by God considers no further than whether it be grateful and acceptable to the Sense becomes clamorous if denied and can never be wholly rooted out while we carry this Body about with us whose Wants and natural Motions are the Spring of it It is indeed absolutely subject to the command of the rational Faculty if this exerts its self vigorously and maintains a constant Guard but if it grows remiss if those natural Motions either by Negligence or the Impression of evil Spirits be raised into strong Passions the Danger is evident Sin lieth at the doors and if not repelled by a vigorous Opposition will force its entrance This constant Rebellion of the sensual Appetite against the Reason of Man is that unhappiness which St. Paul so much complains of Rom. VII I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into Captivity to the law of sin c. This alone is a constant Temptation to Mankind but then most dangerous when excited and fomented by the impression of evil Spirits which imprint in the Imagination all those Arguments which can enforce the Desires of the sensual Appetite and render them plausible In Opposition to these we should prepare our selves by a frequent Meditation and full Comprehension of all those Arguments which may perswade us to the performance of our Duty to the restrainment of our Lusts to the continuance of our Obedience If by an assiduous Entertainment of these Arguments in our Thoughts they become familiar and as it were habitual to us no sooner shall we be prompted to sin by the Insurrection of our carnal Appetites or the Sollicitation of infernal Spirits but the contrary Arguments will present themselves oppose and defeat the other If it be suggested to us that this sin includeth some considerable Pleasure the mind on the other side will remember that God sent us not into the World to take our Pleasure as we should think most convenient but to perform those immutable Rules of Justice and Sobriety which he hath prescribed and for the sakes of which he bestowed Existence on us that this proposed Pleasure is indeed mean and trifling depriving us of a far greater Pleasure and drawing eternal Misery upon us If the Body or Imagination now affected urgeth vehemently for the Grant of their Desires the Soul will consider that it is better to deny an unnecessary Gratification to it than to destroy both Soul and Body by a soolish Compliance with it If Secrecy and Security in the Commission of this sin be suggested Reason will oppose the all-seeing Eye of God will dread his Majesty and fear his Anger If the smallness of the sin be pleaded a knowing Soul will presently call to mind that every wilful Sin is mortal and an open Rebellion against God If the uncertainty of future Rewards and Punishments be objected Reason silenceth the Objection and appeals to the Evidence of those Arguments from whence by frequent Meditation it hath received a thorough Conviction And thus in all other Arguments of sin suggested either by the sensual Appetite or the Temptation of the Devil if the Soul be prepared with an exact and ready Comprehension of all the Motives of Obedience if it hath fully weighed them thoroughly digested them and firmly retains them it cannot want the proposed end the defeat of Temptations continuance of Innocence and increase of Piety To prepare the mind with such Considerations will indeed successfully baffle the Assaults of our spiritual Enemy and to employ it continually in such would wholly prevent his Attempt But because such continual Attention to spiritual Meditations is I will not say rare but impracticable in this imperfect State of Life instead of that Men should endeavour to employ their Souls continually with some certain Thoughts which if not Pious yet at least may be innocent It is a no less true than common Maxim That Idleness lays men open to the snare of the Devil The reasonableness of which Position plainly appears from what I have already laid down concerning the manner of the Devils Operation in his Temptation For this Being by imprinting the first Thoughts of any Object in the minds of Men he hath no where so easie an entrance as where the Soul lies open on all sides uncultivated unemployed In such a state the mind of Man is capable of any Impressions and ready to receive them and when it hath received them will scarce make any other than a feeble Opposition to the plausible Insinuations of evil Spirits And for this Reason I suppose the Habitation of the Devil is so often in Scripture said to be more particularly in the Wilderness and in Desart Places where Men for want of Business or innocent Society wherewith to entertain the Faculties of the Soul lay open to his Assaults Whereas if the mind busieth it self continually either in pious Meditations lawful Concerns of the Body Knowledge and Prosecution of useful Arts and Sciences in a chast Society or innocent Recreations the Imagination being prepossessed with the Conception of those Objects wherein the mind is employed leaves no room for the Suggestions of the Devil and happily precludes them Man is a thinking Being enjoying an active and immaterial Soul which as such must necessarily be always employed in some Cogitation or other If then Men will take no care to direct and regulate their Thoughts at all times the infallible effect will be that they must blindly follow either the fortuitous Conceptions of a roving Imagination or the impressions of external Objects or the secret insinuations of subtile and wicked Spirits In this Condition Man inconsiderately follows that Idea which first strikes him and then no wonder the Devil makes use of this favourable opportunity to take Possession of his Imagination and turn it to his own Destruction Having thus represented to you the principal and most effectual Methods of resisting our grand Adversary the Devil arising from our own natural Power and Faculties I proceed to consider the external Assistances whereby Man is enabled to carry on the same Design with Success and these are chiefly two the Grace of God and the Assistance of good Spirits And of these briefly in their Order The Grace of God and the Inspirations of his Holy Spirit are never wanting to faithful Christians in this spiritual Combat He hath engaged that he will never suffer us to be tempted above what we are able but will with the temptation also make a way for us to escape And this Promise he observes inviolably by enlightening our minds by directing our Thoughts by influencing our Wills Not that all the aforementioned Faculties of the Soul of Man and Abilities of resisting the Temptations of evil Spirits are less owing to him than these more extraordinary Emanations both equally proceed from his Gift both are to be ascribed to his Liberality But the former are the natural Faculties of Man which cannot be wanting to him while he is
all Temptations That Excuse is overthrown by the constant Continuation of the kind Influences of the Holy Ghost We receive not now indeed those miraculous Gifts with which the Apostles were once endued Nor is it necessary that we should receive them Those contribute not directly to the securing of our Salvation which may be equally obtained without them and lost with them All that is necessary all that is convenient for us is yet continued to us The Holy Ghost still diffuseth his inestimable Benefits to the Souls of Men excites them by inward Motions confirms them by his Assistance perfects them by his Graces which least we should doubt that he still plentifully bestoweth on us for want of some external Assurance he hath instituted the Holy Sacraments more particularly the Eucharist as visible Pledges of his Distribution of Grace to all faithful Believers herein bestowing no less a Benefit to the Members of the Church than he did when he formerly descended as upon this day attended with mighty Signs and Miracles with the Gift of Tongues and Cure of Diseases We are assured that altho' any one speak with the tongues of Men and Angels altho' he be able to remove Mountains yet it is possible for him to miscarry and become a cast-away But to him that receiveth this Holy Sacrament worthily to him that bewails his former Sins and seriously endeavours to reform them to him that enters a new into Covenant with God and lays hold of the Merits of his Crucified Saviour in the Participation of these sacred Mysteries to him that herein reconciles himself to Christ his head by a lively Faith and Repentance and to all the Members of the Church by unfeigned Charity it is not possible to miss his desired end the Salvation of his Soul because God who cannot lie hath promised it by his Word and Spirit the Son hath sealed it by his Blood and the Holy Ghost confirmed it as at first by his Descent upon this day so now also by the sensible effects of his Grace which he diffuseth to all worthy Communicants To these three Persons but one God Father Son and Holy Ghost be ascribed all Honour Power and Glory henceforth and for evermore The Second SERMON ON TRINITY-SUNDAY 1689. At LAMBETH CHAPPEL 1 Cor. II. 11. The things of God knoweth no Man but the Spirit of God THE Doctrine of the Holy and Ever-blessed Trinity in Honour of which this Day hath for some Ages been Instituted and Celebrated in the Church is that alone among all the Principles of Christianity which carrieth an undeniable difficulty along with it and hath been always made use of by the Enemies of the Cross to oppose the Revelation of Christ. Other Doctrines such as the Resurrection of the Body Incarnation of the Son of God and such like may appear Incredible but at the same time it cannot be denied that they are possible And when the Motives of Faith are added to them must by all men rightly Judging be allowed to be credible But it is pretended that the Existence of a Trinity of Persons in the same Divine Nature is even contradictory and therefore impossible that it overthroweth the Primary Notions of our Understanding and allowed Principles of Reason Even many Professors of Christianity who acknowledge all the Revelations of Christ to be true and believe him to have acted by a Divine Mission yet Stumble at this Stone of Offence and therefore to avoid it have taken up unwarrantable Opinions plainly repugnant to the whole Tenour of the Gospel as the Arrians of old and Socinians in later Days That we therefore may not be scandalized with the same Difficulties that we may be able to resist the Delusions and even overcome the Prejudices of these Men it will not be amiss to consider as far as we may with Safety and Modesty that Doctrine which is the peculiar business of this Day For altho ' it becomes us not too narrowly to pry into the Secrets of Heaven and rashly determine Matters the cognizance of which belongeth not to us yet since it hath pleased God to reveal this Mystery to Mankind and make it an Article of Faith it now ceaseth to be a Secret of Heaven and it is both our Duty and Concern to enquire into the Credibility of it For the Christian Religion debars us not from a scrupulous search into the Truth of her Doctrines and placeth no Merit in a blind belief of her Propositions It is accepted indeed by God as an act of Obedience and Merit I mean Merit in a large sence to believe his Promises of a Resurrection and eternal Life after Death as it was imputed unto Abraham for Righteousness that trusting in the Promises of God of giving him a better Inheritance in another Land he forsook his own Country and his Father's House although neither we nor he have received the Assurance of those Promises by the Evidence of Sence He had not yet seen the Land of Canaan and we do not yet enjoy the Possession of those Glorious Promises Notwithstanding all this God neither requires nor accepts an irrational Belief in Man but as He at first endued him with reasonable Faculties so He expects he should make use of them to his Glory which is by no other thing so much diminish'd as by affixing to him Revelations repugnant to Reason and including Contradictions and that the Doctrine of the Trinity is not such I will endeavour to manifest as plainly as the obscurity of the Subject will permit The Foundations of my intended Discourse are laid down by the Apostle in the Text and in the Context of it which therefore it will be necessary to explain and therein I desire you to accompany me by looking upon the place The Apostle had in the first eight Verses of this Chapter declared the nature and simplicity of his Preaching and Doctrine that it was not recommended by pompous and affected Ornaments of Rhetorick that it depended not upon Sillogisms and nice Speculations as did that of the Gentile Philosophers who were esteemed the only knowing Men of the Age that the Matters declared by him were not such as might be found out by the natural Light of Reason or when found out were such as would be applauded by the World as extraordinary flights of Speculation They were not the Wisdom of Men nor the Wisdom of this World Ver. 5 and 6. But the Wisdom of God Matters not to be found out by the sole Guidance of Reason but deliver'd by the infallible Revelation of God who had attested the Truth of them by the wonderful effects of his Power and Spirit manifested in the Miracles and successful Preaching of Christ and his Apostles And least it should seem incredible to any that the Matters of Divine Revelation should be inconceivable to Human Reason acting by its own Power he sheweth us in the ninth Verse That this was no more than was foretold by the ancient Prophets whose Veracity was allowed by
therein than he did before Scarce any Man however having plentifully enjoyed all the satisfactions of this Life if his Life could be renewed to him upon Condition of living again in the same and in no other manner than he did before would esteem it any great Benefit He might perhaps accept it through fear of Death because he knows not what it is to die but for the intrinsick Merit of it he would hardly judge it to be desirable Such is the Condition of humane Life considered in a natural State and what great Excellency can be discovered in all this which may nourish our Pride or enlarge our Pretences So inconsiderable a part of the Universe is Mankind And then shall so mean a Being vie with God require the general Laws of Providence to be over-ruled for his sake become swoln with Pride think himself more worthy than all the rest of the Creation and continually aspire to greater Priviledges than were at first assigned to him Alas poor Mortal however thou mayst advance thy Pretences and flatter thy self with a fond Opinion of thy own Greatness that Body which thou carriest about with thee and canst not shake off that very Body upon which and the dependances of it thou so much valuest thy self proclaim thy Imperfection If I should call thee Dust and Ashes thy end will manifest thee to be no more but this will only express thy Infirmity I want a word to express the Vanity of thy mind If I should call thee nothing thy self hast often confessed thy self to be worse than nothing when amidst the Crosses of fortune or torments of Diseases thou hast often wished to become nothing for to avoid them and wilt once again wish it after Death if thou dost not correct thy foolish Arrogance So little Reason hath Man in general to value himself upon the Excellency of his Nature and as to the divers Pretentions before-mentioned hath yet much less If Atheists pretend an independent Existence from God let them demonstrate it by continuing their Existence for ever If they could at first bestow Existence upon themselves they may by the same Power always continue it if this exceeds their Ability much more will the other If Deists assert the Actions of Man to be uncontrouled by God and the Government of the World to be wholly neglected by him let them reconcile to such stupid Negligence the eternal Attributes of Justice Wisdom and Goodness which they allow to be in God let them stifle if they can the Checks of their Conscience for Sins committed in secret and solve the undeniable Characters of extraordinary Providence interposing in the World These impious Opinions indeed cannot be received by the followers of any revealed Religion but the others may As first That all other parts of the Creation were made for the sake and the service of Man alone An Opinion which however generally taken up by Men and in some measure Useful to excite their Gratitude to their Creator yet seems to have proceeded from too great an esteem of humane Nature and tendeth directly to â—oment its Pride It is certain indeed that almost all parts of the visible World are subservient to the use of Man that God hath not denied to us the use of any one of them in which sense it may indeed be said that all things were created for the use of Man as it is said in Scripture Man was created for the Woman and the Woman for the Man that is not for that end alone but for that among other Reasons And thus even the Angels are subservient to Man being sent forth as Ministring Spirits to such as are heirs of Salvation But to imagine that all things were Created only for the use and the sake of Man hath no appearance of Truth To affirm that of the blessed Angels who are so far superiour to us in Dignity would be an intolerable Arrogance and to assert it even of other created Beings would be a vain Presumption Perhaps not the thousandth part of the Universe is visible to us And then what are we concerned in so many vast Orbs as are beyond our Heavens I know many have imagined them to have been created for the Seat of God and the Reception of our glorified Bodies after the Resurrection but that is too gross a Conceit to need any Refutation Even in the visible World no small part of the Creation lays undiscovered and not a little of what we know is wholly unuseful to us It becomes us rather with Reverence to reflect upon our Subjection to God our common Creatour than endeavour to set our selves before the rest of the Creation and flatter our selves into an ambitious Opinion of an Universal Monarchy In the next place to ascribe so much Excellency to our Nature as to imagine that the general Laws of Providence ought to be violated for the Convenience of it is a Pride exceeding all Comparison as if the petty Interests of Man in this Life were of greater moment than the Preservation of the publick Order and therein the Harmony of the World Is it not sufficient to have received from God the benefit of Existence to enjoy all the Blessings of Earth and Heaven which the ordinary course of Nature directed by the Author of it bestoweth on us but the Fabrick of the World must be overturned and the general Laws of its Government be reversed for us Yet this unreasonable Expectation generally seizeth Men in Afflictions when all the hard Words which they heap upon adverse Fortune are directed against the Divine Government of the World the impartial Execution of which without respect to the little Interests of private Men produceth that diversity of Accidents which is generally called Fortune Farther to murmur at the Divine Administration of the World because no more excellent or more certain Happiness is assigned to Men in this Life is an effect of the same unreasonable Ambition of being more noble Creatures than we really are For while we are a compound of Soul and Body endued with gross Organs of Sense and subject to the publick Order of the World it is impossible that our Pleasures should be other than gross and adapted to the Organ of their Reception that is our Sense We may tire our selves in hunting after new Methods of Happiness and afflict our selves in the Disappointment of them but while our Natures continue to be what they are and the same Order is preferved in the World it is impossible that the Pleasures of Life should be any other than what they are that is mean in their own Nature and uncertain in their Duration To propose the acquisition of a compleat Knowledge of all things in this Life of an absolute imperturbation of Mind and constant Infallibility is no less Vain and to boast of such Perfections as some have done little less than Madness Our present Nature admitteth no such Improvements which while we are content to own we must also own those
Assistance of God who as he giveth no Commission to the Devil to tempt Men so neither doth he give him any Assistance in the tempting of them That only natural Means therefore remain unto him and that this natural Means can be no other than by working upon the Imaginations of Men that this he effects by imprinting Ideas and Conceptions of several Objects therein either by producing such Motions in the Brain which create such Conceptions in the Soul or by immediately Communicating such Conceptions to it or perhaps by some other unknown way but whatsoever the manner of his Operation may be that the effect is and can be no other than the Production of bare Ideas or first Cogitations in the mind of Man For as for his tempting one Man by the Sollicitation or Persecution of another that must be reduced to the same Original since he could induce one Man to tempt another no otherwise than by tempting that first Man in a proper and strict Sense From this short view of the manner of the Devils effecting his Temptations and the Power which attends them we may easily conceive our own Abilities to resist them For the same Power which we have either to approve or reject the first Thoughts of any Object arising in our Minds the same Power we have to repel the Insinuations of evil Spirits since these extend no farther without our own Concurrence The first Thoughts of the Mind are the bare Conception of any Objects before any Judgment be formed of them or the Will be yet inclined on either side in relation to them As if the Mind should conceive the material Act of any sin and even with all the Circumstances of it and run over all the apparent Advantages which may arise from the Reception of it and yet hath not determined whether it shall admit or reject it Such a bare Conception precedes every Operation of the Will The Imagination or Understanding first represents the Object to the Will and then the Will formeth a Judgment of it either consenting to or disapproving the thing proposed The latter the use of the Will is always in our Power and cannot beforced by any Power whether of Men or Devils nay with Reverence be it spoken cannot be over-ruled by God himself For the measure of his Power is his Will and this cannot be supposed to alter the Nature of things which himself hath fixed and if he should by an extraordinary Act of Power constrain the Will of Man the Operation would be neither good nor bad because not free and so capable neither of Reward nor Punishment So that Man is secure on this side his Will always remains untouched the only Approaches which can be made to him are by his Imagination or Faculty of Conception And this is not always in his Power Evil Spirits may impress Ideas in it without his own Concurrence the Presence of Objects will naturally produce them and the secret workings of Memory will recal them In all this the Will is not concerned such Thoughts will enter into the Soul not only without the Consent but even against the Desire of Man He cannot avoid the Conception of those Objects which are presented to him either by evil Spirits or external Objects or the Suggestion of his own Memory But then as Man cannot avoid them so neither is he to answer for them no more than when he hears the Relation of a Sin committed by another or seeth it with his own Eyes in which Case he cannot avoid the Conception of it and yet is not rendred Guilty thereby Which sufficiently confutes the Opinion of some Men who maintain these first Cogitations to be in our own Power and that as such we are answerable for them For whether the Conception be imprinted in the Mindby the Suggestion of evil Spirits or by the Fruitfulness of our own Invention it is of the same Nature and hath no more necessary Effect than that which is produced by the Report of the Senses whether seeing or hearing In which last Cases it cannot be denied that a Conception of the matter related or seen cannot be prevented The Soul is so quick a Being that no sooner doth the Object strike the Organ of sense but it frameth an idea of it If then in such obvious Cases the first Thoughts of the Soul may be absolutely involuntary if the Mind cannot prevent the gross Operations of Sense much less will it be able to exclude the more subtle Impressions of spiritual Beings such as are the Temptations of Devils or the inward Suggestions of Imagination But then as I said before Man is not accountable for these because not within his Power A Man indeed may turn away his Eyes from beholding Sin he may stop his Ears when he heareth pleasing Relations of Sin he may for the most part stifle these Suggestions whether of evil Spirits or a depraved Imagination he may expel them from his Mind and permit them not to Lodge themselves within his Breast This was the Practice of our blessed Saviour whose Example should be our constant Pattern He had framed such a clear Conviction of his Duty and firm Resolution of performing it that in him to master any Temptation was no more than to discover that it was contrary to the Commands of God and his own Duty No sooner did the Devil suggest to him the miraculous Conversion of Stones into bread for the satisfying of his Hunger but he rejected the Proposal because contrary to a due Reliance upon the Divine Promises of Protection When he would have perswaded him to work an unnecessary Miracle in throwing himself off the Pinacle of the Temple he immediately remembred that God had forbidden Men to tempt his Providence and the remembrance of that Prohibition was a sufficient Safeguard against the Suggestion of the Devil When he tempted our Lord to fall down and worship himself by promising him in Reward the Kingdoms of the earth and all the glory of them he opposed to this the Divine Command of worshipping God alone and did not so much as enter into debate whether he should admit the Proposal but with a generous Disdain immediately rejected all Thoughts of it with a Get thee behind me Satan His Resolutions of Obedience to God alone were as quick as his conceptions of what was proposed to him by the subtle Tempter and that because he had firmly rooted this Principle in his Mind that whatsoever was his Duty he would perform whatsoever was unlawful he would reject If we by assiduous Meditation would take care to fix the same Principle in our Minds if we would diligently recall it to mind as often as any Object of choice were presented to us if the same pious Indignation would seize us as often as any thing were proposed to us Derogatory to the Honour of God and our own real Interest it would be no less easie for us to overcome the Temptations of the Devil than it was for
Man which depend not upon the good or bad use of them and are never withdrawn from us nor denied to us The latter are the supernatural Gift of God which Man cannot claim in right of his Nature are conferred only to the worthy receiver and are withdrawn upon the abuse or neglect of them It is no hard matter to conceive how God herein influenceth the Soul of Man after it hath been shewed that even finite Spirits can effect it If they could by long Experince find out what Cogitations of the mind were annexed to such Motions in the Brain He surely who did at first unite them cannot be ignorant of them If evil Spirits by the Priviledge of immaterial Beings can communicate Thoughts to the Soul of Man by immediate influence He certainly who is the supreme Lord of all can do much more He may proceed in other Methods nothing being impossible to him nor himself subject to the Laws of Nature However this we must assuredly believe that God changeth not the Order of Nature herein in violently with-holding our Wills from Consenting to the Sollicitations of the Devil He deals with us as with rational Beings pointeth out the right way to us perswadeth us to enter into it fixeth Rewards at the end of it moveth us gently by his Holy Spirit to embrace it but after all will not forcibly carry us into it And thus he deals with us when tempted by the Devil he giveth us sufficient strength to withstand him enlightens our Souls with a full Prospect of those Arguments which may withdraw the Will from his Sollicitations but after all leaves it at Liberty and awaits the issue Not that this extraordinary Assistance is given to all who are tempted of the Devil but that it is denied to none who rightly seek it He withdraws his Grace if it be not earnestly desired if it be not thankfully received if it be not soberly used if it be not rightly improved as he formerly delivered up the Rebellious Israelites to their own hearts lusts and to follow their own Imaginations and as still by the solemn Censures of the Church when rightly applied wicked Christians are delivered up to Satan to be led captive by him at his Will Another method whereby God assisteth Mankind extraordinarily against the Temptations of the Devil is by restraining his force and limiting his Malice The Devil cannot perform any Act of Temptation without the ordinary permission of God and oft-times he is extraordinarily restrained by his Almighty Power from tempting faithful Men beyond the proportion of their Ability to endure God putteth a Hook in the Nose of this Leviathan and fixeth his bounds unto him how far he shall pass and no farther as in the Case of Job where he determined how far his Power of Temptation should extend and forbad him to proceed any farther than to such a Degree And this is one of the general and most conspicuous Benefits of Christianity that by the Reception and publick Profession of it the Devil that old Dragon in the Revelations is chained up his Power abridged his Malice weakned Before the Promulgation of the Christian Religion he had procured to himself an universal Worship in the World except in the small spot of Judea erected Oracles and daily effected lying wonders Men were from their Infancy trained up in his Service and to be subject to him was the Unhappiness of their Education If any opposed his Worship he was presently decried as an Atheist as an introducer of new Religions obnoxious to severe Punishments by the Laws of the Empire if Men entertained a Suspicion of that irrational Worship which he had formed he could amuse the Minds of his followers by seeming Miracles Fright them into his Obedience by Prodigies keep up the Reputation of Divinity by Sorceries and Predictions All this was then permitted to him till the glorious Light of the Gospel appeared his Power then sensibly decreased untill the open Exercise of it was wholly determined by the publick Profession of Christianity in the World He was then remanded to the bottomless Pit ceased to be the Prince of the Air deprived of the Power of working apparent Miracles at least in Christian Countries confined to secret and dark Operations only and even those in great measure enervated and defeated by that ordinary Grace which is bestowed on all Christians in the publick Sacraments and Offices of the Church It remains that I add somewhat of the Assistance given to us by good Spirits against the Temptations of evil Spirits of which the Solemnity of this day doth particularly require a grateful Acknowledgment which was piously instituted by the Church in Commemoration of those many and eminent Benefits which we receive from the Holy Angels Among these none of the least is what we now treat of their assisting us in resisting the Temptations of evil Spirits For being ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be Heirs for Salvation as it is Heb. I. 14. they apply themselves with unwearied Diligence to this Charitable Office attending the Motions of our Minds insinuating good Counsels countermining the Stratagems of the Devil enlightning the Mind moving the Affections promoting the good of the Soul How all this is performed by them we may easily conceive after a clear Comprehension of the method whereby evil Spirits operate in our Souls For whatsoever natural Power these Possess equally belong to the Holy Angels who partake of the same Nature and differ only in the quality of good and bad If they have the Power of moving Matter and so of affecting our Imagination much more these who are the Messengers of God If they can imprint Ideas in our Mind by immediate influence much more these whose pious Designs are blessed and prospered by their Almighty patron If they by long Observation have found out the turnings and windings of the Heart of Man these possess by Nature an equal knowledge and have obtained a much greater by Divine Communication If they have discovered the less defensible places of the Soul of Man where the Attempt may most successfully be made these have discerned the Arguments of Obedience which are most perswasive to every single Man and fail not to apply them fitly If they prosecute their hatred and wicked Designs against Mankind with unwearied Malice these continue their good Offices with no less constant Diligence and Charity If they be rendered vigorous and powerful in all their Actions by their Subtilty Agility long Experience and comprehensive Knowledge these obtain the same Faculties in equal Perfection and with far greater Probability of success in the use of them in as much as therein these act in Obedience to God they in opposition to him these with a constant Complacency and Prospect of reward to be obtained by it those with a perpetual Vexation as knowing the increase of their Punishment doth attend it these assisted and directed by God those restrained and with-holden by him In