Manton on the Armor of God

A Christian is set forth as armed from head to foot. There is for the head a helmet of salvation, which is hope; a breastplate of righteousness; the girdle of truth; for shoes, the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the sword of the Spirit. These are the graces necessary to resist temptation, and these we have from God. A Christian hath not only weapons offensive, but defensive; not only a sword, but also a shield. Satan hath only weapons offensive, as darts; he hath darts to wound the soul. Again, observe, there is no piece of armour for the back. Why? Because there is no flight in this spiritual warfare; we must stand to it: James iv. 7, 'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'

But let us see what are the pieces of the spiritual armour. The apostle begins with 'the girdle of truth,' by which is meant, not truth of doctrine (for that is the sword of the Spirit), but sincerity, or an honest intention; when a man endeavoureth to be both to God and man what he seems to be. Now, it is the Lord that must renew the right spirit within us. Satan he assaults us with wiles, but our armour of proof against him is the girdle of truth. We stand against the wiles of Satan, but we must not fight against him with his own weapons, and put off wiles with wiles; sincerity and honest intention, that is our strength; this is the girdle to the loins, it gives strength and courage to the soul. And then there is 'the breastplate of righteousness,' or that grace which puts us upon a holy conversation, suitable to God's will revealed in his word, whereby we endeavour to give God and man their due; it secures the breast and vital parts, the seed of inherent grace in the heart; an honest fixed purpose to obey God in all things. The next thing, the feet must be shod; we shall meet with rough ways in our passage to heaven, and what is that which is armour of proof for our feet? 'The preparation of the gospel of peace,' a sense of our peace and friendship made up between God and us through Christ. Without this we shall never follow God in the way of duty when we meet with difficulties and hardships, But 'above all, take the shield of faith.' A shield covers the body, but that which gives defence to all is faith: without this a man is naked. Destitute of Christ's imputed righteousness, he wants his covenant-strength; it applieth Christ's righteousness, and engageth the power of God on our behalf. Then there is 'the helmet of salvation,' which is hope: 1 Thes. v. 8. A well-grounded hope of salvation, it makes us hold up the head in the midst of all waves and sore assaults; that is, it is our great motive and encouragement in the work of sanctification. Then there is ' the sword of the Spirit,' which is both offensive and defensive; it wardeth off Satan's blows, and makes him fly back from us as one wounded and ashamed. These are the graces. Now God gives them to us, and therefore he is called ' The God of all grace,' 1 Pet. v. 10. Why? because he requires it only? No, but because he giveth it also. And it is called 'The armour of God,' ver. 11. God is the author, God is the maker, God is the inventor of this armour, and he doth freely bestow it upon us. The apostle bids us 'take the whole armour of God, ' ver. 13, that is, take it out of God's hand. This armour is not of our making and procuring, but made to our hands by God himself.

—Thomas Manton

Rotten Principles

Rotten principles make rotten Christians.

—Benjamin Keach

We work according as our principles are. Principles are the foundation of all conclusions that arise from them. As our grounds are, so are we in our faith, and working, and grace, and comfort every way. If we have rotten principles, if the grounds of our comfort be rotten, our course will be rotten and uncomfortable in the conclusion. Let us build upon the rock, to be well bottomed and founded, that our principles and grounds be strong, and that they be so to us; for what if God be with his, if he be not so to us? Let us labour to lay up sound grounds. Grounds have influence into the whole course of our lives.

—Richard Sibbes

There are several sorts of principles; there are some that are false and rotten, and some more tolerable, and some good and sound, and some rare and excellent.

1. There are some false and rotten principles, as carnal example and custom. Men will do as they have done, or as others do; they will own the religion that their fathers have done, be it what it will. By the same reason you may serve Mahomet as well as Christ. A man that standeth upon the vantage-ground is not taller than another; such are of no better constitution than the Turks, only they stand upon the vantage-ground. Another rotten principle is vainglory, to be seen of men, Mat. vi.; they pray and give alms to be seen of men. 'Come see my zeal for the Lord of hosts,' saith Jehu. Vainglory many times filleth the sails, and carries us on in the service of God. So secular and worldly interests and ends; as the Pharisees made long prayers that they might devour widows' houses, Mat. xxiii.; that is, they made long prayers and show of devotion, to be trusted with the management of widows' estates, to make a prey of them. All that I shall say to this principle is this, that it is better for the world that men would serve God anyhow, that Christ should be served out of vainglory, than not served at all; as the apostle saith some preach Christ out of envy, and others out of good-will, but I am glad so Christ be preached, Phil. i. 18; though they themselves be rotten-hearted hypocrites, yet the world fares the better for it.

2. There are some more tolerable principles, the hope of temporal mercies. When we come and pray, and do not seek the favour of God, but seek temporal mercies: Hosea vii. 14, 'They howled upon their beds for corn and wine.' Or the fear of temporal judgments, Isa. lviii. 5 ; Jer. ii. 16; when all that they do is to remove some temporal judgment: 'In their afflictions they will seek me right early.' And I think I may add one thing more here, the fear of eternal death, when it is alone (otherwise it is a grace); they shall be damned else; and so it is a sleepy sop to appease an accusing conscience, and so it is but a sin-offering. Though it requireth some faith to fear what is to come, yet fear of punishment alone showeth you are slaves, and only love yourselves: the devils fear and tremble, but do not love. You may fear a thing though you hate it. So far as the heart is affected with the fear of hell, it is good.

3. There are very good and sound principles, yet do not always argue grace, as when duties are done out of the urgings of an enlightened conscience; this may be without the bent of a renewed heart, but yet the principle is sound; for the first thing that influenceth a man is to consider himself a creature, and so to look upon himself as bound to obey his creator. I shall illustrate it by the apostle's words in another case: I must preach the gospel, and 'woe unto me if I preach not the gospel,' 1 Cor. ix. 16, 17, 'Whether I do it willingly or unwillingly, yet a dispensation is committed to me.' So saith the soul, Whether I be fitted to do God service or no, God must be obeyed. But because God's precept is invested with a sanction of threatenings and rewards, here comes in the fear of hell and the hope of heaven. The Lord hath commanded me to fly from hell; this is a good principle: so the hope of heaven, Heb. xi. 26; it is a sound principle: a man may be gracious, or he may not. Many have a liking to heaven and eternal life, as it is a state of happiness, not of likeness to God. Where it is not alone, it is a very sound principle, but as it is, it may sometimes be the sign of a renewed man, and sometimes not.

4. There are rare and excellent principles, when we act out of thankfulness to God, when we consider the Lord's goodness, that might have required duty out of mere sovereignty; he hath laid the foundation of it in the blood of his own Son, 1 John iv. 29; when we love him out of the sense of his love to us in Christ, and when the grace of God that hath appeared teacheth us to deny ungodliness, Titus ii. 11; when the mercies of God melt us, Rom. xii. 1; when there are no entreaties so powerful as that of love. Again, another principle that is rare and excellent is when the glory of God doth season us in our whole course, that it may be to the praise of his glorious grace, 1 Cor. x. 31. Another is complacency in the work for the work's sake, when we love the law because it is pure, when I see it will ennoble me and make me like God, when I love God and his ways, when nothing but so noble employment doth engage me to his service; and service to God is the sweetest life in the world.

—Thomas Manton

"All clouds about his person shall vanish, he shall appear to be what he is, the Saviour and judge of the world."

The saints love Christ as Mediator; we love him now though we see him not: 1 Peter i. 8, 'Whom having not seen, we love; and believing in him, rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.' But desire to see him, as our surest and best friend. We have heard much of him, felt much of him, and tasted much of him, but we desire to see him, especially when he shall appear in all his glory: Mat. xxv. 31, 'The Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his angels with him.' All clouds about his person shall vanish, he shall appear to be what he is, the Saviour and judge of the world.

—Thomas Manton

Manton on the Eye of Faith

The less sensible evidence there is of the object of faith, the greater and stronger is the faith, if we believe it upon God's word: "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed ." (John xx. 29). It extenuateth our faith, when the object must be visible to sense, or it worketh not on us. Faith hath more of the nature of faith, when it is satisfied with God's word, whatever sense and reason say to the contrary: "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter i. 8). Whatever faith closeth with upon sure grounds, it is spiritually present to the soul, though few sensible helps. The less we see in the world, the more must we believe. To see things to come as present, and to see things that otherwise cannot be seen, cometh near to God's vision of all things. God saw all things before they were, all things that may be, shall be, visione simplicia intelligentice: "Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth" (Prov. viiL 31). So doth faith eye all things, in the all-sufficiency and promise of God, long before they come to pass, and affects the believer with them.

—Thomas Manton, SERMONS ON PSALM CXIX. SERMON CXXXV.—VERSE CXXIII.