Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 2 · Chapter 6 · Verse and explication 16
Vers. 16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
THe fourth piece of armour, the putting-on and use-making whereof, is recommended to them above all the rest, is the grace of faith, by which we believe the truth of Gods Word in general, Act. 24. 14. and in a special manner do receive (Joh. 1. 12.) and rest upon Christ (Isa. 26. 3.) for grace here, (Philip. 4. 13.) and glory hereafter, 1 Tim. 1. -16. as He is offered in the Gospel, Gal. 2. 16. And it answereth that part of the bodily armour, called the shield, which was a broad and large piece, made of some strong mettal, and, being made use of by a skilfull hand, did defend the whole body, supply the weaknesse of any other part of the armour, and guard against all sort of stroaks from the enemy. In like manner, faith is a grace of so large extent that it reacheth help to the soul in all its severall cases, Habak. 2. -4. it strengtheneth and supplyeth the inlacks of all other graces, Act. 15. -9. yea, and guardeth against tentations of all sorts, Mark 9. 23. but more particularly, as the Apostle doth here expresse, it quencheth these o… Satan, that wicked one his tentations, which are called fiery darts, that is, violent and piercing tentations, whereby the soul is inflamed with a vehement heat, whether of boyling lusts, or raging dispair: and faith doth not only repell some of those tentations before they seize upon the soul; but also quench and extinguish that heat, pain and horrour which boyleth in the soul, being wounded by these: All which the grace of faith effectuateth, not by its own strength or force, but through the vertue of Christ whom it doth apprehend, whose power and merit, imployed by faith, doth allay and quench all that heat, whether of inflaming lusts, or of boyling impatience, horrour and dispair, which those tentations do kindle in the heart wherein they light …nd are entertained. Hence Learn, 1. Though the Lords Ministers ought to make known unto His People the whole counsel of God, Act. 20. 27. there being no truth revealed in Scripture, the knowledge whereof is not usefull either for the being or well-being, for the necessary food or ornament of a Christian, 2 Tim. 3. 16, 17. yet they are most to inculcate and presse upon peoples consciences the knowledge and practice of most necessary and weighty truths, chiefly those which are fundamental and of daily use and practice: for, the Apostle, in pressing the use of the spiritual armour, doth wisely recommend one piece, of special and daily use, above all the rest, while he saith, Above all, taking the shield of faith. 2. The grace of faith is another necessary piece of a Christians armour, without the which we are destitute of Christs imputed righteousnesse, Philip. 3. 9. and so exposed to the dint of sin-pursuing justice, Joh. 3. -36. and to all the bitter accusations and challenges of the devil our adversary, Rom. 8. 33. We are destitute also of Christs covenanted strength, which is communicated and engaged for our through-bearing in all our spiritual conflicts only when it is laid hold upon by an act of faith, Joh. 15. 4, 5. and consequently, without the exercise of that grace, we are exposed as a prey to every tentation, and especially to Satans fiery darts, here spoken of in the text, seing in that case we have no strength to resist them but our own, which indeed is none, Joh. 15.—5. for, the Apostle commandeth the Christian souldier to arm himself with this grace; Above all taking the shield of faith. 3. This grace of faith is the most excellent and necessary piece of all the Christians armour, in so far as faith (though weak and imperfect in it self, Luke 17. 5. yet) laying hold on the promise, it engageth the almighty power of God and Christ to be for us, Matth. 15. 28. it giveth life, being and vigour to the other pieces of this armour, even to all the sanctifying graces of Gods Spirit, Acts 15. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 5. it maketh up all imperfections by covering them with Christs most perfect righteousnesse, Philip. 3. 9. and so defendeth them against the furious or subtil assaults of Satan, whereby he endeavoureth to make us question their reality, and throw them away as counterfeit, hypocritical and uselesse, Lam. 3. 18. it bringeth a fresh supply of strength to the rest from Jesus Christ when they are weakened, wounded, and almost rendred unprofitable, Isa. 40. 31. yea, it alone doth sometimes keep the Believer from total fainting and quitting all, when the rest are shattered, brangled, disappear, and for the time are uselesse, Job 13. 15. for, the Apostle recommendeth this piece above all the rest, while he saith, Above all, take the shield of faith. 4. As Satans great design is to wrest and wring this piece of our armour from us, and that because of its excellency and usefulnesse, yea, and often doth prevail to mar our use-making of it; So it would be our chiefest care to keep this grace of faith in daily exercise, and without delay to return to the exercise of it, when we have fallen from it: for, the word, rendred taking, signifieth to take again that which we have lost or let go; Above all, taking the shield of faith. 5. It is the Christian's duty to study the excellency and usefulness of any grace, and especially of faith, that thereby he may be incited to seek after it, and to make use of it; we must first put a price upon grace, before we be at any pains for it: for, that he may incite them to make use of faith, he informeth them of its excellency and usefulnesse, while he saith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts. 6. Though the devils and fallen angels be many, (See ver. 12.) yet so united are they in wickednesse and in carrying-on their wofull work under one chief head and prince, Matth. 12. 24, 26. as if they were but only one: for, therefore doth he speak of the devil as of one; the fiery darts of the wicked. 7. As Satan, that wicked one, his great work and businesse is to draw and drive others to sin and wickednesse; So, he hath several sorts of tentations which he maketh use of for that end, according to the diversity of sins to which he tempteth, and the different tempers and dispositions of those whom he tempteth: he hath not only subtil wiles and strategems, spoken of, ver. 11. but also fiery darts, whether of violent boyling lusts, or raging despair, which he throweth afar off, and indiscernably with great force and violence, wherein they resemble darts; All the fiery darts of the wicked. 8. Among all the tentations which Satan maketh use of to carryon his wofull work, his fiery darts are most hard to be resisted, and, where given way to, most dangerous, in so far as they give a double hurt and dammage, even as materiall fiery darts do both wound and burn; so those tentations being entertained, do not only defile the soul with guilt, but also disturb and disquiet it with their force and violence, Hos. 7. 4. or, vex, perplex and put it to pain with that anxiety and horrour which they breed in it, Gen. 4. 13. for, he commendeth faith above all the rest, from its quenching those tentations, which implyeth, that they are both hardly resistible, and most dangerous; wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 9. The grace of faith, though never so well exercised, cannot hinder Satan to throw those fiery piercing tentations, nor yet doth it alwayes repel them, but sometimes they pierce even the Believers soul, where, finding suitable fewel, they raise a burning flame, and make great vastation and havock: for, while he saith, faith doth quench them, it is implyed, they will be sometimes boyling and burning within; ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts. 10. The grace of faith not only supplyeth the place of armour to ward off blows; but is also medicinall to cure those dangerous wounds, which the soul receiveth in this spiritual conflict through the prevalency of tentations, and the negligent use-making of our other graces, it is both defending and healing armour: for, thereby we are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 11. There is no spirituall disease or wound so desperate, no sin so prevalent in the soul, but the grace of faith, rightly made use of in laying hold on the merit and vertue of Christs death, is sufficient to cure it and destroy it; yea, and to cure not only one disease, but many: for, he attributeth a vertue to it, to quench fiery darts; and all the fiery darts of the wicked.