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THE Scripture doctrine of the power and operations of evil spirits, however it may be to the infidel an object of derision, and to the mere nominal Christian of practical disregard, will ever awaken in the mind of the sincere believer, a serious attention, a solemn humble awe. When we consider the place which it holds-even if it were merely the space occupied by it-in divine revelation, we may be convinced that, occasionally to devote a discourse to the subject must be proper.

I. Let me then, in the first place, lead you to review with me the principal passages in Scripture, which set before us the operations of Satan and his angels; for we are not so much to conceive of one evil spirit as of many-a host, " a kingdom of darkness," ranged under their leader, and co-operating in the same design.

Scarcely then do we open the Old Testament, when the subject is brought before us in a very awful and affecting manner, in a case in which we are all concerned-the temptation and fall of our first parents. It is true, that here indeed the devil is not expressly mentioned; but no one doubts that the serpent was only used as an instrument by him, who on that account is elsewhere described as "the old serpent, called the devil and Satan.” Here then we see this evil spirit from the first exerting his malice and artifice against the human race; drawing them into sin and ruin; and thus defacing that fair creation of God which he had just pronounced very good.

The book of Job, though placed further on in the canon, is understood to be another of the earliest books of Scripture: and it again affords a remarkable display of the malice and power of Satan, directed against an individual servant of God. Here this wicked spirit appears in his character of the accuser of the brethren. He presents himself among "the sons of God," the assembly of the righteous; speaks of himself as returning from "going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it:" no doubt seeking occasions of mischief. He insinuates the charge, so commonly brought against pious characters, by persons who perhaps little suspect under whose

influence they act-that Job's religion was but hypocrisy. He seeks and obtains permission to try Job, which he uses to the utmost with unrelenting malignity.

In the history of the kings of Israel we meet with some remarkable hints connected with our subject. David, it is known, once numbered his people from motives and for purposes which rendered his conduct highly displeasing to God, and brought severe judgments upon his kingdom. On this occasion it is said, "Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked,—or incited,—David to number Israel." The same evil spirit volunteered his services to go forth and "be a lying spirit" in the mouth of all Ahab's idolatrous prophets, to deceive Ahab, that he might go up and fall at RamothGilead.

Once more, after the return of the Jews from their captivity at Babylon, when Joshua their pious high priest, and Zerubbabel their pious governor, were exerting themselves, under discouraging circumstances, to restore the state and religion of the Jews, the prophet Zechariah had a remarkable vision presented to him, in which he saw "Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord," to minister in his office," and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him "—and prevent the effect of his ministrations: on which occasion,

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"the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan even the Lord which hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?"

On opening the New Testament, we have numerous instances brought before us of persons labouring under possessions of the devil, on whose behalf application was made to our blessed Lord. Satan who is represented in Scripture as at all times exercising a very alarming spiritual power over the souls of men, seems to have been permitted at that time to display a dreadful physical power against them, affecting both their understandings and their bodily frame. It has been remarked that this was permitted, in

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order both that men might more deeply feel their need of a deliverer, and that the power of Christ to deliver them might be more signally displayed. possessions were productive of dumbness, blindness, deafness, derangement, and sometimes furious madness shewing that there is no species of evil, mental or bodily, which wicked spirits are not able and ready to bring upon us if they were permitted. On these occasions, especially, we frequently read of devils in the plural number, and in one case, of a man whose name was called Legion, because many devils had entered into him."

But such exercises of Satan's power being now,

in general at least, mercifully restrained, it may rather concern us to turn to passages which warn us against operations of a more subtle and still more dangerous kind.

And here, as at the very opening of the Old Testament, we were presented with too successful an attempt of this malignant spirit upon the first parents of our race, to seduce and thus to ruin them; so the very opening of the New Testament presents us with a like attempt-alike in design, though happily for us, the very reverse in its issue-made upon the great Redeemer of our race. We read, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And he was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan." He was led out to this conflict under the influence of the Holy Spirit, that, as one essential part of our Redemption, he might meet and vanquish our great spiritual enemy-the vanquisher of our race-might triumph over him and might

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teach us as he had overcome, to overcome also," after his example, and by strength derived from him.

Omitting various passages in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, relative to the agency of the devil and his angels, we will confine ourselves to the consideration of a few select quotations on the subject, from the Epistles.

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