rts--'even our faith.'

'THE HELMET OF SALVATION'

'Take the helmet of salvation.'--Eph. vi. 17.

We may, perhaps, trace a certain progress in the enumeration of the
various pieces of the Christian armour in this context. Roughly
speaking, they are in three divisions. There are first our graces of
truth, righteousness, preparedness, which, though they are all conceived
as given by God, are yet the exercises of our own powers. There is next,
standing alone, as befits its all-comprehensive character, faith which
is able to ward against and overcome not merely this and that
temptation, but all forms of evil. That faith is the root of the three
preceding graces, and makes the transition to the two which follow,
because it is the hand by which we lay hold of God's gifts. The two
final parts of the Christian armour are God's gifts, pure and
simple--salvation and the word of God. So the progress is from
circumference to centre, from man to God. From the central faith we have
on the one hand that which it produces in us; on the other, that which
it lays hold of from God. And these two last pieces of armour, being
wholly God's gift, we are bidden with especial emphasis which is shown
by a change in construction, to take or receive these.

I. The Salvation.

Once more Old Testament prophecy suggests the words of this exhortation.
In Isaiah's grand vision of God, arising to execute judgment which is
also redemption, we have a wonderful picture of His arraying Himself in
armour. Righteousness is His flashing breastplate: on His head is an
helmet of salvation. The gleaming steel is draped by garments of
retributive judgment, and over all is cast, like a cloak, the ample
folds of that 'zeal' which expresses the inexhaustible energy and
intensity of the divine nature and action. Thus arrayed He comes forth
to avenge and save. His redeeming work is the manifestation and issue of
all these characteristics of His nature. It flames with divine fervour:
it manifests the justice which repays, but its inmost character is
righteousness, and its chief purpose is to save. His helmet is
salvation; the plain, prose meaning of which would appear to be that His
great purpose of saving men is its own guarantee that His purpose should
be effected, and is the armour by which His work is defended.

The Apostle uses the old picture with perfect freedom, quoting the words
indeed, but employing them quite differently. God's helmet of sa