Tropes and Figures, Treatise 1 · Head 8 · Part 31 · Subpart 26
Wicked Men compared to the Devil.
John 6.10. Have not I choſen you twelve? and one of you is a Devil.
Rev. 2.10. The Devil ſhall caſt ſome of you into Priſon, &c.
VIle and ungodly Men may in many reſpects be compared unto the Devil himſelf.
Parallels.
THe Devil at firſt was formed or created by the Almighty; I do not ſay, he was created a Devil, Sin made him a Devil, but God at firſt made him; he was created an Angel of Light: So God created wicked Men; they are God's Creatures:Eccleſ. 7.29. Tho God at firſt made no Man wicked: The Lord created Man upright, but he hath ſought out many Inventions. 'Tis Sin that hath made Man ſo vile.
II. The Devil then is grievouſly degenerated from what he once was; ſo are wicked Men from what they were in Adam.
III. The Devil is an Enemy to God; he was God's firſt Enemy: So are wicked Men curſed Enemies of God, and early Enemies too: 'Tis thought Man became God's Enemy not many days after Satan fell; he is almoſt as old an Enemy as the Devil is.
IV. The Devil conſpired like a vile Traitor againſt his lawful Sovereign: So have all the ungodly ever done, and ſtill daily do: They would not have God reign, nor his Laws be obeyed, &c. but would magnify themſelves, and their curſed Edicts; above the righteous Laws and Statutes of Heaven.
V. The Devil ſins freely, naturally, with full purpoſe, and cannot but ſin: So wicked Men ſin freely, 'tis ſweet and pleaſant to them, 'tis like ſweet Wine, &c. They delight in Sin;Eccleſ 8.11. Job 15.16. Jer. 13.3. 2 Pet. 2.24 their Hearts (as Solomon ſays) are fully ſet in them to do wickedly: They drink in Iniquity, as the Fiſh drinks Water. Can the Aethiopian change his Skin? then may they who are accuſtomed to do Evil, learn to do well. Hence ſaith the Apoſtle, Having their Eyes full of Adultery, and that cannot ceaſe from Sin.
VI. The Devil hates thoſe that are truly godly, and ſeeks to beguile and deceive them: So wicked and ungodly Men hate the Saints, and ſtrive to entice and draw away their Hearts from God and his Ways. Hence, as Satan is called a Deceiver, and a Serpent, ſo are ſome of his Children.
VII. The Devil's great deſign is to encourage Vice and all Prophaneneſs, and by one means or another to ſuppreſs real Godlineſs: So this is the great Deſign and Endeavour of ſome wicked Men.
VIII. The Devil is ſo vile, that God ſeeth it neceſſary to lay a reſtraint upon him, and put him into Chains, or elſe the World would not have a Moment's time of Peace and Quiet: So ungodly Men are ſo much like the Devil in this, that God alſo ſees the like need to reſtrain them: for as the Devil is boundleſs in his Wrath, Rage, and Malice againſt Mankind; ſo are his curſed Emiſſaries againſt their Fellow-Creatures: Hence God puts a Hook into their Jaws, and ſets Bars to theſe ſwelling Seas.
IX. The Devil trembles at the thoughts of God's Wrath, and dreads the Day that is coming: So do wicked Men fear him, not becauſe they love him, but becauſe they are his Enemies, and as ſuch, they fear he will one day reckon with them.
X. The Devil tempts to Sin; he is not contented to be vile himſelf, but he would fain have others be vile and ungodly as well as he: So wicked Men tempt, entice, and draw others to Sin; they are not content to be ungodly themſelves, but ſtrive to defile and corrupt others alſo.
XI. The Devil is a Murtherer, a great Murtherer, and takes delight in ſhedding of Blood,1 Pet. 5.8. and making Deſolation in the Earth, hence called a Lion, and a Dragon: So wicked Perſecutors are in this the very Picture of the Devil, viz. great Murtherers; their Feet run ſwift to ſhed Blood. How many thouſands of innocent Souls have the bloody Roman Devils deſtroyed within theſe twelve hundred Years! They delight in ſpoiling, and making deſolate the Inhabitants of the Earth, who oppoſe their Pride,Pſal. 37.4. Pſal. 44.19 or ſtand in the way of their Exaltation; and thence they are called Lions and Dragons likewiſe.
XII. The Devil would fain make thoſe who fear God miſerable in this World, he envies their Happineſs, and if he was but let looſe upon them, he would utterly deprive them of their Goods, of their Children, of their Health, &c. and bring them into a forlorn and miſerable Condition, as he dealt with holy Job: So ſome wicked Men in this are like the Devil, they envy the Peace and Proſperity of God's People, and if God did not reſtrain them, (were it in their Power) they would rob them of all their Goods, (as ſome have attempted of late,) nay, and deſtroy their Off-ſpring. How many innocent Babes did the Papiſts deſtroy in the Maſſacre in Ireland, crying out, Spare them not, Nits will become Lice! They grutch them their Liberty; and therefore (ſaith God) The Devil ſhall caſt ſome of you into Priſon, &c.Rev. 2 10. Is the Devil come to be a Purſevant, or an Officer, or to give Warrants to caſt into Priſon? No, but it is ſpoken of wicked Perſecutors, that the Devil ſets on work.
XIII. The Devil is an Accuſer, one that vilifies and reproaches all ſincere Chriſtians; he is called the Accuſer of the Brethren: Wicked Men are in this alſo like the Devil, they love to accuſe and vilify the Godly in the Land; as Tertullus ſerved Paul, Acts 24.3, 5.We have found this Man a peſtilent Fellow, a Mover of Sedition, &c. They continually labour to render them odious, that ſo they might be hated, and expoſed to the Severity of the Law, and mercileſs Rage of the rude Rabble.
XIV. The Devil is utterly caſt off and forſaken of God, and ſhall have his Portion in the Lake; there is no hope left him for an Eſcape; he knows it will for ever be his Portion: So ſome wicked Men are utterly rejected of God, and given up to a reprobate Mind, and there is no Hope left for them of eſcaping the Damnation of Hell; they ſhall as ſurely be damned and tormented for ever and ever, as 'tis certain the Devils ſhall. So that in theſe, and many other things that I ſhall paſs by, it appears, wicked Men bear a reſemblance of the Devil, they are like unto him, they have the Image of the Devil upon them; Sin turns a Man into a Devil.Joh. 6.70. Have not I choſen you twelve? and one of you is a Devil.
Diſparity.
THe Devil is a Spirit, a created Spirit; wicked Men are Fleſh as well as Spirit. Now the Nature of a Spirit in very many things differs from an humane Body, ſo that in divers reſpects, there is a great Difference between the Devil and the Ungodly.
Inferences.
NO marvel wicked Men and the Saints agree no better.
II. O what a fearful thing is it to be left and forſaken of God!
III. No marvel wicked Men ſtrive ſo much to ſet up and eſtabliſh the Devil's Kingdom, ſeeing they are acted by like Principles, and are alike Enemies of God.
IV. The Godly may wonder they are not long ago deſtroyed, conſidering the curſed and devilliſh Diſpoſition of wicked Men, amongſt whom they live; 'tis God only that hath reſtrained them.
THE Ninth HEAD OF Metaphors, Allegories, and Similes, WITH Other Borrowed TERMS, That reſpect
I. The true Miniſters of the Goſpel.
II. Falſe Miniſters.
III. Falſe Churches.