rotection is to look continually
and deliberately out of ourselves up to Christ--to appeal to Him, to
invoke His name, to draw upon His strength by acts of our will. Thus
faith, continually at every fresh assault looking instinctively to
Christ and drawing upon His help, is to be our shield, off which the
enemy's darts will glance harmless, their hurtful fire quenched. And
in thus defending ourselves we must have continually in mind that God
has delivered man by a great redemption[8]. It is the sense of this
great salvation, the conviction of each Christian that he is among
those who have been saved and are tasting this salvation, which is to
cover his head from attack like a helmet[9]. And God's {245}
word--God's specific and particular utterances, through inspired
prophets and psalmists--is to equip his mouth with a sword of power; as
in His temptation and on the cross, Christ 'put off from Himself the
principalities and powers, and made a show of them, triumphing over
them openly' by the words of Holy Scripture; as Bunyan's Christian,
when 'Apollyon was fetching him his last blow, nimbly stretched out his
hand and caught' for his 'sword' the word of Micah, 'when I fall I
shall arise.' This is one fruit of constant meditation on the words of
Holy Scripture, that they recur to our minds when we most need them.
And then St. Paul passes from metaphor to simple speech, and for the
last weapon bids the Christians use 'always' that most powerful of all
spiritual weapons for themselves and others, 'prayer and supplication'
of all kinds and 'in all seasons.' But it is not to be ignorant and
blind prayer; it is to be prayer 'in the spirit,' 'who helpeth our
infirmities, for we know not of ourselves how to pray as we ought.'
'The things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God'[10]; and it is
to be the sort of prayer about which trouble is taken, and which is
persevering; and it is to be {246} prayer for others as well as for
themselves, 'for all the saints.' And St. Paul uses the pastor's
privilege, and asks for himself the support of his converts' prayers,
that he may have both power of speech and courage to proclaim the good
tidings of the divine secret disclosed, for which he is already
suffering as a prisoner.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put
on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and