You ask for great confidence, then know this: confidence is not found in a mere feeling, but in a holy trust. The man who really believes in Jesus Christ will be found purging himself from the ways of sinners, he will be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. To be safe we must be holy, to be holy we must trust in Christ Jesus the Lord! The only way to holiness, you that have not begun, is to go to a holy God through the holy Mediator. Trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and so be reconciled to God by Him who alone can put away sin. When you have once known the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, do not return again to folly. Follow on watchfully and resolutely. Seek the daily renewing of the Holy Spirit and so shall you go from strength to strength till you shall be like your Lord and shall see Him as He is.
You plead for angelic protection, and indeed there are ways in which safety is guaranteed. It is in such ways that angelic protection will be afforded to us. There is the way of childlike trust in Providential guidance. Happy is that man who always waits upon God to know what he shall do, who asks the Lord to always guide him and who dares not lean upon his own understanding. You will always need Divine and angelic keeping, for God would not have charged His angels to keep His people in all their ways if they did not need protection in all their ways. As for the truths of God which God has taught you by His own Spirit, grapple them to you as with hooks of steel, for, if you go in the way of error, you cannot expect Divine protection! Mind also that this protection is personal and perpetual. And, lastly, how holy we ought to be with such holy beings watching over us! If the angels are always hovering round you, mind what you are doing!
Now you speak of trampling serpents and cursing demons. I pray you, examine the temper of that request. The holy angels refuse all kinds of worship, they sing, “Not unto us, not unto us, but unto the name of Jehovah be all the praise.” No syllable of evil ever falls from their holy lips. Is it then our place to call down curses? That belongs to God alone. Our Saviour has given us power over the enemy, but it is a power exercised in holy trust and in the proclamation of the Gospel, not in rancorous maledictions. It is written, “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels, and the dragon was cast down.” The victory is the Lord's. Pray rather that God would rebuke them, shatter their works, and deliver every captive, leaving all judgment to Him who is the only wise God our Savior. He is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Our safety lies in our Savior, "God our Savior." Do not think to fight in your own fury, but in the calm confidence that Christ has conquered.
Cry out to God for that holy violence which stormed the gates of heaven. Blessed be God if this holy violence is in your spirit: you shall take heaven by force yet; you shall take it by storm, and carry the gates of heaven by the battery of your prayers. Go, soul, in the strong confidence that if thou goest earnestly thou goest successfully. God may sooner deny himself than deny the request of an earnest man. Yet let your longing be not merely for power over demons, but for holiness itself. Do you long to be holy? The Lord will make you holy! Do you long to conquer sin? You shall overcome it by faith in Jesus! Are you pining after fellowship with Christ? He will come and make His abode with you! Does your soul thirst, yes, even pant after God as the hart for the water brooks? That is the holy appetite of the new-born spirit. Oh that the world were converted to God! Oh that the Truth of God would go forth like the brightness of the morning! Let that desire swallow up all bitterness.
You desire your family to be surrounded and blessed. Then plead the blood of the covenant. Here is the very essence of our confidence! This is the pillar upon which our souls lean! If there is any hope for sinners; if there is any consolation for sufferers; if there is any cleansing for the guilty; if there is any life for the dead, it is here. Give me your heart, give me your family, laid down at the cross. Say, “Lord, I am a sinner. I put my child-like trust in You. Save me, Lord. Give me Your Holy Spirit. Cover my household.” Do you think you will ever be cast away? Why, you will be the first sinner that ever was, who sincerely came to Jesus that way. I did not like to have a blind man’s confidence thrown away; it seemed as if his confidence was my compulsion. And, oh, blind sinner, lay hold upon the garment of Christ tonight and say, “Jesus, I believe You will lead me into Heaven. At any rate, I mean to trust You to do it.”
The way of those who are saved is the way of holy trust, of holy living. He that is not holy on the way, will not come to that holy end where the thrice Holy God reveals Himself in His glory. Therefore let your prayer be, “Make me holy, holy through Your favor, holy through Your own gracious working.” The Holy Spirit must create in us a new heart and a right spirit, and then dwell in our renewed nature as a king in his palace. Grace in the heart gives rest, peace, joy and holy calm of soul. It satisfies our cravings and fills our largest desires, and all because by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit it daily enables us to realize Jesus and God in Jesus. Then, with such rest, you will face the adversary not with wild imprecations but with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Be it ours to imitate the angels in fighting a good fight while we are here. Our Lord is called an angel, the Messenger of the Covenant. You will never be more angelic than when God makes you the messengers of His Holy Spirit to the hearts of men. Go then, and let your holy, quiet confidence be a testimony even to the powers of darkness that you belong to Him who is able to keep you from falling. Then give all the Glory to His holy name, for to Him all the Glory belongs. Salvation is of the Lord from first to last.