(1.) He hath wiles ; and if we descry them not, we are soon surprised and taken. The immoderate use of carnal pleasures is accounted christian cheerfulness. The apostle tells us that ' he turneth himself into an angel of light,' 2 Cor. xi. 10. Would Peter ever have made a motion for Satan to our Saviour, if he had seen his hand in it ? Mat. xvi. 22. He covereth his foul designs with plausible pretences : carnal counsel shall be pity and natural affection ; revenge shall be zeal : Luke ix. 53, 54, ' Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, as Elias did?" Immoderate use of pleasure shall go for cheerfulness, and covetousness for frugality, and licentiousness for christian liberty. The devil observeth our hnmours and inclina- tions, and suits his baits accordingly. He can preach up the gospel to beat down the price of it ; as he came crying after Christ : Mark i. 24, ' I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God ; ' to render the person of Christ odious, and his doctrine suspected. He urgeth the comforts of Christianity, to exclude the duties thereof, and to rock us asleep in ease, and carnal pleasure, till conscience be benumbed. At other times he urgeth duties to exclude comforts, and so to keep us in
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a dejected frame, and under bondage and fear : 2 Cor. ii. 11, ' Lest Satau should get 'an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.' He doth not only abuse the inclinations of our concupiscible faculty, but the inclinations of our irascible faculty : Gal. v 24, ' They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts thereof.' By lusts he meaneth vexing, troublesome passions ; and by affections, sorrow, grief, fear. He observeth us in our duties, and 'catcheth the word out of our hearts,' Luke viii. 12. As soon as we begin to be serious, and to have any good motions within us, he diverts us by one business or delight or other.
(2). He hath 'fiery darts,' either setting a- work in us despairing fears, as he did in Cain : Gen. iv, 13, ' My sin is greater than I can bear ; ' and Judas : Mat. xxvii. 4, 5, ' I have sinned in that I have be- trayed innocent blood. And he departed and hanged himself,' or casting in blasphemous thoughts against God and Christ, and the truths of the gospel and world to come. David was sorely shaken • Ps. Ixxiii. 13, 14, ' Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed ray hands in innocency, for ail the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning,' Even good David thought that all religion was in vain. The envious one will be flinging his darts into our souls, and casting over the seeds of many noisome plants into the heart, that is new ploughed up and broken, or inflaming our lusts and corruptions ; he sees our looks, affections, speeches, gestures, and behaviours , observes our humours, when we are inclined to wrath, or lust, or any other transport of soul ; he knoweth what use to make of a frown, or an angry look, or a wanton glance : 1 Cor, vii. 5, ' That Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.' ' Give not place to the devil,' Eph. iv. 27. He sets some lust or other a-boiling. Or to draw us to some gross sin, thereby to dishonour God : 2 Sam, xii. 14, ' Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.' Or to distiub their peace : Ps. xxxii. 3, 4 ' When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long ; for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.' Or by some extreme grief, to stir up murmurings, repinings, and distrust of God. Well then, you see a necessity of some remedy for this great annoyance of the spiritual life.
2. Now the great remedy is faith, without which we are at an utter loss ; yea, a great part of the work and lite of faith is to resist Satan ; 1 Peter v. 9, ' Whom resist, steadfast in the faith.' That is the way of resisting Satan, to keep up our courage against him. Bernard hath a saying, Increduli tim.ent diaholum quasi leonem, qui fide fortes despi- ciunt quasi vermiculum , that unbelief feareth Satan as a lion, but faith treadeth on him as a worm. And that is a good step to victory when we have courage to stand to it. Stand your ground, and Satan falleth. In assaulting us he hath only weapons offensive, he hath none defensive ; but a christian hath defensive and offensive weapons, a sword and a shield ; therefore our security lieth in resisting with assurance of help and victory. In the next place observe that of the apostle Paul : Eph. vi. 16, ' Above all, take the shield of faith, where- with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of Satan.' We are bidden to ' put on the whole armour of God,' ver. 11, No faculty of the soul or sense of the body must be left naked and without a guard ;