The eleventh device that Satan hath to draw the soul to sin 1s,
Device (11). By polluting and defiling the souls and judgments of men with such dangerous errors, that do in their proper tendency tend to carry the souls of men to ull looseness and wickedness, as woful experience doth abundantly evidence. Ah, how many are there filled with these and such like Christ-dishonouring and soulundoing opinions, viz., that ordinances are poor, low, carnal things, and not only to be lived above, but without also; that the Scriptures are full of fallacies and uncertainties, and no further to be heeded than they agree with that spirit that is in them; that it is a poor, low thing, if not idolatry too, to worship God in a Mediator; that the resurrection is already past; that there was never any such man or person as Jesus Christ, but that all is an allegory, and it signifies nothing but light and love, and such good frames born in men; that there is no God nor devil, heaven nor hell, but what is within us; that there is no sin in the saints, they are under no law but that of the Spirit, which is all freedom; that sin and grace are equally good, and agreeth to his will,—with a hundred other horrid opinions, which hath caused wickedness to break in as a flood among us, &c.
Now the remedies against this device of Satan are those that follow: Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That an erroneous, vain mind is as odious to God as a vicious life He that had the leprosy in his head was to be pronounced utterly unclean, Levit. xiii. 44. Gross errors make the heart foolish, and render the life loose, and the soul light in the eye of God. Error spreads and frets like a gangrene, and renders the soul a leper in the sight of God.
It was God’s heavy and dreadful plague upon the Gentiles, to be given up to a mind void of judgment, or an injudicious mind, or a mind rejected, disallowed, abhorred of God, or a mind that none have cause to glory in, but rather to be ashamed of, Rom. i. 28. I think that in these days God punisheth many men’s former wickednesses by giving them up to soul-ruining errors. Ah, Lord, this mercy I humbly beg, that thou wouldst rather take me into thine own hand, and do anything with me, than give me up to those sad errors to which thousands have married their souls, and are in a way of perishing for ever.! Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, To receive the truth affectionately, and let it dwell in your souls plenteously.? When men stand out against the truth, when truth would enter, and men bar the door of their souls against the truth, God in justice gives up such souls to be deluded and deceived by error, to their eternal undoing: 2 Thes. ii. 10-12, ‘ Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, God shall send them strong delusions (or, as the Greek hath it, “the efficacy of error,” dvepysiay mhawiic), that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasurein unrighteousness.’ Ah, sirs, as you love your souls, do not tempt God, do not provoke God, by your withstanding truth and out-facing truth, to give you up to believe a lie, that you may be damned. There are no men on earth so fenced against error as those are that receive the truth in the love of it. Such souls are not easily tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, wherein they lie in wait to deceive,” Eph. iv. 143 It is not he that receives most of the truth into his head, but he that receives most of the truth affectionately into his heart, that shall enjoy the happiness of having his judgment sound and clear, when others shall be deluded and deceived by them, who make it their business to infect the judgments and to undo the souls cf men.
Ah, souls, as you would not have your judgments polluted and defiled with error, Let the word of the Lord,’ that is more precious than gold, yea than fine gold, dwell plenteously in you,” Col. iii. 16. Tt is not the hearing of truth, nor the knowing of truth, nor the commending of truth, nor the talking of truth, but the indwelling of truth in your souls, that will keep your judgments chaste and sound, in the midst of all those glittering errors that betray many souls into his hands, that can easily transform himself into an angel of light,” 2 Cor. xi. 14, that he may draw others to lie in chains of darkness with him for ever.’ Oh, let not the word be a stranger, but make it your choicest familiar! Then will you be able to stand in the day wherein
many shall fall on your right hand, and on your left, by the subtlety of those that shall say, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there is Christ.’
There was more wit than grace in his speech that counselled his friends, Not to come too nigh unto truth, lest bis teeth should be beaten out with its heels” Ab, souls, if truth dwell plenteously in you, you are happy; it not, you are unhappy under all your greatest felicity!
“It is with truth,” saith Melancthon, “as it is with holy water, every one praised it, and thought it had some rare virtue in it; but offer to sprinkle them with it, and they will shut their eyes, and turn away their faces from it.’
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That error makes the owner to suffer loss. Al the pains and labour that men take to defend and maintain their errors, to spread abroad and infect the world with their errors, shall bring no profit, nor no comfort to them in that day, wherein every man’s work shall be made manifest, and the fire shall try it of what sort 1t is, as the apostle shews in that remarkable scripture, 1 Cor. nL 11-15. Ah, that all those that rise early and go to bed late, that spend their time, their strength, their spirits, their all, to advance and spread abroad God-dishonouring and soul-undoing opinions, would seriously consider of this, that they shall lose all the pains, cost, and charge that they have been, or shall be at, for the propagating of error; and if they are ever saved, it shall be by fire, as the apostle there shews. Ab, sirs, Is it nothing to lay out your money for that which is not bread? and your strength for that which will not, which cannot, profit you in the day that you must make up your account, and all your works must be tried by fire 2 Ab, that such souls would now at last buy the truth, and sell it not,” Prov. xxiii. 23. Remember you can never over-buy it, whatsoever you give for it; you can never sufficiently sell it, if you should have all the world in exchange for it.
It 1s said of Cresar, that he had greater care of his books than of his royal robes, for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robes? Ah, what are Ceesar’s books to God’s books? Well, remember this, that one day, yea, one hour spent in the study of truth, or spreading abroad of truth, will yield the soul more comfort and profit, than many thousand years spent in the study and spreading abroad of corrupt and vain opinions, that have their rise from hell, and not from heaven, from the god of this world and not from that God that shall at last judge this world, and all the corrupt opinions of men.
Remedy (+). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, To hate, reject, and abominate all those doctrines and opinions that are contrary to godliness, and that open a door to profuneness, and all
such doctrines and opinions that require men to hold forth a strictness above what the Scripture requiveth; and all such doctrines and opinions that do advance and lift wp corrupted nature to the doing of supernatural things, which none can do but by that supernatural power that raised Christ from the grave; and such opinions that do lift our own righteousness in the room of Christ’s righteousness, that place good works in the throne of Christ, and makes them copartners with Christ, &e. And all those opinions and doctrines that do so set up and cry up Christ and his righteousness, as to ery down all duties of holiness and righteousness, and all those doctrines and opinions that do make the glorious and blessed privileges of believers in the days of the gospel to be lesser, fewer, and weaker, than they were in the time of the law. Ah, did your souls arise with a holy hatred, and a strong indignation against such doctrines and opinions, you would stand when others fall, and you would shine as the sun in his glory, when many that were once as shining stars may go forth as stinking snuffs.!
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, To hold fast the truth. As men take no hold on the arm of flesh till they let go the arm of God, Jer. xvii. 5, so men take no hold on error till they have let go their hold of truth; therefore hold fast the truth, 2 Tim. i. 13, and Titus 1. 9. Truth is thy crown, hold fast thy crown, and let no man take thy crown from thee. Hath not God made truth sweet to thy soul, yea, sweeter than honey, or the honeycomb? and wilt not thou go on to heaven, feeding upon truth, that heavenly honeycomb, as Samson did of his honeycomb.? Ah, souls, have you not found truth sweetening your spirits, and cheering your spirits, and warming your spirits, and raising your spirits, and corroborating your spirits? Have not you found truth a guide to lead you, a statt to uphold you, a cordial to strengthen you, and a plaster to heal you? And will not you hold fast the truth? Hath not truth been your best friend in your worst days? Hath not truth stood by you when friends have forsaken you? Hath not truth done more for you than all the world could do against you, and will you not hold fast the truth Is not truth your right eye, without which you cannot see for Christ? And your right hand, without which you cannot do for Christ? And your right foot, without which you cannot walk with Christ? And will you not hold fast truth? Oh! hold fast the truth in your judgments and understandings, in your wills and affections, in your profession and conversation.
Truth is more precious than gold or rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her,” Prov. ii. 15. Truth is that heavenly glass wherein we may see the lustre and
glory of divine wisdom, power, greatness, love, and mercifulness. In this glass you may see the face of Christ, the favour of Christ, the riches of Christ, and the heart of Christ, beating and working sweetly towards your souls. Oh! let your souls cleave to truth, as ] Ruth did to Naomi, Ruth i. 15, 16, and say, ‘I will not leave truth, nor return from following after truth; but where truth goes I will = go, and where truth lodgeth I will lodge; and nothing but death; shall part truth and my soul What John said to the church of Philadelphia I may say to you, Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown,” Rev. iii. 11. The crown is the top of royalties: such a thing is truth: ‘ Let no man take thy crown.” Hold fast the faithful word,” as Titus speaks, chap. i. 9.2 You were better let go anything than truth; you were better let go your honours and riches, your friends and pleasures, and the world’s favours; yea, your nearest and dearest relations, ay, your very lives, than to let go truth. Ob, keep the truth, and truth will make you safe and happy for ever. Blessed are those souls that are kept by truth.
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, To keep humble. Humility will keep the soul free from many darts of Satan’s casting, and erroneous snares of his spreading. As low trees and shrubs are free from many violent gusts and blasts of wind which h shake and rend the taller trees, so humble souls are free from those gusts and blasts of error that rend and tear proud, lofty souls. Satan and the world have least power to fasten errors upon humble souls. The God of light and truth delights to dwell with the humble; and the more light and truth dwells in the soul, the further off darkness and error will stand from the soul. The Ged of grace pours in grace into humble souls, as men pour liquor into empty vessels; and the more grace is poured into the soul, the less error shall be able to overpower the soul, or to infect the soul.
That is a sweet word in Psalm xxv. 9, ‘ The meek (or the humble) will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way.’ And certainly souls guided by God, and taught by God, are not easily drawn aside into ways of error. Oh, take heed of spiritual pride! Pride fills our fancies, and weakens our graces, and makes room in our hearts for error. There are no men on earth so soon entangled, and so easily conquered by error, as proud souls. Oh, it is dangerous to love. to be wise above what is written, to be curious and unsober in your desire of knowledge, and to trust to your own capacities and abilities to undertake to pry into all secrets, and to be puffed up with a carnal mind. Souls that are thus a-soaring up above the bounds and limits! Thoedh I cannot dispute for the truth, yet I can die for the truth, said that blessed martyr. ee niton Hold fast as with tooth and nail, against these that would snatch it ] i read of one who, seeing in a vision so many snares of the devil spread upon
of humility, usually fall into the very worst of errors, as experience doth daily evidence.
Remedy (7). The seventh remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, The great evils that errors have produced. Error 1s a fruitful mother, and hath brought forth such monstrous children as hath set towns, cities,and nations on fire.2 Error is that whorish woman that hath cast down many, wounded many, yea, slain many strong men, many great men, and many learned men, and many professing men in former times and in our time, as is too evident to all that are not much left of God, destitute of the truth, and blinded by Satan. Oh, the graces that error hath weakened, and the sweet joys and comforts that error hath clouded, if not buried! Oh, the hands that error hath weakened, the eyes that error hath blinded, the judgments of men that error hath perverted, the minds that error hath darkened, the hearts that error hath hardened, the affections that error hath cooled, the consciences that error hath seared, and the lives of men that error hath polluted! Ah, souls! can you solemnly consider of this, and not tremble more at error than at hell itself? &e.