The Epistle Dedicatory

To his most dear and precious ones, the sons and daughters of the Most High God, over whom the Holy Spirit has made him a watchman.

Beloved in our dearest Lord, Christ, the Scripture, your own hearts, and Satan's devices are the four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched. If any cast off the study of these, they cannot be safe here, nor happy hereafter.

It is my work as a Christian, but much more as I am a watchman, to do my best to discover the fullness of Christ, the emptiness of the creature, and the snares of the great deceiver, which I have endeavored to do in the following discourse, according to that measure of grace which I have received from the Lord.

God once accepted a handful of meal for a sacrifice and a small quantity of goat's hair for an ablation, and I know that you have not so learned the Father as to despise the day of small things.

Beloved, Satan being fallen from light to darkness, from felicity to misery, from heaven to hell, from an angel to a devil, is so full of malice and envy that he will leave no means unattempted, whereby he may make all others eternally miserable with himself. He being shut out of heaven, and shut up under the chains of darkness, until the judgment of the great day, makes use of all his power and skill to bring all the sons of men into the same condition and condemnation with himself.

Satan has cast such sinful seed into our souls that now he can no sooner tempt, but we are ready to assent. He can no sooner have a plot upon us, but he makes a conquest of us. If he does but show men a little of the beauty and finery of the world, how ready are they to fall down and worship him?

Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward. If David is proud of his people, Satan will provoke him to number them that he may be yet prouder. If Peter is slavishly fearful, Satan will put him upon rebuking and denying of Christ to save his own skin. If Ahab's prophets are given to flatter, the devil will immediately become a lying spirit in the mouths of four hundred of them, and they shall flatter Ahab to his ruin. If Judas will be a traitor, Satan will quickly enter into his heart and make him sell his master for money, which some heathen would never have done. If Ananias will lie for advantage, Satan will fill his heart that he may lie with a witness to the Holy Spirit

Satan loves to sail with the wind and to suit men's temptations to their conditions and inclinations. If they be in prosperity, he will tempt them to deny God. If they be in adversity, he will tempt them to distrust God. If their knowledge be weak, he will tempt them to have low thoughts of God. If their conscience be tender, he will tempt to scrupulosity. If large, to carnal security, If bold-spirited, he will tempt to presumption, If timorous, to desperation, If flexible, to inconstancy, If stiff, to impenitency.

from the power, malice, and skill of Satan precedes all the soul-killing plots, devices, stratagems, and machinations which are in the world. Several devices he has to draw souls to sin, and several plots he has to keep souls from all holy and heavenly services, and several stratagems he has to keep souls in a mourning, staggering, doubting, and questioning condition. He has several devices to destroy the great and honorable, the wise and learned, the blind and ignorant, the rich and the poor, the real and the nominal Christians. At one time he will restrain from tempting that we may think ourselves secure and neglect our watch. At another time he will seem to flee that he may make us proud of the victory. At one time he will fix men's eyes on others' sins than their own, that he may puff them up. At another time he may fix their eyes more on others' graces than their own, that he may discourage them. A man may as well count the stars and number the sands of the sea as reckon up all the devices of Satan.

Yet those which are most considerable, and by which he does most mischief to the precious souls of men, are in the following treatise discovered, and the remedies against them prescribed.

Beloved, I think it necessary to give you and the world a faithful account of the reasons moving me to appear in print in these days, wherein we may say there was never more writing and yet never less practicing, and they are these that follow.

Reason 1. Because Satan has a greater influence upon men and higher advantages over them than they think he has, and the knowledge of his high advantage is the high way to disappoint him, and to render the soul strong in resisting, and happy in conquering.

Reason 2. Your importunity, and the importunity of many other precious sons of Zion, has, after much striving with God, my own heart, and others, made a conquest of me, and forced me to do that at last, which at first was not a little contrary to my inclination and resolution.

Reason 3. The strange opposition that I met with from Satan in the study of this following discourse has put an edge upon my spirit, knowing that Satan strives mightily to keep those things from seeing the light that tend imminently to shake and break his kingdom of darkness, and to lift up the kingdom and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in the souls and lives of the men.

Reason 4. It's exceeding usefulness to all sorts, ranks, and conditions of men in the world. Here you have salve for every sore, and a plaster for every wound, and a remedy against every disease, especially against those that tend most to the undoing of souls and the ruin of the state.

Reason 5. I know not of any one or other that have written of this subject. All that ever I have seen have only touched upon this theme, which has been no small provocation to me to attempt to do something this way that others that have better heads and hearts may be the more stirred to improve their talents in a further discovery of Satan's devices. and in making known of such choice remedies, as may enable the souls of men to triumph over all his plots and stratagems.

Reason 6. I have many precious friends in several countries, who are desirous that my pen may reach them, now that my voice cannot. I have formerly been, by the help of the mighty God of Jacob, a weak instrument of good to them, and cannot but hope and believe that the Lord will also bless these labors to them, they being in part the fruit of their desires and prayers.

Reason 7. Lastly, not knowing how soon my hourglass may be out, and how soon I may be cut off by a hand of death from all opportunities of doing further service for Christ or your souls in this world, I was willing to sow a little handful of spiritual seed among you, that so when I put off this earthly tabernacle my love to you, and that dear remembrance of you, which I have in my soul, may strongly engage your minds and spirits to make this book your companion, and under all external or internal changes, to make use of this heavenly salve, which I hope will, by the blessing of the Lord, be as effectual for the healing of all your wounds, as their looking up to the bronze serpent was effectual to heal theirs, who were bit and stung with fiery serpents.



I shall leave this book with you as a legacy of my dearest love, desiring the Lord to make it a far greater and sweeter legacy than all those carnal legacies that are left by the high and mighty ones of the earth to their nearest and dearest relations.

Beloved, I would not have affection carry my pen too much beyond my intention. Therefore only give me leave to signify my desires for you, and my desires to you, and I shall draw to a close.

My desires for you are, that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord, and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light,

that you do no evil, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you may be eminent in sanctity, sanctity being Zion's glory.

that your hearts may be kept upright, your judgments sound, and your lives unblameable, that as you are now my joy, so in the day of Christ you may be my crown, that I may see my labors in your lives, that your lives may not be earthly, when the things you hear are heavenly, but that it may be as becomes the gospel.

that, as the fish which live in the salt sea yet are fresh, so you, though you live in an ungodly world, may yet be godly and loving, that you may, like the bee, suck honey out of every flower, that you may shine in the sea of troubles, as the pearl shines in the sky, though it grows in the sea.

that in all your trials you may shine like the stone in Thracia, which neither burns in the fire nor sinks in the water, that you may be like the heavens, excellent in substance and beautiful in appearance, that so you may meet me with joy in that day wherein Christ shall say to his Father, Lo, here am I, and the children that you have given me.

My desires to you are that you would make it your business to study Christ, His Word, your own hearts, Satan's plots, and eternity more than ever. That you would endeavor more to be inwardly sincere than outwardly glorious. To live than to have a mere name to live. That you would labor with all your might to be thankful under mercies, and thankful in your places, and humble under divine appearances, and fruitful under precious ordinances. that as your means and mercies are greater than others, so your account before God may not prove a worse than others.

That you would pray for me, who am not worthy to be named among the saints, that I may be a precious instrument in the hand of Christ to bring in many souls unto him, and to build up those who are brought in, in their most holy faith. and that utterance may be given to me, that I may make known all the will of God, that I may be sincere, faithful, frequent, fervent, and constant in the work of the Lord, and that my labor be not in vain in the Lord, that my labors may be accepted in the Lord and His saints, and I may daily see the travail of my soul.

But above all, pray for me, that I may more and more find the power and sweet of those things upon my own heart that I give out to you and others. That my soul may be so visited with strength from on high that I may live up fully and constantly to those truths that I hold forth to the world, and that I may be both in life and doctrine a burning and a shining light. that so, when the Lord Jesus shall appear, I may receive a crown of glory which He shall give to me in that day, and not only to me, but to all who love His appearing.

For a close, remember this, that your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure. Therefore faint not, hold on and hold up in ways of well-doing, and Heaven shall make amends for all. I shall now take leave of you, when my heart has by my hand subscribed, that I am your loving pastor under Christ, according to all pastoral affections and engagements in our dearest Lord, Thomas Brooks.

Chapter 1 The Proof of the Point

For the proof of the point, take these few scriptures. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The Greek word that is here rendered wiles is a notable emphatic word.

1. It signifies such snares as are laid behind one, such treacheries as come upon one's back by surprise. It notes the methods or waylayings of that old subtle serpent who, like Dan's adder in the path, bites the heels of passengers, and thereby transfuses his venom to the head and heart. The word signifies an ambush or stratagem of war, whereby the enemy sets upon a man at unawares.

2. It signifies such snares as are set to catch one in one's road. A man walks in his road and thinks not of it, but suddenly he is caught by thieves, or falls into a pit, etc.

3. It signifies such as are purposely, artificially, and craftily set for the taking the prey at the greatest advantage that can be. The Greek signifies properly a waylaying, circumvention, or going about as they do, who seek after their prey. Julian, by his craft, drew more away from the faith than all his persecuting predecessors could do by their cruelty. So does Satan more hurt in his sheep's skin than by roaring like a lion.

Take one scripture more for the proof of the point, and that is in 2 Timothy 2.26, and that they might recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. The Greek word that is here rendered recover themselves signifies to awaken themselves. The apostle alludes to one who is asleep or drunk, who is to be awakened and restored to his senses, and the Greek word that is here rendered taken captive signifies to be taken alive. The word is properly a military word and signifies to be taken alive as soldiers are taken alive in the wars, or as birds are taken alive and ensnared in the fowler's net.

Satan has snares for the wise and snares for the simple, snares for hypocrites and snares for the upright, snares for generous souls and snares for timorous souls. snares for the rich and snares for the poor, snares for the aged and snares for youth. Happy are those souls that are not taken and held in the snares that He has laid.

Take one proof more, and then I will proceed to the opening of the point, and that is in Revelation chapter 2 verse 24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you no other burden but to hold fast until I come.

These poor souls called their opinions the depths of God, when indeed they were the depths of Satan. You call your opinions depths, and so they are, but they are such depths as Satan has brought out of hell. They are the whisperings and hissings of that serpent, not the inspirations of God.