SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12740, 17 December 1904, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

' V THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD. ■".' [by the rev. wir. c. mixifie, d.d.] " Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may lie able to stand against the wiles of the devil."—Ephes. vi; 11. ' Ik the- dark depths of the Mamertine dungeons.,'at Rome. a white-haired prisoner sat, deep" in thought, with parchment ; scroll spread out. before him. pen in hand, and ink: at his side. On his scarred face there shone :;a light which contrasted strangely with the gloom of his fcetid cell, whilst from his left wrist there depended a chain which fastened him to a soldier who ■ stood near by, arrayed in all the heavy armour of a Ron, warrior. .;• ". ■ The. aged writer had nearly, finished the epistle .which he was sending -to the Christran Church at Ephcstts, when his eye fell upon the stern warder who shared for some hours of the day the lonely dungeon with him, and, as he noted the shining steell that encased ;> him—tho ■■ helmet, ■'' the breastplate, the greaVes, the gauntlets rush of holy inspiration swept through his mind, and he saw at once the parallel that existed between himself, as, a soldier of .the- cross, and, the Roman ' guard who watched over him ~so slecplessly by night and by day.

He saw that both served under orders, and that both were to be panoplied in armour, and that both were called sometimes to strike with the- sword, and at other times to stand with the shield. And with f these thoughts in his mind and heart- he pens the conclusion of his letter: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of' His might. Put on the whole armour: of God, that ye may be able. to stand against the wiles of \ the dev:il." ,

i .Such, then, are the words of one who was ] himself a warrior, i who never shunned the j open field.""' who dared difficulties with the' courage of the renowned Hannibal, who was himself one ! of the greatest miracles, as; he was ;one of the greatest , messengers,,, of Christianity, whose letters were pre eminently war despatches, whose life (was" a glorious campaign from one victory to another, and who proved himself so successful '■ a champion of Christianity that he has been- known evei since as the Napoleon ; of the >■-: Cross, though a Napoleon. without a "Waterloo. , .Such was -Paul the Apostle, the prisoner of the Lord, the man who, though chained to his guardian in a Roman dungeon,, sent thrilling across to.-Ephesus, and away down the world's; ages, one of the most inspiring bugle-calls which lias ever stirred noble hearts to v .noble, deeds. ' , > . ■ .. From ; the verse which I have chosen as my, text- it is clear that : there is a battle to fight. The whole : paragraph forcibly implies this.- And such must of necessity be- the case., seeing that Christianity is in its very nature a ; crusade against error, .a", warfare against wrong, and a grim struggle with ail that set's itself up in opposition to the law and the sovereignty of God. .Though .ours is a gospel of peace it is anything but a peaceful, gospel! Its action is aggressive. It antagonises evil as the • light of < the morning, with its glittering spears, attacks- and scatters the; sombre ranks;- of 'darkness. '■■ Between sin and sanctity there must ever be a deadly feud." Christianity is belligerent. It deliberately makes ,an .attack upon the enemy in his very stronghold. In describing unrighteousness it .uses no varnished terms. ■,'''" Neither does it handle sin with gloved hands, but it strikes home, with all its might. It makes no compromise. Its call is'-, for soldiers, hot; diplomats, whilst its terms are always the same--" Unconditional surrender." -That is the spirit of Christianity. It compels us to take sides. It puts a sword: into our hands and bids us strike, not with: the hilt, but with the edge; not once only, but again; and again for the right. -That- their© is a battle to fight is clearly stated in the "Word, of God, which! shows us that we have to contend with an enemy who-is full of malignant haired, cruel add crafty, well-versed in the arts of deception, invisible, but ever near to seize ■', an advantage—one who is always seeking our eternal overthrow, and with 'whom there 1 - are in. league certain traitors that dwell within the citadel of the soul—traitors 'that are ever ready, unless carefully Watched, to yield to- his bidding arid open the castle gate to the foul murderers that lurk without And what the Bible plainly affirms the experience of each Christian clearly corroborates. Wo know, that there is a"battle to fight., t We behold its tide surging around w -r- ■? bear its sounds dinning in our ears." We feel its- blows smarting upon every part of our nature. :':-■■'"''

Conversion to us meant nothing less than an enlistment, and since that day we have been upon the battlefield, not like 'the poet Campbell, securely: sheltered- in a loftv tower on Hohenlinden's gory field, but down "1 11 the plain amidst the dust of; conflict. and;with;the rattle of weapon?, sounding upon helmet and shield. We are combatants, not idle spectators If,we are; Christians at all, we shall be compelled ,to confessthat life is a, warfare Horn which there is no escape save- bv the one. exit death. And in this battle Which every Christian is called upon to wage there are certain things demanded of us if we would: prove ourselves worthy of our steel and victorious in the strife. '. First, of course, there must be decision, S I? l tei then "W-Mwifice, then keeneyed watchfulness, and lastly concentration of., mind upon the desperate work in hand for no soldier worthy of the name ever goes dreamily into an engagement, but rather with even- nerve taut and strong, and with the resolve to inflict as much damage as possible upon the enemy, taking care to receive as little, himself in return. With these; characteristics and in this spirit should we grip;the sword and grasp the shield, and plunge into the conflict. Now e for this battle, armour is a necessity .Hit were not so the injunction, "Put, on the whole armour of God." would be unnecessary _ What the Christian armour % and where it it found, is told v, us in the chapter from which our text is taken ' 4t"is .spiritual.armour, strong and service- ,'.','/ It as sufficient-for all purposes save that v of retreat, for it is noteworthy that no- armour is provided for the back, a plain indication that we are ever to keep 1 'our faces to the foe, and never to dream of runSi t aWa -[.- J he Christian's, mnour is young to all, " may to worn old and young alike. It does not burden the. wearer, like manmade armour It h effective for either oftensive or defensive purposes. It does not wear out -though it requires. to be kept free from rust: by constant use and careful polish! The fact that only those who wear this armour are able to "stand against the wiles of the devil" is shown by the use of the connecting word "that," which ■ is the pilot on winch the whole - passage turns: •"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand." , This means, doubtless! that to be armouries is to be defenceless and to be defenceless is to be defeated '.

Onlv those, then, can hope to join in tb'n shout" of victory, who "strap on, here and now ' the various parts of the. Exmour"of Cod— ' '' •■•'■' ' ABMOrjB MADE IX ; HEAVES', r ! but adapted for use "on. earth—jrmour as ornamental as' it is useful, and. affording complete protection to every - part of v; the ■human soul—the helmet of Salvation, th& breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the shoes of , " preparedness," the whole being supplemented by the shield of faith, and by the sword of the living word, In this panoply the Christian stands complete, and is invulnerable against successful attack.. ' ■;.'■'■ - . ■ But this armour to be of service must bo girded on. "Put on,", says tits apostle. ••the armour of God." It is not enough to admire . its beauty and brightness; it must be "put on," and so "put on" thaft it will bo not only useful to ourselves, hut visible to others. Come, then, this very day into God's armoury and choose your wen* Place first upon your head the helmet or" salvation, for without that you will he defenceless indeed in the day of battle. Put on the breastplate of righteousness, and keep it bright by constant communication with you? Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With this corselet you will be safe even amid the shower of arrows that fall around the Christian warrior in these day-. Tighten around you the girdle of truth that- yoiu energies may be braced and invigorated. ■ • • > GET A GRIP OK TRUTH, and allow the truth to get a grip of yon. Then put On "the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace," by which I think is meant, that grace of patient perseverance which ..enables the : Christian soldier to march right on, not lamely, but bravely and uprightly, however steep the hill or rough tin* road. And, to complete the outfit, take the. sword of the Spirit, even the "Word of God; and tie .great shield of faith, behind which you will be able to shelter in safely when the eiwmy's flaming shafts fall about you in a blading shower. Let your faith in the sacrifice of Christ, in the love of God, in the truth of the Gospel, and in the divine promises never falter. As the Spartan soldier would rather have lost his; head than his shield, so. my brothers, count no calamity so great as the loss of your faith. Faith is to the soul what oil is to the lamp, what the mainspring is to :the v.-atch. and what the overhead "trolley" is teethe electric: tram —the long arm that brings from above the power by which alone the car can speed along its Way. If lore be the fragrance of the flower and hope. its stem, then •FAITH IS SUBELY THE BCOT. A'ilow that root to die, and the stem and fragrance will both soon pass away. Faith is the source, hope the solace, and love the seal of the' Christian life. Put on. then, every piece of the divine armour, but see that the shield of faith is not forgotten. ■" By this command, "Put on The whole) armour of God," you will -see that effort on out part is certainly implied. It;-';sup-poses wakefulness, a: realisation of danger, and a 1 sense of responsibility. You can-' not take down the armour from the wall, and clothe yourself in its shining steel if" you are -sound asleep the while. Neither are yon likely to don your suit of armour if no sense of : danger puts you on your guard. Alertness , and a due sense of -the. perils by which we are beset are 'two qualities which we.should. ever seek to cultivate and embody in our character. ; When Paul said, -"Put on v the whole armour of God," he practically said : "Wake up! Bub the sleep from your eyes! Begin, to realise your peril ! The enemy; hat* taker/ the fie d! This, then, is no time. for idle loitering! Buckle on your armour, seize i your sword, and ; fall into : line 'J for Attack and fa:: defence!"

,jls it not. true that-the Injunction.applies with equal force to, ourselves? Still is the anemyj on the -march, - : still are ; the . hosts of evil"' marshalling for the ; attack, still are there tremendous issues at stake, and still are there Christians, or supposed Christians, who aie allowing their ; swords to rust in their scabbards, and \ their- armour to grow tarnished through neglect, whilst ■■' : 'y \

;.;p; THE '; BUGLES OF HEAVEX """• '* are sounding the alarm, and their places stand tmpty in the ranks. ■'•• Come, . my comrades! v There is' ; no ' time, to lose. _ "Wc need that every fniin Vriould be at J his post, fully panoplied, : watchful, trustful, ready. And having "put ori the whole'.: Armour of- God" -we : must be careful that wi;. never put it off! -Ours is , a fight till ; dentil. There is no , discharge in this holy war. , The; armour of light" is not to be worn occasionally,; but every da v,' v. and all the'day, until we verily "."die" in ' harness. '' .- ■■'■";' '. ■ .".'„.'• "-' -. '■"' '..;.■'-■ '■ '* ":v *; Haves we • this armour on? ;: All of it*?? The helmet;':; The breastplate? V : The* shoes?; Can: others see that'we are so ensheathed? And docs a warm, loving heart •; beat be neat,l the corselet? And,* does a keen eye look out from bisneathl the helmet?: And does a ' firm hand jrasp tlr; sword? And are the feet shoe; with shoes that do not,'slio? i