An Expojition of tbe -Epijlle -~-----,-crs~ fee, to other things than to perfons. Therefore, I f.1y, that"s no obje[i:ion but tbis ~~·latter !hould alfo be meant. For m_Y part? I fay,• I take' in both, the one as the Caufe, the other as the Effe[t. He Is a Pnnce ofa wmpany of Devils that arc · Spirits, and work as Spiri~,; in the Children of Difobcdience ; _and thcy'raife up a common Spirit. And that you may know the Devils wor~, faith he, Do but fee f10w,how they work in the Children of Di(ohedience, .and fuch would you have been, if God hac\ ~ot freed you; you would have had. the lame S.pirit they h. 1 d, nnd been led by htm more or Hs. Thts IS the Apo(\les !cope. The1ike phmfe of fpeech you have in ?Cor. 4· We h•ve received t};e fame Spirit ~f Faith. What means he by Spirit _ofFaith there? he means both Spn·itum Spira1Jtem, the Holy GhoO: that puts Fatth mto me, who 1s called therefore tf:e Spirit ofFaith; and he ineans alfo the Grace ofFaith, the infufiort ofthe holy·GhoO:, whereby I do aCl:u– ally believe. Many like inO:ances may be brought to prove, that Spirit implies both ; therefore, for my part, I take in both, the one and the other. So now you have thefe three _pam ofthe words. tirO:, you have here a Spirit 1hat work.!, whereof he Js the Pnnce, taken both for h1s Devils, that are Spirits, and work by hun; taken alfo for that common mfufion wh1ch his Devils breathe into Men. Secondly, you have the time, that """' worb,rth. Thirdly, the .Per– fans in whom, in the C/;i/dren ~rDifobedience, Now I !hall give you fome Obfer– vations, ifyou take either one fence or the other ; for both are intended, the one as the Caufe, the other as the Effect, and as a demon(hation of the Mifery oiMan by Nature, which thefe Eph~{ia11; themfelves may Ice in thofe, that are eminemiy the Children of Difobedience, in whom the Devil raifeth fl1ch a Spirit. obRrv. 1, FirO:, If you take it for his being a Prince ofSpirits that thus worketb, I ihall give you thefe Obfervations; which il1all further explain it. Firjl, that it.relatcs to their manner of working, that they work as Spirits ;n Men. ~nd the Apoll!c doth infinuate this for two ends: the one, to !hew the manner oftheir working; the other, to il1cw the advantage oftheir working. They work ~s Spirits, for the manner of their working, in the Children of Difobcdien~e: and for their advan– tage, (they have mighty advantage upon it) and ther~fore to !hew it, inEphej. 6. he faith, We fght not againjlJlefh and blood, but againflJPiritual wicb,rdnejfes, that is, Wickednc!fes that are Spirits. I !hall explain it to you by degrees. God did make Man .under Angels, as he hath made other creatures under Man; tho no.t in the iike inferiority, yet in a proportionable diO:ance. Now this is a certain Rule, A– mangO: all God's Works, take the whole chain ot them from firO: to laO:, that in the ft1bordination of feveral creatures, the higher one creature rifeth above ano– ther, it is able to do all .that is below it,all that is excellent, yea, and h:ith a power to do more : as now; All the fenCes that a Beafi hath, Man hath, and he bth !tea– fan beGdes. Then for the manner of their working, which is the point I would explain; the Angels being Spirits, all the ways which one Man bath to work up– on another, the Angels have the fame, and more. What are the ways that a Mao bath to work upon another ? He can do it by fpeech, and he can do it by pre– fenting objeCl:s externally; and he can do it by threatning, or by punifhmeot,or the like. But the Devil can do all this and more: He can appear as a Man dotb, and convey himfelfunto a Man by fpeech; and not only fo, for this is but work– ing upon a Man, this is nor.working in him ; but the Devil can creep into the Fancy, he can creep into the Humours, and into the Pa!lions of a Man's Body, · which depend much upon the Humours, and can a<l: them; therefore he can work in us. My Brethren, one Angel cannot work in another ; One Devil doth not po!fefs another ; why ? bccaufe they are creatures ofa like rank : And therefore as one Man communicateth his mind to another, and cannot creep into a Man to fuggeO: it fecretly and indifcernably, bccaufe Man and Man are creatures of a like rank ; fo· are Angels: :/11ichael and the Devil difputed indeed about the Body of Mofes, as one Man doth )Vith another; but one Angel" cannot undilc:~nably work in another. A~d therefore there 1s thts d1fference between the Dev1l s working in us and that wh1ch one Man worketh upon another. One Angel may work upon a~other, and perfwade him thus and thus, but be cannot work m him: but the Devil, being an Angel, and an Angel be!ng a fupenour creature to Man, hath a way ofcommunicating himfelfto Man,whtch one Man bath not to•nother. Yet
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