But in many cases God sets for Satan an even more baffling limitation than was done in the trial of Job, not allowing him to know definitely how far he will be allowed to go. He has no rights in his work of temptation. God has made no covenant with him to allow him anything; he is permitted to operate little by little, here and there, and from time to time, not according to his own will or wish, but only as God wills for His own glory. If he knew in the beginning the exact limit, if nothing more, he could so much the more intelligently prepare his plans. He is, however, in the position of a man who is bidden to prepare for a journey, but is given no idea of the distance it is to cover, along what road it will be, or what space of time it will occupy. The plan laid out in such a case must be, at best, a poor kind of thing. God has promised us that we shall not be tempted above that we are able. In other words, that He will preside over this battle, watching it in its every detail, and when the limit of our strength is reached, the tempter will be instantly checked. What must be his rage and chagrin to find so often the spoil of the battle apparently all but within his grasp, when suddenly his arm is shortened, his power paralysed. [1] "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."--1 Peter v, 8. [2] Rev. xii, 7. [3] "It seems certain that this sin was pride, which is the beginning of all sin.... More specifically, the pride of the fallen angels seems to have been a refusal to accept the position of creature, subject in all things to their Creator."--Hunter, _Outlines of Dogmatic Theology_, 448. [4] Rom. v, 20. [5] "According to the divine economy, the Evil One is not consigned at once to the place of punishment allotted to him, but is permitted to be at large for the trial and probation of men; that he may, though contrary to his own design, render the Saints more righteous through patience, and become the cause of greater glory to them."--St. Macarius the Egyptian, _Institutes of Christian Perfection_, Bk. IV, ch. ii (London, 1816). [6] Ps. cvii, 16. [7] Ps. xcviii, 2. [8] Rom. v, 12. [9] 1 Cor. xv, 55. Compare Hosea xiii, 14. [10] Heb. xii, 23. [11] Moberly, _The Administration of the Holy Spirit_, p. 25. [12] "For Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men."--1 Kings viii, 39. "After all, with all his vast knowledge and experience, he is but a creature. He cannot know you from within; he is not omniscient, not omnipresent. He can only _guess_ at your motives,--the secret spring of your actions."--Webb, _The Presence and Office of the Holy Spirit_, pp. 78-79. [13] Job i and ii. {28} CHAPTER III THE TEMPTER: HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND METHODS I. _Satan, the Deceiver_