that he had, before his fall, any influence, without a fpecial appointment of the Most High. Yet respecting a majority of them, he is now fuppofed to have an ability and inclination to be their cruel and unprovoked tormentor, not only in this, but in the next world, even to all eternity. This vaft enlargement of his power of producing mifery among myriads of other beings, beyond what he poffeffed before, does not accord with any rational ideas of equitable punishment for his own crimes, and is directly contrary >to every idea which either reason or revelation (as we fhall foon fhew) give us, of the perfections, providence, and government of the great Parent and Ruler of the universe. It should be particularly noticed here, that an invifible being of a fuperior order interrupting the course of nature in our world is miraculous; a conftant power of this kind would be a perpetual miracle; and fuch natural power given to one or more fpiritual beings would deftroy the inconteftible proof which miracles afford of the immediate agency of the Moft High. Mr. Farmer, in his book on Miracles, fays, "The obfervation and experience of all ages "are a full demonftration that fuperior fpirits are not "at liberty to perform miracles in this lower world; "no fuch works having ever been performed in it, "but fuch as may fitly be afcribed to God. The "laws of nature being the established rules of the "divine government, and effential to the order and "happiness of the world; it feems very unreafon "able to fuppofe, that God should delegate to any "of his creatures a power of fuperfeding or con"troling thefe laws. Miracles are famples of domi"nion over them, and argue the immediate interpo"fition and authority of that great Being by whom 66 they were at first ordained. The fcripture, there"fore, uniformly reprefents miracles, and doing "either good or evil fupernaturally, as the preroga❝tive of the true God, and decifive proofs of the "divine authority of Him who works these effects:" John v. 36; x. 37, 38; Exod. xv. 11; Pf. lxxii. 18; Ixxxvi. 10; Dan. ii. 21, 28, 29, 47; Ifa. xli. 21 to 24; xlii. 8 to 13; xliv. 7, 8; xlv. 18, 20, to 22; xlvi. 9, 10; xlviii. 3; x. 5 to 16; Pf. cxlviii. 6; Farmer, ch. ii. fec. 4, 5, 6; p. 142 to 144, and 350, the note. Agreeably to the above obfervations, when angels are faid to interfere in the affairs of the world, it is reprefented as being done by the immediate appointment of God himfelf: Acts v. 19; viii. 26; x. 3; xii. 7; xxvii. 23; Luke i. 11, 13, 19, 26, 28, 30, 35, 38. The account, also, that is given of Satan in the two first chapters of the book of Job, accords with thefe dictates of reafon and fcripture; for he is represented as faying of himself, that he only came from going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down it; chap. i. 7; ii. 2. There is, therefore, no ground from this to fuppofe him to be of a superior angelic order of beings. Even the great and fudden calamities which he is reprefented as inflicting upon Job, he is described as having no power to bring upon him without the fpecial commiffion and authority of God for this particular purpose: chap. i. 9 to 12; ii. 4 to 7. Accordingly Job himself attributes both his profperity and his adverfity to God. "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; "bleffed be the name of the Lord:" chap. i. 21. So thoroughly confonant are these ideas to our best and purest natural fentiments of God, and of his government of the world, as well as to revelation, that most of those chriftians who maintain the real existence of fuch a being as the Devil or Satan, do yet limit his exertions by the power of the Supreme Being. Doddridge, in his improvement of the 9th chapter of Revelations, writes as follows:-"The "minifters of God's pleasure bind the meffengers of "destruction, and loose them at the divine command ; "v. 15; and the feafon wherein they fhall ravage "the world, is here limited to a year, to a day, to "an hour, ver. 5, 11. Abaddon, Apollion; the 66 mighty deftroyer cannot effect the leaft of his mis"chievous and ruinous purposes without the permiffion "of the Preferver and Redeemer of mankind, and cannot go beyond his limits. And even the mis"chief which he does, is intended and overruled to "fubferve the wifeft and kindest defigns." See alfo Dr. Clarke's fermons, vol. i. on the Omnipotence of God; the first inference; vol. ii. on the kingdom of God; the 5th paragraph. Taylor's Scripture Divinity, ch. xii. p..132. K To the power and will of the Devil are afcribed tempefts, blights, infectious air, &c. though the fcripture represents the winds and waves as subject to the control of God alone. See on Eph. ii. 2, fec. vii. fubd. 3. The Devil is, alfo, supposed to know the hearts of all men, and to be able to direct their thoughts and difpofitions at his pleasure. He muft, therefore, on this hypothefis, be omniprefent and omnifcient respecting mankind and the material world, and poffefs a power of governing both. Thefe, however, are univerfally confidered in pure natural religion, and are particularly specified in the Christian scriptures, to be the incommunicable attributes of the Moft High. Afcribing them to any other being, therefore, is derogating from his fupreme perfection, and contradicting the affertions of his own meffengers. It is further generally imagined, that the Devil will be the inflicter of the future punishment of the wicked. Yet Chrift fays to the wicked, Matt. xxv. 41, "Go into the fire for the age prepared for the "Devil and his angels;" that is, for their punishment, if it be taken literally. Is it probable, then, that the Devil will be the punisher of others? On the contrary, Jefus tells us, that his angels fhall inflict that future punishment on the wicked, Matt. xiii. 39 to 42; to which he himself will fentence and condemn them. He repeats this, Matt. xiii. 49, 50. While we are confidering the inconfiftency of the common notions of the Devil or Satan with natural and revealed religion, it is of principal importance to notice the confequences that muft inevitably follow from taking literally what is faid of him, as being the cause of natural and moral evil. For the production of both these is in fcripture attributed, fometimes to Satan, and fometimes to God. In fome cafes, even the fame individual evil difpofitions and actions which are afcribed to the one, are likewise afcribed to the other. Gen. xxii. I; Matt. I God is faid to tempt men; vi. 13; Comp. 1 Cor. x. 13. is faid also to tempt men; Matt. iv. 1, 3; Mark i. 13; Luke iv. 2, our Lord's temptation. Alfo 1 Cor. vii. 5, the word paw is used respecting Satan. Hebrews xi. 17, explains it when applied to God, of his trying or proving Abraham's faith. In this sense of trying, the fame word is likewise used for the temptations of the Devil, Rev. ii. 10; and a reward is promised to those who endure the trials well. Christ himself applies exTagaw to the Devil's trying how far the goodness of God would extend; Matt. iv. 7; Luke iv. 12; comp. Acts xv. 10; Heb. iv. 15. Jesus also tried (Tepaw) Philip, John vi. 6. The children of Ifrael tempted or tried Jehovah, Exod. xvii. 7. God himself fays they tried him, Numb. xiv. 22; that is, tried how far his goodness would extend, by disobeying his commands; Deut. vi. 16, 17. God is faid to produce temporal calamities. Ifa. "That they may know from the rising of "the fun and from the weft, that there is none be xlv. 6, 7, |