DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 2, 1879,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Woe to the inhibitors of the earth and of the sea! For the devil has
come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but
a short time." Revelation 12:12.
THE great battle in the heavenlies has been fought–our glorious
Michael has forever overthrown the dragon and cast him down. In the
highest regions the great principle of evil has received a total defeat
through the life and death of our Lord Jesus. Atonement has been made
for human sin and the great quarrel between God and man has come to a
happy end. Everlasting righteousness has been brought in and the peace
of God reigns in Heaven. The conflict, from now on, rages here below
and in these inferior regions the Prince of this world is warring
mightily against the cause of God and truth. Much woe does this cause
to the sons of men–woe which will never end till his power is
altogether taken away.
Observe concerning our archenemy that he exercises forethought and care
as to the evil enterprise to which he has set his hand. Whatever
foolish men may do, the devil thinks. Others may be heedless and
thoughtless, but he is anxious and full of consideration. He knows that
his time, or, "opportunity" is short and he bides his time till its
close, for he is no careless waster of time and forgetter of the end.
He values his opportunity to maintain his kingdom, to distress the
people of God and to dishonor the name of Christ. And since it is but a
short one, he treats it as such. He infers the brevity of his time from
the victory which Jesus has already gained over him.
In reading the chapter, we saw how the Man-Child who is to rule all
nations with a rod of iron was caught up unto God and to His Throne.
And then we saw the war in Heaven and how the devil was cast out into
the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Then was a loud voice
heard on high, "Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Right
well may the old serpent conclude that he will be routed on earth since
he has already sustained so dire a defeat that he has fallen from
Heaven never to rise again!
Because the Man-Child, Christ Jesus, has met him in conflict, met him
when as yet all his power was unbroken and has cast him down from his
high places, he is persuaded and well he may be, that his reign is
ended and that his opportunity is short. He feels about him, even now,
a chain which is lengthened for a while, but which shall be drawn into
shorter compass and fastened down, by-and-by, so that he shall roam the
earth no longer, but lie as a captive in his prison. Fallen as this
apostate spirit has become, he has wit enough to look forward to the
future! O that men were half as wise and would remember their latter
end!
I beg you to notice this fact concerning the evil spirit, that you,
too, may learn to acquire knowledge and then use it for practical
purposes. Why should it always be that the powers of darkness appear to
act more wisely than the children of light? For once I would point out
a matter in which our worst foe may read us a lesson. Among men there
are some who know a great many important matters, but act as if they
did not know them–their knowledge is so much waste stored up in the
lumber room of their minds and never brought into the workshop to be
used for practical purposes. For instance, we know our mortality and
yet live as if we never meant to die! There is great necessity for many
of us to pray, "Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom."
We must know that our time is short and that our life will soon come to
an end and yet we fail to know it practically, for we are not as
earnest as dying men ought to be. In this, the archenemy is not so
foolish as we are, for he so well knows that his time is short that he
remembers the fact and is actuated by it. Note well the direction in
which this knowledge operates upon him. It excites his emotions. The
deepest emotion of which he is capable is that of anger, for he knows
not
how to love. Wrath is his very soul, as hatred is his very life! He
knows nothing of gentleness, nothing of affection and, therefore, the
fact that his time is short moves within him his master passion and he
has great wrath.
His evil nature is all on fire and his excitement is terrible! How much
the shortness of our time ought to stir our hearts! With what ardency
of love and fervency of zeal ought we to pass the days of our
sojourning here! Knowing that the time of our departure is at hand and
that the season in which we can serve God among the sons of men is very
brief, we ought to be excited to flaming zeal and passionate love! We
are not half stirred as we ought to be. Devils feel great hatred–how
is it that we do not feel great love? Shall they be more eager to
destroy than we are to save? Shall they be all alive and shall we be
half dead?
Nor is the result of knowing that his time is short merely emotional on
the part of the archenemy, for, in consequence of his great wrath he is
moved to make earnest efforts. His energy is excited! He persecutes the
woman whose Seed he dreads and he pours floods out of his mouth against
her. There is nothing which Satan can do for his evil cause which he
does not do. We may be half-hearted, but he never is. He is the very
image of ceaseless industry and indefatigable earnestness. He will do
all that can be done in the time of his permitted range. We may be sure
that he will never lose a day.
My Brothers and Sisters, you and I, on the other hand, should be moved
by the shortness of our opportunity to an equal energy of incessant
industry, serving God continually because, "the night comes wherein no
man can work." My Friend, if you want your children brought to Christ,
speak to them, for they will soon be without a father! If you wish your
servants to be saved, labor for their conversion, for they will soon be
without a mistress! If you desire your brother to be converted, speak
to him, for your sisterly love will not much longer avail him.
Minister, if you would save your congregation by the Spirit of God,
seek to do it at once, for your tongue will soon be silent. Teacher in
the Sunday school, if you would have your class gathered into the Good
Shepherd's fold, treasure up every Lord's Day opportunities, for in a
short time the place which knows you, now, shall know you no more
forever!
Thus, as of old the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen
every man his plowshare and his axe and his shovel, so have I bid you
quicken your diligence by the example of the Prince of Darkness. Shall
we not learn wisdom from his subtlety and zeal from his fury? Shall he
discern the signs of the times and, therefore, bestir himself, and
shall we sleep? Shall evil compass sea and land and shall the children
of God creep about in idleness? God forbid! By the great wrath of the
old dragon, I beseech you, my Brothers and Sisters, awake out of your
sleep!
The text tells us that the shortness of Satan's opportunity excites his
wrath and we may gather a general rule from this one statement–namely,
that in proportion as the devil's time is shortened, his energy is
increased and we may take it as an assured fact that when he rages to
the uttermost his opportunities are nearly over. He has great wrath,
knowing that his time is short. I hope there will be something of
instruction in this and of comfort for all those who are on the right
side. May the Holy Spirit make it so!
In the world around us we must not consider that things go altogether
amiss when the powers of evil become strong. We should be foolish if we
wept in despair because the tares are ripening, for is not the wheat
ripening, too? True, the dead become more and more corrupt, but if the
living become more and more active, why should we lament? Because
blasphemy grows loud; because infidels seek to undermine the foundation
of the faith, or because the clouds of superstition grow more dense, we
must not, therefore, conclude that we have fallen upon evil times, the
like of which were never seen before. Not so! Oftentimes the
development of evil is an indication that there is an equal or a
greater development of good–and the climax of ill is frequently its
end.
Do you not know that in the world of Nature the darkest time of the
night is that which precedes the dawning of the day? May it not be the
same in the spiritual and moral world? Does not the old proverb tell
us, concerning the year, that "as the day lengthens the cold
strengthens"? As the spring comes with lengthened days, the frosts
often grow more sharp and hard. Is it not also plain to the simplest
mind that the turning of the tide happens when the ebb has reached its
utmost? Even so, when evil is at its height, it is nearest to its fall.
Look for confirmation in the pages of history. When the tale of bricks
was doubled, Moses came to deliver the oppressed! When Pharaoh would by
no means let the people go and his yoke seemed riveted upon the neck of
Israel, then the right arm of God was made bare and the Red Sea beheld
His vengeance!
When despots grow most tyrannical, liberty's hour is coming. When the
lie becomes exceedingly bold and wears a bronze forehead, then it is
that the Truth of God confounds her. When Goliath stalks abroad and
defies the armies of Israel, then is the stone already in the sling and
the David hard at hand to lay the giant low. Do not, therefore, dread
the advent of greater opposition, nor the apparent increase in strength
of those oppositions which already exist, for it has always been so in
the history of events that the hour of the triumph of evil is the hour
of its doom. When Belshazzar profanes the holy vessels, the handwriting
blazes on the wall! And when Haman is at the king's banquet seeking the
blood of the whole race of the Jews, the gallows are prepared for him
upon his own roof! It shall be seen, even to the last hour of history,
that the devil rages the more when his empire is the nearer to its end.
At the very last he shall go about to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together
to battle. They shall come up in great hosts, fierce for the conflict,
to "the battle of the great day of God Almighty" at Armageddon. It
shall then seem as if the light of Israel must be quenched and the
Truth of God utterly extinguished. But in that dread hour the Lord
shall triumph gloriously and He shall smite His adversaries to their
final overthrow. Then shall the angel standing in the sun invite the
vultures and all the fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven to gather to
the grim feast of vengeance to eat the flesh of horsemen and men of
might! Then, also, shall the devil that deceived them be cast into the
Lake of Fire and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then, also, shall the shout be heard, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the
Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" On the greatest possible scale, the
greatness of the dragon's wrath is a sure prophecy of the end of his
reign!
Now, what is true on a great scale is true in the smaller one.
Missionaries in any country will generally find that the last onslaught
of heathenism is the most ferocious. We shall find, whenever the Truth
of God comes into contact with falsehood, that when error is driven to
its last entrenchments, it fights for life, tooth and nail, with all
its might! Its wrath is great because its time is short. In any village
or town in England, or in any other country, whenever the opposition to
the Gospel reaches its most outrageous pitch and men seem as if they
would murder the preacher of the Word, you may reckon that the power of
the opposition is almost over. After the mad fit, active persecution
will cease and there will come a time of calm and, perhaps, of general
reception of the Gospel.
When once the bad passions of mankind shall have boiled up, they will
cool down again. Has not the Lord promised to restrain it? As the
burning heat of the noontide sun lasts not forever, but gradually
abates when it has reached the hottest point, so is it with the wrath
of man which the foul fiend so often uses for his base purposes. The
same truth will apply to every individual man. When God begins His
great work in a sinner's heart, to lead him to Christ, it is no bad
sign if the man feels more hatred to God than ever; more dislike to
good things than before. Nor need we despair if he is driven into
greater sin than ever. The ferocity of the temptation indicates the
vigor with which Satan contends for any one of his black sheep.
Satan will not lose his subjects if he can help it and so he drives
forth all his strength to keep them under his power. And he is
especially vigilant and furious when the power of Grace is about to
prevail for their salvation. I will not, however, dwell upon this
point, because it is to be the subject of our discourse. The general
fact is further illustrated in the cases of many Believers. There are
times when, in the Believer's heart, the battle rages horribly; when he
hardly knows whether he is a child of God at all and is ready to give
up all hope. He is so distracted he cannot pray or praise. He cannot
read the Scriptures without horrible thoughts. It seems as if he must
utterly perish–no space is given him in which to refresh his
heart–the attacks are constant and violent. But such dreadful
excitements are often followed by years of peace, quiet usefulness,
holiness and communion with God!
Satan knows that God is about to set a limit to his vexations of the
good man and so he rages extremely because his opportunity is short. It
is very remarkable that some of the greatest of the saints have died in
the midst of the most fearful conflicts for the same reason–the dog
howled at them because he knew that they would soon be out of his
reach. You would not suppose that Martin Luther, a man so brave and
strong that he could defy the Pope and the devil, should, on his dying
bed, be woefully put to it–and yet it was so–his worst struggle was
the closing one. He was more than a conqueror, but the fight was
severe, as if the devil, that old coward, waited until he had his
antagonist down! Waited until he was weak and feeble and then leaped
upon him to worry if he could not devour him. Truly Luther had worried
the devil and we do not wonder at the malice of the fiend. Satan knew
that Luther would soon be out of the reach of his fiery arrows forever
and, therefore, he had to have a last shot at him.
It was precisely the case with John Knox who, being observed to sigh
deeply, was asked the cause of it and replied, "I have formerly, during
my frail life, sustained many tests and many assaults of Satan. But at
present he has assailed me most fearfully and put forth all his
strength to devour and make an end of me at once. Often before has he
placed my sins before my eyes. Often he has tempted me to despair. He
has often endeavored to ensnare me by the allurements of the world, but
these weapons were broken by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Now he has attacked me in another way–the cunning serpent has labored
to persuade me that I have merited Heaven and eternal blessedness by
the faithful discharge of my ministry.
"But, blessed be God who has enabled me to beat down and quench this
fiery dart by suggesting to me such passages of Scripture as
these–'What have you that you have not received?' 'By the Grace of God
I am what I am: not I, but the Grace of God in me.' Upon this, as one
vanquished, he left me. And I give thanks to my God through Jesus
Christ, who has been pleased to give me the victory. And I am persuaded
that the tempter shall not again attack me, but, within a short time, I
shall, without any great pain of body or anguish of mind, exchange this
mortal and miserable life for a blessed immortality through Jesus
Christ."
Do you wonder that the devil was eager to have another knock at one who
had given so many knocks to his dominion? Do not, therefore, be at all
surprised if Satan rages against you! Do not marvel if you should seem
to be given into his power, but rather rejoice in this, that his great
wrath is the token of the shortness of his time! He wages war with us
all the more cruelly because he knows that he will ultimately be
defeated! His degraded mind delights in petty malice–if he cannot
destroy, he will disturb–if he cannot kill, he will wound. Subtle as
he is, he acts right foolishly in pursuing a hopeless object. In his
war against any one of the Seed of the woman, he knows that he is
doomed to defeat and yet he gnaws at the heel which breaks his head!
It is the doom of evil to persevere in its spite after it knows that it
is all in vain–to be forever vanquished by the invincible Seed of the
living God–and yet forever to return to the fray! He is forever
rolling upward, a huge stone which returns upon him! This is a true
picture of the devil vainly laboring to remove the Truth of God out of
its place. His is, indeed, "labor in vain."
I thought this morning that I would call attention to one particular
instance which is seen in the soul that is coming to Christ, in whom
Satan often has great wrath knowing that his time is short. My
objective is to comfort those who are awakened and are seeking the
Savior. If they are sorely beset, I long that they may find peace, rest
and hope very speedily. When the poor man who was possessed with an
evil spirit was being brought to Christ, we read that, "as he was a
coming, the devil threw him down and tore him." That is the way with
the great enemy–when he is about to be cast out, his energy is more
displayed than ever–that if possible he may destroy the soul before it
has obtained peace with God. May the sacred Comforter help me while I
try to speak encouragingly upon this subject.
I. Our first head shall be, How DOES SATAN KNOW WHEN HIS TIME IS SHORT
IN A SOUL? He watches over
all souls that are under his power with incessant maliciousness. He
goes about the camp like a sentinel, spying out every man who is likely
to be a deserter from his army. In some men's hearts he dwells at ease,
like a monarch in his pavilion– their minds are his favorite
mansions–he goes in and out whenever he pleases and he makes himself
wonderfully much at home. He counts the man's nature to be his own
inheritance and he works within him after his own evil pleasure.
Alas, the deceived man yields his members as instruments of
unrighteousness and is willingly held in thralldom. In such a case all
the man's faculties are so many chambers for Satan to dwell in and his
emotions are so many fires and forges for Satan to work with. But,
by-and-by, if Divine Grace interposes, there comes a change and Satan,
who has lived there 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years, begins to think that he
shall not be able to keep this residence of his much longer. He
perceives that his time is short and, I suppose, he perceives it first
by discovering that he is not quite so welcome as he used to be.
The man loved sin and found pleasure in it, but now sin is not so sweet
as it was, its flavor is dull and insipid. The charms of vice are
fading and its pleasures are growing empty, vain and void–and this is
a token of a great change. Once, whenever a pilgrim sin came that way,
the soul kept open house to entertain it with all hospitality, but now
it is not half so eager. Even the home-dwelling habitual lusts do not
yield so much content as before and neither is so much provision made
for them. The black prince and his court are out of favor and this is
an intimation that he must soon be
gone. When sin loses its sweetness, Satan is losing his power. The
adversary perceives that he must soon stretch his dragon wings when he
sees that the heart is growing weary of him and is breaking away from
his fascinations.
He grows surer of his speedy ejectment when he does not get the
accommodation he used to have. The man was once eager for sin. He went
in the pursuit of vice, hunted after it and put himself in the way of
temptation. Satan reigned securely, then, but now he begins to forsake
the haunts where sin walks openly and he abandons the cups of
excitement which inflame the soul. You find him going to a place of
worship, listening to a sermon, whereas before he frequented the
theater and enjoyed a loose song at a music hall. The devil does not
like this change and takes it as a warning that he will soon have to
give up the key. The man does not drink as once he did, nor swear as
once he did. Nor does he yield himself up with readiness to every
temptation. The fish is getting shy of the bait!
The awakened man has not decided for Christ, but he is no longer at
ease in bondage, no longer the glad slave of iniquity. He is on the
wrong road, but he does not run in it. On the contrary, he pauses, he
heaves a sigh and wishes he could leave the evil road. He wishes he
knew how to leap a hedge and get into the narrow way. Satan marks all
this and he says to himself, "There is not the preparation made for me
that there used to be. There is little readiness to run on my errands
and therefore I perceive that my time is short."
He is still more convinced of the shortness of his possession of a
man's heart when he hears a hand, whose power he has felt, knocking at
that heart's door. He knows the kind of knock it is–a gentle, but an
irresistible knocking upon the heart. Continual, perpetual,
persevering–the knock of One who means to enter! The knock as of one
that has a hole in his hand. He knocks not as one whose power lies in a
blow, but as one whose tears and love are his battery of attack. He has
an energy of compassion, an irresistibleness of gentle love and as
Satan hears the knock and perceives that the tenant of the house hears
it, too, and is half inclined to open the door, he is afraid. When the
heart relents at the sound of the Gospel summons, he trembles more. If
the knocking still continues, waking up the tenant in the dead of
night, a sound heard amid the noise of traffic and above the laughter
of fools, he says, "My time is short."
He knows the hand, which broke his head of old, and its knocking is
ominous to him. He knows that in the gentleness of Jesus there is an
irresistible energy which must and will prevail and he, therefore,
counts that his possession of the tenement is precarious when the
Gospel is felt upon the heart. Between the knocks he hears a voice that
says, "Open to Me! Open to Me, for My head is wet with dew and My locks
with the drops of the night!" And Satan knows that this pleading Voice
bodes the downfall of his power.
Another indication to the enemy that his time is short is when he knows
that the tenant of the house steals away, sometimes, to court and asks
for a guarantee of ejectment against him. You know what I mean–when
the man feels that he cannot, himself, get rid of sin and cannot, in
his own strength, conquer Satan and, therefore, cries, "O God help me!
O God, for Christ's sake, drive out the old dragon from my soul, I
beseech You." This is asking for a guarantee of ejectment! This is
going to the court of Heaven and pleading with the great King to issue
a summons and send His officer to throw out the intruder, that he may
no longer pollute the spirit.
"Ah," says the Evil One, "this is not the place for me much longer.
Behold he prays!" More fierce than the flames of Hell to Satan are the
prayers of convicted sinners! When they pray, he must be gone. He must
cry "boot and saddle" when men sound the trumpet of prayer! There is no
tarrying in the camp any longer when the advance guard of prayer has
come to take possession! One thing more always makes Satan know that
his time is short and that is when the Holy Spirit's power is evidently
at work within the mind. Light has come in and the sinner sees and
knows what he was ignorant of before. Satan hates the light as much as
he loves darkness and, like an owl in the daylight, he feels that he is
out of place.
Life comes in, too, by the Holy Spirit. The man feels! He becomes
sensitive! He becomes penitent! And Satan, who loves death and always
abides among the tombs, is bound to flee before spiritual life! The
Holy Spirit is beginning to work upon the man very graciously and Satan
knows every throb of the Spirit's power, for it is the death of his
power and so he says, "I will go to the place from where I came out,
for this house trembles as if it were shaken with earthquakes and
affords me no rest." Joyful tidings for a heart long molested by this
fierce fiend! Away, you enemy, your destruction shall soon come to a
perpetual end!
II. This brings me, secondly, to notice that, inasmuch as the shortness
of his tenure excites the rage of Satan, we must next observe HOW HE
DISPLAYS HIS GREAT WRATH. His fury rages differently in different
persons. On some he
displays his great wrath by stirring up outward persecution. The man is
not a Christian yet. He is not actually converted yet, but Satan is so
afraid that he will be saved that he sets all his dogs upon him. The
poor soul goes into the workshop and though he would give his eyes if
he could say, "I am a Christian," he cannot quite say so–and yet his
workmates begin to pounce upon him as much as if he were, in very deed,
one of the hated followers of Jesus!
They scoff at him because he is serious and sober; because he is
beginning to think and to be decent; because he begins to listen to the
Gospel and to care for the best things. Before the Man-Child was born,
the dragon was longing to devour Him! Before the man gets to be a
Christian, the Prince of the power of the air labors, if possible, to
destroy him. The devil will lose nothing through being behind. He
begins as soon as ever Grace begins!
Now, if the Grace of God is not in the awakened man and his reformation
is only a spasm of remorse, it is very likely that he will be driven
back from all attendance upon the means of Grace by the ribald remarks
of the ungodly. But if the Lord Jesus Christ has really been knocking
at his door and the Spirit of God has begun to work, this opposition
will not answer its purpose. The Lord will find wings for this poor
soul, that he may flee away from the trial which, as yet, he is not
able to bear. I have sometimes known such opposition even tend to undo
Satan's work and answer quite the opposite purpose.
I know one who was much troubled about the Truth of Scripture and about
the doctrines of the Gospel although he was a sincere searcher into the
Truths of God. He commenced to attend this house of prayer and to
listen to the Gospel, rather as an enquirer than as a Believer. As yet
he could not say that he was a Christian, though he half wished he
could. Now, it came to pass that the opposition which he immediately
received from the world strengthened his faith in the Bible and became
a sort of missing link between him and the Truth of God. The sneers of
his friends acted in this way. He said to himself, "Why should they all
attack me on the bare supposition of my being a Christian? If I had
been a Muslim or a Jew, they would have regarded me with curiosity and
left me alone. But inasmuch as they only suspect me of becoming a
Christian, they are all down upon me with contempt and anger. Now (said
he), why is this? Is not this a proof that I am right and that the Word
of God is right, for did it not say that there should be enmity between
the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman?"
The devil did not know what he was doing when he opposed that young man
and made a Believer of him by that which was meant to drive him into
unbelief! If the men of this world oppose the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ more fiercely than any other, surely it must be that there is
something special in it! There must be something opposed to their
sinful ways or to their proud hopes–something which is of God! That
was the inference which my young friend drew from the treatment he
received and that inference established him in the faith! Thus, you
see, Satan often hopes to save his dominion when his time is short by
vehement persecution against the awakened sinner.
Much worse, however, is his other method of showing his wrath, namely,
by vomiting floods out of his mouth to drown, if possible, our newborn
hope. When the hopeful hearer as yet has not really found peace and
rest, it will sometimes happen that Satan will try him with doubts,
blasphemies and temptations such as he never knew before. The tempted
one has been amazed and has said to himself, "How is this? Can my
desire after Christ be the work of God? I get worse and worse! I never
felt so wicked as this till I began to seek a Savior." Yet this is no
strange thing, fiery though the trial is. Satan will suggest all the
doubts he can upon the Inspiration of Scripture, the existence of God,
the Deity of Christ and everything else that is revealed till the poor
heart that is earnestly longing for salvation will scarcely know
whether there is anything true at all!
The man will be so tumbled up and down in his thoughts that he will
hardly know whether he is on his head or his heels. "They reel to and
fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end." The
more they read the Bible; the more they attend the means of Grace, the
more are they tempted to be skeptical and atheistic! Doubts they never
knew, before, will torment them even while they strive to be devout.
The evil tenant has notice to quit and he makes up his mind to do all
the damage within his power while he is yet within the doors. See how
he breaks up precious Truths of God and dashes down the richest
hopes–and all with the detestable design of venting his spite upon the
poor soul!
At such time, also, Satan will often arouse all the worst passions of
our nature and drive them into unknown riot. The awakened sinner will
be astonished as he finds himself beset with temptations more base and
foul than he has ever felt before! He will resist and strive against
the assault, but it may be so violent as to stagger him. He can
scarcely believe that the flesh is so utterly corrupt. The man who is
anxiously seeking to go to Heaven seems, at such a time, as if he were
dragged down by seven strong demons to the eternal deeps of Hell! He
feels as if he had never known sin before, nor been so completely
beneath its power! The Satanic troopers sleep as a quiet garrison while
the man is under the spell of sin, but when once the heart is likely to
be captured by Immanuel's love, the infernal soldiery put on their
worst manner and trample down all the thoughts and desires of the soul!
Satan may also attack the seeker in another form, with fierce
accusations and judgments. He does not accuse some men, for he is quite
sure of them and they are his very good friends. But when a man is
likely to be lost to him, he alters his tone and threatens and
condemns. He cries, "What, you saved? It is impossible! You know what
you used to be. Think of your past life!" Then he rakes up a very Hell
before the man's eyes. "You!" he says, "why even since you have
pretended to be a little better and have begun to attend the means of
Grace, you know you have looked back with a longing eye and hungered
for your old pleasures! It is quite out of the question that you should
be a servant of Christ! He will not have such a scarecrow as you in His
house! The great Captain will never march at the head of a regiment
which is disgraced by receiving such as you."
Bunyan describes Apollyon as standing across the road and swearing by
his infernal den that the pilgrim should go no further or there he
would spill his soul. Then he began to fling at him all manner of fiery
darts and among them was this one, "You did faint at first setting out,
when you were almost choked in the gulf of Despond. You were almost
persuaded to go back at the sight of the Lions. You have already been
false to your new Lord!" Think for a moment of the devil chiding us for
sin! Oh, that the poor burdened soul could laugh at this hypocritical
accuser, for he hates to be despised and yet he right well deserves it!
Laugh at him, O virgin daughter of Zion, for this great wrath of his is
because his time is short! Who is he that he should bring an accusation
against us? Let him mind himself–he has enough to answer for! When he
turns an accuser, it is enough to make the child of God laugh him to
scorn. Yet it is not easy to laugh when you are in this predicament,
for the heart is ready to break with anguish!
Once more. Satan at such times has been known to pour into the poor
troubled mind floods of blasphemy. I do not remember, as a child,
having heard blasphemy. Carefully brought up and kept out of harm's
way, I think it could only have been once or twice that I ever heard
profane language. And yet, when I was seeking the Lord, I distinctly
remember the spot where the most hideous blasphemies that ever passed
the human mind rushed through my mind! I clapped my hands to my mouth
for fear I should utter one of them! They were none of my inventing,
neither had I revived them from my memory–they were the immediate
suggestions of Satan himself, who was determined, if possible, to drive
me to despair!
Read the story of John Bunyan's five years of torture under this
particular misery and you will see how Satan would say to him, "Sell
Christ! Sell Christ! Give up Christ," and as he went about his daily
business, he would have it ringing in his ears, "Sell Christ! Sell
Christ!" When at last, in a moment of worry, he thought he said, "Let
Him go if He will," then came the accusation, "Now it is all over with
you! Jesus will have nothing to do with you! You have given Him up! You
are a Judas, you have sold your Lord!" Then when the poor man sought
the Lord with tears and found peace, again, some other dreadful
insinuation would dog his heels. John Bunyan was too precious a servant
of the devil for him to lose him easily. And the enemy had, perhaps,
some idea of what kind of servant of God the converted tinker would
become– and what sort of dreams would charm the hearts of many
generations–and so he would not let him go without summoning all the
tribes of Hell to wreak their vengeance on him if they could not detain
him in their service. Yet Bunyan escaped and so will others in like
cases.
Oh, bond slave of the devil, may you have Grace to steal away to Jesus!
Hasten away from Satan's power at once, for otherwise he will, as long
as he has any opportunity, manifest his great wrath towards you.
III. Thirdly and briefly, let us think HOW ARE WE TO MEET ALL THIS? How
must Satan be dealt with while he
is showing his great wrath because his power is short? I should say,
first, if he is putting himself in this rage, let us get him out all
the more quickly. If he would remain quiet, even then we ought to be
anxious to be rid of his foul company. But if he shows this great rage,
let us out with him straight away. In God's name let the dragon be
smitten if he must be raving! If there is any opportunity of getting
him out, back door or front door, straight away do not let us loiter or
linger even for a single hour–a devil raging, making us blaspheme and
then accusing us–tempting us and betraying us, is such a dangerous
occupant of a heart that he is not to be borne with! Out he must go and
out at once. Better have a den of lions dwelling in our house than the
devil within our heart.
Lord, turn him out at once by Your Grace. We decide, once and for all,
to wage war with him! We will linger no longer. We dare not! We will
procrastinate no more, it is more than our lives are worth. No, not
tomorrow, but today out must the tyrant go! No, not after we leave this
Tabernacle, but here, in this very pew, O Lord, drive the old dragon
from his throne with all his hellish crew! That is the first advice I
give you–let the enemy be cast out at once by Divine Grace. And the
next thing is, inasmuch as we cannot get him out by our own unaided
efforts, let us cry to the Strong for strength, who can drive out this
Prince of the power of the air. There is life in a look at Jesus Christ
and as soon as that life comes, away goes this Prince of Darkness as to
his domination and reigning power!
Oh, Soul, there is nothing left for you but to look to Jesus Christ
alone! Worried as you are and almost devoured, now is your time to put
your trust in Jesus who is mighty to save! You know the text which
speaks of the shepherds taking out of the lion's mouth two legs and a
piece of an ear? The sheep was almost devoured, but still the shepherd
pulled out from between the lion's jaws the last relics of his prey.
And if you seem to be reduced to two legs and a piece of an ear, still
our glorious Shepherd can pull you out from between the lion's teeth
and make you whole again, for He will not lose His sheep even at its
last extremity!
What can you do against Satan? You would gladly be rid of him–what can
you do? Do nothing but this–cry to his Master against him! Satan is
mighty–set the Almighty One upon him! He accuses you–refer him to
your Advocate! He brings your sin before you–throw the blood of
Atonement in his face! Here is a text that will drive him down to his
den–"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." And,
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Have
done with battling with the wily foe! Do not answer the old deceiver!
If he tells you, you are a blasphemer, admit it! If he says you are
utterly lost, admit it–and then cast yourself at Jesus' feet and HE
will overcome your foe and set you free!
One more comfort for you and it is this–the more Satan rages, the more
must your poor, troubled heart be encouraged to believe that he will
soon be gone. I venture to say that nothing will make him go sooner
than your full belief that he has to go. Courageous hope is a weapon
which he dreads. Tell him he must soon be gone. He has been accusing
you and pouring venom into your ears and making you believe that it is
your own blasphemy, whereas it is not yours, but his. Say to him, "Ah,
but you will be gone soon. You may rage, but you will have to be gone."
"I have full possession of you," he says, "soul and body, and I triumph
over you." Say to him, "And would you triumph over me as you do if you
did not know that you will soon be driven out?" "Ah," says he, "you
will be lost, you will be lost." He howls at you as if ready to devour.
Say to him, "If I was sure to be lost, you would not tell me so, you
would sing sweet songs in my ears and lure me to destruction–you have
to go, you know you have to." "Oh," says he, "it is impossible you
should be saved! You will be damned. You will have the hottest place in
Hell." "Yes," reply to him, "but who sent you to tell me that? You
never spoke the truth yet! You are a liar from the beginning and you
are only saying this because you have to go! You know you have to go."
Tell him so and it is not long before he will depart. Say, "Rejoice not
over me, O my enemy; though I fall, yet shall I rise again." Tell him
you know his Master. Tell him he may nibble at your heel, but you
recollect one that broke his head. Point to his broken head he always
tries to hide if he can. Tell him his crown is battered to pieces and
tell him where that deed was done and by whose blessed hand! And as you
tell him these things, he will shrink back and you shall find yourself
alone with Jesus! Then will Jesus say to you, "Where is your accuser?"
You will look around and the enemy will be gone. And then your blessed
Master will say, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more."
The Lord grant us to get such a riddance of our archenemy and to get it
this very moment for Christ's dear sake. Amen.
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How to Read the Bible
A Sermon