PART III, of gracious A»eciions. 179 Soul : It is abundantly declared in the Scripture to be peculiar to the omnifcient God to do that. But it is not likely that the Devil can immediately produce an Effe& which is out of the Reach of his imntccli _; ate View. It kerns unreafonable to fuppofe that his immediate Agen-' cy, fhould be out of his own Sight, or that it fhould be impoff:ble for him to fee what he himfelf immediately does. Is it not unreafonable to fuppofe that any Spirit or intelligent Agent;'Ihould by the Aft of his Will, produce Effeas, according to his Undetflanding, or agrea -- ble to his own Thoughts, and that immediately and vet the Eftèc`i a produced; he beyond the Reach of his Underflanding, or where he can have no immediate Perception or Difcerning at ail. But if this be fo, that the Devil can't produce Thoughts in the Soul immedi- ately, or any other Way than by the animal Spirits, or by the Body ; then it follows, that he never brings to pafs any thing in the Soul, but by the Imagination or Phantafy, or by exciting external Ideas,' For we know that Alterations in the Body, do immediately excite no other Sort of Ideas in the Mind, but external Ideas, or Ideas of the outward Senfe5, or Ideas which are of the fame outward Nature. As to RefhFtion, AbtlraCtion, Reafoning, &c. and thole Thoughts and inward Motions which are the Fruits of thefe Alts of the Mind, they are not the next Efedts of Imprefiions on the Body. So that it mull be only by the Imagination, that Satan has Accefs to the Soul, to tempt and delude it, or fuggeft any Thing to it. And this feenis CC CC 6c CC cc s << CC CC CC Cc CC CC CC CC CC CC CC as The Imagination is that Room of the Soul, wherein the De- vil doth often appear. Indeed (to (peak exaCtly) the Devil bath no efficient Power over the rational Part of a Man : He cannot change the Will ; he cannot alter the Heart of a Man. So that the utmoft he can do, in tempting a Man to Sin, is by Swafion and Suggeftion only. But then how doth the Devil do this ? Even by working upon the Imagination. He obferveth theTemper, and bodily Conftitution of a Man ; and thereupon fuggefts to his Fancy, and injeas his fiery Darts thereinto, by which the Mind and Will come to be wrought upon. The Devil then; tho' he bath no imperious Efficacy over thy Will, yet becaufe he can thus fur and move thy Imagination, and thou being naturally deftitute of Grace, canft not withftand thefe Suggeflions ; hence it is that any Sin in thy Imagination, tho' but in the outward Works of the Soul, yet doth quickly lay hold on all. And indeed, by this Means do arife thofe horrible Delufìons, that are in many erroneous Ways of Religion : All is becaufe their Imaginations are corrupted. Yea, ;Cw often are thefe N 2 diabolical
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