be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." The shield is of primary importance in the day of battle, because it covers the whole person; or, if too small for this, may be turned every way for the defence of one or another part of the body, and of their other accoutrements, which may be most exposed to danger, and for warding off the sharp and poisoned arrows of the enemy. In the spiritual warfare, a true and lively faith in Christ, the believer's shield in every age; in his blood and righteousness for every blessing of the new covenant; in his inexhaustible fulness of grace and mercy; and in the efficacy of his mediation in the midst of the throne, is not less necessary and important. This is the Christian's grand defence, which enables him effectually to refute and silence every charge of guilt; to repel every attempt of Satan to hurry him into sin; to disarm the force of those furious temptations or sudden suggestions, that like poisoned arrows, penetrate and inflame the soul with horror, anguish, and guilt, wherever they strike. Behind the impenetrable covert of this shield the believer effectually resists the devil, and puts him to flight; he overcometh the world, and escapes from the pollutions of sin. "The word of God abideth" in him, enabling him "to overcome the wicked one;" and "this is the victory that overcometh the world --- even our faith."i The oriental warrior had a person who went before him in the hour of danger, whose office it was to bear the great massy buckler, behind which he avoided the missile weapons of his enemy. Goliath had his armour-bearer carrying a shield before him, when he came up to defy the armies of Israel. When David went first to court, he 11 John ii, 14; and v, 4. h Psa. xviii, 2. was made armour-bearer to Saul; and Jonathan had a young man who bore his armour before him in the day of battle. Besides the large and ponderous buckler, the gigantic Philistine had another of smaller size called cidon, which we render target in one part of our version, and shield in another. It might either be held in the hand when the warrior had occasion to use it, or, at other times, be conveniently hung about his neck, and turned behind; and, therefore, the historian observes he had “ a target of brass between his shoulders." The shield was more highly valued by the ancients than all their other armour. It was their delight to adorn it with all kinds of figures, of birds and beasts, especially those of generous natures, as eagles and lions: they emblazoned upon its capacious circle the effigies of their gods, the forms of celestial bodies, and all the works of nature. They preserved it with the most jealous care; and to lose it in the day of battle was accounted one of the greatest calamities that could befal them, worse than defeat, or even than death itself; so great was their passion for what is termed military glory, and the estimation in which it was held, that they had a profound regard for all sorts of arms, the instruments by which they attained it; and to leave them in the hands of their enemies, to give them for a pledge, or dispose of them in a dishonourable way, was an indelible disgrace both in Greece and at Rome, for which they could hardly ever atone.* But these sentiments were not confined to Greece and Rome; among no people were they carried higher than among the Jews. To cast away the shield in the day of VOL. III. j Iliad. lib. xi, 1. 30; et lib. xviii, 1. 475-607. battle, they counted a national disgrace, and a fit subject for public mourning. This affecting circumstance was not omitted in that beautiful elegy, which David, a brave and experienced soldier, composed on the death of Saul and the loss of his army: "The shield of the mighty was vilely cast away." On that fatal day, when Saul and the flower of Israel perished on the mountains of Gilboa, many of the Jewish soldiers who had behaved with great bravery in former battles, forgetful of their own reputation and their country's honour, threw away their shields, and fled from the field. The sweet singer of Israel adverts to that dishonourable conduct, with admirable and touching pathos: "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings; for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil." The apostle has availed himself of this general feeling in his epistle to the Hebrews, to encourage them in the profession of the gospel, and in a courageous, firm, and constant adherence to the truth: "Cast not away therefore your confidence." Abide without wavering in the profession of the faith, and in the firm belief of the truth; and aim at the full assurance of the grace of faith, which as a spiritual shield, should be sought with unwearied diligence, and retained with jealous care. The ancient warrior did not yield to the moderns in keeping his armour in good order. The inspired writer often speaks of furbishing the spear, and making bright the arrows; and the manner in which he expresses himself in relation to this part of the soldier's duty, proves, that it was generally and carefully performed. But they were 1 2 Sam. i, 22. particularly attentive to their shields, which they took care frequently to scour, polish, and anoint with oil. The oriental soldier seems to have gloried in the dazzling lustre of his shield, which he so highly valued, and upon which he engraved his name and warlike exploits. To produce the desired brightness and preserve it undiminished, he had recourse to frequent unction; which is the reason of the prophet's invitation: "Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield."m As this was done to improve its polish and brightness, so it was covered with a case, when it was not in use, to preserve it from becoming rusty. This is the reason the prophet says, "Kir uncovered the shield." The words of David already quoted from his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, may refer to this practice of anointing the shield, rather than anointing the king: "The shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though it had not been anointed with oil:" the word he being a supplement, the version now given, is perfectly agreeable to the original text. The offensive weapons of the eastern warriors, like those of the Greeks and Romans, were of two kinds, those with which they engaged in close fight, and those with which they attacked their enemies at a distance.". In the first class, the sword has the strongest claim upon our attention, for, except the bow, it is the most ancient weapon on the records of Scripture. It was with the sword that the sons of Jacob executed their cruel and indiscriminate vengeance on the people of Shechem; and the weapon -which Jacob himself used when he attacked and defeated the Amorite, as the dying patriarch incidentally mentions in a conversation with Joseph: "Moreover, I have given n. Potter's Grecian Antiq. vol. ii, p. 38. m Isa. xxi, 5. to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword, and with my bow." It was also one of the weapons which Israel used in the wilderness, which they borrowed, rather asked among other valuable articles, from the Egyptians, when they were ready to commence their perilous march, and with which the sacred historian informs us, they went up harnessed, or armed, out of the land of Egypt. The sword, according to ancient custom, was hung in a belt put round the shoulders, and reaching down to their thighs. It was suspended on the back part of the thigh, almost to the ground, but was not girded upon it; the horseman's sword was fixed on the saddle by a girth. When David, in spirit, invites the Redeemer of the church to gird his sword upon his thigh, and the spouse says of the valiant of Israel, "Every man has his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night," they do not mean that the weapon was literally bound upon their thigh, bút hung in the girdle on the back part of it; for this was the mode in which, by the universal testimony of ancient writers, the infantry wore their swords. The sword is by a figure of speech, employed to signify the keen and piercing words of an enemy. His words," says the Psalmist, 66 were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords :"P and again; "swords are in their lips; for who say they doth hear." Solomon uses the same comparison in one of his proverbs: "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword." These allusions seem to be justified by real occurrences; for Thevenot informs us, that the Turks sometimes fight, having a naked sword between their teeth, and • Gen. xlviii, 22. • Prov. xii, 18. P Psa. lv, 21. |