,him1 so that whatever we are doing there can be a mental leaning or bias towards ,his most holy will4 ,let me show you what ,i mean4 ,we must reverently dare to reason in this great matter as we reason in other relationships4 ,turn1 then1 for an illustration1 to common gymnastics4 ,in physical gymnastics there is no need for us to be always exercising1 to be at it every moment of the waking day4 ,the body does not need it4 ,indeed1 it would resent it1 and rebel against it4 ,but here is the healthy genius of gymnastic exercises4 ,regular exercises give the body a certain healthy pose1 a certain vigour and excellence of carriage1 which the body retains between the exercises when we are going about our accustomed work4 ,that is to say1 conscious exercise makes unconscious habit4 ,our conscious exercise forces the body into attitudes which persist as habits when we are doing something else4 ,we can retain the pose of the gymnasium on the street1 and we can retain it without thinking4 ,and so it is with spiritual exercises when they are as real as the exercises in the gymnasium4 ,when a man prays1 and prays as deliberately and purposely as he practices physical exercises1 when he drills his soul as he drills his body1 he gives his mind and soul a certain pose1 a certain attitude1 a certain stateliness and loftiness of carriage4 ,he gives his soul a healthy bias towards ,god1 and the soul retains the bias when he is no longer upon his knees4 ,his soul carries itself ,godward even when he is earning his daily bread4 ,god can get at him any time and anywhere6 ,the way is open1 the communion is unbroken6 ,that is the vital logic of the matter4 ,by regular spiritual exercises we can subdue the soul to spiritual habit4 ,again and again throughout the day it is possible for us1 by a conscious upward glance1 to confirm the habit2 until it happens that the soul is always in the posture of prayer1--in business1 in laughter1 in trade1 at home1 or abroad1 always in prayer1--and therefore1 in every part of the wide and varied battleground of life receiving the all-sufficient grace and love of ,god4 ,and so the ,christian soldier is to be ,praying always1 with all prayer and supplication in the spirit4 ,but the ,christian soldier is not only a suppliant for his own spiritual health4 ,he is much more than this4 ,the apostle counsels him to be a suppliant for the health of the entire ,christian army4 ,praying always1 with all prayer and supplication in the spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints4 ,that is to say1 the ,christian soldier not only prays for the health of his own spirit1 but for a healthy esprit de corps throughout the whole militant ,church of ,christ4 ,it is his duty and privilege to be prayerfully jealous for all the saints1 and for the spiritual equipment of all his fellow-soldiers on the field4 ,now this is a very wonderful privilege entrusted to the disciple of ,christ4 ,to every believer there is entrusted the marvellous ministry of helping others to receive the energies of divine grace1 and to strengthen them in the fierce combats of their own evil day4 ,for the character of our evil days is very varied4 ,your evil day may not be mine1 and my evil day may not be yours4 ,what makes an evil day for you may never trouble me1 and what makes my day difficult and tempestuous may leave you perfectly serene4 ,it is to be accounted for in many ways4 ,the differences in our circumstances account1 to some extent1 for the differences in our evil days4 ,the differences in our occupations create great differences in our daily warfare in the spirit4 ,the differences in our temperaments make no two persons' battles quite alike4 ,and yet1 with all our differences1 we are all called upon to stand in our own evil day1 and having done all1 to stand4 ,peter's evil day would be very different from ,john's4 ,thomas' evil day would be very different from ,nathanael's4 ,dorcas' evil day would be quite different to the evil days which gloomed upon ,euodia and ,synteche4 ,but blessed be ,god1 by the holy ministry of prayer we can strengthen one another to stand in the evil day4 ,we can help every soldier to keep his spiritual roads open and to prepare the way of the ,lord4 ,we are called upon to be sentinel suppliants on their behalf1 watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints4 ,we are to be ever on the look-out1 vigilant for the entire army of the ,lord1 divinely jealous for its healthy spirit1 and seeking for every man in the ranks the grace and glory which we seek for ourselves4 ,what a magnificent man this true soldier of the ,lord must be6 ,and then1 just to finish it all1 and by one example to show us how deep and wide is this ministry of supplication1 the apostle ,paul asks the young ,ephesian soldiers to pray for him4 ,and for me1 that utterance may be given unto me4 ,let us carefully note this1 and let us observe its heartening significance4 ,these young1 immature ,christians in ,ephesus1 trembling in their early faith1 are asked to pray for the old warrior in ,rome4 ,he is now an ambassador in bonds1 held in captivity in imperial ,rome1 and the young soldiers in ,ephesus are asked to be sentinel-suppliants for the stricken soldier far away4 ,do you believe this8 ,and what does he want them to pray for8 ,listen to him again4 ,and for me1 that utterance may be given unto me4 ,have you got the real inwardness of that appeal8 ,a poor slave in ,ephesus may1 by his own prayer1 anoint the lips of a great apostle with grace and power4 ,what a vista of powerful possibility6 ,do all congregations realize that privilege and service concerning their ministers8 ,for me1 that utterance may be given unto me4 ,do ,i realize that my prayers1 obscure and nameless though ,i be1 can give utterance to a ,paul1 a ,livingstone1 a ,moffatt1 or a ,chalmers8 ,do ,i realize that ,i can pour grace upon their lips8 ,what a brave and splendid privilege6 ,am ,i using it8 ,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 ,rome1 and ,i cannot get out of my imagination the surprise which awaited the slave in glory1 when ,paul asked him1 as a fellow-labourer1 to share in gathering in the sheaves4 ,and for me1 that utterance may be given unto me1 that ,i may open my mouth boldly4 ,and can we do that for a man1 and do it by prayer8 ,can one soldier give another soldier nerve1 and can he do it by prayer8 ,can he chase away his fears8 ,can he change timidity into pluck8 ,can he transform a lamb into a lion8 ,what a marvellous power has ,god given to me and thee6 ,the unbounded privilege of it all6 ,some slave in ,ephesus giving new boldness to ,paul in ,rome1 and enabling ,paul to take some new ground and conquer it for the ,lord6 ,and once again ,i say1 to be called to share in the apostle's triumphs6 ,if any one has prayed for me1 your fellow-soldier1 that utterance and courage may be given unto me1 and if by my ministry some depressed and retreating soldier finds heart again1 and takes up his fallen sword1 and fights anew the good fight1 then that suppliant shall share my holy conquest in the ,lord1 and the joy of the ,lord shall be his strength4 ,so once again1 let us hear the apostle's counsel1 and keep it in our hearts4 ,praying always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints2 and for me1 that utterance may be given unto me1 that ,i may open my mouth boldly1 to make known the mysteries of the gospel4 ,,ix ,,watch ,,ye6 ,eternal ,god1 we bow before ,thee as the children of grace and love4 ,purify our souls1 make our eyes keen and watchful1 in order that we may discern ,thy purpose at every turning of the way4 ,help us to hallow all our circumstances whether they appear friendly or adverse1 and may we subdue them all to the ,king's will4 ,we pray that we may obtain new visions of the glory of ,christ4 ,may ,his gospel of grace become more exceedingly precious as we gaze into its unsearchable wealth4 ,let in the light as our eyes are able to bear it4 ,tell us some of the many things which are yet withholden because we are not able to bear them4 ,may we exercise our senses in discernment1 that so we may be led into the deeper secrets of ,thy truth4 ,and wilt ,thou graciously grant unto us new possibilities of service4 ,may we light lamps on many a dark road4 ,may we give help to many a tired pilgrim who is burdened by the greatness of the way4 ,may we give cups of refreshment to those who are thirsty and faint4 ,and may our own faith and hope restore the flickering light where courage is nearly spent4 ,amen4 ,,ix ,,watch ,,ye6 ,watch ye1 stand fast in the faith1 quit you like men1 be strong4 ,i ,corinthians #af3ac4 ,this is the counsel of a brave warrior1 experienced and weather-beaten1 writing to raw and comparatively untried recruits4 ,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 battle1 advising them about their own warfare of the spirit1 and counselling them on no account to forfeit their self-respect and self-control4 ,and this tried warrior1 ,paul1 is addressing a little company of ,christian recruits in the city of ,corinth4 ,corinth is now wiped out1 buried in the accumulated debris of the centuries4 ,here and there an excavated column bears desolate witness to the glory of former days1 but ,corinth as a city is sealed up in an unknown grave4 ,but just behind the site of the city there appears the ,acrocorinthius1 rising to the height of two thousand feet4 ,i climbed this famous hill in the spring because ,i wanted to see the panorama on which the apostle had gazed1 and also to see the setting and relations of this once imperial city4 ,it was a wonderful vision of natural glory1 with deep1 far-stretching valleys1 and distant gleams of the sea1 and range upon range of hills1 many of them snow-covered and glistening in the blazing sunshine of a splendid noon4 ,there below was the plain on which ,corinth found her shelter1 and beyond the plain the narrow water-way1 which gave her such intimate relations with the commerce of the ,mediterranean2 and beyond the water-way there is a touch of old romance1 for there rise the shrines of the muses1 the twin peaks of ,helicon and ,parnassus4 ,standing on this elevated eminence ,i tried to realize the conditions in which this little company of ,christian recruits had to live the consecrated life4 ,they had to fight the ,christian warfare amid the soft luxuriousness of ,corinth1 a luxuriousness which relaxed the moral fibre1 and made the ,corinthians conspicuous for their depravity1 even amid all the depraved cities of a dying heathenism4 ,corinth was a city of abyssmal profligacy2 it was the ,vanity ,fair of the ,roman ,empire1 at once the ,london and ,paris of the ancient world6 ,and it was in this city1 away there on the plain before me1 that these untried ,christian recruits had to fight the good fight of faith4 ,then ,i thought of the little church in which they found their fellowship4 ,it was besieged by continual assaults of their ,jewish foes4 ,it was torn with internal divisions4 ,it was honeycombed by deadly heresies4 ,it was defiled by sensuality4 ,nearly all the members of the church were of obscure origin and standing4 ,many of them were slaves4 ,it was in these conditions of fierce and growing difficulties that these disciples had to be good soldiers of ,jesus ,christ4 ,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 text4 ,watch ye1 stand fast in the faith1 quit you like men1 be strong4 ,now ,i will confess to you that times and again during the last few months this trumpet-blast has sounded in my ears1 as though it were a clarion-call to the ,christians of to-day4 ,for we too have our warfare upon a most exacting field4 ,we have fallen upon gravely troubled times4 ,we are witnessing a resurgence of devilry that is perfectly appalling4 ,the baser passions have become frightfully aggressive1 and a crude animalism is at large like a surging1 boiling sea which has burst its dykes4 ,some of us had begun to dream that the sweet angel of peace was almost at our gates1 and that nothing could happen to drive her away2 and now1 when we look out of the gate1 it is no fair angel-messenger which we see1 but the red fury of unprecedented strife and slaughter4 ,and amid all this we have to live the ,christian life4 ,but it is not only the fightings without which trouble us4 ,there are also the fears within4 ,many of our venerable assumptions are lying in ruin4 ,our spiritual world has suffered an upheaval as though with the convulsion of an earthquake1 and many of us are trembling and confused4 ,what then shall we do in this terrible hour8 ,what path shall we take8 ,can we settle our goings upon any promising road of purpose and endeavour8 ,along what lines shall we pull ourselves together8 ,and in answer to all these questions ,i bring you this well-tried counsel of the great ,christian apostle1 this bugle-peal from the first century1 and ,i ask you to let it be to you as the inspired word of the living ,god4 ,watch ye1 stand fast in the faith1 quit you like men1 be strong4 ,let us examine the counsel in order that we may buckle it on to our souls4 ,here then is the first note of this soldierly blast4 ,watch ye6 ,the phrase literally means keep awake6 ,you perhaps think there is no need of that counsel to-day4 ,you probably think that in times like these our difficulty is not to keep awake but to go to sleep4 ,i am not so sure about that4 ,if we have loved ones at the war there will not be the remotest peril of our going to sleep4 ,every post that comes to our door will startle us like the crack of doom4 ,every headline in the daily press will tighten our nerves in sleepless attention4 ,but when we have no flesh and blood at the front1 when many miles roll between us and the fields of war1 when we are only spectators1 a certain drowsiness is not so far away as we may suppose4 ,when we only read about things1 things become familiar1 and the familiar is apt to lose its terror4 ,custom is a dull narcotic1 and frequent repetition dims our apprehension4 ,when the ,titanic went down the whole city spoke in whispers1 such a dread was resting over our souls4 ,but now a dreadnought goes down1 or a half dozen cruisers1 and we scarcely catch our breath at the news4 ,the cushion of familiarity is thickening between us and realities1 and awful facts do not hit us on the raw4 ,the awful becomes less awful by repetition1 and we grow less sensitive as the tragedies increase4 ,the newspaper statistics cease to be significant1 and the descriptive adjectives become the tamest blanks4 ,and therefore there is need for the apostle's trumpet blast to sound in our ears4 ,keep awake6 ,do not let familiarity become an opiate1 so putting the senses to sleep that the direst woes become a painless commonplace4 ,keep awake6 ,make it a matter of will4 ,bring the stream of vital thought to bear upon the field4 ,exercise the imagination4 ,nourish the sympathies4 ,we must keep awake1 for our primary hope of emancipation in this dark hour is to remain sensitive1 to be capable of being shocked and wounded with the appalling blows of every succeeding day4 ,but it is not only wakefulness1 but also watchfulness which the apostle enjoins in the counsel of our text4 ,the soldier of ,jesus is to be awake and watchful with all the keen quest of a sentinel peering about him night and day4 ,but our watchfulness must be intelligent and disciplined1 and we must carefully survey the entire field4 ,we must keep awake1 and we must diligently watch for all enemies of the sanctified brotherhood of the race1 as a sentry would watch every suspicious movement in the night4 ,what are the real enemies behind all the appalling desolation and sorrow of our time8 ,is it militarism8 ,then ,watch ye6 ,is it something deeper than militarism8 ,is it racial animosity and jealousy and prejudice8 ,then ,watch ye6 ,is it something even deeper than racial antipathy8 ,is it a profound and deadly materialism in all the nations--a materialism which has been tricked out in the ribbons of culture1 and disguised in the glamour of progress8 ,then ,keep awake1 ,watch ye6 ,or is it a faithless church1 muttering many shibboleths1 but confessing no vital faith2 a church which has been too much a pretense1 offering no strong moral and spiritual preservatives1 and supplying no saving salt to social fellowships1 and1 therefore1 not exercising any restraint upon moral degeneracy and corruption8 ,keep awake1 and ,watch ye6 ,and amid all the horrors and agonies of our day fasten your eyes upon the real enemy of the ,lord ,jesus1 the outstanding antagonist of ,his kingdom of righteousness and truth4 ,but there is a further word to say about our vigilance4 ,we must keep awake and watchful1 not only to detect the busy lurking1 ambushed foes1 but also to see all the bright and wonderful things of the hour1 all the splendid happenings which are favourable to the holy will and ,kingdom of our ,lord4 ,what should we think of a sentinel who could not distinguish between enemy and friend8 ,and what shall we say of a soldier-sentinel of ,christ who has no eye for the great and friendly happenings on the field8 ,watch ye1 and behold the growing seriousness of the world2 frivolity has almost begun to apologize for itself1 and tinselled gaiety is ill at ease4 ,watch ye1 and behold the unsealing of multitudinous springs of human sympathy1 and the flowing of holy currents from the ends of the earth4 ,watch ye1 and behold the magnificent courage which in every land of strife is purging families from the dross of indolence and indifference1 and educing the gold of chivalry and sacrifice4 ,watch ye1 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 ,jesus1 and that without ,him human brotherhood will remain a phantom and a dream4 ,a real wakeful watchman will see these things4 ,he will not only record the things of the night and the nightmares1 but he will be as they who watch for the morning4 ,the ,moslem priest appears on the tower of his mosque half an hour after sunset to call the people to prayer1 but he also appears on the tower half an hour before sunrise1 when the grey gleams of morning are faintly falling upon the night4 ,and we too1 watchmen of ,jesus1 must watch for the sunrise as well as for the sunsets1 and we too must tell what fair jewels of hope we see shining on the dark robe of the night4 ,brethren1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ is abroad6 ,watch ye1 for at such an hour as ye think not1 the ,son of ,man will come4 ,now let us consider the second note of the counsel which is given by this warrior1 ,paul4 ,stand fast in the faith4 ,just try to realize that bracing counsel coming to these young recruits in the city of ,corinth4 ,let me try to paraphrase it as ,i think it would be interpreted to them4 ,when the soft1 enervating air of ,corinth's luxuriousness steals over you like the mild air of ,lotus-,land1 ',stand fast in the faith'6 ,when the cold wind of persecution assails you like an icy blast from the north1 ',stand fast in the faith'6 ,if some supercilious philosopher comes along and breathes cynically upon your new-found piety and devotion1 ',stand fast in the faith'6 ,stand fast in your faith and meet all your antagonisms there4 ,and has that counsel no pertinency for the ,christian believers of our own time8 ,there are some among us who are ready1 because of the unspeakable horrors through which we are passing1 to throw their faith away like obsolete arms and armour4 ,now men who can drop their faith in the day of real emergency have never been really held by it4 ,that is surely true2 men who can drop their faith like a handkerchief have never known their faith as a strong and vital defence4 ,and yet that is what you sometimes find them doing in modern novels4 ,they just drop their faith as they would drop a pair of gloves4 ,robert ,elsmere1 in ,mrs4 ,humphry ,ward's story of twenty years ago1 dropped his faith in about ten days4 ,if my memory serves me truly1 ,george ,eliot dropped her faith in about the same length of time4 ,if our faith has ever meant anything vital1 it will be as difficult to drop it as to drop our skin4 ,but it is the inexperienced who are in peril4 ,it is the young recruit who is dangerously convulsed by the upheavals of our day1 and it is to him ,i bring the nerving counsel of the ,lord3 ,stand fast in the faith6 ,stand fast in the faith6 ,what faith8 ,the faith once for all delivered to the saints4 ,stand fast in the faith of the atoning ,saviour as the secret of the reconciliation of mankind4 ,stand fast in the faith of the risen ,lord as the secret and promise of racial union and brotherhood4 ,stand fast in the faith of the ,holy ,spirit as the source of all the light and cheer which illumines the race4 ,stand fast in your own personal faith in the exalted ,lord4 ,don't doubt ,him6 ,don't suspect ,him6 ,don't desert ,him6 ,above all1 don't sell ,him6 ,in this hour of darkness1 when devilry seems to be pulling down the very pillars of the temple1 stand fast in the faith1 and let this be your strong but humble cry3 ,although the fig-tree shall not blossom1 ,neither shall fruit be in the vines2 ,the labour of the olive shall fail1 ,and the fields shall yield no meat2 ,the flock shall be cut off from the fold1 ,and there shall be no herd in the stalls3 ,yet ,i will rejoice in the ,lord1 ,i will joy in the ,god of my salvation4 ,and the third note in the great apostle's counsel in this3 ,quit you like men4 ,our translators have taken four words to express a single word in the original letter4 ,we have no one ,english word which can carry the splendid load of meaning4 ,it really means--play the man6 ,it really means--no funk6 ,all the school children will know the value of that word4 ,it is a good strong vital ,english word1 and ,i am sure it expresses the spirit of the apostle's counsel to these young recruits4 ,lowell uses it in the ,bigelow ,papers3 ,to funk right out o' p'litical strife ain't thought to be the thing4 ,no funk1 soldiers of ,christ6 ,i have sometimes heard men talk of late as though the ,lord were dead1 and the game is up1 and the ,kingdom is in ruins4 ,play the man6 ,the ,european soldiers of every nation are showing the world in their own sphere what it means to play the man4 ,some of us are becoming almost afraid to call ourselves soldiers of ,jesus when we see what a true soldier really is4 ,think of it6 ,think of his readiness for the front6 ,think of his laughter in sacrifice6 ,think of his song in the midst of danger and pain6 ,think of his endurance even unto death6 ,and then1 think how we stand up and sing ,onward1 ,christian soldiers1 marching as to war6 ,and shall we funk in the day of darkness and disaster1 and after months of appalling bloodshed and woe shall we talk as if the campaign of righteousness were ended1 and the ,kingdom of ,jesus is overturned8 ,let us stop this kind of talk4 ,let us silence this sort of fear4 ,let us crush this type of disloyalty4 ,it is an insult to our flag2 it is a dishonour to our ,lord4 ,quit you like men1 be strong6 ,put strength into everything1 and do everything strongly4 ,do not let us speak or serve in a faint1 lax1 irresolute1 anaemic1 dying sort of way4 ,be strong6 ,be strong in your prayers4 ,be strong in your moral and spiritual ambitions4 ,be strong in your visions and hopes4 ,be strong in your beneficence2 strengthen it to the vigour of sacrifice4 ,and if there be a devil1 as more than ever ,i believe there is1 let the ,church surprise him by her strength4 ,let her turn the day of calamity into the day of opportunity4 ,let her transfigure the hour of disaster into the hour of deeper consecration4 ,let us make new vows4 ,let us enter into new devotion4 ,let us exercise ourselves in new chivalry4 ,let us go out in new ways of sacrifice4 ,my brethren1 ,god is not dead6 ,watch ye1 stand fast in the faith1 quit you like men1 be strong6 ,stand up1 stand up for ,jesus6 ,the trumpet call obey2 ,forth to the mighty conflict ,in this ,his glorious day4 ,ye that are men now serve ,him ,against unnumbered foes1 ,let courage rise with danger ,and strength to strength oppose4 ,stand up1 stand up for ,jesus6 ,ye soldiers of the ,cross4 ,lift high ,his royal banner1 ,it must not suffer loss4 ,from victory unto victory ,his army shall ,he lead1 ,till every foe is vanquished1 ,and ,christ is ,lord indeed6 ,x ,,enduring ,,hardness ,heavenly ,father1 may all our hearts be filled with ,thy praise4 ,may the spirit of ,thanksgiving fill all our days1 and deliver us from the mood of murmuring and complaint4 ,graciously remove the scales from our eyes1 so that we may look upon our life with eyes anointed with the eye-salve of grace4 ,help us to discern ,thy footprints in the ordinary road4 ,grant that we may now review our yesterdays and see the providences which have crowded our paths4 ,help us to see ,thy name on blessings that we never recognized1 so that we may now be praiseful where we have been indifferent4 ,redeem us from our spiritual sloth4 ,awake us out of our perilous sleep4 ,may our consciences goad us when we are in peril4 ,may the good desires within us be so strengthened as to destroy every desire that is vain4 ,sow in our hearts the word of ,thy truth4 ,guard the seed with the vigilance of ,thy blessed ,spirit1 and let it appear in our life as a fragrant and bountiful harvest4 ,graciously watch us and defend us and make us mighty in consecration1 and may we place our all upon the altar4 ,amen4 ,x ,,enduring ,,hardness ,thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of ,jesus ,christ4 #b ,timothy #b3c4 ,any military metaphor which is used to-day will surely have a very arresting significance4 ,many of our hymns are crowded with military terminology4 ,in the ,wesleyan ,methodist ,hymn-,book there is a whole section entitled ,for ,believers ,fighting4 ,we are all familiar with these martial hymns3 ,onward1 ,christian ,soldiers1 ,the ,son of ,god goes forth to war1 ,soldiers of ,christ arise1 ,stand up1 stand up1 for ,jesus1 ye soldiers of the cross1 ,oft in danger1 oft in woe1 onward ,christians1 onward go4 ,but too often the soldier-like hymn is only a bit of martial poetry which pleases the emotions but does not stir the will4 ,we like the swing of the theme4 ,it brings a sort of exhilaration into our moods1 just as lively dance music awakes a nimble restlessness in our feet4 ,too often it is the song of the parade ground1 and it is not broken with the awful thundering of the guns in actual war4 ,but just now when we hear the phrase1 ,endure hardness as a good soldier1 our thoughts are carried away to the battlefields of ,europe4 ,we recall those roads like deeply ploughed fields6 ,those fields scooped by the shells into graves in which you can bury a score of men6 ,those trenches filling with the rain or snows1 the hiding place of disease1 and assailed continually with the most frightful engines of destruction6 ,pestilence on the prowl6 ,frost stiffening the limbs into benumbment6 ,death always possible before the next breath6 ,these military metaphors in our hymns get some red blood into them when we use them against backgrounds and scenes like these4 ,endure hardness as a good soldier4 ,now the apostle calls for this soldierly spirit in ,thessalonica4 ,he is writing to young recruits in the army of the ,lord4 ,they are having their first baptism of fire4 ,their enemies are strong1 subtle1 ubiquitous4 ,to be a ,christian in ,thessalonica was to face the fierce onslaught of overwhelming odds4 ,but indeed in those early days1 ,christian believers1 wherever they lived1 had to be heroic in the defence of their faith and obedience4 ,everywhere circumstances were hostile4 ,nothing was won without sacrifice4 ,nothing was held without blood4 ,to be a witness was to be a martyr4 ,if a believer would be faithful to his ,lord he must fight the good fight of faith2 if he would extend the frontiers of the ,kingdom of ,heaven he must endure hardness as a good soldier of ,jesus ,christ4 ,what are the circumstances amid which the modern ,church is placed8 ,the ,christian believer in our day is confronted with stupendous difficulties4 ,look at the present field on which our ,christian warfare is to be waged4 ,when the ,european war broke out ,i was staying at a quiet seaside village1 from which ,i could see the soft green beauty of the mountains which encircle the ,english lakes4 ,on the morning that war was proclaimed ,i felt as though some venerable and majestic temple had suddenly crumbled into dust4 ,one of my most intimate friends1 a noble ,german1 was staying in my home1 and we both felt as though some devil of mischief and disaster had toppled human affairs into confusion4 ,the quiet sequence of human progress seemed to have been smashed at a stroke4 ,the nations drew apart1 and gulfs of isolation yawned between them1 and down the gulfs there swept the cruel shrieking blasts of racial hatred and antipathy4 ,holy ministries which had been leagued in sacred fellowship were wrenched asunder4 ,spiritual communions which had been sweet and welcome curdled in the biting blast of resentment4 ,the work of the ,kingdom of our ,lord was smitten as by an enemy2 ploughshares were beaten into swords2 pruning-hooks were transformed into spears2 and instead of the fir and the myrtle-tree there sprang up the thorns and the briars4 ,and then1 to crown our difficulties1 the red fury of war leaped into countries where our missionaries are proclaiming the gospel of peace1 and the passion of battle began to burn where they are telling the story of the passion of ,calvary1 that holy passion of sacrifice which brought to the whole world redemption from sin1 and reconciliation with ,god1 and the promise of the life that now is1 and of that which is to come4 ,our immediate circumstances do not offer the soldiers of ,jesus an easy parade ground where we can just loll and sing our lilting songs2 they rather offer us a fearfully rugged and broken field which demands as heroic and chivalrous virtues as ever clothed a child of ,god4 ,what shall we do8 ,is it the hour for craven fear or for a noble courage8 ,what shall we do on our mission fields8 ,shall we cry forward1 or shall we sound the depressing and despairing note of retreat8 ,shall we throw up the sponge1 or shall we1 in the spirit of unprecedented sacrifice1 march forward in our campaign1 and endure hardness as good soldiers of ,jesus ,christ8 ,first of all1 we must keep our eyes steadily fixed upon the object for which ,christ died1 that solemn and holy end for which ,he created and appointed ,his own ,church4 ,and what is that object8 ,it is to let all men know that all men move under a canopy of love as broad as the blue sky above4 ,it is to break down all middle walls of partition1 and to merge the sundered peoples in the quickening communion of ,his grace4 ,it is to unite all the kingdoms of the world in the one and radiant ,kingdom of ,his love4 ,that is the aim and purpose of our blessed ,lord1 and in all the shock and convulsions of to-day we must keep that object steadfastly in sight4 ,it was said of ,napoleon that he never for a moment lost sight of his way onward in the dazzle and uproar of present circumstances4 ,that is to say1 ,napoleon was never blinded by the glare of victory or by the lowering cloud of defeat4 ,he saw only the object4 ,quietness did not throw its perilous spell about him4 ,calamity did not turn his eyes from the forward way4 ,he saw only the object1 and the glory of the goal sent streams of energy into his will and into his feet at every step of the changing road4 ,now our temptation is to permit events to determine our sight4 ,there is the shimmer of gold on the right hand1 and we turn to covet4 ,there is the gleam of the sword on the left hand1 and we turn in fear4 ,we allow circumstances to govern our aims4 ,our eyes are deflected from their object by the dazzle or the uproar around us4 ,and here is the peril of it all4 ,when we lose the object of our warfare we begin to lose the campaign4 ,and1 therefore1 one of the first necessities of the ,christian ,church in the present hour is to have our ,lord's own purpose steadily in view1 to keep her eyes glued upon that supreme end1 and to allow nothing to turn her aside4 ,let thine eyes look right on2 ,thy kingdom come2 ,the kingdoms of this world shall become the ,kingdom of our ,god2 ,he must reign until ,he hath put all enemies under ,his feet4 ,this1 ,i say1 is the pressing and immediate need of the good soldier of ,christ ,jesus1 to refuse to have his single aim complicated by the entanglement of passing circumstances1 and to constantly apprehend that for which we also were apprehended by ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,what else shall we do in this hour of upheaval and disaster8 ,the ,church must eclipse the exploits of carnal warfare by the more glorious warfare of the spirit4 ,just recall the heroisms which are happening every day in ,europe1 and on which the eyes of the world are riveted with an almost mesmerized wonder6 ,think of the magnificent sacrifices6 ,think of the splendid courage6 ,think of the exquisite chivalry6 ,think of the incredible powers of endurance6 ,and then1 further1 think that the ,church of ,christ is called upon to outshine these glories with demonstrations more glorious still4 ,this was surely one of the outstanding distinctions of apostolic life4 ,whenever hostilities confronted the early ,church1 whenever the first disciples were opposed by the gathered forces of the world1 wherever the sword was bared and active1 wherever tyranny exulted in sheer brutality1 these early disciples unveiled a more splendid strength1 and threw the carnal power into the shade4 ,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 revealed4 ,their courage rose with danger and eclipsed it6 ,let me open one or two windows in the apostolic record which give us glimpses of this conquering life4 ,here1 then1 is a glimpse of the hostilities3 ,let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name4 ,there you have the naked tyranny of carnal power1 and there you have the threat that burns through carnal speech4 ,and now1 over against that power put the action of the ,church3 ,and they spake the word of ,god with boldness6 ,they were good soldiers of ,jesus ,christ1 and by that boldness the tyranny and threat of carnal power were completely eclipsed4 ,here is another glimpse of those heroic days3 ,and when they had called the apostles1 and beaten them1 they commanded that they should not speak in the name of ,jesus4 ,there again you have the demonstration of carnal power2 and here again is the demonstration of the power of the spirit3 ,and they departed from the presence of the counsel1 rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name4 ,and they ceased not to teach and preach ,jesus ,christ4 ,i say that this rejoicing eclipses that beating1 and the good soldier of ,jesus ,christ puts the ,roman soldier into the shade4 ,let me open another window3 ,and they cast ,stephen out of the city and stoned him4 ,get your eyes on that display of carnal passion and tyranny2 and then lift your eyes upon the victim of it3 ,and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,who is the conqueror in that tragedy1 the stoners or the stoned1 the ministers of destruction or the good soldier of ,jesus ,christ8 ,the carnal power was terrific and deadly1 but it was utterly eclipsed by the power of grace1 the power which blazed forth in this redeemed and consecrated life4 ,open yet another window upon this day of shining exploits3 ,having stoned ,paul they drew him out of the city1 supposing he had been dead4 ,that incident seems to record the coronation and sovereignty of brutal strength4 ,now read3 ,and they returned again to ,lystra4 ,paul went back to the place where he had been stoned1 to tell again the good news of grace1 and to carry to broken people the ministries of healing4 ,and ,i say that this bruised man1 beaten and sore1 returning again to the scene of the stoning1 is a good soldier of ,jesus ,christ1 and by his magnificent courage and grace he eclipsed all the rough strength of the world and threw its achievements into the shade4 ,but it is not only in apostolic days that you can find these brilliant contrasts4 ,the ,church has been distinguished by such demonstrations of spiritual glory all along her history4 ,when material power has been riotous and rampant1 when rude1 crude passions have blazed through the earth1 the chivalry of the ,church has shone resplendent in the murky night1 and she has eclipsed the dread shocks of the world and the flesh and the devil by her noble sacrifices1 and by her serenity1 and by her spontaneous joy4 ,the ,church has distinguished herself by her manifestations of spiritual strength1 by her lofty ,christian purpose1 by her glowing devotional enthusiasm1 and this over against gigantic obstacles1 and in the face of enemies who seemed to be overwhelming4 ,i think of ,james ,chalmers1 the martyred missionary of ,new ,guinea4 ,how well ,i remember the last time ,i met him2 his big1 powerful body1 his lion-like head1 his shock of rough hair1 his face with such a strange commingling of strength and gentleness1 indomitableness and grace6 ,and what he went through in ,new ,guinea in carrying to the natives the story of our ,saviour's love6 ,and then1 having gone through it all1 he stood up there in ,england1 on the platform of ,exeter ,hall1 and said3 ,recall these twenty-one years1 give me back all its experiences1 give me its shipwrecks1 give me its standings in the face of death1 give it me surrounded with savages with spears and clubs1 give it me back again with spears flying about me1 with the club knocking me to the ground1 give it me back1 and ,i will still be your missionary4 ,what is happening in ,europe just now that can put that exploit in the shade8 ,i do not wonder that when that man thought of heaven he used these words3 ,there will be much visiting in heaven1 and much work4 ,i guess ,i shall have good mission work to do1 great1 brave work for ,christ4 ,he will have to find it1 for ,i can be nothing else than a missionary4 ,james ,chalmers went back to ,new ,guinea to tell and retell to the natives why ,jesus came to thee and me and all men1 and he won the martyr's crown4 ,the love of ,christ constrained him4 ,and again ,i ask1 what incidents in carnal warfare are not eclipsed by shining heroisms like these8 ,i might go on telling you these glorious exploits of grace1 but ,i hasten to say that it is our privilege to continue the story4 ,to-day carnal strength is stalking in deadly stride through a whole continent4 ,and to-day the ,church must do something so splendid and so heroic as will outshine the glamour of material war4 ,this is the hour when we must send out more men and women who are willing to live and toil and die for the ,hindu1 and for the ,turk1 and the ,persian1 and the ,chinese and the ,japanese1 and all the dusky sons of ,africa4 ,i verily believe that if the apostle ,paul were in our midst to-day1 with the war raging in ,europe1 he would sound an advance all along the line4 ,he would call us in this hour to send out more men and women to save1 and to comfort1 and to heal2 men and women who will lay down their lives in bringing life to their fellow-men4 ,we must send forth new army corps of the soldiers of ,christ1 and we must give them more abundant means1 endowing them so plentifully that they can go out into the needy places of ,asia and ,africa1 and assuage the pains and burdens of the body1 and dispel the darkness of the mind1 and give liberty to the imprisoned spirit1 and lead the souls of men into the life and joy and peace of our blessed ,lord4 ,if the ,church would1 and if the ,church will1 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 ,jesus1 a grace and gentleness made incarnate again in you and me1 and in those whom we send to the field1 that the excellent glory of the ,spirit shall shine pre-eminent1 and in this hour of world-wide disaster the risen ,lord shall again be glorified4 ,shall we quietly challenge ourselves amid all the awful happenings of to-day8 ,here are the terms of the challenge4 ,shall the good soldier of ,christ ,jesus be overshadowed by the soldiers of the world8 ,or shall the courage and ingenuities of the world be eclipsed by the heroism and the wise audacity of the ,church8 ,shall we withdraw our army from the field because the war is raging in ,europe1 or shall we send it reinforcements8 ,shall we practice a more severe economy and straiten our army's equipment for service2 or shall we practice a more glorious self-sacrifice1 and make its equipment more efficient8 ,shall we exalt and glorify our ,saviour1 or shall we allow ,him to be put in the shade8 ,shall we endure hardness1 as good soldiers of ,christ1 or shall we take to the fields of indulgence1 and allow the ,church of the ,living ,god to be outshone by the army of the world8 ,which shall it be8 ,our holy battlefield is as wide as the world4 ,the needs are clamant4 ,the opportunities of victory are on every side4 ,our ,captain is calling6 ,what then1 shall it be8 ,advance or retreat8 ,what answer can there be but one8 ,surely the answer must be that we will advance1 even though it mean the shedding of the blood of sacrifice4 ,one of our medical missionaries was ,dr4 ,francis ,j4 ,hall of ,peking1 ,china4 ,he had been graduated with high honours at the ,johns ,hopkins ,medical ,school in ,baltimore1 and had consecrated his life to medical missionary work in ,china1 where his large abilities promptly won him wide influence4 ,in #aiac he said to one of his associates3 ,i have just been called to a ,chinese who has typhus fever4 ,many physicians have died of that disease1 but ,i must go4 ,two weeks later he was stricken4 ,as he lay dying his mind wandered1 and he was heard to exclaim3 ,i hear them calling1 ,i must go2 ,i hear them calling6 ,do we hear them calling8 ,is the answer ,yes8 ,then let us joyfully register a vow that1 ,god helping us1 the army of the ,lord shall not be maimed because of our indifference1 but as good soldiers of ,jesus ,christ we will1 if need be1 endure hardness1 and give of our possessions1 even unto the shedding of our blood4 ,,xi ,,the ,,invisible ,,commander ,eternal ,god1 we rejoice in the security that is offered to us in our midnights and in our noons4 ,thou wilt not leave us to the loneliness of self-communion1 but ,thou wilt hold fellowship with us along the way4 ,come to us as the ,lord ,jesus came to the men who were journeying to ,emmaus1 and make our hearts burn within us in the revelation of light and grace4 ,especially in these bewildering times wilt ,thou steady our minds with ,thy councils and inspire our hearts in the assurance of ,thy sovereign love4 ,lead us along our troubled road4 ,let the heavenly light break upon our darkness4 ,help us to believe in ,thy peace even when the world is at strife4 ,let ,thy kingdom come4 ,even when the world is filled with the smoke of battle may we discern the presence of the ,lord4 ,save us from the sin of unbelief4 ,reveal to us1 we humbly pray ,thee1 the sin in which this strife has been born1 and help the nations to turn from it in new consecration to ,thee4 ,in this gracious purpose wilt ,thou possess our services4 ,help us to look beyond the seen into the strength and glory of the unseen4 ,cheer us with ,thy consolations4 ,uphold us with ,thine hand1 and impart to us the gift of ,thy gracious peace4 ,amen4 ,,xi ,,the ,,invisible ,,commander ,,on ,,the ,,field ,and ,he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far1 and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth4 ,isaiah #e3bf4 ,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 ,egypt1 and for the bee that is in the land of ,assyria4 ,isaiah #g3ah4 ,that was a startling word to fall upon the ears of the people of ,judah4 ,it shocked them into confusion4 ,it was an altogether revolutionary word4 ,it played havoc with their traditional beliefs4 ,it smashed up all their easy securities4 ,it turned their world upside down1 and all their ancient confidences were broken4 ,let us try to feel the shock of the message4 ,the people had come to regard their land as a sort of divine reservation1 and they looked upon their nation as a specially favoured instrument in the hand of the ,lord4 ,they esteemed themselves as being in the friendly grip and fellowship of the ,lord of hosts4 ,all their movements were the inspirations of ,his counsels1 and in the strength of ,his providence their nation's progress and destiny were assured4 ,they lived in the assumption that every step in their national life was foreseen1 and planned1 and provided for1 and that they were always being led towards divinely appointed goals4 ,there was nothing of chance in their journeyings1 and nothing of uncertainty in their ends4 ,for them there was no blind groping in the darkness1 for the ,lord of hosts had charge of their national life2 and the sure mercies of ,david would secure it from calamity and destruction4 ,that was what they thought about themselves4 ,what did they think of the nations beyond their frontier8 ,that was quite another story4 ,they looked upon other nations as struggling blindly1 and in their dark rage imagining vain things4 ,these other nations had the promptings of passion1 but they had no divine and mystic leadership4 ,they moved hither and thither1 but it was under no divine appointment1 and a thousand traps were laid for their unhallowed feet4 ,yonder was ,assyria1 full of strength and full of movement1 expressing herself in the might of tremendous armies1 but she was under no divine command or inspiration4 ,assyria was like a boat in unknown waters1 without a pilot1 and she was marked for inevitable destruction4 ,and yonder was proud ,egypt1 swelling with her power and renown1 colossal in her material achievements1 but she had no divinely enlightened eyes1 she was blind in her goings1 and her marching was in reality a staggering towards doom4 ,and yonder were other nations from afar2 but they were all just chance masses1 looked upon as existing outside the frontier line of divine favour and enlightenment4 ,they dwelt in some hinterland of life where ,god's gracious decrees do not run4 ,they were beyond the orbit of divine thought and grace4 ,now that was the kind of thinking which the prophet had to meet4 ,judah regarded herself as nestling within the home circle of ,providence1 and all other nations were outcasts living beyond the sacred pale4 ,and now perhaps we shall be able to feel something of the astounding effect of the prophet's words4 ,and the ,lord shall lift up an ensign to the nations from far4 ,far-away peoples are to move under the impulse and inspiration of the ,lord1 and in the light of ,his guiding command4 ,the ,lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of ,egypt4 ,a far-away nation1 thick as flies1 is to move under the touch and ordination of ,god6 ,the ,lord shall hiss for the bee that is in the land of ,assyria4 ,a far-away nation1 thick as a hive of bees1 is to move under the controlling purpose of the ,lord6 ,can you feel the shock of the prophet's words8 ,it is the shock of a larger thought which shakes the nations out of their small and cosey contentment4 ,they had conceived the divine ,providence as being confined exclusively to ,judah's particular guidance and defence4 ,they had thought within the limits of a country2 they are now bidden to cross the frontier and conceive a ,providence which encircles a continent and a world4 ,the fly in ,egypt1 and the bee in ,assyria1 raising their wings at the touch of the ,lord1--it staggered them into incredulity6 ,now we can see what the prophet was doing4 ,he was seeking to enlarge their sense of the orbit of the divine movement4 ,for the little ripples on their pool he was substituting the ocean tides4 ,for the circle of their native hills and valleys he was substituting a line which embraced the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,and that is what ,i wish to do in this meditation4 ,i wish to proclaim the vastness of the divine orbit1 the tremendous sweep of the divine decrees1 and ,i wish to emphasize the teaching of this great prophet1 that momentous destinies may be born in far-away places1 even at the very end of the world4 ,the ,lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of ,egypt1 and for the bee that is in the land of ,assyria4 ,well then1 under the power of this teaching1 let us think in wider orbits of the divine inspiration of nations4 ,for we are apt to imprison our thought within very narrow and artificial restraints4 ,much of our thought about providential movements shuts ,god up to the circle of so-called ,christian nations3 ,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 law8 ,what if our ,god will hiss for the fly and the bee among just such peoples as we are inclined to patronize or despise8 ,let us imagine some modern ,isaiah standing up in ,london or ,new ,york and uttering words like these2--,the ,lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of ,china1 and for the bee that is in the land of ,india4 ,i know that such a doctrine shocks our national susceptibilities1 just as a similar doctrine shocked the national pride of the ancient ,jews4 ,but such a doctrine offers the only true interpretation of the range of the divine orbit4 ,it may be that the reinforcements of civilization are to come from the movements of the stagnant waters of ,china4 ,it may be that rivers of vitality are to flow into our life from the meditative1 contemplative1 philosophic1 mystic races of ,india4 ,just think of their quiet1 lofty1 serious brooding1 stealing into our feverish materialism and sobering the fierceness of the quest4 ,i cannot but wonder what the good ,lord1 in the vastness of ,his orbit1 is even now preparing for the world on the far-away plains of ,india and ,china4 ,let your imagination exercise itself again in the larger orbit1 and think of some modern prophet standing up in ,london with this message upon his lips2--,the ,lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost parts of ,russia4 ,the message strikes us as incredible1 but it is only because1 like the people of ,judah1 our conception of the divine orbit is so small and circumscribed4 ,i for one am watching with fascinated eyes the movements of ,russia4 ,i am wondering what is coming to us from that great people1 so long and patiently sad1 so full of reverence1 going on long1 weary pilgrimages to bow at holy shrines4 ,superstition8 ,yes1 if you please4 ,but ,i am wondering what is going to happen when the dogged strength of that superstition becomes an enlightened faith4 ,i am wondering what will happen when that rich1 fertile bed of national reverence begins to bear the full and matured fruits of the ,spirit4 ,what then8 ,i know it is not easy to think it4 ,it is not easy to widen the orbit of one's thought4 ,it is never easy to stretch a neglected or unused muscle4 ,but the wider thought is the orbit of our ,god1 and in the mysterious land of ,russia untold destinies may be even now at the birth4 ,and so do ,i urge that we think in vaster orbits of the divine inspiration of nations4 ,let us reject the atheism of incredulity1 and let us encourage ourselves in the boundless hope of an all-encompassing ,god of the human race4 ,the great ,god journeys on in ,his tremendous orbit1 and who knows from what unlikely peoples the rejuvenation of the world is to come8 ,the ,lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of ,egypt1 and for the bee that is in the land of ,assyria4 ,now ,i want to go further1 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 men4 ,in what wide and mysterious sweeps the great ,god works when ,he wants a leader of men6 ,the man is wanted here at the center1 but he is being prepared yonder on the remote circumference6 ,god hisses for the fly or the bee1 and ,he calls it from very obscure and unlikely fields4 ,here is ancient ,israel4 ,her altars are defiled1 and her balances are perverted4 ,she is hollow in worship1 and she is crooked in trade1 and the people are listless in their debasement4 ,a leader is wanted to awake and scourge the people4 ,where shall he be found8 ,the ,lord hisses for a fly in ,tekoa1 a wretched little village1 in a mean and scanty setting2 and the fly was a poor herdman1 following the flock1 and eking out his miserable living by gathering the figs of the sycamore4 ,and this ,amos was ,god's man6 ,a prophet of fire was wanted in ,bethel1 and ,god prepared him in ,tekoa6 ,but what an orbit1 and who would have thought that ,tekoa would have been a school of the prophets8 ,stride across the centuries4 ,the religion of ,europe has become a gloss for indulgence4 ,nay1 it has become an excuse for it4 ,the ,father's house has become a den of thieves4 ,the doctrines of grace have been wiped out by a system of man-devised works4 ,religion is devitalized1 and morals have become dissolute4 ,wanted1 a man1 who shall be both scourge and evangelist6 ,where shall he be found8 ,the ,lord hissed for the fly that was in ,eisleben1 in the house of a poor miner1 and ,martin ,luther came forth to grapple with all the corruptions of established religion4 ,but what an orbit6 ,a fire was wanted to burn up the refuse which had accumulated over spiritual religion1 and the fire was first kindled in a little home1 in a little village1 far away from the broad highways of social privilege and advantage4 ,again1 ,i say1 what an orbit6 ,march forward again across the years4 ,here is ,england under the oppression of a king who claims divine sanction for his oppression4 ,there is no tyranny like the tyranny which stamps itself with a holy seal4 ,and in those old days of ,charles ,i1 tyranny wore a sacred badge4 ,tyranny carried a cross4 ,it was tyranny by divine right4 ,wrong was justified by grace4 ,i say1 of all tyrannies1 this is the most tyrannical4 ,wanted1 a man to meet and overthrow it6 ,where will he be found8 ,will he be found in some national centre of learning where wealthy privilege holds her seat8 ,oh1 no6 ,the ,lord hissed for a fly on the fens1 from a little farm at ,huntington1 and ,oliver ,cromwell emerged1 to try swords with the king on his throne6 ,let me give the familiar glimpse which ,sir ,philip ,warwick offers us of ,cromwell making his first speech in the ,house of ,commons4 ,i came into the ,house one morning1 well clad1 and perceived a gentleman speaking whom ,i knew not1 very ordinarily appareled1 for it was a plain cloth suit1 which seemed to have been made by an ill country tailor4 ,his linen was plain and not very clean1 and ,i remember a speck or two of blood upon his little band1 which was not much larger than his collar4 ,his hat was without a hat-band4 ,his stature was of a good size2 his sword stuck close to his side2 his countenance swollen and reddish2 his voice sharp and untunable1 and his eloquence full of fervour4 ,and there is ,god's man6 ,but what an orbit6 ,a man was wanted for the defence of liberty and spiritual religion1 and ,god prepared this man in the obscurity of a little farm among the fens4 ,what an orbit is marked by the goings of the ,lord4 ,the ,lord hissed for the fly on the fen4 ,march forward across the centuries4 ,here is slavery in the ,american republic4 ,in spite of the noble words of the ,declaration of ,independence3 ,that all men are created equal2 that they are endowed by their ,creator with certain inalienable rights2 that among these are life1 liberty and the pursuit of happiness--in spite of these ringing human claims slavery nestled beneath the ,american flag4 ,well1 wanted a man to deal with it6 ,where will he be found8 ,will he be found in some university centre8 ,will he be a paragon of intellectual learning and accomplishment8 ,oh no6 ,the ,lord hissed for a fly in ,harden1 in a scraggy part of ,kentucky1 ,harden with its barren hillocks and weedy hollows1 and stunted and scrubby underbush1--and there in a dismal solitude1 and in a cheerless home1 and in the deepest poverty1 the great ,god made ,his man1 and ,abraham ,lincoln came forth to cross swords with the great wrong1 and to ring the bells of freedom from the frozen ,north to the glowing ,south1 and from the stormy waters of the ,atlantic westward to the calmer waters of the ,pacific ,main4 ,but what an orbit of divine providence6 ,who would have guessed that just there1 in that poor1 unschooled1 and unprivileged family the great ,god was doing ,his momentous work8 ,and ,i wonder where now in the vast orbit of ,his providence ,he is rearing the leaders of to-morrow8 ,our ,god moves in mighty sweeps1 and ,he is even now at work in the mysterious ministries of ,his grace4 ,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 ,assyria4 ,and then1 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 life4 ,for instance1 in what sweeping orbits the ,lord moves on ,his journeys in seeking to bring us to ,himself1 and to fashion us into the strength and beauty of ,his own image4 ,he lifts an ensign to some remote circumstance1 and from afar there comes an influence which sets me on the road to ,god4 ,he calls a ministry from distant ,egypt1 or from far off ,assyria1 and my life is turned to the home of my ,lord4 ,here is a careless young son of wealth in ,cambridge ,university4 ,life for him is just an idle sport1 a careless revel1 a jaunty outing1 an enjoyable extravagance4 ,life is just a shallow1 shimmering pool2 not an ocean with momentous tidal forces1 and with the voice of the great ,eternal speaking in its mighty tones4 ,wanted a man to awake this indolent son of wealth6 ,and in what an orbit ,god moved to find the man6 ,the ,lord hissed for a fly in ,massachusetts1 and there1 in ,northfield1 was a poor homestead1 encumbered with mortgage2 and a poor widow with seven children1 so poor that the very kindling wood was taken by the creditors from the shed4 ,and there in that poor woman's house ,god made ,his man1 and ,dwight ,moody came forth1 and went to ,cambridge ,university1 and proclaimed the evangel of grace1 and by the love of ,god won this young fellow from a loose and jaunty and indifferent life1 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 coast6 ,but what an orbit6 ,from a poor widow's homestead in ,northfield to a sporting young fellow in ,cambridge ,university6 ,i met a cultured man the other day1 a man who has enjoyed all the academic advantages that money can provide1 a man of university culture and distinction1 but whose life has been spiritually indifferent1 and who has held coldly aloof from ,god and the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,and in the vast orbit of ,his providence the great ,god brought this man into communion with ,billy ,sunday1 and all the stubble of his neglected life was burned up in the consuming fire of his kindled love for the ,lord4 ,but just think of the orbit6 ,the ,lord hissed for ,his fly1 and from the apparently incredible circumstance of a slangy evangelist this man was brought to his ,father's ,house in reconciliation and peace4 ,again ,i say1 what an orbit6 ,i will bring the blind by a way that they know not1 and under ,his wide and mysterious leadership the blind find themselves at home4 ,and so1 my friends1 our ,god is still moving in these vast orbits4 ,he hisses for a disappointment1 and it comes and throws its shadow upon our life1 but the shadow is purposed to be one of the healing shadows of grace4 ,i will command the clouds1 saith the ,lord4 ,yes1 even our cloudy experiences move under command4 ,they travel in the tremendous orbit of ,his providence4 ,i will command the ravens1 saith the ,lord ,god4 ,yes1 there are diverse circumstances that come to us on wings1--kind words1 cheering messages1 bright inspirations1 and they are the commanded ministers of ,god's providence4 ,they are ,god's messengers on wings6 ,we can never tell in what remote circumstances the good ,lord is even now preparing our to-morrow4 ,but of one thing we may be perfectly sure1 the great ,lord is at work1 and ,he is at work over wide fields4 ,rest in the ,lord1 and wait patiently for ,him4 ,the ,lord is thy keeper4444 ,the ,lord shall keep thee from all evil1 ,he shall keep thy soul4 ,the ,lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth1 and even for evermore4 ,,xii ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,fire ,heavenly ,father1 may we experience that deepest of all joys which is born of holy communion with ,thee4 ,lead us into new fields of our wonderful inheritance in ,christ4 ,may we have new surprises of grace4 ,may some fresh revelations of ,thy love break upon our astonished vision4 ,remove the scales from our eyes1 so that we may see clearly the things which are waiting to be unveiled4 ,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 do4 ,help us to remember what we ought not to forget1 and help us to forget what we ought not to remember4 ,may our minds be the servants of ,thy truth4 ,let the beams of heavenly light chase out the darkness of error and let it be all glorious within4 ,we humbly pray ,thee to deliver us from our selfishness1 and enlarge and refine our sympathies until they express themselves in willing sacrifice4 ,may we feel the pains of others1 and carry their burdens and share their yokes4 ,may the circles of our compassion grow larger every day4 ,let the ends of the earth be at our own doors1 and so may we hear the cry which is very far off4 ,illumine our lives in this service1 and send us forth to enlighten and kindle the lives of others4 ,make us missionaries of ,thy truth and ambassadors of ,thy grace and love4 ,may we be quick to discern opportunity1 and ready to use it in the service of the ,king4 ,amen4 ,,xii ,,the ,,soldier',s ,,fire ,he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4 ,matthew #c3aa4 ,such is the divine promise4 ,let me read the story of its fulfilment4 ,and when the day of ,pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place4 ,and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind1 and it filled all the house where they were sitting4 ,and there appeared unto them cloven tongues1 like as of fire1 and it sat upon each of them4 ,do not let us become victims of the letter and become entangled in the symbolism4 ,it is possible so to regard material signs as to lose their spiritual significance4 ,a musical word may conceal its own thought4 ,words are purposed to be the vehicles of mind4 ,symbols are intended to be transparencies1 losing themselves in something better4 ,they are ordained to be thoroughfares through which we pass to nobler destinations4 ,the sign is to be the servant of its own significance4 ,here then are men and women who are about to receive the promised gift of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,they have been waiting as their ,master directed1 waiting in prayer1 and in prayer incalculably strengthened by community of desire1 waiting in trembling watchfulness and expectation4 ,then the much-hoped-for day arrives and their spirits receive the infinite reinforcement of the gift of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,we have a very pale reflection of this experience when two human spirits are given to each other in deep and vital communion4 ,when ,david received the gift of ,jonathan's spirit1 and ,jonathan received the gift of ,david's spirit1 each of them obtained immeasurable enrichment4 ,when ,robert ,browning received the gift of ,elizabeth ,barrett's spirit1 and ,elizabeth ,barrett received the gift of ,robert ,browning's spirit1 who can calculate the wealth which each of them found in the other's possession8 ,but these examples1 and others even more sacred which we could gather from our own experience1 are only pale and wan and shadowy1 compared with the wonder which breaks upon the soul when the spirit of man receives the gift of the ,spirit of ,god1 and the two dwell together in mystic and glorious communion4 ,what happens to the human spirit is suggested to us under the familiar symbols of wind and fire4 ,like unto a rushing mighty wind2 like unto fire4 ,do not let us be enslaved by any hampering details in the figures4 ,let us seek their broad significance4 ,and what is the characteristic of a rushing mighty wind8 ,it dispels the fog4 ,it freshens the atmosphere4 ,it gives life and nimbleness to the air4 ,it is the minister of vitality4 ,and the breath of ,god's ,spirit is like that2 it clears the human spirit1 and freshens it1 and vitalizes it2 it acts upon the soul like the air of a spiritual spring4 ,and as for the symbol of the fire2 fire is the antagonist of all that is frozen2 it is the antagonist of the torpid1 the tepid2 it is the minister of fervour1 and buoyancy1 and expansion4 ,the wind changes the atmosphere1 the fire changes the temperature2 and the holy ,spirit of ,god changes the atmosphere and temperature of the soul2 and when you have changed the atmosphere and temperature of a soul you have accomplished a mighty transformation4 ,it is about this change in the moral and spiritual temperature that ,i want to meditate1 the gift of fire which we receive in the baptism of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,if the spirit of man and the spirit of ,god come into blessed communion1 and the fire of ,god is given1 how will it reveal and express itself8 ,for if there be a gift of fire in the soul we shall most surely know it4 ,fire is one of the things which cannot be hid4 ,you can hide a painted sun in your parlour and no one will know it is there1 but you cannot hide a glowing fire4 ,a man can hide a denominational label1 he cannot possibly hide the holy fire of ,god4 ,how1 then1 shall we know that the fire is there8 ,first of all ,i think ,i should look for the holy fire on the common hearthstone of human love4 ,if the fire of ,god does not warm up the affections ,i fail to recognize what its heat can be worth4 ,the first thing to warm up is the heart4 ,the intimate friend of the ,holy ,spirit is known by the ardour of his affections4 ,he loves with a pure heart fervently4 ,he is baptized with fire4 ,now ,i need not seek to prove the existence of cold hearts among us4 ,i am afraid we must accept them without question4 ,whether there are hearts like fire-grates without a spark of fire ,i cannot tell4 ,personally1 ,i have never met with anyone in whose soul the fire of love had gone quite out4 ,i think that if we sought very diligently among the gray dusty ashes of any burnt-out life we should find a little love somewhere4 ,yes1 even in ,judas ,iscariot1 or in the dingy soul-grate of old frozen-out ,scrooge4 ,but there are surely souls so cold1 and so destitute of love1 that the poor fire never leaps up in dancing1 cheering1 welcome flames4 ,their temperature is zero4 ,there are other souls with a little fire of love burning1 but it is very sad1 very sodden1 very sullen1 very dull4 ,there is more smoke than fire4 ,there is more surliness than love4 ,their fire is not inviting and attractive4 ,there is a little spitting1 and spluttering1 and crackling1 but there is no fine1 honest1 ruddy glow4 ,their temperature is about ten above freezing4 ,they are not frozen but they are not comforting4 ,there are other lives where the fire of affection is burning more brightly1 and certainly with more attractive glow1 but where it seems as if the quality of the fuel must be poor because the fire gives out comparatively little heat4 ,the heart sends out a cheery beam across the family circle1 but it does not reach beyond4 ,there is no cordial warmth for the wider circles of fellowship4 ,the fire burns in the home but it does not affect the office4 ,it encompasses the child but it has no cheer for the stranger4 ,what is the temperature of such a life8 ,it is very difficult to appraise it4 ,perhaps it will be best to say that in one room of the soul the temperature is #fj1 while in all the other rooms it is down towards freezing4 ,and1 therefore1 ,i need not say how profound is the need in the world for warm1 glowing1 affectional fires4 ,what awfully cold lives there are in the city1 just waiting for the cheer of the flame of sacred love6 ,there are souls whose fires have died down at the touch of death4 ,there are others whose glow has been dulled by heavy sorrow4 ,there are others whose love has been slaked by the pitiless rains of pelting defeat4 ,there are others again whose hearts are cold in the midst of material wealth4 ,they have richly furnished dwellings1 but their hearts are like ice4 ,they are unloved and unlovely1 and they are frostbitten in the realms of luxury4 ,wealth can buy attention2 it can never purchase love4 ,my ,god6 ,what cold souls there are in this great city6 ,and1 therefore1 what a clamant and urgent need there is for love-fires at which to kindle these souls that are heavy1 and burdened1 and cold4 ,and when the ,holy ,spirit is given to a man1 and he is baptized with fire1 it must surely1 first of all1 be the fire of cordial1 human affection4 ,and such is the teaching of experience4 ,when ,john ,wesley came into the fulness of the divine blessing in a little service at ,aldersgate ,street1 ,london1 he said that he felt his heart strangely warmed4 ,he was receiving the gift of holy fire4 ,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 lines3 ,kindle a flame of sacred love ,in these cold hearts of ours4 ,you find and feel the glow of that love-fire throughout the ,new ,testament ,scriptures4 ,they who have the most of ,god's ,spirit have the most of the fire4 ,there was ,barnabas1 who was declared to be full of the ,holy ,spirit1 and he is also described as the son of consolation4 ,what a consummate title6 ,cannot we feel the love-fire burning and glowing in all his ample ministry8 ,full of the ,spirit1 and therefore full of consolation6 ,the truth of the matter is this1--we cannot be much with the ,spirit of ,christ1 and not take fire from ,his presence4 ,in these high realms1 communing is partaking1 and we kindle to the same affection as fills the heart of the ,lord4 ,we love because ,he first loved us4 ,his fire lights our fire1 and we burn in kindred passion4 ,so do ,i proclaim that when the fire of ,god falls upon our spirits the sacred gift kindles and inflames the soul's affections4 ,when we are baptized with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire1 we receive the glowing power of ,christian love4 ,where else shall we look for that holy fire in human life8 ,i think ,i should look for the presence of the fire of the ,holy ,ghost in fervent enthusiasm for the cause of ,christ's ,kingdom4 ,and that indeed is what ,i find4 ,the ,new ,testament instructs me in this1 and it teaches me that where man is baptized with the ,holy ,spirit and with fire his own spirit becomes fervent4 ,he is declared to be fervent in spirit1 and the original word means to bubble up1 to boil1 as in a boiling kettle2 it is the emergence of the mighty power of steam4 ,and so the significance is this3 the fire of ,god generates steam1 it creates driving power1 it produces forceful and invincible enthusiasm4 ,you will find abundant examples of this spiritual miracle in the ,acts of the ,apostles2 perhaps the ,book might be more truly named ,the ,acts of the ,holy ,spirit1 for all the glorious activity is generated by ,his holy fire4 ,let your eyes glance over the apostolic record4 ,mark how the fire of ,god endows man with the power of magnificent initiative4 ,take the apostle ,peter2--once his strength was the strength of impulse1 a spurt and then a collapse1 a spasm and then a retreat1 proud beginnings bereft of patience and perseverance4 ,but see him when the ,spirit of ,god has got hold upon him1 and what a gift he has received of initial and sustained enthusiasm6 ,and ,peter1 filled with the ,holy ,spirit6 ,you should see him then1 and note the strength of his drive1 and the ardour of his enterprise6 ,and the example of ,peter would be confirmed by the examples of all the other apostles1 if only we knew their personal history and experience4 ,i wish there had been given to us just a glimpse of doubting ,thomas1 slow1 hesitant1 reluctant1 uncertain1 when the ,holy ,spirit had him in possession4 ,and ,thomas filled with the ,holy ,spirit1--,i would give something to know the end of that sentence4 ,and ,i wish we had one glimpse of timid1 fearful1 night-walking ,nicodemus1 when the fire of ,god's ,spirit blazed in his soul4 ,then ,nicodemus1 filled with the ,holy ,spirit1--,i wonder what notable exploits would complete that unfinished sentence4 ,this we know2 the holy fire transformed the timid into the courageous1 the lukewarm into the fervent1 it generated a moral steam which made them invincible4 ,the first apostles drove through tremendous obstacles4 ,indeed1 they never had the comfort of an open and unimpeded road4 ,every road was thick with adversaries4 ,what then8 ,through them or over them6 ,but1 ,sire1 said a timid and startled officer to ,napoleon1 on receiving apparently impossible commands1 ,but1 ,sire1 there are the ,alps6 ,then there must be no ,alps1 replied his audacious chief4 ,there must be no ,alps6 ,that was the very spirit of the first apostles4 ,mighty antagonisms reared themselves in their way1--ecclesiastical prejudices1 the prejudices of culture1 social hostilities1 political expediences1 and all the subtle and violent contrivances of the world1 the flesh and the devil4 ,but1 ,sire1 there are the ,alps6 ,there must be no ,alps6 ,through them6 ,over them6 ,what that coward ,peter got through when the fire of ,god glowed in his soul6 ,when a man has the holy fire of ,god within him he has a boiling fervency of spirit1 and he can drive through anything4 ,and that same holy fire gives the same terrific power to-day1 the same driving enthusiasm1 the same patient1 dogged1 invincible perseverance4 ,if a man declares that he has received the fire of ,god's ,holy ,spirit1 ,i will look eagerly for the impetus of his sacred enthusiasm4 ,if he be a preacher ,i will look for labour in the passion1 and the unsnarable energy and patience which he will assuredly put into his work4 ,if he be a teacher1 ,i will examine the generated steam1 and note how much he can do1 how far he can travel1 and how long he can hold out in the service of his ,lord4 ,if he be a man who has set himself to some piece of social reconstruction ,i will watch with what ardour1 and ingenuity1 and inevitableness he is moving towards his goal4 ,is it the smashing of the saloons8 ,then ,peter1 filled with the ,holy fire2--what if that power were harnessed to the enterprise8 ,or is it the awful plague and blight of impurity2 or is it the cleaning up of politics2 the establishment of rectitude in civic and national life8 ,whatever it be1 the holy fire of ,god will reveal its presence in the soul of man in an ardent enthusiasm which cannot be quenched4 ,it is the promise of our ,god1 and shall ,he not do it8 ,he maketh ,his ministers a flaming fire1--and that fire can never be blown out in the darkest and most tempestuous nights4 ,and lastly1 ,i shall look for the signs of the presence of the ,holy ,spirit in the fire of sacred resentment4 ,if a man is baptized with the ,holy ,ghost1 and with fire1 ,i shall expect to see the presence of that fire in the capacity of hot and sensitive indignation4 ,i need not say that there is a mighty difference between hot temper and hot indignation4 ,hot temper is a firing of loose powder upon a shovel4 ,it is just a flare1 and an annoyance1 and a danger4 ,but hot indignation is powder concentrated in the muzzle of a gun1 and intelligently directed to the overthrow of some stronghold of iniquity4 ,hot temper is the fire of the devil4 ,hot indignation is the fire of ,god2 it is the wrath of the ,lamb4 ,what is this capacity of indignation8 ,it is the opposite to frozen antipathy1 to tepid curiosity1 to sinful don't care1 to all immoral coldness and calculated indifference4 ,there are many people who can be irritated1 but they are never indignant4 ,they can be offended1 but they are never nobly angry4 ,the souls who are possessed with the fire of ,god are the very opposite to all these4 ,i said at the very beginning of this meditation that the breath of ,god is like the quickening atmosphere of the ,spring2 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 it4 ,the hot breath of ,god is like unto a blast that scorches things in their very roots4 ,and if we share the breath of ,god's ,spirit we too shall be endowed with the ministry of the destructive blast1 even the power of a consuming indignation4 ,any form of public iniquity will make our fire blaze with purifying wrath4 ,corruption in civic or national government1 inhumanity in the treatment of the criminal and the unfortunate1 the oppression of the poor1 the brutal disregard of the rights of the weak and the defenceless1 any one of these will draw out our souls in the hot and aggressive indignation which is the imparted fire of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,if any one claims to have been baptized with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire1 and he is indifferent in the presence of licensed iniquity1 and apathetic and lukewarm when gigantic wrongs glare and stare upon him1 that man's spiritual baptism is a pathetic fiction1 and his boasted fire is only a painted flame4 ,but if a man suffer a personal injury1 if some wrong is done to him1 what kind of fire shall ,i expect to see in his life if he is filled with the ,holy ,ghost8 ,yes1 if some one has done an injury to another1 and the other has been baptized with the ,holy ,ghost1 what kind of fire will he reveal8 ,listen to this3 ,if thine enemy hunger1 feed him2 if he thirst1 give him drink2 for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head6 ,it is the very fire that rains upon us from the ,cross of our ,lord3 ,and when they were come to the place which is called ,calvary1 there they crucified ,him1 and the malefactors1 one on the right hand and the other on the left4 ,then said ,jesus1 ,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do4 ,what kind of fire is that8 ,it is the same holy fire which flowed from the soul of the martyr ,stephen as he was being stoned to death3 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,it is a marvellous fire1 a most arresting fire2 and we simply cannot withstand it4 ,it is the very fire of grace2 it is live coal from the altar of ,god4 ,so this is the sort of fire ,i look for when a man claims to be filled with the ,holy ,spirit1--the glowing fire of humble affection1 the glowing fire of noble enthusiasm1 the glowing fire of indignation1 and the marvellous fire of self-forgetting grace4 ,he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4 ,he came in tongues of living flame1 ,to teach1 convince1 subdue1 ,all powerful as the wind ,he came1 ,and viewless too4 ,spirit of purity and grace1 ,our weakness1 pitying see1 ,oh1 make our hearts ,thy dwelling-place1 ,and worthier ,thee4 ,,xiii ,,victory ,,over ,,the ,,beast ,heavenly ,father1 we thank ,thee for our knowledge that all our springs are in ,thee4 ,wilt ,thou deliver us from any sense of self-dependence1 and lead us into an intimate fellowship with the ministers of ,thy grace4 ,if any triumph has made us self-confident1 if any earthly success has made us proud1 may ,thy ,holy ,spirit lead our spirits into the lowliness which is the beginning of true wisdom and strength4 ,we humbly ask that ,thou wilt deliver us from the sins which have become our masters1 and in which we find unholy delight4 ,incline our hearts unto ,thy law1 and help us to find pleasure in obedience to ,thy holy will4 ,graciously redeem us from every care which fetters our souls1 and give us such an assurance of ,thy providential love that we may exult in the glorious liberty of the children of ,god4 ,graciously remember us one by one4 ,be very near to those who scarcely have the heart to pray4 ,mercifully meet with those who have been stunned with sorrow1 and who have not yet regained the comforts of ,thy peace4 ,remember all who are in grave perplexity1 and graciously light ,thy lamp on their bewildered way4 ,receive all our little ones into the circle of ,thy blessing1 and may they early rejoice in ,thy friendship and become devoted to ,thy holy will4 ,amen4 ,,xiii ,,victory ,,over ,,the ,,beast ,and ,i saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire3 and they that had gotten the victory over the beast4 ,revelation #ae3b4 ,the symbolism of the city of ,god as given in the ,book of ,revelation represents the character of its citizens1 and all the glories of the new ,jerusalem have correspondences in the souls who live and move in that radiant land4 ,the sea of glass represents a spiritual character of regal serenity1 a character transparent in its limpid depths1 and reflecting in its stillness the very image of the ,lord4 ,and the sea of glass1 mingled with fire1 is significant of character made fervent by holy love1 purity made genial1 righteousness changed into goodness by the permeating heat of affectional enthusiasm and devotion4 ,and now ,i wish to examine the next descriptive sentence1 which tells us something of the history and experiences of those who have arrived at the sea of glass1 and who have attained the serene and genial purity of those who hold immediate communion with ,god4 ,and this is the sentence which records some of the happenings which have befallen them on the road2 ,they have gotten the victory over the beast4 ,it is a very striking conjunction1 this which tells me that they who dwell by the sea of glass have come by the way of the beast1 and that they have conquered the beast by the way4 ,what was the beast which these men and women had faced and conquered as they moved onward to the crystal sea8 ,i do not profess to know the precise historic interpretation4 ,the beast may have been the malignant and vindictive antagonism of the ,emperor ,nero4 ,he may have been the beast4 ,the beast may have been the hostile and suffocating pressure of the ,roman ,empire4 ,the beast may have been the stealthy seductions of the imperial city of ,rome4 ,the beast may have been the fascinating and paralyzing charm of the world1 the flesh1 and the devil4 ,anyone or all of these together may have been the beast which straddled across the road and opposed these ,christians on their journey towards home4 ,i do not know1 and ,i frankly confess ,i am not deeply concerned to know4 ,the general boldness of the figure is quite enough for me4 ,whatever else the beast may mean it must essentially mean anti-,god1 anti-,christ1 the antagonist of the divine4 ,it must mean the animal side of our nature seeking to invade the realm of the spirit1 to force its way among the executive powers of the soul1 and to usurp the throne of ,god4 ,the beast is triumphant when the flesh and all the works of the flesh have ousted the forces of the spirit4 ,the beast is conquered when the powers of the spirit never surrender their holy sovereignty1 when the forces of the flesh have been ordered to their place among the rank and file1 and when they are never allowed to wear the honours and prerogatives of the commander-in-chief4 ,they that have gotten the victory over the beast4 ,the beast is just anti-,christ1 in whatever form he may appear4 ,let us spend a little while in first of all examining this beast who claims the control and mastery of our souls4 ,everybody has a vivid experience of his power1 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 soul4 ,let us turn1 then1 to the pages of literature1 and first of all let us turn to the inspired literature itself4 ,you have scarcely opened the ,word of ,god before the beast makes his appearance in the form of a serpent4 ,now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field4 ,and who has not experienced the wiles of the serpent when he approaches the soul in some charming seduction1 in some fascinating crookedness1 in some wriggling sophistry1 in some twisted excuse1 in some winding compromise8 ,who has not seen the beast when he has sought to persuade the soul that the wriggle is the most graceful form of motion1 and that the curve is more acceptable than the straight line8 ,who has not heard him when he has argued that the detour is the shortest way home1 and that a slight deviation from rectitude will lead to the noblest ends8 ,yes1 this beast is the apostle of the serpentine1 and this is his creed1--the wriggle is the best way to your goal4 ,the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field4 ,i turn over the pages of the old book1 and ,i am confronted with an extraordinary change in the form of the beast4 ,he is no longer a wriggling serpent but a prowling lion4 ,the devil goeth abroad like a roaring lion4 ,he no longer makes a seductive approach to the intellect with his advocacy of the crooked way2 he makes a passionate assault upon the spirit with all the fiery forces of the flesh4 ,it is no longer the wriggle but a terrific leap4 ,and who has not known him in this wild approach8 ,it is just the tremendous weight and pounce of anti-spiritual impulse1 the mighty onrush of carnal longing and desire4 ,the lion is sheer mass and weight of hungry craving4 ,who has not known the lion in the way8444 ,and yet beside the crystal sea are those who have gotten the victory over the beast4 ,again ,i turn over the pages of the old book1 and once again the form of the beast has changed and he appears before me in the guise of a fox4 ,it is our ,master's name for the foe4 ,and who has not known the beast when he has assailed the soul in the manner of a fox8 ,it is the assault of cunning1 when things are made to appear in semblance what they are not in spirit and in truth4 ,nay1 it is the very art of foxiness that the fox itself is made to look like a goose1 and the wolf is given the appearance of a lamb4 ,vice is dressed up like virtue4 ,falsehood moves about in white robes and innocently accosts us in the dress of a white lie4 ,license tricks itself out as gaiety4 ,sin clothes itself in the fashions of the hour and hides its talons in silks4 ,i say this is the very genius of the fox1--he makes you think you are having converse with a harmless old goose6 ,who has not known the fox when he cunningly tried to persuade us that the devil was ,god1 and that hell was heaven1 and that death was4444 ,but1 ,o no1 he never mentions death6 ,in his scheme it is part of the trick that death shall never be known4 ,the old fox6 ,and yet1 in spite of fox and lion and serpent1 there were those beside the sea of glass who had gotten the victory over the beast4 ,let me lead you further1 for a moment or two1 into the pages of a wider literature1 and let it be into the pages of ,dante and ,john ,bunyan4 ,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 journey4 ,and first he met a leopard3 ,and lo6 just as the sloping side ,i gained1 ,a leopard1 subtle1 lithe1 exceeding fleet1 ,whose skin full many a dusky spot did stain2 ,nor did she from before my face retreat2 ,nay1 hindered so my journey on the way1 ,that many a time ,i backward turned my feet4 ,the leopard which confronted ,dante was the symbol of sensuous beauty which sought to block his road and ensnare his feet4 ,next he was confronted by a lion3 ,yet o'er me1 spite of this1 did terror creep-- ,from aspect of a lion drawing near4 ,he seemed as if upon me he would leap1 ,with head upraised and hunger fierce and wild1 ,so that a shudder through the air did sweep4 ,the lion was to ,dante the symbol of worldly pride4 ,and next he met a wolf3 ,a she-wolf1 with all ill-greed defiled1 ,laden with hungry leanness terrible4 ,and the wolf was to ,dante the lean symbol of a hungry greed2 it was the beastly type of avarice4 ,and who has not shared the experience of ,dante on his own road and encountered the leopard1 the lion and the wolf8444 ,and yet there were those before the sea of glass who had got the victory over the beast4 ,turn to ,john ,bunyan4 ,there is a wonderful passage in the early part of ,john ,bunyan's ,holy ,war1 in which he describes the preparations which the beast has made for his attack upon the soul4 ,he tells how beast held counsel with beast1 and how it was agreed that they should assume forms with which the soul was quite familiar2 such as were accounted harmless1 lest the soul should be alarmed when they made their deadly approach4 ,therefore let us assault the soul in all pretended fairness1 covering our intentions with all manner of lies1 flatteries1 and illusive words2 feigning things that will never be1 and promising that to them which they shall never find4 ,and so they marched toward the soul1 all in a manner invisible1 save only one1 and he took on a shape as harmless and familiar as a bird1 and when he spoke he spake with such gentleness as if he had been a lamb4 ,and ,i for one put myself side by side with ,john ,bunyan1 for ,i too have known the beast when he has come disguised1 and has addressed me with all the harmlessness and innocence of a lamb4 ,i will add one further word in our consideration of the beast4 ,when ,i look around on the world to-day1 upon the appalling scenes of passion and hatred and slaughter1--it is to me very significant that so many of the national emblems1 which represent the corporate life of peoples1 are different types of beasts4 ,it is the beast which still provides the symbols of our national life4 ,there is the lion2 there is the bear2 there is the wolf1 and ,i know not what besides6 ,we talk of rousing the bear and of twisting the lion's tail6 ,our national emblems are beasts4 ,the ,american nation has happily discarded the beast1 but it has chosen one of the fiercest among the birds--the bird whose talons are more obtrusive than its song4 ,i am suggesting the significance of the fact that we have found nothing above the beast to symbolize the individuality of national life4 ,perhaps some day we may move upward1 and we may erase the beasts from our emblems1 but it will only be when we have driven the beasts from our souls6 ,well1 then1 after this swift glimpse into inspired and general literature1 and this glance upon the typical symbols of the national life1 we are more disposed than ever to say that the beast is just anti-,christ1 the presumptuous claim of the animal to take the place of the spiritual1 the defiant claim of the devil to usurp the throne of ,god4 ,but here are men and women whose triumph is recorded in my text1 who have conquered the beast1 and who have attained a strong and fervent purity in which the spirit is all in all4 ,what was the secret of their triumph8 ,by what means and ministries did they conquer the beast8 ,happily we are left in no manner of doubt1 and the means by which they conquered are offered to you and me4 ,what says the ,old ,book8--,they overcame by the blood of the ,lamb4 ,let us tell their secret very quietly and very simply1 without any waste of words1--they shared the blood of ,jesus ,christ and it changed them into giants4 ,in some way or other a communion was formed between their life and ,his life1 and ,his mighty life flowed into their life as vine-blood flows into the branch of the vine4 ,they shared the strength of ,him who fought the beast in the wilderness of ,judea1 and who fought him again in still more alluring forms in the courts of ,jerusalem and by the shores of the ,lake of ,galilee4 ,yes1 if you had asked these radiant victors by the sea of glass to tell you how they triumphed1 they would have reverently turned their faces towards the ,lord and eagerly answered1 ,by the blood of the ,lamb6 ,i asked them whence their victory came1 ,they with united breath ,ascribed their conquest to the ,lamb1 ,their triumph to ,his death4 ,and the second secret of their triumph is to be found in their continual warfare4 ,they drank his blood to fight his fights4 ,it is a fight that knows no armistice4 ,it acknowledges no flag of truce4 ,eternal vigilance and eternal struggle is the price of spiritual freedom4 ,life is warfare2 it is never parade-drill2 it is never holiday review2 we are never off duty2 the contest is constant1 and the close of every day records a victory or a defeat4 ,our ,master never promised his soldiers a life of ease4 ,the beast promises roads which are pleasant as field paths that lead through grassy meadows4 ,there shall be no flints1 no thorns1 no briars2 and if we choose1 we can lie down in the meadows morning1 noon and night6 ,that is the promise that the beast makes1--a promise which is always broken4 ,our ,lord always calls us to battles1 to noble crusades and prolonged campaigns4 ,his blood-red banner streams afar6 ,he calls us to share the travail that makes ,his ,kingdom come4 ,yes1 ,he calls us to glorious1 endless battles1 but ,he promises sure and certain victory if we drink ,his blood along the way4 ,and so they conquered the beast by the blood of the ,lamb4 ,they conquered by the continual battles of their faith4 ,and lastly they conquered by their songs of victory4 ,they sang their way to the sea of glass1 and their songs were songs of victory all along the road4 ,they did not moan in misereres2 they did not wail in lamentations as if the beast were mightier than their ,lord4 ,they knew their ,lord was mightier than all2 and their songs of victory were the beginning of their triumph4 ,o1 the singing that abounds in the ,word of ,god6 ,o1 the singing you may hear in the ,acts of the ,apostles6 ,and1 ,o1 the singing that sounds through the ,book of ,revelation2 the song of victory1 the song of ,moses and the ,lamb6 ,at the battle of ,dunbar1 in the great critical days of ,english freedom1 ,cromwell's troops sang their way to victory4 ,they could hear the roaring of the sea4 ,the land was swept with deluges of rain4 ,but above the roar of the sea1 and the sound of the pelting rain1 they lifted their voices in praise to ,god1 and as they swept into battle their song rang out2 ,god is our refuge and strength1 a very present help in time of trouble2 therefore will we not fear if the earth be removed and the mountains be shaken in the heart of the seas6 ,the ,lord of ,hosts is with us2 the ,god of ,jacob is our refuge6 ,their song was part of their armour2 it was indeed the armour of their souls4 ,i greatly like that word of the ,christian1 ,appollinaris1 in ,ibsen's play1--,the ,emperor ,julian1 which he spake when the forces of the beast were massed against the soldiers of the cross2--,verily ,i say unto you1 so long as song rings out above our sorrows1 ,satan shall never conquer6 ,verily1 ,i too will say that our praise is an invincible armour1--we sing our way to the triumph we seek6 ,men and women1 the beast can be conquered1 for the mouth of the ,lord hath spoken it6 ,you and ,i may stand at the sea of glass1 pure1 transparent1 fervent with divine love1 victors over the beast1 through the blood of the ,lamb1 through constancy in battle1 and in songs which ring out above our sorrows1 as we push along life's way4 ,soldiers of ,christ1 arise6 ,and put your armour on2 ,strong in the strength which ,god supplies ,through ,his eternal ,son4 ,from strength to strength go on1 ,wrestle1 and fight and pray2 ,tread all the powers of darkness down ,and win the well-fought day4 ,,xiv ,,the ,,coming ,,golden ,,age ,holy ,father1 we thank ,thee for the privilege of fellowship1 and for the help which we can give to one another4 ,may the faith of everyone be strengthened by the faith of all4 ,may our penitence be deepened because we are all engaged in common confession4 ,may our joys be enriched because we are all contemplating the unsearchable riches of ,christ4 ,may our obedience become more devoted because we all drink of the waters of inspiration4 ,impart unto us the grace of sacred sympathy4 ,may we reverently bear one another's burdens and carry them in the arms of intercession4 ,we beseech ,thee to grant unto us visions of ,thy glory in so far as our eyes are able to bear them4 ,may we make new discoveries among the mysteries of ,thy truth4 ,may the whole worship prepare us for a larger ministry in the service of ,thy kingdom4 ,wilt ,thou give us the armor we need for the great campaign4 ,especially may we receive the endowment of the love that never grows faint4 ,reveal to us our work1 and then lead us into a devotion which will never be satisfied until the work is finished4 ,look upon the whole world in this hour of desolation and woe4 ,enlarge our hearts to comprehend the sorrow1 and may we share the sufferings of our ,lord in sacrificial labors4 ,let ,thy kingdom come1 ,o ,lord1 and let ,thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven4 ,amen4 ,,xiv ,,the ,,coming ,,golden ,,age ,and many people shall go up and say1 ,come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the ,lord1 to the house of the ,god of ,jacob2 and he will teach us of his ways1 and we will walk in his paths3 for out of ,zion shall go forth the law1 and the word of the ,lord from ,jerusalem4 ,and he shall judge among the nations1 and shall rebuke many people3 and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares1 and their spears into pruning-hooks3 nation shall not lift up sword against nation1 neither shall they learn war any more4 ,isaiah #b3 #c1 #d4 ,there is something almost unreal in these words when they are read aloud in the times through which we are passing4 ,they sound like the voice of a mocking-bird calling from the midst of the dust and the debris of a ruined world4 ,it is like hearing the gentle peal of church bells on the bloody field of battle4 ,it is like anything you choose which has become unreal1 and which has been transferred from the healthy book of noble prophecy to the bitter pages of satire and the sour lips of the cynic4 ,yes1 ,i grant that the great passage unfolds ideals which have become mere scraps of paper1 torn and retorn into a thousand pieces1 and blown about like withered leaves in an autumn gale4 ,what1 then1 are we to do8 ,i am reminded of what ,lord ,morley said in ,manchester a few weeks ago4 ,when the war is ended1--this mournful chapter of sore bereavement and wasted treasure1 when all that is gone1 ,i ask is there not a moral loss which ought to be counted1 a moral loss in the wreck of ideals in which the men of my generation were deeply concerned8 ,that loss has got to be counted and retrieved4 ,the fabric of those ideals has to be built up again in the hearts and minds of men and women4 ,surely that is an opportune word1 and it offers both counsel and warning to the ,christian ,church4 ,we must not just sit down in the bloody dust1 and wail our misereres in deadly impotence4 ,we have got to reconstruct the ruined pile1 and we must begin the reconstruction by rebuilding the golden palace of our dreams4 ,and if we are going to rear again that stately temple of vision and dream1 who can give us nobler help than the ,hebrew prophets1 and who among the prophets can help us more than ,isaiah8 ,isaiah was a prophet interpreting the mind of ,god4 ,he was a statesman with a keen and comprehensive outlook on human affairs4 ,he was also a poet bringing to human problems the illuminating imagination of the seer4 ,he lived in a time of grave national disloyalties1 a time when peoples were abandoning their most sacred trust4 ,his were days of international strife and convulsion1 days witnessing vast world movements in which empires were seen at their birth1 and empires were seen in withering decline and death4 ,isaiah was a man whose thought was distinguished by breadth and depth and length4 ,he saw things broadly1 he saw things deeply1 and he also saw the things which gleamed afar4 ,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 peace4 ,isaiah was a confirmed optimist4 ,he had a keen sense of the future4 ,he felt the days before him4 ,he could scent the waving harvest while yet the snow was on the ground4 ,he could catch the sound of harvest-home while the wintry wind was whistling across the ice-bound field4 ,and looking out over the dark scene of convulsion and disaster1 and amid the rude and brutal clamour of international strife1 he sang this song of the morning1--,they shall beat their swords into ploughshares1 and their spears into pruning-hooks2 nation shall not lift up sword against nation1 neither shall they learn war any more4 ,if we are purposing to rebuild the fallen ideals of our own day1 and so reconstruct our common life1 can we do better than stand near this man for guidance and inspiration8 ,how1 then1 does this man say that the golden dream is to be realized8 ,through what preparatory stages are we to pass before we reach the shining consummation8 ,isaiah declares that the fulfilment of the dream is to begin in the profound revival of spiritual religion4 ,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 mountains1 and shall be exalted above the hills4 ,that is to say1 the dominant peak in the reconstructed landscape is to be a shining spirituality of pure and undefiled religion4 ,man's relationship to ,god is to be the supreme relation overtopping and overseeing everything else4 ,and many peoples shall say1 ,come ye1 and let us go up to the mountain of the ,lord1 to the house of the ,god of ,jacob1 and ,he will teach us of ,his ways1 and we will walk in ,his paths4 ,that is to say1 in the golden age this is to be the common aspiration2 spiritual desire and spiritual ambition are to be dominant2 the biggest thing in life is to be the yearning for the divine communion1 the gladsome craving for fellowship in the heavenly quest4 ,that is how the golden dream is to begin to be fulfilled2 it is to begin in the recovery of vital worship1 in the profound revival of spiritual religion4 ,now1 all the best things can be mimicked in the cheapest counterfeits6 ,pearls can be so skilfully manufactured that even the expert eye can be deceived4 ,there are diamonds about1 common as window glass1 and their dancing gleams can delude the very elect4 ,yes1 the best things can be cleverly imitated1 and their counterfeits can move unsuspected in the most exalted places4 ,it would be an amusing trait1 if it were not a tragic characteristic of human nature1 how willing we are to borrow the clothes of realities1 and just strut about in our cheap and glittering attire4 ,and it is so easily done6 ,anybody can borrow the jolly meters of ,rudyard ,kipling and put their own tawdry stuff into his caskets2 and a thousand people have done it6 ,anybody can borrow the disorderly irregularities of ,walt ,whitman1 and into his eccentric bottles they can pour their own cheap wine2 and crowds of people have done it6 ,it is so easy to borrow clothes1 and bottles1 and outer forms4 ,yes1 and it is so easy to borrow the outer garments of religion and to move about in the mere trappings of devotion4 ,we can borrow the sacramental cup and put into it the thinnest and the most diluted wine of life4 ,our apparent religion can be just an affair of clothes1 a borrowed skin1 an acted thing1 a play1 a theatricality with feigned postures and emotions1 altogether devoid of blood-red life1 and having no deep and vital commerce with the ,infinite4 ,religion can be conventional1 having no inner sanction of fine awe and godly fear4 ,we can get religion while all the time religion has not got us4 ,it can be just a light performance1 a social convention and not a solemn travail in which the soul is doing great business in deep waters in communion with the eternal ,god4 ,now1 is not this the religious condition into which the world has drifted in these latter days8 ,i do not make exception of any country1 not even of ,america4 ,this country is delivered from the horrors of the ,european convulsion1 not by a separating gulf of moral and spiritual condition1 but by #c1jjj miles of sea4 ,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 cauldron4 ,and therefore do ,i put the inclusive question1--and ,i venture to challenge your judgments1--is not the religious condition which ,i have suggested one into which the entire ,christian world appears to have fallen8 ,multitudes of ,christian people are just wearing the clothes of religion4 ,we have religious professions without spiritual possessions4 ,we have religious conventionality without devotional vitality4 ,we have the show without the life4 ,we have the skin of religion without its sacrificial heart4 ,we have the crucifix without the ,saviour4 ,we have the altar but not the open heaven4 ,you may make the test in any way you please4 ,let us test our condition by any one of the primary characteristics of true and vital religion4 ,let us apply one test4 ,let us test our condition by our own secret and personal communion with the ,lord4 ,i am speaking in a ,christian church1 and ,i am addressing professedly ,christian people2 well1 how do we stand the test8 ,what proportion of the members of the ,church of ,christ in this country have a really living and fruitful fellowship with ,god8 ,how many have walked the way of communion so frequently that it is now a much-beloved and well-trodden road1 along which they can easily and naturally make their way in the dark1 yea1 even in the stormy midnight when the floods are out1 and the tempest howls about their ways8 ,for we cannot have religion with ,god wiped out6 ,if religion is only beneficence1 if it is only decent1 respectable living1 if it is only a comfortable conformity with accepted social standards1--if that is all it is1 then let us say so and have done with it4 ,let us pull down our altars and fling their useless stones to the winds4 ,but this is not religion4 ,true religion is more than this4 ,true religion is the reverent and most solemn recognition of the eternal ,god4 ,it is the conscious prostration of the soul in ,his most holy ,presence4 ,it is the free because reverent fellowship of a child with the ,father4 ,it is the loyal acceptance of the ,father's will4 ,it is the humble reception of ,his grace as offered to us in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,it is the assumption of our life as a sacred trust accepted from the hands of ,god4 ,it is the anticipation of ,his glory in our eternal home4 ,religion has great human relationships with our fellowman1 and these shall not be overlooked4 ,but for the moment1 ,i am speaking of the fontal relationship of the soul with ,god1 that fundamental fellowship in which all other worthy fellowships are born1 and ,i ask you whether all the peoples of all professing ,christian nations have not wandered far from the vitalizing bond of this primary communion8 ,let your eyes roam over the darkened world2 dense clouds are still rising everywhere on the ominous horizon4 ,how is that night-time to be turned into day1 yea1 into a day like unto a lovely summer's morning8 ,here is the answer of the greatest of the prophets when he1 too1 was confronted with tempest and night2--the first thing we have to pray for1 and work for1 and seek for1 in every ,christian country1 is a profound revival of spiritual religion1 when the mountain of the ,lord's house shall be established at the head of the mountains1 and when many peoples shall say1 ,let us go up to the mountain of the ,lord1 and ,he will teach us of ,his ways1 and we will walk in ,his paths4 ,this1 ,i say1 is needed in every country1 until in every country all who profess the ,saviour's name shall cry out in the fervour of a great and quenchless desire1--,as the hart panteth after the water brook1 so panteth my soul after ,thee1 ,o ,god6 ,now look at the second stage in the realization of the golden dream4 ,he will teach us of ,his ways1 and we will walk in ,his paths4444 ,and ,he shall judge between the nations4 ,that is to say1 a profound revival of spiritual religion will be accompanied by loftier and more exacting moral standards4 ,he will teach and we will walk4 ,morals always grow lax when piety gets cool4 ,when religion becomes a mere conventionality1 morality always loses its awful sanctions4 ,wipe out ,god and your moral standards will surely fall4 ,if ,i neglect the temperature of my greenhouse1 or if ,i play fast and loose with it1 my tender plants will assuredly droop4 ,and if ,i neglect my spiritual temperature1 which is the climate of my soul1 my moral and spiritual flowers will be smitten and pinched4 ,we cannot lower our spirituality and yet have our morality keep its winsome bloom4 ,let me ask you1--have you ever known anyone grow loose and careless in their religion1 and at the same time become correspondingly nobler and purer1 and more scrupulously faithful in their daily life8 ,have you ever known anyone drop ,christ and then become more like ,him8 ,have you ever had occasion to whisper this secret concerning any living woman1--,o1 yes1 she broke off communion with ,christ1 and then she put on moral grace and beauty like a robe8 ,the very question is an insult to our intelligence1 as it is an affront to our experience2 for this is the eternal law1 whose workings can be witnessed every day1--when the spirit deteriorates the moral life becomes diseased4 ,on the other hand1 let there be an enrichment in vital godliness and our conduct will begin to shine like burnished gold4 ,he will teach1 says the prophet1 and we will walk4 ,he1 with ,whom we hold vital communion1 ,he will be the teacher of the spirit1 and the illuminant of the conscience and the inspiration of the will2 a nobler conduct will be born of that fellowship as surely as the choicest grapes are the children of the healthiest vines4 ,when we are all in living and deep communion with ,christ1 truly worshipping in the innermost secret place1--,english1 and ,german1 and ,american1 and ,japanese1--a finer spirit of judgment will be abroad in the earth1 a healthier moral climate1 and we shall naturally and instinctively seek to do what ,jesus did1 and in the way that ,jesus did it1 when ,he came and dwelt among us as a carpenter's ,son1 ,son of ,mary1 ,son of ,man1 ,son of ,god6 ,only one thing remains to be said as to the process by which the radiant dream of the prophet is to be fulfilled4 ,when there has come a profound revival of spiritual religion1 and1 consequently1 a loftier and more exacting moral standard1 there will be a wonderful conversion of destructive forces in the personal and national life4 ,they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks4 ,i want you carefully to notice that the sword is not to be destroyed2 it is to be transformed2 it is to become a ploughshare4 ,the spear is not to be broken and thrown away2 it is to be converted into a pruning-hook4 ,that is to say1 the rudely destructive energies in human life are to be changed into constructive energies4 ,what was darkly negative is to become brightly positive4 ,the martial is to be transformed into the pastoral4 ,the rude implement of slaughter is to become the breaker of the earth-clod or the helpful friend of the vine4 ,they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks4 ,after the first historic siege of ,antwerp1 the cannon balls were taken and converted into church bells2 and may the gracious and holy ,lord grant that there may speedily come such a transformation in modern ,antwerp1 when all the ministers of carnage shall be changed into sweet and sacred ministers of worship and devotion6 ,but now1 if swords are to be beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning-hooks1 where must that work begin8 ,it must begin in the individual heart4 ,we are never going to get the swords out of the nations until we have got them out of the hearts4 ,there is a sword in the heart1 a cruel sword1 a minister of destruction4 ,there is a sword in the ,german heart1 and a sword in the ,english heart1 and a sword in the ,american heart1 and that sword has got to be transformed before the material sword can become a ploughshare of the field6 ,we are all familiar with our own swords2 perhaps ,i had better say1 we are all acquainted with one another's swords4 ,there is the sword of ill-will4 ,there is the spear of deadly gossip4 ,there is the sword of evil prejudice4 ,there is the spear of petty spite and contempt4 ,yea1 surely there is a sordid armoury in the soul4 ,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 more4 ,and therefore1 the great national revolution is to begin in individual conversions1 and these are to be the children of a vital and saving religion4 ,the transformation of the world is to begin in the conversion of people like you and me4 ,there is no other way4 ,when our own militaristic armour1 the one stored in our own soul1 is changed into a garden tool-house1--malice changed into good-will1 suspicion into enlightened understanding1 cynicism into genial and gracious esteem1 and foul hatred into ,christ's own strong and fruitful love1 then we are bringing the day nearer of which the herald angels sang1 when there shall be peace on earth and good will among men4 ,all this cannot be done by scholarship4 ,we cannot do it by legislation4 ,we cannot do it by commerce4 ,it is the vital work of salvation1 and it only can be done by the ,saviour of the world4 ,and ,he must do it in ,his own way1 and ,his work must be thorough1 profound1 fundamental4 ,he must search the very cellarings of our being1 seeking out our wickednesses as with a candle1 and cleansing and purifying us in the deepest and most secret rooms of the soul4 ,and when we thus come to know our ,saviour1 we shall most surely come to know our brother1 for we shall see him with ourselves in the radiant light of the same eternal grace and love4 ,then will our swords be beaten into ploughshares and our spears into pruning-hooks and we shall learn war no more6 ,,xv ,,more ,,than ,,conquerors ,heavenly ,father1 wilt ,thou graciously redeem us from any perilous mood of independence which sets our wills against ,thine4 ,help us to find ourselves in ,thee1 and to come to our inheritance in the riches of ,thy grace4 ,give us that lowliness of spirit which will enable us to find the gate of higher life and to enter in4 ,forgive the sin that binds our judgment and enable us through a pure heart to see ourselves in ,christ1 and to behold ourselves perfected in the power of ,his love4 ,save us from low ideals4 ,lift us out of the thoughts that belittle us and which check and destroy our powers of growth4 ,give us wider and deeper conceptions of all things4 ,may the experiences of our life come to us as helpful disciplines1 through which we may apprehend more of ,thy purpose1 and more swiftly put on the likeness of our ,lord4 ,may we not be mastered by our circumstances1 but may we be so strong in ,thy strength1 that every circumstance may be our servant1 adding some fresh grace to our spirits1 and some new influence to our lives4 ,may we lose the things we ought not to keep1 and may we desire the things we ought to find4 ,control us1 ,o ,lord1 by ,thy spirit1 taking us away from the shallows of common life into the great deep privileges of communion with ,thee4 ,amen4 ,,xv ,,more ,,than ,,conquerors ,in all these things1 we are more than conquerors4 ,rom4 #h3cg4 ,was the writer of these words himself a conqueror8 ,to whom is he making the proud boast8 ,he is writing his letter to the people of ,rome4 ,and it is in this letter to ,rome that the apostle claims to be a conqueror4 ,if he had been writing to a little company of people living in some quiet and remote district in ,asia ,minor1 far away from the movement and pageantry of imperial life1 his boast of being a conqueror might have been received without surprise4 ,but think of the daring of making his claim in a letter to the ,romans1 who were accustomed to gaze upon their conquerors as they returned in glory from triumphant wars of conquest1 dragging their distinguished captives at their chariot wheels6 ,when the apostle claims to be a conqueror he is using a word which to the ,romans is weighted with pomp and glory1 suggesting cities ablaze with emblems of festivity1 and streets thronged with cheering multitudes1 and a hero upon whom favours are being showered thick as the flowers which are flung upon his triumphal car4 ,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 effulgence1 and he is using it to describe the passage of his own life down the ways of time4 ,we are more than conquerors4 ,such a claim would surely strike the ,roman reader with amazement4 ,what was there in the apostle's life to correspond to the claim8 ,what was there about it which in any way recalled the radiant entry of an acclaimed warrior into the festive city of ,rome8 ,let us glance at the external circumstances of his ,christian life4 ,is there anything in these circumstances of pomp1 and flowers1 and favour1 and acclamation8 ,run your eye over the apostle's road4 ,what are its features8 ,what is it like as it stretches from ,damascus to ,rome8 ,in peril of his life in ,damascus1 his enemies watching the gates day and night to kill him2 coldly suspected by his fellow-believers in ,jerusalem2 persecuted at ,antioch2 assaulted in ,iconium2 stoned in ,lystra2 beaten with many stripes in ,philippi2 attacked by a lewd and envious crowd in ,thessalonica2 pursued by callous enmity in ,berea2 despised in ,athens2 blasphemed in ,corinth and dragged before the judgment-seat2 exposed to the fierce wrath of the ,ephesians2 bound with chains in ,jerusalem1 and finally imprisoned at ,rome6 ,such is the character of his cold1 storm-swept1 painful road4 ,and yet he dares to call himself a conqueror1 and to so style himself to the men of imperial ,rome6 ,when ,i turn away from the gay and rapturous streets1 through which the ,roman conqueror made his tumultuous entry1 and then gaze on the long1 dark1 cruel road on which this man trudged throughout all his public days1 his life seems to be broken up in successive tragedies1 and to sink at last in the black defeat of utter and complete eclipse4 ,and yet he sings aloud in joyful pride3 ,we are more than conquerors6 ,where1 then1 shall we look for the signs of conquest1 and for the waving banners1 and the rapturous shouts8 ,there are two ways of estimating a triumphant life4 ,we may trace the line of external circumstances1 and we make an inventory of the material treasures1 and the flattering diplomas1 and the public honours that have been gained along the way4 ,that road winds by the bank1 and the ,stock ,exchange1 through ,wall ,street1 or ,threadneedle ,street1 and thence it stretches away through fair suburbs of material comforts1 and through gardens of enticing ease1 ascending even to lofty eminences of public favour and regard4 ,we may walk along this road in our desire to estimate a man's standing1 and to reckon the degree and quality of his conquests4 ,and judged by that standard ,paul's circumstances were disastrous1 and his life was just a dismal succession of appalling defeats4 ,indeed the apostle himself has given his own verdict upon his life when it is judged by the standard of ,wall ,street1 and he has done it in two words of pregnant and sweeping brevity--having nothing6 ,and yet he claimed to be more than conqueror6 ,but there is another way of judging the failure or triumph of a life4 ,we may follow the line of character4 ,we may register the success of the soul in its mastery of circumstances1 in its refusal to be submerged by evil antagonisms1 in its preservation of a diamond-like translucency amid engulfing floods of defilement1 in its buoyancy in the days of prolonged disappointment1 in its quiet and firm ascendency over the beast1 in its inevitable emergence from every kind of hostility in increasing majesty and strength4 ,these are the two lines of investigation4 ,these are the possible criteria of judgment4 ,on the one hand we may measure the success of a life by the progressive enrichment of circumstances2 on the other hand we may estimate its conquests by the progressive growth of the soul4 ,we may make our valuation in the material world or in the spiritual world2 that is to say1 we may value the man or we may value his possessions4 ,now the circumstantial happenings in a life had little or no interest for the apostle ,paul4 ,all his concern followed the inward line of the spirit4 ,he kept his eyes on spiritual processes and never on material results4 ,he did not busy himself with a man's happenings2 he busied himself with the effect of the happenings on the man4 ,always and everywhere he pressed through condition to character2 his thought always took the short cut to the soul4 ,if in the streets of ,rome or of ,ephesus you had pointed out to him some rich man1 ,paul would have immediately leaped the adjective and inquired about the noun4 ,he would have had no interest whatever in the man's riches2 riches are no criterion of triumph2 but he would have been devouringly interested in what the riches had done with the man4 ,while the man has been making riches1 what have riches made of the man8 ,measure the man6 ,is the man who is within the riches a victor or a victim1 a noble master or a poor ignoble slave4 ,and so also do ,i believe that if you had pointed out to the apostle some poor man1 he would have left the adjective and fixed upon the noun4 ,what about the man inside the poverty8 ,what about the soul so ill-housed in indigence8 ,is the soul royal or servile8 ,is it crouching or has it a noble and stately rectitude8 ,that would be the concern of the apostle ,paul4 ,he would get behind the riches to the man4 ,he would get behind the poverty to the man4 ,for every external happening or every material possession is only a house1 and within the happening there is the man or the woman1 the tenant of the house4 ,what about them8 ,what about the quality of their manliness or womanliness8 ,that was the apostle's line of investigation4 ,the apostle ,paul was not much concerned about the character of the road1 whether it was bare or flowery1 but he was vitally concerned with the spiritual condition of the traveller4 ,how is it with the pilgrim soul8 ,what spiritual conquests has the soul made along the road8 ,that is the apostle's standard of measurement1 and by its records he registers life's conquests or defeats4 ,well1 then1 what was the quality of his own life when it is measured by these interior standards8 ,for1 after all1 these are the only standards worth naming1 as in our sober and thoughtful moments we all very well know4 ,we are not here to make fortunes1 we are here to grow souls4 ,how then does the apostle bear the supreme test of his own spiritual standards8 ,is he master or slave8 ,are the streets of his soul festive with triumph1 or are they dull and cheerless in defeat8 ,is he more than conqueror8 ,let us begin the test with a day when his external circumstances were brilliant4 ,brilliant days came but rarely to the apostle ,paul2 they were as infrequent as oases in ,sahara's thirsty waste4 ,test him then on one of his rare1 brilliant days1 for the dazzling circumstance is often our severest test4 ,some souls shrivel in the bright sunshine4 ,they grow less in their enlarging circumstances as some nut-kernels contract in the expanding shell4 ,here is ,paul on a great day1 when by the mighty grace of ,god he has made an impotent man to walk4 ,how is the deed regarded8 ,what does the crowd think about him8 ,listen to the records3 ,and when the people saw what ,paul had done1 they lifted up their voices1 saying in the speech of ,lycaonia1 ,the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men4 ,and they called ,barnabas1 ,jupiter2 and ,paul1 ,mercurius1 because he was the chief speaker4 ,then the priest of ,jupiter1 which was before their city1 brought oxen and garlands unto the gates1 and would have done sacrifice with the people4 ,how now8 ,the public favour is dazzling6 ,what about the man inside the dazzling happenings8 ,is the man contracting in pride or is his soul expanding in humility8 ,which1 when the apostles1 ,barnabas and ,paul1 heard of1 they rent their clothes1 and ran in among the people1 crying out1 and saying1 ,sirs1 why do ye these things8 ,we also are men of like passions with you1 and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living ,god1 which made heaven1 and earth1 and the sea1 and all things that are therein4 ,do you mark that8 ,this man shines in the sunshine4 ,popular favour made him kneel before his ,god1 and ,god's gentleness made him great4 ,the circumstances did not lessen him4 ,his soul did not shrivel and wither in the popular blaze4 ,his soul grew larger1 and the man mastered his circumstances2 he was bigger than his blazing fate1 he was more than conqueror4 ,but ,i have said that brilliant days were rare with the apostle ,paul3 ,let us test him1 then1 when his days were frowning1 when the clouds were lowering1 and when his circumstances nipped him like the winter frosts4 ,does his soul expand in the winter1 or does it shrink like frostbitten fruit8 ,take this little glimpse of one of his days3 ,and there came to ,lystra certain ,jews from ,antioch and ,iconium1 who persuaded the people1 and1 having stoned ,paul1 drew him out of the city1 supposing he had been dead4 ,having stoned ,paul1 they dragged him out of the city4 ,how swift and red is the record6 ,did he grow hard in the stoning8 ,did he become small and petty and peevish and revengeful8 ,let me read to you3 ,and when they had preached the gospel to that city1 and had taught many1 they returned again to ,lystra1 and to ,iconium1 and ,antioch1 confirming the souls of the disciples1 and exhorting them to continue in the faith1 and that we must through much tribulation enter into the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,this man's fruit grew sweeter at the touch of the frost4 ,this soul grew larger in the season of apparent defeat4 ,he was more than conqueror4 ,look again through this window4 ,here is a very dark and bitter happening3 ,and when they had laid many stripes upon them1 they cast them into prison1 charging the jailer to keep them safely3 who1 having received such a charge1 thrust them into the inner prison1 and made their feet fast in the stocks4 ,how now8 ,will this man ,paul scowl in the darkness8 ,will his magnanimity sour into the bitter mood of revenge8 ,listen to the record3 ,and at midnight ,paul and ,silas prayed1 and sang praises unto ,god3 and the prisoners heard them4 ,do you mark that8 ,this man was a victim but he was also a victor4 ,we almost forget his sufferings in the sound of his praise4 ,adversity did not rob him of his crown4 ,he was more than conqueror4 ,and so ,i might go on introducing instance after instance1 in every record of his turbulent life1 showing how he attained to magnificent mastery in the spirit4 ,when ,paul speaks of being a conqueror he means that he is on the top of his circumstances and not beneath them4 ,to be more than conqueror is to be on the top of your wealth and not beneath it2 to be on the top of your poverty and not beneath it2 to be on the top of your joy and not beneath it2 to be on the top of your sorrow and not beneath it2 to be on the top of your disappointment and not beneath it4 ,to be more than conqueror is to be on the top of the old serpent1 and1 as ,browning says1 to stand upon him and to feel him wriggle beneath your feet6 ,the real conqueror1 the only one worthy of that royal name1 is he who makes every circumstance his subject1 permitting no circumstance to be the lord and master of his soul4 ,he is more than conqueror4 ,and what is the secret of such conquest8 ,here is the secret3 ,we are more than conquerors through ,christ that loved us4 ,it is conquest through the energy of an imparted love4 ,nay1 it is much more than that4 ,it is conquest through humble yet intimate communion with the eternal ,lover4 ,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 jousts4 ,and if this were so with knights of ancient chivalry1 when love inspired them in the fray1 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 field6 ,he loved me sings the greatest of the apostolic knights4 ,he loved me and gave ,himself for me4 ,what tremendous exploits of patience and of service lie latent in that supreme assurance6 ,for1 mark you1 all love conveys the lover to the beloved4 ,the very secret of love is self-impartation to the beloved4 ,love can never content herself with the gifts of things4 ,charity gives things4 ,love always gives herself4 ,yes1 the lover gives herself6 ,and if love is thus self-giving tell me1 then1 what inconceivable giving is wrapped up in the love of ,christ for ,paul1 and in the love of ,christ for thee and me8 ,in an infinitely deeper and richer sense than ever a loving bridegroom gives himself to his loving bride1 our great and gracious ,lover1 the ,christ1 gives ,himself to all who will receive ,him4 ,the ,saviour's love is the giving of ,himself4 ,shall ,i now dare to put that vast and awe-inspiring content into my text8 ,listen again to the text3 ,we are more than conquerors through ,christ who loved us4 ,now hear it3 ,we are more than conquerors through ,him who has given himself to us4 ,that word expresses the very gospel of ,his grace4 ,the ,christian believer faces all his circumstances1 not merely with a love but with a ,lover1 and with a ,lover who ,himself mastered every circumstance1 and was the conqueror of sin and death4 ,so this is how the ,gospel music rings3 ,we are more than conquerors through ,him the ,conqueror6 ,by reverent faith we share ,his very love1 we drink ,his very blood1 and all our circumstances are made to pay tribute to the health and welfare of our souls4 ,we are more than conquerors through ,him ,who is ever riding forth1 conquering1 and to conquer4 ,now ,i think ,i can go back to those streets of ,rome where we began1 and where we watched the triumphant conqueror returning home with his spoils4 ,and now ,i am not surprised at ,paul's daring to use the glowing word ,conqueror to portray the glorious victories of the soul4 ,when ,i go into the realm of his soul the roadway is lined with a cheering multitude2 he is compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses4 ,a blood-red banner is waving triumphantly in all his goings2 ,his banner over me is love6 ,a garland of victory awaits the victor's brow2 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown4 ,and as for his spirits1 they are festive in the love of the ,lord1 and they dance in the joy of blessed assurance4 ,i know in whom ,i have believed6 ,i can do all things through ,christ who strengtheneth me6 ,we are more than conquerors in the conquering fellowship of our holy and gracious ,lord4 ,and this song of the conqueror is intended to be sung by thee and me4 ,o1 let us believe it6 ,shall this divinely-urged heart ,half toward its glory move8 ,what6 shall ,i love in part--in part ,yield to the ,lord of love8 ,o sweetest freedom1 ,lord1 to be ,thy love's full prisoner6 ,take me all captive2 make of me ,a more than conqueror6 ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,,devotional ,,john ,,henry ,,jowett ,my ,daily ,meditation for the ,circling ,year #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4ce ,a series of choice1 tabloid talks--a spiritual meditation for every day in the year4 ,dr4 ,jowett points every word of these brief expositions so that it tells1 while the lessons he seeks to convey are so propounded as to enter the understanding of his readers along a pathway of light4 ,the whole volume is of true mintage1 bearing the impress of ,dr4 ,jowett's ripest thought and fruitful mind4 ,s4 ,d4 ,,gordon ,quiet ,talks ,about the ,crowned ,christ #abmo1 cloth1 net #he;c4 ,after many years' study of the one book of the ,bible devoted to the subject of the crowned ,christ--the ,revelation of ,john--,mr4 ,gordon has put these latest talks together4 ,no book of the sixty-six has seemed so much like a riddle1 and set so many guessing4 ,mr4 ,gordon1 however1 holds the deep conviction that it is wholly a practical book1 and concerned wholly with our practical daily lives4 ,f4 ,b4 ,,meyer1 ,b4,a4 ,my ,daily ,prayer ,a ,short ,supplication for ,every ,day in the ,year4 #cbmo1 leather1 net #ce;c2 cloth1 net #be;c4 ,this is a tiny volume1 in the ',yet ,another ,day' series1 and contains a brief prayer for each day in the year4 ,some of the petitions contain only one sentence1 but each one is simple1 pertinent1 and helpful4--,zion's ,herald4 ,,george ,,matheson ,day ,unto ,day ,a ,brief ,prayer for ,every ,day4 ,new ,edition4 #afmo1 cloth1 net #ej;c4 ,these choice prayers will be valued by the ,christian world for the stimulus1 inspiration1 and wide spiritual outlook which have made the memory of their author a cherished possession4 ,,henry ,,ward ,,beecher ,a ,book of ,public ,prayer #abmo1 cloth1 net #ge;c4 ,a distinct addition to our devotional literature4 ,it is good for private reading2 but would be especially valuable for ministers as an aid to the difficult1 but immensely important1 service of voicing the petitions of a congregation in public prayer4--,standard4 ,,bible ,,study1 ,etc4 ,b4 ,h4 ,,carroll1 ,d4,d4 ,an ,interpretation of the ,english ,bible ,numbers to ,ruth4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ge4 ,these works are designed especially for class use in the ,seminary1 ,christian ,colleges and ,bible ,schools1 as well as the ,sunday ,school4 ,that they will make the greatest commentary on the ,english ,bible ever published1 is our sincere conviction4--,baptist and ,reflector4 ,,other ,,volumes ,,now ,,ready ,the ,book of ,revelation4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ge4 ,the ,book of ,genesis4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #b4be4 ,exodus and ,leviticus4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #b4be4 ,j4 ,,frank ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,my ,father's ,business--,and ,mine #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4jj4 ,dr4 ,smith devotes the earlier part of his book to a study of ,christ's historic pronouncement concerning ,his ,father's business1 presenting an examination of the analogical content of the word ,father1 and an analysis of the ,master's own sayings respecting ,his earthly mission4 ,,john ,f4 ,,stirling ,author of ,an ,atlas of the ,life of ,christ ,an ,atlas of the ,acts and ,epistles ,a ,complete ,outline of ,apostolic ,history1 ,showing the ,details of the ,apostles' ,journeys and the ,area of the ,epistles in ,specially ,drawn ,maps4 #hvo1 limp cloth1 net #ej;c4 ,gives at a glance a complete and graphic outline of apostolic history4 ,the outline follows the narrative of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 supplemented by the data furnished in the epistles1 and interpreted in the light of the best scholarship4 ,the historical details are presented in their geographical and chronological setting1 on a series of specially drawn maps1 so that the student may follow easily the movements of the leading figures in the growth of the early church4--,service4 ,,jesse ,,forest ,,silver ,the ,lord's ,return ,seen in ,history and in ,scripture as ,pre-,millennial and ,imminent4 ,with an ,introduction by ,bishop ,wilson ,t4 ,hogue1 ,ph4,d4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ae4 ,in his ,introductory ,preface1 ,bishop ,hogue of the ,free ,methodist ,church says3 ,an encyclopedia of valuable information condensed into a convenient hand-book for ready reference4 ,,prof4 ,,edouard ,,naville1 ,c4,d4,l41 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,archaeology of the ,old ,testament ,was the ,old ,testament ,written in ,hebrew8 ,library of ,historic ,theology4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ej4 ,professor ,a4 ,h4 ,sayce says3 ,a very remarkable work1 and coming as it does from one of the leading ,egyptologists of the day1 who is also a practical archaeologist1 its arguments and conclusions carry unusual weight4 ,a4 ,r4 ,,buckland1 ,m4,a4 7,editor7 ,an ,entirely ,new ,bible ,dictionary ,universal ,bible ,dictionary ,large #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ej4 ,a work prepared with the definite aim of aiding the ordinary reader and ,bible student1 rather than critic and scholar4 ,it is also arranged so as to serve as an introduction to systematic theology study1 and contains extended articles on the cardinal doctrines of the ,christian faith by such experienced teachers as ,prof4 ,s4 ,w4 ,green1 ,dr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,griffith ,thomas1 ,principal ,warman1 and others of equal standing4 ,on questions of modern criticism1 the general exposition taken by the compilers is a conservative one1 although exhaustive account has been taken of the conclusion of up-to-date criticism and research4 ,the volume extends to about five hundred pages1 and contains upwards of four thousand five hundred articles4 ,,philip ,,mauro ,,expository ,,readings ,,in ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans ,god's ,gospel and ,god's ,righteousness ,romans ,i-,v4 #abmo1 cloth1 net #ej;c4 ,god's ,gift and ,our ,response ,romans ,,vi-,,viii4 #abmo1 cloth1 net #ej;c4 ,god's ,love and ,god's ,children ,romans ,,ix-,,xvii4 #abmo1 cloth1 net #ej;c4 ,a helpful and clearly-written body of comment on ,st4 ,paul's ,letter to the ,romans4 ,the author is a layman whose work is known and valued on both sides of the ,atlantic4 ,mr4 ,mauro does not write for scholars1 but for devout and worshipful believers--for men and women whose faith is simple1 yet grounded on the ,word of the ,living ,god4 ,,sermons--,,lectures--,,addresses ,,james ,l4 ,,gordon1 ,d4,d4 ,all's ,love ,yet ,all's ,law #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4be4 ,discloses the secret of ,dr4 ,gordon's eloquence--fresh1 and intimate presentations of truth which always keep close to reality4 ,dr4 ,gordon also seems to have the world's literature at his command4 ,a few of the titles will give an idea of the scope of his preaching4 ',the ,law of ,truth3 ,the ,science of ,universal ,relationships'2 ',the ,law of ,inspiration3 ,the ,vitalizing ,power of ,truth'2 ',the ,law of ,vibration'2 ',the ,law of ,beauty3 ,the ,spiritualizing ,power of ,thought'2 ,the ,soul's ,guarantee of ,immortality4--,christian ,work4 ,,bishop ,,francis ,j4 ,mc,c,o,n,n,e,l,l ,cole ,lectures ,personal ,christianity ,instruments and ,ends in the ,kingdom of ,god4 #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4be4 ,the latest volume of the famous ,cole ,lectures delivered at ,vanderbilt ,university4 ,the subjects are3 ,i4 ,the ,personal in ,christianity4 ,,ii4 ,the ,instrumental in ,christianity4 ,,iii4 ,the ,mastery of ,world-,views4 ,,iv4 ,the ,invigoration of ,morality4 ,v4 ,the ,control of ,social ,advance4 ,,vi4 ,every ,kindred1 and ,people1 and ,tongue4 ,,newell ,,dwight ,,hillis1 ,d4,d4 ,lectures and ,orations by ,henry ,ward ,beecher ,collected by ,newell ,dwight ,hillis4 #abmo1 net #a4bj4 ,it is fitting that one who is noted for the grace1 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 desirable1 the most characteristic and the most dynamic utterances of ,america's greatest pulpit orator4 ,w4 ,l4 ,,watkinson1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,moral ,paradoxes of ,st4 ,paul #abmo1 cloth1 net #ge;c4 ,these sermons are marked1 even to greater degree than is usual with their talented preacher1 by clearness1 force and illustrative aptness4 ,he penetrates unerringly to the heart of ,paul's paradoxical settings forth of great truths1 and illumines them with pointed comment and telling illustration4 ,the sermons while thoroughly practical are garbed in striking and eloquent sentences1 terse1 nervous1 attention-compelling4--,christian ,world4 ,,len ,g4 ,,broughton1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,prodigal and ,others #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4jj4 ,the discourses are vital1 bright1 interesting and helpful4 ,it makes a preacher feel like preaching once more on this exhaustless parable1 and will prove helpful to all young people--and elder ones1 too4 ,dr4 ,broughton does not hesitate to make his utterances striking and entertaining by the introduction of numerous appropriate and homely stories and illustrations4 ,he reaches the heart4--,review and ,expositor4 ,,essays1 ,,studies1 ,,addresses ,,prof4 ,,hugh ,,black ,the ,new ,world #afmo1 cloth1 net #a4ae4 ,the old order changeth1 bringing in the new4 ,to a review of our changing world--religious1 scientific1 social--,hugh ,black brings that interpretative skill and keen insight which distinguishes all his writings and thinking4 ,especially does he face the problem of the present-day unsettlement and unrest in religious beliefs with sanity and courage1 furnishing in this1 as in other aspects of his enquiry1 a new viewpoint and clarified outlook4 ,s4 ,d4 ,,gordon ,quiet ,talks on ,john's ,gospel ,as ,presented in the ,gospel of ,john4 ,cloth1 net #he;c4 ,mr4 ,gordon halts his reader here and there1 at some precious text1 some outstanding instance of ,god's tenderness1 much as a traveller lingers for refreshment at a wayside spring1 and bids us hearken as ,god's wooing note is heard pleading for consecrated service4 ,an enheartening book1 and a restful4 ,a book of the winning ,voice1 of outstretched ,hands4 ,,robert ,f4 ,,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,springs ,of ,joy and ,other ,addresses #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4jj4 ,scholarly1 reverent1 penetrating1 human4 ,the product of a mature mind and of a genuine and sustained religious experience4 ,the message of a thinker and a saint1 which will be found to be very helpful4--,christian ,intelligencer4 ,,bishop ,,walter ,r4 ,,lambuth ,winning the ,world for ,christ ,a ,study of ,dynamics4 ,cole ,lectures for #aiae4 #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4be4 ,this ,lecture-,course is a spirited contribution to the dynamics of ,missions4 ,it presents a study of the sources of inspiration and power in the lives of missionaries1 native and foreign1 who with supreme abandon gave themselves utterly to the work to which they were called4 ,,frederick ,f4 ,,shannon1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,new ,personality and ,other ,sermons #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4jj4 ,mr4 ,shannon1 pastor of the ,reformed ,church on the ,heights1 ,brooklyn1 is possessed of lofty ideals1 is purposeful1 more than ordinarily eloquent and has the undoubted gifts of felicitous and epigrammatic expression4 ,this new volume by the popular preacher is a contribution of distinct value to current sermonic literature4 ,,earlier ,,works ,,in ,,demand ,,wayne ,,whipple ,the ,story-,life of the ,son of ,man #hvo1 illustrated1 net #b4ej4 ,a literary mosaic1 consisting of quotations from a great number of writers concerning all the events of the ,gospels4 ,the sub-title accurately describes its contents4 ,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 ,saviour4' ,the book was prepared for the general reader1 but will be valuable to minister1 teacher and student4 ,there are many full-page engravings from historic paintings and sacred originals1 some reproduced for the first time4--,christian ,observer4 ,,gaius ,,glenn ,,atkins1 ,d4,d4 ,pilgrims of the ,lonely ,road #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4ej4 ,a rare book for its style1 its theme and the richness of its insight4 ,seldom is seen a book of more exquisite grace of diction--happy surprises of phrase1 and lovely lengths of haunting prose to delight the eye4 ,each of the great pilgrim's studies is followed step by step along the lonely way of the soul in its quest of light1 toward the common goal of all--union with the eternal4--,chicago ,record-,herald4 ,s4 ,d4 ,,gordon ,quiet ,talks on ,following ,the ,christ #abmo1 cloth1 net #he;c4 ,this volume is well calculated to aid in ,christian life1 to give strength1 courage and light on difficult problems4 ,it grips one's very life1 brings one face to face with ,god's word1 ways of understanding it and1 even its every day application4 ,it is plain1 clear1 direct1 no confusion of dark sentences4--,bapt4 ,observer4 ,g4 ,,campbell ,,morgan1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,teaching of ,christ ,a ,companion ,volume to ,the ,crises of ,the ,christ4 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ge4 ,one does not read far before he is amazed at the clear and logical grasp ,dr4 ,morgan has upon divine truths4 ,could a copy of this book1 with its marvelous insight1 its straightforwardness1 its masterly appeal1 be placed in the hands of our church leaders1 it would go far toward negativing the spiritual barrenness of destructive criticism4 ,here is a work that may profitably occupy a prominent place in the minister's library4--,augsburg ,teacher4 ,,zephine ,,humphrey ,the ,edge of the ,woods ,and ,other ,papers #abmo1 cloth1 net #a4be4 ,sane optimism1 an appreciation of the beautiful and a delicate humor pervades the book which is one for lovers of real literature to enjoy4--,pittsburgh ,post4