(1.) First, If things necessary for the encouragement and accomplishment of a temptation lay out of the way, and were not at hand, his suggestions would perish as soon as they were born, and would be rejected as impossible or inconvenient. To tempt a man to steal when he knows not where nor how, or to revenge when he hath no enemy nor provocation, seem to be no other than if they should be commanded to remove a mountain or to fly in the air, which would quickly be declined as motions affording no ground of entertainment. And therefore that his temptations may not bring a reason of refusal with them as being unseasonable, he takes care to fit his servants with all things requisite for the work he puts them upon.
(2.) Secondly, As temptations of this kind would be no temptations, because not feasible, without their preparations, so must we not think that it is the bare suggestion of Satan that makes a temptation to pierce. The reason of its prevalency is not barely because Satan breaks such a motion to us, but because such a motion comes accomplished with all suitable preparations. When it prevails, it is the sinful motion that wounds; but preparations are as the feathers that wing his arrows, without which they would neither fly nor pierce.
Applic. Let this, (1.) First, Renew our caution and suspicion in everything and every place that Satan is at work against us, though we see no visible snare.
Let it put us upon such a watchful carefulness in every of our ways, that we may resolve to undertake nothing for which we have not a good and warrantable reason at hand, that if our conscience say to us, What dost thou here? we may be able to give a good account.
(2.) Secondly, If we mind the behaviour of Satan in these preparations and offers, we see him act after the pattern of highest sovereignty, disposing of earthly kingdoms at such a rate as if all power were in his hand. Hence we may observe,
Obs. 2. That when Satan tempts to sin of highest contempt and insolency against God, he then thinks it concerns him to bear himself out by confronting the Almighty in imitating his authority and power.
This carriage of Satan is not to be found in all his temptations. For in most cases he acts with greatest secrecy; and as a thief that is afraid of discovery, he useth all ways possible for concealment; but when he sets up himself as ‘the god of the world,’ and stands in competition with the Lord, claiming an interest in the fear and devotion of men, then he boldly avoucheth himself, and labours to outvie God in point of greatness, that he might possess them with a belief that he only ought to be feared. This arrogancy of Satan against God may be seen in three things:—
[1.] First, In imitating divine ordinances and institutions. There is not any part of divine worship, the observation whereof God hath enjoined to men, but Satan hath set up something like it for himself. As God appointed his temple, priests, altars, sacrifices, offerings, tithes, sanctuaries, sacraments, &c., so hath Satan had his temples, priests, altars, sacrifices, offerings, sanctuaries, sacraments, &c. This is sufficiently known to any that read his histories; and I could give a full account of it from heathen authors, but that I have done already when I spoke of Satan’s subtlety in promoting idolatry in the world. I shall only add here that which Varro relates[444] of the books of Numa Pompilius, which were casually cast up by the plough of one Terentius coming too near the sepulchre of Numa, where these books had been buried. This Numa was the second king of the Romans, who instituted the rites and ceremonies of pagan worship for his subjects, and in these books, which he thought fit to conceal by burying them with him, he had laid open the bottom of these devilish mysteries, so that when they were brought to the senate, they, judging them unfit to be known, adjudged them to the fire; which is a clear ground of suspicion that he had there discovered so much of the causes of these rites, or of the way whereby he came to be instructed in them, that the public knowledge thereof consisted not with the interest of their heathenish religion. This conjecture Austin hath of the matter,[445] who also notes that Numa pretended familiar converse with the nymph Ægeria as a plausible cover to that devilish art of Hydromantia, by which he was instructed in ordering the ceremonies of idolatry which he established.
[2.] Secondly, Satan, with no less arrogancy, takes upon him to imitate God in his acts of power for the countenancing of his worship in the world. He had his miracles frequently, of which I have spoken elsewhere; so had he his oracles, as at Delphos and other places. Here it shall suffice to note that, as the sending the Lord Jesus into the world, furnished with such power of doing miracles for the confirmation of that office and authority which he had received from God for the redemption of man, was the highest instance that can be given of the mighty power, wisdom, and goodness of God; so Satan set himself with greatest industry to imitate that. Christ was almost no sooner ascended to the Father, but we hear of Simon Magus, Acts viii. 9, who was cried up as an instance of ‘the great power of God;’ and after that at Rome he gave out that he was God, confirming the people in such a belief, by the strange things which he there did among them, that a statue was erected for his honour, with this inscription, ‘To Simon, a great god.’[446] Long after this the devil raised up Apollonius Tyanæus, a man of an abstemious and commendable life. Him the devil did design to match Christ in his miracles, which were so many and so strange, that Philostratus doth not only compare him to Christ, but prefer him as the more honourable person. Christ himself foretold this stratagem of Satan, that he should raise up ‘false Christs’ with ‘lying signs and wonders.’ And to omit instances of former days, it is not beyond the memory of most of you, that the devil renewed this policy in James Nayler, who, in a blasphemous imitation of Christ’s riding to Jerusalem, rode to Bristol with a great company before him, crying, ‘Holy, holy,’ and ‘Hosanna to the son of David,’ and strewing the way with branches of trees. The authority that was then, taking notice of this and other blasphemous outrages, sentenced him to exemplary punishment; but here also the devil renewed his mockery, for a certain citizen of London of good note, being overcome with delusion, printed a book of Nayler’s sufferings, wherein the devil had opportunity to vent his malice more fully, for he compared all the parts of his punishment to the sufferings of Christ; his whipping, he said, was that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Matthew, ‘And Pilate delivered him to be scourged;’ his stigmatizing, he said, was that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, ‘His visage was marred more than any man’s;’ the boring of his tongue with a hot iron, he said, was the fulfilling of that, and they ‘crucified him;’ and after other particulars of comparison, in all which he equalled him to Christ, he at last takes notice that the multitude of spectators held off their hats while his tongue was bored through, a thing common in a crowd to give opportunity of sight to those that are behind, and to this act he applies that of the evangelists, ‘The vail of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom.’
[3.] Thirdly, In acts of empire and sovereignty he imitates God, that is, as God propounds himself as the only Lord God, and enjoins himself to be worshipped accordingly by promises of advantage in case of obedience, and threatenings of miseries and plagues in case of disobedience; so doth Satan set up himself in the world as god to be adored and worshipped, and him do all idolaters worship, as God testifies: Deut. xxxii. 17, ‘They sacrificed unto devils, not to God:’ Ps. cvi. 37, ‘They sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils:’ 1 Cor. x. 20, ‘The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God.’ And though it be true that many of these blind worshippers did not formally worship the devil, but thought they had worshipped God, yet by such cunning did he engage them to take up with ways of worship of his prescribing, that it was in reality a service done to him. But, besides this, in those places of the world where he hath greater power, he formally propounds himself to be worshipped, and doth accordingly often appear to them in a visible shape; so that many of these blind heathens acknowledge two gods, one good and another cruel and hurtful, which latter they say they must worship, lest he destroy or harm them. By this Satan contests with God for an empire in the world; and to promote it the more he sometimes deals by fair promises of riches, advancement, pleasure, and such other baits, to allure men to his professed service. Thus are witches drawn to a compact with him. Thus Sylvester the Second gave up himself to the devil for the popedom, and so did several others. When this is not enough to prevail, he adds menacings, and breathes forth cruel threatenings, by which means many heathens are kept in awe by him and worship him, ne noceat, for no other reason but to preserve themselves from hurt by him. In this temptation he propounds himself to Christ as the object of divine worship, and boasts of the kingdoms of the world as things of his disposal; by which he seeks to draw him to fall down before him.