Question. But how would you have me use my shield of faith for my defence against these fiery darts of Satan’s enticing temptations?
Answer. By faith engage God to come in to thy succour against them. Now, there are three engaging acts of faith which will bind God—as we may so say with reverence—to help thee, because he binds himself to help such.
Direction 1. The first is the prayerful act of faith. Open thy case to God in prayer, and call in help from heaven—as the governor of a besieged castle would send a secret messenger to his general or prince to let him know his state and straits. The apostle James saith, ‘Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not,’ chap. 4:2. Our victory must drop from heaven if we have any. But it stays till prayer comes for it. Though God had a purpose to deliver Israel out of Egypt, yet no news of his coming till the groans of his people rang in his ears. This gave heaven the alarm, ‘Their cry has come up to God,... and God heard their groaning, and remembered his covenant,’ Ex. 2:24. Now the more to prevail upon God in this act of faith, fortify thy prayer with those strong REASONS which saints have used in like cases. As,
(1.) Engage God from his promise when thou prayest against any sin. Show God his own hand in such promises as these, ‘Sin shall not have dominion over you,’ Rom. 6:14. ‘He will subdue our iniquities,’ Micah 7:19. Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God’s word formed into an argument, and retorted by faith upon God again. Know, Christian, thou hast law on thy side; bills and bonds must be paid, Ps. 119:37. David is there praying against the sins of a wanton eye and a dead heart, ‘Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.’ And see how he urgeth his argument in the next words—‘Stablish thy word unto thy servant.’ A good man is as good as his word, and will not a good God? But where finds David such a word for help against these sins? surely in the covenant; it is the Magna Charta. The first promise held forth thus much, ‘The seed of the woman shall break the serpent’s head.’
(2.) Plead with God from relation when thou art against any sin. Art thou one God hath taken into his family? Hast thou chosen God for thy God? Oh what an argument hast thou here! ‘I am thine, Lord, save me,’ saith David. Who will look after the child if the father will not? Is it for thy honour, O God, that any child of thine should be a slave to sin? ‘Be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.’ ‘Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me,’ Ps. 119:132.
(3.) Engage God from his Son’s bloody death to help thee against thy lusts that were his murderers. What died Christ for but to ‘redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,’ Titus 2:14. And shall not Christ be reimbursed of what he laid out? Shall he not have the price of his blood and purchase of his death? In a word, what is Christ praying for in heaven, but what was in his mouth when praying on earth? That his Father would ‘sanctify them, and keep them from the evil of the world.’ Thou comest in a good time to beg that of God which thou findest Christ hath asked for thee.
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