The “girdle” is the making ready for the ministry, the girding up that we may be active in duty; we may suppose that the forbidding money in the girdle is to warn us from suffering any thing in the ministry to be bought and sold. We are not to have “a scrip by the way, that is, we are to leave all care of our worldly substance; for all treasure on earth in hurtful to the heart, which will be there where the treasure is.
“Not two coats,” for it is enough to have once put on Christ, nor after true knowledge of Him ought we to be clothed with any other garment of heresy or law.
“Not shoes,” because standing on holy ground as was said to Moses not covered with the thorns and prickles of sin, we are admonished to have no other preparation of our walk than that we have received from Christ.
Reproduced in full. Translation: Oxford 1841 (Newman), public domain (Public domain).