December 20. The expenses for the orphans have been more than forty-seven pounds within the last six days, and only a little above thirteen pounds has come in. We are again very low in funds. I gave myself this morning to prayer. About a quarter of an hour afterward - I received three pounds, the payment of a will left by a sister who died several months ago.
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"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:15). What is the meaning of this? I invited you last Tuesday evening, to meditate on these verses; you may have considered it, but now consider it again with me. What is the meaning of this—“your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”? These soldiers, of whom we have been speaking, did not go bare-footed into the battle; for if so, and it were man wrestling against man, how easily they might slip and fall down while fighting one against the other. Neither did they wear sandals, which would not have afforded full protection to the feet. The common thing amongst these soldiers was to wear strong boots. Many of my friends may remember the name of one of the Roman emperors, Caligula, which means, “little boot.” He was called thus because he became a soldier when very young, and his feet were so small that none of the ordinary soldiers’ boots would suit him, and he had to have little boots made on purpose for him. I simply remind you of this to show that the common practice amongst the soldier was, to wear boots, in order that they might be the better helped with regard to their warfare. Boots also were of especial importance, on account of marching. The roads at that time were rough and rugged, and thus these boots were of great service in the war, as they had to march in rank against the enemy. And so our spiritual boots protect us when on the rough march of life, as also in the hour of conflict. We, who are the children of God, have a provision made for us in this respect, and it is the gospel of peace which God has provided for us, that we may be able to march homewards through the rough paths of life, and even to stand in the hour of conflict. What is this preparation of the gospel of peace? It means, we are the children of God, and we are no longer at enmity with God, but are at peace with Him. Our sins are forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is well pleased with us for Christ, His dear Son’s sake; and we, having no longer any fear, are at peace with God. That is the preparation of the gospel of peace, with regard to our spiritual conflict and also with regard to our homeward march. Hold it fast; although thou art a poor, miserable sinner, yet thou art forgiven for Christ’s sake. ‘Through whom we have the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Though I am a poor miserable sinner, yet the heart of the Father loves me, and I am on the road to heaven, where I shall certainly be at last. Lot the child of God held fast this hope, and this persuasion of his so rarity, as given in the simple statement of the gospel, and by this he will be able to pursue his march heavenwards, and in the hour of conflict he will be able to stand manfully. All this by having the preparation of the gospel of peace! How deeply important, then, to have clear views of God’s gospel, and that we should receive it simply as the gospel, and not in any way mix it up with our own doings or experience. Some would seem to act as if they are to do what they can, and, what they cannot, the Lord will do. Far be it from us to have such thoughts. He and He alone must do all for us. By His atoning death on the cross, He has borne the punishment due to us for our sins, sins which deserved punishment—and nothing but punishment—and has brought us to this blessed hope and trust that all our sins are forgiven; that God is well pleased with us for Christ’s sake, and that, sinners though we are, yet He now delights in us for His dear Son’s sake, and He is willing to help us in all our conflicts for Christ’s sake. Thus we experience that joy and peace, which will help us on the march to heaven, and in the hour of spiritual conflict. So then let us make much of this preparation of the gospel of peace, which is spiritually the protection of our foot, even as the old Roman soldiers were protected by their strong boots. It is, then, deeply important to see that we are poor sinners, miserable and weak in ourselves, but that Jesus is our all and in all; not only thus at the beginning, but thus we must go on; not only two or three years, not even five, ten, or twenty years, and then trust in our own merits, but that we continue as long as we live to depend solely on the righteousness of Christ. It is not only at our conversion that this is so deeply important, when we are made new creatures and enter upon this warfare; but it is equally important at all times in our spiritual life. So that when the devil says—as he will say—“Do you expect to get to heaven, you miserable sinner? You do not deserve it; look at what you have done! No such thing; you need not expect it, you will not get there.” When he says that, what is the answer to be? “It is true that I have sinned; yet for Christ Jesus’ sake—poor miserable sinner as I am—in His righteousness, I shall yet be in heaven.” What is the result of this? You rise! The devil seems to have you down, and seeks to give you your death blow; yet you rise! He seems to have obtained the mastery over you, and yet you rise again, because you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and not in self, and you stand before God not in yourself, but in Christ. And though a poor miserable sinner, yet through Jesus, who makes you clean in His blood, you know you will get to heaven at last. When you thus go to Christ, and take refuge in His righteousness, the devil is outwitted. Therefore remember particularly to have on this breastplate. If the Roman soldier had not put on his breastplate how easily he would have been cut down when his breast was unprotected. So it is with us; it is important that we should put on “the breastplate of righteousness.” "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14). This part of the armour of a Roman soldier was generally made of a piece of iron or brass, and which particularly covered and protected the vital parts, such as the heart, lungs, and liver. A very important thing, then, was the “breast plate,” or piece of iron or brass, covering, as it did, the vital parts of the Roman soldier. Now, we have to ask ourselves, in connection with this, What is this? What have we for a breast-plate to protect us? One or another says, we must live a righteous life. True, we have to seek to live a righteous life; but this is not the point here. It is this, that we seek continually, as poor weak sinners, to hide ourselves in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this spiritual conflict there is nothing so important, as that from the very beginning of the spiritual course, we begin as poor miserable sinners, trusting alone in the righteousness of Christ,—the righteousness which the Blessed One has wrought out for sinners, the righteousness in which alone we trust before God. This the only ground on which we expect God to help us, to answer our prayers, and deliver us from the difficulties with which we meet in our spiritual conflict. "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth" (Eph. 6:14). Now let us consider the armour itself. “HAVING YOUR LOINS GIRT ABOUT WITH TRUTH.” To most of you, my dear Christian friends, I scarcely need to say, that we have here to keep before us, not the common English soldier with his firearms and modern equipment, but soldiers as they were in those early days, and especially the Roman soldiers. The nature of their armour and warfare we have to keep before us. Now at that time it was a matter of great importance to the soldiers to have a girdle to gird themselves. By means of this girdle the soldier braced himself for the march and the conflict. The clothes were thus tied close to the body, in order that the soldier might not be hindered in his marching, nor in his fighting, as the fighting often consisted in one man fighting against another man. Now, in the spiritual conflict, what have we for a girdle? It is the truth of God. This brings before us the fact, that, just in the measure in which we hold the blessed truths of God’s word, so in measure, and only so in measure, are we ready for the conflict. Every particle of error hinders us in our spiritual conflict. We are helped in the measure in which we adhere to the truth of God. And while the temptation in the case of the young disciple may be to say, “I know I am a child of God, and that Jesus Christ has saved me, therefore what does it matter whether I understand this or that particular truth or not, or this or that particular doctrine or not,” yet it is a matter of great moment. Because, in such a degree as we understand the truth, so shall we be able to stand in the hour of conflict, and so much the less shall we be hindered in this our conflict. We ought to hold the truth in all its parts—every particle of the truth as revealed to us; and we ought not to have our favourite parts, and only those of God’s word to which we pay particular attention, to the neglect of other equally important parts. And just in proportion as we seek to know the whole revealed truth, so shall we be strengthened, as with a girdle, for the conflict. "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:13). It is written here, “AND HAVING DONE ALL TO STAND.” Oh, how deeply important it is to notice that we must be prepared to stand firm. Again and again do we see the child of God who has set out well, and who has continued for it time to run well, and who has given up the world, with its habits and customs, its passions and pursuits has renounced all these, and has rejoiced the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the hearts of God’s dear children; has gone on for a year or two, and then he begins to hanker after this world; then he begins to take his ease in the conflict; another year or two, and he is as much in the world as ever he was. What a sad, sad, sad case is this; yet how frequently do we see it occur. To avoid it, if I may be permitted to use my experience, I say to the beloved children of God, Be satisfied with nothing short of this, that you are going on in the self-same decided way for God as you did at the beginning. Continue to keep on the armour of God, and say, By His grace I will stand. Let it never be said of you, That man began well, and has not gone on well. Let it be so that any who knew us in 1830, and now sees us in 1875, can say of us, Well, after forty-five years have passed away, that man is as decided as ever. I ask myself, and answer it as before God, and I ask you, my brethren also, to answer before God, How is it with us? Are you as decided as at the beginning? If not, there is something wrong. Having been very decided for God is not enough; we must be so still, even continually; ever resisting the powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. Let us, then, never settle down at ease to enjoy the victory. That is never the case in this world. There is no permanent victory here; it is far off in yonder world, in the bright blessed eternity which is awaiting us. We shall have victory and rest there, but here, in this life, we have to fight—fight on in the conflict of life. But to you who are not alive spiritually, who are dead in trespasses and sins and have no conflict, I say, affectionately, it is the slumber of death which is upon you. The life which you now live will be terminated, unless you are awakened, in eternal spiritual death. Therefore if you are not awakened, seek with all earnestness of purpose to be made to know your own state, and to seek to become alive through Jesus Christ. The gospel is yet preached to you—the law of mercy is still open wide. The very fact that you are here today shows that the gospel door is open yet. Oh, press into the door—believe the gospel—obey the commandment to receive the gospel, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, for the salvation of your souls! Then, if you do so, you will, in the riches of God’s grace, receive the forgiveness of your sins; you will be regenerated, and, although your were dead in trespasses and sins, you will instantaneously be made a child of God, an heir of God, joint-heir with Christ; be brought on the road to heaven, and have the bright and blessed prospect of ever-lasting life before you. Then, and only then, you will know something practically and experimentally of the conflict against the powers of darkness. It is to those, then, who are believers, and who know what the conflict is, that I speak this evening. And to you beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, but especially the younger brethren and sisters, I say, never allow yourselves to be at ease with regard to the conflict. Thus far we have already proceeded. Now, “WHEREFORE TAKE UNTO YOU.” Wherefore; that is to say, because the conflict is what it is, and because it is what has been described, because we do not fight against man, or against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness, and against spiritual evil powers, “Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” For this very purpose the armour is provided for us, that we may be able to withstand and finally to overcome. Now let not any dear child of God suppose, as there is at times a danger of supposing, that because the conflict is what it is—because it is spiritual, and because our enemies are so many and so mighty, that, therefore, it is utterly useless to attempt to fight against the powers of darkness. Not so. Let us go with good courage to the conflict. The will of the Lord is that we should “BE OF GOOD COURAGE”; and under whatever circumstances of danger, perplexity, or of trial, the child of God may be placed, let him always be of “good courage.” Who shall harm us, if God is for us? If He is on our side, who shall then withstand us? But let us never trust in self, else we shall quickly find how weak we are. Especially let us never begin to reason with the devil; he is too much for us. The will of God is, never, never, never, under any circumstance, to reason with the tempter. He who begins to reason, is certain to fall; because we have ever to keep before us who the devil is, and what power he has; and, therefore, if we begin to reason, we are sure to be overcome. THAT OLD SERPENT WHICH IS THE DEVIL. We know not how long the chief of the evil spirits has been in existence; but we know that he was in existence at the creation of the world, and was the originator of evil. Therefore, from the time he deceived our first parents, he has reasoned with a great number of people, and has thus gained a vast experience. Think of all this vast experience, and of all the wiles he has learned, and you will see how absurd it is to attempt to reason with Satan. God’s blessed Word is enough, and that is the only thing he cannot stand against. But if you begin to reason with the devil, it is certain that you cannot stand. Never, then, attempt to reason; especially you, my younger brethren and sisters in Christ. Learn at the outset of the divine life that you most not reason, and that, if you do, you will fall. When tempted, take the blessed book, and say, “My Lord says so-and-so, and I believe it;” and in child-like simplicity rest upon it, Satan cannot stand against that. “Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.” Notice further that word “EVIL DAY.” What is particularly meant is the day of temptation; that is the evil day. And on that day we are to take comfort in the knowledge that God is our helper. But in a certain sense the whole of this life is an evil day, because of the power of Satan, and because of the world which surrounds us. The devil is ever on the watch to get at us, and therefore in a certain sense the whole time were are in the body is the evil day. The whole armour of God is given to us, not to be used on this particular day, or that, but to be worn during the whole pilgrimage of this life. We may have fought very successfully for a time, but still we are to keep it on. In the armies of this world, you all know how it is—battle after battle has been fought, and success has been gained. Whet then? The armour is put off and now, the soldiers rest. But not thus with the armour of God. The whole pilgrimage is a time of war; the conflict ceases not, but must he maintained throughout life. December 16, 1842. Nothing has come in. At six o'clock this evening, our need was very great in the Orphan Houses and the day schools. I prayed with two of the laborers. We needed some money to come in before eight o'clock tomorrow morning, so that we could buy milk for breakfast. Our hearts were at peace, and we felt assured that our Father would supply our need. We had scarcely risen from our knees when I received a letter containing a sovereign for the orphans. About five minutes later, a brother promised to give me fifty pounds next week. A quarter of an hour after that, a brother gave me a sovereign, which a sister in the Lord had left for the orphans. How sweet and precious it is to see the willingness of the Lord to answer the prayers of His needy children! December 16, 1838. A paper was anonymously placed into the box at Bethesda Chapel containing four pounds ten shillings. In the paper was written, "For the rent of the Orphan Houses from December 10 to December 31, 1838." "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him!" (Psa. 34:8). The individual who gave this four pounds ten shillings for the rent of the Orphan Houses decided to give regularly, but anonymously, one pound ten shillings every week which was exactly the sum required for the rent of those three houses. Thus the Lord rewarded our obedience. |
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