Chapter 8. Of the Saints' Victory Over Their Subtle Enemy, and From Where It Is That Creatures So Overmatched Should Be Able to Stand Against Satan's Wiles

THe second Branch of the Apostles Argument followes, to excite them the more vigourously to their armes; and that is from the possibility, yea, certainty of standing against this subtile enemie, if thus arm'd, That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So that this gives the Apostles argument its due temperament: for he meant not to scare them into a cowardly flight, or sullen despaire of victory, when he tells them their enemy is so subtile and politick: but to excite them to a vigourous resistance, from the assured hope of strength to stand in battel, and victoriously after it; which two I conceive are comprehended in that phrase, (standing against the wiles of Satan. Sometimes to stand implies a fighting posture; so verse 14. Sometimes a conquering posture, Job 19:25. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. That earth which was the field, where all the bloody battels were fought betwixt him and Satan, on it shall he stand, when not an enemy shall dare to show his head. So that taking both these in: the Observation is,

Satan with all his wits and wiles shall never vanquish a soul arm'd with true grace; nay, he that has this armour of God on, shall vanquish him. Look into the Word, you shall not finde a Saint, but has been in the list with him, sifted and winnowed more or lesse by this enemy, yet at last we finde them all coming off with an honorable victory: as in David, Job, Peter, Paul, who were the hardest put to it of any upon record, and lest some should attribute their victory to the strength of their inherent grace, above other of their weaker brethren, you have the glory of their victories appropriated to God, in whom the weak are as strong as the strongest. We shall give a double Reason of this truth, why the Christian who seemes to be so over-match't, is yet so unconquerable.

First, the curse that lies upon Satan and his cause. Gods curse blasts whereever it comes. The Canaanites with their neighbor-Nations were bread for Israel, though people famous for warre; and why? They were cursed Nations. The Egyptians a politick people; Let us deal wisely, (say they) yet being cursed of God; this lay like a thorne at their heart, and was at last their ruine; yea, let the Israelites themselves, (who carry the badge of Gods Covenant on their flesh) by their sins once become the people of Gods curse, and they are trampled like dirt under the Assyrians feet. This made Balak beg so hard for a curse upon Israel, Now there is an irrevokeable curse cleaves to Satan from Genesis 3:14, 15. And the Lord said to the Serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed, &c. which place, though partly meant of the literal serpent, yet chiefly of the devil and the wicked, (his spiritual serpentine brood) as appeares by the enmity pronounced against the Serpents seed and the womans, which clearly holds forth the feud between Christ with his seed, against the devil and his. Now there are two things in that curse which may comfort the Saints. First, the curse prostrates Satan under their feet: Upon your belly shalt you go, which is no more than is elsewhere promised, that God will subdue Satan under our feet. Now this prostrate condition of Satan assures believers, that the devil shall never lift his head (that is, his wily policy) higher than the Saints heele. He may make you limp, but not bereave you of your life, and this bruise which he gives you shall be rewarded with the breaking of his own head, that is, the utter ruine of him and his cause. Secondly, his food is here limited and appointed. Satan shall not devoure whom he will. The dust is his food, which seems to restrain his power to the wicked, who are of the earth earthy, meere dust; but for those who are of a heavenly extraction, their graces are reserved for Christs food, Cant. 7.13. and their souls surely are not a morsel for the devils tooth.

The second reason is taken from the wisdom of God, who as he undertakes the ordering of the Christians way to heaven, Psalms 37:24. so especially this businesse of Satans temptations. We finde Christ was not led of the evil spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, but of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 4:1. Satan tempts not when he will, but when God pleass: and the same Holy Spirit which led Christ into the field, brought him off with victory. And therefore we finde him marching in the Power of the Spirit (after he had repulsed Satan) into Galilee, Luke 4:14. When Satan tempts a Saint, he is but Gods messenger, 2 Corinthians 12:7. There was given to me a thorne in the flesh, the Messenger of Satan to buffet me. So our Translation. But rather as Beza, who will have it in casu recto, the Messenger Satan, implying that he was sent of God to Paul; And indeed the errand he came awas too good and gracious to be his own, Lest I should be exalted above measure; The devil never meant to do Paul such a good office: but God sends him to Paul, as David sent Uriah with letters to Joab, neither knew the contents of their message. The devil and his instruments both are Gods instruments, therefore the wicked are called his sword, his axe: now let God alone to wield the one and handle the other. He is but a bungler that hurts and hackles his own legs with his own axe; which God should do, if his children should be the worse for Satans temptations. Let the devil choose his way, God is for him at every weapon. If he'll try it by force of armes, and assault the Saints by persecution, as the Lord of Hostes, he will oppose him. If by policy and subtilty, he is ready there also. The devil and his whole counsel are but fooles to God. Nay, their wisdom, foolishnesse. Cunning and Art commend every thing but sin. The more artificial the watch, the picture, &c. the better; but the more wit and Art in sin, the worse, because it is employed against an All-wise God, that cannot be out-witted, and therefore will in the end but pay the workmen in greater damnation. The foolishnesse of God is wiser than men, yea then the wisdom of men and devils, that is, the meanes and instruments which God opposs Satan withal. What weaker than a Sermon? who sillier then the Saints in the account of the wise world? yet God is wiser in a weak Sermon, then Satan is in his deep plots (wherein the State-heads of a whole Conclave of profound Cardinals are knock't together:) wiser in his simple ones, then Satan in his Achitophels and Sanballats; and truly God chooss on purpose to defeat the policies of hell and earth by these, that he may put such to greater shame, 1 Corinthians 1:21. How is the great Scholar ashamed to be baffled by a plain Countrey-mans argument? thus God calls forth Job to wrestle with Satan and his Seconds, (for such his three friends showed themselves in taking the devils part) and sure he is not able to hold up the cudgels against the fencing-Master, who is beaten by one of the scholars. God sits laughing while hell and earth sit plotting, Psalms 2:4. He disappoints the devices of the crafty, he breaks their studied thoughts and plots, as the words import, Job 5:12. in one moment pulling down the labors of many years policy. Indeed as great men keep wilde beasts for game and sport, (as the fox, the boare, &c.) so does God Satan and his instruments, to manifest his wisdom in the taking of them. It is observed, that the very hunting of some beasts affords not only pleasure to the Hunter, but also more sweetnesse to the eater. Indeed God by displaying of his wisdom in the pursuit of the Saints enemies does superadde a sweet relish to their deliverances at last. He brake the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat to his people. After he had hunted Pharaoh out of all his formes and burrowes, now he breaks the very braines of all his plots, and serves him up to his people, with the garnishment of his wisdom and power about.

The second part of the apostle's argument follows, meant to rouse them more vigorously to arms — namely, the assurance that standing against this subtle enemy is not only possible but certain, if we are fully armed: "that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." This is what gives the apostle's argument its right balance. He did not intend to frighten them into cowardly retreat or gloomy despair of victory by telling them the enemy was so cunning. Rather, he meant to stir them to vigorous resistance, grounded in the firm expectation of strength to hold their position in battle and to stand victorious after it. Both of these, I believe, are included in the phrase "standing firm against the schemes of Satan." Sometimes "to stand" describes a fighting posture — as in verse 14. Sometimes it describes the posture of victory — as in Job 19:25: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth." That earth — the very field where all the bloody battles between Christ and Satan were fought — on it He will stand at last, when no enemy will dare show his head. Taking both meanings together, the observation is this:

Satan, with all his cleverness and schemes, will never defeat a soul armed with true grace. In fact, the one who wears this armor of God will conquer him. Look through Scripture and you will not find a single saint who was not engaged in some measure with this enemy — sifted and shaken by him to one degree or another. Yet in the end we find them all coming through with an honorable victory: David, Job, Peter, Paul — who were the most severely tested of all on record. And lest anyone attribute their victory to the exceptional strength of their own grace above weaker believers, the glory of their victories is given to God, in whom the weakest are as strong as the strongest. We will give two reasons why the Christian, who seems so outmatched, proves so unconquerable.

First, the curse that rests upon Satan and his cause. God's curse blasts everything it touches. The Canaanites and their neighboring nations, though renowned in war, became food for Israel — and why? They were cursed nations. The Egyptians were a shrewd people: "Let us deal wisely," they said — yet being cursed by God, that curse lay like a thorn in their heart and was ultimately their destruction. Indeed, let the Israelites themselves — who carry the sign of God's covenant in their flesh — once become the people of God's curse through their sins, and they are trampled like dirt under the Assyrian's feet. This is what drove Balak to seek so desperately for a curse upon Israel. Now there is an irrevocable curse that has clung to Satan since Genesis 3:14-15: "The Lord God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, you are cursed...'" — which passage, while partly referring to the literal serpent, speaks chiefly of the devil and the wicked, his spiritual serpentine offspring. This is clear from the enmity declared between the serpent's seed and the woman's, which plainly describes the ongoing conflict between Christ and His people against the devil and his. Now there are two things in that curse that should comfort the saints. First, the curse prostrates Satan under their feet: "On your belly you will go" — which is no more than is promised elsewhere, that God will subdue Satan under our feet. This prostrate condition of Satan assures believers that the devil will never lift his head — that is, his cunning — higher than the saints' heel. He may make you limp, but he cannot take your life. And the bruise he deals you will be answered with the crushing of his own head — the utter ruin of him and his cause. Second, his food is limited and appointed. Satan will not devour whomever he pleases. Dust is his food — which seems to confine his power to the wicked, who are of the earth, earthly, mere dust. But those who are of a heavenly origin have their graces reserved as food for Christ (Song of Songs 7:13), and their souls are certainly no morsel for the devil's teeth.

The second reason is drawn from God's wisdom — for God, having undertaken the ordering of the Christian's path to heaven (Psalm 37:23-24), oversees especially this matter of Satan's temptations. We find that Christ was not led by the evil spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, but by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1). Satan tempts not when he wills, but when God permits — and the same Holy Spirit who led Christ into the field brought Him off with victory. We therefore find Christ returning in the power of the Spirit, after repelling Satan, into Galilee (Luke 4:14). When Satan tempts a saint, he is only God's messenger (2 Corinthians 12:7): "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to torment me." But more precisely, as Beza renders it, he was sent by God to Paul. And indeed the purpose he served was too gracious and good to have been Satan's own design: "to keep me from becoming conceited." The devil never intended to do Paul such a favor — but God sent him to Paul, as David sent Uriah with letters to Joab, with neither knowing the full content of the message. The devil and his instruments are both instruments in God's hands. This is why the wicked are called His sword, His ax. Leave it to God to wield the one and manage the other. Only a clumsy workman hacks his own legs with his own ax — which God would be doing if His children were worse off for Satan's temptations. Let the devil choose his approach — God is ready for him at every weapon. If Satan tries sheer force, assaulting the saints through persecution, the Lord of Hosts will oppose him. If Satan comes through cunning and policy, God is equally prepared there. The devil and all his counsel are fools before God. Indeed, their wisdom is foolishness. Skill and craft enhance everything except sin. The more finely crafted the watch, the painting, and so on, the better — but the more wit and skill applied to sin, the worse, since it is directed against an all-wise God who cannot be outsmarted, and who will in the end only repay the workers with greater condemnation. "The foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25) — indeed, wiser than the combined wisdom of men and devils. That is, the means and instruments God uses against Satan are stronger than all Satan's clever schemes. What is weaker than a sermon? Who looks more foolish to the worldly-wise than the saints? Yet God is wiser in a weak sermon than Satan is in his deepest plots — the kind hatched when the sharpest minds of a whole council of profound advisors put their heads together. God is wiser in His simple servants than Satan is in his Ahithophels and Sanballats. And God deliberately chooses to defeat the strategies of hell and earth through these means, in order to put those strategies to greater shame (1 Corinthians 1:21). How humiliating it is for a great scholar to be bested by a plain farmer's argument! So God calls forth Job to wrestle with Satan and his supporters — for Job's three friends proved themselves to be on Satan's side. And surely the fencing master cannot hold his own against someone who is beaten by one of the students. God sits laughing while hell and earth sit plotting (Psalm 2:4). He thwarts the schemes of the crafty; He shatters their carefully worked-out plans and plots — that is what the language means — pulling down the labors of years of scheming in a single moment (Job 5:12). Indeed, just as great men keep wild animals for sport — the fox, the boar, and others — so God keeps Satan and his instruments to display His wisdom in catching them. It has been observed that hunting some animals yields not only pleasure to the hunter but also a sweeter taste to the one who eats them afterward. In the same way, God, by displaying His wisdom in pursuing the saints' enemies, adds a special sweetness to their deliverances in the end. "He crushed the heads of Leviathan, He gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness" (Psalm 74:14). After He had hunted Pharaoh out of every hiding place and forced him through every disguise, He broke the very core of all his schemes and served him up to His people as a feast, garnished with the display of His wisdom and power.