Chapter XV
The victory which Christ gained over Satan by his death. The glory of this
victory displayed by the consideration of the greatness of that power which
the devil had over us.
That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil. HEB. ii. 14.
The victory, yea, destruction which Christ hath upon Satan on our be
half, is the full scope of this text, and follows as the next subject unto that
of redemption of us from sin and the curse, and is indeed the consequent of that redemption.
There is no text large enough to take in the whole, either of Satan s
power or of Christ s destroying him in respect of that his power, for this mentions on Satan s part his power over death only as the jailor ; and on Christ s part, his overcoming him by his death is only spoken of, whereas Satan hath power, and that chiefly in matter of sin, also, in ruling this world ; and Christ also destroys or confounds him by his ascension, inter
cession, and judging both the devils and the world at last. Yet you well may upon occasion of these take in all, and it may have this warrant from
this text, that it is said to be a destruction of him (which is a general word and takes in all), that is, of his person wholly and totally ; and so in all
points of his power besides, as well as in that over death.
And again, Christ s death here meritoriously and virtually reached to all the power Satan had of any kind ; and so, then, a total rout and destruc
tion of him is in the apostle s scope.
And the story hereof, as gathered from the Scriptures, is our present
subject, and is divided, as the text is, into two parts.
1. Satan s power. 2. Christ s victory and destruction of him.
1. Concerning Satan s power, therein two things are to be considered :
(1.) What power Satan hath had in the world, and over the elect sons of men, fallen under sin in common with other men.
(2.) By what claim or right he came by it.
2. Concerning the second, Christ s victory, and his destroying him, therein are to be remarked,
(1.) The true original ground of the quarrel, how Christ came to be en
gaged and involved against him.
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(2.) The several degrees of Christ s conquests ; and they are reduced to two heads :
[1.] The first rout, wherein the foundation was laid of the ensuing vic
tories, and that was got in open battle in the plain field at his death, in and by which virtually the whole was at once won and obtained ; and therein
I shall shew how justly Satan fell from his power, and lost it : and this I
call Christ s meritorious victory.
[2.] Then there is, secondly, the prosecution of this first victory, and the
management thereof to his own greatest glory and Satan s confusion. And
the parts thereof are,
First; Christ s triumphing over him after the victory obtained in his own person openly, and that in Satan s own dominions, afore God and all
the holy angels, and this singly in himself, and in his own person, although
as representing us, Col. ii. 15 ; and this I term his victorious triumph, or
the show and demonstration of it.
Secondly ; there is his overcoming him in us, then when Satan is still
left in actual possession of the whole world, and of the elect among them, whose liberty and redemption it was Christ aimed at. And this hath two
degrees
First ; he overcomes him in us at our conversion ; and, Secondly ; he overcomes him by us, and causeth every particular Christian
to overcome him in the course of their lives, after conversion. And these two I term Christ s actual prevailing, or getting possession.
Thirdly ; a third procedure is Christ his visible setting up a kingdom in
this world afore the day of judgment, during which time Satan is shut up, and restrained from tempting the elect, and from deceiving and enraging the world against the elect, as now he yet doth, and heretofore hath done. And this is expressed in the last chapters of the Eevelations, chap. xix.
ver. 19-21. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim
* And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain
stone. After which follows chap. xx. 1-3,
in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which
is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him
into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be ful
filled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. And then follows the kingdom of the saints during those thousand years ; ver. 4, 5, And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again, until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection.
Fourthly ; lastly, there is Christ his bringing this great malignant unto
open trial afore all the world ; God, angels, and men ; which is at the day of judgment. After which follows the execution of him, in an eternal destruction of him in hell.
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There is a glory transcendent that will appear in each one of these parti
culars, but more in the whole of them all laid together ; a stupendously
excelling glory, in comparison unto which victories of Christ, all the great victories you have seen are but trifles and shadows, that have no glory in
this respect, and therefore let not the rich man glory in his riches, nor
the strong man in his conquests, but let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord ; and in this especially, that he knows himself is one of those poor
captives whom this great conqueror delivered, amongst the rest of the elect who shall stand up in his lot amongst them.
I. To discourse concerning Satan and his power, and to shew what it is. In general, it is a kingdom maintained and upheld by him and all his
* And
angels conspiring in one, against Christ and his saints : Mat. xii. 26,
if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his
kingdom stand ? And whereas every kingdom hath an interest, the inte
rest of this is sin ; Eph. vi. 12, they are said to be rulers of the darkness
of this world, which is spoken in distinction from the good angels, who are
rulers of this world too ; for in that the apostle says, this world to come
is not subject to the angels, Heb. ii. (he speaks of them that are good) ; he implies that now the}
7 are sent out for the good of the elect, Heb. i. 14 ; and it argues that this world is subject to them, in order to the good of the
elect. But now herein lies the difference : Satan is the ruler of the dark ness of this world, and the riches, glory, and greatness of it being for the most part obtained and managed by sin and corruption, therefore in ruling the darkness that is in men s hearts, he also comes to rule and dispose of
these. Even as the pope s power (who is his eldest son) is in pretence only ad spiritualia, yet so as in online ad spiritualia, he takes on him to meddle in all things temporal; so his father Satan, having now in commis
sion only spiritual darkness and wickedness, and obtaining this power over men unregenerate, yet in order thereunto over these children here, until converted.
These of all other things are committed to him.
1. To entice, as he did Ahab, 1 Kings xxii. 21.
2. To put into the heart, as in Judas.
3. To provoke, 1 Chron. xxi. 1.
4. To bewitch, Gal. iii. 1.
5. To fill the heart, as he did the heart of Ananias, Acts v. 3.
6. To work effectually, and so as to carry all before him, and cause them
to do what he enticeth to, Eph. ii. 2.
7. And, seventhly, to do all this at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26. This power of Satan is in respect of sin, or the darkness of this world. He hath a power over them in respect of death ; so in the text ; but this
power lasts but till the resurrection, and but over men s souls. For when the day of judgment is ended, it is the good angels that do throw wicked men to hell, and not the evil angels, Mat. xiii. 41, 42. But in the mean time look, as the good angels have the commission for carrying men s souls
to paradise, as they did Lazarus his, Luke xvi. 22, so the evil angels have
until then the commission to carry wicked souls, when by death severed from their bodies, to hell.
Let us now consider (to set forth Christ s victory the more) the great ness and the extent of this kingdom given to the devil and his angels.
I. As it is in the hands of the great devil placed on his throne, it is a monarchy over mankind, of all forms, highest for power in all ranks
throughout.
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II. For the subject of it, they are (as Christ s subjects also are, Col. i. 16) both things visible and invisible ; so that he hath of both kinds, especially the kinds of intelligent natures, subject to him.
: The devil and his angels. 2. Us men, wholly captived to him. And further (wherein the upholdance of this great tyrant s cause is), some of these are as natural native subjects that rule with him, and have a common interest of power with him. And they are his angels ; but we
I. Angels
poor silly men are as slaves captived to them and him. Like as Pharaoh (one of his eldest sons under the Old Testament) had for his natural liege sub
jects his Egyptians, that ruled over the Israelites with him, and the poor
Israelites as captives and slaves unto both. And in this lieth the great ness of the Turkish dominion in part of Europe, Asia, and of the Mogul in East India, to this day. So then he hath all sorts of subjects every way.
3. As unto us men, his power is universal, not a soul of us but is by nature subject to him. We are all born by a statute law his slaves ; and
Christ hath none but whom he wins over from him, by turning them from Satan unto God, yea, and in the issue he holds and retains a far greater company and number to himself than Christ gets unto himself, Rev. xii. 9.
It is one part of Satan s titles, that it is he who deceives the whole world.
4. In us men (the more miserable part of his subjects) he rules inwardly, even as Christ doth in those few he gets from him : he sits and fills and
rules our hearts, till we are turned to God.
5. If we consider the length and continuance of this hisr dominion, as he hath sinned from the beginning, 1 John iii. 8 ; so he hath entered upon his
reign from the very beginning of man s fall, and every man born becomes
his subject ; neither have these individual devils given place to any, but
the same devil that ruled in Cain s time rules now in the children^of diso
bedience, Eph. ii. 2.
6. For success, he hath carried it clear ; for he works, and works effect
ually, in the children of disobedience, and takes them captives at his will, as he fists, 2 Tim. ii. 26.
7. He hath been worshipped as a god, and so hath had more honour and
dignity than any prince, 2 Cor. iv. 4. He is there called, the god of
this world. Some great conquerors affected to be worshipped as gods, not
being content with the highest supreme power ; so Alexander and Mahomet ; but few obtained it, but the devil hath had both. So it was from the flood,
till heathenism was destroyed, and popish idolatry was set up, as it is said, Rev. xiii. 14. Thus therein they worshipped the dragon, who gave his
power to the beast, to the end to have worship continued to him in another way under the profession of Christ, even as he had afore. Thus much for
the power itself.
II. Secondly, The second part to be discoursed of is, by what claim,
right, or title he came to have this power, seeing himself by sinning (afore man had sinned) deserved to be in the nethermost hell.
1. The legal and fundamental claim is God s commission, and that by way of curse upon man. Man turning rebel against God, he justly gave that ungrateful creature, who despised his mild government, over unto the hard and intolerable vassalage of his tyrant. It was a just punishment, that man, who would not have God to rule over him, should be delivered
into the devil s power, and it was as great a punishment as could be inflicted. Thus we find, that when David, by way of prophecy; was to curse Judas
(who himself was placed in the office of an apostle, or bishop, or overseer,
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as Peter interprets it, and applies it to him, Acts i. 16, 20), says he, Ps.
* Set in office over him the wicked one, and let the adversary or Satan stand at his right hand. The wicked one is the devil ; so oft and
cix. 6,*
usually in the Epistles of John the phrase is used, and in the Lord s prayer,
&c. ; and accordingly we read that Satan entered into him, Luke xxii. 3. And thus in like manner, man sinning at first, God by way of curse and commission set the wicked one a ruler over him ; and this curse was but
suited to his iniquity in a just way, as the law was in Deut. xxviii. 47, 48,
4 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with
gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve
thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger and
thirst, &c., and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have
destroyed thee.
And besides this curse, there was some appearance of legality in it, Isa. xlix. 14. The title of Satan s power in Scripture riseth so high, as that the souls of men are termed his own house. Luke xi. in the 21st verse, Christ calls them his palace, and all the faculties and powers of their souls
his goods ; and, ver. 24, the devil himself terms it his house. And the
grounds of it are,
1. Of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage by the law of conquest, 2 Peter ii. 19. He speaks it of sin, but it is true
of Satan, whose interest is the same with that of sins. Man was overcome
by Satan, and canght in his snare ; the serpent beguiled our first parents, and so they were brought into bondage, as unto sin, so to him.
2. Satan was the father of sin and sinners ; and it is his work, 1 John
iii. 8, as holiness is the workmanship of God, Eph. ii. 10. Now the father
of a family was, under the law of nature, the governor and head of it, and
so is the devil, of whom (as I may say) all the wicked family on earth and
hell is named. And God, indeed, cursed the devil himself with this power for his ruin ; and as sin was his work and his invention first, truly he let him have the monopoly of it ; and all sinners came under his patent, and be workers at the trade under him, as the first inventors of any craft use to have
the privilege to employ others under them.