7. This season of temptation is short.—A day. We should not grow weary.
8. Though it be short it is important.—The day of battle is generally most important in its results. So in spiritual warfare. The temptation in Eden, etc.
II. The duty which falls to be performed in the evil day.—1. To withstand. (1) This has reference to Satan as an assailant. (2) It binds us to resistance, i.e., to perform the duty from which Satan dissuades, to refuse the sin which he recommends, to hold fast that which we have, and to reject that which he offers in exchange (Rev. iii. 2).
2. To proceed from the defensive to the offensive.—“Having done all,” or “conquered all.” (1) The believer, as “the good soldier of Christ,” is, like his Master, to be an assailant. (2) By attacking, Satan discovers himself; and the believer, having resisted, may gain an advantage. When his stronghold in the heart is found out, it may be pulled down. Is it pride? (2 Cor. x. 4, 5). (3) Satan can be contended against only by carrying on an offensive warfare—in the heart, in the world. The Romans could be conquered only in Italy.
3. That having resisted and conquered, we still stand.—(1) Though repulsed, Satan is not slain, his resources are not exhausted, “his wrath” continues. (2) We must therefore “stand” after victory. Our armour must be kept on. We must be vigilant. We must be in an attitude for the fight.
III. The preparation necessary to the performance of the peculiar duties of the evil day.—1. The evil day is a day of war, and hence its duties and the kind of preparation called for.
2. There are three things to be noticed in the account of the believer’s preparation.—(1) He must be armed—Divine grace. An unarmed soldier a contradiction; he is useless for duty, exposed to death. (2) He must be completely armed. For defence and for offence. (3) His armour must be that “of God.” Human virtues will not do. Human energies will not do.—Stewart.
Ver. 14. The Girdle of Truth.
I. Honesty and truthfulness of character.—Love of truth as being from God, hatred of lies as being from the devil—this is a primary condition of being strong in the Lord. Nothing can be more injurious to the character of the Christian religion than the suspicion that it shuns examination, that its claims are in antagonism with demonstrated truth. There is a kind of false liberalism concerning religious truth. It is easy for a man to fancy his loins are girt about with truth when the fact is they are girt about with indifference; and a person so armed may assume an attitude of impartiality with regard to religious questions because he cares nothing concerning the issue; and sometimes it seems to be assumed that a writer possesses a virtue, compensating for all vices, if he is apparently free from all bias either for or against revealed truth. The true path is taken by him who, strong in his own faith and love, fears no honest investigation, and shrinks from adopting in matters of religion any tone of thought or line of argument which he cannot justify upon the broadest grounds of calm judgment and sober reason.
II. But the words of the apostle refer not only to truthfulness, but to truth itself, to that which we know to be true.—It would be unworthy of an apostle if he should include under the title of truth, necessary for the protection of a Christian champion, all human knowledge which is rightly so called. Do not consider that the progress you make in human knowledge lies beside your path as Christians. As members of Christ, as His soldiers and servants, take a nobler view of your work than that. Christ has taken the elements of this world and sanctified them for Himself; there is nothing really secular but what is evil, and all that is not evil ought to be used on the side of truth.