it is said “He put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon his headl.” But, to mark it more distinctly, we may observe, that it prepares us for conflicts, sustains us in them, and brings us victorious through them. Hope prepares us for conflicts. A man armed with a helmet, feels himself ready to battle: he fears not to meet his adversary, because he has a defence, which, he trusts, will prove sufficient for his preservation. Thus a man that has a hope of salvation, enters