But what he is most remarkable for is, his _subtlety_: for not having power given him from above, to take us by force, he is obliged to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by guile. He, therefore, made use of the serpent, which was subtle above all the beasts of the field, in order to tempt our first parents; and accordingly he is said, in the New Testament, “To lie in wait to deceive;” and, in the words of the text, the Apostle says, “We are not ignorant of his devices;” thereby implying, that we are more in danger of being seduced by his policy, than over-borne by his power.
From this short description of Satan, we may easily judge whose children they are, who love to make a lie, who speak evil of, and slander their neighbour, and whose hearts are full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy, revenge, and all uncharitableness. Surely they have Satan for their father: for the tempers of Satan they know, and the works of Satan they do. But were they to see either themselves, or Satan as he is, they could not but be terrified at their own likeness, and abhor themselves in dust and ashes.
But, the justice of GOD in suffering us to be tempted, is vindicated from the following considerations: That we are here in a state of disorder; That he has promised not to suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear; and not only so, but to him that overcometh he will give a crown of life.
The holy angels themselves, it should seem, were once put to a trial whether they would be faithful or not. The first _Adam_ was tempted, even in paradise. And JESUS CHRIST, that second _Adam_, though he was a son, yet was carried, as our representative, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And there is not one single saint in paradise, amongst the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the glorious company of the apostles, the noble army of martyrs, and the spirits of just men made perfect, who, when on earth, was not assaulted by the fiery darts of that wicked one, the devil.
What then has been the common lot of all GOD’s children, and of the angels, nay, of the eternal Son of GOD himself, we must not think to be exempted from: No, it is sufficient if we are made perfect through temptations, as they were. And, therefore, since we cannot but be tempted, unless we could unmake human nature, instead of repining at our condition, we should rather be enquiring, at what time of our lives Satan most violently assaults us? And what those devices are, which he commonly makes use of, in order to “get an advantage over us?”
As to the first question, what time of life? I answer, we must expect to be tempted by him, in some degree or other, all our lives long.――For this life being a continual warfare, we must never expect to have rest from our spiritual adversary the devil, or to say, our combat with him is finished, ’till, with our blessed master, we bow down our heads, and give up the ghost.
But since the time of our conversion, or first entring upon the spiritual life, is the most critical time at which he, for the most part, violently besets us, as well knowing, if he can prevent our setting out, he can lead us captive at his will; and since the wise son of _Sirach_ particularly warns us, when we are going to serve the LORD, to prepare our souls for temptation, I shall, in answer to the other question, pass on to the
_Second_ general thing proposed; and point out those devices, which Satan generally makes use of at our first conversion, in order to get an advantage over us.
But let me observe to you, that whatsoever shall be delivered in the following discourse is only designed for such as have actually entered upon the divine life; and not for carnal almost Christians, who have the form of godliness, but never yet felt the power of it in their hearts. This being premised, The
_First_ device I shall mention, which Satan makes use of, is, _to drive us to despair_.
When GOD the Father awakens a sinner by the terrors of the law, and by his Holy Spirit convinceth him of sin, in order to lead him to CHRIST, and shew him the necessity of a Redeemer; then Satan generally strikes in, and aggravates those convictions to such a degree, as to make the sinner doubt of finding mercy thro’ the Mediator.
Thus, in all his temptations of the Holy JESUS, he chiefly aimed to make him question, whether he was the Son of GOD? “If thou be the Son of GOD,” do so and so. With many such desponding thoughts, no doubt, he filled the heart of the great St. _Paul_, when he continued three days, neither eating bread nor drinking water; and therefore he speaks by experience, when he says, in the words of the text, “We are not ignorant of his devices,” that he would endeavour to drive the incestuous person to despair.