hast- done this, thou art cursed,' &c., which place, though partly meant of the literal serpent, yet chiefly of the devil and the wicked, (his spiritual serpentine brood,) as appears by the enmity pronounced against the serpent's seed and the woman's, which clearly holds forth the feud between Christ with his seed, against the devil and his. Now there are two things in that curse which may conifort the saints. First, the curse prostrates Satan under their feet : ' Upon thy belly shalt thou go,' which is no more than is elsewliere promised, that God * will subdue Satan imder our feet.' Now this prostrate condition of Satan assures believers that the devil shall never lift his head (that is, his wily policy) higher than the saint's heel. He may make thee limp, but not bereave thee of thy life; and this bruise which he gives thee shall be rewarded with the ' breaking' of his ' own head,' that is, the utter ruin of him and his cause. Secondly, his food is here limited and appointed. Satan shall not devour whom he will. The ' dust ' is his food, which seems to restrain his power to the wicked, who are of the earth earth}', mere dust; but for those who are of a heavenly extraction, their graces are reserved for Christ's food, Cant. vii. 13, and their souls surely are not a morsel for the devil's tooth.
The second reason is taken from the wisdom of God, who, as he undertakes the ordering of the Christian's way to heaven, Psa. xxxvii. 24, so especially this business of Satan's temptations. We find Chi'ist was not led of the evil spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, but of the Holy Spirit, Matt. iv. 1 . Satan tempts not when he will, but when God pleaseth ; and the same Holy Spirit which led Christ into the field, brought him off with victory. And therefore we find him marching in ' the power of the Spirit' (after he had re- pulsed Satan) into Galilee, Luke iv. 14. When Satan tempts a saint, he is but God's messenger, 2 Cor. xii. 7: 'There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me ;' so our translation. But rather as Beza, who will have it in casu recto, the messenger Satan, implying tliat he was sent of God to Paul, and indeed the errand he came about was too good and gracious to be his own, ' Lest I should be exalted above measure.' The devil never meant to do Paul such a good office ; but God sends him to Paul, as David sent Uriah with letters to Joab, — neither knew the contents of their uies- sage. The devil and his instruments both a'-e God's instruments, therefore the wicked are called his sword, his axe, Psa. xvii. 13 ; Isa. x. 15 ; now lot God alone to wield the one, and handle the other. He is but a bungler that hurts and hackles his own legs with his own axe ; which God should do, if his children should be the worse for Satan's temptations. Let the devil choose his way, God is for him at every weapon. If he will tiy it by'force of arms, and assaults the saints by persecution, as ' the Lord of hosts' he will oppose him. If by p(ilicy and subtilty, he is ready there also. The devil and his whole coimcil are but fools to God ; nay, their wisdom foolishness. Cunning and art commend every thing but shi. The more artificial the watch, the picture, &c., the better; but the more wit and art in sin, the worse, because it is employed against an all- wise God, that cannot be outwitted, and therefore will in the end but pay the workman in greater damnation. '"The foolishness of God is wiser than man,' yea, than the wisdom of men and devils, that is, the means and instruments which God opposeth Satan withal. What weaker than a sermon ? who sillier than the saints in the account of the wise world? yet God is wiser in a weak sermon than Satan in his deep plots; (wherein he state-heads of a whole con- clave of profound cardinals are knocked together;) wiser in his simple ones, than Satan in his Ahithophels and Sanballats; and truly God chooseth on pur- pose to defeat the policies of hell and earth by these, that he may put such to greater shame, 1 Cor. i. 21. How is the great scholar ashamed to be baffled by a plain countryman's argument? thus Ciod calls forth Job to wrestle with Satan and his seconds; (for such his three friends shewed themselves in taking the devil's part;) and sure he is not able to hold up the cudgels against the fencing-master, who is beaten by one of his scholars. God sits laughing, while hell and ear h sit plotting, Psa. ii. 4 : 'He disappoinleth the devices of the crafty,' he breaketh their studied thoughts and plots, as the words import, Job V. 12; in one moment pulling down the labours of many years' policy. Indeed, as great men keep wild beasts for game and sport, (as the fox, the
fJQ THAT YE MAY BE ABLE TO STAND