July 17

Captain of their salvation,—Hebrews 2:10.

WHEN Joshua stood before Jericho, and lifted up his eyes, he beheld a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: Joshua asked, art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I come; and Joshua fell on his face and worshipped him. And who was this illustrious personage? surely none other than Jesus, the captain of our salvation. There is now a great and momentous war raging, — it is between heaven and hell, between God with his host elect, and Satan with the powers of darkness. It is whether iniquity, or holiness is to prevail; whether the rule of God, or the dominion of Satan is to triumph. It is whether the usurper shall possess our earth, and make it the theatre of his rebellion and crimes, or whether God shall possess it, and reign over it in righteousness and truth. Where Satan reigns, he spreads ruin and death abroad, — he rules but to destroy, — his subjects are the victims of appalling wretchedness, and heirs of endless and irremediable woe. To crush this adversary of God and man, and rescue from his grasp the souls of men, was one great design of the advent of Jesus. For the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. All human beings are concerned in this tremendous conflict. There are only two mighty parties; Satan is the head and ruler of the one, Jesus is the leader and captain of the other. From the entrance of sin into our world to the present moment, the warfare has been carried on; and it is likely to continue, until the devil shall finally be bound and cast into the bottomless pit. All the holy angels in heaven, and all the righteous saints on earth, are engaged with Christ, and are warring against Satan and the powers of hell. Christ is the head, the captain of salvation. Let us ascertain if we are enlisted in his cause, enrolled under his banner, and are engaged in fighting the good fight of faith.