Finally. To give him honors and rewards in his kingdom, proportioned to the value of his services and the degree of his fidelity.
The terms being agreed upon, the solemn assent of both parties is given, and the bond is written in mystical characters, sealed with a black seal, and the miserable man signs it with a pen dipped in his own blood. After this, all fear of God, all dread of wrath, all sensibility of conscience, and every disposition to good cease for ever, and no renewing grace, no sanctifying influence can evermore visit that heart, which is thus abandoned of its Maker, and separated to all evil and misery for ever.
Such, continued the preacher, is the nature, and these are the terms of this dreadful confederacy. For its proof, we have only to refer to the facts and confessions that are daily passing under our observation. That Satan has come down upon us in great wrath, is no longer to be denied; that God, for wise but inscrutable reasons, has permitted this calamity to come upon the land, no one can doubt. These reasons in due time will be unfolded, and meanwhile we may be assured that our sins as a community have done much to provoke God, our rightful governor, to leave us a prey to this 'roaring lion, who goeth about seeking whom he may devour.'
But if any one denies that the confessions and statements which have been so often and solemnly made, are to be relied upon, we will refer them to an unerring record, an infallible proof that Satan possesses such power on earth. The plainest precepts of the Mosaic law recognized such wicked agencies, and provided for them summary and dreadful punishment. The first king of Israel worshipped at the altar of demons, and at the instance of a witch, the holy Samuel stood before him. In the dim shadows of the invisible state, that venerable form, in distinct and solemn features, was presented to his eye, and in the strange and mystical tones of that unimagined state of being, denounced the death and ruin of himself and his house. As we come down to later times, we find in the days of our blessed Saviour, the presence and power of evil spirits, and it was one of his offices of love to deliver men from this cruel bondage; and in all succeeding times, we see traces of the same dreadful agencies, until at length, upon this land, consecrated to God, the visible footsteps of the destroyer are seen, and every means of expulsion which the Scriptures warrant, must be employed to drive him from our midst.
Having thus stated the nature and proof of this confederacy, he proceeded to point out the means by which the tempter might be resisted and overcome. These, he said, were obviously watchfulness, fasting and prayer. When a christian was faithful in these duties, there was little danger of being overcome by temptation, and he detailed at length, the times and seasons and the different points of character at which the assaults of Satan would be most successfully directed, and the various methods by which he might be repelled. He then showed that Satan could not, and never intended to perform his part of the contract; that so long as his subject was useful in his cause, he might defend and protect him; but the moment his affinity with the master spirit was detected and exposed, he seldom, or never interposed to save him from punishment. He then closed his discourse by the most passionate entreaties to his people, to guard against the wiles of the adversary; to watch and pray lest they entered into temptation; to repent of their sins, which had brought down the judgments of God on the land, and to be fruitful in those works of faith and labors of love which would prove the sincerity of their trust in God, and turn away from his heritage these tokens of his anger.
As Strale and his friends returned from church, the sermon was a fruitful theme of conversation. 'I could almost forgive Mr. Mather for his superstition,' said Walter, 'if it would hurt no one but himself.'
'And why pardon it in him,' said Mary, 'when you condemn it so much in others?'
'Because,' returned Walter, 'I admire his genius: it is grand and beautiful even in its illusions; he has the faculty of making rank folly appear like luminous and well-supported truth.'
'And it is the more criminal and dangerous for all this,' returned Mary; 'he reminds me of a beautiful stream, which in the distance is invested with a thousand charms. Its banks are arched with shades and bordered with flowers. Every thing is inviting and lovely; but when you approach, the rustling of the serpent among its bushes, and the poisonous green on its margin, show you that Death has planted his engines among that foliage, and hurls his arrows with destructive aim upon the unsuspecting traveller.'