The Triumphs of Christ: Of the Power of Satan over the Church by the Fall

Of the power of Satan over the Church by the fall; and the right of that dominion. How it became his.

victory, yea, destruction which Christ hath accomplished upon Satan on our behalf, is the full scope of this text, and the complete proof of our title; the Triumphs of Christ. And although there is no text large enough to take in the whole, either of Satan’s power or of Christ’s destroying of him, in respect of that his power; (for all of Satan’s dominion includes sin, death, hell and the grave) yet we may upon this occasion, take in all under the sense of the word destruction, which includes the entire overthrow of his person, and kingdom. So that the story, as gathered from the scriptures in correspondence to this text, may be divided into two Parts: //-Satan’s power. And, secondly, Christ’s triumph over him, in a complete destruction.

In the prosecution of the subject, it will be right

to enquire into these two things : — first, What power

Satan hath had in the world, and over the elect sons of men, fallen under sin, in common with the other sons of Adam. And, secondly, by what claim or right came he by it.

The investigation of our subject under these two points, will pave the way for the better apprehension of the whole subject under that most interesting doctrine before us, namely, Christ’s victory and triumphs over this accursed enemy of his Church and people. For by this means, we shall trace the subject to the true and original ground of the quarrel, how Christ came to be engaged and enrolled against Satan. And herein also when we come to that part of our subject of Christ’s triumphs.

It may here be remarked, that the several degrees of Christ’s conquests are reduced to two hauls.

I. The first rout, wherein the foundation was laid of the ensuing victories; and that was got in open battle in the plain field at his death, in and by which, virtually the whole was at once won, and obtained; and therein I shall shew how justly Satan fell from his power, and lost it; and this I call Christ’s men tor Ions victory.

IT. Then there is, secondly, the prosecution of this first victory, and the managment thereof to his own greatest glory, and Satan’s confusion. And the parts thereof are

First, Christ’s triumphing over him after the victory obtained in his own person openly, and that in Satan’s own dominions, before God and all the Holy Angels, and this singly in himself, and in his own person, although as representing us, Col. ii. 15. and tkis I term his victorious triumph, or the shew and demonstration of it.

Secondly, there is his overcoming him in us. Then when Satan is still left in actual possession of the whole world, and of the elect among them, whose liberty and redemption it was Christ aimed at. And this hath two degrees; — 1. He overcomes him in us at our conversion; and 2. he overcomes him by us, and causeth every particular Christian to overcome him in the course of their lives, after conversion. And these two I term, Christ’s actual prevailing or getting possession.

A third procedure is, Christ’s visibly setting up a kingdom in this world, before the day of judgment, during which time Satan is shut up, and restrained from tempting the elect, and from deceiving and enraging the world against the elect, as now he yet doth, and heretofore hath done. And this is expressed in the last Chapters of the Revelation,Chap. xix. 19, 20, 21. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army: and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which ht deceived them that had the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image; these both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone. After which follows, Chap. xx. I, 2, 3, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the IKvil and Satan, find bound him a thousand years: And cast him into the bottomless pitt and shut him up, and set a seal upon ////;/, that he slould deceive the nations no more till the thou

sana years should be Ju’Jillcd: and ajier that he mu*t le

loosea a little season. /lnd then follows the kingdom

of the saints, during those thousand years, verse 4

and 5. And- 1 saw throw, and they sat upon them, and

judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of

thuu. ihat were beheaded j or the witness oj Jesus, and the

wora oj God, and which had noi worshipped the beast,

neitinr his image, neither haa rcu-iml his mark upon

thtirjorcheads, or in their hands, and they lived and

reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest oj the

dead lived not again, until the thousand years were

Jinished. This is tiiejirst resurrection.

Fourthly and lastly, there is Christ’s bringing this great malignant Joe nnio cpen trial, before all the world, God, angels and men; which is at the day of judgment; aiter which follows the execution of him in an eternal destruction of him in hell.

There is a glory transcendent that will appear in each one of these particulars, but more in the whole of them, all laid together: a stupendously excelling gkry, in comparison unto which victories oi Christ, all the great victories you have seen are but trifles and shadows, that have no glory in this respect; and therefore let not the rich man glory in his riehcs, nor the fitrong man hi his strength, but la him that glorieth glory in the Lord, and in this especially, that he knows himself is one of those poor captives whom this great conqueror delivered cnioug the rest. of the elect, who shall stand up in his lot amongst them.

I. To discourse concerning Satan and his power and to shew what it is.

J. In general it is u kingdom ‘maintained and up*

OVF.R SATAN, SIK, Dl A Til AXP HELL. 2 1 :j

held by him and all his angels conspiring in one against Christ and his saints. Mat. xii. 26. Ami if Sttia/i ca*t out Satan, he /.v divided against himself; h»w then can his kingdom .stand? And whereas every kingdom hath an interest, — the interest of this, is sin, Eph. vi. 12, they are said to be rulers of the darkness of this world, which is spoken in distinction from the good angels, who are rulors of this world too; for in that the Apostle says, this world to come is not subject to the angels, Heb, ii. (lie speaks of them that are good). He implies that now they arc sent out for the good of the elect, Heb. i. 1 1; and it argues that this world is subject to them in order to the good of the elect. But now herein lies the difference; Satan is the rnU>r of th» darkness of this world; and the riches, glory, and greatness of it being for the most part obtained and managed by sin and corruption, therefore in ruling the darkness that is in inon’s hearts, he also comes to rule and dispose of these. Even as the pope’s power (who is his eldest son) is in pretence only ad spiritual! a, yet so as in online ad spiritual! a he takes on him to meddle in all things temporal, so his father Satan having now in commission only spiritual darkness and wickedness, and obtaining this power over men unregenerate, yet in order thereunto over these children here, until converted*

These of all other things are committed to him.

I. To entice, as he did Ahab, I Kings, xxii. 21,

II. To put into the heart, as in Judas, John xiii. 2,

III. To provoke, I Chron. xxi. 1.

IV. To bewitch, Gal. iii. 1.

V. Tuiillthc heart, as the heart of Ananiavlctsv,3,

VI. To work effectually, and so as to carry all before him, and cause them to do what he cnticeth to, Eph. ii. 2.

VII. And to do all this at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26. This power of Satan is in respect of sin or the

darkness of this world. He hath a power over them in respect of death, so in the text; but this power lasts but till the resurrection, and but over men’s souls. For when the day of judgment is ended, it is the good angels that do throw wicked men to hell and not the evil angels, Mat. xiii. 41, 42. But in the mean time look as the good angels have the commission for carrying men’s souls to paradise as they did the soul of Lazarus, Luke xvi. 22. So the evil angels have until then the commission to carry wicked souls, when by death severed from their bodies, to hell.

Let us now consider (to set forth Christ’s victory the more) the greatness, and the extent of this kingdom given to the devil and his angels.

I. As it is in the hands of the great Devil placed on his throne; it is a monarchy over mankind of all forms, highest for power in all ranks throughout.

II. For the subjects of it, they are (as Christ’s subjects also are, Col. i. 16) both things visible and invisible, so that he hath of both kinds, especially the kinds of intelligent natures subject to him.

1. Angels; — the devil and his angels. 2. We men, wholly captived to him. And further, (wherein the upholdance of this great tyrant’s cause is) some of these are as natural native subjects that rule with him, and have a common interest of power with him; and they are his angels; but we poor silly men are as slaves captiveoi to them and him. Like as Pharaok (one of his eldest sons under the old Testament:) had for his natural liege subjects, his Egyptians, that ruled over the Israelites with him, and the poor Israelites, as captives and slaves unto both. And in this licth the greatness of the Turkish dominion, in part of Europe, Asia, and East-India, to this of the Mogul in East-India, to this day.

So then he hath all sorts of subjects every way.

1. As unto us men his power is universal: not a soul of us but is by nature subject to him. We are all born by a statue law his slaves, and Christ hath none, but whom he wins over from him by turning them from Satan unto God; yea, and in the issue he holds and retains a far greater company and number than Christ gets unto himself, Rev. xii. 9. It is one part of Satan’s titles, that it is he who deceives the whole world.

2. In us men (the more miserable part of his subjects) he rules inwardly; even as Christ doth in those few he gets from him. He fits, and fills, and rules our hearts, till we are turned to God.

3. If we consider the length and continuance of this his dominion, as he hath sinned from the beginning (Uohn iii. 8); so he hath entered upon hia reign from the very beginning of man s fall, and every man born becomes his subject: neither have these individual devils given place to any; but the same devil that ruled in Cain’s time, rules now in the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2.

4. For success, he hath carried it clear; for he works, and works effectually, in the children of disobedience, and takes them captive at his will, as ho lists, 2 Tim. ii. 20’.

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5. He hath been worshipped as a god, and so hath had more honour and dignity than any prince, 2 Cor. iv. 4,. he is called, the god of thin world. Some great conquerors affected to be worshipped as gods, not being content with the highest supreme power; as Alexander and Mahomet; but few obtained it, but the devil hath had both. So it was from the flood, till Heathenism was destroyed, and Popish Idolatry was set up, as it is said, Kev. xiii. 4. T. therein they worshipped the dragon, who gave his power to the beast, to the end to have worship continued to him in another way, under the profession of Christ, even as he had before. Thus much for the

power itself.

II. The second part to be discoursed of, is by what claim, right or title, he came to have this power, seeing himself by sinning (before man had sinned) deserved to be in the nethermost hell.

1. The legal and fundamental claim is, God’s commission, and that by way of curse upon man. turning rebel against God, he justly gave that ungrateful creature who despised his mild government over unto the hard and intolerable vassalage of this tyrant. It was a just punishment, that man, who would not have God to rule over him, should be delivered into the devil’s power, and it was as great a punishment as could be inflicted. Thus we find that when David, by way of prophecy, was to curse Judas, (who himself was placed in the office of an apostle, or a bishop, or overseer, as Peter interprets it, and applies it to him, Acts i. 10, 20) says he, Psa. cix. C, &/ in office over him the wicked one, and let the ‘adversary (or Satan) stand at his right hand. The

OVER SATAN, Siy, DEATH AND HELL.’ 217

wicked one is the devil, so oft and usually in the epistles of John the phrase is used, and in the Lord’s prayer, &c. and accordingly we read that Satan entered into him, Luke xxii. 3. And thus in like manner, man sinning at first, God by way of curse and commission, set the wicked one a ruler over him, and this curse was but suited to his iniquity in a just way, as the law was, in Deut. xxviii. 47, 48, Because thou served*! not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger and thirst, &c. and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thcc.

And besides this curse, there was some appearance of legality in it; Isaiah xlix. 14. The title of Satan’s power in scripture riseth so high, as that the souls of men are termed his own house, Luke xi. In the 21st verse Christ calls them, His palace; and all the faculties and powers of their souls, His goods; and verse 24, the devil himself terms it, his house. And the grounds of it are

1. Of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage, by the law of conquest, 2 Peter ii. 19. He speaks it of sin, but it is true of Satan, whose interest is the same with that of sin’s. Man was overcome by Satan, and caught in his snare. The serpent beguiled our first parents, and so they were brought into bondage, as unto sin, so to him.

2. Satan was the father of sin and sinners, and it is his work, (1 John iii. 8) as holiness is the workmanship of God, Eph. ii. 10. Now the father of a family was, under the law of nature, the governor and

2 D head of it; and so is the devil, of whom (as I maysay) all the wi-cked families on earth and hell is named. And God, indeed, cursed the devil himself with this power for his ruin; and as sin was his work and his invention first, truly he let him have the monopoly of it and all sinners came under his patent, and be workers at the trade under him; as the first inventors of any craft use to have the privilege to employ others under them.