Sermon 3167. The Christian's Helmet

(No. 3167)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1909.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, IN THE YEAR 1866.

"And for a helmet the hope of salvation." 1 Thessalonians 5:8.

THE very mention of a helmet may well seem to REMIND EVERY CHRISTIAN HERE THAT HE IS A SOLDIER.

I. If you were not soldiers, you would not need armor. But being soldiers, you need to he clad from head to foot in armorof proof. I suppose every Christian here knows, as a matter of theory, that he is a Christian soldier and that he has beenenlisted under the banner of the Cross to fight against the powers of darkness until he wins the victory. But we all needto have our memories refreshed upon this matter, for soldiering, in time of war, at any rate, is not a very pleasant occupation-andthe flesh constantly attempts to give it over. That "we have no abiding city here," is a Truth of God which we all know andyet the most of us try to make the earth as comfortable for ourselves as if it were to be our abiding residence! We are allsoldiers-we know that-but still, too many Christians act as if they could be the friends of the world and the friends of Godat the same time. Now, Christian, remember once and for all that you are a soldier! Did you dream, young man, that as soonas you were baptized and added to the Church, the conflict was all over? Ah, it was then but just beginning! Like Caesar,you then crossed the Rubicon and declared war against your deadly enemy. You drew your sword-you did not sheathe it. Yourproper note on joining the Church is not one of congratulation, as though the victory were won, but one of preparation-fornow the trumpet sounds and the fight begins! You are a soldier at all times, Christian! You ought to sit even at your tableas a soldier sits and you should go out especially into the world as a soldier goes out. Never take off your armor, for ifyou do, in some unguarded moment you may meet with serious wounds! But keep your armor always about you and be watchful, foryou are always in the midst of enemies wherever you may be! And even when the persons who surround you are your friends, thereare still evil spirits, unseen of men, who watch for your tripping-and you must not put up your sword, for you are to wrestleagainst principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places-against whom you must always be on the watch. You area soldier, Christian- remember that!

Nor are you a soldier in barracks, or at home, but you are a soldier in an enemy's country. Your place is either in the trenchesor else in the thick of the battle! You who are sick are like soldiers in the trenches. You are patiently hoping and quietlywaiting, as it were, upon the ramparts, looking for the time to come. But others of you, out in business and engaged in theconcerns of life, are like soldiers marching in a long file to the conflict, like the housemen dashing on to the front ofthe battle. More or less, according to your circumstances, you are all exposed to the foe and that at every period

of life!

Where are you, let me ask, but in the country of an enemy who never gives any quarter If you fall, it is death! The worldnever forgives the Christian-it hates him with a perfect hatred and it longs to hurt him. Only let the world see you commithalf a stumble and they will soon report and magnify it! What might be done by other men without observation, if it were doneby a Christian, would be noticed, reported and misrepresented. The world understands that you are its natural antagonist.Satan perceives in you a representative of his old enemy, the Lord Jesus, and you may rest assured that he will never giveyou quarter if once he gets an opportunity of destroying you! Mind the enemy, mind the enemy, for he is one of a maliciousspirit!

You have to fight with one, too, who never yet made a truce. You may come to terms and parley, but the powers of evil neverdo. You may hang out the white flag if you like. The foe may seem, for a time, as though he gave you credit,

but never give your foe any credit! He hates you when he seems to love you best. "Dread the Greeks, even when they bring yougifts," said the tradition of old-and let the Christian dread the world most when it puts on its softest speeches! Stand,then, upon your guard, you warriors of the Cross, when least you fear, the cringing foe will come behind you and stab youunder the pretense of friendship! Your Master was betrayed with a kiss, and so will you be unless you watch unto prayer.

You have to do with an enemy who never can make anypeace with you, nor can you ever make anypeace with him. If you becomeat peace with sin, sin has conquered you-and it is impossible, unless you give up the fight and yield your neck to the everlastingthralldom-that there should ever be peace for so much as a moment. Oh, Christian, see how guarded you ought to be! How necessaryto be clothed with your armor! How necessary to have it of the right kind, to keep it bright and to wear it constantly! Youare a soldier, a soldier in battle, a soldier in the foeman's country, a soldier with a cruel and malicious enemy who knowsneither truce nor parley, and who gives no quarter, but will fight with you till you die! Heaven is the land where your swordshould be sheathed-there shall you hang the banner high-but here we wrestle with the foe and must do so till we cross thetorrent of death. Right up to the river's edge must the conflict be waged. Foot by foot and inch by inch must all the landto Canaan's happy shore be won. Not a step can be taken without conflict and strife-but once there, you may lay aside yourhelmet and put on your crown, put away your sword, and take your palm branch-your fingers shall no longer need to learn towar, but your hearts shall learn the music of the happy songsters in the skies! This, then, is the first thought-that youare a soldier.

II. But the second thought is BEING A SOLDIER, LOOK TO YOUR HEAD.

Soldiers, look to your heads! A wound in the head is a serious matter. The head, being a vital part, we need to be well protectedthere. The heart needs to be guarded with the breastplate, but the head needs to be protected quite as much, for even if aman should be true-hearted, yet if a shot should go through his brain he would not be worth much as a soldier-his body wouldstrew the plain. The head must be taken care of. There are a great many Christian people who never have any trouble with theirheads at all. There are certain religionists who get their hearts warmed and then they think that that is enough. Now, giveme above everything else a good warm heart, but oh, to have that warm heart coupled with a head that is well taken care of!Do you know that a hot head and a hot heart together do a deal of mischief, but with a hot heart and a cold brain you maydo a world of service to the Master. Have right Doctrine in the head and then set the soul on fire and you will soon win theworld! There is no standing in that man's way whose head and heart are both right-but to neglect the head has been a seriousmischief with many Christians. They have been almost powerless for usefulness because they have not taken care of their brains.They have got to Heaven, but they have not got many victories on the road because their brains have been out of order. Theyhave never been able to clearly understand the Doctrines-they have not been able to give a reason for the hope that is inthem. They have not, in fact, looked well to the helmet which was to cover their heads!

The text refers us to our head because it speaks of a helmet-and a helmet is of no use to any part except the head. Amongother reasons why we should preserve the head in the day of battle, let us give these-the head is peculiarly liable to thetemptations of Satan, of self and of fame. It is not easy, you know, to stand on a high pinnacle without the brain beginningto reel. And if God takes a man and puts him on a high pinnacle of usefulness, he had need to have his head taken care of.If a Brother is possessed of a considerable amount of wealth, there is a great danger in that wealth unless there is a wealthof Divine Grace as well as a wealth of gold. If a man is well spoken of, his sphere may not be very large, but if everybodypraises him, he will also need to have his head well protected-for the little praise, even though it should come from fools-wouldbe too much for a fool. If a man can stand commendation, he can stand anything. The severest trial which a Christian has tobear is probably the trial which comes from his kind but inconsiderate friends who would puff him up, if they could, by tellinghim what a fine fellow he is. If your friends will not do this, you will probably have a friend within who will do it foryou-and if you should forget it, the devil will not! "What a capital sermon you gave us this morning, Mr. Bunyan," said afriend where John had been preaching. "You are too late," said Bunyan, "the devil told me that before I came out of the pulpit."Yes, and he will be sure to do it-and hence the need of having a helmet to put on the head so that when you are successful,when you are getting on in life, when friends are speaking well of you-you may not get intoxicated with it! Oh, to have agood, cool helmet to put on your brain when it begins to get a little hot with praise, so that you may still stand fast andnot be borne down by vanity! O Vanity, Vanity, Vanity, how

many you have slain! How many who then seemed upon the very brink of greatness have stumbled upon this stumbling-block-menwho seemed as though they would enter Heaven-but a little bit of honor, some glittering bribe, a golden gift has turned themaside and they fail! Take care of your heads, Brothers and Sisters!

And is not the head liable to attacks from skepticism? People who have no brains are not often troubled with doubts, but peoplewho have brains have probably felt that whether they resolved to use them or not, the brains would use themselves. It is verygood of our good fathers to tell us not to read dangerous books, very good of them, indeed! But we do read them for all that-andthough we sometimes tell the young folks not to read this and that heretical treatise, and we wish they would take our advice-yetsomehow or other they get hold of such things and will ponder them. Brothers and Sisters, I believe that in such times asthese, when everything is so free, and when discussion is so common-we must expect that our young fellows will look at a greatmany things which they had better leave alone-and their heads will be endangered thereby, for the bullets of skepticism threatento go right through their brains! Well, what then? As we cannot take Christians out of the way of the bullets, we should givethem a helmet to preserve them from them! He who has a hope of salvation-a good hope that he is saved, a hope that he shallsee the face of Christ with joy at last-is not afraid of all the quibbles of skepticism! He may hear them all and for a momentbe staggered by them, as a soldier might be who had a sudden shock or even a wound, but after a while he recovers and feelssound enough to enter into the conflict again. And the Christian can say-

"Let all the forms that men devise Assail my faith with treacherous art- I'd call them vanity and lies, And bind the Gospelto my heart."

It has been very well observed that a man is not often a very thorough democrat after he gets a little money in the bank.Well, I think it is very likely that when a man gets a little stake in his country, he begins to be, to the merest extent,conservative. As soon as ever a man gets a stake in Christianity and feels that he has got salvation in Jesus Christ, he getsto be very, very conservative of the old-fashioned Truth of God. He cannot give up the Bible, then, because it is a broadland of wealth to him! He cannot give up Christ, for He is his Savior, his salvation. He cannot give up a single promise becausethat promise is so dear to his own soul. The helmet of salvation, then, will preserve the head in times of skepticism!

The head, again, is very greatly in danger from the attacks of personal unbelief. Who among us has not doubted his own interestin Christ? Happy are you who are free from such trouble! But there are seasons with some of us when we turn our title deedsover and we are sometimes afraid lest they should not be genuine. There are times when, if we could, we would give a worldto know that we are Christ's, for at times we cannot-

"Read our title clear To mansions in the skies."

Well, Beloved, this is very dangerous to our heads, but the man who has got the helmet of a right, sound, God-given hope ofsalvation-who has received from God the Holy Spirit a helmet which I am going to describe, by-and-by-when these doubts andfears come, they may distress him for a little while, but he knows the smell of gunpowder and he is not afraid! In the midstof all of Satan's accusations, or the rising up of his old corruptions, or the threats of the flesh and of the world, he standscalm and unmoved because he wears as a helmet, the hope of salvation!

Nor are these all the dangers to which the head is exposed. Some persons are attacked by threats from the world. The worldbrings down its double-handled sword with a tremendous blow upon the heads of many Christians. "You will suffer the loss ofall things for Christ if you are such a fanatic as to do as you do. You will be poor, your children will need bread, yourwife will be worse than a widow if you are such a fool." "Ah," says the Christian, "but I have a hope of salvation!" And theblow, when it comes, does not go through his head, but just falls on the helmet and the world's sword gets blunted. "I canafford to be poor," said Dr. Gill, when one of his subscribers threatened to give up his seat and would not attend if thedoctor preached such-and-such a Doctrine. So says the Christian, "I can afford to be poor. I can afford to be despised. Ihave in Heaven a better and more enduring substance." So, by the use of this blessed helmet he is not destroyed by the threatsof the world!

We want our young people to wear this helmet, too, because of the errors of the times. The errors of the times are many. Wehave to deal not merely with skepticism, but with superstition. They are tempted on the one side, they are tempted on theother. This and that you will have cried up. "Lo here," and, "Lo there!" And there will be many misled who are not the peopleof God. "If it were possible, they would deceive the very elect"-but the elect are not deceived because their heads are notvulnerable to these errors, for they wear the hope of salvation and they are not afraid of all the "ites" or the "isms" inthe world. The man knows he is saved. Once you get to know Christ personally and that He loved you and gave Himself for you-andthen rejoice that you are forgiven and justified through Him-the world will count you stupid and obstinate, but you will standfirm and be able to resist all its sarcasm and its ridicule. He who has made a refuge of Jesus Christ may stand safe, whatevererrors may invade the land!

They tell us that the Church of God is in great danger and that Popery will spread over the land altogether. I believe itwill, but that it will spread over the Church of God-no-I know far better than that! The Church of God can never be in danger!Every man in whom is the life of God would be as ready to die tomorrow for the Truth as our forefathers were in the Mariandays! Rest assured there would still be found men and women to stand in the burning piles if the times required them-and ourprisons would not long be without heavenly-minded tenants if the Truth needed to be defended by suffering, even unto death!There is danger, great danger! There never was such danger in modern times of Popery spreading over the land as now. But thereis no danger to the man who has his helmet on! No, let the arrows fly thick as hail and let the foes have all political powerand all the prestige of antiquity that they may-a little body of true-hearted Christians will still stand out at the thickof the onslaught and cut their way to Glory and to victory through whole hosts because their heads are guarded with the heavenlyhelmet of the hope of salvation! Soldiers, then, take care of your heads! I will say no more on that point.

III. God has provided a covering for your heads, let us therefore now CONSIDER THE HELMET WITH WHICH

HE WOULD HAVE YOUR HEADS PROTECTED.

"The hope of salvation!" This is not the hope I spoke about this morning, for that was the hope that salvation was possible.This helmet is made up of an actual hope that, being already saved in Christ Jesus, you should abide unto eternal life. Itis a personal hope, founded upon personal conviction-and is worked in us by the Holy Spirit.

To begin, then, describing this helmet. Who is its Giver? You ask our friend, the soldier, where he gets his uniforms, andhe answers that he gets them from the government stores. He gets his uniforms from Her Majesty. And that is how we must getour helmets. If any of you construct helmets of hope for yourselves, they will be of no use to you in the day of battle! Thetrue helmet of hope must come from the heavenly arsenal! You must go to the Divine Storehouse, for unto God belongs salvationand the hope of salvation must be given to you by His free Grace. A hope of salvation is not purchasable. Our great King doesnot sell His armor, but gives it freely to all who enlist. They take the shilling and accept faith. They trust Christ andthey are enlisted-and then the armor is given them gratis. From head to foot they are arrayed by Grace!

Do you ask, who is the Maker of this helmet? Weapons are valued often according to the maker. A known maker gets his own pricefor his articles. Armorers of old took much trouble with the ancient helmets because a man's life might depend upon that veryuseful means of defense. So we have here the name of God the Holy Spirit upon this helmet! A hope of salvation is the workof God the Holy Spirit in our soul. It is the Spirit who brings us to Jesus, shows us our need of Him and gives us faith inHim-and it is that same Spirit who enables us to hope that we shall endure to the end and enter into eternal life. Be notsatisfied with a hope which is natural, but have a hope that is supernatural! Rest not satisfied with that which is made inthe workshop of Nature. Go not to those who buy and sell for themselves, but go to the blessed Spirit, who gives freely andupbraids not!

Or would you inquire, further, of what metal this helmet is made? That it is made of hope, we are told, but it is of the utmostconsequence that it is a good hope! Beware of getting a base hope, a helmet made of paltry metal. There were some helmetsthey used to wear in the olden times which looked very well, but they were of no more use than brown-paper hats. And whena soldier goes into the fight with one of those on, the sword went through his skull. Get a good helmet, one made of the rightmetal. This is what a Christian's hope is made of-he believes that Christ came into the world to save sinners. He trusts Christto save him and he hopes that when Christ comes, he shall reign with Him. He believes that when the trumpet sounds, he shallrise with Christ and that in Heaven he shall have a secure dwelling place at

the right hand of the Father. This hope is made up of proper and fitting deductions from certain truthful statements. ThatChrist died for sinners is true. That He died to save all who trust in Him is true. That I trust Him is true. Therefore thatI am saved is true! And, being saved, that I shall inherit all His promises is a matter of course!

Some people have a hope, but they do not know where they get it from, nor do they know a reason for it. When some people die,you hear it said, "I hope, I hope he is gone to Heaven." Well, I wish he may have gone, but I dare not say of some that Ihope so, because hope must have a reason. An anchor is of no use without its barb. It must be able to hold fast. It must have,at any rate, the modern anchor-some weight about it with which it can hold to the bottom. Hope must have its barb, too! Itmust have its reason, it must have its weight. If I say I hope such-and-such, I am foolish for hoping it if I have not a reasonfor hoping. If you were to say you hoped the person sitting next to you would give you a thousand pounder, it would be a mostabsurd hope! You may wish it if you like, but what ground have you for the hope? But if somebody owes you a thousand poundsand you have his acknowledgement of the debt, you may then very well say that you hope it will be paid, for you have a legitimateright to expect it. Such is the Christian's hope! God has promised to save those who believe. Lord, I believe You-You havepromised to save me, and I hope you will-I knowYou will! The Christian's hope is not a fancy, not a silly desire. It did notspring up in the night, like Jonah's gourd, and it will not wither in a night. The Christian's hope is something that willbear a crack from a club, or a cut from a sharp sword. It is made of good metal. John Bunyan said of a certain sword thatit was "a true Jerusalem blade"-and I may call this a true Jerusalem helmet and he that wears it need not fear!

Having shown the metal of which the helmet is made, let me now describe the strength of the helmet It is so strong that hewho wears it is invulnerable under all sorts of assaults. He may stagger under a blow, but he cannot be hurt by it. Recollectwhat David said. All the troubles in the world once set on David and began to beat him-and they gave him many terrible blows.They thought they had certainly ruined him. David was bleeding and was full of wounds. He half thought he would die and hetells us, himself, that he would have fainted, only he had a bottle of cordial with him called faith. He says, "I had faintedif I had not believed." But just at the time when they thought he would faint and die, suddenly the old hero that slew Goliathmade all his enemies fly before him as he cried, "Why are you cast down, O my Soul, and why are you disquieted within me?Hope you in God." And he laid about him right and left, as he should. "I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenanceand my God." "Hope you in God," Christian! Oh that blessed word, HOPE! You know what the New Zealanders call hope? They callit in their language, "the swimming thought," because it always swims. You cannot drown it-it always keeps its head abovethe wave! When you think you have drowned the Christian's hope, up it comes, all dripping from the brine, and cries again,"Hope you in God, for I shall yet praise Him!" Hope is the nightingale that sings in the night. Faith is the lark that mountsup towards Heaven, but hope is the nightingale that cheers the valley in the darkness! Oh, Christian, be thankful that youhave so strong a helmet as this which can bear all assaults and can keep you unwounded in the midst of the fray!

This hope of salvation is a helmet which will not come off It is of main importance, you know, to have a helmet that willnot be knocked off the first thing in the fight. That is why our policemen are dressed differently from what they used tobe, because their hats used to get knocked off the very first thing. So it will be with some people's helmets if they havea commonplace hope-but the Christian wears a helmet that he cannot get off. There was once a good soldier of Jesus Christ-thissoldier happened to be a woman, however, and some women are the best soldiers Christ ever had-they are His true Amazons! Thisgood woman had been much attacked by a skeptical person and when she was very much confused with some of his knotty questions,she turned round and said to him, "I cannot answer you, Sir, but neither can you answer me, for I have a something withinme that you cannot understand which makes me feel that I could not give up what I know of Christ for all the world." You see,he could not get her helmet off-and the devil himself cannot drag the Christian's helmet off when he has once got it fairlybuckled on. The world can neither give nor take away the hope of a Christian! It comes from God and He will never withdrawit, for His gifts and calling are without repentance. Once let this helmet be put on and He will never remove it, but we shallhope on and hope always until we shall see His face at the last!

I should like to go round among this regiment, as the commanding officers sometimes do, to have a look at you. This helmetis an old-fashioned kind of armor and in the old days the lieutenants and other officials, when they went round the regiment,used to look not only to see that the men had their helmets, but to see that they had oiled them, for in those

times they used to oil their helmets to make them shine and to keep the various joints, buckles and so on, in good order.No rust was ever allowed on the helmets and it is said that when the soldiers marched out with their bronze helmets and theirwhite plumes, they shone most brilliantly in the sun. David speaks, you know, of "anointing the shield." He was speaking ofa bronze shield which had to be anointed with oil. Now, when God anoints His people's hope-when He gives them the oil of joy,their hope begins to shine bright in the light of the Savior's Countenance-and what a fine array of soldiers they then are!Satan trembles at the gleaming of their swords-he cannot endure to look upon their helmets. But some of you do not keep yourhope clear-you do not keep it bright. It gets rusty out of use and then before long it gets to sit uncomfortably upon youand you get weary with the fight. O Holy Spirit, anoint our heads with fresh oil and let Your saints go forth tonight terribleas an army with banners!

Do not let it be overlooked that the helmet was generally considered to be a place of honor The man put his plume in his helmet.He frequently wore his crest there and in the thick of the fight the captain's plume was seen in the midst of the smoke anddust of battle-and the men pressed to the place where they saw it. Now, the Christian's hope is his honor and his glory. Imust not be ashamed of my hope! I must wear it for beauty and for dignity and he who has a right good hope will be a leaderto others. Others will see it and will fight with renewed courage. And where he hews a lane of the foes, they will followhim, even as he follows his Lord and Master who has overcome and sits down upon His Father's Throne! I hope there are manyChristians here who keep their helmets bright-and that there are many more who desire to have such helmets to protect themselvesand to grace their profession.

IV. YET THERE ARE SOME HERE WHO HAVE NO HELMETS. The reason is obvious. They are not Christ's soldiers.

Of course the Lord Jesus does not provide anybody with armor but those in His service. But Satan knows how to give you a helmet,too. His helmets are very potent ones. Though the sword of the Spirit can go right through them, nothing else can. He cangive and has given some of you a headpiece that covers your entire skull-a thick headpiece of indifference, so that no matterwhat is preached, you do not care. "What do I care?" you say-and that is your helmet.

Then he puts a piece in the front of the helmet called a brazen forehead and a brow of brass. "What do I care?" That is yourcry. Then he takes care to fit the helmet right over your eyes so that you cannot see-yes, though Hell itself is before you,you do not see it! "What do I care?" Then he also knows how so to fit the helmet that it acts as a gag to your mouth so thatyou never pray. You can swear through it, but you cannot pray! Still you stick to your old cry, "What do I

care?"

Ah, it is not very likely that any sword of mine will get at your head! Arguments will not move you, for that is a questionthat cannot very well be argued-"What do I care?" It is all very well for you to say that, but oh, I pray God the Holy Spiritto get at your head, notwithstanding that horrible helmet, for if not, God has a way of dealing with such as you are-whenyou come to die, you will sing another song! When you come to lie there upon that bed of sickness and the grim day of eternityis in view, you will not be able to say quite so gaily as you do now, "What do I care?" And when the trumpet rings throughearth and Heaven and your body starts up from your grave-and you see the great Judge upon His Throne-you will not be ableto say, then, "What do I care?" Your head will then be bare to the pitiless tempest of Divine wrath! Bareheaded, you mustbe exposed to the everlasting storm that shall descend upon you. And when the great angel binds you up with your fellows inbundles to burn, you will then feel that you are not able to say, "What do I care?" for cares will come upon you like a wilddeluge when you are banished from His Presence and all hope is gone!

Oh, I wish you would take off that helmet! May God grant you Grace to unbuckle it tonight, never to put it on again! Do care.You are not a fool, my Friend, are you? It is only a fool who says, "What do I care?" Surely you care about your soul! SurelyHeel is worth escaping from! Surely Heaven is worth winning! Surely that Cross on which our Savior died is worth thinkingof Surely that poor soul of yours is worth caring about! Do, I pray you, think, and not go hastily on. Oh, may Jesus Christ,who died for such as you are, bring you to trust Him! And then, unbuckling all that evil armor of, "What do I care?" you willbow before His Cross and kiss His hands-and He will put upon you the golden helmet of a hope of salvation and you will rise,one of the Kings own soldiers, to fight His battles and win an immortal wreath of everlasting victory! May it is so with everyone of us!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON:

1THESSALONIANS 5:1-28.

Verses 1, 2. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write you. For you yourselves know perfectlythat the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night It will be a great surprise to the wicked. It will take them by surprise.Just at that moment when they least expect it, Christ will come, and as the thief comes to destroy and to kill, so will thecoming of Christ be the death of their carnal ease-the destruction of their earthly hopes!

3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child;and they shall not escape. A terrible text that-"They shall not escape." They shall not escape by their own power or forceor wisdom! They shall not escape even by the annihilation which they might well desire, but which shall not come to them.They shall not escape.

4. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You know that Christ will come. Youexpect the dissolution of this present state. To you, therefore, it will come as one who calls at daytime. You cannot knowthe hour. You must not know it. But since you know that He will come, and come to your joy-and since you are in the light,you look with gladness to that coming!

5. 6. You are all the children oflight and the children ofthe day: we are not ofthe night, nor ofdarkness. Therefore let usnot sleep as do othersIf we were children of the night, sleep is a proper occupation for the night, but as we are the childrenof the day, let us not sleep as others.

6. But let us watch and be sobe. Watchfulness and sobriety are appropriate duties for the day. To be always serving our Lordwith constancy and to keep ourselves from the fascinations of the world which make men's minds drunk-may these two thingsbe our daily care.

7. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk are drunk in the night There are a few who have reachedto such a pitch of shameless idleness that they sleep in the day. And there are others who have come to such a state of debaucherythat they are drunk in the day. But this is not the common way of things, nor even in the judgment of the most licentiousof the world is this at all a proper state of things. "They that sleep, sleep in the night. They that are drunk are drunkin the night." Let us who are of the day be sober, and let us of course be awake, but let us be more than awake, since watchfulnessis here joined to wakefulness and watchfulness in a soldier requires that his armor be on. So Paul pushes the parallel a littlefarther.

8. But let us who are ofthe day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvatioi.Soldiers, when they sleep, take off their armor. But in the day when they are awake and on their guard they wear their armorand are ready for the fray. See how much is involved in Christian wakefulness. God help us to carry out every virtue to itslegitimate consequences-not to be wakeful after a fashion, but wakeful after God's fashion!

9. For Godhas not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ In making us children of light,he gave evidence that our appointment was for the light-that His eternal ordinances were that through the light of GospelGrace we should, by and by, enter into the light of eternal Glory. "God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvationby our Lord Jesus Christ."

10. Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. They who have served their day and generation,when they sleep, are not parted from their Lord. They become not the children of the darkness by that fact, for He died forus, that whether we wake or sleep we should live together with Him. Whether we are living here or living there, we shall stilllive together with Him.

11. Therefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another, just as you also are doing. The more of this the better.Christian people should constantly converse with one another for mutual edification.

12. 13. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. You see, in the Church of old they edified one another, butfor all that, they did not cast off God's ordinance of Christian ministry. There was rule in the Church, then, as there shouldbe now-and the Apostle, when he speaks of this individual edification, this mutual instruction- does not forget to noticethose who were the pastors of the flock. He says, "Know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonishyou; and esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake."

13. And be at peace among yourselves. How can a Church prosper if it is not?

14-16. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient towardall men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but always follow that which is good both among yourselves and toall men. Rejoice evermore. Here follows a string of Christian precepts-a golden chain. "Rejoice evermore."

17-19. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quenchnot the Spirit Do not despise His operations, either in yourselves or in your brethren. Do not quench Him by neglect, muchless by open opposition!

20-22. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil Not fromthat which other people choose to think evil, but from all real evil whatever it is-even from the very shadow that it castsand the shape which it assumes!

23-26. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessunto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it Brethren, pray for us. Greet allthe brethren with a holy kiss. Give one another a hearty shake of the hands. That is the western interpretation of the easternform. Outward forms differ. The inward sense abides the same. Let brotherly love continue in a hearty friendliness among yourselves.

27, 28. I charge you by the Lord that this Epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The Grace of our lord Jesus Christbe with you. Amei.