how needful to have our feet well shod with the Gospel! We ought to be thankful for any light that God has given to us, however small; we ought to be thankful for any ray of heavenly light; it is the prelude of light eternal, it is the beginning of eternal glory; and since He has begun it, He will carry it on; He who has commenced it, will finish it. But, brethren, we ought to remember this; that the only state of mind, which prepares our soul for the opposition and snares of the world is realising the Gospel in all its power and sweetness in my spirit. We must have a strong hold upon the Gospel, and the Gospel must have a strong hold upon us, before we can ever have the "preparation" that is here spoken of. Oh! that the whole Gospel, doctrine as well as precept, precept as well as promise, may be so rooted in our hearts, that they may be fixed in us, and we in them, holding them firmly, for they are our life! And oh! above all, to seek the humble assurance of our interest in them, and never to be satisfied without it! Oh! the blessedness of that state of mind, which, looks up to God as our Father, and rests in God as our portion! "I will fear no evil," says David." Why? "For Thou art with me"-" For Thou art with me." Oh! that beautiful state of mind described by the beloved apostle Paul in his second epistle to Timothy, the first chapter, and the eighth verse. See how strong and firm he was. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God;" the old soldier could speak to the young recruit, and tell him how to fight-" be not ashamed, but be partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel, according to the power of God, who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling." And observe, in the eleventh verse," Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles; for the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." He had put the greaves firmly on his feet, and he knew it and felt it; he was strong; he fought, and in the field of battle he

died.

One observation more, and I will conclude. Oh! covet nothing less than entire sanctification. All tampering with sin, my dear brother-in these parts one always speaks from one's own experienceall tampering with sin, all unmortified sin, always grieves the Spirit of God, and weakens faith. Until we lay our sins fairly down at the foot of the cross, we are never made partakers of the blessings of the Gospel. It is when we come in our poverty, and lay ourselves down in our poverty before a great and gracious and rich Saviour, that we find in Him, and in Him alone, the blessings of His great salvation. Are you walking in the peace of the Gospel? Oh! beware how you think of moving in any other way than in the path of holy obedience. Seek for entire mortification of sin; seek for entire dedication of

yourselves to God; seek for the entire yielding up of yourselves to God, body, soul, and spirit. There are but two secrets that I know of for a pure and happy walk: the first is coming to Christas a poor sinner, and, believing on His blessed name, resting simply on His own faithfulness, and on the broad veracity of God in Christ; and walking in that course as a child, in the pathway of holy obedience. And I could not believe it (forgive me if I say it) if an angel of light were to tell me of any other way.

May the Lord bless His own truth, and make it the power of God unto salvation to our own souls, and a Triune Jehovah shall have all the glory.

A SERMON,

BY THE REV. J. H. EVANS, M.A.

PREACHED AT JOHN STREET CHAPEL, KING'S ROAD, BEDFORD ROW, ON SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 8, 1845.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."-Ephesians vi. 16.

WE now come to the fourth piece of armour-"the shield of faith." The apostle introduces it as something worthy of especial notice; he says, "above all." It is a thing of pre-eminent importance. It is as if he said, 'Take heed, above all things, that ye neglect not this shield.' The same word occurs, in the same sense, in the third chapter of Colossians. "Above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Or we may read the word "above all," "upon all"-covering over all-covering over the whole of the body, and over the whole of the armour. It is the peculiar of the shield, that while the helmet is for the head, the greaves or sandals for the feet, the breastplate for the breast, the girdle for the loins, and the sword for the hand, the shield is for every part of the body. And so large was that shield, (taking its very name from a door-as large as a door,) that with a little skill it protected the whole of the body. The apostle says, "Take" this; or as it may be better rendered"Take up" this. Have ye let it fall? Take it up again. Have ye it? Hold it firm-hold it up. The idea is "taking up" rather than “taking” it.

In directing your minds to this portion of Divine truth, first of all let us consider (it will be but a few remarks,) the wicked one and his

fiery darts;" secondly, the glorious shield-"the shield of faith," as a protection against them; and then, thirdly, the vast encouragement with which the apostle closes the verse-' Take this shield, and all the fiery darts of the wicked one shall not prevail against you, but you shall prevail against them.'

I. I need not take time to prove that this wicked one is-Satan, the VOL. XI.-No. 390.-June 19, 1845.

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great source of all wickedness, embodying all wickedness in himself, and by whom all others are wicked that are wicked; for all the wicked men in the world are made so by Satan, and all the wicked spirits below, that were once pure spirits above, are under his controul; all as much under his power, as if they were but one; he having such entire controul over them, that it seems as if all these wicked spirits were embodied in himself-one with him.

It was customary in those days, beloved, for the enemy to send out their missiles in the form of darts and javelins. They were on fire as they sent them; and oftentimes they were dipped in poison. These fiery darts were received upon a shield; and as they were received on that shield, they were extinguished, and fell down at their feet harmless. But were they not warded off, the terrible effects who can declare?

There is something which strikes one with regard to them-secret, silent, and deadly. No one saw from what hand they came; no one could be prepared for them. The moment when they came must have been an unexpected one, yet they came in a moment; and if not warded off, brought death with them.

In much of this we see the true condition of God's dear children. So is it with the Christian soldier. I am not speaking of "the world that lieth in the evil one"-" lieth" in him-passive in his handled captive by him at his will. He "works in the children of disobedience;""works" in them. It is the very expression whereby the working of the Holy Ghost is set forth-" God worketh in you to will and to do"-the same word which is applied to Satanic power. He does not fight with these he knows they are his subjects; they are his servants, they are his slaves, they are his children. He says to one, Go,' and he goeth; he says to another, 'Come,' cometh; he says to some of you, 'Sleep; and you sleep; your sin,' and you live in your sin; neglect your Bibles,' you neglect them; think of this world, not of the next;' you do it. He does not fight with them; they obey him; he "takes them captive at his will." It is of the Christian soldier I am speaking, against whom he launches out his fiery darts. In a moment-silent as the grave-secret as the night. Swiftly as a ray of light; in a moment it may be when the man is on his knees, with his Bible open before him, and the truths of it laid before his eye, perhaps the sweetness

and he 'live in

of them affecting his heart. And yet in a moment there may come some fiery dart; some evil and worldly thought; some vain and carnal thought; yea, it may be, some dark and doubting suggestion, some blasphemous idea—' Is it all true? Is there a God? do you know it? Did Jesus die? do you know it? Is He alive? do you know it? Are you a believer, not a hypocrite? Is not all your profession mere delusion?'

I am not going to expatiate on the fiery darts themselves; I would only say, that they are all which hellish malice can device, all that the most subtle cunning, the most entire study of human nature and of each one of us personally and individually, can invent. He is not omniscient, but he studies us, as I have often said, as a book-be is reading you at this moment; he is reading the heart of every individual hearing the sermon-he is studying you as a book; and there is not even a stop but he reads it, nor a letter but he reads it: whatever our peculiar circles, our circumstances, our position in life, our family, our frame, our bodily ailments, or our constitutional infirmities can suggest to him.

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My dear hearers, there are two objects which Satan has always in view: first, to excite to sin, and then to stand as an accuser. these two points all his lines converge. They are not always directed gross sin-quite a mistake; the sin of a proud, high, and lofty spirit is as much adverse to God, as the most degraded sensuality. I believe, that such persons are as effectually in themselves hindrances to all that is holy, and present as strong an obstacle to all that is holy, as the most degraded sensuality of any one who hears me. That desperate pride! See how the apostle speaks of the varied means whereby Satan works, in that chapter already discoursed upon, the second of Ephesians and the second and third verses"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,fulfilling the desires of the flesh"-the fleshly, degraded and animal part"and of the mind"—the proud, high, lofty, and intellectual part. For may we never forget, that the fruit of the tree of life was desired by our first parents, not merely because it was pleasant to the eye and to the taste, but because it was a tree to be desired to make