Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan's Temptations: In Three PartsGilpin, Richard
Religion
Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan's Temptations: In Three Parts
Gilpin, Richard
Devil -- Early works to 1800; Temptation -- Early works to 1800
Things that are thus truly and properly miraculous are peculiarly works
of God; neither can it be imagined, that since he hath been pleased
to justify his commands, ways, and messages, by such mighty acts—2
Cor. xii. 12; Heb. ii. 4; John x. 38—and also hath been put to it,
to justify himself and his sole supreme being and godhead from false
competitors—Ps. lxxxvi. 10, and lxxii. 18—by his miraculous works, it
cannot be imagined, I say, that he would permit any created being, much
less Satan, to do such things.
(2.) Secondly, _Though Satan cannot do things miraculous, yet he can
do things wonderful and amazing—mira non miracula_. And in this point
lies the danger of delusion, as Christ foretells: Mat. xxiv. 24, ‘False
Christs shall arise, and shew great signs and wonders.’ In 2 Thes. ii.
4, the apostle tells us, ‘The coming of antichrist shall be with all
power, and signs, and wonders’—that is, as some interpret,[118] with
the power of signs and wonders; which, however they be lying, both in
reference to the design they drive at—which is to propagate errors—and
also in their own nature, being truly such, in respect of their form,
false as miracles, being indeed no such matter, but juggling cheats;
yet, notwithstanding, there is no small cunning and working of Satan
in them, insomuch that the uncautious and injudicious are ‘deceived
by those wonders that he hath power to do,’ Rev. xiii. 13. In this
matter, though we are not able to give a particular account of these
underground actions, yet thus much we may say—
[1.] First, That in many cases his great acts, that pass for miracles,
are no more _but deceptions of sense_. Naturalists have shewn several
feats and knacks of this kind. Jo. Bap. Porta[119] hath a great many
ways of such deceptions, by lamps and the several compositions of oils,
by which not only the colours of things are changed, but men appear
without heads, or with the heads of horses, &c. The like deceptions are
wrought by glasses of various figures and shapes. If art can do such
things, much more can Satan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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