An Alphabetical Analysis
Volume 10 - Practical Truth - Page 213 of 277
INDEX
The breastplate and the helmet (heart and head).  There is no more
vital connection in either law or gospel than that of righteousness and
salvation.  A salvation that had not righteousness as its basis would be
useless in the conflict with the evil one.  This is why in 2 Corinthians 6:7
Paul calls the whole armour 'the armour of righteousness'.  The breastplate
and the helmet are brought together in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, where the
breastplate is 'faith and love', and the helmet 'the hope of salvation'.
The shoes and the sword (feet and hands).  Both speak of a message.
One the gospel of peace, the other a word of war.  The idea conveyed by the
word 'preparation' seems to be that of a firm footing, the word being
sometimes used for a 'base' in the LXX.  We must fully understand peace if we
would succeed in war.  The peace here appears to refer back to Ephesians 2:15
and 4:3.  Anything that breaks the unity of the Spirit, or that introduces
the first element of faction, will trip us up in the conflict, and well the
evil one knows it.
The girdle and the shield (under and over all).  To an Eastern whose
garments were loose and flowing, the girding of the loins was the initial act
of preparation for service.  We preserve the figure in our saying 'buckle to'
when we would urge anyone to diligence.  The wiles of the devil can only be
met by absolute sincerity.  A secret doubt, a double heart, anything outside
the single eye entertains a traitor within the camp who will betray us to the
enemy.  This feature has been brought forward in Ephesians 4:14,15.  The
'wiles' (methodeia) 'of the devil', 'whereby they lie in wait to deceive',
are met by 'speaking the truth', or as the margin reads, 'being sincere'.
The reference in Isaiah 11:5 speaks of righteousness and faithfulness in
connection with the girdle, and we have observed before that practically
every word translated faith and faithful in the Old Testament is derived from
the Hebrew amen, which also means truth.  We have already alluded to the LXX
translation, and there is no doubt that truth, sincerity and faithfulness are
absolutely essential to the soldier of Christ.
The shield of faith.  Is this our faith or the Lord's faithfulness?
The reference to Psalm 91 not only indicates that our shield and buckler is
the Lord's faithfulness, but describes some of the 'fiery darts':
'Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow
that flieth by day' (Psa. 91:5).
Proved Armour
We are exhorted to 'put on' the armour of God, to 'take' the armour,
the shield, the helmet and the sword.  Like the foolish virgins, it will be
too late to start looking for armour in the evil day.
How ridiculous young David must have looked with the armour of Saul
upon his youthful limbs.  David 'assayed to go' for he had not proved them,
and wisely put them aside.  Smooth stones taken from the brook he had proved,
and with the help of God they were more than sufficient.  David's example
should urge us to realize that if we are going to 'withstand in the evil day'
we must 'stand' now.  How shall we quit ourselves in the day of battle if we
are strangers to the sword of the Spirit?  How can we hope to quench the
fiery darts of that fight if we have never proved the efficacy of the shield
of faith?  Our Lord, when tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, proved for
us the power of that Sword and the reliability of that Shield.  We can only
be more than conquerors 'through Him that loved us'.