He that will depart from iniquity must be well fortified with faith and patience and the love of God; for iniquity has its beauty-spots and its advantages attending on it; hence it is compared to a woman, Zech. 5:  7, for it allureth greatly.  Therefore I say, he that will depart there-from had need have faith; that being it which will help him to see beyond it, and that will show him more in things that are invisible, than can be found in sin, were it ten thousand times more entangling than it is. 2 Cor. 4:18.  He has need of patience also to hold out in this work of departing from iniquity.  For indeed, to depart from that is to draw my mind off from that which will follow me with continual solicitations.  Samson withstood his Delilah for a while, but she got the mastery of him at the last.  Why so? because he wanted patience; he grew angry and was vexed, and could withstand her solicitations no longer.  Judges 16:  15-17.  Many there be, also, that can well enough be contented to shut sin out of doors for a while; but because sin has much fair speech, therefore it overcomes at last.  Prov. 7:21.  For sin and iniquity will not be easily said nay.  Wherefore, departing from iniquity is a work of length, as long as life shall last.  A work, did I say?  It is a war, a continual combat; wherefore, he that will adventure to set upon this work, must needs be armed with faith and patience, a daily exercise he will find himself put to by the continual attempts of iniquity to be putting forth itself.  Matt. 24:  13; Rev. 3:10.

The Christian armor.

The war that the church makes with antichrist is rather defensive than offensive.  A Christian also, if he can but defend his soul in the sincere profession of the true religion, doth what by duty, as to this, he is bound.  Wherefore, though the New Testament admits him to put on the whole armor of God, yet the whole and every part thereof is spiritual, and only defensive.  True, there is mention made of the sword, but that sword is the word of God-a weapon that hurteth none, none at all but the devil and sin, and those that love it.  Indeed, it was made for Christians to defend themselves and their religion with, against hell and the angels of darkness.

Objection.  But he that shall use none other than this, must look to come off a loser.

Answer.  In the judgment of the world this is true, but not in the judgment of them that have skill and a heart to use it.  For this armor is not Saul’s which David refused, but God’s; by which the lives of all those have been secured, that put it on and handled it well.  You read of some of David’s mighty men of valor, that their faces were as the faces of lions, and that they were as swift of foot as the roes upon the mountains.  Why, God’s armor makes a man’s face look thus; also it makes him that useth it more lively and active than before.  God’s armor is no burden to the body, nor clog to the mind, but rather a natural, instead of an artificial fortification.