The Armour We Use Against Satan Must be Divine in the Institution and Only as God Appoints

[The kind or quality of armour needful —Armour of God.]

             The subject of this branch is the quality or kind of that armour, the Christian is here directed to pro­vide.  It is not any trash will serve the turn; better none than not armour of proof, and none [is] such ‘but the armour of God.’  In a twofold respect it must be of God.  First, In institution and appointment.  Second, In constitution.

[The armour we use against Satan must be divine in the institution, and only as God appoints.]

             Observe First.  The Christian's armour which he wears must be of divine institution and appointment.  The soldier comes into the field with no arms but what his general commands.  It is not left to every one's fancy to bring what weapons he please; this will breed confusion.  The Christian soldier is bound up to God's order; though the army be on earth, yet the council of war sits in heaven; this duty ye shall do; these means ye shall use.  And [those who] do more, or use other, than God commands, though with some seeming success against sin, shall surely be called to account for this boldness.  The discipline of war among men is strict in this case.  Some have suffered death by a council of war even when they have beaten the enemy, because out of their place, or beside their order.  God is very precise in this point; he will say to such as invent ways to worship him of their own, coin means to mortify corruption, obtain comfort in their own mint: ‘Who hath required this at your hands?’  This is truly to be ‘righteous over-much,’ as Solomon speaks, when he will pretend to correct God's law, and add supplements of our own to his rule.  Who will pay that man his wages that is not set on work by God?  God tells Israel the false prophets shall do them no good, because they come not of his errand, Jer. 23:32; so neither will those ways and means help, which are not of God's appointing.  God's thoughts are not as man's, nor his ways as ours, which he useth to attain his ends by.  If man had been to set forth the Israelitish army, now to march out of Egypt, surely this wisdom would have directed rather to have plundered the Egyptians of their horses and arms, as more necessary for such an expedition, than to bor­row their jewels and ear-rings.  But God will have them come out naked and on foot, and Moses keeps close to his order; yea, when any horses were taken in battle, because God commanded that they should be houghed, they obeyed, though to their seeming dis­advantage.  It was God's war they waged, and there­fore but reasonable they should be under his command.  They encamped and marched by his order, as the ark moved or rested.  They fight by his command. The number is appointed by him—the means and weapons they should use—all are prescribed by God, as in the assault of Jericho.  And what is the gospel of all this—for surely God hath an eye in that our marching to heaven, and our fighting with these cursed spirits and lusts that stand in our way—but that we should fight lawfully, using those means which we have from his mouth in his Word?  This reproveth two sorts:

           

  Reproveth First, Those that fight Satan in ar­mour that hath no divine institution.

1. The Papist.  Look into his armour, and hardly a piece will be found armour of God.  They fight in the pope's armour.  His authority is the shop wherein their weapons are forged.  It were a kind of penance to your patience, to repeat all the several pieces of armour with which they load silly souls —too heavy indeed for the broadest shoulders among them to bear—yea, more than the wiser sort of them mean to use.  Their masses, matins, vigils, pilgrimages, Lent-fasts, whippings, vows of chastity, poverty, with a world of such trash!—where is a word of God for these?  Who hath required these things at their hands?  A thousand woes will one day fall upon those impostors, who have stripped the people of their true armour of God, and put these reeds and bulrushes in their hands.  This may justify us in the sight of God and men for our departure from them who will force us to venture the life of our souls in such paper-armour, when God hath provided better.

2. The Carnal Protestant, who fights in fleshly armour, II Cor. 10:3.  The apostle speaks there of ‘war­ring after the flesh,’ that is, with weapons or means which man's carnal wisdom prompts to, and not God's com­mands, and [which] so are weak.  How few are clad with other in the day of battle!

             (1.) When Satan tempts to sin, if he hath not presently a peaceable entrance, yet the resistance commonly made is carnal; the strength carnal they rest on, their own, not God's; the motive's carnal, as the fear of man more than of God; [as to which] one saith, ‘How shall I do this and sin against God?’ Many in their hearts say, How shall I do this and anger man, displease my master, provoke my parents, and lose the good opinion of my minister?  Herod feared John, and did many things.  Had he feared God, he would have labored to have done everything. The like may be said of all other motives, which have their spring in the creature, not in God; they are armour which will not out-stand shot.  If thy strength lie in a creature-lock, it may be soon cut off; if in God it will hold, as his command: It is written.  I cannot do it, but I must set my foot on the law of my Maker, or on the love of Christ.  I cannot come at my lust, but I must go over my bleeding Savior, and therefore away, foul tempter, I hate thee and thy motion.  This foundation is rock, and will stand; but if it be some carnal respect that balanceth thee, another more weighty may be found of the same kind, which will cast the scales another way.  She that likes not the man because of his dress only, may soon be gained when he comes in another habit.  Satan can change his suit, and then thy mouth will be stopped when thy carnal argument is taken off.

             (2.) When the Word or conscience rebukes for sin, what is the armour that men commonly cover their guilty souls withal?  Truly no other than carnal. If they cannot evade the charge that these bring, then they labor to mitigate it, by extenuating the fact.  It is true, they will say, I did (I confess) commit such a fault, but I was drawn in.  ‘The woman gave me, and I did eat,’ was Adam's fig-leaf armour.  It is but once or twice, and I hope that breaks no such squares. Was this such a great business?  I know jolly Christians will do as much as this comes to.  I thank God, I cannot be charged with whore or thief.  This is the armour that must keep off the blow.  But if conscience will not be thus taken off, then they labor to divert their thoughts, by striking up the loud music of carnal delights, that the noise of one may drown the other; or with Cain, they will go from the presence of the Lord, and come no more at those ordinances which make their head ache, and hinder the rest of their raving consciences.  If yet the ghost haunts them, then they labor to pacify it with some good work or other, which they set against their bad; their alms and charity in their old age, must expiate the oppression and violence of their former days; as if this little frankincense were enough to air and take away the plague of God's curse, which is in their ill-gotten goods.  Thus poor creatures catch at any sorry covering, which will not so much as hide their shame, much less choke the bullet of God's wrath, when God shall fire upon them.  There must be armour of God's appointing.  Adam was naked for all his fig-leaves, while God taught him to make 'coats of skins,’ Gen. 3:21, covertly (as some think) shadowing out Christ the true Lamb of God, whose righteousness alone was appointed by him to cover our shame, and arm our naked souls from the sight and stroke of his justice.