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perishing. It keeps them "through faith unto salvation;" and not in spite of unbelief. It is not only "able to keep them from falling;" but it does so, by making them "able to stand." Its ability works by enabling them to be faithful unto death. The law of preserving power runs thus,-" Work out your own salvation; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

too numerous.

These distinctions are neither too nice, nor God has made them; and, therefore, you are bound to mark them. You have no right to turn away from them peevishly or impatiently, saying, "I can stand well enough without so much attention to rules, or to the relation of doctrines. I do not want to be a theologian!" Well; most certainly I do not wish to make you one. You want, however, to be kept from falling; and that, you cannot be, but by being enabled to

stand; and that you will not be by God, but in his own way of exercising keeping power. You are not, therefore, so intent upon standing, nor so afraid of falling, as you give yourself credit for, if you give yourself no trouble about the way in which God keeps his children, through faith unto salvation. He says to them all, more than that he is able to keep them from falling; more than that "he is faithful, and will do it.” He commands them all thus ; "Take unto you the WHOLE ARMOUR of God, that ye may be able to stand." Yes; this is

necessary, if you would wrestle successfully, either with flesh and blood, or with the powers of darkness. Satan will put on the whole

armour of his power against you; and the world will put on the whole armour of its snares against you; and your old nature will put on the whole armour of its depravity against you how then can you stand in the

evil day of their joint or single assault, if you do not "put on the whole armour of God?" Eph. vi. 10.

Did this sacred Oracle ever strike you before? It contains the whole history and

"Take

mystery of that familiar maxim, "Ye stand by faith;" and of that familiar warning, heed lest you fall." Indeed, you cannot obey the one nor the other, as God enjoins them, without taking unto you the whole armour of God.

"But that armour is so much!" you will say. True; but it is not more than your temptations and tendencies to fall. There are, indeed, six parts of it;-the girdle of Truth-the breastplate of Righteousness-the greaves of peace-the shield of Faith-the helmet of Salvation-the sword of the Spirit-besides Allprayer, and Watchfulness: but, which of them could you do without? Which of them could

you

wield or wear effectually without the

others?

Look twice at this question, before you attempt to answer it. Without the girdle of Truth, you may fall into error. Without the breastplate of Righteousness, you may fall into legality. Without the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, you may fall into despondency. Without the shield of Faith, you may fall into apostacy. Without the helmet of Salvation, you may fall into despair. Without the sword of the Spirit, you may fall into cowardice. And without Prayer and Watching, you may fall into any thing, however bad or dangerous. Thus, if you will number up the ways in which others have fallen, or even the dangers to which you yourself are exposed, you will not say again, that "the whole armour of God" is too much or too varied.

Nor is it cumbersome, even as a whole. It

may seem so at first sight, because it seems something additional, if not different, to the means by which you have been able to stand hitherto. But this is in appearance only. You have had it all on before now; and you never found the service of God so easy, nor the salvation of God so sweet, as when you were clothed with the whole armour of God. I mean, that there have been times when you have believed, and hoped, and prayed, and watched, and warred, and worked, with all your heart; thus doing all you could, to stand. Now although you did not call this care, "putting on the whole armour of God," it really was so; and, accordingly, you stood by doing so. For, where, what, had you been, at the close of some evil days of temptation, if you had not made an effort to resist Satan, and to renounce the world, and to deny yourself? You, of course, think more of the grace which

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