NOW try whether your weapons be mighty or weak! What can you do or suffer more for God than a hypocrite that is clad in fleshly armour? I will tell you what the world saith, and if you be Christians, clear yourselves, and wipe off that dirt which they throw upon your glistening armour. They say—These professors, indeed, have God more in their talk than we; they are oftener in the mount of duty than we; but when they come down into their shops, relations, or worldly employments, then the best of them all is like one of us; they can throw the tables of God’s commandments out of their hands as well as we; come from a sermon, and be as covetous and griping, as peevish and passionate, as the worst; they show as little love to Christ as others, when it is a matter of cost, as to relieve a poor saint or maintain the Gospel; you may get more from a stranger, an enemy, than from a professing brother. O Christians, either vindicate the name of Christ, whose ensign you seem to march after, or throw away your seeming armour, by which you have drawn the eyes of the world upon you. If you will not, Christ Himself will cashier you, and that with shame enough, ere long. Never call that armour of God which defends thee not against the power of Satan. Take, therefore, the several pieces of your armour and try them; as the soldier, before he fights, will set his helmet or headpiece as a mark, at which he lets fly a brace of bullets, and as he finds them, so will wear them or leave them—but be sure thou shootest Scripture bullets. Thou boastest of a breastplate of righteousness; ask thy soul, Didst thou ever in thy life perform a duty to please God, and not to accommodate thyself? Thou hast prayed often against thy sin; a great noise of these pieces has been heard coming from thee by others, as if there were some hot fight between thee and thy corruption, but canst thou indeed show one sin that thou hast slain by all thy praying? Joseph was alive, though his coat was brought bloody to Jacob, and so may thy sins be, for all thy mortified look in duty, and outcry thou makest against them. If thou wouldest thus try every piece, thy credulous heart would not so easily be cheated with Satan’s false ware.—William Gurnall.