Charles Wentworth Upham - The True Story of Salem - Book 1-7

Secondly, 'Tis to be supposed, That there is a sort of Arbitrary, even Military Government , among the Devils . This is intimated, when in Mar. 5.9. The unclean Spirit said, My Name is Legion: they are such a Discipline as Legions use to be. Hence we read about, The Prince of the power of the Air : Our Air has a power ? or an Army of Devils in the High Places of it; and these Devils have a Prince over them, who is King over the Children of Pride . 'Tis probable, That the Devil, who was the Ringleader of that mutinous and rebellious Crew, which first shook off the Authority of God, is now the General of those Hellish Armies; Our Lord, that Conquered him, has told us the Name of him; 'tis Belzebub ; 'tis he that is the Devil , and the rest are his Angels , or his Souldiers. Think on vast Regiments of cruel and bloody French Dragoons , with an Intendant over them, overrunning a pillaged Neighbourhood, and you will think a little, what the Constitution among the Devils is.

Thirdly, 'tis to be supposed, that some Devils are more peculiarly Commission'd , and perhaps Qualify'd , for some Countries, while others are for others. This is intimated when in Mar. 5.10. The Devils besought our Lord much, that he would not send them away out of the Countrey . Why was that? But in all probability, because these Devils were more able to do the works of the Devil , in such a Countrey, than in another. It is not likely that every Devil does know every Language ; or that every Devil can do every Mischief . 'Tis possible, that the Experience , or, if I may call it so, the Education of all Devils is not alike, and that there may be some difference in their Abilities . If one might make an Inference from what the Devils do , to what they are , One cannot forbear dreaming, that there are degrees of Devils. Who can allow, that such Trifling Dæmons , as that of Mascon , or those that once infested our New berry , are of so much Grandeur, as those Dæmons , whose Games are mighty Kingdoms? Yea, 'tis certain, that all Devils do not make a like Figure in the Invisible World . Nor does it look agreeably, That the Dæmons , which were the Familiars of such a Man as the old Apollonius , differ not from those baser Goblins that chuse to Nest in the filthy and loathsom Rags of a beastly Sorceress. Accordingly, why may not some Devils be more accomplished for what is to be done in such and such places, when others must be detach'd for other Territories? Each Devil, as he sees his advantage, cries out, Let me be in this Countrey, rather than another.

But Enough , if not too much , of these things.

Proposition II. There is a Devilish Wrath against Mankind , with which the Devil is for God's sake Inspired. The Devil is himself broiling under the intollerable and interminable Wrath of God; and a fiery Wrath at God, is, that which the Devil is for that cause Enflamed. Methinks I see the posture of the Devils in Isa. 8.21. They fret themselves, and Curse their God, and look upward. The first and chief Wrath of the Devil, is at the Almighty God himself; he knows, The God that made him, will not have mercy on him, and the God that formed him, will shew him no favour; and so he can have no Kindness for that God, who has no Mercy , nor Favour for him. Hence 'tis, that he cannot bear the Name of God should be acknowledged in the World: Every Acknowledgement paid unto God , is a fresh drop of the burning Brimstone falling upon the Devil; he does make his Insolent, tho Impotent Batteries, even upon the Throne of God himself: and foolishly affects to have himself exalted unto that Glorious High Throne , by all people, as he sometimes is, by Execrable Witches . This horrible Dragon does not only with his Tayl strike at the Stars of God , but at the God himself, who made the Stars , being desirous to out-shine them all. God and the Devil are sworn Enemies to each other; the Terms between them, are those, in Zech. 11.18. My Soul loathed them, and their Soul also abhorred me. And from this Furious wrath , or Displeasure and Prejudice at God, proceeds the Devils wrath at us, the poor Children of Men. Our doing the Service of God, is one thing that exposes us to the wrath of the Devil. We are the High Priests of the World; when all Creatures are called upon, Praise ye the Lord , they bring to us those demanded Praises of God, saying, do you offer them for us. Hence 'tis, that the Devil has a Quarrel with us, as he had with the High-Priest in the Vision of Old. Our bearing the Image of God is another thing that brings the wrath of the Devil upon us. As a Tyger , thro his Hatred at man will tear the very Picture of him, if it come in his way; such a Tyger the Devil is; because God said of old, Let us make Man in our Image , the Devil is ever saying, Let us pull this man to pieces . But the envious Pride of the Devil, is one thing more that gives an Edge unto his Furious Wrath against us. The Apostle has given us an hint, as if Pride had been the Condemnation of the Devil . 'Tis not unlikely, that the Devil's Affectation to be above that Condition which he might learn that Mankind was to be preferr'd unto, might be the occasion of his taking up Arms against the Immortal King . However, the Devil now sees Man lying in the Bosom of God, but himself damned in the bottom of Hell; and this enrages him exceedingly; O , says he, I cannot bear it, that man should not be as miserable as my self.

Proposition III. The Devil , in the prosecution, and the execution of his wrath upon them, often gets a Liberty to make a Descent upon the Children of men. When the Devil does hurt unto us, he comes down unto us; for the Rendezvouze of the Infernal Troops , is indeed in the supernal parts of our Air. But as 'tis said, A sparrow of the Air does not fall down without the will of God; so I may say, Not a Devil in the Air, can come down without the leave of God. Of this we have a famous Instance in that Arabian Prince, of whom the Devil was not able so much as to Touch any thing, till the most high God gave him a permission, to go down . The Devil stands with all the Instruments of death, aiming at us, and begging of the Lord, as that King ask'd for the Hood-wink'd Syrians of old, Shall I smite 'em, shall I smite 'em? He cannot strike a blow, till the Lord say, Go down and smite , but sometimes he does obtain from the high possessor of Heaven and Earth , a License for the doing of it. The Devil sometimes does make most rueful Havock among us; but still we may say to him, as our Lord said unto a great Servant of his, Thou couldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above. The Devil is called in 1 Pet. 5.8. Your Adversary . This is a Law-term; and it notes An Adversary at Law . The Devil cannot come at us, except in some sence according to Law ; but sometimes he does procure sad things to be inflicted, according to the Law of the eternal King upon us. The Devil first goes up as an Accuser against us. He is therefore styled The Accuser ; and it is on this account, that his proper Name does belong unto him. There is a Court somewhere kept; a Court of Spirits, where the Devil enters all sorts of Complaints against us all; he charges us with manifold sins against the Lord our God: There he loads us with heavy Imputations of Hypocrysie, Iniquity, Disobedience; whereupon he urges, Lord, let 'em now have the death, which is their wages, paid unto 'em! If our Advocate in the Heavens do not now take off his Libels; the Devil, then, with a Concession of God, comes down , as a destroyer upon us. Having first been an Attorney , to bespeak that the Judgments of Heaven may be ordered for us, he then also pleads, that he may be the Executioner of those Judgments; and the God of Heaven sometimes after a sort, signs a Warrant, for this destroying Angel , to do what has been desired to be done for the destroying of men . But such a permission from God, for the Devil to come down , and break in upon mankind, oftentimes must be accompany'd with a Commission from some wretches of mankind it self. Every man is, as 'tis hinted in Gen. 4.9. His brother's keeper . We are to keep one another from the Inroads of the Devil, by mutual and cordial Wishes of prosperity to one another. When ungodly people give their Consents in witchcrafts diabolically performed, for the Devil to annoy their Neighbours, he finds a breach made in the Hedge about us, whereat he Rushes in upon us, with grievous molestations. Yea, when the impious people, that never saw the Devil, do but utter their Curses against their Neighbours, those are so many watch words , whereby the Mastives of Hell are animated presently to fall upon us. 'Tis thus, that the Devil gets leave to worry us.