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without his arms! Even so the spiritual soldier must never be without his armor, for the better armed, he finds himself the stronger. Besides, this is the word of command by the Captain of the Lord's hosts, to his armies: "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; for ye wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance, and (not forgetting brother-soldiers) with supplication for all saints."

But one thing I see, these men are allowed to carry no toys or trifles with them, only their arms, ammunition, and necessaries; so "no man that warreth' against hell," entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

Again, these men are only safe, in setting their face always against their foes, being naked behind; so there is not a promise in all the scripture for the saint that turns his back before the enemy; while, if they resist, even their grand enemy shall flee from them,

These poor privates, as well as their commanders, must be in the hottest battle, encounter all the dangers, and perhaps fall in the engagement; but the Captain of our salvation has for us both fought and foiled the foe, swept the field of battle, of principalities and powers, so that we are only called to return to the spoil.

Finally, how happy are Christ's soldiers, in comparison of these military men! The one is wounded often to death, the other is made always to triumph; the one has a scanty allowance every day; the other has access to all the fulness of God. The one is disbanded at last, and sent, when least able, to beg his bread, and die in poverty; the other shall at last receive a crown, and be taken to dwell with the king eternal, immortal, invisible, for ever!

Let the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of the earth for earthly things; but may I fight on the side of Heaven, against sin and hell, for a heavenly crown, a crown of glory, that fadeth not away!

MEDITATION XCIV.

ALL THINGS MADE UP IN CHRIST.

Quiberon Bay, May 11, 1760.

EVERY one is subject to so many losses here, that, unless he has a share in the bank of bliss, he may soon become impoverished of all his enjoyments, and be a bankrupt as to felicity. But what an enriching privilege is an interest in Jesus, whereby I am insured against all losses, and furnished for all misfortunes! for though in the world I may have tribulation, yet in him who overcame the world, shall I have joy. It is

true my nearest and dearest friends may be removed by death; but in him I have a store of dearer and diviner relatives. My riches may fly away as on eagle's wings, but in him I have the treasures of eternity; so that it is but for a moment, and in the meanest things, that I can sustain any loss. My name may be reproached among men, but here is a divine antidote against that, that my name is written in the Lamb's book of life, who will confess it before his Father, and before assembled men and angels. My soul may be troubled, and my mind broken, but in him I have health and tranquility for both, for he alone giveth quietness, and when he giveth it, none can cause trouble. My soul desires much, but in him is more than my soul can desire. My wants are great, and my necessities many, but in him I find an overflowing abundance that supplieth all. My situation for a time may be lonely and desolate, but in him I find the divinest company, the dearest converse, and in his presence a paradise below. Sin and sinners may cause me daily sorrow, but in him that saves from both, I have abundant consolation. The things of this world may all seem jointly to go against me, but in him the things of the next world shall all assuredly make for me. I may wander from one place of the world to another, and be persecuted hither and thither for his sake; but he, who is every where present, shall be ever with me,and nothing shail be able to separate me from his love. My comforts may all fall off, like the blasted blossoms of the orchard; but in him ten thousand more noble comforts shall flourish, and never fade nor wither. Every day may bring me new disappointments (and what else should I look for in a perishing world?) but in him I shall never be disappointed, even to eternity. Here infirmity may often break off my noblest exercises; but in a

little I shall put on the immortality of bliss, and rest neither day nor night in his praises, yet never be wearied. Here doubts and darkness may distress me, but in him is my direction and my light. In a word, I may be a complication of wants and adversities, crosses and calamities, disappointments and distresses, sorrow and concern; but, in a word again, whatever my exigence can demand, whatever my soul can desire, is fully, wholly, and eternally in him. Therefore, though death in a few moments may advance to put a period to my time, and cut me off from the world below, yet then shall my felicity begin, when, to sum up all my bliss, enjoying the fellowship of the world above, I shall for ever be with the Lord.

MEDITATION XCV.

THE BIRTH-DAY.

Quiberon Bay, May 30, 1760.

THE observation of nativities seems to be both ancient and universal, but by none more splendidly kept than those, who, not attending to the end of their creation, have but little reason to rejoice that ever they were born. Of old, a king's birth-day, in its consequences, cost our Saviour's forerunner his head; but at many such feasts now-a-days, the Saviour himself is crucified afresh, and put to open shame.

Surely to be is desirable, but to be happy is much more so; and who can claim this, but such as remember the day of their death oftener than the day of their birth,and choose rather to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting? If joy belongs to any on their birth-day, surely it is to those, who not only know,

that on such a day of the year they become one of the numerous family of mankind, but also can, by solid arguments, and on good grounds infer, that, by the second birth, they are of the family of the living God. Though Job and Jeremiah, in their anguish, cursed their day, yet when the storm passed over, their souls returned to their quiet rest, and irreprehensible joy : however, he who only waits for the manifestation of that glorious life, which has neither change nor end, may, to the praise of God, with an exulting breast, talk in an opposite strain: "Let the day prosper wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man-child conceived. Let that day be brightness, let God regard it from above, and let the light shine upon it. Let light, and the beaming hope of eternal life, beautify it to me. Let serenity dwell upon it, and the brightness of the day banish every gloom from it. As for that night, let the beauty of the day be spread upon it; let it be joined and added as a remarkable day to the days of the year, and let it come chief to me among the number of my months. Lo, let that night be solemn and sweet, while my anthem imitates the song above, and my soul, on wings of faith, mixes with the adoring multitude on high."

There are a variety of arguments against carnal feast. ing on my birth-day. Had I come into the world laughing, I might live feasting, and die rejoicing; but as I came in weeping, and breathed my first breathing in disquiet and cries, so it teaches me to live sober, and die serious. Since we are all born under the curse, why such a noisy commemoration of that day, when another sinner first burdened the earth, when another rebel against Heaven first breathed the common air? But if we are to acknowledge it as a mercy that we were born, as no doubt it is, yet it is not the way to

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