The learned Fagius observes, Satan is a spirit, and must therefore require immaterial food; which can be nothing else but the sins of men, on which he feeds with pleasure.
St. Augustine says, By dust, Sinners are meant; so that sinners are given him for his prey. If then we would not be his food, we must not be earthly minded.
St. Ambrose says, that by dust we are to understand the flesh of men, on which God permits Satan to feed, that is, sometimes to torment and grieve the bodies of believers, for over their souls he has not the least command. The dust, therefore, Satan eats, is the seed spoken of as the seed of the Serpent; these are called the cattle, and the beasts of the field—these are Satan’s portion, bear his image, and will be found like him another day, even in the resurrection of the wicked—When they shall awake, O Lord, thou wilt despise their image. All the sins, infirmities, temptations, and troubles, of God’s dear people—these are the dust he feeds on. And as it is with the father Serpent, it is with his seed; his offspring a generation of Vipers and Serpents, they have their portion of dust to eat, and they can feed on nothing else—and this every believer has seen to his grief. What in one scripture is called the seed of the Serpent, is in another called the children of the wicked one. First, Because as sinners, they are his offspring. Secondly, Because they are like him, and bear the same names, a liar, a Lion, a Serpent, a destroyer, and an enemy; and because they bear his image, do his works, and obey his commands; their food is alike—dust is their meat as well as his.
This is another point we shall discover—Man having lost the image of God, left the fountain of his bliss and satisfaction; his mind soon became vitiated—a vacancy being in it he seeks to fill the empty space with any thing, and every thing but God. This is the state of every man by nature; this the believer can remember with regret, and can now look back on his former folly in forsaking the fountain and cleaving to the stream of creature satisfaction. Changed by grace, he views his fellow immortals seeking for that which will never satisfy him. The Miser, a poor grovelling Serpent, feeding on white and yellow dust, “Throwing up his interest in both worlds—first starv’d in this, then damn’d in that to come.”—Blair. He heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them.—David. He layeth up silver as the Dust—the pant after the dust of the earth.
Thus such Serpents eat the dust, while their covetous hearts are perpetually crying, “Give! Give!”—Solomon. “They grudge, and are not satisfied.”—David. All the vain pursuits, carnal gratifications, sensual delights, and that phantom, called Pleasure, which a worldling strives for, is but trying to fill the mind with dust. Hence the Prophet Isaiah represents them as a people dreaming—They have been eating and drinking, and when they awake up, behold they are hungry.—Isaiah xxix. Hence David prays, And let me not eat of their dainties. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life—these are not of the Father, but of the world—these are ashes; and the dust they feed on—1 John ii.
Men of a persecuting spirit, whose hearts rise against God, religion, and the dear Saviour, the Work of the Spirit, and all Saints—these are said to feed on the Saints; they are well pleased at every species of persecution; they eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon God. When my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Hence David prays, Deliver me from the men who are thy sword, O Lord, whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasures. Thus, like Satan, they wait to eat, to devour, to destroy the Lord’s people, who are called dust. “I that am but dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the Lord.”—Abraham. “Who can number the dust of Jacob? Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof.”
Erroneous characters, who have been in a profession of the truth, and who have left it and turned again like a washed swine to the mire; who have taken seven other spirits, far worse than before they heard the Gospel. These persons are industriously circulating errors; trying to make such kind of proselytes, who are two-fold more the children of hell than they were before. Such characters are Serpents and Vipers, make a fair shew, to deceive and to damn immortal souls: they talk about the universal goodness of God—too good to consign any man to perdition: they argue for an universal salvation; and that if any man should be lost, he will be restored again: they argue against the sovereignty of God, in the Doctrine of Election and divine Predestination—against one being taken and another left—against the Obedience of Christ, as our justifying righteousness—against the Divinity of the Son, or the Spirit: they level their artillery against the Trinity in Unity—against the high priviledges of God’s Elect—against the Fundamentals of the Gospel; and this to deceive the simple and unwary. Hence such are described as an whore, in the Book of the Proverbs: She eateth (that is enjoyeth these deceptions and awful delusions) and saith, I have done no wickedness.—Proverbs xxxi. Ephraim feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; he cannot deliver his soul, nor say is there not a lie in my right hand. This is the Serpent’s meat, and if grace does not prevent it, they must have the Serpent’s portion—a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries.
Pharisees.—These are of different kinds, and under various orders—some in a profession of gospel truth, sit under its sound, obey its external precepts as far as it relates to bodily exercise; others are inimical to the very sound of it altogether, yet pride themselves upon following the religion they were brought up in; that they are as good as they wish to be, and not half so bad as their neighbours. Thus in heart they are all alike; those in a profession and those out of it, are all upon a level. The Gospel Pharisees thank God they are not so bad as those vile Antinomians, who talk about free grace, and perform no works. Others thank God they are not quite so bad, nor indeed nothing like, other people; they have good hearts, they mean well and wish well to all. Hence our dear Lord spake a parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. The Pharisee stood, and prayed, God I thank thee I am not as other men—so they vainly think, and so they declare: their works are of themselves; they wear Spider’s webs, they make a covering, but not of God’s Spirit; they are stretching themselves upon a bed which is too short, and so all will find who reject the plan of salvation, by Jesus alone.—These make a noise about holiness, and good works—these sound a trumpet and proclaim their own goodness; and they have their reward—this is but sounding brass and the tinkling of a cymbal—it is feeding on wind; all the works they do, are to be seen of men: but the Saviour says to his disciples, Be ye not like to them. These will give nothing away, without their names are published, printed, or put up in the front of an alms house, or on the walls of a church or hospital—on these things they feed—a good name among men; a refutation in the world: this is the foundation of their hope, and this is said to be in dust—His foundation is in the dust; but the hail will sweep away their refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow their hiding places, what they build on, that they enjoy; and thus dust is their meat—and if they do not absolutely declare that all their hopes are laid on what they do, they conclude their good works will either help forward their salvation, or are grand essences of it—whereas nothing that the brightest saint can do, externally, is any evidence of his new birth, none at all; for any man, destitute of divine teaching can do the same. He may hear, read, commune, speak well, relieve the poor, and be found in every external ordinance; so says Isaiah xlviii, and Ezekiel xxiii. And should this little Pamphlet fall into the hands of any man or woman, who has been building on such evidences, I pray God that the scales may drop from their eyes, that they may see their danger, and be brought, as poor sinners, to the Lord Christ for all they want.
The performances of persons who are destitute of the grace of God, are called the Works of the Law; whereas it is not so properly, for they are ignorant of the Law, nor does the Law call for any such Works; therefore they are but the Works of the flesh, and those who feed on them are eating dust, whether they are in a profession or not. Hence God threaten his enemies that he will send them the Poison of Serpents of the dust. Deut xxxii. And when he takes a sinner in hand, he is said to scrape her dust from her.—Ezek. xxvi; then he kindly invites, Come now, let us reason together—and, graciously promises, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as wool, and though they be red like crimson they shall be whiter than snow; and I will surely purge away thy dross, and take away thy tin. Isaiah i. This is the Work of God and this must be done if ever we see the face of God with joy; we must be stripped of all supposed goodness, and emptied of self before we can be filled with the Saviour.
When the excellent Toplady had finished his Sermon on Justification, pious Lady Huntingdon said to him, “Sir, I think you gave the Pharisees a good dressing to night.” “Oh, Madam,” said he, “I did not want to dress them, but I aimed to undress them:”—and sure I am that our filthy garments of self-righteousness must be taken away, before we can enjoy the change of raiment. Zech. iii. Till this is the case with us we may cry out, with the tongue (and if not, every Pharisee exclaims, practically) Stand by thyself. I am holier than thou! But, from all such blindness, hardness of heart, and contempt of God’s Word and Commandment, Good Lord deliver us.