George Whitefield
Sermon 48
Satan's Devices
2 Corinthians 2:11, "Lest Satan should get an advantage over us; for we are
not ignorant of his devices."
The occasion of these words was as follows: In the church of Corinth
there was an unhappy person, who had committed such incest, as was not so
much as named among the Gentiles, in taking his father's wife; but either
on account of his wealth, power, or some such reasons, like many notorious
offenders now-adays, he had not been exposed to the censures of the church.
St. Paul, therefore, in his first epistle, severely chides them for this
neglect of discipline, and commands them, "in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, when they were gathered together, to deliver such a one, whoever he
was, to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that his Spirit might be
saved in the day of the Lord;" that is, they should solemnly excommunicate
him; which was then commonly attended with some bodily disease. The
Corinthians, being obedient to the Apostle, as dear children, no sooner
received this reproof, but they submitted to it, and cast the offending
party out of the church. But whilst they were endeavoring to amend one
fault, they unhappily ran into another; and as they formerly had been too
mild and remiss, so now they behaved towards him with too much severity and
resentment. The Apostle, therefore, in this chapter, reproves this, and
tells them, that "sufficient to the offender's shame, was the punishment
which had been inflicted of many:" that he had now suffered enough; and
that, therefore, lest he should be tempted to say with Cain, "My punishment
is greater than I can bear;" or to use the Apostle's own words, "Lest he
should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow;" they ought, now he had given
proof of his repentance, to forgive him, to confirm their love towards him,
and to restore him in the spirit of meekness; "Lest Satan, (to whose
buffetings he was now given, by tempting him to despair) should get an
advantage over us:" and so, by representing you as merciless and cruel,
cause that holy name to be blasphemed, by which you are called; "for we are
not ignorant of his devices:" we know very well how many subtle ways he has
to draw aside and beguile unguarded unthinking men.
Thus then, stand the words in relation to the context; but as Satan
has many devices, and as his quiver is full of other poisonous darts,
besides those which he shoots at us to drive us to despair, I shall, in the
following discourse,
FIRST, Briefly observe who we are to understand by Satan. And,
SECONDLY, Point out to you, what are the chief devices he generally
makes use of to draw off converts from Christ, and also prescribe some
remedies against them.
FIRST, Who are we to understand by Satan?
The word Satan, in its original signification, meant an adversary; and
in its general acceptation, is made use of, to point out to us the chief of
the devils, who, for striving to be as God, was cast down from heaven, and
is now permitted, "with the rest of his spiritual wickednesses in high
places, to walk up and down, seeking whom he may devour." We hear of him
immediately after the creation, when in the shape of a serpent, he lay in
wait to deceive our first parents. He is called Satan, in the book of Job,
where we are told, that "when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, Satan also came amongst them." As the scripture also
speaketh in the book of Chronicles; "and Satan moved David to number the
people." In the New Testament he goes under different denominations;
sometimes he is called the evil One, because he is evil in himself, and
tempts us to evil. Sometimes, "the Prince of the power of the air;" and,
"the Spirit that now ruleth in the children of disobedience;" because he
resides chiefly in the air, and through the whole world: and all that are
not born of God, are said to lie in him.
He is an enemy to God and goodness; he is a hater of all truth. Why
else did he slander God in paradise? Why did he tell Eve, "You shall not
surely die?" And why did he promise to give all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glories of them, to Jesus Christ, if he would fall down and worship
him?
He is full of malice, envy, and revenge: For what other motives could
induce him to molest innocent man in paradise? And why is he still so
restless in his attempts to destroy us, who have done him no wrong?
He is a being of great power, as appears in his being able to act on
the imagination of our blessed Lord, so as to represent to him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glories of them, in a moment of time. As
also in carrying his sacred body through the air up to a pinnacle of the
temple; and his driving a herd of swine so furiously into the deep. Nay, so
great is his might, that, I doubt not, was God to let him use his full
strength, but he could turn the earth upside down, or pull the sun from its
orb.
But what he is most remarkable for is, his subtlety: for not having
power given him from above, to take us by force, he is obliged to wait for
opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by guile. He, therefore, made
use of the serpent, which was subtle above all the beasts of the field, in
order to tempt our first parents; and accordingly he is said, in the New
Testament, "To lie in wait to deceive;" and, in the words of the text, the
Apostle says, "We are not ignorant of his devices:" thereby implying, that
we are more in danger of being seduced by his policy, than over-borne by
his power.
From this short description of Satan, we may easily judge whose
children they are, who love to make a lie, who speak evil of, and slander
their neighbor, and whose hearts are full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy,
revenge, and all uncharitableness. Surely they have Satan for their father:
for the tempers of Satan they know, and the works of Satan they do. But
were they to see either themselves, or Satan as he is, they could not but
be terrified at their own likeness, and abhor themselves in dust and ashes.
But, the justice of God in suffering us to be tempted, is vindicated
from the following considerations: That we are here in a state of disorder;
That he has promised not to suffer us to be tempted above what we are able
to bear; and not only so, but to him that overcometh he will give a crown
of life.
The holy angels themselves, it should seem, were once put to a trial
whether they would be faithful or not. The first Adam was tempted, even in
paradise. And Jesus Christ, that second Adam, though he was a son, yet was
carried, as our representative, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, to
be tempted of the devil. And there is not one single saint in paradise,
amongst the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the glorious company of the
apostles, the noble army of martyrs, and the spirits of just men made
perfect, who, when on earth, was not assaulted by the fiery darts of that
wicked one, the devil.
What then has been the common lot of all God's children, and of the
angels, nay, of the eternal Son of God himself, we must not think to be
exempted from: No, it is sufficient if we are made perfect through
temptations, as they were. And, therefore, since we cannot but be tempted,
unless we could unmake human nature, instead of repining at our condition,
we should rather be inquiring, at what time of our lives Satan most
violently assaults us? And what those devices are, which he commonly makes
use of, in order to "get an advantage over us?"
As to the first question, what time of life? I answer, we must expect
to be tempted by him, in some degree or other, all our lives long. _ For
this life being a continual warfare, we must never expect to have rest from
our spiritual adversary the devil, or to say, our combat with him is
finished, `till, with our blessed master, we bow down our heads, and give
up the ghost.
But since the time of our conversion, or first entering upon the
spiritual life, is the most critical time at which he, for the most part,
violently besets us, as well knowing, if he can prevent our setting out, ...
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