The Christian Must offer Violence to Satan
The Christian Must offer Violence to Satan 2. We must offer violence to Satan. Satan opposeth us both by open violence, and secret treachery. By open violence, so he is called the Red Dragon; by secret treachery, so he is called the Old Serpent. We read in Scripture of his snares and darts; he hurts more by his snares than by his darts.
1. His Violence. He labours to storm the castle of the heart: he stirs up to passion, lust, revenge. These are called 'fiery darts,' Ephes. 6:16 because they oft set the soul on fire. Satan in regard to his fierceness is called a Lion‚ 1 Peter 5:8. 'Your adversary the Devil as a roaring
Lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.' Not (saith Chrysostom) whom he may bite but devour.
2. His Treachery. What he cannot do by force, he will endeavour to do by fraud. Satan hath several subtile policies in tempting.
In suiting his temptations to the complexion and temper of the body.
Satan studies the phisiognomy, and lays suitable bates.—He knew Achan's covetous humour, and tempted him with a wedge of gold. He tempts the sanguine man with beauty.
2. Another subtility is to draw men to evil, sub specie boni, under a pretence of good.—The pirate doth mischief by hanging out false colours: so doth Satan by hanging out the colours of religion. He puts some men upon sinful actions, and persuades them much good will come of it. He tells them in some cases they may dispense with the rule of the Word, and stretch their conscience beyond that line that they may be in a capacity of doing more service. As if God needed our sin to raise his glory.
3. Satan tempts to sin gradually. As the husbandman digs about the root of a tree, and by degrees loosens it, and at last it falls. Satan
steals by degrees into the heart: he is at first more modest: he did not say to Eve at first, Eat the apple; no, but he goes more subtilely to work; he puts forth a question, Hath God said? Sure Eve, thou art mistaken; the bountiful God never intended to debar thee one of the best trees of the garden. Hath God said? Sure, either God did not say it; or if he did, he never really intended it. Thus by degrees he wrought her to distrust, and then she took of the fruit and eat. Oh, take heed of Satan's first motions to sin, that seem more modest— principiis obsta. He is first a fox, and then a lion.
4. Satan tempts to evil in licitis‚ in lawful things. It was lawful for Noah to eat the fruit of the grape; but he took too much, and so sinned. Excess turns that which is good into evil. Eating and drinking may turn to intemperance. Industry in one's calling (when excessive) is covetousness. Satan draws men to an immoderate love of the creature, and then makes them offend in that which they love. As Agrippina poisoned her husband Claudius in that meat he loved most.
5. Satan puts men upon doing good out of bad ends: if he cannot hurt them by scandalous actions, he will by virtuous actions. Thus he tempts some to espouse religion out of policy to get preferment, and to give alms, for applause, that others may see their good works, and canonize them. This hypocrisy doth leven the duties of religion, and make them lose their reward.
6. The Devil persuades to evil by such as are good. This sets a gloss upon his temptations, and makes them less suspected. The devil hath made use sometimes of the eminentest and holiest men to promote his temptations. The devil tempted Christ by an apostle, Peter dissuades him from suffering. Abraham, a good man, bids his wife equivocate: Say, Thou art my sister. These are his subtileties in tempting. Now here we must offer violence to Satan, 1. By faith, 1
Peter 5:9. 'Whom resist, stedfast in faith.' Faith is a wise intelligent grace; it can see a hook under the bait. 2. It is an heroic grace; it is
said, above all, to quench the fiery darts of Satan. Faith resists the devil.
1. As it doth keep the castle of the heart that it doth not yield. It is not the being tempted makes guilty, but giving consent. Faith enters its protest against Satan.
2. Faith not only not yields, but beats back the temptation. Faith holds the promise in one hand, and Christ in the other: the promise encourageth faith, and Christ strengthens it: so faith beats the enemy out of the field.
2. We must offer violence to Satan by prayer. We overcome him upon our knees. As Samson called to Heaven for help, so a Christian by prayer fetcheth in auxiliary forces from Heaven. In all temptations go to God by prayer. Lord, teach me to use every piece of the spiritual armour; how to hold the shield how to wear the helmet, how to use the sword of the Spirit. Lord, strengthen me in the battle; let me rather die a conqueror, than be taken prisoner, and led by Satan in triumph.—Thus we must offer violence to Satan. There is 'a lion in the way,' but we must resolve upon fighting.
And let this encourage us to offer violence to Satan. Our enemy is beaten in part already. Christ, who is 'the captain of our salvation,' hath given Satan his death-wound upon the cross, Col. 2:15. The serpent is soonest killed in his head. Christ hath bruised the head of the old Serpent.—The devil is a chained enemy, and a conquered enemy; therefore fear not to give battle to him. Resist him, and he will fly: he knows no march but running away.
3. We must offer violence to the world.—The world shews its golden apple‚ it is a part of our vow in baptism to fight under Christ's banner against the world. Take heed of being drowned in the luscious delights of it. It must be a strong brain that bears heady wine. He had need have a great deal of wisdom and grace, that knows how to bear a great estate. Riches oft send up their intoxicating fumes, which
makes men's heads giddy with pride, "Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked,' Deut. 31:15. It is hard to climb up the hill of God with too many golden weights. Those that want the honours of the world, want the temptations of it. The world is blandus Dæmon, a flattering enemy. It is given to some as Michal to David, for a snare. The world shews its two breasts of pleasure and profit‚ and many fall asleep with the breast in their mouth. The world doth never kiss us, but with an intent to betray us. It is a silken halter. The world is no friend to grace; it chokes our love to heavenly things: the earth puts out the fire. Naturally we love the world, Job 31:24. 'If I have made gold my hope;' the Septuagint renders it, 'If I have been married to my gold.'
Too many are wedded to their money; they live together as man and wife. O let us take heed of being entangled in this pleasing snare.
Many who have escaped the rock of scandalous sins, yet have sunk in the world's golden quicksands. The sin is not in the using of the world, but in the loving, 1 John 2:15. 'Love not the world.' If we are christians, we must offer violence to the world. Believers are 'called out of the world:' they are in the world, but not of it, John 17:16. As we say of a dying man, he is not a man for this world. A true saint is crucified in his affections to the world, Gal. 6:14. He is dead to the honours and pleasures of it. What delight doth a dead man take in pictures or music? Jesus Christ gave himself 'to redeem us from this present evil world,' Gal. 1:4. If we will be saved, we must offer violence to the world. Living fish swim against the stream. We must swim against the world, else we shall be carried down the stream, and fall into the dead sea. That we may offer violence to the world, let us remember, 1. It is deceitful; our Saviour calls it, 'The deceitfulness of riches,'
Matt. 13:22. The world promiseth happiness, but nothing less. It promiseth us Rachel, but puts us off with blear-eyed Leah: it promiseth to satisfy our desires, but it increaseth them: it gives poisoned pills, but wraps them in sugar.
2. It is defiling, James 1:17. 'Pure religion is to keep himself unspotted from the world.' As if the apostle would intimate, that the