5 We read of many that, out of greatness of spirit, could offer violence to nature, hut were at a loss when they came to deal with a corruption or a temptation. Heraclitus [Heraclius] his motto was, A Deo victoria, It is God that gives victory; and that should be every Christian's motto.
2 COK. II. 11.] AGAINST SATAN'S DEVICES. 155
found to be metal of proof when a soul comes to engage against Satan ; therefore, when you are tempted to uncleanness, plead, ' It is written, be ye holy, as I am holy/ 1 Peter i. 16 ; and, 'Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord,' 2 Cor. vii 1 . If he tempts you to distrust God's pro- vidence and fatherly care of you, plead, ' It is written,' ' They that fear the Lord shall want nothing that is good,' Ps. xxxiv. 9.
It is written, ' The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that purely live/ Ps. lxxxiv. 11. If he tempt you to fear, that you shall faint, and fall, and never be able to run to the end of the race that is set before you, plead, It is written, ' The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger,' Job xvii. 9.
It is written, ' I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me,' Jer. xxxii. 40.
It is written, ' They that wait upon the Lord, they shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint,' Isa. xl. 31. If Satan tempt you to think that because your sun for the present is set in a cloud, that therefore it will rise no more, and that the face of God will shine no more upon you ; that your best days are now at an end, and that you must spend all your time in sorrow and sighing; plead, It is written, ' He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us, and cast all our sins into the depth of the sea,' Micah vii. J 9.
It is written, ' For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,' Isa. liv. 7, 8, J 0.
It is written, ' The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.'
It is written, ' Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb l. Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me/ Isa. xlix. 15, 16.
If ever you would be too hard for Satan, and after all your assaults, have your bow abide in strength, then take to you the word of God, which is ' the two-edged sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith, whereby you shall be able to queuch the fiery darts of the devil/ Eph. vi. 17. It is not spitting at Satan's name, nor crossing yourselves, nor leaning to your own resolutions, that will get you the victory.
Luther reports of Staupitius, a German minister, that he acknow- ledged himself, that before he came to understand aright the free and powerful grace of God, that he vowed and resolved an hundred times against some particular sin, and never could get power over it. At last he saw the reason to be his trusting to his own resolution. Therefore be skilful in the word of righteousness, and in the actings of faith upon Christ and his victory, and that crown of glory that is set before you, and Satan will certainly fly from you, &c, James iv. 7.
^156 PRECIOUS REMEDIES [2 COR. II. 11.
Prop. (o). The fifth proposition is, That we may read much of Satan's nature and disposition by the divers names and epithets that are given him in the Scripture. Sometimes he is called Behemoth, which is Briifn, whereby the greatness and brutishness of the devil is figured, Job xl. 15. Those evil spirits are sometimes called A/a/3oXo/, accusers, for their calumnies and slanders ; and Tonjgo/, evil ones, for their malice. Satan is Adversarius, an adversary, that troubleth and molesteth, 1 Pet. v. 8. Abaddon is a destroyer. They are tempters, for their suggestion ; lions, for their devouring ; dragons, for their cruolty ; and serpents, for their subtilty, &c. As his names are, so is he ; as face answers to face, so do Satan's names answer to his nature. He hath the worst names and the worst nature of all created crea- tures, &c.
Prop. (6). The sixth proposition is, That God will shortly tread down Satan under the saints' feet. Christ, our champion, hath already won the field, and will shortly set our feet upon the necks of our spiritual enemies. Satan is a foiled adversary. Christ hath led him captive, and triumphed over him upon the cross. Christ hath already overcome him, and put weapons into your hands, that you may over- come him also, and set your feet upon his neck. Though Satan be a roaring lion, yet Christ, who is the lion of the tribe of Judah, will make Satan fly and fall before you. Let Satan do his worst, yet you shall have the honour and the happiness to triumph over him.1 Cheer up, you precious sons of Sion, for the certainty and sweetness of victory will abundantly recompense you for all the pains you have taken in making resistance against Satan's temptations. The broken horns of Satan shall be trumpets of our triumph and the cornets of our joy, &c.
Now I shall come to the reasons of the point, and so draw to a close, &c.
Reason (1). The first reason is, That their hearts may be kept in an humble, praying, watching frame. Oh! hath Satan so many devices to ensnare and undo the souls of men ? How should this awaken dull, drowsy souls, and make them stand upon their watch ! A saint should be like a seraphim, beset all over with eyes and lights, that he may avoid Satan's snares, and stand fast in the hour of temptation.
The Lord hath in the Scripture discovered the several snares, plots, and devices that the devil hath to undo the souls of men, that so, being forewarned, they may be forearmed ; that they may be always upon their watch-tower, and hold their weapons in their hands, as the Jews did in Nehemiah's time.2
Reason (2). The second reason is, From that malice, envy, and en- mity that is in Satan against the souls of men. Satan is full of envy and enmity, and that makes him very studious to suit his snares and plots to the tempers, constitutions, fancies, and callings of men, that so he may make them as miserable as himself.3
The Russians are so malicious, that you shall have a man hide some of