'Who sheds the foremost foeman's life
His party conquers in the strife';
and whosoever has exercised, however imperfectly and feebly, the faith
in Jesus Christ the Lord has therein conquered the devil and all his
works, and Satan is henceforth a beaten Satan, and the battle, in
essence, is completed even in the act of its being begun.
'This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith'; not
only because our confidence in Jesus Christ is the blowing of the bugle
that summons to warfare and shakes off the tyrant's yoke, but it is
also the means by which we join ourselves to Him who has overcome, and
make His victory ours. He has fought our antagonist in the wilderness
once, in Gethsemane twice, on the Cross thrice; and the perfect conquest
in which Jesus bound the strong man and spoiled his goods may become,
and will become, your conquest, if you wed yourselves to that dear Lord
by simple faith in Him.
What a priceless thing it is that you may begin your independent manhood
with a conquest that will draw after it ultimate and supreme victory.
You will still have to fight, but you will have only to fight
detachments. If you trust yourselves to Jesus Christ you have conquered
the main body of the army, and it is only the stragglers that you will
have to contend with hereafter. He that loves Jesus, and has given
himself to Him, has pinned the dragon to the ground by its head, and
though it may 'swinge the scaly horror of its folded tail,' and twine
its loathly coils around him, yet he has conquered, and he is
conquering, and he will conquer. Only let him hold fast by the hand
which brings strength into him by its touch.
Will you, dear young friends, take service in this army? Do you want to
be weak or strong? Do you want your lives to be victorious whatever may
happen to them in the way of outward prosperity or failure? Then give
yourselves to this Lord. His voice calls you to be His soldiers. He will
cover your heads in the day of battle. He will strengthen you 'with
might by His Spirit in the inner man.' He will hide His Word in your
heart that you offend not against Him. He will dwell Himself within you
to make you strong in your extremest weakness and victorious over your
mightiest foe; and in that sign you will conquer and 'be more than
conquerors through Him that loved you.'
Oh, I pray that you may ask yourselves the question, 'What am I going to
be?' and may answer it, 'I am going to be strong in the Lord and in the
power of His might'; and to overcome, as He also hath overcome, the
world and the flesh and the devil.