The Black Devil, Part 10
1. His Resolution. I will.
V…lo, est vox aut pertinacis, aut potent is; non petent is. I will, is the voyce, (not of a begger, but) eyther of one powerfull or peremptory. Good in the Almighty, sawcy in a subordinate power; without some reseruation, or exceptiō made to the supreme prouidence. Will you Satan! It is too bold, and presumptuous a voice. Aske leaue, Satan: for you are chain'd to your clogge, and cannot stirre, but limitata potestate. Behemoth is tyed in a teddar; and that tryumphant Lambe holds the roaring Lyon in an infrangible cord: and sayes to him, as to the sea; Here will I stay the insultation of thy proud waues. Iob. 38. 11.Will you know, what makes the deuill thus bold? A double confidence, 1. in his owne strength. 2. in mans weaknesse.
1. In his owne strength. Therefore he sayes not, Conabor reuerti, but reuertar; quasi nihil obstiterit. As if he had that power, which was prophesied of Cyrus: that gates of brasse and barres of Iron should be broken open before him. Or as it is fained of the Esay. 45, 2.Pope in the yeare of Iubile, that he comes to the gate of S. Peters church in Rome, and there hauing knocked with his siluer hammer, the gate presently fals downe before him. Perhaps he meanes to Hieroglyphicke vntounto vsus, what wondrous engines siluer tooles are in Rome, and what strange feates they worke; till coelumsit vaenale Deus que . And not only to present the person of Peter, heauens Porter as they call him, and to manifest the liberty of Purgatory-ghosts, giuen by vertue of Papal Indulgences.
This is the Deuils strength, whereof he is so confident; and it is helped by his Subtlety. His subtlety shewes it selfe in his temptations. Which to discouer is one speciall intention in all Sermons. Mine shall but cut of a lap of his garment. He tempts eyther
1. Inuisibly; by stirring secret motions, and internall prouocations in the heart. So he wrought vponupon Iudas by couetousnesse, vponupon Simon Magus by ambition, vponupon Esau by profanesse. EueryEvery man is tempted, when he is drawne away of his owne lust, and Iam. 1, 14.entised. This is that operatiue possession, whereby the Prince of the power of the aire, now…worketh in the Eph. 2. 2.children of disobedience. Innumerable are these inuisible subtleties.
2. Or visibly; by externall apparitions & shapes, presented to the bodies eye, eyther essentiall, or delusiue. This he doth 3. wayes.
1. By taking to himselfe an airy body, fashioning it to what forme he pleaseth. As the good Angels did by Gods dispensation, according to the opinion of Diuines, when they did cate meate with Abraham. Gen. 18. 8.Thus he appeared to Saul in the shape of Samuel, 1 Sam. 28. The King said to the witch, What 1. Sam. 28, 14.forme is he of? and she said, An old man commeth vp, and he is couered with a Mantle. Which was a faigned proportion, that by Gods permission, Satan had taken to delude Saul. So it is said, that he often appeared in the dayes of Ignorance.
2. By entring into the corps of some dead body, making it speake and walke as he pleaseth: which is not denyed by Diuines, but the Deuill by Gods sufferance may do; but with two prouiso's. 1. This must be the body of a reprobate, that he assumes: for the godly sleepe in peace. Esay. 57. God giues him a Nolito tangeremeos, saepeviuos, semper moreuos. Esay. …7. 2.Touch not mine, either liuing, or dead. 2. If it be a reprobate corps, yet he can appeare in it no longer, then naturally he can preserue it from corrupting. But that Satan can keepe a carkasse from putrifying, further then nature permits, it is generally and truely denyed. And euen these blacke shaddowes, (blessed be God) in this Sun-shine of the Gospell, are abolished.
3. By entring into the body of some liuing thing. So the Deuils in the possessed, spake audibly, and Math. 8.gaue a loud acknowledgement of Christ. So Satan entred the body of a liuing Serpent, when he tempted Gen. 3. 1. 2. Cor. 11, 3.and seduced the woman. But of all shapes, which he assumeth, he hath best liking to the likenes of man; and delights in a humane resemblance. Of all habites this best pleaseth him: in a kinde of affecting pride, thereby to be as like to God, as possibly he may. This is Satans first presumption; a strongly-opinion'd trust in his owne strength.
2. In ma…s weakenesse; who, as he is neuer strong of himselfe, so at some times, and in some places weaker then other. And therefore like wise Captaines in Townes of garrison, he had need to fortifie that place with most men and munition, with best spirituall armes and armour, where eyther the enemies Ordinance, his temptations hauehave made a breach; or we are naturally weakest. Our frailty giues the Deuill a presumptuous confidence of intrusion. Hence he saith (not fortasse, but proul dubio) I will returne. He thinkes we are too weake, to turne him away without his errand, when he comes with a picture of lust, a bag of gold, a staffe of office and promotion. When he saith to the auarous, I will make thee rich: to the tyrant, I wil make thee dreadfull: to the wanton, I will make thee merry: to the wastfull, I wil make thee beloued: to the idle, I will giuegive thee ease. Not onelyonly Achan, Gehesi, Saul, and Iudas hauehave beene to weak for these encounters: but euen Noah, Lot, Dauid, Solomon, and Peter hauehave bowed at these tempests.
This he could not doe, but by working on our ready and inclinable affections. As a cunning artificer, that can produce greater effects, vppon matter conueniently disposed thereunto, then nature could hauehave done alone. When the Deuill and our corrupt flesh meet, they ingender a generation of sinnes. As his Sonnes the Magitians of Egypt could make liuing creatures, by applying and suggesting passiue things to actiue, which would neuer hauehave met but by their mediation. Or as the Statuary can make an Image, which the timber and axe could neuer hauehave effected without him. So the wicked would neuer produce such tetricall and horrible effects, but by the Deuils adding his heate to theirs, and by a prodigious coupling of his instigation & their lusts.
Thus weake he thinks vsus, and not seldome finds vsus. The naturall man goes forth to fight with a mighty Gyant, in a monomachy or duell: the Second he brings with him is the world: the naturall mans Second is the Flesh. He prepares to fight with a professed enemy, and calls out for his assistant, a priuate and close foe. He is weakely backd, that hath a traytor for his guard. To arme his presumption with pollicy, he seriously obserues, which way the current of eueryevery mans humor runneth: knowing by long experience, what will most easily draw men to sinne.
As physitians, when they would know the state of the sicke, and the nature of their disease, first enquire Decubitum, the time of the Patients lying downe, and yeelding himselfe to his layre. But because this obseruation holds not alike in al men, but some walke longer before they betake themselues to their bed, then others, therefore they more especially reckon ab actionibus laesis, that is, when their appetite, digestion, and other faculties faild in the performance of their offices. And lastly. finding the course of Nature in the diseased, which way it worketh; accordingly minister their physicke, as that calls, Come and helpe me.
Such a course takes this malignant Physitian for the death of the soule; obseruing first when a delight in any sinne cast vsus downe: and then, when the faculties of our soules forbore their functions, in hungring after righteousnesse, or digesting the word of truth: and lastly, when hee hath found, which way our natural inclination is giuen, and the graine of our affections runs, he labours to helpe vsus forward into the practicall custome of that wickednes. As a cunning Fisher, vsing that baite, which hee knowes most congruent to the nature and appetite of that fish he would strike. Thus hee vrgeth the Cholericke to anger: the Melancholy to distrust, despaire, and to lay violent hands on themselues: the Sanguine to immoderate mirth: the Phlegmaticke to drowsines in Christian offices; and to the deferring of obedience: assuring him, that it is time enough to repent, betwixt that and doomesday.
Since he is so bold with vsus, what should we do, but be as bold with him? Iam. 4. Resist the Deuill, and he will flye from you. He is a Lyon to those that flye Iam 4. 7.him, a flye to those that stand him. Audaciùs insistit Bern.à tergo, quàm resistit in faciem. Take in thy hand the Sword of the Spirit: fling a Scriptum est at his head. Take vp some of Dauids stones out of Gods holy brooke, his holy booke, and slay that daring Philistine in the forehead. This is the weapon, wherewith our Sauiour Christ encountred and beat him. Let vsus follow the same Captaine with the same armes. Let vsus not feare. Malus miles, qui Impertorem gemens sequitur. He is a cowardly souldior, that followes his Generall groning. Thou goost not alone to this combate: Christ went before thee, goes with thee. How canst thou not march couragiously, cum Dux sit socius; when thy Captaine is thy companion! He hath taught vsus this warre both by precept and practise. Blessed be the Lord our strength, Psal. 144. 1.which teacheth our hands to warre, and our fingers to fight. Cuius munimur auxilio, mouemur exemplo. We are guided, we are guarded; by his presidency, by his precedency. So Augustine. Ideo tenta… est Aug in Psal 90Christus, …e vincere…ur à tent…ore Christianus. Christ endured tentation, that tentation might not ouercome Christians. He sayes no other to thee, then Ahimelech to his souldiors: What you hauehave seene me Iudg 9. 48.doe, make hast, and doe as I hauehave done. This is our strong comfort. For in that h… himselfe hath suffred and was tempted, hee is able to succour them that are tempted.Hebr. 1. 18.