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he cannot hurt us. Our hearts carry the greatest stroke in every sin. Satan can never undo a man without himself; but a man may easily undo himself without Satan. Satan can only present the golden cup, but he hath no power to force us to drink the poison that is in the cup ; he can only present to us the glory of the world, he cannot force us to fall down and worship him, to enjoy the world ; he can only spread his snares, he hath no power to force us to walk in the midst of his snares. Therefore do the devil so much right, as not to excuse yourselves, by your accusing him, and laying the load upon him, that you should lay upon your own hearts.1
Prop. (2). The second proposition is, That Satan hath a great hand and stroke in most sins. It was Satan that tempted our first parents to rebellion ; it was Satan that provoked David to number the people ; it was Satan that put Peter upon rebuking Christ; therefore saith Christ, 'Get thee behind me, Satan ;' it was Satan that put Cain upon murdering of righteous Abel, therefore it is that he is called 'a murderer from the beginning ;' it was Satan that put treason into the heart of Judas against Christ, ' And supper being ended, the devil having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon s son, to betray him ;' it was Satan that put Ananias upon lying, Peter said, ' Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost P As the hand of Joab was in the tale of the woman of Tekoah, so Satan's hand is usually in all the sins that men commit. Such is Satan's malice against God, and his envy against man, that he will have a hand one way or other in all the sins, though he knows that all the sins he provokes others to shall be charged upon him to his greater woe, and eternal torment.3
Ambrose brings in the devil boasting against Christ and challenging Judas as his own : ' He is not thine, Lord Jesus, he is mine ; his thoughts beat for me ; he eats with thee, but is fed by me ; he takes bread from thee, but money from me ; he drinks wine with thee, and sells thy blood to me.' Such is his malice against Christ, and his wrath and rage against man, that he will take all advantages to draw men to that, that may give him advantage to triumph over Christ and men's souls for ever.
Prop. (3). The third proposition is, That Satan must have, a double leave before he can do anything against us. He must have leave from God, and leave from ourselves, before he can act anything against our happiness. He must have his commission from God, as you may see in the example of Job, Job i. 11, 12, ii. 3-5. Though the devil had malice enough to destroy him. yet he had not so much as power to touch him, till God gave him a commission.
They could not so much as enter into the swine without leave from Christ, Luke viii. 32. Satan would fain have combated with Peter, but this he could not do without leave. ' Satan hath desired to have you, to winnow you,' Luke xxii. 31. So Satan could never have overthrown Ahab and Saul, but by a commission from God, 1 Kings xxii. Ah ! what a cordial, what a comfort should this be to the saints, that their
1 To *Ui *cto tipZi Ss <p\ol W/3aXat/ jro^asT*, the fire is our wood, though it be the devil's flame. — Nazianzen. n
2 Gen. iii. 1-5 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 1 ; Mat. xvi. 22, 23 ; John viii. 44, xiii. 2 ; Acts v. d.— b. * Diabolus tentat, Deus probat. — Tertullian.
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greatest, subtlest, and watchfullest enemy cannot hurt nor harm them, without leave from him who is their sweetest Saviour, their dearest husband, and their choicest friend.
And as Satan must have leave from God, so he must have leave of us. When he tempts, we must assent ; when he makes offers, we must hearken ; when he commands, we must obey, or else all his labour and temptations will be frustrate, and the evil that he tempts us to shall be put down only to his account.1 That is a remarkable passage in Acts v. 3, ' Why hath Satan filled thy heart to He to the Holy Ghost ?' He doth not expostulate the matter with Satan ; he doth not say, Satan, ' Why hast thou filled Ananias's heart to make him lie to the Holy Ghost?' but he expostulates the case with Ananias; Peter said, ' Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost V Why hast thou given him an advantage to fill thy heart with infidelity, hypocrisy, and obstinate audacity, to lie to the Holy Ghost ? As if he had said, Satan could never have done this in thee, which will now for ever undo thee, unless thou hadst given him leave. If, when a tempta- tion comes, a man cries out, and saith, Ah, Lord ! here is a temptation that would force me, that would deflower my soul, and I have no strength to withstand it ; oh ! help ! help ! for thy honour's sake, for thy Son's sake, for thy promise' sake; it is a sign that Satan hath not gained your consent, but committed a rape upon your souls, which he shall dearly pay for.2
Prop. (4). The fourth proposition is, That no weapons but spiritual, weapons will be useful and serviceable to the soul in fighting and combating with the devil. This the apostle shews : ' Wherefore take unto you,' saith he, ' the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand,' Eph. vi. 1 3. So the same apostle tells you, ' That the weapons of your warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the casting down of strongholds,' 2 Cor. x. 4. You have not to do with a weak, but with a mighty enemy, and therefore you had need to look to it, that your weapons are mighty, and that they cannot be, unless they are spiritual. Carnal weapons have no might nor spirit in them towards the making of a conquest upon Satan.3 It was not David's sling nor stone that gave him the honour and advantage of setting his feet upon Goliah, but his faith in the name of the Lord of hosts. ' Thou comest to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a shield, but I am come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied,' 1 Sam. xvii. 45. He that fights against Satan, in the strength of his own resolutions, constitution or education, will certainly fly and fall before him. Satan will be too hard for such a soul, and lead him captive at his pleasure. The only way to stand, conquer, and ' triumph, is still to plead, 'It is written,' as Christ did, Mat. iv. 10. There is no sword but the two-edged sword of the Spirit, that will be
1 Adversaria potestas non habet vim cogendi sed persuadendi — Isidore.
* They are the worst and greatest liars who pretend religion, and the Spirit, and yet are acted only by carnal principles to carnal ends.