But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

but we being of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as helmet the hope of salvation;

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast-plate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

and we, being of the day, let us be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and an helmet, a hope of salvation,

But let us, belonging - as we do - to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

But let us, who are of the day, be serious, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and on our heads, the hope of salvation.

But we, who are of the daylight, should be sober, being clothed with the breastplate of faith and of charity and having, as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

But let us, who belong to the day, control ourselves, and put on faith and love as a breast plate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

Having put on the breastplate. He adds this, that he may the more effectually shake us out of our stupidity, for he calls us as it were to arms, that he may shew that it is not a time to sleep. It is true that he does not make use of the term war; but when he arms us with a breastplate and a helmet, he admonishes us that we must maintain a warfare. Whoever, therefore, is afraid of being surprised by the enemy, must keep awake, that he may be constantly on watch. As, therefore, he has exhorted to vigilance, on the ground that the doctrine of the gospel is like the light of day, so he now stirs us up by another argument -- that we must wage war with our enemy. From this it follows, that idleness is too hazardous a thing. For we see that soldiers, though in other situations they may be intemperate, do nevertheless, when the enemy is near, from fear of destruction, refrain from gluttony [1] and all bodily delights, and are diligently on watch so as to be upon their guard. As, therefore, Satan is on the alert against us, and tries a thousand schemes, we ought at least to be not less diligent and watchful. [2] It is, however, in vain, that some seek a more refined exposition of the names of the kinds of armor, for Paul speaks here in a different way from what he does in Ephesians 6:14 for there he makes righteousness the breastplate. This, therefore, will suffice for understanding his meaning, that he designs to teach, that the life of Christians is like a perpetual warfare, inasmuch as Satan does not cease to trouble and molest them. He would have us, therefore, be diligently prepared and on the alert for resistance: farther, he admonishes us that we have need of arms, because unless we be well armed we cannot withstand so powerful [3] an enemy. He does not, however, enumerate all the parts of armor, (panoplian,) but simply makes mention of two, the breastplate and the helmet. In the mean time, he omits nothing of what belongs to spiritual armor, for the man that is provided with faith, love, and hope, will be found in no department unarmed.

Footnotes

1 - "Et yurognerie;" -- "And drunkenness."

2 - "Pour le moins ne deuons--nous pas estre aussi vigilans que les gendarmes?" -- "Should we not at least be as vigilant as soldiers are?"

3 - "Si puissant et si fort;" -- "So powerful and so strong."

But let us, who are of the day, be sober - Temperate, as people usually are in the daytime.
Putting on the breast-plate of faith and love - This is a favorite comparison of the apostle Paul; see it explained at length in the notes on Ephesians 6:14.
And for an helmet, the hope of salvation - See the notes at Ephesians 6:17.

Putting on the breastplate - We are not only called to Work, but we are called also to fight; and that we may not be surprised, we must watch; and that we may be in a condition to defend ourselves, we must be sober; and that we may be enabled to conquer, we must be armed: and what the breastplate and helmet are to a soldier's heart and head, such are faith, love, and hope to us. Faith enables us to endure, as seeing him who is invisible; love excites us to diligence and activity, and makes us bear our troubles and difficulties pleasantly; hope helps us to anticipate the great end, the glory that shall be revealed, and which we know we shall in due time obtain, if we faint not. For an explanation of the different parts of the Grecian armor, as illustrating that of the Christian, see the notes on Ephesians 6 (note), where the subject is largely explained.

(3) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
(3) We must fight with faith and hope, and therefore we should certainly not lie snoring.

But let us, who are of the day, be sober,.... As in body, so in mind; let us cast off the works of darkness, and have no fellowship with them; since the day of grace has passed upon us, the darkness is gone, and the true light shines, let us walk as children of the light, living soberly, righteously, and godly:
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; this is the coat of mail, 1-Samuel 17:5 which was made of iron or brass; and the Ethiopic version here calls it, "the iron coat." The allusion seems to be to the high priest's breastplate of judgment, in which were put the Thummim and Urim, which signify perfections and lights; faith may answer to the former, and love to the latter: these two graces go together, faith works by love, and love always accompanies faith; as there can be no true faith where there is no love, so there is no true love where faith is wanting: "faith" is a considerable part of the Christian soldier's breastplate, and answers the end of a breastplate, it being that grace which preserves the vitals of religion, and keeps all warm and comfortable within; and secures the peace and joy of the saints, as it has to do with Christ and his righteousness; wherefore this breastplate is called "the breastplate of righteousness", Ephesians 6:14, it fortifies the soul, and preserves it from Satan's temptations, from his fiery darts entering, and doing the mischief they would; it defends the heart against the errors of the wicked, for a man that believes has a witness in himself to the truths of the Gospel, and therefore cannot be easily moved from them; and strengthens a man against the carnal reasonings of the mind, for faith in the promises of God surmounts all the difficulties that reason objects to the fulfilling of them; and secures from the fears of death, the terrors of the law, and dread of the wrath of God: and love is the other part of the breast plate; love to God and Christ is a means of keeping the believer sound both in faith and practice; for a soul that truly loves God and Christ cannot give in to principles that depreciate the grace of God, and derogate from the glory and dignity of the person and office of Christ, or the work of the Spirit; and such love the ordinances and commands of Christ, and hate every false way of worship, or invention of men; and love to the saints is the bond of perfectness, knits them together, preserves unity and peace, and fortifies against the common enemy:
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation; the helmet is that part of armour which covers the head, and was made of brass, 1-Samuel 17:5 and used to be anointed with oil, that it might shine the brighter, last the longer, and more easily repel blows; to which this grace of the Spirit, hope of salvation by Christ, is fitly compared: for by "salvation" is meant salvation by Christ, spiritual salvation, and that as complete in heaven; and hope is a grace wrought in the soul by the spirit of God, which has for its foundation Christ and his righteousness, and for its object the heavenly glory; it covers the head in the day of battle, and preserves from being overcome by sin and Satan, when one that is destitute of it says there is no hope, and we will walk every man after the imagination of his own evil heart; it erects the head in time of difficulty, amidst tribulation and afflictions; it defends it from fears of divine wrath which is revealed from heaven, and sometimes in appearance seems to hang over it; and it preserves from Satan's temptations, and being carried away with the error of the wicked, from the hope of the Gospel: and thus a Christian clothed and armed with these graces, faith, hope, and love, should be so far from indulging himself in sin and sloth, that he ought always to be sober and watchful, and prepared to meet the enemy in the gate; and be ready, always waiting for his Lord's coming.

Faith, hope, and love, are the three pre-eminent graces (1-Thessalonians 1:3; 1-Corinthians 13:13). We must not only be awake and sober, but also armed; not only watchful, but also guarded. The armor here is only defensive; in Ephesians 6:13-17, also offensive. Here, therefore, the reference is to the Christian means of being guarded against being surprised by the day of the Lord as a thief in the night. The helmet and breastplate defend the two vital parts, the head and the heart respectively. "With head and heart right, the whole man is right" [EDMUNDS]. The head needs to be kept from error, the heart from sin. For "the breastplate of righteousness," Ephesians 6:14, we have here "the breastplate of faith and love"; for the righteousness which is imputed to man for justification, is "faith working by love" (Romans 4:3, Romans 4:22-24; Galatians 5:6). "Faith," as the motive within, and "love," exhibited in outward acts, constitute the perfection of righteousness. In Ephesians 6:17 the helmet is "salvation"; here, "the hope of salvation." In one aspect "salvation" is a present possession (John 3:36; John 5:24; 1-John 5:13); in another, it is a matter of "hope" (Romans 8:24-25). Our Head primarily wore the "breastplate of righteousness" and "helmet of salvation," that we might, by union with Him, receive both.

Putting on the breastplate of faith and love. The exhortation to the soldierly duties of watchfulness and sobriety suggests the thought of a sentinel and his armor. Compare Ephesians 6:11-17. There the shield of faith is spoken of; here the breastplate. Both were for the defense of the body. Nothing will better protect the heart from evil thoughts and keep us watching than faith and love.
And for an helmet, the hope of salvation. See notes on Ephesians 6:17. What a power to protect, a blessed hope of salvation through Christ!
God hath not appointed us to wrath. Hence it is our privilege to hope for salvation through Christ.
Who died for us. That we might secure salvation. Hence our salvation is so assured that even death cannot rob us of it. Whether we are alive, or sleep in death, we shall live together with Christ.
Wherefore. This assurance is ground for comfort, and especially for comfort for mourners.
Edify one another. Build each other up; strengthen each other.