12//i Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to misrepi'esent true holiness, that he may make others out of love with it. He paints the face of religion full of scars, and with seeming blemishes, that he may create in the minds of men prejudice against it. Satan represents religion as the most mel- ancholy thing, and that he who embraceth it, must banish all joy out of lus diocese , though the apostle saith, " Joy and peace in believing," Rom. xv. 13. Satan suggests that religion exposeth men to danger; he shews them the cross, but hides the crown from them ; he labours to put all the dis- grace he can upon holiness, that he may tempt men to the renouncing of it. Satan abuseth the good Christian, and gives him a wrong name : the truly zealous man, Sa- tan calls hot-headed and factious, — the pa- tient man, that bears injuries A^Tthout re- venge, Satan represents him as a coward, — the humble man as low-spirited, — the heavenly man Satan calls fool, he lets go things that are seen, for things that are not seen : thus the devil misrepresents religion to the world. As John Huss, that holy man, was painted with red devils, so Satan paints holiness with as deformed, misshapen a face as he can, that he may, by this temp- tation, draw men off from solid piety, and make them rather scorn than embrace it. The hand of Joab is in this : Satan is tempt- ing persons to atheism, to cast off all reli- gion.
13^/i Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to draw men off from the love of the truth to embrace error, 2 Thess. ii. 11., "That they should believe a lie." Satan is called, in scripture, not only an unclean spirit, but a lying spirit. As an unclean spirit, so he labours to defile the soul with lust ; and as a lying spirit, so he labours to corrupt the mind with error ; and indeed this is dangerous, because many errors do look so like the truth, as alchymy rej)i*esents true gold. Satan thus beguiles souls. Though
OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
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tlie scripture blainos licretics for hcing the promoters of error, yet it cliarpeth Satan with being the cliief contriver of it. They spread tlie error, but the devil is a lying f'pirit in tlieir mouths. Tliis is Satan's great temptation ; he makes men believe sut'h are glorious truths, which are danger- ous impostures ; thus he transforms him- self " into .an angel of liglit." What is the meaning of Satan's sowing tares in the pa- rable, Mat. xiii. 25., but Satan's sowing er- ror instead of truth ? How quickly had the devil broached false doctrine in the a- ])ostles' times ? That it was necessary to be circumcised. Acts xv. 1., that angel- worship was lawful, and that Christ was not yet come in the flesh, 1 John iv. 3. Now the devil tempts by drawing men to error, because he knows how deadly this snare is, and the great mischief error will do when it comes. — 1. Error is of a spread- ing nature ; it is compared to leaven, be- cause it sours. Mat. xvi. 11., and to a gan- grene, because it spreads, 2 Tim. ii. 17. (1.) One error spreads into more, like a circle in the water, that multiplies into more circles, one error s-eldom goes alone. (2.) Error spreads from one person to ano- ther ; it is like the plague, which infects all round about. Satan, by infecting one per- son with error, infects more. The error of Pelagius did spread on a sudden to Pa- lestine, Africa, Italy ; the Arian error was at first but a single spark, but at last it set almost all the world on fire. — 2. The devW lays this snare of error, because error brings divisions into the church ; and divisions bring an opprobrium and scandal upon the ways of God. The devil danceth at dis- cord : division destroys peace, which was Christ's legacy ; and love, which is the bond of perfection. Not only Christ's coat hath been rent, but his body, by the divi- sions which error hath caused. In churches and families where error creeps in, what a- nimosities and factions doth it make ! It sets the father against the son, and the son against the father. What slaughtci-s and bloodshed have been occasioned by errors broached in the church ! — 3. The devil's policy in raising errors, is to hinder refor- mation ; the devil was never a friend to re- formation. In the primitive times, after