whole armour of God that they may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

To explain in what manner the evil one acts upon the minds of men, to trace the serpent in all his windings and turnings, requires a power surpassing that of man's understanding: but that there are certain avenues by which the tempter powerfully enters and operates upon the senses and imagination, is evident not only from scripture, and from what passes in the world around us, but from the irregular workings in our own minds which we are often unable to account for but by the malignant influence of some foreign agency. It was the remark of a venerable divine that "when the devil intends a battery, he first views the strength and situation of the place." To divest this truth of its allegorical veil, Satan first studies the constitution and temperament of those he marks out for his victims, and presents each with objects, opportunities, and arguments for the indulgence of his ruling passion: to the sensual, he presents the object of his concupiscence; to the miser, bags of pelf; to the revengeful and malicious, the glut of his revenge and malice; to the proud and ambitious, stars and ermine, honours and distinctions; to the young and sanguine, unrestrained indulgence in

youthful lusts.

Against this malignant spirit, whose name is Legion, who assails in so many disguises, who spreads his snares in society and in solitude, by day and by night, about our path and about our bed, how can we stand without greater powers of resistance than those of our frail natare. What these powers are the apostle comprises in the text, under a general term, "the whole armour of God;" but he afterwards particularizes the several pieces of this divine panoply, with which Christians are to go forth to meet their spiritual enemies. "Stand therefore, says he, "having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness." Here the apostle has adopted the metaphor of the prophet Isaiah: "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." A firm attachment to the truth of the gospel acts upon the mind like the girdle which was used to brace and strengthen the loins of the soldier; it keeps us close to the precepts of religion, secures us from all loose principles and unsteady practice, and maintains us in a succinct, alert, and steady posture for our duty. And this adherence to the word of God, as the rule by which we are to live, and by which we are to be judged, will provide us with “the

breast-plate of righteousness." As in battle the heart and most vital parts of the bodies are protected by the breast-plate, so does a faithful discharge of our christian duties preserve the soul and conscience, the vital parts of the christian, from the mortal thrusts of our spiritual foe. The next direction of the apostle is, that our feet be "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Shoes made of brass were a part of the military accoutrement, used to defend the feet from those machines of pointed iron, scattered by the enemy over the roads, to wound the feet of soldiers, and disable them for their march. In allusion to this usage, St. Paul instructs the christian warrior to secure his steps, by putting on the sure defence of that peaceful and benevolent temper which will bear him unhurt through the numerous difficulties and trials which may lie in his way, to obstruct his progress, and make him faint and weary on his course. Above all, the apostle proceeds, "taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked," or as the original word implies, of the wicked one, whose main endeavour is to undermine our faith. To effect this object, he insinuates his poison sometimes into our understandings, and sometimes into our hearts; regardless, so he destroy

our faith, whether it be through our bad passions or our bad principles, our profligacy or our apostasy. As the ancient buckler was the protection of the whole body, so is the shield of faith the defence of the whole man; it guards his heart against temptations, his understanding against error, and his will from rebellion against the command of God; and as the shield defended the breast-plate, as well as the breast of the combatant, so is faith the Christian's armour upon armour, the grace preservative of all his other graces. The apostle completes his defence of the militant Christian with "the helmet of salvation," which in his epistle to the Thessalonians he calls "the hope of salvation." As the helmet defends the head, so does the hope of salvation defend the soul. The blessed hope of everlasting life is the cordial which invigorates and tranquillizes the heart of man; which tempers his joys, chastises his delights, and sweetens all his sorrows and afflictions; while he looks forward to the consummation of his hope and the remuneration of his trials, "in joys unspeakable and full of glory." The apostle crowns all by putting into the hands of the Christian "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The Spirit of God is the interpreter of the word of God, and gives it all

its power and efficacy upon the heart. This is the weapon of heavenly temper which enables his faithful servants not only to resist but to vanquish the most formidable adversaries of their soul. These adversaries have oftentimes the scripture at their command, can appeal to it to serve their purpose, and quote texts in support of the most pestilent doctrines and most immoral practices. A perverted application of scripture was the artifice by which Satan endeavoured to overcome the Son of God; and it is still the stratagem by which his emissaries delude millions of souls into perdition. That we may be enabled to employ the word of God as a weapon offensive and defensive, let us implore the aid of the Holy Spirit, to discern and feel the excellency of its doctrines, and our want of the relief and salvation which they bring. Without this heavenly ray from the fountain of light, we may read the scriptures every day of our lives, and be in no degree wiser or better. What was the prayer of him who had the word of God continually before him: "O hide not thy commands from me." "O give me understanding that I may know thy statutes." 66 Open mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." If with petitions, like these of the holy Psalmist, sincerely

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