III. The Devil does insinuate his most Horrible Temptations, with pretence, of much Friendship and Kindness for us. He seemed very unwilling that our Lord should want any thing that might be comfortable for him; but, he was a Devil still! The Devil flatters our Mother Eve, as if he was desirous to make her more Happy than her Maker did; but there was the Devil in that flattery. Sub Amici fallere Nomen,——to Salute men with profers to do all manner of Service for them; and at the same time to Stab them as Joab did Abner of old; this is just like the Devil, and the Devil truly has many Children that Imitate him in it. Some very Affectionate Things were spoken once unto our Lord; Lord, be it far from thee, that thou shouldest suffer any Trouble! But our Lords Answer was, in Mat. 16.23 Get thee behind me Satan. The Devil will say to a man, I would have thee to Consult thy own Interest, and I would have Trouble to be far from thee. He speaks these Fair Things, by the Mouths of our professed Friends unto us, as he did by the Tongue of a Speckled Snake unto our Deluded Parents at the first. But all this while, 'tis a Direction that has been wisely given us; When he speaks fair, Believe him not, for there are seven Abominations in his Heart.
IV. Things in themselves Allowable and Convenient, are oftentimes turned into sore Temptations by the Devil. He press'd our Lord unto the making of Bread; Why, that very thing was afterwards done by our Lord, in the Miracles of the Loaves; and yet it is now a motion of the Devil, Pray, make thy self a Little Bread. The Devil will frequently put men by, from the doing of a seasonable Duty; but how? Truly by putting us upon another Duty, which may be at that juncture a most Unseasonable Thing. It is said in Eccl. 8.5. A Wise Mans heart discerns both Time and Judgment. The Ill-Timing of good Things, is One of the chief Intregues, which the Devil has to Prosecute. The Devil himself, will Egg us on to many a Duty; and why so? But because at that very Time a more proper and Useful Duty, will have a Supersedeas given thereunto. And, thus there are many Things, whereof we can say, though no more than this, yet so much as this, They are Lawful ones, by which Lawful Things——Perimus Omnes. Where shall we find that the Devil has laid our most fatal Snares? Truly, our Snares are on the Bed, where it is Lawful for us to Sleep; at the Board, where it is Lawful for us to Sit; in the Cup, where 'tis Lawful to Drink; and in the Shops, where we have Lawful Business to do. The Devil will decoy us, unto the utmost Edge of the Liberty that is Lawful for us; and then one Little push, hurries us into a Transgression against the Lord. And the Devil by Inviting us to a Lawful thing, at a wrong time for it, Layes us under further Entanglement of Guilt before God. 'Tis Lawful for People to use Recreations; but in the Evening of the Lords Day, or the Morning of any Day, how Ensnaring are they! The Devil then too commonly bears part in the Sport. If Promiscuous Dancing were Lawful; though almost all the Christian Churches in the World, have made a Scandal of it; yet for Persons to go presently from a Sermon to a Dance, is to do a thing, which Doubtless the Devil makes good Earnings of.
V. To distrust Gods Providence and Protection, is one of the worst things, into which the Devil by his Temptations would be hurrying of us. He would fain have driven our Lord unto a Suspicion of Gods care about Him, said the Devil, You may dy for lack of Bread, if you do not look better after your self, than God is like to do for you. It is an usual thing for Persons to dispair of Gods Fatherly Care Concerning them; they torture themselves with distracting and amazing Fears, that they shall come to want before they dy; Yea, they even say with Jonas, in Chap. 2.4. I am cast out of the sight of God; He wont look after me! But it is the Devil that is the Author of all such Melancholly Suggestions in the minds of men. It is a thought that often raises a Feaver in the Hearts of Married Persons, when Charges grow upon them; God will never be able in the way of my Calling, to feed and cloath all my Little Folks. It is a Thought with which Aged persons are often tormented, Tho' God has all my dayes hitherto supplied me, yet I shall be pinched with Straits before I come to my Journeys end. 'Tis a malicious Devil that raises these Evil surmisings in the hearts of Men. And sometimes a distemper of Body affords a Lodging for the Devil, from whence he shoots the cruel Bombs of such Fiery Thoughts into the minds of many other persons. With such thoughts does the Devil choose to persecute us; because thereby we come to Forfeit what we Question. We Question the Care of God, and so we Forfeit it, until perhaps the Devil do utterly drown us in Perdition. Our God says, Trust in the Lord, and do good, and verily thou shall be fed. But the Devil says, don't you trust in God; be afraid that you shall not be fed; and thus he hinders men from the doing of Good.
VI. There is nothing more Frequent in the Temptations of the Devil, then for our Adoption to be doubted, because of our Affliction. When our Lord was in his Penury, then says the Devil, If thou be the Son of God; he now makes an If, of it; What? the Son of God, and not be able to Command a Bit of Bread! Thus, when we are in very Afflictive Circumstances, this will be the Devils Inference, Thou art not a Child of God. The Bible says in Heb. 12.7. If you are Chastened, it is a shrow'd sign that you can't be Children. Since he can't Rob us of our Grace, he would Rob us of our Joy; and therefore having Accused us unto God, he then Accuses God unto us. When Israel was weak and faint in the Wilderness, then did Amalek set upon them; just so does the Devil set upon the people of God, when their Losses, their Crosses, their Exercises have Enfeebled their Souls within them; and what says the Devil? E'en the same that was mutter'd in the Ear of the Afflicted Job, Is not this the Uprightness of thy Ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being Innocent? If thou wert a Child of God, He would never follow thee, with such Testimonies of his Indignation. This is the Logic of the Devil; and he thus interrupts that patience, and that Chearfulness wherewith we should suffer the will of God.
VII. To dispute the Divine Original and Authority of Gods Word, is not the least of those Temptations with which the Devil troubles us. God from Heaven, had newly said unto our Lord, this is my Beloved Son; but now the Devil would have him to make a dispute of it, If thou be the son of God. The Devil durst not be so Impudent, and Brasen fac'd, as to bid men use Pharaohs Language, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? But he will whisper into our Ears, what he did unto our Mother Eve of old, It is not the Lord that hath spoken what you call his Word. The Devil would have men say unto the Scripture, what they said unto the Prophet, in Jer. 43.2. Thou speakest falsely; the Lord our God hath not sent thee to speak what thou sayst unto us; & he would fain have secret & cursed Misgivings in our hearts, that things are not altogether so as the Scripture has represented them. The Devil would with all his heart make one huge Bonefire of all the Bibles in the world; & he has got Millions of persecutors to assist him in the suppression of that miraculous book. It was the devil once in the tongue of a Papist, that cry'd out, A plague on this bible; this 'tis that does all our mischief. But because he can't Suppress this Book, he sets himself, to Disgrace it all that he can. Altho' the Scripture carries its own Evidence with it, and be all over, so pure, so great, so true, and so powerful, that it is impossible it should proceed from any but God alone; yet the Devil would gladly bring some Discredit upon it, as if it were but some Humane Contrivance; Of nothing, is the Devil more desirous, than this; That we should not count, Christ so precious, Heaven so Glorious, Hell so Dreadful, and Sin so odious, as the Scripture has declared it.
§ The Second of our Lords Three Temptations, is related after this manner, in Mat. 4.5, 6. Then the Devil taketh him up, into the Holy City, and setteth him upon a Pinacle of the Temple; and saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thy self down; for it is written, He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee, and in their Hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy Foot against a Stone.
From whence take these Remarks.