ABADDON, AND MAHANAIM;
OR,?mns    anEm  fa~rtian  ntcXs.
BY
JOSEPH FY BERG, D.D.,
Pastor of the Second Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA:
HIGGINS & PERKINPINE, 40 N. FOURTI ST.
1856.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
BY IIIGGINS & PERKINPINE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, SANSOM ST.




PREFACE.
THE subject of demoniacal influence has become
almost practically ignored in the prevalent theology
of our day. The reaction consequent upon a period
of most grotesque superstition has probably produced this result, and the design of the ensuing
pages is to restore the teachings of the Scriptures
to their proper place in the creed of Christian faith,
or at least to contribute to that end, by presenting
those acknowledged truths of the Bible which
unquestionably bear upon this topic. The present
period in the history of the Church and of the
world has been signalized by an almost unprecedented attention, amounting to fanaticism, to socalled spiritual manifestations. That these phenomena are in very many instances the merest tricks
of mountebanks who have imposed on popular
credulity, is no doubt true, but that they are all
to be resolved into this explanation, is, to my mind,
not so clear. I believe it to be altogether possible,
that a real demoniacal influence may, in many
1.k




6                PRFFACE.
instances be put forth, and though I have never
witnessed any of the performances of the alleged
"spirits," and what is more, never intend to be a
party to any such exhibition, I still deem myself
prepared to try the spirits whether they be of God,
by a plain appeal to the great test of truth, to which
all things spiritual must be brought at last. The
very language of the apostle in the passage just
cited, is peculiarly impressive and significant. Of
course, we need not be told what every commentator will tell us, respecting the meaning of the
writer, but is it not altogether possible, and even
probable, that there was a more literal import in
his mind than is usually supposed? Is it not true
that Satan rules in the children of disobedience, and
that he has legions of evil spirits at his command,
all, like himself, engaged in the infernal work of
deceiving that they may destroy? Is it not true,
that Satan has facilities for reaching the human
mind and influencing human passions, and even
directing human agency, which are shared by the
hosts at his command?  Why, then, should it seem
an improbable thing, that the apostle should have
designed these very words, as a warning against
that malign influence, which is so often and so
fatally exerted to the betrayal and ruin of souls?
To my mind, this idea appears to be the legitimate




PREFACE.                   7
expression of the sense of the apostle. Besides, if
I mistake not, there are direct and specific predictions bearing upon this very thing, as eminently
characteristic of the present period. This is "the
Time of the End." It is then, or rather, now, that
"Satan comes down in great wrath, knowing that
his time is short." With reference to this very
period, the time of the sixth and seventh vials, it
is written, that "spirits of daemons" go forth "working wonders," and if I err in applying these predictions to the so-called spiritual manifestation, I
have at least, as yet, seen no evidence sufficient to
prove that it is an error. I know, we have had
philosophical and psychological treatises almost
without number, but they are as great a marvel, and
their explanations are as unintelligible, as the very
subject of which they treat. I greatly prefer the
Bible philosophy, though in the estimation of the
wise and learned, this may be proof of the want of
a philosophical mind. Hegel's naive and characteristic confession is worthy of commemoration.
"I have found," says he, "but one man who understands me, and he does not!" Probably, it is owing
to the neglect of the authoritative teachings of the
Sacred Scriptures, that the impression has come to
prevail by a kind of tacit prescription, which consigns all belief in the demoniacal influence to the




8                 PREFACE.
fellowship of the Salem  witchcraft and kindred
delusions, and assumes as a thing to be taken for
granted, that no diabolical or dsemoniacal influences
can be exerted, under the New Testament dispensation, even if they ever had existence under the Old,
which some seem almost to doubt. Should this be
so, we must commend to such persons, a closer study
of the Scriptures, as an infallible corrective of this
error. No truth is more clearly part of the revealed
counsel of God than this to which we have already
adverted. No doctrine stands out in bolder relief
upon the sacred page, and is reiterated with more
frequent and solemn warnings, than that which
teaches the direct, constant and malignant activity
of the hosts of hell, in deceiving, betraying, tormenting and destroying the souls of men.
In close relation with the exposition of the Scriptural doctrine of demoniacal influence is the opposite and comforting truth, that Holy Angels are
sent forth as ministering spirits to them who are
heirs of salvation. This is a truth which all Christians hold, and though in some respects a distinct
dogma, its relation to the system of Christian doctrine renders its consideration apposite in connection with the subject of the malign influences which
Satan and his angels continually exert.  Jacob
called the place where the angels of God met him,




PREFACE.                   9
Mahanaim, i. e., "two camps," indicating two companies of angels, one as the vanguard, the other as
the rearguard of the pilgrim of faith.
The object proposed in the following pages is to
condense the teachings of the word of God upon
these subjects, and then to leave the matter with
the mind and conscience and heart of those who
may be interested in this inquiry.
Philadelphia, December 6, 1855.








EPIIESIANS IV. 27.
27. Neither give place to the devil.
2 KINGS VI. 15,16, 17.
15. And when the servant of the man of God was risen
early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both
with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him,
Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16. And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us
are more than they that be with them.
17. And Elisha prayed and said, LORD, I pray thee, open
his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of
the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
JOB I. 6, 7.
6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among
them.
7. And the LoRD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?
Then Satan answered the LoRD and said, From going to and
fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.








CHAPTER       I.
SATAN, THE ENEMY.
THIS admonition of the apostle Paul has special
reference to the government of the passions.  It
stands in connection with a number of practical suggestions respecting the life and conversation of believers, and constitutes one of those terse, summary
and comprehensive precepts, in which the writings
of the inspired apostle abound. "By no means give
place to the devil." The Christian is required to
stand on his guard, to watch against the encroachments of the adversary, and never to yield to his
solicitations, or to his assaults.  As the soldier of
Jesus Christ, set for the defence and maintenance of
the station entrusted to him, he is to hold it at any
personal sacrifice, and by no means to give place to
the devil. This is evidently the import of the text.
The Scriptures plainly teach the existence of a
mighty apostate angel, who bends all the resources
of his power to the grand purpose of deceiving, betraying and destroying the souls of men. Hence
2




14          SATAN, TIE ENEMY.
the frequency and earnestness with which holy men
of God, who spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost, warn the Church and the world against his
wiles, are to be regarded, not as the offspring of
exaggerated apprehension, but as words of truth
and soberness.  In intellect, in strength, in powers
of perception, in subtlety, in all the faculties which
make a created spirit formidable, he towers far above
the hosts of darkness, who obey and follow him as
their leader and prince. The titles ascribed to him
in the Sacred Scriptures all illustrate his malignity
and his power.  They imply that he is destitute of
every good principle —that he falters not in view of
any expedient which may help him to consummate
his schemes of ruin. He is to be deterred by no
suggestions of pity; a stranger alike to truth and
love, he lies in wait to deceive, and by all the devices
of infernal cunning, he toils, tasking his mighty
energies to the utmost, in order to delude, degrade
and devour the victims of his perfidious cruelty.
In the Old Testament writings, he is called BELIAL,
a Hebrew word, which signifies literally "good for
nothing," one who is reprobate to all good. He is
called SATAN, the adversary, denoting his implacable
enmity to God and man; LUCIFER, the morning star,
indicating the brilliancy of his intellect; LEVIATHAN, the crocodile, from his insatiate cruelty. In




SATAN, THE ENEMY.               15
the New Testament he is spoken of as the DEVIL,
or the Calumniator, because he is the accuser of the
brethren; as the Tempter, as a Liar and a Murderer from the beginning; as the Old Serpent, who
deceived Eve by his subtlety, and as "the Deceiver."
HIe is represented in the apocalyptic vision as the
Great Dragon —as the Angel of the Bottomless Pit,
whose name is, in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in Greek
Apollyon, the DESTROYER. The apostle Paul styles
him "the Prince of the power of the air," alluding
probably to the limits within which Satan is confined with his angels and subjects; and the same
apostle designates him as the God of this world, because wicked men serve him, are blinded by him,
and led captive at his will. These are the principal
titles ascribed to the devil in the Scriptures, and
sufficiently indicate his character and power. Before
proceeding to inquire into the modes by which the
influence of Satan is exerted, and its ancient and
modern manifestations, it will be proper to make a
few preliminary remarks.  Strictly speaking, the
term Devil is a proper noun, or the name applicable
only to the leader of the fallen angels. Our version
speaks of devils as though there were many, but the
original word is daimonia, daemons, which properly
means the spirits of departed human beings, and is
employed in the Scriptures of the New Testament




16         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
to designate, indifferently, fallen angels, and disembodied spirits who are made the objects of idolatrous
worship.  The word Aa3po;oO, devil, in the New
Testament is never used in the original to designate
any other being but SATAN, except in a single
instance, and then it is employed by Christ, figuratively, to denote the enormity of the crime of Judas,
who betrayed him. " Have not I chosen you twelve,
and one of you is a devil." In every instance in
which the term "devils " occurs as a plural noun in
the New Testament, it will be seen that the original
word is daemons. This distinction will be found of
practical importance in the course of this discussion.
Again, when we speak of Satan, we must guard
against the error of supposing that he is ubiquitous.
HIe is not Omnipresent; if he were, he would be
God. He is not even every where present on
the earth, at the same time. HIe possesses the
power of going to and fro over the earth, and
doubtless can change his place of sojourn with the
rapidity of thought. This is implied by the words
of Christ-" I saw Satan, fall like lightning from
heaven." In the book of Job, (i. 6, 7,) we read,
" Now there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan
came with them. And the Lord said to Satan,
whence comest tiou? Then Satan answered the




SATAN, THE ENEMY.               17
Lord and said,'From going to and fro in the
earth and from walking up and down in it.'" To
the same purport is the saying of the apostle, " Be
sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil,
goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour."  A spirit, not being confined within the
material barriers which impede the motions of an
embodied creature, may pass with inconceivable
rapidity from one place to another, but the presence
of a spiritual being is limited by its finite nature.
God is the Spirit whose presence fills the universe.
This is an exclusive attribute of the Deity. Ite
shares this glory with no creature, and therefore we
are not to conceive in any way that this faculty of
ubiquity pertains to Satan.
The Prince of Darkness is not alone in his condemnation, for we read of Satan and his angels,
and the Scriptures lead us to infer that the number
of the hosts who own him  as their sovereign, is
beyond computation great.   Inferior to him in
capacity, of different grades in authority, intellect,
and strength, they are all devilish in the malice and
hatred with which they unite in tempting and deceiving, and in seeking to subvert and destroy the
foundations of human happiness and peace. In the
epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul teaches this doctrine explicitly. Hle represents the Church of the
2*




18          SATAN, TIIE ENEMY.
living God, and each believer for himself, as engaged
in a constant warfare with the powers of darkness.
For "we wrestle not with flesh and blood"-if we
did, the danger would be less-but we "wrestle not
with flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world-against wicked spirits in high places."
The Devil is therefore a usurper. He has occupied this earth with his armies, and claims to be its
god. Here he has set up the standard of rebellion
against the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
The banners of the Prince of Peace float from all
the battlements and towers of Zion, displaying,
upon their pure white field, the ensigns of light
and love —and Satan builds his strong-holds in the
dark places of the earth, and from all the habitations of cruelty, flings in defiance of King Jesus, his
flag upon the breeze, and musters the powers of
darkness and the principalities of hell to fight
against the Lord and his annointed.
We are not to imagine, however, that the spiritworld is peopled solely by malignant beings or
fallen angels. God forbid! Jehovah is the God
of Sebaoth-the Lord of Hosts. There are angels
who excel in strength, cherubim    radiant with
knowledge; seraphim burning with love, principalities and powers, ministers of his who do his




SATAN, THE ENEMY.               19
will, flying at the command of Jehovah Jesusguarding his Church-protecting his saints-ministering, to them  who are the heirs of salvation.
These crowd around the Lord Jesus Christ and
hail him  as their Prince.  These constitute his
shining retinue-attend him in his conquests, and
celebrate his triumphs and his praise. Left to ourselves, we could not make a stand against the
armies of hell, but Christ is with us. The angel of
the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them. When the King of Syria
warred against Israel, finding himself thwarted by
the prophet Elisha, he sent horses and chariots, and
a great host, and by night encompassed the city of
Dotham, where the man of God dwelt. "And when
the servant of the prophet was risen early, and gone
forth, behold a host encompassed the city, both
with horses and chariots. And his servant said
unto him,'Alas! my master, how shall we do?'
And he answered,'Fear not: for they that are
with us are more than they that are with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said,'Lord, I pray thee
open his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord
opened the eyes of the young man and he saw, and
behold the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about Elisha."  2 Kings vi. 18.
The ministry of angels, whether of light or dark



20          SATAN, TIE ENEMY.
ness, is a most important doctrine of the Scriptures;
and it is remarkable, considering the prominence
given to it in the word of God, that it should
occupy so small a space in the theological writings
and the popular teachings of the present day. It is
a theme which is comparatively rarely introduced
into the pulpit and it would seem as though much
which is distinctly revealed in the oracles of God,
for the instruction and warning of believers, had
been, by a kind of tacit consent, practically ignored,
as though it were obsolete truth, having reference
wholly to a by-gone age. The cause of this neglect is probably to be found in the persuasion that
the doctrine of Satanic influences has, in former
times, been grossly perverted, and so distorted and
exaggerated, as to minister to superstition and
fanaticism, rather than to real edification. This is
certainly an extreme which must be avoided. It
is itself a development of Satan's cunning; but
after running the truth beyond the conservative
limits of Scripture into wild extravagance and
folly, he has changed the mode of assault, and now
under the plea of superior light and knowledge, he
seeks to discard important doctrines, that he may
practise, not upon the fears, but the presumption of
men, and prosper to their ruin, without rebuke.
We believe we are prepared to show, that many of




SATAN, THE ENEMY.               21
the so-called developments of spiritual science,
which have been vaunted as modern discoveries,
destined to exert a powerful influence as new light
from the spirit world, even, and as a new revelation from heaven, are nothing more and nothing
less, than emanations of old darkness, devilish devices, known to the heathen, thousands of years
ago, practised by them and by apostate Jews, under
the old dispensation, forbidden by the law of Moses
under pain of death, and denounced in the New
Testament, almost in the last chapter of the Bible,
with the fearful menace of eternal damnation. It
is written, "The fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and whore-mongers, and SORCERERS,
and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone;
which is the second death." (Rev. xxi. 8.) Shall we
through infidel sneers at fanaticism, stultify the
solemn declarations of the book of God? Shall we
yield to the ignorance or prejudices of persons, who
never make the testimony of the Lord the man of
their counsel?  What would this be, but giving
place to the devil?  There is a most intimate
connection between the prosperity of the church,
the growth in grace of believers, and the proper
and seasonable administration of the truth. God
has ordained his truth as the spiritual nourishment




22         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
of the soul, and in the temptations peculiar to every
age, he has declared that his word is a lamp to the
Christian pilgrim's feet. Hence David thankfully
avows, "By the word of thy lips I have kept me
from the paths of the destroyer."
Is it not therefore the duty of every minister of
the Lord Jesus, who would be true to his master,
to his trust, and to his conscience, like the prophet
Habakkuk, to get him up into his tower and watch,
and when the Providence of God points out a growing evil, to warn the faithful against THE ENEMY?
To some minds, the very announcement of the
subject which we would discuss, indicates a want of
sound philosophy. With them, Satan is the object
of ridicule. They regard the Devil as occupying a
position in the system of revelation similar to the
clown in a pantomime. With them, Satan is the
staple of the coarse jest and the ribald profanity,
which betrays a heart hardened by the deceitfulness
of sin. Let them see to it, that the words of Christ
witness not against them: "W o unto you that laugh
now, for ye shall mourn and weep." That Satan
does exert a most powerful influence for evil upon
the minds of men, is a truth which God himself has
revealed, and which cannot therefore be ignored
without damage to Christian faith. Let me say,
moreover, that my object is simply to expound




SATAN, TiiE ENEMY.               23
what the Scriptures teach on the subject of Satanic
influences. I have no new theory to broach on any
matters connected with them, neither am I a believer in all the marvellous stories, with which the
foolish and credulous are wont to frighten those
who are like-minded with themselves; but I believe the Bible is a revelation from God, therefore
no portion of the truth which it contains can be
neglected or overlooked, without practical loss to
the Church.'The plan which we propose is to
review, seriatim, the various phases of Satanic influence described in the Scriptures, and to compare
them with the modern manifestations of his power.
The popular idea seems to be that since Christ
Jesus was manifested, that he might destroy the
works of the devil, Satan has been shorn of his
strength, and that he is not permitted in this age to
exercise the arts by which he formerly prevailed.
To a certain extent, this is true, but there is reason to
fear that he has regained some of the ground which
he had lost, and it is certain that he still exercises
tremendous power. In examining the records of
the Bible on this subject, we obtain certain general
principles, which it will be well to define and secure firmly in our minds for future reference.
1. Satan possesses the faculty or the power of deluding the minds and even the senses of mnen. We may




24         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
safely set down the proposition, that Satan never
has wrought and never can work a miracle. This
power belongs to God alone. He employs miracles
as special vouchers to the genuineness and authenticity of his revelations, and we may rest assured,
that He never will permit Satan to work miracles
in support of a lie. This would be to invalidate
the divine testimony and to confound and silence
the inspired witnesses of God's own appointment.
A miracle implies a suspension of the ordinary laws
of nature. It is a work effected, in a manner
foreign to the established method of providence,
by God himself, in attestation of the authority of
messengers of his own appointment. Whilst we
affirm, however, that Satan never has been permitted to work miracles, we must remember that
he has powers vastly superior to any that pertain
to merely human agency, and that things which are
utterly beyond the reach of human strength, are
yet within the compass of the devil's ability. Power
may be superhuman, and still not miraculous. If
Satan cannot work real miracles, he can counterfeit
them so adroitly, that the deception cannot easily
be detected. A single illustration of this proposition may suffice. When Moses was sent to the
Court of Pharaoh, with the authoritative demand,
LET MY PEOPLE GO, the Lord instructed him that




SATAN, THE ENEMY.              25
in answer to Pharaoh's request, "show a miracle,"
he should direct Aaron to cast his rod at the king's
feet, and it should become a serpent. The servants
of Jehovah fulfilled their commission, and the rod
which Aaron cast at Pharaoh's feet became a serpent. The Egyptian sorcerers and magicians were
called in, "and they also did in like manner with
their enchantments, for they cast down every man
his rod, and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod
swallowed up their rods." Though this was designed as proof that the power of the God of Israel
transcended that of the magicians, yet Pharaoh was
not convinced. And now the Lord begins to vex
Egypt with terrible plagues. The waters in every
stream, and river, and pond, and pool, throughout
the land, are turned into blood-but still the delusion of the devil continues-for we read, "the
magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments."
Again Jehovah commands his servant, "Go unto
Pharaoh and say unto him, Let my people go, that
they may serve me." Again Pharaoh refuses. The
rod of Aaron is stretched over the streams, and
rivers, and ponds, and frogs come up and cover the
land of Egypt-but still we read "the magicians
did so with their enchantments, and brought up
frogs upon the land of Egypt."
It is evident fiom  the context, that Pharaoh
3




26         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
taunted the servants of Jehovah with the skill of
his magicians, for when the plague became intolerable, and he called for Moses and Aaron, and said
"Entreat the Lord for me"-take away-the plague
and I will let the people go. Moses replies, "Glory
over me —when shall I entreat for thee and thy
servants and thy people to destroy the frogs from
thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the
river only? And he said, To-morrow. And he
said, Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest
know that there is none like unto the Lord our
God." The plague was removed; but Pharaoh
was not yet subdued. Another plague came upon
the land. Aaron, in obedience to divine direction,
stretched out his rod and smote the dust of the
earth, and it became lice in man and in beast,
throughout all the land of Egypt.  "And the
magicians did so with their enchantments to bring
forth lice, but they could not. Then the magicians
said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God."
(Exod. viii.). Here is a confession that the arts
by which they had produced the semblance of the
former miracles, were NOT of God, and we must
conclude, either that they were tricks and juggling
impostures, or that they were delusive appearances,
wrought by the interposition of the devil, or that
they were realities produced by the operation of




SATAN, THE ENEMY.               27
natural laws, which the devil may make subservient to his own purposes. If Satan was permitted
to exercise this power in the case of Pharoah, the
superior might of Jehovah shone forth the more
resplendently from the contrast. Besides, when
men deliberately reject the truth, and prefer unrighteousness and falsehood to it, the apostle declares, for this very cause God permits them to
fall into strong delusion, that they may believe a
lie and perish in the belief of it. The very delusion
in which they trust, becomes a judgment upon their
unbelief and impenitence.  For my own part, I
prefer the opinion, that the wonders wrought by
the magicians before Pharaoh were delusionsoptical delusions - produced by the agency of Satan.
It is not more strange that he should have power
to deceive the eyes, than that he should be able to
blind the minds of them that believe not. The
evidence of miracles is a divine condescension to
the philosophical necessities of our nature.  The
conviction that miracles are the true attestation of
the presence of divine power, is constitutional with
human reason. Hence the foundation of every religion, whether true or false, is found to rest in a
belief of miracles. It is a principle which constitutes the root of every form of faith or belief which
the human mind has ever received.   Thus, even




28         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
enthusiasts and impostors have always claimed to
work miracles. In the days of Elymas, down
through the age of Mahomet, to the Mormon leader
Joseph Smith, all false prophets have claimed miraculous powers. This claim is the fruit of a felt
necessity in the human mind. Call it an intuition,
or an induction of reason, God is its author. It
exists wherever man is found, and is interwoven
with the very texture of human nature. Hence
the demand for miracles as an attestation of the
divine origin of the Revelation which God has
given, is a philosophical necessity. The power of
Satan is beyond doubt superhuman.   He may,
therefore, work many things which to men may appear miraculous, because they are superhuman, but
they are not supernatural, for Satan as a creature
is under law. He may understand, and doubtless
does understand, the principles of the operations of
law better than we possibly can in our present
state; but his agency is circumscribed by the limits
of laws, which he cannot overstep, though their
subordinate results may be under his control. He
is the " Prince of the power of the air."
In the case of the miracles wrought in Egypt,
there was a manifest contest between the priests of
Satan and the servants of God; and it was essential
therefore to show the superiority of the power of




SATAN, THE ENEMY.                29
the God of Israel over the gods of Egypt. The series
of miracles increased consecutively in severity, and
by the fourth miracle, lice came upon every man and
beast in Egypt. "Now, if it be remembered," says
Glieg, "that no one could approach the altars of
Egypt, upon whom so impure an insect harbored:
and that the priests, to guard against the slightest
risk of contamination, wore only linen garments,
and shaved their heads and bodies every day,
or every third day, according to Herodotus, the
severity of this miracle, as a judgment upon Egyptian idolatry, may be imagined. Whilst it lasted
no act of worship could be performed, and so keenly
was this felt, that the very magicians exclaimed,'this is the finger of God.'"
2. Another preliminary proposition which we would
establish is this: that Satanic influence is not necessarily confined to the sphere of spirit, but extends also
to material objects. In proof of this, we might adduce the demoniacal possessions cited in Scriptures,
but these we waive for the present, as they constitute a distinct subject of inquiry. We are our
selves, in our very persons, living witnesses of the
power which spirit exercises over organized matter.
Does not the spirit that is in this body exert constant influence upon it? The hand does not move
3*




30         SATAN, THE ENEMY
itself; it is the animating spirit which controls it.
It is not the eye that sees-the eye is merely the
organ which conveys the image of material objects
to the mind. The tongue and all the apparatus of
articulation, are only the instruments by which the
soul gives utterance to thought. When a man dies,
though all these organs are in perfect development,
the eye is sightless, the hand has forgotten its cunning, the tongue is dumb. The spirit has departed,
and the body is dead. Abstractly, there is nothing
absurd, therefore, in the idea, that a spirit can control matter. God is a Spirit, and he is the Creator
and Preserver of the universe. Satan also may
exercise his power upon material objects; always,
however, within the limits which God has assigned.
The devil was permitted to lay his hand upon all
that Job possessed. He stirred up the Sabeans, and
they fell upon his servants and slew them, and
drove away his oxen. He caused fire to fall from
heaven and burn up the sheep and the shepherds.
He incited the Chaldeans, and they fell upon the
camels and carried them away, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword. He brought
from the wilderness a great wind and smote the
four corners of the house in which Job's sons were
feasting, and it fell upon the young men, and in an




SATAN, THE ENEMY.              31
instant they were dead. And when tidings of all
these calamities had been brought to Job, he arose
and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell
down and worshipped, and said, " The Lord gave
and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name
of the Lord." Again Satan appears when the sons
of God came to present themselves before the Lord
-and again Jehovah asks "Whence comest thou?"
and the same answer is returned, "From going to
and fro in the earth and from walking up and down
in it." For the trial of the faith and patience of
Job, God permits the enemy to touch his bone and
his flesh, "and the Lord said unto Satan, Behold
he is in thine hand, but spare his life." So went
Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and
smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his feet
to his crown."
Not withoat reason does our Saviour teach his
disciples daily to pray, "Deliver us from the evil
one."
Follower of Jesus, be sober, be vigilant, "Satan
desires to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
Ye, who despise the great salvation, awake! The
devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour, and can you sleep?  Behold the
long-suffering of God. Were it not that his hand




32         SATAN, THE ENEMY.
restrains the fiends of hell, who follow you as
ravening wolves pursue their prey, this very hour,
they would rend your soul from the body and drag
you down to chains and darkness with them to
wait the judgment of the great day.




REVELATION XII. 7-9.
7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon: and the dragon fought and his
angels.
8. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any
more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him.








SATAN, A TEMPTER.              35
CHAPTER IL
SATAN, A TEMPTER.
WAR in heaven! This is a startling annunciation. We are wont to regard heaven as the habitation of quietness and peace. Such it is; such it
ever will be. The cry of them that strive for the
mastery-the tumult of combatants struggling for
their homes and their altars shall never be heard
in heaven; but there has been discord even among
the first-born of God's creatures. Satan, the Devil,
lifted the standard of rebellion in a world which
till then was the Paradise of God, and Sin entered
the hallowed precincts of Jehovah's empire. Temptation, pride, the lust of place and power overthrew
a host of angels. They fell with Satan their Prince
from their allegiance, "and there was war in heaven.
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon fought and his angels." Is this
language merely symbolical, or is it the narrative
of an actual crisis in the history of heaven?  We
think it is both. Without a doubt it is literally
and symbolically true. It may be that this passage
which describes the war in heaven is a symbol of




36          SATAN, A TEMPTER.
the conflict of the gospel with the Pagan powers
which it overthrew. This we will not dispute,
but the symbol is indicative also of a literal truth.
A constant conflict is waged between the powers of
light and darkness. Good and evil angels surround
us. We have friends in the spirit world who minister as God's messengers to the heirs of salvation.
Angels who excel in strength are sent forth on
errands of love to them who hope in his mercy.
And we have foes in the spirit world also, mighty
and malignant, filled with the rancor and spite of
hell, seducing spirits, whose infernal office-work
is the ruin of the children of disobedience. This
"war in heaven" is but another name for the constant and conflicting influences exerted by these
spiritual antagonists upon the human mind. Power,
strength, dominion, are attributes of spirit. When
Satan and his legions became apostates, in view of
the throne of heaven, and in the very precincts of
Jehovah's courts, they contended for the thrones
and principalities and places which they had held
in the period of their obedience.   With the
impudence of hell, they fought for the possession
of heaven, and the hosts of God resisted them.
"Michael and his angels fought." We ask, who
is this Michael —the Prince who leads the holy
angels in the encounter with the Dragon and his




SATAN, A TEMPTER.              37
legions? Some affirm, this Prince is the Lord
Jesus Christ. This opinion is open to objections,
which are not devoid of weight.
The name occurs three times in the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, and twice in the New
Testament Scripture, and it is contended, all that
is stated respecting this personage must agree with
the titles, the attributes and the position of Jesus
Christ, or the theory which identifies Michael and
the Saviour, must be rejected. The name occurs,
for the first time, in the vision of Daniel (chap. x.),
in which he sees "a certain man clothed in linen,
whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphazhis body was like the beryl, and his face as the
appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of
fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to
polished brass, and the voice of his words like the
voice of a multitude."  The vision of this celestial
visitor overwhelmed the prophet, and "there remained no strength in him." The angel touches
him, as prostrate and powerless Daniel lies with his
face to the ground-speaks lovingly to him-0"O
Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the
words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright;
for unto thee I am now sent. And I stood trembling.
— Then he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from
the first day that thou didst set thine heart to under4




38          SATAN, A TEMPTER.
stand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy
words were heard, and I am come for thy words.But the prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood
me one and twenty days: but lo, MICHAEL, one of
the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained
there with the kings of Persia." The heavenly
messenger proceeds to tell what shall befall the
people (the Jews) in the latter days, and after stating
that he must return to fight with the prince of
Persia, he says, "I will show thee that which is
noted in the Scripture of truth, and there is none
that holdeth with me in these things but MICHAEL,
your prince." Again, the name occurs in Daniel xii.
1. "At that time shall MICHAEL stand up, the great
prince, which standeth for the children of thy people:
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation," &c.
In the New Testament we find the name Michael
in the epistle of St. Jude. MICHAEL, the Archangel,
when contending with the devil, he disputed about
the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke thee."
The body of the Moses, here spoken of, is not
the dead body-or the bones of the man of God,
but the Jewish law or institutions, the body of
Jewish divinity - and the idea is that Michael
and Satan disputed about points in Hebrew law.




SATAN, A TEMPTER.               39
Papists put some stress upon this passage, and lay
it down as a foundation for their ridiculous relic
worship-a most unfortunate quotation, truly, for
we may infer that the devil wished to get the
body of Moses to make holy relics of it, but Michael
withstood him. This, however, is merely in passing. The last mention made of Michael occurs in
our text, in which he appears as an angelic leader.
It will be admitted, that much which is here predicated of Michael, may with truth apply to Jesus
Christ. The very meaning of the name Michael,
" Who is lice the Lord?" seems to indicate this
identity. The fact that there is but one archangel
spoken of in Scripture may also be adduced as
evidence to the same purport, and yet there are
difficulties in the way of this theory. The language in Dan. x. it is argued, can hardly consist with
the idea that MICHAEL is Christ. "MICHAEL, one of
the chief princes came to help me." Here he is described as ONE of the chief, but Christ is THE CHIEF
Prince, with whom no other can compare. 2. Though
there is but one archangel spoken of in the Bible,
there is an evident distinction affirmed by the
apostle, (1 Thess. iv. 16), "For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
Jesus Christ himself shall shout, and they that are




40          SATAN, A TEMPTER.
in the grave shall hear the summons-the archangel shall echo that voice, and angels flying over
the whole earth shall re-echo it, severing the wicked
from among the just, and gathering God's elect
together. 3. St. Jude says, MICHAEL durst not bring
a railing accusation (etooiv) against Satan, but said
"THE LORD rebuke thee." But why this appeal
to the Lord, if Michael were himself Jehovah?
The strongest passage in support of the theory
that Michael, the prince, is our Lord, is that in Dan.
xii. in which it is said, " Michael shall stand up, the
great prince which standest for the children of thy
people"-but it is agreed again, there is nothing here
inconsistent with the idea, that Michael, the Archangel, was commissioned to work great deliverances
for, or to avert great dangers from the Lord's people.
Some prefer, therefore, that interpretation which harmonizes all the declarations of the Scripture, respecting this personage, and accordingly regard Michael
as the Prince of holy Angels-the created antagonist of Satan-equal to the Angel of the bottomless
pit, in all the endowments which can give power to
a created spirit, and crowned with holiness the most
resplendent glory of all. And is there not a beautiful analogy in the thought that holy angels have
a mighty prince of their own nature, who vies even
with Lucifer-the apostate morning star, and quick




SATAN, A TEMPTER.              41
and brilliant as the lightning, to which the Saviour
compares Satan, meets the Great Adversary and
baffles him in his assaults upon the children of God's
Israel? If Lucifer became a wandering star, and
was sent down to wound the blackness of darkness
for ever, Michael, the Archangel, held fast his allegiance to the throne of God, and excellent in strength,
waits as the Messenger of Jehovah Jesus, the King
of angels and of men, to do his holy will and for
ever to rejoice in obedience, as his highest honor.
Notwithstanding the difficulties which seem to
invest this question, we deem the weight of evidence
as decidedly in favor of the view which represents our
Saviour as the Prince of angels, from the fact, that
the prophecy in Daniel, which represents Michael
the great prince standing for the children of God's
Israel, synchronises and corresponds with the prophecy in the Apocalypse of St. John, in which the
Lamb stands upon Mount Sion. And may not this
whole subject possibly suggest the reason why holy
angels regard the Redeemer of men, with a personal
reverence more tender and endearing than that which
springs solely from holy veneration of their Creator?
If Michael and Jesus be one, then the Saviour of
men led on the hosts of heaven in their warfare
against the prince of darkness, when Satan was cast
down with all the angels that sinned.
4*




42         SATAN, A TEMPTER.
"There was war in heaven! Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was
there place found any more in heaven. And the
great dragon was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him."*
Thus do the oracles of God account for the appearance upon this earth of the Arch-Deceiver, who
was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. The
creation of man constituted a new era in the world's
history. Driven from heaven, shunned and abhorred
by all holy beings, Satan appeared in Paradise, and
as the Old Serpent, who deceiveth the world, commenced his career in Eden, as the TEMPTER.
I. First, then, in his character as the Tempter,
we would regard the Great Enemy of God and man.
Observe his subtlety.-He comes not in his proper
form. He appears not as an Angel of darkness,
bearing the scars of divine wrath. He comes not in
his true character as the Adversary of all good. This
would have sent a thrill of horror though the heart
of his victims. He approaches the scenes of innocence, cautiously-stealthily as the serpent glides on
its errand of death. Not as the Prince of hell, atattended with a gloomy array of malignant angels,
does he come to make war upon human innocence
* There is often a dualism in the symbols of prophecy.




SATAN, A TEMPTER.               43
and demand submission to his power, but as a playful,
guileless, harmless creature, he nestles by the side
of Eve. Satan gave to the viper its deadly venom;
when God created the serpent, like all the glorious
Maker's works, it was good. Why, then, shall Eve
fear it?  Why shall she fear any thing?   Hist!
The wily serpent speaks. "Has God indeed said
ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" A
denial of the truth, is, most artfully implied; the lie
is insinuated, but so that it works its mischief, without exciting alarm. If repulsed, the Tempter may
admit, that it is truth, and deny the intent to challenge it. Eve apprehended no danger, and yet her
peril was imminent. The very suggestion of a doubt,
when she herself had heard Jehovah's mandate,
should have made her start with horror and amazement. She is parleying with Satan, and he has
already gained an advantage, for he has obtained a
hearing. She answers, "We may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die." See again, the Tempter's subtlety. He
chooses a time when Eve is alone. Two are better
than one, and he may hope the more securely to corrupt and ruin the representatives of our race, if he
assails them singly. Perhaps, if Adam were there,




44          SATAN, A TEMPTER.
a suspicion of some foul design might cross the mind
of one or the other, and like birds frightened by an
awkward fowler, his prey might escape. Emboldened
by toleration, he advances. She is not alarmed by
th~ unwonted circumstance, that the serpent whispers to her out of the dust, and suggests a doubt
respecting the existence of a well-known precept.
He questions, she responds.
2. Observe, the Tempter's effrontery. -  And the
Serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die!" He assumes the attitude of an open antagonist
of God, still with the semblance of friendship and
affection for her. Does not denial of God's truth
startle her, and blanch her cheek with horror? Alas!
She has sinned already. Her fall is already secured.
When she can hear the charge of falsehood uttered
against Jehovah, without quivering with anguish
in every nerve, her allegiance must already be
shaken. The Tempter knows it. With malignant
haste, he follows up his advantage. She has heard
him impeach Jehovah's truth-and she still listens
to him. Then, she will not be terrified if the adversary assails the goodness of the kind Father, who
has invested Eden with all its beauties and made
happiness and love beam out of every flower that
blooms at her feet, and shines forth from all the
ten thousand glories that sparkles on the bosom of




SATAN, A TEMPTER.               45
a sinless world. Yes-if she can bear that impeachment of a Father's truthfulness, she will endure any
imputation that the devil may cast upon her God.
Now he stands forth revealed, as the slanderer, the
liar-murderer. "Ye shall not surely die. For God
doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil." Did not Satan's voice
falter when this blasphemy was uttered? The unblushing liar masks his hatred of God under the
flimsy veil of affectionate sympathy for the inmates
of Eden. They are suffering great wrong-and the law
of God is in the way of their progress-and he presents
himself as the Reformer, who can teach them to be as gods,
able to judge for themselves, and to discern between good
and evil. The Tempter's flattery is successful. Eve
looks wistfully towards the forbidden tree. The
fruit that loads its boughs is pleasant to the eyesthe branches bend invitingly to her hands, and her
doubts and hesitation yield to the persuasion of the
Serpent. "And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also
unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Thus
sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Shame
and fear appear as the first fruits of transgression.




46          SATAN, A TEMPTER.
With conscious guilt, they hide from the presence
of the Lord. Eden is no longer the abode of innocence; it is polluted by the presence of sinners, and
God drives them from it, guards its entrance, and
sends them forth to look upon a world, which has
lost the glorious impress of holiness, and is cursed
for the wickedness of them that dwell in it. The
first temptation is the type of the devil's wiles. It
is the great model, after which the devices, wherewith he prevails over human credulity, self-love, and
pride are fashioned. Look at the arts by which
Satan now tempts men from their obedience to the
law of God. Do they not all bear the devil's mark,
and prove that they are copies of the pattern framed
in Eden? We wonder, that men can be so foolish
as to imagine that God will stultify his own character, by promulgating a law that has no sanctionsbut we need not wonder. The Devil seduced Adam
and Eve from original righteousness by this very device. He is the first, and he is the great Universalist
preacher! He first suggests a doubt, whether it comports with the goodness of God to affix the penalty
of death as the wages of transgression. Has God indeed
said so? And when place is given to this suggestion,
he goes a step farther and denies the existence of the
penalty. "Ye shall not surely die."  What! is God
less wise than man? What believer in the silly




SATAN, A TEMPTER.                47
quibbles of Universalism will accept a bond that
expresses no obligation and no forfeiture? What
human law-giver or legislature ever framed a law
without attaching a penalty?
Let a man be persuaded that this folly pertains
to God's legislation and though the statutes of the
Lord are as plainly before his eyes, as the precept
prohibiting all access to the forbidden tree was in
the memory of the tenants of Eden, he will, like
them, be prepared, as the next step, to deny the
truth of divine revelation altogether, and to listen
to the blasphemer, who with the impudent malice
and falsehood of the Arch-deceiver and Seducer,
avows as his creed, " God doth know, that in the
day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."  Now
is not this the very counterpart of the position
assumed by the infidel reformers of our day? Is
not their cry substantially this? The Bible is the
great stumbling block in the way of modern improvement! It stands right in the very path of human
progress. Then away with it!  It is the engine of
priestcraft!  For what can be plainer that if you
take away the Bible, you undermine the Church, and
crush the ministry beneath its ruins?
Thus, we have a renewal of the old device of the
devil, in the question proposed by the merciful




48         SATAN, A TEMPTER.
philanthropists, who say to the murderer, "Hath
God indeed said, thou shalt surely be put to
death?" We have a renewal of Satan's falsehood in
the denial that God's law affixes any such penalty
to the crime of murder, and there are thousands
who are ready with open mouth to echo the words
of Satan, " Ye shall not surely die!" and with the
effrontery of the devil himself to declare, " The
Bible teaches that the murderer shall be permitted
to live, because Christ came to destroy the old law,
though Christ himself proclaims, I came not to
destroy the law, but to fulfil it! Till heaven and
earth pass, not one jot or tittle of the law shall
fail-all shall be fulfilled!  What more natural
than the invariable result of this falsifying of the
record? They who embark upon this gulf-stream
float out into the open sea of infidelity, and make
utter shipwreck of the faith. You see them, after
walking in the counsel of the ungodly, and standing in the way of sinners, taking their seat, at last,
in due time, among the scornful, and blaspheming
the name and the law of God, without remorse or
shame! Beware of any scheme of human progress
which discards the way of holiness marked out in
the book of God-believe none of its honied pro
mises of social improvement and intellectual
advancement-trust not the lying Tempter when




SATAN, A TEMPTER.              49
he whispers'" ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil"-lest sinning as Satan sinned through
pride in the court of heaven, sinning as Adam
sinned, as Eve sinned in Eden, ye fall into the condemnation of the devil.
We have not space to review the history of
Satan's career as the Tempter, as we find it recorded in the book of God. We know how he has
triumphed over thousands of the great and noble
of the world-how, by his subtlety, he has peopled
the dark domains of hell, and lured, betrayed and
ruined countless generations of men.  Many wise
and many mighty have been slain by him! Oh!
this earth is slippery with the blood, and white
with the bleaching bones of his victims. Against
which of God's saints has he not at some time prevailed to cast them down, though never to destroy
them? Noah fell under the power of temptation,
whilst the earth was yet reeking with the exhalations of the flood-Lot sinned while the smoke of
Sodom and Gomorrah was rising from the plain,
like the smoke of a furnace-Abraham, the Father
of the Faithful, dissembled before AbimelechMoses, with all his meekness, was petulant at the
waters of Meribah-David, the man after God's
own heart, yielded to the devil and sinned in the
matter of Uriah, the Iittite. Who, that lives, or
5




050        ASATAN, A TEMPTER.
strives to live a Christian life, does not realize daily
the necessity of praying as our Lord taught his
disciples to pray, " Lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from the evil one?" That wicked one
addresses temptations to the tastes of the most
refined, as readily as to the sensual appetites of
the most depraved. Eve saw that the fruit of the
tree was pleasant to the eyes, and she took of the
fruit and did eat. The pleasures of sin are garnished with the most attractive hues-like the
bloom upon the fruit of death which hung in Eden
on the forbidden tree. Oh! guard the avenues of
sense, lest they prove gates by which Satan may
enter the soul. "Look not thou upon the wine
when it is red, when it moveth itself aright, when
it giveth his color in the cup; at the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."  Avoid
the door around which they loiter; who tarry long
at the wine. Stay not to admire the glare that
shines invitingly through the stained glass, for
there Satan holds his revel, and his guests are
sinking into the depths of hell. Yea, " Watch and
pray, lest ye enter into temptation!" Shrink from
the first approach of sin. Listen not to the plea
of the devil, that it is but a little one. Abstain
from all appearance of evil.
We may not dismiss the view of Satan's charac



SATAN, A TEMPTER.              51
ter as the Tempter, without remembering, that as
such he assailed our Saviour. Jesus was led up of
the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the
devil (Matt. iv.). The adversary chooses his time,
when our Lord, weary and exhausted with fasting,
was an hungered. Then, he comes, taunting Christ
with an expression of doubt respecting his Messiahship, and claiming'a miracle, which would argue
distrust in divine providence, as the proof that
Jesus was the Son of God. " If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread!"
Was it not evidently the design of the devil to
ruffle the placid temper of our Saviour, to take
advantage of the infirmities of our nature, and
through the weakness of the body to wound the
spirit of our Lord?  How insulting is the base
insinuation, " Command these stones to be made
bread, or I will not believe that thou art the Son of
God!"  How impudent the demand, as though
Christ must be at special pains to convince the
deceiver!  But the Saviour meets him  with a
rebuke which foils the enemy. "It is written, man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Man
lives not alone by bread, but by obeying the commands of God.   Language could not convey a
more pungent reproof to the Arch-Rebel against




52         SATAN, A TEMPTER.
God. Satan quailed under it. "Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him
on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if
thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is
written, He shall give his angels charge concerning
thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."
If Jesus will not yield to distrust, peradventure he
may be cajoled into presumption. If HE quoted
Scripture, the devil will quote it also, but Satan
quotes it falsely. He omits the important words,
" in all thy ways," which qualify the promise and
guard it against presumptuous abuse. He shall
give his angels charge to keep thee "IN ALL THY
WAYS." The believer does not rush blindly into
danger, and then expect deliverance on the ground
of covenant promises. This is not his way. Therefore Christ beats him back again with the answer,
" It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God." "Again, the devil taketh him up into
an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them:
and saith, all these things will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me." Ambition-the
lust of power-cast Satan down from heaven, but
see how wickedness, how apostasy from God, debases every moral faculty. Satan offers to Christ




SATAN, A TEMPTER.              53
that which already pertained to the Redeemer as
the Creator of the ends of the earth! The usurper
offers what he has no right to give away-the
usurper offers to the rightful Sovereign the dominion which pertains to him, as the Maker of heaven
and earth-and on what terms? We shudder at the
blasphemous proposal - on condition that Jesus
Christ shall acknowledge the devil's supremacybecome an idolater- fall down and worship the
Fiend of the bottomless pit! Never did the malice
of hell devise a more blasphemous insult. It was
the outpouring of Satanic hatred, roused to madness by the purity of Jesus. With quiet dignity
the Saviour maintains his power, and issues the
command, which Satan must obey, "Get thee
behind me, Satan-for it is written, thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou
serve! Then the devil leaveth him, and behold
angels came and ministered unto him."
Remember, it is written, and Christ's example
and experience prove the truth of the divine promise; yea, in every hour of temptation, remember,
it is written" Resist the devil and he will flee from you."(James iv. 7.)
5*








LUKE IV. 33-35.
And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit
of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying,
Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of
Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us?  I know thee who
thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him,
saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the
devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and
hurt him not.








SATAN, A TYRANT,              57
CHAPTER III.
SATAN, A TYRANT.
No sooner had Satan gained his first victory in
Eden, than he addressed himself to the work of
consummating the ruin in which he designed to
involve the whole human family. He doubtless
knew the position in which Adam stood as the
representative of the race; that upon that issue of
the probation in Paradise, depended results of the
most momentous consequences to countless generations of Adam's posterity. "Who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean? Not one." Every tree
produces fruit of its own kind. "Do men gather
figs of thistles, or grapes of thorns?" However
diverse the philosophical speculations of men may
be-however keenly they may desire to discriminate-and however jealous of theological terms,
all who read the Scriptures with unbiassed mind,
acknowledge, that Adam by the fall, became not
only himself a sinner, but the head of a sinful race.
Human nature was corrupted by the first transgression, so that even they who are regenerate must
acknowledge with the holy apostle: "By nature we




58          SATAN, A TYRANT.
are the children of wrath, even as others." The
Bible teaches, and universal experience proves,
that it is the nature of sin to increase unto more
ungodliness. " When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death." So it was in the beginning. The first
man was a transgressor, and the first who was born
of woman was a murderer. How terrible is the
development of sin. How rapidly does it advance
and grow, until it works itself out in death. After
the first advantage gained by the enemy, his subsequent success was comparatively easy. Before the
expulsion from Eden, Adam, with his guilty partner, trembling in his hiding place, was compelled to
honor the voice which sent a thrill of dismay to his
inmost soul, as its tones echoed through the walks
of Eden, "Adam, where art thou?"    He comes
forth-alas! how changed! No longer the noble,
confiding, guileless man, meeting his Maker as a
son, who reveres his Father, but with the stealthy,
downcast look of an ungrateful, faithless servant.
It was the cool of the day-evening had set in; the
hour in which they were wont to meet the Lord
God in the garden. They heard his voice, "and
Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the
garden."  Oh! the efforts of sinners to shun the




SATAN, A TYRANT.              59
presence of the all-seeing God are vain. Could
they escape to heaven, still God is there and he
sees them-could they hide in the darkest recesses
of the earth, still the eye of God beams upon them.
If they seek a refuge in hell-even there, the hand
of the Lord shall find them out. "And the Lord
God called unto Adam, and said, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And the Lord said, Hast thou eaten of the tree
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not
eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou
gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I
did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman,
What is this that thou hast done? And the woman
said, The serpent beguiled me and I did eat." See
how subterfuge and prevarication followed in the
wake of sin; "God made man upright, but he hath
sought out many inventions,"-sordid, selfish inventions! It was true, that Adam was ashamed and
hid himself-but it was not the whole truth. He
prevaricated when he substituted a single effect for
the real cause. Paradoxical as it may seem, men
may say words which in themselves are true, and
yet they may lie, by aiming to conceal the truth.
And when the whole truth is extorted, as it will be
from every sinner, when he stands in judgment




60          SATAN, A TYRANT.
before God, see how selfishness absorbs the best
affections of the heart, and seeks to palliate its own
sin by impleading another. "The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree
and I did eat."  A generous nature would have
scorned to lay the burden of its own wrong upon
another. But enough, sin makes man selfish, and
therefore the great precept of that Messiah, whose
advent was promised in Eden, whilst Adam and his
wife still lingered within its enclosure-the great
command upon which Jesus makes discipleship
depend, is "DENY THYSELF!" When love to God
and love to man reign over the heart, in obedience
to the two great commandments, then the soul is
regenerated and redeemed from the bondage of the
devil.
After Satan had obtained that first hold in Eden
upon the obedience of mankind, the work of subjugation made rapid progress. His grand design was
to bring man, the last of God's intelligent creation,
wholly under his yoke. Thus the tempter throws
off the mask of friendship-and having first deceived Eve by the specious promise of moral and
intellectual progress, and ultimate advancement to
a God-like nature, he proves himself the tyrant who
seeks to lord it over the souls and bodies of menthis transition from the tempter to the tyrant is




SATAN, A TYRANT.               61
easy and natural. As the tyrant, who torments
those whom he first seduces, we shall view Satan
in the present chapter.
The text presents us with one of the most fearful
forms in which the power of the devil has ever been
exhibited on earth. Instances of demoniacal influence and possession are repeatedly adduced in the
writings of the evangelists, and the narratives are
couched in such language, that it is impossible for
any honest mind to escape the conviction, or to
evade the plain and necessary inference, that the
evangelists intended to describe real facts. They
are not dealing in metaphor, but they are describing events, which they assure us actually took place.
A grosser absurdity can hardly be committed, than
to assert that the distinct narratives, illustrating the
power which Jesus Christ exercised over evil spirits,
are all to be understood as figurative expressionsor myths-fabulous stories-designed to show his
power in expelling depraved passions from the
mind, or in healing diseases of the body. And yet
this is the position which some have ventured to
assume, and which they are in fact obliged to take,
in order to escape certain inferences, fatal to their
whole scheme of false doctrine. Infidels generally
have a very marked aversion to those portions of
the sacred Scriptures which treat of the personality
6




62          SATAN, A TYRANT.
and agency of the devil and his angels; and the
reason of all this is obvious. If the existence of
Satan can be proved from the Bible, and if the
authority of the Bible, as a divine revelation be
admitted, then it becomes absolutely impossible for
any sane man to shut his eyes against the truth, that
there is also a HELL, which is the appropriate-the
final and everlasting habitation of Satan and his
angels. Hence you find, that those who deny the
one always are compelled eventually to deny the
other also. Truly, they have a weary time of it!
To keep up a hypocritical appearance of reverence
for the Scriptures, and at the same time erase from
the oracles of God its plainest doctrines, and reverently to change the most momentous truths into
myths or fables, requires some ingenuity and no
little effrontery! And methinks they who can lend
their faculties to such miserable drudgery, would do
well to inquire, whether they may not themselves
be affording deplorable evidence of the reality and
power of Satanic influence by the zeal with which
they labour to disprove its existence.
Let us apply the ordinary tests of criticism to any
of the narratives of demoniacal possession recorded
in the New Testament, and the conclusion will be
irresistible, that they were real and not imaginary
evils.  In the gospel, we find distinct narratives




SATAN, A TYRANT.               63
relating to demoniacal possessions. That the subjects of those fearful influences were not simply
lunatics is evident.
1. The evangelist Matthew distinguishes between
those that were possessed with devils, (dsemons,) and
those that were lunatic. "And his fame went out
throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him
all sick people that were taken with divers diseases
and torments, and those which were possessed with
devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that
had the palsy, and he healed them." Matt. iv. 24.
Those who were possessed, differed from persons
oppressed by forms of insanity in the accuracy with
which they reasoned. Amid all the diversities of
mania to which a commission of lunacy is awarded,
we find two great principles established in the phenomena of insanity. The unhappy subjects of
mental disease, in the ordinary affairs of life, either
reason correctly on false premises, or they reason
incorrectly on right grounds, or they blend right
and wrong in inextricable confusion.  The dsemoniacs, on the contrary, reasoned correctly-they
assumed right premises and deduced right inferences. Their words were always adapted to the
occasion, without any sort of incoherency. They
were consistent in their knowledge and in their
language. They had clear views of the charac



64          SATAN, A TYRANT.
ter and person of Christ. The daemons declared,
"We know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of
God."   Though the malignant influence of the
d&emons was exhibited in the torture to which
they subjected the victims of their power, both in
mind and body, disturbing and destroying the
faculties and senses of the possessed, they were
nevertheless intelligent and accountable agents.
3. Again, Jesus Christ addresses them as intelligent beings, and as such they reply to him. This
plainly involves the idea of personality. How
unutterably ridiculous do the narratives of the
evangelists appear, if we adopt the idea that demoniacal possessions involve nothing preternatural.
Indeed, where any circumstances are added, they
are invariably of a description to show that the case
was extraordinary in its nature. Are we told that
these possessions were mere forms of bodily disease?
Then we have the absurdity staring us in the face,
that diseases cry out, and argue and protest. Take
a passage, (Luke iv. 41,) "And devils, (daemons)
also came out of many, crying out and saying, Thou
art Christ, the Son of God! And he, rebuking
them, suffered them not to speak; for they knew
that he was Christ." Now, if the word cemnon means
diseases, we may substitute the one for the other,
and the passage will read: " And diseases also came




SATAN, A TYRANT.               65
out of many, crying out and saying, &c. And he,
rebuking the diseases, suffered not the diseases to
speak, for the diseases knew that he was Christ."
You may apply this test to every case of malignant
spiritual possession recorded in the Scriptures, and
substitute any thing or every thing that the ingenuity of man can invent in place of the proper text
of the sacred writings, and you involve the entire
narrative in absurdity. We are therefore shut up
to the acknowledgment, that the possessions spoken
of in the New Testament, are really what the language purports to make them. Indeed, among the
portions of the word of God, which are clear, beyond the possibility of any misunderstanding, save
that which is wilful, those which relate to the personality, power, and direct agency of Satan and his
angels upon the minds of men, are among the most
manifest. Some will tell you that the scene, in
which the Tempter appears in Eden, is all a myth
-a kind of allegory, meaning just anything at all
you please to make of it. If that is an allegory, how
is it that the apostle Paul quotes the fact of the
serpent's beguiling Eve as real? His words come
home to these allegorists with great pungency: "I
fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
6*




66          SATAN, A TYRANT.
We are told the devils believe and tremble. Can
this be affirmed of any other than rational, intelligent agency? May we not justly and clearly discern a device of Satan, in the attempt to make
little of his power, and even to deny his existence
altogether? For, what can be more plain, than the
results of this phase of unbelief? They who are
unwilling to admit the fact of Satan's existence, or
the reality of his agency, or the malign influences
of the principalities and powers of darkness, will
give themselves no concern about these spiritual
foes, and will the more readily fall a prey to the
subtilty of the Wicked One.
The fact therefore, we hold to be established,
that the demoniacal possessions described in the
Sacred Scriptures, were real occupancies of the persons of individuals by malignant spirits, who held
the bodies and souls, the senses and faculties of the
victims of satanic power, completely under control;
tormenting them, making life a burden, and rendering their subjects a horror to themselves and to all
around them. At the period of the advent of
Christ, Satan's empire upon the earth was probably
more firmly established than at any former time
since the flood. By gradual advances, he had acquired tremendous ascendancy over the minds of
men, and through this avenue, their bodies also




SATAN, A TYRANT.              67
were transformed into strongholds, which were garrisoned at some times even by a legion of daemons.
Thus on one occasion, we find these evil spirits
declaring, " Our name is Legion, for we are many."
Mary Magdalene is mentioned as one "out of
whom went seven daemons." It is a fact, equally
worthy of note, that at no period previous to the
advent of Christ, had the Sadducean form of infidelity so strong a hold upon the Jewish mind. The
Sadducees denied the proper existence of spirits
altogether-they believed neither in angel nor
devil-and they had a multitude of proselytes to
their unbelief. The Pharisees and Sadducees divided the control over the popular faith or creed of
the Jewish nation. The former, like the Papists of
our day, made void the law of God by their traditions, and the latter set the truth of God at defiance
by their blank infidelity, and yet both coalesce, as
infidelity and popery do now, in opposition to the
pure doctrine of Christ. It was, when Satan had set
himself up as the god of this world, when he felt
most secure in his possession, that Christ Jesus
appeared in human form. He was manifested that
he might destroy the works of the devil-wrest the
sceptre from the grasp of the usurper, and drag
him back to the chains from which he had escaped.
Accordingly, among the very first acts of Christ's




68          SATAN, A TYRANT.
public ministry, the casting out of daemons is
recorded by the Evangelists, and the fearful extent
to which this spiritual malady prevailed at this
crisis, is manifest from the frequency not only of
single narratives of cases of possession, but also from
the repeated declaration that multitudes of persons
thus afflicted were brought to Jesus to be healed.
Thus we read: (Matt. viii. 16,) " When the evening
was come, they brought unto him many that were
possessed with devils; (daemons) and he cast out
the spirits with his word." Again, St. Luke says,
" Daemons also came out of many, crying out and
saying, " Thou art Christ the Son of God." (Luke
iv. 41.) Christ Jesus gave his disciples authority
over all devils, to cast them out, and when the
seventy returned who had been sent forth to preach
the kingdom of God, and to work miracles, in proof
of the authenticity of their commission, they came
rejoicing to Christ, and saying, "Lord, even the
daemons are subject to us."
How pitiable was the condition of the wretched
victims of Satanic power! The faculties of mind
and body, became so many engines of torture, by
which the malignant fiends tormented the possessed.
Imagine the feelings of a mother, whose once lovely
daughter has fallen under the power of Satan.
Moved by an impulse unseen but irresistible, she




SATAN, A TYRANT.               69
falls foaming upon the ground, convulsed in every
limb-shrieking with distorted features, and utterly
unable to control her language or her actions I
With what earnestness did that poor Syro-Phoenician woman appeal to Christ, casting herself at
the Saviour's feet, and crying out in the anguish
of a mother's love for a suffering daughter-" Lord,
help me!" See how she clings to the Saviour's
feet, when for the trial of her faith, he delays the
answer to her prayer! How she utters amid sobs
and tears her broken lamentation-" My daughter
is grievously vexed with a daemon!" And when
Christ tells her that his mission is to the lost sheep
of the House of Israel, and that she cannot therefore claim any help from him by her own rightshe, trembling with anxiety, lest after all, her suit
may be denied, and yet trusting to the mercy of
Jesus, humbly answers, " Truth, Lord, yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs that fall from the master's table!"
Then, when faith like gold refined comes forth
bright from the ordeal, the Saviour bids her be of
good cheer. " Oh! woman, great is thy faith-be
it unto thee even as thou wilt, and her daughter
was made whole from that hour." How joyous the
meeting, when returning to her home, she finds her
daughter rescued from the power of the devil I
What imagination can conceive the aggregate of




70          SATAN, A TYRANT.
wretchedness-the untold misery resulting from
the direct agency of the devil, in these fearful
exhibitions of despotic power! Think of the husband-the father of a household, severed from his
wife and children, fleeing from the habitations of
the living, seeking death, whilst death flees from
him, and taking up his dwelling amid the tombs.
Then rushing forth, despite of all the resistance of
his own will, to maltreat, to wound and to maim any
who come within his reach-cutting himself, in the
paroxysm of Satanic phrensy, until, covered with
wounds, and faint with the loss of blood, he sinks
foaming and exhausted to the earth! How precious is the office-work of Christ, in this aspect, as
the destroyer of the devil's power! What gladness
did his mission of mercy diffuse throughout the
families of Israel, whom he delivered from the yoke
of this intolerable bondage. Oh! If Christ Jesus
had not pitied this revolted world-had he left it to
the dominion of the king of the bottomless pit-it
would long ere this have been set on fire of hell, and
Satan and his angels would have been incarnate in
the human family! Some, who would be counted
wise men, or scribes well instructed in the gospel,
will scout the idea of Satan's ability to reach the
minds of men, so as to hold communication with
them-as though it were in itself a thing impossible,




SATAN, A TYRANT.               71
or- so improbable as to savor of superstition, for a
moment to admit it. But the Scriptures teach that
more than this has actually occurred-that Satan
cannot only find means of reaching the minds of
men, but that he also has been able to control by
his agency their bodies, and literally to possess
himself of their faculties, and in a word, of their
persons in its complex nature. The greater surely
involves the less, and the Scriptures plainly teach
that both the one and the other are not only possible, but are actually matters of historical fact. Of
this, however, we shall say more when we speak of
Satan in his character as an idol or false god.
They who would argue on the ground of mere
reason against the possibility of this nefarious influence, must ignore the plainest principles established
by experience and observation. We are wont to
regard the spirit-world, as at an immense distance
from us; but even if the Scriptures were silent upon
the topic, we have no just warrant for any such conclusion. We know that there are good and bad
embodied spirits on the earth, in other words, there
are good and bad men and women. And what is a
man? He is a deathless spirit, united for a little
season to a body of dying matter. What are we in
our persons but incarnate spirits? and why is it unphilosophical to suppose that spirits out of the body




72          SATAN, A TYRANT.
good and bad, may surround us? Why is it in itself
irrational to suppose that we are actors in scenes to
which angels and daemons are spectators? This conclusion, to which even reason may arrive, revelation
and experience establish upon an immoveable basis.
The Apostle declares, we are a spectacle to men and to
angels, and he represents the Christian as running for
the prize of celestial glory, encompassed by a great
cloud of witnesses. Observation confirms this declaration, and proves that we are encircled with spiritual beings, who are all interested in our progress
and destiny. In confirmation of this, let the phenomena be adduced so frequently exhibited in the dying hours, both of the believer, calmly awaiting the
summons to his Father's house, and of the wicked
man, who is surprised by the sudden inroad of mortal
sickness, and in his wickedness is driven away.
Adopting the belief not authorized by the Scriptures,
that this body, the present dwelling-place of the
spirit, shuts out our spiritual vision from objects
which are not material, and hangs like a curtain between the world of sense and the spirit-world, we
are prepared to account for facts, which otherwise
are not so easily explained.
I remember well, when a child, separated by the
wide ocean from my parents, among my schoolmates
was a little boy, whose father was engaged with




SATAN, A TYRANT.              73
mine in preaching the gospel to the poor negroes in
the West Indies. My heart yearned over him; he
was so modest and guileless; so amiable and full of
artless affection, and withal so small and delicate, and
we were both so far from home that there was to me
an unsual attraction about him; and I never shall
forget how he pined away like a blighted flower, and
was taken to "the sick-room." The sickness was
unto death-and as he lay, propped with pillows on
his bed, his pale and wasted face -his panting breathhis eyes sparkling with that unearthly light, that
gleams through the windows of the soul, like rays
from a brighter world, all told plainly that he was
going home. There was a sudden flush upon his
features. He raised his little hand and whispered,
"Oh, listen! That sweet music!" Then starting up,
his face shining with rapture, he followed with his
hands the objects which were before his vision, repeating, " See! see those holy Angels! Let me go —
dress me, let me go with them!" And he did go
with them. Is it not of such, that Jesus says,
"Their angels do always behold the face of my Father
who is in heaven?" Among the sweetest thoughts
of death, which ever filled my heart, from childhood
until now, are those which come whispering from the
grave of my little friend. How soft and quiet that
earthy bed, with its coverlet of green turf, in which
7




74          SATAN, A TYRANT.
the weary body sleeps, whilst the freed spirit goes
away to dwell with Jesus and the holy angels! The
sweet strains of the little hymn which we sang at
his grave, sound as though they were still trembling on the air of that summer evening:
"Happy soul! thy days are ended,
All thy mourning days below,
Thou, by angel-guards attended,
Didst to Jesus' presence go."
Now, why is it, that these phenomena are so common in the death-bed experience of them who love
the Lord Jesus Christ? Say you these are the fruits
of a distempered mind?  But is it not strange, that
amid all this wild wandering of the spirit, there is
perfect consistency with the revealings of God's holy
word? And how is it, that the wicked man in his
death, has no sound of heavenly melody charming
his ears, and no sight of holy angels, hovering around
his pillow? Why is it, that instead of these, images
of terror float before his glaring eyes and fill the
soul with horror and dismay? Is it not, because
when men are dying, the curtain of this body is
gradually lifted up, and the soul hitherto not cognizant of the presence of attending spirits, looks out
into the eternal world, and stamps an impress of its
realities upon the fading senses? And when the
spirit is poised upon the confines of the two worlds,




SATAN, A TYRANT.              75
and its heaven or its hell is already begun, why
need we wonder that the righteous has hope and
glory in his death, whilst the wicked are trembling
in overwhelming terror and despair?  Let this
suggest a closing thought.
In the midst of wrath, the Lord remembers mercy,
and doubtless God has permitted Satan and his
angels to torment the souls and bodies of men upon
this earth, that he might rebuke the unbelief and
presumption of them who deny the very existence
of Satan's person and power, and who, like the Sadducees, reject the most momentous truths. He has
poured a flood of evidence so overwhelming, that it
sweeps away the cavils of the self-willed rejecters of
his truth, that they may take warning and escape
the everlasting torment and tyranny of hell. If, even
here, Satan could make life a burden, and pervert
every faculty of mind and body, into a fountain of
pain and sorrow; how, then, can any soul endure
the terrors of that tremendous sentence, "Depart,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels?"








2 CORINTHIANS IV. 4.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.








SATAN, A FALSE GOD,              79
CHAPTER        IV.
SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
HUMAN depravity is manifested in no development of sin more fearfully, than in the supreme
obedience which is paid by the wicked to the suggestions of the evil one. The Scriptures declare,
that he " rules in the children of disobedience," that
they "are led captive by the devil, at his will."
These are expressions of tremendous import. They
declare, as powerfully as language can do it, the
strong hold which the great enemy possesses upon
the affections and passions of men. They imply a
complete prostration of the liberty in which his
subjects so often make their boast. The will is
enslaved.  The understanding is deluded.  The
conscience is perverted. The affections are in bondage. To my mind, there is no exhibition of the
doctrine of human depravity more terrible than
this. Probably no passages of Scripture can be
adduced, which assert it with greater emphasis
than those which describe the moral influence and
agency of Satan upon the minds of men. The
enemies of God imagine that they are their own




80        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
masters. Strange delusion! They cast off allegiance to Him, whose right it is to reign; they
declare their independence of his government and
law, and whilst they vauntingly exclaim, " our lips
are our own; who is lord over us?" they are in fact
proclaiming their allegiance to Satan. This is a
truth which is not usually appreciated as it should
be. They who have never sued for the pardon
proffered in the Gospel, and who are consequently
not at peace with God, are scarcely conscious of
the terrible reality that they are serving, not so
much themselves, as they are obeying the commands of Satan. Does not this thought invest the
grosser forms of vice with peculiar virulence and
atrocity? The blasphemer who hesitates not to
profane the name of the Most High, and who in
sheer recklessness-in the very wantonness of
indifference to sacred things —avows his contempt
for all that is holy, proclaims with the very breath
that fills his mouth with oaths and curses," his
complete subjection to the power of the devil. The
blasphemies which flow from the lips of the wicked
man in his wrath, are so many acts of worship
offered to " the god of this world." This character
of Satan is the culminating point of his usurpation.
He can make no higher pretension than this.  I;
offers himself as the god of the wicked. And wl




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.              81
are the wicked? Moral men are ready to reply:
the drunkard, who debases his intellect, stupifies or
maddens his brain with strong drink, who heeds
not the claims of his heart-broken wife and famishing children, who goes from the place of carousal
reeling in loathsome intoxication to the comfortless home, in which his trembling family seek a
shelter in vain from the ebullitions of capricious
fury —the drunkard, they reply, is a wicked man.
They say truly, for such he is. They tell us again:
the licentious man, who triumphs over the virtue
of his victim and boasts of his success-and the vile
pander, who spreads a net for the feet of innocence,
and insidiously corrupts the morals and the tastes
of her own sex-these are wicked. Truly! they
are abominations! They reply again: the corrupters of public morals, who make the mind familiar
with printed impurity, and outrage all decency in
their shameless infamy, are wicked. We admit it.
They will point to the man who extorts the last
penny from the worn hand of honest poverty, to
the mean tradesman, who screws as with a vice,
the reward of the poor woman's daily toil down to
the veriest pittance, for which he can exact days of
unremitting industry, and they will load him with
epithets of reproach. He deserves them. They
will paint the character of the deliberate slanderer,




82        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
who maliciously distorts the truth, who makes a lie
and loves it, and who revels with delight amid the
ruins of the reputation which he has destroyed, and
then turn from the picture with loathing and disgust, and we acknowledge, their indignation is
righteous. But, we ask, are these and such as
these, the only subjects of Satan? I would not
undervalue morality. I know it is better that men
should be temperate, and chaste, and honest, and
prudent in speech and conduct, than that they
should betray their parentage and show that they
are of their father the devil, by practising vices
which are the opposites of temperance and purity,
of justice and truth —but a man may possess all
these virtues and more, and still be under the
dominion of the devil. The Scriptures present a
higher standard.  They demand no less than a
complete surrender of the heart to God, in order to
emancipation from the power of the evil one. You
are either "of this world," or you are "of the
household of God;" either a fellow-citizen with the
saints, or an alien from the commonwealth of Israel
There is no middle ground. You are either a child
of God, or you belong to the children of disobedience, in whom Satan rules. "If you walk not by
faith in Jesus," you are blinded by Satan. For' the god of this world hath blinded the minds of




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.              83
them that believe not." A favorite device of the
devil in all ages, has been, to counterfeit the institutions and the ordinances of God, and to endeavour to impair, and if possible, neutralize the moral
influence of Christian virtues by base and contemptible caricatures.
Jehovah established ORACLES, at which he heard
the vows and prayers of his people, and gave
answers through his prophets to the inquiries of
their judges and kings. The word oracle is used in
the Old Testament Scriptures to denote the mercyseat. The original Hebrew word caphoreth, derived
from caphar as its root, properly means a covering,
and its significance will be apparent at once, in its
application to the cover of the ark of the covenant,
the sacred chest, in which the laws of the covenant
were enclosed. "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them,
in the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one
cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the
other end: even of the mercy-seat shall ye make
the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the
cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high,
covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their
faces shall look one to another; toward the mercyseat shall the faces of the cherubims be."-(Exod.
xxv. 18-20.) It also denotes the SANCTUARY, the




84        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
Holy of Holies, in which the ark was deposited.
"And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house
round about, both of the temple and of the oracle;
and he made chambers round about." " And he built
twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the
floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even
built them for it within, even for the oracle, even
for the most holy place. And the house, that is,
the temple before it, was forty cubits long." —(1
Kings vi. 5, 16, 17.)
The Jews had several distinct means of ascertaining the will of God, in any special crisis or emergency, apart from the ordinary teachings of the
revealed law. Such were the direct communications which were made by the Almighty to Moses,
and delivered orally by the great prophet of the
law to the children of Israel. " With him will I
speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in
dark speeches, and the similitude of the Lord shall
he behold."-(Num. xii. 8.)
Prophetical dreams were also employed, in order
to indicate to the servants and prophets of the
Lord, particular events which were to happen
either to themselves or to the Jewish nation. A
well known instance of this occurs in the history
of Joseph, to whom God revealed his future pro



SATAN, A FALSE GOD.             85
motion over his brethren, and afterwards again,
when a prisoner in Pharaoh's dungeon, Joseph was
apprised of the will of God by similar instrumentality. (See Gen. xxxvii. 5, 6, and Gen. xl.)
Prophetical visions were also employed. These
differed from dreams, and are frequently mentioned
as distinct from them, not only in the writings of
the prophets, but also in the historical portions of
the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament.
Thus Joel declares: "It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, and your young
men shall see visions." Thus the LORD encouraged
Abraham in a vision. (Gen. xv. 1.) And again in
the visions of the night, he appeared to the patriarch Jacob, "and spake unto Israel, and said,
Jacob! Jacob! and he said, Here am I. And he
said, I am God, the God of thy father, fear not to
go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee
a great nation."  (Gen. xlvi. 2, 3, &c.  Consult
also, Numb. xii. 5, 6.)
The Urim and Thummim which was in the
ephod, or pectoral or breast-plate of the high priest,
is also called an oracle or oracles, because it endowed with supernatural knowledge the high
priest who wore it. From Joshua's time to the
8




86        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
building of the temple at Jerusalem, the consulting
of the Urim and Thummim was a common mode
of inquiring of the Lord. Two remarkable instances are recorded in the history of David. "And
David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief
against him: and he said to Abiathar, the priest,
Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, 0 Lord
God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard
that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the
city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver
me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as
thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel,
I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord
said, He will come down. Then said David, Will
the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into
the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will
deliver thee up." —(1 Saml. xxiii. 9-12.) Again,
at the spoiling of Ziklag by the Amalekites,
when David was greatly distressed, he "said to
Abiathar the priest, Abimelech's son, I pray thee,
bring me hither the ephod, and Abiathar brought
the ephod to David. And David inquired of the
Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop?
Shall I overtake them?  And he answered him,
Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and
without fail, recover all."-(1 Saml. xxx. 7, 8.)
After the completion of the temple, the usual




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.              87
mode of ascertaining the divine will was by consulting the ordained prophets of Jehovah. There
was then, no unnecessary connection either with certain specified times, or particular places, or even
with the personal character of the priest who
uttered these predictions. The High priest when
clothed with the ephod gave a true answer, whatever might be the manner of his life. He spoke
as he was directed, and no doubt at times gave an
answer, the full import of which he did not himself
understand. A  remarkable instance in point is
furnished in the incidents attending the arraignment of Christ before the tribunal of Caiaphas, the
Jewish High-priest. He pronounced an oracle
relating to the Saviour, which he did not himself
understand in its real import. "Ye know nothing
at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that
one man should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not. And this he spale not of
himself, but being High-priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the people."
That was the last utterance of the Urim and
Thummim. From that hour the voice of prophecy
was hushed in Israel. It was meet that it should
be so, and that the expiring glory of the ancient
oracles of God should bear testimony to the necessity of the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, toward




88        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
which all types and shadows of the Jewish ritual
had tended since the giving of the law. Caiaphas
hated Jesus, and desired his death, but he bore
upon his breast the Urim and Thurnmim, and ere
the light of the ephod is quenched forever, it
kindles with dying energy and proclaims the grand
truth of the gospel, "It is expedient for us, that
one man should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not."
Now, that the work of Christ is accomplished,
save his intercession at the right hand of God's
majesty-and the full vindication of his royal prerogative in the subjugation of his enemies-since
Jesus Christ has appeared, as the great prophet and
high-priest of his Church, and the Holy Spirit has
moved upon the hearts of holy men of God, who
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and
the will of God is plainly revealed in the Sacred
Scriptures, the word-the living, incorruptible word
of God has superseded the ancient oracles, and the
Spirit of God leads his inquiring and believing
people into all truth. "If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and
upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." We
inquire of the oracles of God, when we read the
Scriptures for our spiritual profit and instruction;
when in secret we bow the knee in humble, fer



SATAN, A FALSE GOD.             89
vent, faithful supplication; when, in a word, we
thankfully use the means of God's appointment, to
promote our growth in grace and our increase in
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has
given to us all the revelation which we need, until
the day of the full manifestation of the sons of God
in glory, and therefore the canon of sacred writ
closes with these solemn words: "I testify to every
man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book; if any man shall add unto these things, God
shall add unto him the plagues that are written in
this book: and if any man shall take away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life, and out
of the holy city, and from the things which are
written in this book. He which testifieth these
things saith, Surely, I come quickly: Amen! so,
come, Lord Jesus."
As Jehovah established his oracles, so Satan set
up oracles also. He had them among the heathen
nations, who surrounded the Jews, and when by
his infernal temptations he seduced the Hebrews
from their allegiance, they forsook the oracles of
God and went to consult the shrine of Baalzebub.
This was insulting Jehovah to his face. Surely, it
is blasphemy most horrid, to prefer the altars and
the temple of Satan to the ordinances of the living
8*




90        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
God! Therefore the anger of God was kindled
against his chosen people, when they turned away
from the truth to seek after a lie. "And Azariah
fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber in
Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers
and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baalzebub, the
god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the
Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of
the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not
because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to
inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, thou shalt not come down
from that bed, on which thou art gone up, but shalt
surely die. And Elijah departed." (2 Kings i. 2-4.)
This entire history is the more important from the
terrible confirmation which God gave to the truth of
his own prophet, when summoned in derision by the
captain of fifty, who was sent to apprehend him,
" Thou man of God, the king hath said, come down."
Elijah sends back the terrible response: "If I be
a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven
and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came
down fire from heaven and consumed him and his
fifty." A second captain was sent with another
company of fifty, and with still greater effrontery
repeats the king's message: "O man of God, thus




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.             91
hath the king said, Come down quickly!" Again
Elijah sends back the fearful challenge; "If I be a
man of God, let fire come down from heaven and
consume thee and thy fifty." And the fire of God
came down from heaven and consumed him and
his fifty. A third messenger was despatched with
another company, but he fell on his knees, acknowledged the power of God, and prayed that their
lives might be spared. Elijah, encouraged by the
angel of the Lord, went down to the captain,
accompanied him to the king, and declared to
Ahaziah the message of God, that because he had
sent to inquire of Baalzebub, therefore he should
not come off his bed, but should surely die. "So
he died according to the word of the Lord, which
Elijah had spoken." The object of this terrible
severity, by which the two companies with their
officers were slain, in addition to the death of the
king, was manifestly to exhibit the displeasure of
Jehovah against the indignity which had been put
upon his own oracles, by sending to inquire of the
god of Ekron. The heathen oracles of antiquity
have, by some, been regarded as having been
wholly under the influence of demons.   In a
general sense, they, no doubt, were, but it is
altogether probable, that there were several distinct kinds of oracles; some of them were con



92        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
trolled by the illusions of the devil, but others may
have been the effects of the juggling and contrivance of the Gentile priests, without any direct
Satanic agency in the responses which were uttered.
A remarkable passage illustrative of this truth,
is found in 1 Kings, 22. Micaiah, the son of
Imlah, a prophet of the Lord, was sent for at the
suggestion of Jehoshaphat, who had made an
alliance with Ahab. The false prophets whom
Ahab consulted, advised that they should go up
against Ramoth-Gilead and take it from the Syrians,
promising complete success to the expedition.
Ahab yielded a reluctant consent to Jehoshaphat's
advice, alleging as the reason, that the man prophesied only evil concerning him. Micaiah obeyed
the king's summons. "And he said, Hear thou,
therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord
sitting on his throne, and all the hosts of heaven
standing by him, on his right hand and on his left.
And the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab that
he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And
one said in this manner, and another said in that
manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood
before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.
And the Lord said unto him, wherewith? And he
said I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.              93
and prevail also: go forth and do so." I regard
this as a passage of great importance, inasmuch as
it seems to settle the fact of the agency of false
spirits or lying spirits upon the minds of the
prophets, who waited upon the shrines of idol-gods,
and I presume this to have been the great principle
that was implied, or taught by the figurative vision
which Micaiah beheld. This is in accordance also
with other didactic portions of Scripture which represent delusion as a judicial punishment for perverse
and obstinate adherence to error. "For this cause,"
says St. Paul, "God shall send them strong delusion,
that they shall believe a lie, that they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, and had pleasure in unrighteousness."  (2 Thes. ii. 11, 12.)
Satan was permitted to deceive those, who through
hatred of the truth, rejected the counsel of the
Lord. "My people would not hearken to me, and
Israel would none of me, so I gave them up to their
own heart's lust, and they walked in their own
counsels."  This establishes, and at the same time,
accounts for the fact, that Satan was permitted to
set up his oracles, in opposition to those of Jehovah.
In perfect accordance with this, is the declaration
of the apostle: 1 Cor. x. 20, "I say, that the things
which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils,
(daemons) and not to God, and I would not that ye




94        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
should have fellowship with devils." Ye cannot
drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils;
ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of
the table of devils."
Satan also instituted an ephod, or Teraphim, in
opposition to the Urim and Thummim of the Highpriest of Jehovah. The idolatry of Micah described in Judges, xvii., establishes this.  "The
man Micah had a house of gods, and made an
ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his
sons, who became his priest." The same passage
proves also, that the very ordination to the priesthood was mimicked and counterfeited by Satan.
The portions of Scripture, however, which settle
the question of Satanic influence upon the minds of
those who turned aside from the service of God and
became apostates and idolaters-the strongest and
most unanswerable passages are those which relate
to, and peremptorily forbid all communications with
so called familiar spirits, and all consultations of
persons who professed to have dealings with them.
In the Old Testament writings, no less than sixteen
passages occur, in which reference is made to this
form of Satanic influence. In the Levitical law, it
was expressly ordained,' A man also, or a woman,
that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall
surely be put to death; they shall stone them with




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.               95
stones; their blood shall be upon them." (Lev.
20-27.) The prohibition was also inserted in the
statutes, and the reason was assigned in these
words: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits,
neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them; I
am the Lord thy God." It is worthy of remark,
that in all the passages which bear upon this subject, the communication with evil spirits is represented as real; the Scriptures do not speak, in a
single instance, as though it was a mere pretence
of impostors, and yet there can be no doubt, that
many of the acts which were practised by the
magicians, wizards, soothsayers, and sorcerers, were
the merest tricks of juggling and legerdemain.
With all this, however, there was besides, an
actual direct and special communication with
malignant dsemons, the emissaries of the devil,
who gave responses and uttered predictions, which
were sometimes verified, but were frequently
proved false by subsequent events. In the description of Manasseh's character, (2 Chron. xxx. 6,)
we read: "He observed times and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with afamiliar
spirit, and with wizards."  This language certainly
implies more than mere pretence or profession; it
represents Manasseh as actually dealing with a
familiar spirit. The narrative of Saul's application




96        SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
to the "Witch of Endor," is strong and relevant
testimony to the same effect. In this connection,
we may properly remark, that not a single instance
can be adduced in which the inspired writers speak
with approbation, or even with allowance-or toleration of those who dealt with familiar spirits, or
used enchantments, or practised the arts of magic,
or soothsaying, or fortune-telling. In all cases, the
men of God, who spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost, reprobate all such practices and denounce the conduct of those who use such arts, or
who apply to those who practice them as flagrant
offences and heinous sins in the sight of God. This
is an important fact, because it plainly implies that
the spirits who were consulted were angels or emissaries of the devil. No pure, no holy being would
be found enticing men to transgress the commands
of God.   This whole subject derives additional
importance from the theories which have recently
been broached, and which are based upon alleged
facts and discoveries and revelations from the spirit
world, but I waive this topic for the present, as I
purpose directing attention to it in a subsequent
chapter. A single remark may suffice meanwhile,
the truth of which will be obvious to every one who
receives the Bible as the book from which there can
be no appeal; it is this; no new revelation pur



SATAN, A FALSE GOD.              97
porting to come from the spirit world can be of
God, because that would be either adding to the
sacred canon, or taking from it, and the great Head
of the Church has declared, in the very last sentences of the revelation of his word, that there shall
be no taking away from its statutes, and no adding
to them till he come, and that they who presume
to do either, do it at the peril of remediless damnation!  Let these revelations, therefore, be what
they may, theher real communications made by
daemons, or the tricks of mountebanks or charlatans, they are alike all abominable. I do not say
that they are positively unreal, for I find in the
prophecies of the Revelation of St. John, that a
period will come in the history of the Church,
signalised by delusion, and that "spirits of devils,"
or dsemons, shall "go forth, working miracles," to
gather the kings of the earth and the whole world
to the battle of the great day of God Almighty;
that time is even now; that day has come, robed
in clouds of war, dark and boding terror and
sorrow. It behoves us to be prepared for it, and
to remember that whilst Satan cannot work real
miracles, he can perform, and his angels also,
"lying wonders," by which he might deceive, were
it possible, the very elect.
In addition to those who dealt with familiar
9




98         SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
spirits, the Scriptures speak of various kinds of
magicians, soothsayers, diviners, necromancers,
astrologers, wizards, sorcerers, &c., who were engaged in the exercise of arts of divination, or in
the practice of imposture and juggling, intended to
deceive and seduce the people of God from the
worship of Jehovah. All these practices are forbidden, not only in the Old Testament, but also in
the New, and therefore we are not to regard them
as obsolete instrumentalities of the devil. They
have not fallen into disuse; if they ever had, Satan
has revived them in our day with a vigour and an
impudence that deserve a stern rebuke. Some of
the false prophets, already enumerated, were engaged in casting nativities, others in fortune-telling,
others in communications with daemons; but all,
of whatever name or cast, were by statute law,
proscribed in Israel, and were subject under the
Jewish theocracy to the penalty of death.
The reason of this severity is plain. Jehovah
was the political head and ruler of the Jewish
nation, and as the ceremonial and moral law were
blended under his government, they who enticed
his covenant people into the abominations of idolservice and devil-worship, were guilty of high treason against the divine administration, and God set
the seal of his abhorrence upon these abominations,




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.               99
by meting out to them the severest penalty of the
civil law. The gospel brings eternal things into
clearer view. It teaches men to look forward to
the eternal state, upon whose borders they tarry
for a little while, for the full measure of the retribution which awaits the wicked, and, therefore, the
severity of the ceremonial law is not to be enforced
in any case, unless it be reserved by express or
implied stipulation in the New  Testament; but
let Christians remember this, that if astrologers
and soothsayers, and fortune-tellers and sorcerers
are not to be punished by human tribunals with
death, they are not less abominable in the sight of
God than they were under the ancient dispensation. One of the very last sentences in the Bible
declares, that sorcerers are among the outcasts from
heaven, who never shall enter the gates of the holy
city. I would as soon think of visiting the purlieus of hell, as consulting the impudent impostors
who pretend to foretell future events by their arts of
infernal divination, and I cannot conceive a greater
scandal to a Christian profession, or a sin more
abominable in the sight of God, and more insulting
to the Lord Jesus Christ, than for a professed follower of the Saviour to consult a vile fortune-teller
or a caster of nativities, or one who professes to
deal with a familiar spirit. This was the sin of




100       SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
Saul, and for this very sin he was slain. Even
when they speak the truth, they speak it through
the agency of him who was a liar from the beginning, and who never says what is true, when a lie
will better subserve his purpose. The folly of the
thing, apart from its intense wickedness, should
deter all persons of ordinary intelligence from practising it. Prescience, or foreknowledge, is not an
attribute of Satan. He knows nothing beforehand,
except what God has been pleased to reveal. The
future belongs to God; it depends not upon the
combinations of stars or planets; it is not to be read
in the lines of a man's face, or in the palm of his
hand, but it rests in the purpose and will of God.
They who seek counsel of any but the Lord, do in
that very act worship the god of this world. To
consult a caster of nativities is to pray to the devil,
and Satan has already a hold upon the hearts of
men, strong enough and broad enough to effect
their ruin without any pains on their part to make
assurance doubly sure. You see this power illustrated in the terrible predominance which long
indulgence will give to any vice or depraved habit,
over the human mind, rendering its subject literally the captive of the devil. About five years
ago, in a miserable garret, in the city of Cincinnati,
a wretched woman, attended by an only daughter,




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.             101
a girl of some sixteen years, lay in the agony of
death. For many years she had followed the trade
of a street beggar, and had amassed a very considerable amount of money, which was secured in
gold and silver coin, in a chest. She was a perfect
slave of avarice, living in the most abject poverty
apparently grudging herself the very necessaries of
life, though obtained without any expenditure of
her beloved treasure. From her daughter's statement, it appears, that she had not only trained her
child to the same wretched vocation, but had been
in the habit of beating her unmercifully whenever
the daily proceeds of her business fell below a certain average. The miserable woman fell sick. The
idea of calling in medical aid and being compelled
to purchase the requisite medicines, was almost as
terrible to her as death itself. She refused to do it.
The disease ran its course, and she became aware
that she must die. She had lost the power of
motion, but not of speech, and she bade her daughter bring the key of her chest. "Put it into my
hand," said she. "Now clench my fingers upon it."
It was done. "Place this hand in my bosom;" and
her daughter put aside the tattered garment and
laid that clenched and clammy hand upon her
mother's breast.  "Now," she exclaimed, "draw
my cot over towards the chest."  Her daughter
9*




102       SATAN, A FALSE GOD.
obeyed. "Lay this hand upon the lid." This too
was done. And struggling as sh6 was with death,
the wretched woman clung to her treasure, raving,
that she would not give it up, and that she must
take it with her. In that posture death found her,
and when the spirit had fled, the hands of that
ghastly corpse were still clutching the key and the
lid of the miser's chest. She was a worshipper of
"the god of this world;" her ruling passion strong
in death, she died as she had lived, the slave of the
devil.
How different is this from the close of a Christian's life. An eminent man of God lay upon his
dying bed. The power of memory, owing to the
nature of the disease, seemed almost extinct. Still
there was consciousness  His son approached him
and whispered, " Father, do you know nme?" "Who
are you?" said the dying man. "I am your son."
"My son! I do not remember that I ever had a
son!" His wife, amid tears which almost choked
her utterance, bent over him and asked, "Do you
remember me?" "Who are you?"     "I am your
wife." He gazed vacantly upon her and shook his
head, in token that he did not recognize even her.
A friend stepped towards the bed, and taking his
hand, inquired, "Do you know the Lord Jesus
Christ?" "The Lord Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed,




SATAN, A FALSE GOD.             103
whilst a smile of intelligence kindled upon his
countenance, "oh, yes! I have known him these
many, many years." So, when all the ties of earth
are sundered and memory has lost its hold upon
the dearest affinities of this life, the child of God
still clings to Christ-the first and the last- the
Author of faith and its Finisher.








REVELATION XVI. 13.
" They are the spirits of (devils) daemons working miracles."








SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            107
CHAPTER V.
SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
THESE remarkable words occur in the symbolic
vision of the sixth vial, and relate to events which
are to precede the gathering together of the nations
to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
The inspired apostle declares, that he beheld "three
unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they
are the spirits of devils," diemon-spirits, " working
miracles." The most commonly received interpretation of the vision is that which refers the three
powers, which send forth the three unclean spirits
like frogs, respectively, to the rulers of the Eastern
Roman Empire, symbolized by the dragon, the
rulers of the Western Roman Empire, symbolized
by the wild beast, and to the ecclesiastical and civil
rulers or hierarchy of the papal states, represented
by the false prophet.
There is a singular unanimity in English commentaries in the application of one at least of
these classes of unclean spirits, to the Jesuits.




108       SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
The word "spirits" is sometimes used to denote
religious teachings (in the language of Scripture).
Thus, the apostle John says (1 Ep. iv. i.) " Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they be of God, because many false prophets are
gone out into the world." It is remarkable also,
that in the primitive church, among the supernatural, or preternatural endowments, the gift of
discerning spirits, is enumerated.  This faculty
enabled its possessor to judge infallibly, whether
any one, who professed to be moved by the Holy
Ghost, was really thus actuated, or under the influence of impure spirits. The interpretation by which
these unclean spirits are represented as false teachers
of religion, is supported by the analogy of Scripture.
An old commentator on the Revelation, Thomas
Brightman, whose book was published, A. D.,
1616, uses this language in the explication of the
passage before us. After stating that these emissaries, or unclean spirits are Jesuits, and that they
are bound by their vow to go wherever the ecclesiastical authority shall send them, and on whatever
errand their superior may prescribe, he says:
" They are like unto frogs, because they delight
in their own most filthy abominations of doctrine
out of which they fetch their beginning and their
life. They refuse to be clothed with Christ's




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.             109
righteousness, boasting themselves of their own
mire, as if they were clean enough therewith, to
appear before God. And seeing the sea was made
all like carrionly filthy blood before this, what
other thing is there that can delight in so filthy a
pool, where such weeds grow, but frogs, toads, and
such kinds of execrable vermin, that came from
the lake of fire and brimstone, and shall thither
again, one day? But besides their filthiness, they
are like frogs also in their importunate croaking
For, these bellows of troubles and war-making
Furies shall leave nothing undone, that they may
set the whole world in a combustion. But why is
there no difference made between the captains and
soldiers of the Pope and the Turks? Because,
although nothing shall be more common in the
Jesuits and Papists, than the name of Jesus Christ,
so that they will be called Jesuits, from thence, yet
seeing they hope for life and salvation by their own
merits, they differ nothing from the heathens, who
do wholly despise Christ." Whether this interpretation is authorized, or not, is not now the question
with me. My design is not to speak about the
Jesuits, but to view the words in their literal acceptation, as bearing upon the subject of Satanic
influence and power. Nor, can it be any objection, that the language is metaphorical, for the
10




110      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
terms of a metaphor must always indicate things
which are in themselves real. For example. when
we wish to predicate the qualities of boldness, or
courage of a man, we may speak metaphorically,
and say, "he is a Lion;" but there would be no
meaning in such language, were it not admitted
that the lion is bold and courageous. So, when
we indicate meekness or gentleness, we sometimes
say that such a person is a lamb; but the metaphor
would be stripped of all its significance, if the lamb
was not a type of these very qualities. So in the
case before us, the idea of comparing false teachers
to unclean spirits, or to dsemon spirits, working
miracles, would be perfectly nugatory and absurd,
were there no such beings as d&emons, possessing
the power of working wonders. This analogy is
perfectly plain, and the use of this passage, as authority in point, is manifestly legitimate. I have
already stated, in a former chapter, that the Devil
cannot work a true miracle. This power belongs
to God alone. A miracle implies a suspension of
the physical laws of God, and Satan would therefore
possess the means of subverting the divine government, if this prerogative pertained to him. We
must remember, however, that Satan has ability
vastly superior to any that can be exercised by
man. An effect may therefore be superhuman, and




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            111
yet not miraculous. The Devil may do more than
man can do, because he possesses superior knowledge and strength. He has facilities for understanding the laws of nature; he may be, and doubtless is, perfectly familiar with the natural causes
of phenomena, the rationale of which is concealed
from  our view.  He has studied them  for six
thousand years. Hence many things may appear
to be miraculous to us, which are merely the
proper results of natural causes. We have seen
too, that the great Enemy has the faculty of deluding the minds and senses of men, so that he can
make things appear other than they really are.
Hence, the Scriptures speak of the "lying wonders"
wrought by the power of the Devil. Thus the
apostle Paul declared that at a certain period in
the history of the Church, the man of sin should
be revealed, that Wicked One the Son of Perdition,
whose coming is after the working of Satan, with
all power, and signs and LYING WONDERS, and with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish, and farther, that for the very reason, that his
dupes should hate the truth and take pleasure in
unrighteousness, God would send them strong delusion, withdraw the restraints of his grace, permit
them who say to him " Depart from us, we desire
not the knowledge of thy ways," to walk in their




112      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
own counsels, " that they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." This blindness, or delusion, is judicial;
it is a punishment upon them who do violence to
the dictates of their own consciences, and to the
strivings of the Holy Ghost. It is the terrible precursor of damnation, wrought by the power of the Devil
upon them who are led captive by him at his will.
Let us, then, examine the testimony of the Scriptures and weight the evidence presented in the word
of God, in support of this wonder-working faculty of
daemon spirits. We have already adverted to the
practice of dealing with familiar spirits described and
denounced in the Old Testament, and we find some
traces of it in the New Testament also. The wizards
or witches, spoken of in the Old Testament writers,
were persons of this description; they are another
name for those who dealt with familiar spirits. In
the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we find several
incidents bearing upon this point, to be noticed in
due order, and the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the
Galatians, (v. 20,) enumerates "witchcraft" among
the forbidden practices which are abominable in the
sight of God, and of which he says, "I have told you
in time past, that they which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God." It is a mistaken
idea, therefore, that this is an obsolete sin, under the




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            113
new dispensation, for if it were, the Apostle would
not enumerate it among the crimes of idolatry, and
adultery, and hatred, and heresies, and drunkenness,
and murder, which are all rife in the world to this day.
The case, which will at once occur to the mind of
every one who is familiar with the Scriptures, as an
illustration of the subject before us, is the narrative
of the Witch of Endor, recited in 1 Sam. xxviii.
Saul had manifested great zeal against all who had
dealings with familiar spirits; he "had put away
those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out
of the land." Being sorely pressed and menaced by
a formidable host of Philistines, the most inveterate
enemies of Israel, "he was afraid, and his heart
greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the
Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams,
nor by Urim, nor by prophets." Distressed by the
silence of the divine oracles, which had hitherto
always given responses, when duly consulted, and
regarding the restraint which God had placed upon
the ordained instrumentalities of special revelation,
as a token of divine displeasure, Saul was agitated
by the most fearful perplexity. Samuel, the man of
God, who had so often stood in the breach before
Jehovah, and had rescued the king and the people
of Israel from the most imminent peril, by his fervent and faithful intercession, had gone to his rest.
10*




114      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
" Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him,
and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city."
The thought of Samuel was uppermost in the mind
of Saul. He had been a true friend of the King;
for though Saul had often been rebuked with all the
severity of faithfulness, he had never been deceived
by the prophet. And now, that the black clouds of
impending wrath were again lowering over the land,
and the oracles were silent, and there was no prophet like Samuel, to tell the king the counsel of the
Lord, the bereavement with which God had afflicted
the nation, in taking away his own faithful servant,
added gall to the bitterness of Saul's perplexity.
His conscience troubled him. God had forsaken him,
and he knew the reason. How his heart trembled,
when he looked from the camp of Israel in Gilboa,
out towards Shunem, and saw it covered with the
mighty array of the Philistines! How he groaned in
the anguish of despair, Oh! that Samuel were with
me! See him in his tent, bowing his face to the
earth, whilst tears of vexation course down his cheeks,
and he moans in broken sentences, his sad complaint,
that God has departed from him, and repeats with
passionate earnestness, the name of the revered prophet, Samuel! Samuel! Suddenly a suggestion has
darted into his mind. It is a fiery arrow of the
Wicked One. He repels it. The subtle Tempter




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            115
pleads; Saul listens.  What wilt thou do? There
is no prophet like SAMUEL, to prevail with God in an
hour like this. Thy prophets are dumb. There is no
vision from  the Lord in all Israel. The Urim and
Thummim upon the breast of the high priest has lost its
virtue. God will not hear thee; but, peradventure there
is ANOTHER who can befriend thee! Seek one who has
a familiar spirit; thou mayest yet see Samuel  We
may well conceive, that it must have cost the king
a severe struggle before he could yield to this temptation. He had driven the necromancers out of the
land by the severest penalties, and if any ventured
still to practise their forbidden arts, they were compelled to skulk in the caves of the earth, through
fear of Saul's vengeance. He yields at length, and
his resolution is taken. "Then said Saul unto his
servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar
spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.
And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a
woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. And
Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment,
and he went, and two men with him, and they came
to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee,
divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me
him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the
woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what
Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have




116      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land;
wherefore then layest thou a snare for my lite, to
cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the
Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no
punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then
said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee?
And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the
woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice:
and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast
thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king
said unto her, Be not afraid; for what sawest thou?
And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What
form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh
up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul
perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with
his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And
Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me,
to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore
distressed; for the Philistines make war against me,
and God is departed from me, and answereth me no
more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore
I have called thee, that thou mayest make known
unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And
the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for




SATAN,T THE DECEIVER.           117
the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand,
and given it to thy neighbor, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor
executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore
hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.
Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee
into the hand of the Philistines: and to-morrow shalt
thou and thy sons be with me; the Lord also shall
deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.  Then Saul fell straightway all along the
earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of
Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he
had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night."
This history teaches certain important practical
truths, with which we are mainly concerned at
present.
Those who followed the profession of the woman
of Endor, had dealings with, or communications
from departed spirits, or daemons. She had at her
command a daemon which could inquire of the
departed spirits, and give information. Sometimes
the information was true, at other times it may
have been false, according to the purpose which
Satan intended to accomplish. To adopt the theory,
that these communication were never real, is to
involve the plainest declarations of Scripture in
contradiction and absurdity. In fact, there is not




118      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
a single passage in the whole Bible which represents these dealings with daemon-spirits as mere
pretence, and yet there can be no doubt that many
of the wonders which were wrought professedly by
demoniacal instrumentality were nothing more than
tricks of juggling charlatans.
It is altogether probable that the woman whom
Saul consulted at Endor, recognized the king
through his disguise, at the very moment when
he entered her dwelling. The camp of Israel was
not very far from Endor, and the stature of Saul
was such, and his personal appearance was so well
known, that it would be difficult for him to elude
detection in any disguise. Then his embarrassment,
the distress, amounting almost to despair, by which
he was agitated, would all tend to betray him. This
opinion is moreover confirmed by the conduct of
the woman herself. When requested to bring up
the one whom   Saul should name, she replies:
"Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how
he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and
the wizards out of the land; wherefore then layest
thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And
Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, as the Lord
liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee
for this thing." Now, would the woman have been
satisfied with such a promise, even though con



SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            119
firmed by an oath, unless she had known that the
person who made it was able to protect her? She
is ready to proceed so soon as she has the oath of
Saul as her guarantee, but she keeps her discovery
to herself, until it suits her purpose to inform the
king that his disguise is unnecessary. This deceit
on the part of the woman is in perfect accordance
with the character of one who dealt habitually with
a wicked spirit; still I cannot adopt the theory,
that the whole scene in which Samuel is introduced
was the mere effect of imposture, for the following
reasons. The Scripture narrative describes it as real.
There is not a word in the entire account which
expresses a doubt in the mind of the inspired
writers respecting its reality.  Had the whole
matter been a mere trick, would it not have been
exposed by the man of God who wrote the book
of Samuel? Would he, moved as he was by the
Spirit of truth, have recorded the story in such a
manner as to make a false impression upon the
mind of the reader? Take, for instance, a single
passage, "Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and
he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed
himself. And Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou
disquieted me to bring me up?" Evidently it was
the honest conviction of the inspired writer, that
Samuel was sent to give the terrible message which




120      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
the apparition addressed to the King of Israel.
Again, the prediction of the spirit was verified by
the event. He tells Saul, "the Lord will also
deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be
with me 1" In the thirty-first chapter of 1 Samuel,
the narrative confirms the prophecy, for "the
Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of
Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell
down slain in Mount Gilboa, and the Philistines
followed hard upon Saul and his sons; and they
slew Jonathan, and Abinadab and Melchishua,
Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against
Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore
wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his
armour-bearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me
through therewith; but his armour-bearer would
not: for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took
a sword and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise
upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died,
and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all
his men, that same day together." (Ch. xxxi. 6.)
Now, if we assume that Satan personated Samuel,
as some pretend, how shall we account for the
literal fulfilment of these minute details of the
spectre's prophecy?  Foreknowledge, or presci



SATAN, TIE DECEIVER.            121
cace, is not of Satan. He may guess, but he can
know nothing beforehand, except what God has
revealed. And will God send the Spirit of Truth
to enable the Devil to prophesy? If so, there
would indeed have been some good reason for
consulting one who had a familiar spirit. No. It
was Samuel who spoke to Saul. The Scriptures
would not tell us that Samuel addressed the king,
if they meant that Satan was the speaker. God
permitted the soul of the prophet to return, and
from the borders of the eternal world to utter a
terrible confirmation of the truth which he had
spoken, while living on the earth. Some have
argued, that if Samuel had been present, he would
have urged Saul to repentance, and that the absence of any such admonition is proof that Satan
was personating the prophet and seeking to drive
the wretched monarch to despair. To this, we
answer, that in no single instance, in which God
has given a man up to walk in his owJn counsels,
is the abandonment associated with the call to repentance. Elijah declared to king Ahaziah, that
he should surely die, when the king had sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron,
but he gave him no call to repent. Daniel foretold
to Belshazzar, his impending doom, but he made
no offer of mercy, and Samuel predictxl the dis11




122      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
comfiture of Israel and the death of Saul and his
sons, but he said not a word to Saul to open the
way of pardon, because God had departedfrom him.
"Yea, woe also unto them, when I shall depart
from them," saith the Lord. -"Ephraim is joined
to idols; let him alone." Let it be remembered,
that two out of the three instances of utter judicial
abandonment, above cited, were punishments entailed upon kings who forsook the oracles of Jehovah, and went to consult emissaries of Satan,
who were in league with hell; and the third was
a Pagan king, who polluted the vessels of the
Lord's house by a drunken revel in honour of his
Babylonish, idols. Sacrilege and blasphemy are
evident tokens of perdition; they are the dark
harbingers of hell!
Many reflections, suggested by this narrative,
must be passed by, but we will briefly notice two
points which are among the most important in
their practical bearing. The prophet Samuel complains, when he comes up before Saul, " Why hast
thou disquieted me to bring me up?"  He seems
to intimate by this rebuke, that he was there not
because he was subject to the magic incantations
of the woman of Endor, but by the special direction of God. He takes no notice of her, either by
speaking of her, or by speaking to her. Again he




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            123
complains that Saul has disquieted him.  It was
bringing him back to mingle in grief with which
he was to be no more acquainted. Shall he leave
the Paradise of God to listen again to the recital
of human woes, and have his kind heart harrowed
by the sight of Saul's despair? "Why hast thou
disquieted me?"  A legitimate inference from this
passage, would seen to teach, that those dsemons
who hold communication with necromancers, are
wicked spirits.  Indeed, as we have already remarked, this follows plainly from the statutes, prohibiting the arts of necromancy. No holy spirit
would be accessory to the transgression of God's
law. Moses and Elias appeared on Tabor, but they
appeared in glory; they visited Christ when he
was transfigured; they came to speak with him
of the decease he was shortly to accomplish at
Jerusalem.
Another point is this. Samuel declares to Saul,
"To-morrow shalt thou, with thy sons, be with me."
This is to be understood as a prediction that they
would be with Samuel in the spirit world, precisely as we might say of two men, of opposite moral
and religious character, that after death, they are
both in the eternal world; though one may be in
Paradise and the other in Tartarus, one, like Lazarus
in Abraham's bosom in heaven, the other groaning




124      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
with Dives in hell, yet both are in Hades-that word
denoting merely the state of departed spirits in general, the intermediate state of the soul, between the
death and resurrection of the body, without reference to the particular habitation of the righteous
and the wicked. This is the true meaning of Hades,
and it is plain, that it is not to be rendered, as it sometimes is in our version, by the word hell, because
it includes both heaven and hell-the abodes both
of the saved and of the lost. VWe proceed now to
the farther investigation of the subject properly before us. In the New Testament, we find incidental
allusions to this form of Satanic influence. In the
book of Acts, (xix. 13,) where the success of the
gospel at Ephesus is narrated, we read after the
statement that many who believed came and confessed their deeds, " Many of them also which used
curious arts, brought their books together, and
burned them before all men, and they counted the
price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of
silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." This immense price shows the number of
books consumed to have been great, and proves
that the extent to which these forbidden practices
were carried was, by no means, inconsiderable in
the apostolic age. When Paul was at Thyatira, a
damsel who had a spirit of divination and brought




SATANX, THE DECEIVER.           125
her masters much gain by soothsaying, followed
the apostle and his coadjutors in the gospel, saying,
These men are the servants of the Most Iigh God,
which show unto us the way of salvation. The
apostle commanded the spirit in the name of the
Lord Jesus to come out of her; and he came out,
and with that departure the hope of her masters'
gains departed also. (Acts xvi. 16-18.) This incident affords positive proof that the divinations of
some soothsayers, are not always mere human impostures, but are sometimes the effect of real Satanic
operations. Had the divination here described been
simply a juggling collusion between the damsel and
her masters, the apostle would not have ascribed it
to the agency of an evil spirit, and the terms of the
narrative and its whole character would have been
changed. In connection with this passage, we would
refer you to the words in Deut. xiii. 16. " If there
arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams,
and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or
the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto
thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou
hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt
not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that
dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth
you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye
11*




126      SATAN, TIIE DECEIVER.
shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him
and keep his commandments, and obey his voice,
and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And
that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be
put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you
away from the Lord your God," &c. This confirms
our position, and proves beyond all controversy,
that Satan did both under the old and new dispensations exercise a direct and special influence upon
the minds of his subjects, and that by his conjectural knowledge, and more than human foresight,
he was permitted to make wonderful discoveries
through the human agents who were under his
control. Now, I can not only find no passage in
the Scriptures, in support of the commonly received
idea which limits this Satanic agency to ancient periods in the history of the world, or of the Church,
but I believe also, that passages may be adduced
which will establish the very opposite. The words
announced as my topic, "Spirits of demons working miracles," occur in the prophetic history of the
events of the sixth vial, which relate in regular
order to the latest period but one in the history
of the Church; the seventh vial is the period
immediately preceding the millennial kingdom.
That era will be signalized by a great increase of
Satanic power. The hosts of darkness will be per



SATAN, TIHE DECEIVER.           127
mitted, as it were, to break down some of the barriers by which they have hitherto been restrained,
and it is generally admitted, not only that we are
rapidly approaching this great crisis in the experience of the Church of Christ, but that it has already
begun. "Behold," says the Master, "I come as a
thief! Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his
garments." (v. 15.)
Why should one of the last warnings recorded in
the book of God relate to " sorcerers," if the crime
of which they are guilty was so soon to be an obsolete offence? Besides, if we examine the testimony
of history, if we even go no farther back than our
own day, we shall find proof enough of the lying,
wonder-working power of daemon spirits.
About two hundred years ago, the popular belief
on the subject of daemon influence was tainted with
the darkest fanaticism, and there can be no doubt,
that many innocent persons were put to a cruel
death on false accusations of practising arts of
witchcraft.  This is admitted by all who are at
pains to examine the record of these transactions.
Effects which are now clearly understood to be the
results of natural causes, were, in that age, ascribed
to the devil's agency. Ventriloquism, for instance,
which is manifestly a natural faculty in some persons, produced by a peculiar structure or exercise




128      SATAN, THIE DECEIVER.
of the organs of speech, was at one time, regarded
as unequivocal proof of witchcraft. This mistake
originated in the well-known fact, that the ancient
necromancers frequently employed ventriloquism
to deceive those who came to consult them. So,
again, effects were ascribed to the power of witchcraft, which were nothing more than the natural
and necessary results of certain forms of disease;
but whilst making all these allowances, I am by no
means persuaded that the accusations were groundless in every instance, though I do not wish to be
understood as advocating the Levitical severity
with which both the innocent and the guilty have
been punished. I believe, however, that the fact
that multitudes in that age were really engaged in
the ancient crime of dealing with familiar spirits,
(a synonym for witchcraft,) is as clearly made out
as any event ever was, or ever can be, and the testimony on this point is so cumulative and overwhelming, that no evidence of any fact or event
can be worthy of belief, if this may be rejected. I
shall quote but a single author, who, however, cites
many authorities, and whom I regard as a host in
himself, I mean the learned and excellent Richard
Baxter. Although he falls into mistakes, common
in that age, and adduces instances of supposed denmoniacal influence, which were not necessarily, or




SATAN, THE DECEIVER.            129
even probably such in reality, it would be absurd,
on this account, to reject other evidence, which is
open to no such objection. Now Baxter states
substantially, that in some eight or nine hundred
cases which were adjudicated on the continent of
Europe, in France, in Germany, in Savoy, in Italy,
and also in great Britain, certain leading principles
were observable throughout, and as he justly remarks, the circumstances were such as absolutely
to preclude all possibility of collusion; because
apart from the want of motive, the persons implicated were strangers to one another. It certainly
is a strong fact, that all alike confessed that they
did enter into covenant with Satan, that they renounced God and Christ and their baptism, and all
communion with the Church, and that they had
direct and special communications with evil spirits;
that they had the faculty of associating with these
cdemons at pleasure by means of arts which savour
strongly of mesmerism, and that they were endowed
by these familiar spirits with prseter-human powers,
which were employed for purposes of malice, mischief, or revenge. I will admit, that it is possible
for the human mind to be so affected with morbid
fanaticism, as to sink into a form of gloomy insanity, and that an excited and perverted imagination may, by preying upon itself, reduce the




130      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
wretched victim of mental disease to a condition
of hopeless and absolute delusion; such cases of confirmed lunacy are still to be found, but it would be
difficult to reconcile the facts in Baxter's narrative
with the phenomena invariably presented in this
variety of insanity. I will let Baxter sum up his
testimony in his own words. After stating, that
notwithstanding all the authorities he has adduced,
the reality of this form of Satanic influence was
denied by many in his day, he uses this language:
"If the testimonies of judges, justices, lawyers and
juries, that have examined and heard the witnesses,
and are themselves as tender of wrongfully putting
people to death, as these infidels are; if the confessions of so many hundred witches at the halter or
fire be not sufficient; if the records of so many
judicatures be not sufficient; if men of so great
piety, honesty, judgment and impartiality may not
be credited in a case which bringeth no gain to
themselves; if the testimony of so many several
nations as France, Lorraine, Germany, Italy, be not
sufficient; if the experience of all countries in the
world, and all ages, who have found that same sort
of wretched persons, be not sufficient; and, lastly, if
the fresh experience of so many scores in a narrow
compass at once imprisoned and put to death in
our country, attested by so many thousand coimpc




SATAN, TIHE DECEIVER.            131
tent witnesses, and the frequent experiences of the
judges in their circuits, be none of them sufficient
to convince these infidels, I shall leave it either to
God's grace or the devil's torments ere long to
convince them."  (Baxter's Works, Vol. II., p.
335.  London, George Virtue, 1845.)    This is
strong language, and though great allowance must
be made on account of the prevalent public opinion
of the age, still it seems impossible, that all this
elaborate detail adduced by him should have been
altogether delusive, nor can I see, taking the Scriptures as our guide, any reason to doubt, that there
were persons in his day, who had dealings with
familiar spirits. I might cite similar testimony
from  the writings of John Wesley, and others,
but I deem it superfluous. In our own day, the
matter has been revived in a somewhat different
form. If I am asked, do you believe all those stories
that are told respecting the mysterious utterances
and sounds and apparitions which are circulated in
pamphlets and in the public prints? I answer, I
will not believe any thing that is contrary to the
Scriptures; I believe nothing without evidence that
is indisputable.  When persons of the highest
veracity in all stations in society, who have been
prejudiced against receiving any of these extraordinary phelnomena, tell me what they themselves




132      SATAN, THE DECEIVER.
have witnessed, I cannot say, I doubt your statements,
and I do not believe you. And when the word of
God declares, that Satan shall come down in great
wrath, knowing that his time is short, and that
daemon spirits shall go forth, working lying-wonders; and when I find that the tendency of all these
new revelations is to impair and openly to subvert
the sacred truths of the Bible, I feel that I am safe
in saying to every Christian man and woman within
the reach of my public or private influence, beware
how you tamper with any of these arts-be they real
or delusive-true or false-effects of daemon power or
of human fraud, they are alike of the devil, and the
father of lies is their author. Beloved, it is the last
time. Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they be of God, for many false prophets
are gone out into thie world.




REVELATION IX. 11.
And they had a king over them which is the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12








SATAN, TIIE DESTROYER.          135
CHAPTER       VI.
SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
TIIE meaning of ABADDON and Apollyon, is
Destroyer, and the appellation applies to the Angel
of the bottomless pit, who is Satan, the prince of
hell. The connection in which the words occur
appears to me to be a conclusive demonstration of
this interpretation. Some commentators, among
whom Scott is pre-eminent, apply the symbolic
prediction, in the course of which this passage
occurs, to the rise and progress of Mohammed and
his successors, who ruled over the Arabians and
Saracens. In order to appreciate the force of this
theory, it will be necessary to recite the entire
vision, as recorded from the first to the twelfth
verse of this chapter.  "And the fifth angel
sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto
the earth: and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless
pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the
smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air
were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the




136     SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
earth: and unto them was given power, as the
scorpions of the earth have power. And it was
commanded them that they should not hurt the
grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither
any tree; but only those men which have not the
seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was
given that they should not kill them, but that they
should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he
striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek
death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die,
and death shall flee from them. And the shapes
of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto
battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns
like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their
teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had
breast-plates, as it were breast-plates of iron; and
the sound of their wings was as the sound of
chariots of many horses running to battle. And
they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were
stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt
men five months. And they had a king over them,
which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose
name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in
the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One
wo is past; and, behold, there come two woes more




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.             137
hereafter." (Rev. ix. 1-12.) The star falling from
heaven, according to this theory, is Mohammed;
and the "bottomless pit" is the abyss of ruin into
which his pestiferous doctrines, symbolized by the
"great smoke," involves his followers.   "The
locusts" are the Saracens. The prohibition against
destroying the fruits of the earth, and the permission to hurt those only who had not "the seal of
God in their foreheads," is supposed to refer to,
and to find its fulfilment in the fact, that the Saracens were forbidden to devastate the countries
through which they passed, and that they made
war only against the anti-christian powers who lent
their aid to the apostate Church of Rome, typified
by the "men, which have not the seal of God in
their foreheads."  The " torment" with which their
victims were afflicted, is verified, according to this
theory, in the calamities with which the Greek and
Latin churches were oppressed, and the time, " five
months," in prophetic language, every day symbolizing a year, indicates a period of one hundred
and fifty years. Mohammed began his imposture,
A. D. 612, and in 762, just one hundred and fifty
years afterwards, the Saracens built Bagdad, and
became a settled people, and made no more rapid
conquests.  The chief force of the Arabians consisted in their cavalry, indicated by the "horses
1 2X*




138      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
prepared unto battle." The "crowns of gold on
the head," denote either the " turban," which is the
head-dress of the Arabs, or they may contain an
allusion to the many kingdoms conquered by them.
The "faces like men," and hair "as the hair of women," are understood to indicate the custom of the
Arabs, who wore their hair plaited, or flowing loosely
upon their shoulders. The "breast-plates of iron"
may denote either their defensive armour, or their
effective public measures.  The "sound of their
wings," prefigures the fury with which they assailed
their enemies, and the " sting" in the scorpion tail,
is a symbol of the deadly effect of their abominable
religion. This is in a condensed form, the view of
Scott, and of others who have adopted his theory of
interpretation. It is certainly ingenious; in some
points, it is very forcible; and throughout, at first
sight, it is plausible, but I cannot adopt it as he
presents it. The weak point in his theory is that
which makes the "falling star," a symbol of Mohammed. The figure of a star is not unfrequently
employed in the Apocalypse, as the symbol of a
teacher of religion, but when applied to a promulgator of false doctrine, it always denotes an
apostate, or one who originally professed the truth,
and subsequently fell away from  it. Now Mohammed, though a false teacher and a foul im



SATAN, TIIE DESTROYER.           139
postor, was not an apostate. The holy angels are
spoken of in the book of Job as "the morning
stars," who sang together, and the sons of God, who
shouted for joy on the birth-day of creation. Satan
is called Lucifer, or "the morning star." (Is. xiv.
12.) Thus, the prophet Isaiah exclaims, in allusion
to Satan's expulsion from the abode of glory,
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning!" Does not our Saviour also say,
"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven?"
And was not the result of the war in heaven this,
when Michael fought and his angels and the dragon
fought and his angels, that no place was found for
Satan any more in heaven, but the old serpent,
called the Devil and Satan, was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him?
(Rev. xii. 7, 8, 9.) With these collateral proofs
secured in our minds, what will be the first thought
on reading the announcement in the symbolic
vision before us; "I saw a star fall from heaven
unto the earth, and to him was given the key of
the bottomless pit?" Will not the natural conclusion be, the whole analogy of Scripture declares
"this star falling" from  heaven unto the earth,
designates plainly Satan, the leader of the apostate
angels, who is the king of the bottomless pit? This
is literally true of Satan; it is not true in any sense




140     SATAN, THE DESTROYE R.
of Mohammed. Now put upon this cumulative
testimony another weight, and I regard the demonstration as overwhelming.  A  Hebrew name is
given to this angel of the bottomless pit. Why?
Surely to indicate that he was the Destroyer, known
to the Jews as Abaddon, the very title employed
in the Old Testament as an appellation of Satan.
Thus David says, " By the word of thy lips, I have
kept me from the paths of the Destroyer." The
star falling from heaven to the earth, the king who
reigns over the bottomless pit, the angel who holds
its key, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in
Greek Apollyon, is not Mohammed, or the Caliphs,
his successors, but SATAN, the Destroyer. As for
the rest, the application of this vision to the Saracenic inroads is the most consistent of any that
is advanced. Henry applies it to the Papacy, but
this explanation does not accord with the symbols
employed by the inspired writer, and cannot be
maintained on the ground of conformity to the
laws established by the Scriptures as the rule of
interpretation.  The portions of the Apocalypse
which point to the Papal Church and State, are so
plain that they admit of no reasonable doubt, and
we should guard against indiscriminate, and forced
explanations, lest we impair confidence in those




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            141
interpretations, the consistency and relevancy of
which are obvious and indubitable.
In his character as THE DESTROYER, we propose
therefore to regard Satan, at present. This is his
real and ultimate character. He is the Tempter,
the Tyrant, the god of this world, the Deceiver, that
he may be THE DESTROYER. He was a liar from
the beginning, that he might be a murderer. He
goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he
may devour. He tempts men to murmur and rebel
against God, as he tempted the Jews of old, that he
may betray them to their ruin. Hence, the apostle
warns the Church of Corinth: "Neither murmur
ye, as some of them also murmured, and were
destroyed of the destroyer." He blinds the minds
of men, and hardens their hearts by strong delusions, that they may believe a lie and be damned.
The wrath of Satan is directed to the twofold
object of rendering the lives of men miserable upon
earth, and of blasting their hope and prospect of
eternal life in heaven. When he cannot lure their
feet from the path of God's testimonies, when
despite of all his artifices they hold fast the truths
of the gospel, he stirs up the passions of the wicked
in whom he rules, and who hate the oracles of God,
because they have pleasure in unrighteousness, and
thus he has originated the fearful and long-con



142      SATAN, TIIE DESTROYER.
tinued persecutions of the Church, by which the
saints of the living God, in all ages, since the death
of Christ, have been worn out. The surest mode
by which the devil can secure the temporal and
everlasting misery of men, is by luring them from
their allegiance to the commands of God. Thus he
prevailed against the old world. The way of men
became so corrupt upon the earth, that it was filled
with violence. The foulest crimes were committed
every where, without compunction or remorse, and
men were taught to sneer at the warnings of the
preacher of righteousness, in sight of the very ark
which Noah was preparing as a refuge for his
family. Lulled into false security by the deceitfulness of sin, their hearts were utterly hardened
against all truth; they mocked at fear, waxing
bolder in sin as their destruction became more
imminent, and whilst the darkening heavens and
the muttering thunder were sending out the last
warning of heaven, they continued scoffing at the
threatened deluge, whilst the destroyer held a
jubilee in the bottomless pit, and flung wide open
the gates of hell to receive the children of perdition; and, when at last, the fountains of the great
deep were broken up, and the ocean billows, dislodged from their accustomed bed, were poured
upon the dry land, and the descending rain and the




SATAN, TIIE DESTROYER.           143
fires and thunder of the bursting heavens, proclaimed the advent of the day of wrath, Satan and
his apostate legions revelled in the wide-spread ruin
which the wickedness of men and the temptations
and delusions of the destroyer had consummated.
Then hell reaped her first great harvest, and from
that day the flood has been the type of the great
day when the Son of man shall come in the clouds,
and the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel.
The next great trophy in the path of "the Destroyer" is seen in the fiery tempest which consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities of the
plain. The wicked inhabitants of those purlieus of
the pit, heeded not the voice of Lot. They vexed
his righteous spirit. Given up to the vilest abominations, they set God at defiance. The Destroyer
established his strongholds in the midst of their
streets. They worshipped at his shrine, until the
outraged patience of Heaven would no longer bear
their provocations. God overthrew those cities with
fire from heaven, and the smoke of the smouldering
ruins went up as the smoke of a great furnace.
Then, that the very ground, accursed of God, might
forever be hidden from the sunlight and the sight
of nmen, the Lord covered it with the waters of the




144     SATAN, THIE DESTROYER.
Dead Sea. We trace the progress of the Destroyei
in the wicked rebellious spirit in which Pharaoh
resisted the commands of God. But for the delusions of Satan, the king of Egypt might have consented to let Israel depart in peace, but at every
symptom of relenting, the Destroyer stirred up the
pride and passion of Pharaoh, and though his kingdom and his house were made desolate by the
scourging plagues, still Satan ruled. If Moses and
Aaron wrought miracles in proof of their authority
as the messengers of God, the priests of Satan, the
magicians, counterfeited them by lying wonders;
thus, step by step, beckoning his victims onward to
the borders of the Red Sea, leading them forth upon
the track, which the hand of God had opened for
the passage of his own people, the Destroyer triumphed in the destruction of Pharaoh and his host,
and the exulting shouts of Abaddon and his legions
mocked the terror and dismay of strong men in
their agony, when weary with buffeting the returning waves, they sank like lead to the lowest depths.
See, how he prevailed against the covenant people
of God! What calamities overwhelmed them when
they rebelled against Jehovah, seduced by the devices of the devil! They murmured for bread.
Strange ingratitude! God fed them with manna
from heaven, and man did eat angel's food, and yet




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.           145
they murmured still, "Our soul loatheth this light
food!" The enemy did this. He enticed them to
rebellion, that he might destroy them. God sent
them flesh to eat, and the pestilence came with it.
Read the record of Israel's experience in the wilderness, and see how the malice of Satan was continually exercised in exciting the pride and the
unbelief and lusts of the Jews, that he might effect
the ruin of the rebellious people. Look at the
three thousand who were slain for their idolatry
when Moses was on the mount with Jehovah. See
the multitudes that perished in the rebellion'of
Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and the fourteen
thousand and seven hundred that died of the
plague, whilst the ground was still heaving in the
convulsions of the terrible earthquake, in which
the gainsayers had been swallowed up. See the
camp covered with the dying people, bitten by
fiery serpents-and again, behold the plagues bursting forth when the Hebrews joined themselves to
Baal-peor, transgressing that command, "Ye shall
no more offer your sacrifices unto demons," (Lev.
xvii. 7,) and raging until twenty and four thousand
had been destroyed. See how Satan tempted David
to number Israel, that in the pride of his heart the
king might trust in horses and chariots and armies,
and forget that the name of the God of Jacob had
13




1-1-6    SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
ever been the great defence of his people. In all
the calamities entailed upon the house of Israel by
their repeated backslidings and apostacies from
God, you behold the traces of Satan's power and
malice as "the Destroyer."  He inflames men to
the utmost pitch of blasphemy against God, in the
hope that they may be suddenly cut off and driven
away in their wickedness. Nor has he prevailed
only to the destruction of the souls and bodies of
the wicked, who set at nought the law of God. All
the cruelties which were inflicted under the old
covenant by ungodly kings and rulers upon the
prophets and people of God, were wrought by the
agency of the Destroyer. Thus Jezebel, who slew
the prophets of the Lord, and installed the priests
of Baal, who offered sacrifice to demons, in the
high places of Israel, is a type of the apostate Church
under the new covenant, which has ever gloried in
shedding the blood of the saints and of the martyrs
of Jesus. The holy men of God, of whom St. Paul
speaks, who wandered in the wilderness, seeking
shelter in the dens and caves of the earth, were
driven from the abodes of men, through the cruelty
and malice of the Destroyer. You ask, as you see
the earth covered with the bleaching bones of this
vast multitude, some perishing under the indignation of heaven, others dying for the love they bore




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            147
to the testimonies of God, Who hath slain all these'
And the answer which the book of God gives iE
summed up in this-Abaddon the Destroyer is the
murderer! He has made this earth an Aceldama,
a field of blood; he has changed the terrestrial garden which was first a Paradise, into a Golgotha.
The Hebrews, and all the nations of the earth,
before the coming of the Messiah, felt his power as
Abaddon, the DESTROYER. But he has another
name, APOLLYON, in the Greek tongue. He is the
destroyer still. He had the power of death under
the old covenant, and though Christ Jesus by his
assumption of humanity and his triumph over
death, has given to his believing people the
glorious pledge of their final victory over all the
powers of darkness, still Satan is Apollyon, the
destroyer.  Our blessed Lord was nailed to the
cross through the power of the prince of darkness.
True, he was a willing victim. He laid down his
life freely. He had power to lay down his life and
he had power to take it again; nevertheless, it was
Satan who filled the hearts of the chief priests and
rulers with hellish spite against the Saviour of
men. Jesus went about doing good, dispensing
gladness and mercy to the poor, healing the sick,
casting out dsemons, and making every step of his
path upon earth radiant with goodness, but for this




148      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
very reason the children of the devil hated him.
Satan entered into Judas and prevailed upon the
traitor to betray his Master, for thirty pieces of
silver; and when the treachery was complete, the
tempter appears as the destroyer, urging the
wretched apostate to go out and hang himself
that he might go to his own place. In Gethsemane, Satan rolled the horror of great darkness
upon the soul of Jesus, making him sorrowful even
unto death, pressing him with the floods of hellish
wrath, until his sweat was as it were great drops of
blood falling down to the ground. How he groaned
in the agony of his spirit, " Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me." When that ruthless
band, led on by the traitor Judas, came upon him
in the garden, he said, as he suffered them to lead
him away, "This is your hour and the power of
darkness."  Oh! when Apollyon beheld Jesus
nailed to the cross, when he saw the rabble exulting in the death of the Lamb of God, wagging their
heads in derision, and taunting the Saviour with
the bitter cry, " he saved others, himself he cannot
save," when he gazed upon the changing countenance of the expiring Messiah, the fiendish joy of
the daemons of the pit filled every cavern of hell
with howls of exultation and triumph. It was
Apollyon who stirred up the rage of the cruel




SATAN, THE DRESTROYER.           149
rabble; it was he who hardened the heart of the
murderous throng, quenching every spark of
human sympathy and pity; it was he who steeled
and seared their conscience, making it proof against
every pang of compunction! That was truly the
hour of the power of darkness! The gates of hell
had moved from beneath, and the angel of the
bottomless pit stood upon this world, as the victorious destroyer. But the triumph was short-lived.
The morning of the third day dawned, and angels
came down to hail the awaking Saviour. The
astonished keepers fell back and became as dead
men. The daemons who stood around that sepulchre fled with terror before the face of the rising
Redeemer.   Jesus came forth the conqueror of
death, and the terrors of the grave were all dispelled. The Destroyer beheld in that victory the
earnest of his own destruction. The fiery dart
which had been aimed at Jesus, rebounded from
the sepulchre and pierced the great adversary,
and the shout of exultation was changed into a
cry of savage disappointment and despair. Jesus
was risen and ascended, and Jesus and the resurrection became the theme of the apostles and prophets of the new covenant. The gospel news of
salvation through the crucified and risen Saviour
ran and was glorified. Thousands flocked to the
13*




150      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
standard of the Man of Calvary. Heathen temples
were forsaken; Satan's altars were cast down. His
idols were broken; and the ruins of his power
were scattered like trophies over the pathway of
the heralds of the cross. He stirred up Jews and
Gentiles to blaspheme and persecute. They shed
the blood of Stephen; they slew the apostles; they
cast the followers of Jesus into prison; they thrust
the Christians into their amphitheatres to be
devoured by wild beasts; they chained the martyrs
to stakes and burned them; they tore their flesh
piecemeal with knives and pincers, and the Destroyer revelled in the slaughter of the saints; but
still the preachers of the great salvation testified
of Jesus; the blood of the martyrs became the
seed of the church; their sound went out into all
the world, and the ends of the earth heard the
name of Christ and rejoiced in it. Whole nations
received the Gospel, and the empire of the Destroyer
was shaken to its centre; it began to totter towards
its fall. There was joy in heaven over myriads of
repenting sinners. There was joy on earth, for
ten thousand thousand saints gloried in the faith
of Christ, and looked for his appearing to set up
his kingdom on the earth and reign over a redeemed world, as the great King of nations. But
the time was not yet. Has it never struck you in




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            151
reading the epistles of St. Paul, that he is at so
great pains to disabuse the minds of the Christian
converts of the impression that Christ was speedily
to come?   Whilst continually holding forth the
glorious truth, that their risen Lord would, in the
fulness of time, be revealed in flaming fire to take
vengeance on his foes, and to gather together in
one fold the mighty multitude whom no man
can number, and cheering the souls of God's
people with that blessed hope, even the glorious
appearing of the great God, our Saviour Jesus
Christ, who shall change these vile bodies, and
fashion them like unto his own glorious body, by
that power wherewith he is able to subdue all
things unto himself, the apostle is nevertheless
plain and emphatic in the declaration, that before
this great day of adoption, even the redemption of
the body, for which all God's new creation groaned
in earnest, longing expectation, the Spirit expressly
declared, a great falling away should come, and the
man of sin, the son of perdition must be revealed,
whose coming is after the working of Satan, with
all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish. Thus he writes in his epistle to Timothy,
describing the apostacy by infallible marks, and
pointing to Rome, the mystic Babylon, as that




152      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
Wicked One, which shall be known, by its giving
heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
speaking lies in hypocrisy, forbidding to marry,
and commanding to abstain from meats, and he
declares to his Son in the Gospel, "If thou put
the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou
shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished
up in the words of faith and of good doctrine,
whereunto thou hast attained." Let no man, therefore, tell us that we sin against charity, when we
hold forth the testimony of sacred truth and warn
every man to beware of that Wicked One, for we
are fulfilling an express command of the Holy
Ghost.  So again, in his second epistle to the
Thessalonians, St. Paul adjures the Church, " Now,
we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together,
unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or
be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand. Let no man deceive you by any means; for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the
son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God. Remember ye




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.           153
not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know     what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time; for the
mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he
who now hindereth will hinder, until he be taken
out of the way" (viz. the ancient Roman empire).
"And then shall that Wicked One be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming; even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and
lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they
received not the love of the truth that they might
be saved." Now, I ask, what church or what system of religion, calling itself Christian, answers the
description of this inspired prophetic portrait, save
the Church of Rome?
The Pope is styled, "our Lord God," "another
God upon the earth." The priest of Rome is taught
that in the confessional, he sits AS GOD; this is the
literal language of the Romish dogma, and if questioned upon oath, respecting any thing that he has
learned at that tribunal, he may deny all knowledge of it, because there, he knows nothing as a
man, but all he there learns and knows, HE KNOWS
AS GOD! Could there be a more perfect counter



154     SATAN, TIIE DESTROYER.
part to the declaration of the prophetic apostle?
And well does the entire history of that terrible
apostacy answer the description of St. Paul! From
the seventh century, in which Gregory assumed the
title of Universal Bishop, or certainly from the
eighth century, in which the claim to temporal and
spiritual supremacy was combined in the Roman
pontiff, that Wicked One has been the great agent
and vice-regent of the Destroyer upon earth. When,
by the wiles of the devil, men had been corrupted
from the simplicity of the gospel, and human traditions and pagan idolatry had polluted the temples
of the Most High, then the Man of Sin stood forth
revealed, as the dragon and the beast, foretold by
Daniel and John, and the mother of harlots and of
the abominations of the earth began to quaff the
blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus, until
in the madness of her intoxication, she had filled
her temples with her names of blasphemy, and
waged a war of extermination upon all who would
not worship at her shrine. The coming of that
apostacy is after the working of Satan the Destroyer! Papal Rome has shed the blood of millions upon millions of the human race! She has
been for many centuries the motive power originating wars that have desolated Europe and the world.
She has led on the cruel hosts who have waged a




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            155
war of utter extirpation against the followers of
Jesus. She has written her history for the last
twelve hundred years in blood. There it is-blood,
innocent blood, staining the hands and the face and
the garments of the mighty murderer. And the
record is not yet ended. Still she lives to deceive
the nations, to stir up devastating wars, and to
wear out the saints of God from every corner of
her empire. Never yet has she set foot upon soil
and conquered it for herself, that she has not baptized it with the blood of the saints of the Most
High! Never, in one single instance, has she
failed with marvellous consistency, to prove her
hatred of the truth, and to record it in the blood of
its confessors! But vast as the desolations are,
accomplished by her instrumentality in the murder
of them who held fast the word of truth, the aggregate of woe which she has entailed on the Church,
gives but a faint idea of the conquests of the Destroyer. When she has prevailed against the people
of God and blotted out their name from   their
earthly home, heaven has gained what a wicked
world has lost. They are taken from scenes of
suffering in which they have expired, to dwell
with Jesus Christ in heaven; snatched from the
power of Satan, and safe for ever from his wrath,
they go to join the noble army of witnesses slain




156     SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
for the word of God, and to rejoice amid all the
honors and crowns of conquerors. Not so, they
who have not the seal of God in their foreheadsnot so, they who bear upon their brow the mark
of Antichrist. They fall under the power of the
destroyer, and are ruined eternally. Look at the
countless millions who have followed the cunning
fables of the Man of Sin. Speak not of salvation
for those who are the slaves of the strong delusion,
by which they change the truth of God into a lie,
and then believe it; for God says, they shall all
be damned who have pleasure in unrighteousness.
Tell us not we sin against charity, when we declare
that the smoke of their torment shall ascend up for
ever and for ever, who worship the beast and his
image, for God himself declares, they shall have
their portion in the burning lake for ever. Talk
not of a reformation of the papacy, for the Lord
proclaims that it shall be destroyed. The cry of
innocent blood has ascended to heaven from the
earth against that wicked one for twelve long centuries-innocent blood, which God would not for.
give to Jerusalem, which he never will forgive to
Rome! That day is hastening on -the day of God's
judgment upon the great harlot, the precursor of
the judgment of Apollyon when Satan shall be
dragged down to the pit and be chained amid




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            157
its darkness for a thousand years. Ere long the
mighty challenge will be heard, sounding through
all the spacious mansions of heaven, "Rejoice over
her, thou heavens, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her," and the
universe of God will send back the shout of approval, and cry Amen! to the sentence of the righteous
judge. All you who love the Saviour and pray for
the triumph of his truth, will join with all redeemed
and holy beings, on that day, and the shout will go
up from heaven and earth, "Alleluia, salvation, and
glory, and honor, and power unto the Lord our God,
for true and righteous are his judgments; for he
hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the
earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the
blood of his servants at her hand! Alleluia, the
Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!"
Nor are these the only victims of the Destroyer.
All, in every age, who have rejected the light of
the sacred Scriptures-and have kindled a fire and
compassed themselves with the sparks of their own
kindling, and walked in the light of their fire, shall
have this, at the hands of the great God, they shall
lie down in sorrow. It is by the word of God's
lips only, that men are kept from the paths of the
destroyer. If they reject or pervert the truths
essential to the soul's salvation they shall perish;
1i




158      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
yea, if they profess to hold that truth, and have
not the faith in Christ which makes the believer
one with him, the Lord Jesus will not own them!
Alas! for them who blaspheme his name, and
change the truth into a lie! Alas! for them who
pervert the right way of the Lord, blind their
own eyes through prejudice and unbelief, fall
into the ditch themselves and drag others down
with them! Alas! for them, who rail against the
Bible and the Sabbath, and the church, and the
ministers of the living God  Wo-wo to them,
when God shall deal with them! Yea, wo to them
who love the world and the things of the world,
and whose religion never carries them above conformity to the world! They are all-all slaves of
Satan, and all, dying as they now live, shall be the
victims of Apollyon for ever! Oh! believe it I Remember it! There is no safety in this world, or
out of it, for you, for me, for all to whom God has
given a living soul, save alone in Jesus Christ.
There is no peace here, amid earth's scenes of most
enchanting loveliness, amid all that can please the
eye, or that can gratify the senses, there is no peace
save that which the believer finds at the feet of a
crucified, risen, interceding Saviour! Would that
you all might feel it, that you all would own it, that
you would honour the testimony of the Saviour that




SATAN, THE DESTROYER.            159
was dead and is alive-the Alpha and Omega, the
First and the Last, who liveth for evermore Shake
off the sloth that benumbs you. Rouse from your
lethargy! This cry of "peace, peace, when there is
no peace," is the opiate of Apollyon. God lighten
your eyes, lest you sleep the sleep of death! Arise,
call upon your God! The Destroyer is in your path.
Time is waning. The hours of salvation are fast
flitting from you! Soon you will be in the spiritworld. Soon you will be, either saved or lost forever! To be impenitent and unregenerate is to be
led captive by the devil at his will. You must come
to the Saviour, if you would escape the Destroyer.
There is no other alternative. If, when Jesus Christ
shall consign Apollyon and his legions to that dark
prison house, you would be saved from the doom
which awaits the wicked, who will be accursed of
God on that day, and depart into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels —if you would
join in the thanksgiving of them who bless God
that the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them
night and day before God, is cast down, then you
must be prepared by grace to praise Him, who
sprinkles from an evil conscience, and gives to them
who are sanctified an inheritance among his saints
for ever. Seek that grace now, give no sleep to
your eyes until you have found it Never, never




160      SATAN, THE DESTROYER.
rest, until your feet are planted on the rock, from
which you can look down upon the rage and
malice of the Wicked One, and bless God for the
shield of faith which quenches all the fiery darts
of the Destroyer.




APPARITIONS.               161
APPARITIONS.
EVEN a brief discussion of the topic to which
these pages are devoted would be imperfect, without
some direct allusion to the subject of apparitions.
Can the departed spirit revisit the scenes in which
it has been active during its abode in the body?
And if this is possible, are these visitations matters
of actual occurrence in our own day? These questions, though closely allied, are distinct inquiries.
The former may be answered positively and without
hesitation, but the latter is not so easily determined.
That such apparitions are in the range of possibility,
we might affirm on the simple ground that all things
are possible which God, in his wisdom, sees fit
to allow, but we have a still higher warrant, because
the Scriptures plainly teach that they have actually
occurred. The apparition of disembodied spirits
is matter of record in the sacred history. The case
of Samuel has already been noticed. The attempt
to represent this as a juggling feat of the Witch of
Endor only aggravates the difficulties of the narrative, and suggests inquiries far more intricate and
perplexing than any which can invest the narrative
if regarded as a plain statement of facts as they oc14*




162            APPARITIONS.
curred.  Besides, it would seem unreasonable to
suppose, that the inspired writer would have failed
to note the deception, and thus apprise the reader
that there was no actual apparition, if such had actually been the case. One such instance is as decisive, as a hundred examples would be, in settling
the question proposed in the former of these two
inquiries. This, however, is not the only instance
recorded in the Old Testament. The remarkable
passage recorded in the Book of Job (ch. iv.) may
be cited in the same category. "Now a thing was
secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little
thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night,
when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon
me, and trembling, which made all my bones to
shake. Then a spirit passed before my face, the
hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could
not discern the form thereof: an image was before
mine eyes; there was silence, and I heard a voice
saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God?
Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?" These
are the only examples afforded in the Old Testament record. The New Testament presents an instance of this character in the narrative of our Saviour's transfiguration, when Moses and Elias appeared on Mount Tabor, and conversed with him.
Incidentally also, the book of the New Covenant




APPARITIONS.               168
affords no little suggestive light on the subject.
When our Lord walked on the waves of the Sea of
Galilee, and the ship in which his disciples were,
" was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves;
for the wind was contrary; in the fourth watch of
the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit! and they
cried out for fear i" The disciples of our Lord, evidently believed that the apparition of a departed
spirit was possible, and neither on this occasion, nor
subsequently after his resurrection, did he rebuke
them for inclining to a superstitious credulity. He
reassures them on the sea of Galilee and dissipates
their terror by the words: "Be of good cheer; it is
I; be not afraid." (Matt. xiv.) Again, after he was
risen from the dead, when the eleven were together,
wondering at the tidings of the Lord's resurrection,
and of his actual appearance to some of his brethren,
" As they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the
midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto
you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and
supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said
unto them, Why are ye troubled?  And why do
thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands
and my feet that it is I myself: handle me and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me




161            APPARITIONS.
have." (Luke xxiv.) No intimation is given in the
Saviour's answer that the belief in the possibility of
an apparition of " a spirit" was contrary to the faith
of the gospel, but our Lord shows them, that in this
instance, as in the former, they were mistaken, because in his bodily presence, he there stood before
them. We cannot pass from the record of the Evangelists without a brief notice of other suggestive
passages. Those words of the Saviour, (Matt. xii.
43,) bear at least suggestively on this topic-" When
the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none,"
&c. We are told by some expositors that our Lord
in this instance accommodates himself to the popular
notions of the Jews, by way of amplifying an illustration! Surely this is a dangerous and most pernicious suggestion. If we are required to admit that
HE could pander to the errors of popular superstition in one instance, why may he not have done so
in a hundred cases, and in all that he said? Then
our faith'in the gospel must stand on a very insecure
foundation. Jesus Christ never winked at error,
never endorsed it, never taught it. His testimony
in all its details was always truth and never falsehood, and the positive assertion that such is the
truth respecting "the unclean spirit" is sufficient,
whether the fact stands as an insulated portion of




APPARITIONS.               165
revealed truth, or whether it be employed as an
illustration of another doctrine.
The parable of Dives and Lazarus, if parable it be,
and not a narrative of actual fact, presents another
suggestion relevant to this subject. Dives prays that
Abraham may send Lazarus to his father's house,
" For I have five brethren: that he may testify unto
them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay,
Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from
the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him,
If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though all rose from the dead."
(Luke xvi.)
The relevancy of this quotation is not impaired
by the objection that it occurs in the course of a
parable, even admitting that it is a parable. The idea
that our Lord would or could select the errors of
"popular superstition" in order to illustrate the
truths which he designed to inculcate is injurious,
and should never for a moment be tolerated. The
refusal of the request of Dives, by no means proves
that the apparition of a departed spirit is not possible,
or that it is never permitted, but it does establish
the truth, that the word of the living God, is the instrumentality by which sinners are to be converted.




166            APPARITIONS.
If we pass from the Evangelists to other portions
of the New Testatment, we find one additional instance, which stands in harmony with all that precede it. Peter was put in prison by order of Herod,
after James, the brother of John, had been put to
death. The angel of the Lord delivers him from his
bonds. He goes " to the house of Mary, the mother
of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were
gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked
at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken,
named Rhoda. And, when she knew Peter's voice,
she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and
told how Peter stood before the gate. And they
said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly
affirmed that it was even so. Then, said they, It is
his angel," &c. (Acts xii.) There can be no doubt, in
view of these citations, that the apostolic belief was
clearly in favor not only of the possibility of such
apparitions, for on that point, they could have no
hesitation, but of the actual occurrence of these phenomena. The instances recorded in the Scriptures
are conclusive in these two respects. If the sphere of
inquiry be enlarged so as to include the visitations
of angels and their actual apparition, the evidence
furnished by the Scripture, becomes overwhelming,
but the subjects are properly distinct, though nearly
related to one another. The inquiry relates to the




APPARITIONS.                 167
apparition of departed spirits, and yet it is not easy
to understand, if it be admitted that angels have appeared to men, why departed spirits may not also
have assumed a visible form. The former of the
two questions which we have proposed, viz.: Is it
possible that a departed spirit should revisit the scenes
in which it has been active during its abode in the body?
we are prepared to answer in the light of the Scriptures, thus-The thing is not impossible, for apparitions are spoken of in the oracles of God, as having
actually occurred, and there are incidental suggestions which seem to take this truth for granted.
This, we regard as a fair and candid conclusion. Now,
if we are asked, are such visitations matter of actual
occurrence in our own day? We must answer, we hold
that such phenomena are still as much in the range
of possibility as they ever have been, and we can find
no word in the Scriptures which would lead us to
infer that they are excluded from the experience of
any age of the world; but it is equally plain from
the whole inspired testimony that they are of rare
occurrence. One instance, or at the most two examples are found in the whole of the Old Testament,
and but a single instance of an actual though duplicate apparition is recorded in the New Testament.
If they occur, therefore, they are exceptions to the
rule. They may be permitted in the providence of




168            APPARITIONS.
God for the accomplishment of some specific purpose, but in all probability, not one in a hundred of
the phenomena of so called spectral or spiritual apparitions can bear the scrutiny of rigid investigation.
Sound philosophy does not lead us to deny the possibility of a basis of truth being at the foundation
even of a popular superstition. It is not easy to
account for the prevailing notion of all ages and
nations on this subject, if we regard it as wholly a
figment of the imagination. We would rather discern in it, a great moral use, and suppose that it
might be providentially allowed, in order to keep
the important truth present to the mind, that there
is an actual separate existence of the disembodied
spirit, in opposition to the Sadduceeism of all ages.
An eloquent writer makes the following judicious
reflections, with which we conclude this chapter.*
"Thoughts of a deceased friend become sometimes, and in some mental constitutions, so vivid for
a moment, that the difference between recollection
and present reality is all but imperceptible. The
departed spirit seems even present to the inward
eye; his influence is actually and most powerfully
felt; may he not be indeed near, though invisible?
* Rev. Dr. Burgess, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, in Maine. See his work, entitled, " The Last Enemy,
Conquering and Conquered," pp. 177-179.




A.P PARITION S.             169
This is the question which prepares the mind for a
belief in outward though dim and momentary apparitions. Of all this, the most remarkable instance
on record may possibly be that of Emanuel Swedenborg, whose grotesque reveries appear to have been
so habitually intense that he no longer distinguished
between these and the firmest spiritual realities.
But Wesley, also, who knew Swedenborg and believed him insane, has spoken of his own clear conviction, that the strong impression on his own mind
of the images of deceased friends, at particular
moments, was produced by their actual, invisible
presence. Oberlin supposed that for many years he
enjoyed intimate communications with the dead. It
is certain, that, in our dreams, the appearance of a
deceased person is sometimes marked by a peculiar
vividness, which fixes itself on the recollection, and
revives the profoundest feelings. Many have had,
like me, a stream of consolation from the beaming,
beatified countenance of a friend thus restored in
the visions of the night. Johnson hoped for himself
some communication with his deceased wife; and
Boswell affirmed that he had himself, under a like
sorrow,'had certain experience of benignant communication by dreams.' The same thing is perhaps
still more striking in the waking thoughts of some,
under great excitement of the nervous system, but




170            APPARITIONS.
quite without derangement of the understanding.
A lady whom grief for the loss of a beloved sister
had brought to a highly hysterical state, which continued for several months, was at once and for ever
relieved by seeing, as it seemed to her, the clear
appearance of her sister, who bade her be comforted,
and assured her of her own happiness. Another
lady, who was afflicted with a kind of fit that deprived her of sensibility to things around, constantly
saw in this state her deceased sister and child, but
on her revival recollected nothing.
" From such remembrances and impressions, to
the thoughts of visible apparitions, the transition is
not difficult. One may often be mistaken for the
other; and there is in human nature a strong desire to believe. Perhaps most of the more credible
narratives may thus be explained; but the great
question itself is not quite solved, when the belief in
apparitions visible to the outward sight is rejected.
" That the appearance, visible as well as invisible,
of the dead, is possible, the instances related in the
Bible are decisive. That they have ever appeared
to the outward eye, except in those instances, can
scarcely be proved from history, to the satisfaction
of the skeptical, or even of the indifferent. That,
however, the strongest sense of their influence, as
if they were present, has often been impressed upon




APPARITIONS.              171
the mind, in those states in which' visible objects
have least control, is confirmed by ten thousand
testimonies. That at such times there is a real
communion between the living and the dead, and a
real presence of the dead with the living, is a natural
conjecture, which cannot be wholly disproved."








SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS.                   173
SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS.
As a pertinent expose of the mad vagaries of
Spiritualism, we append a review of Dr. Robert
Hare's book, entitled "Experimental Investigation
of the Spirit Manifestations," from the columns of
the New York Independent.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS
-Demonstrating the Existence of Spirits, and their communion with mortals. Doctrine of the Spirit World respecting Heaven, Hell, Morality and God. Also the influence
of Scripture on the Morals of Christians. By ROBERT
HARE, M. D., Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Pennsylvania, Graduate of Yale College and
Harvard University, Associate of the Smithsonian Institute, and member of various learned Societies. New York:
Partridge & Brittan.
DR. ROBERT HARE, Emeritus Professor, &c., &c., and member of various learned societies, is also one of that class of
persons " who have said in their hearts, there is no God."
From some hints at his anterior history in the book before us,
we gather that for upwards of fifty years he has been a " professor" of the grossest materialism, only distinguished from
sheer atheism by the childish belief in a heathenish deity of
" enormous, though not unlimited power." He has believed
neither in prayer, nor in Providence, nor in a future life;
neither in angel nor spirit. He has been without hope "and
without God in the world."
Dr. Hare is also a chemist of good repute in the scientific
world, who has distinguished himself by important contributions to science,-contributions, which, we believe, have been
generally the result of a high degree of mechanical skill and
ingenuity, rather than of eminent powers of scientific investiI 5*




174       SPIRIT    MANIFESTATIONS.
gation. We are not aware that his character for veracity
and integrity has ever been called in question.
From these conditions the book before us is a not unnatural result. Dr. Hare commences the examination of the
"spirit manifestations," in the full expectation of being able
to account for them on known principles of physical science.
So long as he had to deal with physical phenomena alone,
his researches seem to have been conducted with skill, ingenuity and discretion. And the process by which he has
shown the existence of intelligent movements inexplicable on
the ground of known laws or of ordinary human agency,
appears to us conclusive and convincing.
But the moment that he comes to something which cannot
be tested by his balance, or his re-agents, or his electrometer,
-the moment that the possibility of some supernatural agency
is admitted to his mind,-all his philosophical caution disappears. His mind is adrift, on an unknown sea, without a
single fixed and settled principle by which to guide his course.
I e stands, like a child at a fairy tale, all agape for new wondars. And the stuffing of weak absurdities which he submits
to swallow, without chewing or choking, can be appreciated
only by one who has read through his four hundred and sixty
octavo pages.
This is sufficient to account for the book as a phenomenon.
It remains to criticise it as a book.
In a literary point of view, it is beneath criticism. It
abounds with blunders in grammar, and outrages on rhetoric.
The bits of classical learning, which are paraded here and
there, would amuse the youngest classes in a grammar school.
Painful attempts at versification limp drearily down many of
the pages; and once or twice the reader is regaled with the
melancholy and servile giggle of a superannuated pun.
Dr. Hare's experiments to test the existence of intelli'cent
movement of tables, &c., independent of ordinary human agency,
were so conducted that they must be satisfactory to every
reader who admits the veracity of the witness.
As for the evidence which he offers of the interference of




SPIRIT    MANIFESTATIONS.               175
suplra-mundane spirit., it is totally insufficient, even although
we admit, as we freely may, that there is no strong anterior
improbability of such interference, either from reason or
history, and that the tendency of Scripture is rather to countenance a belief in it. Some curious statements are made on
respectable authority, and some preposterous ghost-stories
are told on no reliable authority at all. But we do not feel
called upon either to explain the former or to disprove the
latter, before pronouncing the argument to be inconclusive.
The professed communications from the spirit-world in this
volume, are liable to the objection which has been brought so
justly against all their predecessors, to wit, that they communicate nothing not already known, except things which cannot
be verified. It is curious to see how exactly these "revelations" tell over again the previously conceived opinions of the
person through whom, or to whom they are made. Those
addressed to the Doctor himself, generally begin with some
highly complimentary remarks on his acuteness of intellect
and nobleness of character, and with the exception of some
remarks on the economy of the spirit-world, consist chiefly of
the stale infidelity which he had learned from Tom Paine in
his boyhood'The Doctor himself says, "I do not conceive
that in my change of opinion, I have been involved in any
change of principle." ( 660.)
The most amusing thing in the whole volume is a specimen
of this correspondence between the revelation and the imagination of the medium, in the communication on page 104. It
is from the ghost of a young lady, through a lady medium, and
undoubtedly presents a young lady's ideal of heaven. We
have space only to allude to the description which it gives of
the heavenly residence of H. K. White. This is in the fifth
heaven, (which seems to be associated in the mind of the
author with the Fifth Avenue,) and is a perfect love of a
"cottage, embosomed in trees and flowers," about which the' grounds are tastefully laid out." " The clematis and honeysuckle entwine their tendrils around the trelliswork of the
door." Within, it is adorned with " most exquisite" statues,




176      SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS.
and furnished with extraordinary " couches and divans," and
such be-yu-u-ti-fil carpets! In addition to this there is the
best society in the neighborhood, such as "the Wesleys,
Byron, Burns, Moore, Shelley and Scott," of whom the Spirit
Maria " speaks in particular, because she is personally acquainted with them, being attracted to them by a congeniality
of feeling."  Can anything more be wanting to perfect bliss?
Another objection which has been brought against previous
revelations, is equally good against these in Dr. Hare's book;
to wit, that they are ridiculously unworthy of the minds of
their pretended authors when living. Of course we cannot
judge of the ante-mortem accomplishments of the "spirit
Maria;" or of the late benevolent Mr. Wm. Wiggins; and as
for Dr. Hare's chief familiar, it must be allowed that the
twaddle of his " honored father," bears a strong family likeness to the twaddle of his father's son. But we must decline
to believe that the spirit of Washington should occupy itself
chiefly in meditation on the talents and virtues of Prof.
Robert Hare. Neither will a reader of his correspondence
when on earth, think it altogether like the man, that, when
Dr. Hare addresses him with a eulogy, in eight doggrel
stanzas which would be rejected by a country newspaper, he
should reply as follows:
"MY FRIEND:-How my heart swells with grateful emotion, at hearing that beautiful effusion from your lips! Yes,
my friend, I strove while on earth, &c. &c.
*      *      *     *      *      *      *
"Your noble father is a friend of mine, and I feel a love for
you commensurate with his worth.  *   *    *    *
" My friend, I sympathize with you in your arduous undertaking; but let me assure you that your reward will be greater
than the suffering you have endured. Yes, most nobly you
have fought against error; and you will yet place the banner
of freedom high upon the battlements of truth. Farewell
noble scion of a noble man!
" GEO. WASHINGTON."




SPIRIT     MANIFESTATIONS.               177
Dr. lare seems himself to have some misgivings about the
value of the communications. He claims, indeed, that the
communication of his " spirit father" contains in a few pages
"vastly more knowledge of our happy prospects in the future
world, than all that can be found in the Scriptures;" but he
adds that his "experience does not tend to establish that
there is less folly or more wisdom in the inhabitants of the
spirit world than in this."  A  few other paragraphs are
equally significant:
" 870. By their existence in the spheres, it seems to me
that spirits improve as to their talents, not as to their reasoning powers. They have a superior knowledge to that which
we possess of their own world, but not of our sciences, as far
as I have had means of judging."
" 872. To me it seems that their happiness is due in part
to self-felicitation and seeing everything under a rosy hue.
They often advert to the superior height on which they stand
without showing that they see more in consequence."
"' 873. So far as I can Judge, in some branches of knowledge, the spirits will improve by discussion with mortals.
They will be cured of some of Uieir' sk-scraling.7 "
"876. Very soon after my father began to communicate
with me, nearly fourteen months ago, he said,' We know
little more in religion than you.'"
Indeed, Dr. Hare sums up the chief additions which the
spirits have made to our stock of useful knowledge, as follows:
" 1753. The most wonderful and important of all the facts
communicated to me by my spirit father and subsequently
sanctioned by a convocation of spirits, were the following:
" 1. That there is a special spirit sun, concentric with our sun,
which illuminates the spirit-world, without perceptibly affecting our visual organs. 2. There is a peculiar vital gas which
spirits breathe, although inscrutable to our senses or chemical
tests, which we respire in our spiritual capacity."




178      SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS.
If these are the most important facts of the new revelation,
it certainly is not worth while to give much attention to those
of minor consequence. As for the " special spirit sun" we
evidently have no concern with it; and it is difficult to see
what use we can make of the "spirit-gas" until Dr. Hare
shall have succeeded in bottling some for domestic consumption.
There is one difficulty, a fatal one touching all the spiritual
communications, to which Dr. Hare several times alludes, but
seems never to succeed in suggesting an explanation. It is
this. The spirits will lie. Mr. Amasa Holcomb, an apostle
of this new gospel, writes to the still unconverted Dr. Hare,
as follows:
"You mention cases where the answers were not correct.
Thousand of such cases might be furnished. In the presence of some of the mediums, almost all the answers will be
false."
And Dr. Hare elsewhere tells us that "low, ignorant, foolish
spirits, personate the spirits of eminent authors."
In these circumstances there is no certainty whatever to the
devotee of the ghosts that his familiars may not be lying to
him at any time or at all times. The only test of the spirit's
identity seems to be to ask him several times over whether
this is really he and not somebody else, and whether he is
really and truly, telling the truth this time, for certain; a
simple test, but unsatisfactory to bigoted unbelievers.
A very large portion of this bulky volume is taken up with
a miserable, shallow and stale attack upon the Christian
church, the Christian religion, and the character of the Saviour.
The discussion is as unnecessary in the book as it would be in
this notice. We cannot go out of our way on this occasion
to answer for the hundredth time the vulgar blasphemies, for
the hundredth time repeated, of Thomas Paine and Abner
Kneeland; nor to expose the shallow and silly pretences of
philosophy with which this "member ef various learned societies" insults the intelligence of the community, and seeks




SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS.                  179
to impose upon the ignorant and simple. It may be well for
the public that he has been permitted by God to expose the
weakness and malignity of his mind. The church will need
no warning to discover these "spirits" to be spirits of antiChrist.
There is one moral which this book impressively teaches.
No one will fail to read it in the sketch which the author
gives us of the form of his religious exercises. A pitiable
picture indeed! This dotard infidel, who has gloried for threescore years and ten in the shame of his unbelief, given over to
strong delusion that he should believe a lie, bowing his hoary
hairs before a pasteboard wheel, as he sits "in his solitary
third-story room, invoking his sister as usual!"
The case of Dr. Hare is not a solitary one. Of the " converts to spiritualism" whose previous belief is mentioned in
this book almost all were infidels, and some of them, like
Garrison and Robert Owen, of a most degraded class. The
" medium," Hume, claims among the disciples of his doctrine
"upward of twenty-five thousand infidels and atheists in
America."  ( 1578.)  The lesson to be learned from such
facts is this:
THERE IS NO SECURITY AGAINST FANATICISM AND SUPERSTITION, EXCEPT A REASONABLE AND INTELLIGENT RELIGIOUS FAITH.








GUARDIAN       ANGELS.            181
C    A P TER     I.
GUARDIAN ANGELS.
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
to them who shall be heirs of salvation?-IIEBREW i. 14.
Ah me! how many perils do enfold
The righteous man to make him daily fall,
Were not that heavenly grace doth him uphold,
And stedfast Truth acquit him out of all.
Her love is firm, her care continual
So oft as he through his own foolish pride
Or weakness is to sinful bands made thrall.
THEI Apostle Paul makes the affirmation of the
text in reference to Holy Angels; for the words
present an affirmation in the form of a question.
He speaks of the angels of God in the words
immediately preceding those which are quoted
above.   He is arguing the divinity of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and proves that the attributes, works
and prerogatives of the Saviour, are such as never
are and never can be predicated of a mere creature,
however exalted. " To which of the angels, said he,
Li




182         GUARDIAN ANGELS.
at any time, sit on my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them
which shall be heirs of salvation?"  The word
"angel" is used in the Scriptures to denote the
wicked spirits who followed Satan in his apostacy,
as well as the holy intelligencies who retained their
original holiness. Thus we read of " the angel of
the bottomless pit;" "Satan and his angels;" and
the Apostle Paul in enumerating the enemies who
seek to separate the believer from Christ, but whose
efforts shall all be unavailing, declares, that
"neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God in Christ Jesus." Holy angels would never
either desire or endeavor to separate God's people
from Jesus Christ, hence the terms " angels, principalities and powers," in this passage, must have
reference to evil spirits, the emissaries of the destroyer. The word angel is used also, occasionally,
to denote ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
are his ambassadors and representatives. Thus the
Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia, recited in
the Book of Revelation, are addressed to the angel
of the several churches. The literal meaning of




GUARDIAN     ANGELS.           183
the word is messenger, and in a peculiar and
restricted sense, it is applied also to the Messiah,
as the anointed messenger or angel of the covenant.
Jesus Christ was manifested on various occasions
to the patriarchs and prophets of the old covenant,
as "the angel of Jehovah," or the angel of Jehovah's
presence. It was he who appeared to Moses in the
burning bush. It was He who appeared to Joshua, as
the captain of the Lord's host, when the tribes of
Israel were going up to the extermination of the
wicked Canaanites. It is of Christ that the Prophet
Zechariah speaks in his vision of " a man riding on
a red horse, who stood among the myrtle trees,
and behind him were red horses, speckled and
white; then said I, 0 my Lord, what are these?
* * * and he that stood among the myrtle trees
answered and said, these are they whom the Lord
hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
And they answered, the angel of the Lord that stood
among the myrtle trees, and said, we have walked
to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the
earth sitteth still, and is at rest." (Zech. i. 8-11.)
This is a lively illustration of the zeal of the
heavenly messengers, who go to and fro over the
earth to execute the commands of the Lord Jesus.
The words of the apostle, in which he speaks of
angels as ministering spirits, sent forth to minister




184         GUARDIAN A'NG F JS.
to them that shall be heirs of salvation, present the
solicitude of these holy beings in behalf of the
church of God, in an affecting point of view. There
is one who goeth abroad over the earth, walking
to and fro, and attended by a multitude of principalities and powers, whose errand is to deceive,
subvert and destroy. "Your adversary, the devil,
goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he
may devour;" but there are others, no less quick
and powerful, who wait upon the sons of men, and
their errand is peace and love. IIow solemn the
thought, that while the world " sitteth still and is
at rest," while men are careless and unconcerned,
suspecting no danger and listless respecting eternity,
two worlds are in perpetual strife, and angels of
light and angels of darkness are all looking on with
interest, all on the alert, the one to push forward
the chariot of salvation and spread the progress of
the truth; the other to impede the progress of
Christian faith and holiness, to corrupt the way of
men, and change the truth of God into a lie. If
the earth sitteth still and is at rest, heaven and hell
are up and doing.
It is strange, that notwithstanding the instinctive
yearning of the human heart after some positive
knowledge of the spirit world, toward which he is
flying on the wings of time, and though the Scrip



GUARDIAN       ANGELS.            185
tures are so full of information respecting its inhabitants and their employments, Christians are so
generally in doubt and uncertainty, and know so
little of the revealed truth, which God has ordained
for their special comfort and encouragement. Perhaps one cause, if not the main source of this loss of
positive enjoyment, is to be found in the abuse of
the doctrine. Angels and dsmon spirits, or the
spirits of the departed, have been worshipped, and
their aid has been invoked as intercessors at the
throne of grace, and thus insult has been offered to
the only Mediator who intercedes before the throne,
but let us not, therefore, discard a precious truth.
Holy angels are not to be worshipped, but they are
to be loved. We cannot commune with them, but
they can and they do minister to us. One of the
oldest poets of England has beautifully expressed
this thought.
"And is there care in heaven? And is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures base,
That may compassion of their evils move?
There is:-else much more wretched were the case
Of man than beasts: but oh! the exceeding grace
Of Highest God that loves his creatures so,
And all his works with mercy doth embrace
That blessed angels he sends to and fro,
To serve to wicked man-to serve his wicked foe!
I; -




186          GUARDIAN ANGELS.
" t ow oft do they their silver bowers leave
To come to succour us, that succour want!
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant
Against foul fiends to aid us militant!
Tlhey for us fight, they watch and duly ward
A nd their bright squadrons round about us plant,
And all for love and nothing for reward!
Oh! why should heavenly God, to man have such regard!"
"Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to
minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?"
And is it not a sweet and comforting thought, that
ere long we shall see these bright and holy beings,
who have watched and guarded and strengthened
us in many an hour of peril and temptation?   That
we shall be as the angels of God, in the resurrection,
our Saviour himself has declared. Though the
bodies of the saints shall be raised again from  the
dead, and made like the glorious body of him,
who is the first fruits of them that slept and the
first begotten from the dead yet our affections, our
desires, and it may be, our employments, shall be
like theirs, and though ever a distinct race, yet will
there be a bright family likeness among all the
"sons of God." The man after God's own heart
cries out, as he looks forth into the glorious world
bolond this earthly curtain. "Oh! that I had wings




GUARDIAN ANGELS.              187
like a dove, then would I fly away and be at rest."
How sweet to hold communion there, where the
spirit never faints through manifold temptations, or
flags through weariness, with the bright messengers
of love, who have bent over us in kindest sympathy
when we were afflicted, who have suggested holy
thoughts and fortified us when we were tempted,
and who, from the cradle to the dying pillow, have
hovered over our pathway and have baffled the foul
fiends that sought our ruin, and failing there, are
ever waiting to harass and perplex the heirs of
salvation. Does not this thought add another
charm to the Christian's hope of heaven?  Christ
is the great attraction. Christ in us, is ever the
hope of glory, but does not the apostle invest
Mount Sion with the additional delight of angelic
fellowship, and communion with the spirits of just
men made perfect, in that noble and glowing burst
of holy transport? " Ye are come to Mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to
the general assembly and church of the first born,
whose names are written in heaven, and to God, the
judge of all, and the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new
covenant."




188     TIIE  MINISTRY      OF ANGELS.
CHAPTER II.
THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
What man is he who boasts of fleshly might,
And vain assurance of mortality,
Which, all so soon as it doth come to fight'Gainst spiritual foes, yields by and by,
Or from the field most cowardly doth fly!
Nor let the man ascribe it to his skill
That thorough grace hath gained victory:
If any strength we have, it is to ill,
But all the good is God's, both power and even will.
LET us survey the practical ministry of holy
angels, as we find it illustrated in the examples
furnished by the living testimony of sacred Scripture.
A poor woman, the bondwoman of Abraham, fled
from the face of her mistress, and left her master's
home, to wander in the wilderness. Weary, careworn and oppressed with fatigue and grief, she was
resting on her dreary pilgrimage by a fountain in
the desert of Shur. She deemed herself a forsaken
outcast; no eye of human friend was near to watch




THIE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.           189
her tears of sorrow, or to share them with her, but
as she bows her head and weeps, she hears a voice
that calls in the stillness of the wilderness, "Iagar,
whence comest thou, and whither wilt thou go?"
She answers the angel of the Lord, "I flee from
the face of my mistress Sarai." IHe counsels her,
"Return unto thy mistress and submit thyself
under her hands," and then he comforts her, with
the promise that her posterity shall be great. It
was Christ himself who spoke to Hagar, for we
read, "She called the name of Jehovah that spake
to her, Thou God seest me." Does the great Angel
of the covenant watch the poor slave? Does
Jehovah pity the bondwoman who is a fugitive?
He does; he bids her be content with her lot, and
put her trust in him who is the Lord and King of
all, and it shall be well with her. (Gen. xvi.)
Years rolled on, Ishmael was born and grew up
a wild and haughty youth. Sarai sees him mocking, and jealousy, which is ever cruel, prompts her
again to harsh severity. She says to Abraham,
"Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son
of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son,
even with Isaac." And in the morning early,
Abraham   arose and took bread and a bottle of
water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it upon her
shoulder, and she went away with her child, and




190    THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And
the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the
child under one of the shrubs, and went and sat
down, a good way off, as it were a bow-shot, for she
said, Let me not see the child die, and she sat over
against him and lifted up her voice and wept. Has
she forgotten him who called her in the wilderness
of Shur? If she has, he stil Iremembers the poor
bondwoman. " God heard the voice of the lad, and
the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and
said to her, What aileth thee, iagar? Fear not,
for God hath heard the voice of the lad, where he
is. Go, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand,
for I will make of him a great nation. And God
opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and
she went and filled the bottle with water and gave
the lad drink." Again we see God's pity for the
bondwoman. Christ himself is ready to relieve the
wants of the outcast and save the mother and her
perishing child from death. If the poor and desolate trust in him they shall never be forsaken.
Abraham sat in the door of his tent on the plain
of Mamre, in the heat of the day, and as he lifted
up his eyes, suddenly, he saw three men stand by
him, and he ran to meet them from the tent door,
and with the reverence of genuine courtesy, though
he knew them not, he bowed before them and en



THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.           191
treated them, "pass not away,let a little water, I pray
you be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree, and I will fetch a morsel of
bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that, ye
shall pass on, for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said. And
Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and
said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine
meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
And Abraham ran into the herd, and fetched a calf
tender and good, and gave it to a young man, and
he hasted to dress it, and he took butter and milk
and the calf which he had dressed and set it before
them; and he stood by them under the tree, and
they did eat." Noble, disinterested hospitality was
here. There is no stint, no grudging of the best,
which his basket and his store, his flocks and his
larder can afford; no cautious, hesitating glance,
which makes the mute lips ask, whilst they are
silent, Who and whence are you? Enough, they
are strangers; they may be weary, let them restthey may be hungry, they shall have refreshment.
And then, how cordial is the welcome. Abraham
feels that he is the honored party, and therefore he
acts as though he craved a favor. "My Lord, if I
have found favor in thy sight, pass not away."
This is characteristic of a generous heart; it trans



192    THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
fers the debt of gratitude from the guest to him
who entertains. These men, who were passing by
his tent, like strangers on the earth, were citizens
of another country-transient visitors in human
form. One of them was the Mighty Angel of the
Covenant, and the rest were angelic attendants;
and their errand to Abraham was twofold. The
Lord comes to tell him that in Isaac yet unborn,
the nations shall be blessed; and then as they rise
up and looked towards Sodom, and Abraham with
constant courtesy attends them on their journey, the
Lord reveals his purpose to his faithful servant, and
Abraham recognizing his heavenly Master pleads
with him in behalf of guilty Sodom and the cities
of the plain which had made themselves abominable.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.
In reference to this incident, the apostle admonishes
Christians thus: "Be not forgetful to entertain
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares." In the same connection, we find another
affecting instance of angelic ministration to them
that shall be heirs of salvation. Sodom and the
cities of the plain were doomed, but the Lord will
not destroy the righteous with the wicked. The
Lord knoweth the righteous and delivers him in
the day of evil. The tempest was gathering over
the wretched captives of Satan's power-the ele



THlE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.           193
ments of wrath were moving on, surcharged with
the vengeance of Almighty God, and though the
sun shone brightly in the heavens, and no stormcloud was visible in the horizon, or in the face of
the clear sky, the burning coals and arrows of death
were already prepared; but ere the terrible day of
the Lord bursts in a tempest of fire upon the wicked,
angels are sent as messengers of mercy to warn Lot,
whose righteous spirit had been vexed, and bid him
escape for his life, with all his house. He runs with
eager haste to his sons-in-law and cries, with all the
earnestness of a father yearning over the salvation
of his children, "Up, get you out of this place, for
the Lord will destroy this city;" but he seemed to
them as one that mocked. They laughed their
father to scorn. Oh! remember, it is ever a token
of perdition, when ungodly children treat pious
parents with contempt. Lot is constrained to leave
them, and with a heavy heart he goes back to his
home. God will wait no longer; the angels hasten
Lot: "Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters,
which are here, lest thou be consumed in the
iniquity of this city." Still he hesitates —he would
fain save his sons-in-law, and carry all his household with him to the place of safety. "And while
he lingered," the messengers from God "laid hold
upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife, and
17




194    THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
upon the hands of his two daughters, the Lord
being merciful unto him, and they brought him
forth, and set him without the city," and then they
utter those words of earnest entreaty, which are the
type of God's warning to sinners in the gospel,
"Escape for thy life, look not behind thee: neither
stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain,
lest thou be consumed." In wrath God remembers
mercy. He shows his regard for his people, not
only by saving them in the day of calamity, but he
honors them when they pray for others, and spares
a remnant of the wicked for their sakes. When
the terrible words of the angel fall upon the ear of
Lot, he cries out with the vehemence and boldness
of faith, "Oh! not so, my Lord! Behold now, thy
servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou
hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast showed
unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to
the mountains, lest some evil take me and I diebehold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is
a little one. Oh! let me escape thither; is it not a
little one? and my soul shall live." Because it was
a little one, he would argue, its wickedness cannot be
so great. And now, the true dignity and person
of the angel whom Lot addresses become apparent;
it is no other than the angel of the covenant who
had appeared with angelic companions to Abraham,




THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.            195
in the plains of Mamre, and who comes again with
a chosen messenger, to execute the wrath of heaven.
He hears the prayer of Lot; "See, I have accepted
thee in this thing also, that I will not overthrow
this city, for which thou hast spoken. Haste thee,
escape thither, for I cannot do any thing till thou
be come thither; therefore the name of the city
was called Zoar," a little one.




196              THE ANGELS
CHAPTER III.
THE ANGELS IN THE WILDERNESS.
" As he thereon stood gazing, he might see
The blessed angels to and fro descend
From highest heaven, in gladsome company
And with great joy into that city wend,
As commonly as fiiend doth with his friend;
Whereat he wondered much and'gan inquire
What stately lbuilding durst so high extend
Her lofty towers unto the starry sphere,
And what unknown nation there empeopled were."
THE sons of Isaac were grown up; Esau, the first
born, was a wild man, who cared not for the birthright which might pertain to him as the elder son.
He suffered Jacob to supplant him, and sold his
birthright in a fit of peevish weakness for a mess
of pottage. When the blessing of Isaac, securing
the promise to Jacob, had already been imparted,
Esau sought it, and with frantic regret, hung imploringly upon his father, and with a great and
exceeding bitter cry, said to him, "Bless me, even
me also, O my father!" Bitter as that cry was, his
poignant regret was unavailing; Isaac's answer was,




IN TIIE WILDERNESS.            197
"I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed!"
The birthright privilege of supremacy was lost, and
Esau could not regain it, though his father blessed
him, and in God's name, promised him the fatness
of the earth and the dew of heaven for his dwelling,
yet Esau, having profanely sold his birthright for a
morsel of meat, found no place for repentance,
though he sought it carefully and with tears. The
conduct, both of Jacob and Rebecca, his mother,
was not approved of God, for though the Lord had
ordained the blessing for Jacob, he never sanctions
deceit for the accomplishment of his purposes; " he
that believeth shall not make haste," and the consequences entailed by the carnal devices of unbelief,
are sure, in the course of God's righteous retribution, to bring forth fruits of sorrow. Esau hated
Jacob; he appears to have threatened the life of his
brother; he became reckless of parental authority,
and grieved the pious hearts of his father and
mother by marrying the daughters of Heth. Fearing that the fury of Esau might burst forth like
Cain's wrath against Abel, Rebecca sent Jacob
away secretly, and directed him to seek a home for
a season with his uncle Laban. And now Jacob is
made to feel that privation and sorrow must be the
fruit of fraud, and that they who will be rich, fall
into temptation and a snare, even though by the
1T —




198             THE ANGELS
grace of God, they may be preserved from the
many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men
in destruction and perdition. Jacob is led by a
way that he knows not, but it was the way of
repentance and of faith.  He had obtained his
father's blessing first by fraud, and now that he is
about to leave his home, Isaac, with full consciousness that Jacob was chosen of God, lays his hand
upon the head of his son, and prays, "God
Almighty bless thee, and give thee the blessing of
Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee, that
thou mayest inherit the land, where thou art a
stranger, which God gave unto Abraham." Jacob
goes forth, a pilgrim on the world's highway, a
solitary wanderer in the wilderness; and as he
journeys toward Haran, "he lighted upon a certain
place, and tarried there all night, because the sun
was set, and he took of the stones of that place and
put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place
to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder
set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to
heaven: and behold, the angels of God ascending
and descending on it." Shall we permit this vision
to be shorn of all its meaning by listening to the
objection that the ministration of angels in this
passage is altogether figurative?  Our Saviour
alludes to its significance, when he says, " Hereafter




IN THE WILDERNESS.             199
ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God
ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
It is through Christ, who opens the way from earth
to heaven, that the ministry of holy angels is
secured to his confiding people; were it not that
the Son of Man has by his death and triumph
over the grave, and his atoning sacrifice and prevailing intercession opened up that new and living
way, the angels of God would not be flying to and
from the earth on errands of divine love. It is
with reference to the Messiah, that the Lord, who
stood in Jacob's vision above the ladder, declared,
" in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of
the earth be blessed." Thus Jacob owned the presence and the voice of God, when awaking out of
his sleep he said, " Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this
is the gate of heaven." The vision which Jacob
beheld in the wilderness was a vision of realities.
Whether we wake or sleep, holy angels guard the
rising up and lying down of those who trust the
God of Abraham, ministering to the heirs of salvation. There are those, who certainly place more
reliance upon the significance of dreams than is
warranted by sound Christian philosophy, but
examples of supernatural dreams occur so fre



200            THE ANGELS
quently in the Sacred Scriptures, that we must
beware lest we fall into the opposite extreme of
error. Under the Jewish dispensation, they were
an appointed means for the special revelation of
the divine will. God came to Abimelech in a
dream. The angel of God spake to Jacob in a
dream. The dreams of Joseph were prophetic, and
such also were the visions of Pharaoh, portending
the seven years of famine, preceded by seven years
of abundance. At Gibeon, in a dream, the Lord
appeared to Solomon. The visions of Daniel, in
which prophetic revelations were made to him,
were sometimes given in the same manner, and
many more incidental allusions to the force and
import of dreams as suggestive means, might be
cited from the Scriptures. Neither are these instances confined to the Scriptures of the Old Testament. The husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus,
was warned of God, both before and after the birth
of the Messiah, by the same instrumentality; the
wise men who had come from the east to pay their
homage to the infant Saviour, were warned of God
in a dream of the designs of the wicked Herod, and
departed into their own country by another way.
The dream which troubled the wife of Pontius
Pilate and induced her to admonish her husband to
see to it that his hands were clear of innocent blood,




IN THE WILDERNESS.             201
may properly be ascribed to the same agency or
cause. Indeed, it is expressly foretold by the prophet Joel, as characteristic of the Gospel era, and of
the last times, " Your old men shall dream dreams
and your young men shall see visions."
As I am naturally led by the case of Jacob's
dream at Bethel, to speak on this subject, I may as
well, in this connection, throw out the suggestion,
that the commonly received theory by which these
phenomena, which are not merely mental but
properly spiritual, are accounted for, seems to me
scarcely consonant with sound philosophy.  The
spirit is evidently active, and from its nature must
always be active, even when the body is steeped in
a state of somnolence. The spirit is always awake;
it cannot sleep; and I am disposed to believe, that
persons may frequently learn more of their true
character by a careful analysis of their dreams than
is generally supposed. So long as we are in the
body, our waking impressions of external objects
must be made upon the mind through the medium
of the senses, and when they are steeped in the
unconsciousness of profound slumber, the views,
scenes and objects which are still present to the
mind, must be produced by means of other instrumentalities; and though I care not now to argue
the point, I deem it probable, if not absolutely




202         THE ANGELS, ETC.
demonstrable, that such impressions are produced
by the agency of unembodied spirits, who compass
us about, whether we wake or sleep, and I cannot
but believe, that the vision of angels, going to
heaven from earth, and descending from heaven to
this lower world, and hovering around the pillow
of the slumbering pilgrim, has a significant bearing
on this very thought. Nor, is it improbable, that
visions of terror would continually make night
hideous and render the approach of slumber a
source of constant apprehension, were it not, that
kind angels guard the pillow of them who trust in
God, "and so HE giveth his beloved sleep."




MAHANAIrM.                 203
CHAPTER           IV.
MAHANAIM.
Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host; and
he called the name of that place Mahanaim, or " Two Camps."
-GENESIS, xxxii, 1-2.
THIE earlier portions of the life of Jacob are not
of a character to engage the affections of the reader.
It is not easy to divest the mind of those feelings of
dislike which his selfishness provokes. Even when
we follow him in his exile from home, a pilgrim in
the wilderness, our sympathies are not cordially with
him, for it is impossible to forget that this banishment from his father's house was a righteous punishment, entailed by the providence of God as the just
retribution for his injustice to his brother Esau.
Neither can we be satisfied with the plea, that Esau
was a reckless and profane man, who for one morsel
of meat sold his birthright. This cannot justify
Jacob's indirection in obtaining it. True, the fraud
was suggested by his mother Rebekah, but its perpetration was nevertheless the act of Jacob. The
birthright in the order of divine Providence was
designed not for Esau, but for Jacob, and he was




204              MAIIANAIM.
doubtless aware of this purpose, but this can never
sanctify the means which Jacob adopted in order to
secure it. It argues a want of faith in God. " IIe
that believeth shall not make haste," but calmly
wait, until by means of God's own appointment, the
desired consummation may be reached. One fact,
however, will strike the reader most forcibly. The
feature in the sacred history which distinguishes the
book of God from all other books is its stern impartiality. Where, in all the narratives which it contains, can a single instance be cited of an attempt to
gloss over the infirmities of character or the transgressions of right in the conduct of the best of all
God's saints? The failings of the heroes or favorites
of a historian, or a biographer, are usually concealed,
or extenuated in all human productions, but in the
Bible, facts are given and motives when known, are
portrayed without even the appearance of an
attempt to exaggerate their excellence when worthy,
or to palliate the wrong when they are sinful. This
is strong evidence of the truth of the record; it bears
on its face the marks of a divine original, for it is
so unlike the history which men present, when they
would set forth the characters or the exploits of the
founders or ancestors of their nation. Moses was a
Jew; and the five books known by his name are
devoted from the history of the flood onward, to a




M AHA NAI M.              205
delineation of the events in the ancestral history of
the Israelitish nation, but the historian never once
forgets his position. He never pauses to offer a
solitary comment. He never presumes to offer an
opinion. He writes as the scribe of Jehovah-His
pen moves only as God guides his hand. Now, this
is a fact worthy of attention in its bearing upon the
internal evidence of the Scriptures. They teach that
man is fallen, depraved, corrupt. Universal experience confirms the doctrine. The history even of
the children of faith establishes it. Thus, the historic portions of the record concur with the didactic
parts in proving that salvation is of grace, and that
but for the renewing of the Holy Spirit, no man
could hope for salvation.
In the continuation of the narrative, we find the
same trait of character, selfishness, standing out
prominently in the transactions of Jacob with his
uncle Laban. There was, in fact, sharp practice on
both sides. Laban was, however, more deeply involved in these matters than Jacob. Jacob could
say with truth to Rachel and Leah, " Lo, your father
hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten
times."  And yet whilst Jacob's conduct was
strictly within the literal terms of the bond, a little
more regard to the interest of his employer, would
have been more consonant with the beautiful trait
18




206             MAHAN A IM.
of that charity "which seeketh not her own," and
with that lovely generosity, which invests the
character of Abraham with so much lustre, and
which teaches all who are trained in the school of
Christ, to look every man, " not on his own things
only, but on the things of others also."  We must
remember, also, that the patriarchal age was not
bathed in the glory of that bright example full of
grace and truth, which shines forth in the person of
Jesus Christ. Though Christ was in the patriarchal
age, revealing himself as the Angel of Jehovah's
presence, and the Angel of the covenant, he had not
yet appeared as the Lamb of God, except in the
promises by which he was even then, the Hope and
Consolation of Israel. Some better thing remained
for us —Christ is revealed as our life, and has left
us an example that we should walk even as he
walked. He has taught us by his own precepts and
his own pure example, and by the inspired lessons
of his holy apostles, that we are to imitate others
and be followers of them, only in so far as they followed Christ. But with him, we are partakers of
the life that is in him, and the life which we now
live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved us and gave himself for us, that we
who live, should not henceforth live unto ourselves,
but unto him that died for us, and rose again.




MAHANAIM.                207
After the lapse of more than twenty years, Jacob
was warned of God to depart to the land of his kindred, and gathering together his family, and the
flocks which had earned, he availed himself of the
opportunity afforded by the absence of Laban, who
had gone to shear his sheep, to take his departure,
without giving his kinsman any notice of his purpose. "Jacob stole away unawares to Laban, the
Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he
fled with all he had, and he rose up and passed over
the river, and set his face towards the Mount Gilead,
And it was told Laban, on the third day that Jacob
was fled." Incensed by this unceremonious departure of his nephew, Laban gathers his people together
and sets out in pursuit. After a seven days' journey,
he overtakes the fugitives in the Mount of Gilead.
Here the Lord appears, in a vision by night, and
says to him, "Take heed that thou speak not to
Jacob either good or bad." Laban's whole conduct
towards Jacob and his daughters was mercenary and
covetous. He disposed of them for gain, as though
they had been slaves, and made no provision for
them, giving no dowry though he had abundance of
wealth. Rachel, unknown to Jacob, had taken with
her, or "stolen," the images that were her father's.
What these images, or " teraphim," were is not certainly known. In all probability, they were similar




208             MAHANAIM.
to the Roman household gods, which were used for
purposes of divination, or foretelling future events,
in the practice of superstitious rites. They seem to
have been figures with a human form; or at least
with a human head, and were of various sizes.
Whatever Rachel's motive was, whether superstition,
covetousness, or as it might have been, a desire to
convince her father of the impotence and vanity of
these idols, she had no right to take them. Laban
overtakes Jacob. He remonstrates with him, but in
a tone subdued by God's warning, which he acknowledges as a restraint. In his closing words, there is
however, a somewhat tart sarcasm-" And now,
though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou
sore longedst after thy father's house, yet, wherefore,
hast thou stolen my gods?" Jacob answers the first
part of his question with the calm and honest reply,
"Because I was afraid: for I said, peradventure,
thou wouldst take by force thy daughters from me."
To the charge of dishonesty and theft, he says, indignantly, "With whomsoever thou findest thy gods,
let him not live: before our brethren, discern thou
what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For
Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them." Laban, true to his own suspicious character, commences a search. Rachel imposes upon her father
by an artifice and eludes the scrutiny in her tent,




MAHA NA M.               209
and he searched, but found not the images. Indignant at Laban's discourteous suspicion, Jacob administers a sharp and merited rebuke, and in a strain
of eloquent vindication, convicts Laban of covetous injustice, and depicts the hardships to which,
for twenty years, he had patiently submitted. Ch.
xxxi. 36-42. Before this rebuke, Laban quailed.
He felt its justice, and, on the spot, entered into a
covenant with Jacob, confirmed mutually by an oath
and after offering sacrifice upon the Mount, and thus
ratifying the compact by a solemn appeal to God,
both verbally and virtually, they ate bread in token
of amity, and tarried all night in the Mount. "And
early in the morning, Laban rose up and kissed his
sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and
Laban departed and returned unto his own place."
Jacob was now rich in worldly possessions. Before he left the land of Syria, the angel of God had
spoken to him in the vision of the night, and calling him by name, had told him, " I have seen all
that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of
Bethel, where thou anointedest the pillar, and
where thou vowedst a vow unto me; now arise,
get thee out from this land and return unto the
land of thy kindred." Jacob was thus admonished,
that the means whicli he had adopted to promote
his own interest would have been utterly unavail18*




210             MAHANAIM.
ing, but for the divine blessing. "Say not in thine
heart, my hand and the power of my might hath
gotten me this wealth," was the admonition which
Moses subsequently addressed to the people of
Israel, and which God's people in all ages should
remember. They are never to forget, "It is the
Lord who hath given thee all this wealth." Oh!
God's blessing maketh rich. The selfish covetousness of Laban cannot hinder Jacob's prosperity.
Let him change his wages ten times, still God
makes the blessing sure and turns the very devices
of jealousy into so many means of promoting the
welfare of his servant. God has not forgotten the
covenant which Jacob had made with him, at
Bethel. Those words, as they fell from the lips of
the solitary pilgrim upon the silence of the wilderness, were written in the book of remembrance, and
that solemn vow of the poor, friendless wanderer,
was recorded in heaven. " If God will be with me,
and will keep me in this way that I go, and will
give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that
I come again to my father's house in peace, then
shall the Lord be my God. And this stone which
I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of
all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the
tenth unto thee." Now, at the end of more than
twenty years, the Lord appears to Jacob and says,




MAHANAIM.                 211
"I am the God of Bethel 1" Jacob had prayed only
for food and raiment, and for a safe and peaceful
return to his father's house. The God of Bethel
gives him riches more than his heart can wish.
Oh! how foolish, as well as wicked it is to distrust
or doubt the providence of God. Faith always
brings God's blessing; and that blessing makes a
man rich and adds no sorrow. The pilgrim passing
over Jordan with his staff, and weary with his lonesome journey, is guarded by the angels of God.
They keep him in all his ways, lest at any time he
should dash his foot against a stone. Food and
raiment God has given him in rich abundance.
Now, he is on his way to his father's house. He
desires to return thither in peace, and the God of
Bethel has promised him this mercy also. True,
Esau has not forgotten the supplanter. Jacob remembers well that bitter cry of his disappointed
brother; its tones have rung in his ears in the solitude of the desert, and in the visions of the night,
and often that plaintive voice has startled him with
its wail of anguish, " Bless me, even me also, 0 my
father." He is on his way to the home of his childhood, to the land of his kindred. If he left it with
an anxious heart, his mind is not free from apprehension, now that he is returning. But the Lord is
mindful of him. Of this precious truth, Jacob had




ZI1             M A HA N A I M.
a comforting assurance. We read, "Jacob went on
his way, and the angels of God met him. And
when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host,
and he called the name of that place, Mahanaim,"
or "two camps."  Both the occurrence and the
name are full of profound significance.  Jacob's
heart was full of misgivings. The Lord in mercy
comes to him and whispers, "I am the God of
Bethel." Jacob relies upon the promise, and in
faith journeys toward his father's house; and now,
the angels of God meet him. Was not this another
precious reminder of the scene at Bethel, when, all
alone in the wilderness, he beheld the angels of God
around him, ascending and descending upon that
mystic ladder, and felt comforted with the sense
of God's protection? Did he call the name of that
place Mahanaim, i. e. two camps, to intimate, that
the host of God had been his protectors, when
wandering from his father's house, and were still
engaged for his defence, now that he is returning
to the land of his kindred? Or did he wish to
indicate that the host of God encamped before him,
as the vanguard, and behind him as his rereward?
It matters not. The truth abides the same. "The
angel of the Lord encampeth round about them
that fear him and delivereth them." Some good
men have sought to prove from the Scriptures that




MAHANAIM.                 213
God gives to each of his children a guardian angel;
this is not half the truth. He gives many. He
gives a host. Yea, he gives two camps for their
defence. IHe protects the children of Jacob from
Esau on the one hand and from Laban on the other.
He maketh his angels ministering spirits, messengers of God, sent forth to minister to them that are
heirs of salvation. These little children in helpless
infancy he loves. The Saviour takes them in his
arms and blesses them. From the high firmament
of his power and the brightness of his glory, Jehovah Jesus owns them as objects of his loving care,
and he says, " Their angels do always behold the
face of my Father in heaven." Yes! they have
always audience when their errand is concerned
with the defence of the feeble and the helpless.
Precious truth; full of comfort to the doubting
Christian, pressed with perplexing fears.  "The
angels of God met him." Hold on thy way, child
of God! Every resting place in thy journey is a
Bethel. Every stage in thy pilgrimage is Mahanaim, for two camps are with thee! How sweet,
in this view are those blessings which the Psalmist
pours upon the people of God! How profoundly
significant that benediction-" The name of the
God of Jacob defend thee!" What is the name of
the God of Jacob? It is the God of Bethel! The




214             M AH ANA IM.
God who covenants to give thee, pilgrim of faith,
food and raiment, to be thy God, and to bring thee
to thy Father's house in peace! Behold, the land
of thy kindred-the heavenly Canaan. There are
many mansions in thy Father's house. Jesus, the
angel of the covenant, has prepared a place for
thee.  In all thy journeyings, having food and
raiment, be content. If the Lord is thy God, he
will provide for thee. In all thy perils and thy
perplexities, the name of the God of Jacob defend
thee! That was a precious interview to Jacob,
when, on his way, the angels of God met him.
What they said, we know not.    Whether they
spoke with audible voice, we know not. Enough,
they met him, and with joyful faith, he exclaimed,
" This is God's host!" The sorest peril of his life
was before him. He prepares to meet it. " And
Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
And he commanded them, saying, thus shall ye
say unto my lord Esau, Thy servant Jacob saith
thus, I have sojourned with Laban and staid there
until now; and I have oxen and asses, flocks and
men servants and women servants; and I have sent
to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight."
A soft answer turneth away wrath, but Esau's
anger was not so easily appeased. He had not for



MAHAN AIM.                215
gotten his wrongs. For more than twenty years
he had nursed his wrath. Esau's was a vindictive
spirit. The messengers brought back the tidings,
" We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee and four hundred men with him."
Greatly afraid and distressed, Jacob adopts measures to insure the safety of at least one-half of his
people. He divides them into two companies and
the flocks, the herds and the camels into two bands,
and said, If'Esau come to the one company and
smite it, then the other company which is left shall
escape!" Then he betakes him to his strong refuge.  He appeals to God for protection.  He
pleads the promises. He confesses his own unworthiness. He gratefully acknowledges the mercies he has received. Ie prays for deliverance.
He tells all his fears and all the dangers which
threaten him, and casts himself and the burden
which weighs upon his heart upon the arm of the
God of Bethel. Beautiful in its simplicity and
earnestness is Jacob's prayer, " 0 God of my father,
Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac, the LORD
which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and
to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I
am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and
of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy
servant: for with my staff I passed over this Jordan,




216             MAHANAIM.
and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I
pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the
hand of Esau, for I fear him lest he will come and
smite me, and the mother with the children. And
thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make
thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude." He renews his efforts
to appease his brother. Faith and prayer are never
intended to supersede the practical duties of a
Christian profession. They rather render these the
more imperative. God uses means to accomplish
his purposes. Doubtless he suggested by his good
Spirit the very measure which his servant adopted
to secure the desired reconciliation with his brother.
The management of the details shows wonderful
address on the part of Jacob. " He took of that
which came to his hand, a present for his brother
Esau: two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats,
two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, thirty milch
camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls,
twenty she-asses, and ten foals. And he delivered
them into the hand of his servants, every drove by
themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over
before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
And he commanded the foremost, saying, When
Esau, my brother meeteth thee, and asketh, saying,
Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and




MAlI iANAt I.           217
whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say,
They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent
unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also, he is behind
us. And so commanded he the second, and the
third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On
this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find
him. And say ye, moreover, Behold thy servant
Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him
with the present that goeth before me, and afterward
I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of
me. So he sent the present over before him; and
himself lodged that night in the company. And he
rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his
two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and passed
over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent
them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man
with him until the breaking of the day."-(Genesis
xxxii. 14-24.)
"And Jacob was left alone." What were his
thoughts in that midnight hour, it is not difficult
to imagine. His soul was full of anxiety. On the
one hand was the promise of the God of Bethel,
encouraging him to hope for the best and discard
his fears. On the other was his sin-he had been
a supplanter from his birth; he had cruelly wronged
his brother-he knew it; and conscious guilt is the
19




218             MAHANA IM.
parent of fear and bondage. The guilty sinner is
a coward before God and his fellow man. Jacob
felt his guilt in that hour, as he had never felt it
before. His past selfishness was a sore burden.
God had a controversy with him. With all the
fatherly kindness he had enjoyed, Jacob knew that
there was a point still unsettled between him and
the God of Bethel. Many years had passed since
the fraud which had dispossessed his brother had
been consummated. God had not forgotten it. His
love to his children never leads him to forget their
sins, till he has forgiven them; and ere that forgiveness can be gained, they must wrestle for it. They
who would enter heaven by Christ the door, must
agonize to enter there. It was night-Jacob had
gone out-the brook was between him and his
company —and while musing in that lonely hour,
he is made conscious of the presence of one who
has been watching him, and who stands in the way
to oppose his progress. "There wrestled a man
with him, until the breaking of the day." Probably, at the outset, Jacob knew him not, but he
was made sensible of the character of his antagonist
whilst engaged in the contest. "And when he saw
that he prevailed not against him, he touched the
hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh
was out of joint, as he wrestled with him." Then,




MA IA NA I M.            219
he understands who it is with whom he has to deal.
He is wrestling with the angel of Jehovah's presence. He is agonizing with none other than the
incarnate God. He is laying hold of the strength
of the Lord's Anointed, that he may be at peace
with him. "And he said, let me go, for the day
breaketh." No-this can never be-to let go now
is to lose all. Still, though halting and weary, he
clings to his adversary-he cries out, "I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me!" That is the
cry of faith-importunate, fervent faith that will
take no denial. This ends the conflict. "And he
said unto him, What is thy name? And he said
Jacob. And he said, thy name shall no more be
called Jacob-(the supplanter) but Israel (the prince),
for as a prince hast thou power with God, and hast
prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said, Tell
me, I pray thee, thy name? And he said, wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And
he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name
of that place Peniel, for I have seen God face to
face and my life is preserved. And as he passed
over Penuel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted
upon his thigh." Mysterious, awful conflict! Glorious
triumph-man wrestling with his Maker-a poor
sinner striving with Almighty justice, and more
than a conqueror through the power of Almighty
tn                  C)




220             MAHANAIM.
grace! Follow the history of Jacob from the hour
of that day when the sun rose as he passed over
Penuel, until the day when his sons gathered
round his dying bed and wept as they listened
to their father's blessing, and all trace of the supplanter is gone-his life is the life of a prince-the
selfishness of Jacob has vanished and every action
bears the mark of a generous, noble, loving Israel!
This was the great crisis in his history. Henceforth, the character of the man of God stands forth
in the clear and noble proportions of an heir of
faith, consecrated to the service and the glory of
his Redeemer. God prospers him. Esau is appeased. Instead of lifting his arm in anger, "Esau
ran to meet him, and embraced him and fell on his
neck and kissed him; and they wept." How much
better that tears of repentance should mingle and
fall together in drops of forgiveness on the ground,
than that the earth should drink the blood of
brethren, slain in the fury of cruel revenge.
He with whom Jacob wrestled at the ford of
Jabbok is the same who gives the blessing to them
only who will not let him go. "The kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by
force." Hast thou an unforgiven sin resting upon
thy soul, and galling thee with its yoke of bondage,
behold at midnight, or when the sun has risen, that




T    A N A I M.          221
man whom God hath made a hiding place and a covert
from the tempest, is nigh thee, watching the throbbings of thy guilty heart and pitying all thy grief.
Wrestle with him-lay hold upon his strength and
be at peace with him. Never let him go, until he
bless thee, and whisper, "Thy sins are forgiven."
If the darkness of midnight be around thee, and
not a ray of peace can reach thy poor soul or pierce
the gloom of guilt that covers thee with a horror
of great darkness, and thou be left alone with God,
rest not! wrestle! never let him go except he bless
thee! The day will break, the sun will rise on
Peniel, and thy soul shall be bathed in the light of
heaven! As a prince thou shalt prevail. The
child of faith has power with God. And though
thy flesh fail, and thy sinew shrink, and thou go
halting, leaning like Jacob on thy staff, to thy dying
day, that staff is the staff of promise and it shall
comfort thee and dying thou shalt sing, "The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want." Yea, thou shalt
go on thy way and fear no evil!
19*




222  THE ANGEL OF DELIVERANCE.. 1
CHAPTER V.
THE ANGEL OF DELIVERANCE.
THE King of the Chaldeans had been slain and
Darius the Mede reigned over the conquered kingdom. He appointed one hundred and twenty
princes, over whom he set three presidents; of
these Daniel was first. The exaltation of this
Hebrew aroused the jealousy of his associates, and
and though he was exemplary in all his life, without reproach and full of wisdom, a sound statesman
and a holy man, yea, for these very reasons, they
conspired against him. "An excellent spirit was
in him and the king thought to set him over the
whole realm." His enemies watched him; they
were spies upon his administration, but they could
find no fault, nor occasion, for he was faithful; so
that they came at last to the conclusion, that no occasion of procedure against him could be found, unless
it were, "concerning the law of his god." They devised a plan, and it was proposed to the king, that
by statute law, a decree should be issued, that whosoever should ask a petition of any, God or man, for




THE ANGEL OF DELIVEIANCE. 223
thirty days, except of King Darius, should be cast
into the den of lions. The king was flattered by
the suggestion, and the statute was enacted. Daniel
knew it, but, as he had always been wont, so he
continued as heretofore, with his windows open
towards Jerusalem, he kneeled three times a day
and prayed and gave thanks before his God. His
enemies reported this conduct to the king. Darius
was sore displeased with himself, not with Daniel,
but with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to
deliver him, and he laboured till the going down
of the sun to deliver him, but the enemies of the
pious Jew persisted, "No decree, nor statute which
the king establisheth may be changed," and the
sentence was enforced; but Darius said to Daniel,
"Thy God whom thou servest, he will deliver thee."
That night King Darius spent in fasting, " Neither
were instruments of music brought before him; and
his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very
early in the.morning, and went in haste to the den
of lions, *  * and he cried with a lamentable
voice-O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy
God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver
thee from the lions?" And the answer comes back
full of holy faith and peace, "0 king, live for ever,
my God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions'
mouths, that they have not hurt me, forasmuch as




224  THE ANGEL OF DELIVERANCE.
before him innocency was found in me; and also
before thee, O king, have I done no hurt."
Thus, in times of peril, "the angel of the Lord,
encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them."  And as Daniel was defended
and came forth unhurt from the den of lions,
through the preserving power of a ministering
angel, so are God's people, amid all the trials and
temptations and dangers of life, protected, until the
number of their mouths is spent, and they depart
to dwell with Christ and holy angels and the spirits
of the just made perfect, for ever. What heavenly
sympathy follows the earthly pilgrim, though not a
word is whispered audibly into his ear! How these
holy angels bend with purest love over the wounded
spirit, and seek to soothe the pangs of mental anguish! How they crowd around the faithful servant
of God and strengthen the soldier of Jesus Christ,
that he may cheerfully and joyously encounter hardness! No child of God is so poor, or so much an
outcast, that holy angels do not pity him; his very
poverty and desolation add fervour to their holy
sympathy. Excellent in strength, shining with the
peerless splendour of sinless and immortal beauty,
these heavenly principalities deem it an honour to
wait upon the lowly in heart, and to minister to the
weakest of the heirs of salvation. They have ever




THE ANGEL OF DELIVERANCE. 225
gazed upon this world of ours as upon a province
of God's empire, invested with peculiar interest.
When the foundations of the hills were laid and
the earth came forth fresh and glorious from the
hand of the Great Creator, all these sons of God
sang together and shouted for joy! When man fell
and redemption was proclaimed, they wondered,
and the mysteries which rebellious, unbelieving
men despise and scorn, they desire to look into.
They were the companions of patriarchs and prophets of old. They waited, looking for and hasting
to the day when Shiloh should come; and when the
infant Saviour was born and cradled in the manger
of Bethlehem, heaven could no more contain its
joy. Down from those glorious thrones-away
from their wide dominions, the principalities of
heaven came, flocking in a mighty host, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, making night
brighter than the cloudless noon, upon the plains of
Bethlehem, and the poor shepherds heard the first
tidings of Messiah's birth from angels' lips, "Fear
not; behold we bring good tidings of great joy to
you and to all people; for unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord." Then that mighty chorus, unheard by men
since the fall in Eden, rang through the arches of
heaven, and sounded abroad over the wilderness of




226 THE ANGEL OF DELIVERANCE.
Judea, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth
peace; good will to men;" and ever since salvation has been preached through the blood of a
crucified Saviour, and sinners have been brought
to Christ, wherever and whenever the Gospel has
triumphed, there has been joy in heaven among the
angels who surround our heavenly Father's throne.
"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?"




THE HEAVENLY        HIERARCHIY.      227
CHAPTER VI.
THE HEAVENLY HIERARCHY.
Are ye for ever to your skies departed!
Oh! will ye visit this dim world no more?
Ye whose bright wings-solemn splendor darted
Through Eden's fresh and flowery shades of yore?
THE sympathy of holy angels in behalf of those
who are heirs of salvation, is illustrated by numerous affecting incidents in the narratives recorded
in the sacred Scriptures, a few of which have been
already adduced. A careful analysis of the various
passages, both in the Old and New Testament writings, which relate to angelic agency, will lead us to
infer that the administration of the divine government is carried on through the instrumentality of
spiritual agents, acting in subordination to the laws
of Him, who is over all, God blessed for evermore.
That various departments of duty are assigned
to them, may be safely gathered from the variety
of their titles. They are not all equal in wis



228   THE HEAVENLY HIERARCHY.
dom, authority, or power. One star differeth from
another star in glory. The analogy of heaven and
earth, in this respect is the same.  It is so now
among the living on earth, and it shall be so in
the resurrection. Men differ in their capacities, in
their position, in their physical powers, and in the
various circumstances and relations, which are
designed to make them mutually indispensable to
each other, so that all may contribute to the general
advantage and welfare of Christian Society; and so
in heaven, there are dominions and thrones; principalities and powers; cherubim and seraphim; there
are angels who excel in strength. " He maketh his
angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire;" but
all are ordained for the furtherance of the divine
glory, in the sphere assigned by his providence; all
delight to do his will, and are ever ready to fly at
his command, for the execution of purposes of
judgment and mercy. The nature of angels is
sufficiently explained in the declaration of the
Psalmist, "He maketh his angels spirits."  Some
have supposed, from a misapprehension of a passage in Genesis, that they are gross corporeal
beings; "The sons of God saw the daughters of
men that they were fair, and they took them wives
of all which they chose;" but by the "Sons of
God," in this instance, we are not to understand




THE HEAVENLY HIERARCHY. 229
the angels, but the children of pious Seth, in opposition to the descendants of Cain. They were called
"Sons of God" under the old covenant, because
they walked by faith in obedience, just as under
the New Testament, the Apostle John says, " Beloved, now are the Sons of God." This unscriptural
idea respecting the nature of angels, was maintained
by some of the most eminent of the earliest fathers
of the Church, amongst whom were Clement of
Alexandria, Origen, Coesarius, and Tertullian; but
their opinion was opposed on the other hand by
Athanasius, Basil, Cyril, Chrysostom, and others.
As for the value of patristic testimony on doctrinal
subjects, few persons who have been at the pains to
study their writings can come to any other conclusion, than that a large mass of worthless speculation
is mixed up with unquestioned truth, and that as a
general thing, very few among them had unclouded
views of doctrines, which since their day have been
established with a clearness and precision that have
commended them to all evangelical Christians.
The theory respecting the angels is a case in point.
That angelic beings have, at times, assumed bodies
and appeared in human form, is undeniable. It
is plainly asserted in the Scriptures. The visit
of angels to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and
the messengers who were sent to warn Lot to make
20




230    THE HEAVENLY HIERARCHY.
his escape from Sodom, are- alone sufficient examples of this truth. Their proper nature, however, is
spiritual.
This excludes the idea of a gross, material form,
but it does not therefore follow, that they are
shadowy beings. The apostle declares, "All flesh
is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh
of men, another flesh of beasts, and another of fishes,
and another of birds;" and then he adds these remarkable words: "There are also CELESTIAL BODIES,
and there are bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another." He also makes the distinction between
the natural body which is sown in the grave, and
the spiritual body, which will come forth in the
resurrection. Angelic beings may have bodies peculiar to their nature, and similar in some respects
to the resurrection bodies of the saints, and though
we are not concerned to broach or establish any novel
doctrine, we would venture in passing, to suggest,
that it may have been with reference to this, and to
intimate that even angels may taste the sweetness of
food, that the Psalmist says, alluding to the manna
which supplied the Israelites in the desert, "Man did
eat angels' food." It is hard for us, conversant as
we are ordinarily, only with the grosser forms of
matter, to frame any clear or satisfactory idea of a




THE HEAVENLY HIERARCHY.            231
spiritual body, and yet enough is revealed in the
Scriptures to establish not only its existence, but
the wonderful powers and faculties with which it is
and shall be endowed. The resurrection body of
Christ was unspeakably glorious; it possessed attributes which belong not to the human body, in its
present organization. Material objects were no impediment to its transition from one place to another.
When the doors were locked, the Saviour appeared
amidst his disciples, greeting them with the gracious
salutation, " Peace be with you," and then again he
vanished as suddenly out of their sight. In order
to convince them that they were not looking upon
a mere spectre, he tells them, "A spirit hath not
flesh and bones as ye see me have;" and he bids
them handle him, and thus convince themselves, by
the demonstration of sight and touch, that he was
indeed their risen Master. He showed the unbelieving Thomas not only the prints of the nails in
his hands and feet, but bade him thrust his finger
into the side wounded by the spear, and silencing
every doubt as to his identity, constrains Thomas
to exclaim in the fulness of overpowering persuasion, "My Lord and my God." Now, though we
do not affirm that angels are furnished with just
such bodies as the resurrection body of Christ, yet
we may infer from the declaration of the apostle




232   THE HEAVENLY       HIERARCHY.
respecting CELESTIAL BODIES and bodies terrestrial,
that analogous diversities exist in the spiritual
bodies of the inhabitants of heaven and the terrestrial bodies which are peculiar to the earth; and
what the Bible makes known respecting the body
of Jesus, after the resurrection, may properly be
adduced as additional evidence, guiding us to a
knowledge of the truth, which at best, in our present state, must be only a faint apprehension. Hereafter we shall know, even as we are known.




THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.             233
CHAPTER VII.
THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands
of angels.-PSALM lxviii. 17.
THE Scriptures represent the number of holy
angels as inconceivably great. Thus when Daniel
describes the Ancient of Days, he says, "A fiery
stream issued and came forth from before him;
thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him;"
and again the Psalmist declares, "The chariots
of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of
angels." The Apostle Paul, in his description of
the heavenly Zion, speaks of "an innumerable
company of angels," who constitute part of the
general assembly and church of the first born,
whose names are written in heaven.   The Redeemer, in that hour of deepest humiliation, ere
he hung upon the cross, when he was betrayed
into the hands of sinners, and the impetuous Peter
had drawn the sword in his Master's defence, said
to him, " Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to
my Father, and he shall presently give me more
20*




234   THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.
than twelve legions of angels?" All these expressions are designed to teach that the number of
the holy angels is exceedingly great. The testimony of the Scriptures respecting the employment
of angels in the administration of affairs on earth
is explicit. Though they are spiritual beings, they
have power over material objects. The first mention of the cherubim in Scripture, is in connection
with their commission to guard the Tree of Life with
a flaming sword. In the description of the resurrection by St. Matthew, this truth is again taught
with the utmost plainness.  "And behold, there
was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven, and came and rolled back
the stone from the door and sat upon it." On the
great day, our Saviour tells us, angels will be sent
forth "to sever the wicked from among the just."
The watchful care of angels as the guardians of
God's people is taught by the Psalmist in the words,
"He shall give his angels charge concerning
thee, to keep thee in all thy ways, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against a stone." God keeps
our feet from falling, but it is through the instrumentality of blessed angels. They act not on their
own authority, but are sent forth as his ministers
of mercy. The doctrine of guardian angels, like
every other truth taught in the sacred Scriptures,




THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.            235
has been abused and perverted. Angels have been
invoked and worshipped, and thus honour has been
paid to them which pertains alone to God. This is
contrary not only to the first commandment, which
prescribes, " Thou shalt have no other gods before
me," or besides me, but it is forbidden by plain
example in the holy writ.   Thus, when overwhelmed by the preciousness of the revelation of
heavenly things promised by the angel of God,
who had been commissioned to show them to the
beloved disciple, for the comfort of the church, and
awed by the majesty and glory of the heavenly
messenger, the Apostle John prostrated himself in
adoration, he was rebuked. "And I, John, saw
these things and heard them, and when I had heard
and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of
the angel which showed me these thinge. Then
said he unto me,' See thou do it not: for I am thy
fellow-servant, and of thy brethren, the prophets,
and of them which keep the sayings of this book.
Worship God.'" We find traces of a disposition
to pay undue honour to angels in the apostolic
age, hence St. Paul warns the Colossians, not only
against the practice itself, but also against the
argument by which it was then and is even now
defended.  On the plea, that greater humility is
evinced, by invoking the aid of secondary inter



236   THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.
cessors, who are requested by their worshippers to
secure the advocacy of. Christ, the devotees of a
corrupt and false Christianity, attempt to justify
their idolatry, but the apostle utterly condemns
both the theory and practice, which are alike of
pagan origin. They are relics of the idolatrous theology of ancient Greece and Rome. Hence, he says,
"Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding
into those things which he hath not seen, vainly
puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the
Head, from which all the body by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered, and knit together,
increaseth with the increase of God." Let us not,
however, fall into error on the other extreme,
through fear of offending through the sinful and
false humility, proscribed by the apostle. Holy
angels surround the path of the just, to aid, to
comfort, to strengthen, and defend. We may not
worship them, we may not ask them to help us,
but we may think of them and love them. In
close union with this thought, another is suggested,
which may be properly noticed as a cognate subject;
I mean the relation which we who are the living
on the earth, sustain to the spirits of the departed.
To pray for the departed, or to pray to them, are
both absurd.  Our prayers cannot help them,




.THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.            237
neither can the spirits even of the just afford us
aid. If we are reminded that Dives, when in
Hades, being in torment, lifted up his eyes and
groaned out his sad complaint to Abraham, beseeching him to send Lazarus, that he might dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue,
we need only refer the objector to the Saviour's
own narrative to prove that even in the spirit
world, there is no communion or fellowship, between the spirits of the just made perfect, and the
spirits of the lost: L" Between us and you, there is a
great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass
from hence to you, cannot; neither can they pass
to us, that would come from thence." How much
less then, can we, who are still in the body, commune with them, who absent from the body, are
present with the Lord? Neither do the departed
saints go from their heavenly home in Paradise, to
warn the wicked of impending wrath; for when
Dives implores Abraham to send Lazarus, that he
may testify to the five brethren who were in the
rich man's father's house, and thus save them from
coming to that place of torment, Abraham says,
"They have Moses and the prophets; let them
hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham;
but if one went from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and




238   TIIE INNUMERABLE THRONG.
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though
one rose from the dead." They who are driven
away in their wickedness, from the hour of their
departure are in torment, typified by the symbol of
flame, to denote the terrible torture of a wounded
spirit. They dwell with Satan, the prince of the
power of the air, and his fallen angels. They are
the daemon spirits spoken of in the Scriptures, and
these may have communion with the wicked upon
earth, but others cannot, except by the special permission of God, as in the case of Samuel. " Blessed
are the dead that die in the Lord from hence forth.
Yea, saith the Spirit; for they rest from their
labours, and their works do follow them." Are we
then to banish from our memories, the friends who
have left us and gone into a better country? No.
This is not the fruit of faith, or the evidence of
fortitude. We are not to treat them as though they
had ceased to have any existence, but we are to
love them and think of them as loving us. We
may commemorate the day of their departure.
Will any Christian say, that the widow in her
loneliness may not regard the anniversary of her
pious husband's entrance into rest? Surely, we
may send out our affections and desires into that
heavenly land, and long to be, in God's own time,
with them who have escaped from the wilderness,




THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.            239
and are safe in Canaan. We may think of them
as yearning over us with kindest sympathy and
loving us with heavenly purity, for the God of
Abraham and of Abraham's children, is the God,
not of the dead, but of the living. They are with
Christ, and as all the happiness and joy of heaven
are summed up in that one expression, we may,
ever with holy submission to the will of God, learn
with the blessed apostle to say, " I desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better. It is
right, therefore, to combine in our thoughts the
holy angels, and the spirits of the just, for if we
love Christ, and are faithful unto death, these will
be our glorious companions for ever. Of all who
love him, Jesus says, "Neither can they die any
more; for they are equal unto the angels, and are
the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." (Luke xx. 36.) The ministry of holy
angels, as the defenders of God's own people, is
illustrated by a variety of incidents in the sacred
Scriptures. Under the old covenant, it was a source
of consolation in times of peril and anxiety. Thus,
when Abraham was old and well stricken in age,
he sent his eldest servant, having first required an
oath from him, that he would not take a wife for
Isaac of the daughters of the Canaanites, and bade
him go to the patriarch's own country and kindred,




240   THE INNUMERABLE THRONG.
and choose a wife for Isaac. The journey was long
and arduous, and the errand was one deeply affecting the peace and happiness of Abraham in his old
age, but the faith of Abraham was not to be daunted
by the dangers which beset the enterprise, and with
holy confidence in God and in the guardian care of
ministering angels, the messengers of God; he says
"The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my
father's house and from the land of my kindred,
and who spake unto me and sware unto me, saying,
Unto thy seed will I give this land: he shall send
his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife
unto my son from thence." God did not put the
confidence of his servant to shame; he sent his
angel before his face to prosper Eleazar on his pious
errand, and brought Rebekah to his master's house,
by the special guidance and appointment of the
Lord.




ANGELIC PROTECTION.             241
CHAPTER       VIII.
ANGELIC PROTECTION.
He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in
all thy ways.
WHEN Moses stood on the borders of Edom with
the people of Israel, he sent messengers from Kadesh
to the king of that country, saying "Thus saith
thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that
hath befallen us; how our fathers went down into
Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time;
and the Egyptians vexed us and our fathers, and
when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice
and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of
Egypt, and behold we are in Kadesh, a city in the
uttermost of thy border; let us pass I pray thee
through thy country, * * * but Edom refused to
give Israel passage." Here is an allusion to the
same guardian office of the holy angels, who like
the bright lightnings answer the call of Jehovah,
saying, " Here are we," and though the promise was
not yet recorded in the book of the law, yet he gave
his angels charge concerning Israel, "to keep him in
21




242       ANGELIC P RTECTI N.
all his ways." The words appear originally to have
been spoken respecting the Messiah, and Satan
applies them to the Saviour in his temptation, when
urging the Redeemer presumptuously to cast himself from the pinnacle of the temple, garbling the
text, however, by omitting the qualification, "in
all thy ways." We have no promise of angelic
protection, if we presumptuously rush into danger,
but so long as we are in the King's highway, his
heavenly legions plant their bright squadrons round
about us to deliver and defend the pilgrims to the
heavenly country. The declaration of the Psalmist
was especially verified in the personal history of
Christ. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
and bade him take the young child and his mother
and flee into Egypt, adding, "be thou there, until I
bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young
child to destroy him." When Jesus was weary and
exhausted with fasting, after his temptation, "behold
angels came and ministered unto him." In Gethsemane, when the Redeemer was prostrate on the
cold earth, and his sweat, wrung from him in his
agony was as it were great drops of blood, falling
down to the ground, "there appeared an angel unto
him, from heaven, strengthening him." Angels
came to share in the joy of the resurrection morning, they rolled the great stone from the mouth of




ANGELIC PROTECTION.             243
the sepulchre. They entered the tomb where Jesus
had lain, and filled the dark grave with the glory
of heaven. They were the first to announce to the
wondering disciples, as they gazed upon the place
where Jesus had slept, "he is not here, he is risen."
They attended him, at his triumphant ascension
from  Bethany, and shouted, as their ascending
King, making the cloud his chariot, was taken out
of the sight of his disciples, " Lift up your heads, O
ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this
King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty. Jehovah strong in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye
gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and
the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this
King of glory? Jehovah of hosts; he is the King
of glory!" And whilst heaven's eternal dome rang
with the applauding shouts of the principalities and
powers of glory, and the thrones and dominions of
celestial might came forth with all their hosts, to
adore their King and bid him welcome to the
mediatorial majesty, purchased by his death and
resurrection, behold the sympathy of heaven shines
forth in behalf of the sorrowing disciples, who with
tearful eyes watch the retiring form of their ascending Master, until he is visible no longer, and " two
men stood by them in white apparel, which also




244       ANGELIC PROTECTION.
said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye have seen him go into heaven." Thus, in all
his ways, from his advent to his ascension; from
the manger-cradle in Bethlehem to the cross on
Calvary; and from the sepulchre in Joseph's garden
to Mount Olivet, whence Jesus ascended to the
throne of mediatorial glory, angels attended the
Redeemer as their Prince, wondering at the depths
of his condescending love, and sharing in the triumphs of his grace. And when the apostles went
forth to proclaim the glad tidings of great joy, the
angels of God still waited on them to keep them in
all their ways. With mighty signs and wonders,
the truths of the Gospel were attested by the Holy
Ghost. Diseases fled, demons were cast out, the
very dead were raised, at the word of the ordained
missionaries of the Saviour. Moved with indignation and envy, the Sadducees and the high priest of
Jerusalem, beholding the success of the Gospel,
laid violent hands on Peter and the apostles and
cast them into prison, "but the angel of the Lord
by night opened the prison doors and brought them
forth and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple,
all the words of this life;" and the next morning
early, they were found again proclaiming Jesus and




A N G   E T C P R O T E, C T O N.  245
the resurrection as the hope and refuge of dying
sinners, and fearlessly declaring that they must
obey God rather than men. A time of persecution
came. Herod killed James, the brother of John,
with the sword, and seeing that this pleased the
Jews, he proceeded to take Peter also, but prayer
was made for him without ceasing by the brethren,
and while the apostle was sleeping calmly between
two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers were standing before the prison-gate, the angel
of the Lord came upon him and light shone in the
prison, and he " smote Peter on the side, and raised
him up, saying, Arise up quickly; and his chains
fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto
him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals: and he
did so. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garments
about thee and follow me. And he went out and
followed him, and wist not that it was true which
was done by the angel, but thought he saw a
vision."
The angelic deliverer guides him through the
first and second ward to the iron gate of the city;
it opens of its own accord; the apostle finds himself
alone in the street, and blessing God for liberty,
makes his way to the house in which the disciples
are engaged in fervent supplication for him, and
suddenly brings the answer to their prayer, by
21.



246       ANGELIC PROTECTION.
appearing in the midst of them. To the Gentile
Cornelius, inquiring the way of life, the angel of
the Lord appeared, bidding him send for Simon
Peter, and when in obedience to the command of
God the apostle came, the Holy Ghost fell on all
them that heard the word, and thus the first converts were gathered from the Gentiles, and they
were baptized in the name of the Lord. Throughout the New Testament, the doctrine of angelic
agency is repeatedly maintained, either by examples asserting its actual exercise, or by distinct
affirmation of its reality. Look at the little children whom Jesus blessed. How many perils beset
the helpless infant; what fierce diseases wait around,
and how much of the preservation of these little
ones is due instrumentally to holy angels, we know
not, but we do know that our Saviour says, " Their
angels do always behold the face of my Father
which is in heaven."  Waiting, watching continually, ever on the wing to fly on some errand of
mercy, they guard our tender years, and from the
cradle to the grave, minister to the heirs of salvation,
to keep them in all the dangers of the way. They
crowd around us in the walks of life; in the daily
avocations of business, amid the temptations of the
world and of the great enemy, they are at our side.
When the soldier of Christ encounters a host, as




ANGELIC PROTECTION.             247
strong and cruel as the Syrian army, let him not
think he is alone, for the mountains round about
him are covered with horses and chariots of fire;
the glorious legions of heaven are in array to help
and guard him whilst he fights the good fight of
faith. To the wicked they are often messengers of
wrath. Thus the angel of God smote Herod when
the people shouted in answer to his speech and profanely cried, "It is the voice of God and not of
man," and he was eaten of worms and gave up the
ghost. God's judgment upon persecutors and upon
enemies of the truth has often been executed by
holy angels. They sympathize in all God's administration, and the highest honour which they crave is
to fulfil his purposes, their greatest delight is to do
his holy will. Hence our Lord has taught us to
pray, " Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in
heaven."




248       T HE A NG ET.    WA T C H1 E RS.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANGEL WATCHERS.
" During the which there was an heavenly noise
Heard sound through all the palace pleasantly,
Like as it had been many an angel's voice
Singing before th' Eternal majesty,
In their trinal triplicities on high;
Yet wist no creature whence that heavenly sweet
Proceeded, yet each one felt secretly
Himself thereby reft of his senses meet,
And ravished with rare impression in his sprite."
WHEN we go up to the house of God, angels go
with us. How dreadful is the place where Christians meet to pray and praise. It is none other
than the gate of heaven!   When the sons of God
come together to present themselves before the
Lord, Satan comes also. When the sowers go forth
bearing the precious seed of the kingdom, like the
fowls of the air, the spirits of darkness are ready to
catch up the seed that falls by the way-side. They
distract the mind, call away the attention and seek
to keep the truth from lodging in the heart. "Then
cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of




THE ANGEL WATCIERS.              249
their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved;"
(Luke viii. 12,) but at every point the legions of
darkness are met by the blessed messengers of
light, and when the penitential tear trembles upon
the eyelids of the thoughtful prodigal, when afar off
the publican stands, with downcast eyes, and smites
upon his breast and cries, " God be merciful to me
a sinner!" when the startled sinner exclaims in the
anguish of his soul, "What must I do to be saved?"
and the heart is filled with faith in Jesus, and the
hand is fixed upon the cross of Christ, oh! there is
joy in heaven, and thousand thousands voices, unheard by human ears, sing the song of Moses and
the Lamb, and praise God that righteousness and
peace have kissed each other, and that another soul
redeemed has turned from the highway of death to
seek the Saviour's face in glory. But, there is an
hour, the great crisis of the believer's history on
earth, when all the sympathies of earth and heaven
cluster round him. When the poor body faints in
death, and the soul, long weary and vexed with the
vanities of a wicked world, pauses ere it leaves the
clay breathless, and the last pangs that shall ever
distress the departing pilgrim, are rending the feeble ties that bind the incorruptible to the spoils of
death; oh! how human piety yearns over the sufferer, and all that affection's kindest ministrations




250      TIIE ANGEL WATCHERS.
can do, to assuage the parting agony is done, amid
tears and anguish that all avails so little; but these
are not the only watchers of the mortal strife.
Angels are in that room-it is radiant with a
glory which we cannot see, and which these dim
eyes could not endure. They have kept the believing pilgrim in all his ways, and they come at last to
guard his entrance into life, and through the dark,
iron gate of death to lead him forth from the prison
and clasp him in their sweet embrace, as they mount
on wings of love and bear him upward to his Father's house. Marvel not, that when your bosom
heaves with tumultuous grief, the last expression
on the countenance of the dying Christian is the
symbol of unutterable peace. He has a vision of
angels; he hears them sweetly whisper. "Come away
-thy work is done-the conflict is past, come enter
into rest;" and the beaming smile of joy tells when
all is over, and the fluttering.heart is still, "All is
well-all is well!"
Beloved reader, is it well with you?  Many a
friend has sickened and fallen at your side, and you
have seen the dark grave open and enclose lover
and acquaintance in its cold embrace, and still you
live. Are you ready to depart? This is not your
rest. You have seen, since you have been a pilgrim,
you have seen the old man faint, and young men




T IE A NGE    WAT'C, HER S.     251
sink in mortal weariness; and thousands, many
thousands, have been borne from their homes and
carried through these streets, and in all these scenes
of death and mourning, can you not read the tokens
of your own approaching decease? Will you give
all your care and thought to a wretched world
which can only give you in exchange, a narrow
grave? Oh! look up! look up! see the bright heaven above you. Think of Mount Zion. Think of
the innumerable company of angels and the spirits
of just men made perfect. Think of Christ, the
mediator of the New Covenant! Believe in him,
that it may be well with you.








2 CORINTHIANS V. 8.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent
from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
22








ABSENT FROM THE BODY, ETC.,          255
ABSENT FROM THE BODY, PRESENT WITH THE LORD.
THIS is the language of strong faith. The things
which are not seen and which are eternal must have
affected the mind of the apostle with great power,
in order to enable him to speak thus confidently.
Paul lived for immortality. He kept eternity continually in view. His writings abound in similar
expressions of readiness to depart and of desire to
be with Christ. His conversation was in heaven.
His treasure was in heaven, and his heart was there
also. To the weeping elders at Miletus, sorrowing
because they should see his face no more, he spoke
with the same unwavering confidence, though the
tenderest emotions were struggling for utterance:
"And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me
there; save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But none of these things move me; neither count I
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my
course with joy, and the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of
the grace of God." (Acts xx. 22-24.)




256     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
When he wrote to the Church at Phillipi from
his prison at Rome, he tells his children in the gospel, that it is his earnest expectation and hope, that
in nothing he shall be ashamed, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also, Christ shall be
magnified in his body, whether it be by life or by
death, and then adds those memorable words: "For,
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I
live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour;" i. e.,
I know that if I continue here, I shall gain more
souls for Christ, "but what I shall choose, I know
not, for I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire
to depart and to be with Christ which is far better.
Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful
for you." (Phil. i. 20-24.)
This language beautifully exemplifies the character of a child of God. Heavenly-minded, his affection is set on things above. He longs to be with
Christ, and yet with quiet resignation to his Father's
will he waits until his change comes. His constant
prayer is, that Christ may be honoured in him,
whether it be by life or by death. How few are
prepared to look upon the tender ties that bind
them to the world, to contemplate the rending of
those bands which unite them to their family and
kindred, and then calmly declare with the apostle,
"We are willing rather to be absent from the




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.            257
body." How few can think of the inroads of disease, and anticipate the wasting of their frame upon
a bed of pain and sickness and watch the silent
advances of death, then urge the busy mind beyond
the hour when the final struggle shall be over, see
this body, cold and dead, and shrouded for the
grave, and yet with confidence declare, "This is far
better."  But the apostle preferred to be absent
from the body. He was as sensitive to pain, and
naturally as averse to suffering as ourselves. He
knew that ere he could depart to be with Christ, he
must meet and conquer death, yet such was his trust
in the power of his Redeemer, that he never faltered
when the prospect was immediate. True, he tells
the Corinthians in this chapter, that he did not desire to die for the sake of encountering death. If
he groaned, being burdened in his earthly tent, it
was not because he "would be unclothed, but
clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed
up of life." (v. 4.) The grace of God had wrought
within him that meetness for the heavenly inheritance which distinguishes the true believer. This it
was that caused him to prefer heaven to earth, that
made him choose rather to be absent from the body,
that he might be present with the Lord. Let us
endeavour to form a proper estimate of the force
of the test, by showing the import of its terms.
22*




258      ABSENT FROM      TIlE BODY,
1. What is it to be absent from the body? In our
present state, our ideas are furnished through the
medium of sense. We cannot readily conceive or
appreciate a purely spiritual condition. The organs
of the body are the instruments by which the soul
so generally acts, that it is impossible for us to form
an adequate idea of its separate existence. But this
body, in its present form, is but a tent-a mere
temporary covering of the soul. Perfect as its mechanism is, fearfully and wonderfully made, with all
its nice adaptation to the functions of life, it must
soon be broken up and laid down to moulder in
the grave, "Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to
ashes." The spirit dislodged will then return to
God who gave it. Like the broken strings of a
harp, which refuse to answer the touch of the
skilful musician, the organs of sense will cease to
vibrate under the emotions of the soul. The eye
will see no more —the ear will be deaf-the tongue
will be mute-the sealed lips will cease to be the
door of utterance-the hand will forget its cunning
-the limbs will be motionless, and much as this
body has been loved and ever-loved, it must be carried away and buried out of sight. When absent
from the body, the soul will cease to derive gratification from  the external sensual pleasures of this life.
The sense of enjoyment now conveyed to the mind




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.             259
through the external organs will cease. Absent
from the body, we taste no sweetness in food-no
refreshment in repose. The possession of houses,
and lands, of gold and silver, can afford no gratification to the soul. The affections of the heart could
never be set upon them, except through the medium
of the body. The soul in its separate state can derive no comfort from them. Therefore, the rich
man who said to his soul, "Thou hast much goods
laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry," was justly branded as "a fool."
For when God says, " This night shall thy soul be
required of thee, then whose shall these things be?"
We brought nothing with us into this world, and it
is certain we can carry nothing out. All the enjoyments of sense are but for a season. Regulated by
grace, they are not all sinful, but they become a
snare, they become pleasures of sin when the heart
is set inordinately upon them. Though the soul
retains its character, when it leaves the body and
has all the appetites and propensities which constituted its ruling passion, whilst the union lasted,
after its dissolution, it can derive no more gratification from temporal enjoyments, than if these things
had never existed.
When absent from the body, the soul will derive
no deqliht from many sources of intellectual and spiritual




260     ABSENT FROM       THE BODY,
pleasure which are open to us now. The man of studious mind must leave his books. The pages which
he once perused with so much enjoyment and profit
are henceforth blank to him. He trims the midnight lamp no longer. He searches the sacred
oracles of God no more. The pleasure which he
enjoyed in the conversation of the wise and good
with whom he associated, whom he cherished as his
friends, and who survive him, is suspended. With
them who go together to the house of God, he takes
sweet counsel no longer. Though endeared by the
most tender associations to those who worship there,
he prays with them and for them, and unites in the
songs of Zion no more. His soul may be knit to
theirs as the soul of Jonathan was to David, but
death severs all earthly ties for a season, and
severs many for ever. It is sweet to listen to the
teachings of God's word and to sit under the droppings of the sanctuary. To join in exalting the
right hand of the Lord in the tabernacles of the
righteous, is a blessed privilege. Dear to the child
of God is the day of sacred rest-precious the
assembly of God's saints. He loves the solemn
anthems of praise. His heart and flesh cry out for
the living God, and with the fervour of the Psalmist
he can declare, "A day in thy courts is better than
a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.             261
house of my God than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness."  But, absent from the body, he meets
his brethren and companions in the earthly Zion no
more. The place which once knew him in the sanctuary, and in the place of prayer, knows him no
more for ever. His body reposes with the congregation of the dead, and his spirit returns to God.
When absent from the body, the soul can find no
gratification in the discharge of those relative duties
which are temporal. Whilst in the flesh, opportunities are afforded of doing good to others in a
thousand various ways. We may relieve the wants
of the needy, and alleviate sorrow and distress by
kindness and sympathy, but these opportunities are
all buried in the grave. If we would visit the
fatherless children and the widows in their affliction, and make the heart of the desolate sing for
joy, we must perform these works of mercy before
the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved.
The blessing of him that is ready to perish, comes
not upon the dead, save in grateful remembrance of
deeds of mercy which they can no longer perform.
There are no poor in heaven, who may be warmed
and fed by Christian beneficence; they are safe from
hunger, thirst and pain-the sun shall not smite
them by day, neither any heat, nor shall they ever
be chilled by the frosts of winter, pinched by




262     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
poverty or wearied by sickness. Christ feeds them
with the hidden manna; the Lamb that is in the
midst of the throne leads them to fountains of living water, and God wipes away all tears from their
eyes. But here, the unequal allotments of Divine
Providence are designed to afford opportunities for
the exercise of Christian love. Here we may weep
with them that weep. There we shall rejoice with
them that do rejoice.
When absent fromn the body, we shall have no
more opportunities of winning souls for Christ. This
is the greatest honour which God puts upon his
people here, and " Herein is my Father glorified,"
says Christ, "that ye bear much fruit." The believer, whilst present in the body, may be the
instrument of salvation to multitudes. His personal entreaties and godly example, with God's
blessing, may persuade a father or a mother to be
reconciled to God, and his prayers may prevail with
Christ in behalf of erring brethren and sisters, for
Christ gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.
He sends convincing and converting power to seal
the testimony of faith, and listens to the fervent
inwrought prayer of the righteous man. He sends
his blessing upon the humble supplicant, who, like
her of old, comes trembling yet believing, and falls
at his feet with the earnest cry, "Lord, help me!"




PRESENT WITH      THE LORD.        263
The promises which assure the child of God, that
Christ is ready to dispense his blessing, are to be
pleaded now. They who are absent from the body
have exchanged the voice of supplication for the
song of praise to Him who loved them, and washed
them from their sins in his own blood. All that we
do in winning souls for Christ, must be done whilst
we are absent from the Lord. The promise, "They
that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever," is given to
encourage them who sow in tears, and gladden
their hearts with the certain prospect, that they
shall come again with rejoicing, bringing their
sheaves with them. Surely this is a precious privilege! It was this that reconciled the apostles to the
toil and privations of their office. " If I live in the
flesh, this," says St. Paul, " is the fruit of my labour."
He deemed life precious, because whilst the day
lasted, he could preach Jesus and the resurrection,
and from house to house warn men with tears, and
as Christ's ambassador, beseech them to be reconciled to God. " Brethren, if any of you do err from
the truth, and one convert him, let him know that
he which converteth the sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins." James v. 19, 20.) What man




264     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
ever realized more deeply the import of this solemn
truth than the apostle Paul? Who has ever been
better prepared to appreciate the privilege of being
a worker together with God, than this devoted servant of Christ?  Yet he says, "We are willing
rather to be absent from the body and present with
the Lord. Literally, "We are well pleased" to be
thus absent from the body; and again he says, "I
desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far
better." The justness of this preference will appear
if we consider,
II. What it is to be present with the Lord. Jesus
Christ has given the promise to his people, "Lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world;" but this is not spoken of his hunian, but
of his divine presence. By his eternal power and
Godhead he sustains and succours his believing
people to the end of time. In the language of the
Heidelberg Catechism, we say: "Christ is very man
and very God; with respect to his human nature, he
is no more on earth; but with respect to his Godhead, majesty, grace and spirit, he is at no time
absent from us." This does not involve a separation of the two natures in Christ. This objection is
obviated in our symbolical book, in these words:
" If his human nature is not present, whenever his
Godhead is, are not then these two natures in Christ




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.            265
separated from one another?" Answer. "Not at all;
for since the Godhead is incomprehensible and omnipresent, it must necessarily follow, that the same
is not limited with the human nature he assumed,
and yet remains personally united to it." Therefore, when we speak of Christ's presence with his
people on earth, we affirm it of his eternal power
and Godhead. His bodily absence from his militant
Church, is supplied by the presence of the Holy
Ghost, in his comforting and quickening influence
But "to be present with the Lord," implies that
we shall behold him in his humanity, and dwell
with him in glory. When this earthly house is
dissolved, the soul of the believer enters into rest.
"Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from
henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from
their labours and their works do follow them."
There is no delay, he is blessed from henceforth,
immediately. So soon as his eyes close upon the
scenes which gather round his dying bed, they open
upon the bright glories of the upper world. Oh!
what a glorious exchange is this! Who would not
leave the crumbling tenement in which we dwell,
whilst we are at home in the body, for a mansion
in our Father's house? Christ has prepared a place
for all who love him, and a crown for all who are
faithful unto death. What a contrast between the
23




266     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
weeping group who surround the couch on which
the ruins of the earthly house repose and the rejoicing myriads of redeemed and happy spirits, who
crowd around the departed saint, meeting the
angels who convey him to Abraham's bosom, with
shouts of joyous welcome!  Whilst the voice of
wailing and lamentation is loud in the dwelling
which the angel of death has visited, and hearts
are stricken and pierced with the bitterness of
grief, a new song of praise is ascending to the
Lamb slain, and another voice has learned the
anthem of the thousands who stand on Mount Sion
and follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
They who walk by sight, look upon the emaciated
face-the hollow, sunken eyes-the lips mute and
still as marble-and the soul recoils with horror;
but faith gazes not upon the work of death; faith
sees the liberated spirit dwelling within the pearly
gates of the New Jerusalem, happy in the enjoyment of eternal pleasures, and faith pauses not, but
says, " We are well pleased to be absent from the
body and present with the Lord!" Faith looks
from the tomb of nature to the sepulchre in
Joseph's garden, and though the eyes may be
dimmed with tears, and the voice falter with emotion, faith publishes the words of Christ, "I am
the resurrection and the life! He that believeth




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.             267
on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and
he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
"Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in
which all who are in the graves shall hear his
voice and shall come forth, they that have done
good to the resurrection of life." And it may well
reconcile us to the allotments of divine providence
in the departure of God's children, when we reflect,
that they are fulfilling the will of God. So he who
loves his children has decreed. We are not our
own. We have solemnly covenanted to be the
Lord's, and thus our times and all the changes of
our earthly lot have been committed to his direction. It is the Christian's comfort in life and death
that he belongs to his faithful Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Whether we live, or whether we
die, we are the Lord's, and when he appoints the
hour of our last great change, we know that his
will is always best. He who has guided the Christian pilgrim in all his journeyings through the
wilderness is with him in the swellings of Jordan.
The same voice which spoke words of comfort in
seasons of darkness and cheered him in times of
peril, bids him "go forward," and whispers, "fear
not, for I am with thee." But apart from these
general grounds of encouragement, there are special
advantages which more than counterbalance all the




268     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
temporal privileges which the believer enjoys
whilst present in the body. It is true, he ceases
to derive gratification from the enjoyments of
sense; but there are rivers of joy at God's right
hand and pleasures for evermore, of which he could
form no conception whilst absent from the Lord.
These flow from the throne of God and the Lamb
in a living stream, and his soul is ravished with
joys unutterable. The fountain from which they
gush can never be exhausted: the pleasures they
afford will never pall upon the taste. There are no
dregs of bitterness in the cup of salvation. Absent
from the body, the believer enters abundantly into
life. He exchanges his portion upon earth for an
exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  Happy
exchange! He is forever with the Lord.
It is admitted, that the death of the body seals
up many sources of intellectual and spiritual improvement, but then it opens new treasures of
heavenly knowledge which are inaccessible to
them who are at home in the body. It confers
advantages incomparably superior. Who can estimate the glorious increase of knowledge which
they obtain, who are present with the Lord? The
apostle Paul compares the intellectual strength of
the believer at home in the body contrasted with
the attainments of the heavenly state, with the




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.            269
respective acquirements of childhood and maturity.
"For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away. When I was
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child,
I thought as a child, but when I became a man I
put away childish things. For now we see through
a glass darkly, but then, face to face; now I know
in part, but then shall I know, even I also am
known."-(1 Cor. xiii. 9-12.) The soul will be
freed from the clogs by which its progress in divine
knowledge is now so much impeded.     "Much
study is a weariness of the flesh." The mental
energies are unwearied, but the bodily organs
through which they act are soon exhausted and
require repose.  When the faculties of the redeemed soul, radiant with the light and glory of
heaven, shall enter upon the contemplation of the
divine perfections, to what heights of excellent
knowledge will they soar! How will the mysteries of grace and the dispensations of providence
unfold new views of the divine wisdom and awaken
the song of thankful acknowledgment, "Just and
true are thy ways, thou King of Saints." Then
it will be seen, that it was the hand of mercy which
gathered clouds and darkness around the throne,
and wrapped the dispensations of providence in




270     ABSENT FROM THE BODY,
mystery. He veils his purposes from us, because
whilst we are present in the body, the full realization of them would be more than we could bear.
Here, too, we are to walk by faith; but how could
we exercise this virtue if there were no difficulties
to encounter and surmount? There, we walk by
sight. There we know, even as we are known.
The pilgrim who has reached his home lays down
the staff of faith at the threshold of his Father's
house. Henceforth, he sees Jesus as he is, and is
like his Saviour. Now he goes from grace to
grace, but then from glory to glory, changed by
the Spirit of the Lord. Finally, we say:
The employment of the heavenly state will be suited
to the nature of the disembodied spirit. We shall not
be idle in heaven. Our faculties will all be engaged
in the service of God and the Lamb, and though
there are none in the New Jerusalem whom we
may instruct in the way of salvation, or lead as
penitent sinners to the cross of Christ, there may
be other worlds to which, on errands of love, the
spirits of the just may speed in company with the
angels of God. When we are removed from the
fellowship of the saints on earth and can no more
give thanks to God in these earthly courts, there is
a bright, glorious, and innumerable company of
angels, in whose ranks we may mingle, with whom




PRESENT WITH THE LORD.              271
we may exchange the greetings of heavenly friendship, and hear them tell of their ministry to the
heirs of salvation. And then the spirits of the just
made perfect are there. Moses and Samuel, with
all the prophets of the Lord; Abraham and all the
patriarchs who saw the promises afar off, and walked
and lived and died in faith; Abel, the first martyr,
and all who were slain for the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus; Paul and his fellow apostles in
the kingdom  and patience of Christ; all-all are
there! All who love the Saviour, whom we leave
when we depart to be with Christ, shall follow at
the Master's call, and until the Lord shall come in
heavenly glory, all who shall hereafter believe on
the name of Christ, shall be brought in their season
to the habitations of eternal peace. Thus our fellowship is only suspended; it shall be renewed, for
the communion of the saints is everlasting. There
shall be one fold and one Shepherd. To the Christian, the great attraction of heaven is Christ. Many
who speak of heaven and express their desire for
its society, think of it only as associated with some
departed one whom they have fondly loved, but to
the child of God, the brightest hope of glory is that
which flows from the knowledge that he shall see
Jesus. If he desires to depart, it is that he may be




272   ABSENT FROM THE BODY, ETC.
with Christ. He would be absent from the body
that he may be present with the Lord.
It is the privilege of the believer, who by faith
is one with Christ, thus to desire to be clothed
upon with his house, which is from heaven. Unless
you are Christ's it will not profit you to be absent
from the body. If you are the enemy of God, no
greater calamity could befal you, than to be summoned into his presence.
Great God! on what a slender thread,
Hang everlasting things;
The eternal state of all the dead,
Upon life's feeble strings!
Oh! seek the Lord while he may be found. Lay
hold upon the hope of the gospel, that when the
Son of Man shall come, you may be found watching
at the gate with them that love his appearing.




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collecting and condensing more extended the difficulties common to the medical
memoirs of their worthy brothers in simi- profession. Their testimony is as the
lar toils; and when they would not take united voice of brethren of the same toils,
up a long and laboured production, they proclaiming a heavenly rest to the weary
can find in this volume that which will pilgrim. It comes, too, unembarrassed
refresh and strengthen in the midst of with any considerations of interest, or
their unceasing labours. Ministers and mere purpose of sect or calling."
others, who sometimes wish to testify their  Froel Rtev. J. F. Berg, D. D.-The seleohigh appreciation of the faithful services of tion of a number of Memoirs of Physithe physician, will recognise in this volume cians eminent for their piety, who have
a testimonial which cannot but be regarded adorned their profession in our own counas beautiful, appropriate, and valuable,  try and in other lands, as examples of the
From the Christian Chronicle, Philadeb- living power of piety, is itself a happy
phia.-The object of these pages is to show  thought; and the primary Dissertation on
that there is a harmony between religion  the Cross as the Key to all Knowledge
and science. It is decidedly a religious will suggest valuable reflections to the
book, abounding with the most useful mind of the thoughtful reader. It is an
lessons from the highest authority. The able presentation of the great theme of
Dissertation that precedes is a valuable the Cross of Christ as the foundation of
production, much enhancing the value of all genuine science.
the work.
The Bible Defended againft the Objedions of Infidelity.
Being an Examination of the Scientific, Historical, Chronological, and
other Scripture Difficulties. By Rev. WM. H. BRISBANE. Price, 50 cts.
NOTICES.
From the Western Christian Advocate.-  From the National Magazine.-A small
The work is on a plan somewhat original, but good review of the chief infidel objecand meets a want long felt by Sabbath tions to the Bible has been published by
School Teachers and Scholars, private Higgins & Perkinpine. It is by Rev. W.
Christians and others. We can most H. Brisbane, and examines the scientific,
heartily commend the little manual to all historical, chronological, and other diffi.
seeking the truth as it is in the Gospel of culties alleged against the Scriptures. It
Christ.                                is especially adapted to meet the wants of
From the Christian Advocate c& Journal. Sunday School and Bible Class Teachers.
-The author, in the body of his work,    Front the Easton Star.-The title page
commencing with the account of the Cre- indicates the character of this little voation, as given in the book of Genesis, lume, which has evidently been prepared
goes through the principal facts recorded with great care, by one who appears to
in the Old and New Testaments, stating  have thoroughly investigated the subject,
and answering the objections of infidelity  and whose researches well qualify him to
cogently and logically, bringing to his aid elucidate the difficult questions reviewed.
the result of extensive reading and patient The style is chaste, perspicuous, and cominvestigation.  It is a small book,-so  prehensive, and the volume replete with
small that none will be deterred from  original thoughts and pertinent quotareading it by its size: yet it condenses the tions from the first biblical and scientific
most general objections to the Bible, with  authors, to support the Divine authority
a clear stntement of the refltt;ti(l, of' of the Scriptures and refute the objectionl
themn. by the:,est authors who have writ- of sceptics. The book contains in a nut.
ten on the subject.                    shell most of the points of difference be
34 *                                                  3




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6