Satan at Noon, Animadversion 13
Animad. 13.
Upon the Doctors pretended great Temptations by ſeverall applications of the Devills to him, in the ſhape and cloaths of Everard, and of a Gyant with a Sword in his hand, and a great tree lying by him, and a great red Dragon, with red Eyes, and Teeth, and a long Taile, pag. 73. of his books, for three weeks together.
Obſerve that temptations of Satan, are either ordinary or extraordinary.
1. Ordinary are injections to ordinary ſins, as Sathan tempted David to number the people, and the Devill entred Judas to betray the Lord Chriſt, theſe are frequent and hardly diſcernable from our own luſts, and therefore in this caſe it is the trueſt, and ſafeſt courſe, to lay all the blame upon our own Soules: let no man by the way of extenuation ſay, that when he is tempted, he is tempted of the Devill, his ſtriking fire could never harme us, were it not for the tinder, and lint of our own baſe hearts; thus did David, I have ſinned (ſaith he) and I have done exceeding fooliſhly; Nay, thus did Judas, I have ſinned in betraying innocent blood, and thus doe the Damned in Hell, let us doe it as David did, Graciouſly.
2. Extraordinary, and theſe are of three ſorts,
1. Of Blasphemy, & ſuch as is not to be named, againſt God, Chriſt, the holy Spirit; Saints thus tempted, would not in cool blood conſent to ſuch a thought for 1000. worlds, one of the beſt wayes in this caſe is, the more they are tempted to Blaſpheme, the more to lift up God in his glory, and to magnifie him infinitely above all, ſo to beat the Devills weapon down upon his owne head. Though they finde a proneneſſe in their nature, ſometimes to cloſe with ſuch temptations, yet this they gain by it, even to hate their owne baſe nature.
2. Of violence to lay violent hands upon our ſelves, or our relations, & this alſo is very terrible, and will make a man ſweat for fear, and ask a Saint in this caſe, or let him ask his own heart, whether he would doe ſuch a thing or no, and he would tell you no; he would rather chooſe to be torn in pieces with wilde Horſes, or be buried alive than doe it, and yet it is ſo violent, that they will ſay ſometimes they muſt doe it. The Lord keep ſuch from the evill one.
3. Ʋnreaſonable temptations, as that a man is not the ſame perſon he was, that he muſt ſhew himſelfe as guilty of ſome notorious fact of which he never was guilty, with many more; there are many Saints goe to Heaven, that never feel them, and thoſe that doe feel them, God makes them gainers by them exceedingly; ſome learne more in this School, than by any books in the world, the Devill is but Gods Scullion: incomparably better it is, to live under theſe temptations, though for the preſent grievous, than to enjoy in a ſtate of ſince, all the pleaſures and treaſures of a 1000. worlds: the frownings of a Father are better than the kiſſes of an enemy: the bittereſt Phyſick, how much better is it than the ſweeteſt poyſon? by theſe ſullyings and beſmearments of dark temptations, God makes the veſſels of mercy to ſhine the brighter. The Lord Chriſt out-ſhoots the Devill in his owne bow; what he intends for the greatest miſchief, Chriſt converts into a ſoveraigne good; Bleſſed be God.
But now this Doctor doth not tell us in the leaſt what his temptations were, of what kinde they were, nay in his book he ſaith nothing (where he had a fit opportunity to declare himſelfe) of temptations, but of a conflict between him and a great Dragon, and that he was aſſiſted by the Angels, and pag. 76. he ſaith, the great conflict was between the dark world, and the Devils thereof, afflicting them with dreadfull ſhapes, poyſonfull ſmells, and the light world, and the Angels thereof, relieving them with odoriferous perfumes, Angelical harmony, &c.
We deny not but God may ſuffer the Devill to appear to a Saint, but firſt it is very rare; ſecondly, ſuch Saints have been Gods reall ones; thirdly, if ſo, yet not to fight and contend with Satan mouth to mouth; fourthly, for a ſhort time, not twenty dayes together; fifthly, they have not an Angel ſtanding by them in their own ſhape to ſupport them: the battell of Saints is within, which through grace they fight with ſpirituall weapons under their Captain the Lord Chriſt, through whom they are more than conquerors: as he hath conquered for them by his death, ſo he doth conquer in them by his ſpirit.
The Doctor in his anſwer to theſe Articles, concerning apparitions, quoted with much confidence the Lord Lawrence as a friend to this way, he muſt quote him to this purpoſe, or to no purpoſe, and indeed therefore to no purpoſe, becauſe to this purpoſe, that learned Gentleman ſaith nothing (that we can find) towards it, the hearers much admired, and his favourites much ſimpred at the naming of ſuch an eminent perſon; if he be not of the*Sure this honourable and Leraned Man is not for a viſible converſe with Angels, nor the apparitions of Devils in the ſhape of Giants, Dragons, Villains, in order to temptations. Doctors judgement, why did he abuſe him to name him before the Commiſſioners and the Country? if he be, why did not he prove it in his Printed Book? in this indeed he was tempted to deceive.
The truth is, (the Articles and Depoſitions in the Relation conſidered) the reſult of all his pretended temptations will be this, that the Devils ſpitting fire at him, and other Devils under the notion of Angels ſupporting him, was to this purpoſe, That by this meanes he might more deceivingly and plauſibly ſpit fire at Jeſus Chriſt, which the Doctor hath done both before and ſince his Apparitions and Viſions; and therefore his quoting for his defence, the temptations of the Lord Chriſt, Mat. 4. is wicked, and borders upon Blaſphemy; and his quoting of Job, (Job 6.4.) is very impertinent and ignorant. Job ſaith in that Text, The Arrows of the Almighty stick in me, and the venome thereof drinketh up my spirits, by Arrows figuratively we are to underſtand afflictions inward and outward, which like Arrows were upon, and in that holy man, ſwift, ſudden, ſharp, ſecret, wounding afflictions, deſcribed, 1. By the Efficient, The Arrows of the Almighty: 2. By the Effect, They did heat and burnt up his spirits. What is this to the ſight of a great Dragon, with a long taile, and great teeth?