The following is from Chapter 2, entitled "Satan's Devices to Draw The Soul To Sin":
(Notice how Brooks proceeds from one point to another with great logical precision. Each chapter is comprised of first a listing of a "device" used by Satan to entice believers and is then followed by several "remedies" for fighting against the "wiles of the devil." The entire book is done in this fashion.)
Satan's devices for "drawing the soul to sin."
Device I "To Present the bait and hide the hook; to present the golden cup and hide the poison; to present the sweet, the pleasure, and the profit that may flow in upon the soul by yielding to sin, and by hiding from the soul the wrath and misery that will certainly follow the committing of sin. By this device he took our first parents: 'And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know, that in the day yet eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil' (Gen 3:4-5)...giving them an apple in exchange for a paradise."
Remedy (I) "First, Keep at the greatest distance from sin, and from playing with the golden bait that Satan holds forth to catch you; for this you have (Rom. 12.9), 'Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.'...The Greek word that is there rendered 'abhor,' is very significant; it signifies to hate it as hell itself, to hate it with horror."
Remedy (IV) "Seriously to consider, That sin is of a very deceitful and betwitching nature. Sin is from the greatest deceiver, it is a child of hiw own begetting, it is the ground of all the deceit in the world, and it is in it own nature exceeding deceitful. 'But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.' Heb. 3:13 It will kiss the soul and pretend fair to the soul, and yet betray the soul forever. It will with Delilah smile upon us, that it may betray us into the hands of the devil, as she did Samson into the hands of the Philistines...
"When the physicians told Theotimus that except he did abstain from drunkeness and uncleanness he would lose his eyes, his heart was so bewitched to his sins, that he answered, 'Then farewell, sweet light'; he had rather lose his eyes than leave his sin. So a man bewitched with sin had rather lose God, Christ, heaven, and his own soul than part with his sin. Oh, therefore, forever take heed of playing with or nibbling at Satan's golden baits."
Look for more each day from Brooks's "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I am always amazed at how insightful Puritans are when discussing temptations to sin. It is almost like they are sinners themselves. Of course they are, which is why I appreciate their candor and humility. When you read Brooks, you know that he writing from biblical wisdom, but also personal experience. In "When Sinners Say I Do," Harvey speaks of marriages being strengthened by spouses first recognizing their own sin, confessing it, and working on it. It works in marriages, churches, and in all relationships. We lose many opportunities of grace by being too proud to admit failures and sin. Brooks reminds me that we all have fallen short of God's glory. Only after we recognize this are we ready to wage war against the flesh.
Post a Comment