The Shield of Faith

    THE SHIELD OF FAITH

    "Above all take the Shield of Faith, &c., Eph 6:16.

    FAITH is a grace, a most precious and excellent grace of the Spirit of God, whereby the soul is enabled to believe, or go out of itself, and wholly to rely and rest upon Christ crucified, or on his active and passive obedience, upon the warrant of the promise for justification and eternal life.

    METAPHOR

    I. A Shield is a piece of armour that soldiers were wont to carry with them into the field, when they were to engage their enemies.

    PARALLEL

    I. Faith is a part of a Christian's spiritual armour. All Christ's soldiers ought to carry this weapon into the field with them, when they engage the enemy of their souls: "Above all, take the Shield of Faith."

    METAPHOR

    II. A Shield is a piece of armour for defence.

    PARALLEL

    II. Faith is of excellent use to defend the soul from all spiritual dangers of sin and Satan, and other enemies.

    METAPHOR

    III. A Shield is not for the defence of any particular part of the body, as almost all other pieces are. The helmet is fitted for the head, the breast-plate is designed for the breast;p so others have their several parts which they are fastened to: but a shield is a piece that is intended for the defence of the whole body. It was wont to "be made very large, for its broadness called QureX or Qurh, a door, because so long and large, as in. a manner to cover the whole body; to which that place alludes. "Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour thou wilt compass him about as with a shield," Ps 5:12.

    PARALLEL

    III. So the grace of faith defends the whole man, every part of a Christian. First sometimes Satan's temptations are levelled against his head, and if he can hit him there, he wounds sorely. He will be disputing against this truth, and that truth, and make a Christian doubt concerning them if possible, because his own reason cannot comprehend them: as perhaps it may be about the Deity of Christ, or the holy Trinity how they can be three, and yet but one; or about satisfaction, how the debt is paid, and yet the sinner freely pardoned, &c. Now Faith is as a Shield to a saint at this time, and interposeth between a Christian, and this arrow of Satan; it comes in to the relief of the saints' weak understanding, as seasonable as Abishai the son of Zeruiah did to David, when the giant Ishbi-benoh thought to have slain him. I will trust the Word of God, saith the soul, rather than my own purblind reason: what I cannot comprehend, I will believe. Thus Abraham, "Not being weak in Faith, considered not his own body now dead," &c., Ro 4:19. Sense and reason would have made sad work at such a dead lift, but Faith brought him off victoriously.

    Secondly, Sometimes Satan strives to hit the conscience, all his assaults and fiery darts are at another season aimed at that, to wound that, to cause horror and terror within, by setting the evil of sin, and of his own heart, and the infirmities of his life, before him. Satan sets our sins before us, not to humble us, but to wound us; he shows our sins to us, but hides a Saviour from us. Satan hath sometimes tempted gracious persons to lay violent hands upon themselves, when the heinous nature of their sin hath appeared to them, and the danger they are in thereby; as it was with the poor jailor, Ac 16. But now Faith prevents and keeps off all the danger, and quencheth this fiery dart. Christ died for sinners, for the chiefest of sinners; and though thou be a sinner, a great sinner, the worst of sinners, yet saith faith, thou art but a sinner, and there is mercy for such. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved:" if thou canst believe, and throw thyself on Christ, thy sins shall not be thy ruin.

    Thirdly, He labours to ensnare the affections of the soul, or deaden its fervent love to Jesus Christ, by presenting the pleasures and profits of this world to it. Thus he served our Saviour himself. But now Faith shields off this dart also, by showing the excellency of the Lord Jesus to the soul; and that all things without him, and in comparison of him, are nothing, nay, less than nothing: and also by setting the world to come, and the glory thereof, before the eyes of the soul. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen," Heb 11:1.

    METAPHOR

    IV. A Shield, though heavy, and somewhat unwieldy, to such as have not skill and strength to use it; yet it is a moveable piece of armour, which an expert soldier, with a watchful eye, can turn this way, and that way, to stop a dart or brow from lighting on any part that they were directed to by the enemy.

    PARALLEL

    IV. Faith is a piece of Christian armour, which unskilful professors are not ready to use, but an experienced soul can turn it any way to keep off the arrow and fiery darts of Satan from hurting or wounding him. He observes what part the enemy aims to hit, or how the temptation is laid. It is a great point of Christian wisdom rightly to exercise the Shield of Faith; a man must be sure to have a watchful eye upon his adversary, or else, for all his Shield, he may soon be wounded.

    METAPHOR

    V. A Shield doth not only defend the whole body, but it is a defence to other parts of a soldier's armour also; it keeps off the dart from the helmet and breast-plate likewise.

    PARALLEL

    V. Faith doth not only defend the whole soul, but also it is a safeguard to all the other parts of a Christian's armour; it is that which secures hope, the helmet of salvation, for without Faith, hope would soon be broken to pieces. Also it secures the breast-plate of righteousness; for neither Christ's righteousness, nor any inherent holiness in the soul, will avail any thing without Faith.

    METAPHOR

    VI. A Shield hath been of wonderful advantage to soldiers in former times, when it was in use; it hath preserved them in the time of battle from death, and many mortal wounds. Hence God is pleased to call himself a Shield, signifying thereby his sure and safe, protection to his people in time of trouble and temptation. "Fear not, Abraham, I am thy Shield."

    PARALLEL

    VI. Faith hath been of wonderful use to the saints of God in all ages; it is that which hath preserved them when hard beset, in the greatest danger imaginable: "I had fainted unless I had believed," Ps 27:13. If he at that time had not had Faith to Shield him, he had been lost. All the mighty men of God, saith Ainsworth,[1] by the Shield of Faith in God and Christ, have done many mighty works, as the apostle bringeth a cloud of witnesses in to prove, Heb 11. And hence Shields, saith he, were hanged up in David's tower, for monuments and signs of victory, 2Ch 12:10; 2Sa 8:7; Eze 27:11.

    [1] Ainsworth on Song 4:4, p. 32.

    METAPHOR

    I. A SHIELD that soldiers use in battle is an instrument made by man.

    DISPARITY

    I. FAITH is a precious grace or fruit of the Spirit of God: "The fruit of the Spirit is Faith,"

    &c., Ga 5:22.

    METAPHOR

    II. A Shield is not used by soldiers in all countries.

    DISPARITY

    II. Faith is of use by all spiritual soldiers in every nation; and it is as much in use now by them who truly believe, as ever it was.

    METAPHOR

    III. A Shield may be broken and utterly lost.

    DISPARITY

    III. A Saint's Faith may receive some detriment, but it cannot be utterly broken or lost. "I have prayed for thee, that thy Faith fail not," Lu 22:32.

    METAPHOR

    IV. A Shield can only save and defend from temporal enemies.

    DISPARITY

    IV. Faith shields and defends the soul from all the fiery darts and assaults of Satan.

    INFERENCES.

    1. FROM hence we may infer, that Faith is an excellent grace; and not only so, but we may perceive the necessity of it in all our spiritual conflicts.

    II. Labour to find out the right use of it in time of temptation and under all the assaults of Satan.

    III. It shows how safe and happy all they are, who truly believe, or have obtained the Faith of God's elect; and how miserable such be that are without it.

    IV. Labour therefore above all to take the Shield of Faith; for though all other graces are necessary, as the Girdle of Truth, the Breast-plate of Righteousness, &c. Yet these and all other graces have their efficacy, as they work, and are in conjunction with Faith. We receive benefit from them, as they receive power, and are influenced from hence; so that Faith hath the precedency.