SATAN’S DEVICES. 2 COR. ii. 11.
_We are not ignorant of his devices._
1. THE devices whereby the subtle _god of this world_, labours to destroy the children of God, or at least to torment whom he cannot destroy, to perplex and hinder them in running the race which is set before them, are numberless as the stars of heaven or the sand upon the sea-shore. But it is of one of them only that I now propose to speak, (altho’ exerted in various ways) whereby he endeavours to divide the gospel against itself, and by one part of it to overthrow the other.
2. The inward kingdom of heaven, which is set up in the heart of all that _repent and believe the gospel_, is no other than _righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost_. Every babe in Christ knows we are made partakers of these, the very hour that we believe in Jesus. But these are only the first fruits of his Spirit: the harvest is not yet. Altho’ these blessings are inconceivably great, yet we trust to see greater than these. We trust to _love the Lord our God_, not only as we do now, with a weak tho’ sincere affection, but _with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our strength_. We look for power to _rejoice evermore, to pray without ceasing and in every thing to give thanks_; knowing _this is the will of God concerning_ us _in Christ Jesus_.
3. We expect to be _made perfect in love_, in that love which _casts out_ all painful _fear_, and all desire, but that of glorifying him we love, and of loving and serving him more and more. We look for such an increase in the experimental knowledge and love of God our Saviour, as will enable us, always to _walk in the light, as he is in the light_. We believe the whole _mind_ will be in us _which was also in Christ Jesus_: that we shall love every man so as to be ready _to lay down our life for his sake_. So as by this love to be freed from anger and pride, and from every unkind affection. We expect to be _cleansed from all our idols, from all filthiness_ whether _of flesh or spirit_: to be _saved from all_ our _uncleannesses_, inward or outward, to be _purified as he is pure_.
4. We trust in his promise who cannot lie, that the time will surely come, when in every word and work we shall _do his_ blessed _will on earth as it is done in heaven_: when all our conversation shall be _seasoned with salt_, all meet to _minister grace to the hearers_: when _whether we eat or drink or whatever we do_, it shall be done _to the glory of God_: when all our words and deeds shall be _in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God even the Father thro’ him_.
5. Now this is the grand device of Satan, to destroy the first work of God in the soul, or at least, to hinder its increase, by our expectation of that greater work. It is therefore my present design, first, to point out the several ways whereby he endeavours this: and, secondly, to observe how we may retort these fiery darts of the wicked one: how we may rise the higher by what he intends for an occasion of our falling.
I. 1. I am, first, To point out the several ways whereby Satan endeavours to destroy the first work of God in the soul, or at least, to hinder its increase, by our expectation of that greater work. And 1. He endeavours to damp our joy in the Lord, by the consideration of our own vileness, sinfulness, unworthiness, added to this, that there _must_ be a far greater change than is yet, or we cannot see the Lord. If we knew we _must_ remain as we are, even to the day of our death, we might possibly draw a kind of comfort, poor as it was, from that necessity. But as we know, we need not remain in this state, as we are assured, there is a greater change to come, and that unless sin be all done away in this life, we cannot see God in glory: that subtle adversary often damps the joy we should otherwise feel in what we have already attained, by a perverse representation of what we have not attained, and the absolute necessity of attaining it. So that we cannot rejoice in what we have, because there is more which we have not. We cannot rightly taste the goodness of God, who hath done so great things for us, because there are so much greater things, which as yet he hath not done. Likewise the deeper conviction God works in us of our present unholiness, and the more vehement desire we feel in our heart, of the entire holiness he hath promised, the more are we tempted to think lightly of the present gifts of God, and to undervalue what we have already received, because of what we have not received.