Part 21

III. _High Stations_ in the Church of God, lay men open to violent and peculiar _Temptations_ of the Devil. When our Lord was upon the _Pinacle_, that is not the _Fane_, or _Spire_, but the _Battlements_ of the _Temple_, there did the Devil pester him, with singular Molestations, and he therein seems to intend an Entanglement for the Jews, as well as for our Lord. Believe me they that stand High, cannot stand safe. The Devil is a _Nimrod_, a mighty Hunter; and common or little Game, will not serve his Turn: he is a _Leviathan_, of whom we may say, as in _Job._ 41. 34. _He beholds all high things._ Men of high Attainments, and Men of high Employments, in the Church of God, must look, like _Peter_ to be more _Sifted_, and like _Paul_, to be more _Buffeted_ than other Men. _Feriunt Summos Fulmina Montes._----The Devil can raise a Storm, when God permitteth it, but as for those Men that stand near Heaven, the Devil will attack them with his most cruel storms of Thunder and Lightening. It was said, _let him that stands take heed;_ but we may say, _They that stand most high, have cause to take most heed_. The Devil is a _Goliah;_ and when he finds a _Champion_, he'l be sure most fiercely to Combate such a Man. He is for, _Killing many Birds with one stone;_ and he knows that he shall hinder a world of _Good_, and produce a world of _Ill_, if once he can bring a Man Eminently Stationed into his Toyls. Hence 'tis that the _Ministers_ of God, are more dogg'd by the Devil, than other persons are. Especially such _Ministers_, as move in the highest Orb of Serviceableness; and most of all such _Ministers_ as have spent many years in Laudable Endeavours to be serviceable; Those Ministers are the _Stars_ of Heaven, at which the _Tayl_ of the _Dragon_, will give the most sweeping and most stinging strokes; the Devil will find that for them, that shall make them _Walk softly_ all their Days. These are the Men, that have creepled, and vexed the Devil more than other Men; for which the Devil has an old Quarrel with them. O Neighbours, little do you think, what black Days of Mourning, and Fasting, and Praying before the Lord, a Raging Devil does fill the lives of such _Men of God_ withall.

[92] IV. The Devil will make a deceitful and unfaithful use of the _Scriptures_ to make his _Temptations_ forceable. When the Devil Solicited our Lord, unto an evil thing, he quoted the _Ninty First_ Psalm unto him, tho' indeed he fallaciously clip'd it, and maim'd it, of one clause very material in it. O never does the Devil make such dangerous Passes at us, as when he does wrest our own _Sword_ out of our Hands, and push _That_ upon us. We have to defend us, that Weapon in _Eph._ 6. 16. _The Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;_ but when the Devil has that very Weapon to fight us with, he makes terrible work of it. When the Devil would poyson men with false _Doctrines_, he'l quote Scriptures for them; a _Quaker_ himself, will have the First Chapter of _John_ always in his mouth. When the Devil would perswade men to vile _Actions_, he'l quote Scriptures for them; he'l encourage men to go on in Sin, by showing them, where 'tis said, _The Lord is ready to Pardon_. I say this, The one story of _Davids_ Fall, in the Scripture, has been made by the Devil an Engine for the Damnation of many Millions. The Devil will fright men from doing those things, that are, _the Things of their Peace;_ but How? He'l turn a _Scripture_ into a _Scarecrow_ for them. The Devil will fright them from all constant Prayer to God, by quoting that Scripture, _The Sacrifice of the Wicked, is an Abomination to the Lord;_ the Devil will fright them from the Holy Supper of God, by quoting that Scripture, _He that Eats and Drinks unworthily, Eats and Drinks damnation to himself_. And thus the Devil will by some abused Scripture, Terrifie the Children of God; the Scripture is written as we are told, _For our Comfort;_ but it is quoted by the Devil, _for our terror_. How many Godly Souls have been cast into sinful Doubts and Fears, by the Devils foolish glosses upon that Scripture, _He that doubts is damned;_ and that, _the fearful shall have their portion in the burning Lake:_ The Devil sometimes has play'd the _Preacher_, but I say, _Beware all silly Souls when such a Fool is Preaching_.

V. Grievous and Pulling Hurries to _Self-Murder_ are none of the smallest outrages, which the Devil in his _Temptations_ commits upon us. Why, did the Devil say to our Lord, _Cast thy self down_, but in hopes that our Lord would have broke his Bones, in the fall? The Devil is an _Old Murtherer;_ and he loves to _Murder_ men; but no _Murder_ gives him so much satisfaction, as that which at his instigation, men perpetrate upon themselves. We [93] see that such as are _Bewitched_ and _Possessed_ by the Devil, do quickly lay violent hands upon themselves, if they be not watched continually, and we see that when persons have begun that _Unnatural_ business of _killing themselves_, there is a _Preternatural_ Stupendious Prodigious Assistance, by the Devil given thereunto. When people are going to Harm themselves, we call upon them, like those to the Jailor, in _Acts_ 16. 28. _Do thy self no harm!_ And we have this Argument for it, _It is the Devil that is dragging of you to this mischief; but will you believe, will you obey such an one as the Devil is?_ What was it that made Judas to strangle himself? We read it was when the _Devil was in him_. I suppose there are few _self-murderers_, but what are first very strangely fallen into the Devils hands; and possibly, 'tis by some Extraordinary _Discontent_, against God, or _back-sliding_ from him, that the Devil first entred into those disturbed Souls. Indeed, some very great Saints of God, have sometimes had hideous Royls raised by the Devil in their minds; untill they have e'en cry'd out with _Job, I choose strangling rather than life;_ and sometimes the ill Humours or Vapours in the Bodies of such Good Men, do so harbour the Devil that they have this woful motion every day thence made unto them; _You must kill your self! you must! you must!_ But it is rarely any other than a _Saul_, an _Abimelek_, an _Achitophel_, or a _Judas;_ rarely any other, than a very Reprobate, whom the Devil can drive, while the man is _Compos Mentis_, to Consummate such a Villany. Yea, no Child of God, in his Right Senses can go so far in this impiety, as to be left without all Time and Room for true _Repentance_ of the Crime; 'tis _thus_ done, by none but those that go to the Devil. A _self-murder_, acted by one that is upon other accounts a Reasonable man, is but such an attempt of Revenge upon the God that made him, as none but one full of the Devil can be guilty of. If any of you are Dragoon'd by the Devil, unto the murdering of your selves, my Advice to you is, _Disclose it, Reveal it, make it known immediately_. One that Cut his own Throat among us, Expired crying out, _O that I had told! O that I had told_. You may spoil the Devil, if you'l _Tell_ what he is a doing of.

VI. Presumptuous and Unwarrantable _Trials of_ the Blessed God, are some of those things whereinto the Devil would fain hook us with his _Temptations_. This was that which the Devil would have brought our Lord unto, even, _A tempting of the Lord our God_. It is the charge of our God upon us, in _Deut._ 6. 16. _Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God._ But that which the Devil _Tries_, is, to put us upon _Trying_ in a sinful way whether God be such a God as indeed he is. [94] 'Tis true as to the ways of Obedience, our God says unto us, _Prove me, in those ways; Try, whether I won't be as good as my Word_. But then there are ways of _Presumption_, wherein the Devil would have us to trie, what a God it is, _With whom we have to do_. The Devil would have us to trie the Purpose of God, about our selves or others; but how? By going to the _Devil_ himself; by Consulting _Astrologers_, or _Fortune Tellers;_ or perhaps by letting the Bible fall open, to see what is the first Sentence we light upon. The Devil would have us trie the Mercy of God, but how? By running into _Dangers_, which we have no call unto. He would have us trie the Power of God; but how? By looking for good things, without the use of Means for the getting of them. He would have us trie the Justice of God; but how? By venturing upon Sin in a _Corner_, with an Imagination that God will never bring us out. He would have us trie the Promise of God; but how? By _Limiting_ the Lord, unto such or such a way of manifesting Himself, or else believing of nothing at all. He would have us trie the Threatning of God; but how? By going on impenitently in those things, for which the _Wrath of God comes upon the Children of Disobedience_. Thus would the Devil have us to affront the Majesty of Heaven every day.

VII. The _Temptations_ of the Devil, aim at puffing and bloating of us up, with _Pride;_ as much perhaps as any one iniquity. The Devil would have had Our Lord make a _Vain glorious_ Discovery of himself unto the World, by _Flying in the air_, so as no mortal can. _Hoc Ithacus velit_--the Devil would have us to soar aloft, and not only to be above other men, but also to _know_ that we are so, _Pride_ is the Devils own sin; and he affects especially to be, _The King over the Children of Pride_, it is a caution in 1 Tim. 3. 6. A Pastor must not be _A Novice; Lest being lifted up with Pride, He fall into the condemnation of the Devil. (Summo ac Pio cum Tremore Hunc Textum Legamus nos Ministri Juvenes!)_ Accordingly, the Devil would have us to be inordinately taken and moved with what _Excellencies_ our God has bestowed upon us. If our _Estates_ rise, he would have us rise in our Spirits too. If we have been blessed with Beauty, with Breeding, with Honour, with Success, with Attire, with Spiritual Priviledges, or with Praise-worthy Performances; Now says the Devil, _Think thy self better than other Men_. Yea, the Devil would have us arrogate unto our selves, those _Excellencies_ which really we never were owners of; and _Boast of a false Gift_. He would have us moreover to Thirst after Applause among others that may see Our _Excellencies!_ and be impatient if we are not accounted _some-body_. He would have us further[95]more, to aspire after such a _Figure_, as God has never yet seen fitting for us; and croud into some _High Chair_ that becomes us not. Thus would the Devil Elevate us into the _Air_, above our Neighbours; and why so? 'Tis that we may be punished with such _Falls_, as may make us cry out with _David, O my Bones are broken with my Falls!_ The Devil can't endure to see men lying in the _Dust;_ because there is no falling thence. He is a _Fallen Spirit_ himself, and it pleases him to see the _Falls_ of men.

§. The Third of our Lords Three Temptations, is related in such Terms as these. Matth. 4. 8, 9. _Again the Devil taketh him up, into an exceeding High Mountain, and sheweth him all the Kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them: and saith unto him, all these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and Worship me._ From whence take these Remarks.

I. The Devil in his _Temptations_ will set the Delight of this world before us; but he'll set a fair, and a false _Varnish_ upon those Delights. They were some unknown _Perspectives_, which the Devil had, both for the Refracting of the _Medium_, and for the Magnifying of the _Object_, whereby he gave our Lord at once a prospect of the whole Roman Empire; but what was it? It was the _World_, and the _Glory_ of it; he says not a word of the _World_, and the _Trouble_ of it. No sure; not a word of that; the Devil will not have his Hook so barely expos'd unto us. The Devil sets off the Delights of Sin, which he offers unto us, with a stretched and raised Rhetorick; but he will not own, _That in the midst of our Laughter, our Heart shall be sorrowful;_ and _That the end of our Mirth shall be Heaviness_. There is but one Glass in the Spectacles, with which the Devil would have us to read, those passages in _Eccles._ 11. 9. _Rejoyce O young Man in thy youth, and let thy Heart chear thee in the Dayes of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy Heart, and in the sight of thine Eyes._ Thus far the Devil would have us to Read; and he'll make many a fine Comment upon it; he'll tell us, That if we'll follow the Courses of the World, we shall swim in all the Delights of the World. But he is not willing you should Read out the next words; _But know thou, that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment_. O he's loth we should be aware of the dreadful Issues, and Reckonings that our Worldly Delights will be attended with. He sets before us, the _Pleasures of Sin;_ but he will not say, _These are but for a Season_. He sets before us, _The Sweet Waters of Stealth?_ but he will not say, _There is Death in the Pot_. He is a _Mountebank_, that will bestow nothing but Romantic Praises upon all that he makes us the Offers of.

[96] II. There are most Hellish _Blasphemies_ often buzz'd by the _Temptations_ of the Devil, into the minds of the best Men alive. What a most Execrable Thing was here laid before our Lord Himself: Even, To own the _Devil_ as _God!_ a thing that can't be uttered, without unutterable Horror of Soul. The best man on earth, may have such _Fiery Darts_ from Hell shot into his mind. One that was acted by the _Devil_, had the impudence to propound this unto such a good man as _Job, Curse God_. And the Devil pleases himself, by chasing the Hearts of good men, with his base Injections, _That there is no God_, or, _That God is not a Righteous God;_ and a thousand more such things, too Devilish to be mentioned. A good man is extreamly grieved at it, when he hears a _Blasphemy_ from the mouth of another man; said the Psalmist, in Psal. 44. 15, 16. _My Confusion is continually before me, for the voice of him that Blasphemeth._ But much more when a good man finds a _Blasphemy_ in his own Heart; O it throws him into most Fevourish Agonies of Soul. For this cause, a mischievous Devil will _Flie blow_ the Heart of such a man, with such Blasphemous Thoughts, as make him crie out, _Lord I am e'n weary of my life_. Yea, the Devil serves the man just as the Mistress of _Joseph_ dealt with him; he importunes the man to think wickedly from Day to Day; and if the man refuse, he cries out at last, _Behold what wicked thoughts this man has lodging in him_. Sayst thou so? _Satan!_ No, they are Brats of thy own; and at thy Door alone shall they be laid for ever.

III. There is a sort of Witchcrafts in those things, whereto the Temptations of the Devil would inveigle us. To worship the Devil is Witchcraft, and under that notion was our Lord urged unto sin. We are told in _1 Sam._ 15. 23. _Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft:_ When the Devil would have us to sin, he would have us to do the things which the forlorn Witches use to do. Perhaps there are few persons, ever allured by the Devil unto an Explicit Covenant with himself. If any among ourselves be so, my councel is, that you hunt the Devil from you, with such words as the Psalmist had, _Be gone, Depart from me, ye evil Doers, for I will keep the Commandments of my God_. But alas, the most of men, are by the Devil put upon doing the things that are Analagous to the worst usages of Witches. The Devil says to the sinner, _Despise thy Baptism, and all the Bond of it, and all the Good of it_. The Devil says to the sinner, _Come, cast off the Authority of God, and, and refuse the Salvation of Christ for ever_. Yea, the Devil who is called, _The God of this World_, would have us to take Him for our God, and rather Hear Him, Trust Him, Serve Him, than the God that formed us.

[97] IV. The _Temptations_ of the Devil do Tug and Pull for nothing more, than that the Rulers of the World may yield Homage unto him. Our Lord has had this by his Father Engag'd unto him, _That he shall one day be Governour of the Nations_. The Devil doe's extreamly dread the approach of that Illustrious time, when _The Kingdom of God shall come and his Will be done, as in Heaven, and on Earth_. For this cause it was that he was desirous, Our Lord should rather have accepted of him, that Kingdom, which _Antichrist_ afterwards accepted of him, for the Establishment of _Devil-worship_, in the World. I may tell you, The Devil is mighty unwilling, that there should be one _Godly Magistrate_ upon the face of the Earth. Such is the influence of _Government_, that the Devil will every where stickle mightily, to have that siding with him. What _Rulers_ would the Devil have, to command all mankind, if he might have his will? Even, such as are called in Psal. 94. 20. _The throne of iniquity, which frames mischief by a Law;_ such as will promote Vice, by both Connivance and Example; and such as will oppress all that shall be _Holy, and Just, and Good_. All men have cause therefore to be jealous, what Use the Devil may make of them, with reference to the Affairs of Government; but Rulers may most of all think, that the Lord Jesus from Heaven calls upon them, _Satan has desired that he might Sift you, and have you; O Look to it, what side you take_.

Thus have you in the Temptations of our Lord, seen the principal of those Devices, which the Devil has to Entrap our Souls. But what shall we now do, that we may be fortified against those Devices? O that we might be well furnished with the _Whole Armour of God!_ But me thinks, there were some things attending the Temptations of our Lord, which, would especially Recommend those few Hints unto us for our Guard.

First, If you are not fond of Temptation, be not fond of Needless, or Too much Retirement. Where was it, that the Devil fell upon our Lord? it was when he was Alone in the Wilderness. We should all have our Times to be Alone every Day; and if the Devil go to scare us out of our Chambers, with such a Bugbear, as that he'll appear to us, yet stay in spite of his teeth, stay to finish your Devotions; he Lyes, he dare not shew his head. But on the other-side by being too solitary, we may lay our selves too much open to the Devil; You know who says, _Wo to him that is alone_.

[98] Secondly, Let an _Oracle_ of God be your defence against a _Temptation_ of _Hell_. How did our Lord silence the _Devil?_ It was with an, _It is written!_ And _all_ his Three Citations were from that one Book of _Deuteronomy_. What a _full_ Armoury then have we, in _all_ the sacred Pages that lie before us? Whatever the Words of the _Devil_ are, drown them with the words of the _Great God_. Say, It is _Written_ The _Belshazzar_ of _Hell_ will Tremble and Withdraw, if you show these _Hand-Writings_ of the Lord.

Lastly, Since the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered all the _Temptations_ of the Devil, Flie to that Lord, Crie to that Lord, that He would give you a share in his Happy Victory. It was for Us that our Lord overcome the Devil: and when he did but say, _Satan, Get hence_, away presently the Tygre flew: Does the Devil molest Us? Then let us Repair to our Lord, who says, _I know how to succour the Tempted_. Said the _Psalmist_, _Psal._ 61. 2. _Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I._ A Woman in this Land being under the Possession of Devils, the Devils within her, audibly spoke of diverse Harms they would inflict upon her; but still they made this answer, _Ah! She Runs to the Rock! She Runs to the Rock!_ and that hindered all. O this _Running to the Rock;_ 'tis the best Preservation in the World; the _Vultures_ of _Hell_ cannot prey upon the _Doves_ in the _Clefts_ of that _Rock_. May our God now lead us thereunto.[208]

[END OF THE WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD AND OF THE FIRST VOLUME.]

FOOTNOTES:

[150] George Burroughs. Why the Author merely gave the Initials of the Name of Mr. Burroughs is left to Conjecture. Perhaps he considered him deeper in the Devil's Arts than the Rest of the accused, and perhaps he (the Author) had been more uncharitable towards him than towards others. See the Rev. Mr. Upham's highly interesting _Lectures on Witchcraft_, 101, _et seq._ He was "the most prominent Victim of the diabolical Fanaticism of 1692. He was Son of that 'Mrs. Rebecca Burrows, who came from Virginia when her Son was quite young.' He was admitted a Member of Mr. Eliot's Church, Roxbury, 12 Apl., 1674. Probably his Father had died in Virginia, and we may hope, that the Mother also had gone to another World before the sad Proof of Perverseness of God's Ordinances in her chosen Refuge by the horrible Proceedings against her only Child."--_Savage._ His Wife, as will appear presently, was a Sister of "Mr. Ruck" of Salem. See Mr. Willis's _Hist. Portland_.

[151] It is not difficult to understand how a Person, believing, as all then believed, would be "cast into very great Confusion" at such Questions.

[152] Deodat Lawson, who had preached at Salem Village; and on the 24th of March, 1692, he there preached a Sermon, entitled "_Christ's Fidelity the only Shield against Satan's Malignity;_ being Lecture Day, and a Time of Publick Examination, of some Suspected for Witchcraft." The second Edition of this Sermon was reprinted in London is 1704, in 12mo. Mr. Lawson was a sincere Believer in Witchcraft, and in his dedicatory Remarks, hopes "that it may please the ALMIGHTY GOD, to manifest his Power, in putting an End to your Sorrows of this Nature, by bruising _Satan_ under your Feet shortly."--What is at present known of him and his Family will be found in Savage, under the appropriate Head. Respecting his Wife and Daughter, he says they had been dead above three Years. _Appendix_ to the above _Sermon_, P. 99. He does accuse Mr. Burroughs.

[153] It is refreshing, after reading this Case of Mr. Burroughs, as related by our Author, and to which we are at a Loss to find Words denunciatory enough to apply, to read the Conclusion to which my learned and judicious Friend, Mr. Willis comes, after a full View of all the Circumstances: "There has nothing survived Mr. Burroughs, either in his Living or Dying, that casts any Reproach upon his Character; and although he died the Victim of Fanaticism as wicked and stupid as any which has ever been countenanced in civilized Society, and which for a Time prejudiced his Memory, yet his Reputation stands redeemed in a more enlightened Age from any Blemish."--_History of Portland_, 246, Ed. 1865.

[154] In 1680 poor Bridget Bishop appears to have been simply Bridget Oliver, and in that Year she was accused of being a Witch. "Feb. 22, the Negro of John Ingersol testified, before the Court of Commissioners, that he saw the Shape of said Bridget on a Beam of the Barn, with an Egg in its Hand, and that while he looked for a Rake or Pitchfork to strike it with, it vanished." She was ordered to give Bonds or go to Prison. See Felt, _Annals of Salem_, 265. She was the Wife of Edward Bishop, as will be seen further on. Her Husband was probably the Son of the first Edward Bishop of Salem. The Paternity of Bridget is uncertain. She may have been of the Family of Thomas Oliver, whose coming to Salem is recorded in the _Founders of New England_.

[155] There was a Family of Hobbs at Topsfield. On May 13th, 1692, William Hobbs of that Place was taken and sent to the Jail in Boston. On the 23d of the same Month Deliverance and Abigail, probably of the Family of William before named, were also sent to Boston and imprisoned. See Felt's _Annals_, 304, also _Hist. Colls. Essex Inst._, 141.

[156] Mr. Felt does not seem to have met with this Person in the _Salem Records_. He is mentioned in Savage's _Dictionary_, as marrying, at Salem, 28 Dec. 1671, Abigail Lord. More will be found of him when we come to the _More Wonders_. See also _Colls. Essex Inst._ ii, 140. There are also numerous other References to Persons of the Name.