·:r H•E ·n E V I L A 'H U N T E l't. THE D E ·v 1 :-L ·A H ·u N T E R. ·He tdll deliver tbee from the Snare of.the Hunter, Pfal..xci. 3· ;Deliver tbyfelf as a Roe from the Hand of the Htmter., Prov. vi. 5· Book IV. ·BY the Hunter in thefe Places, I fee ·no Ground to doubt, but that the Holy Gholl: · principally intends the Devil, ·who is the great Hunter and Deil:royer of Mens Souls, out of.w.hofe Hand, i. <e. Power, Wifdom advifes her .Son to deliver himfelf. ;P A R A L ·L E -L s. ·I. A Hunter is one that purfues, or eagerly follows after his P~ey, what fort of Beafts foever he hunts, he feems unwearied in his .Purfuit, his Heart is affected with his •Game, and hence takes great Delight in it: So the Devil purfues Sinners, nay and the rGodly too, for they are .Part of his Game, and hoi,V eagerly doth he purfue them, it is .the only Thing he !eems to delight in, he is never weary of this Work, nor in theWork. I!. A Hunter in purfuing afterthe poor fenlitive BeaU, deligns to .kill and deftroy them, it is to take their Lives away, &c. So the Devil in hunting after the Souls of !Men, his grand.Delign is to deftroy them, He feeketh whom be may devour, 1 Pet. v. 8. it is the Soul, the Life of the Soul, herihives to deftroy. As David fpeaks of his Ene– .my, 'I'bou buntefl after my Soul 10 lake it, 1 Sam. xxiv. IJ. fo may every Man and ,Woman fay of Satan. Ill. A Hunter has many Devices and aunning Stratagems to enfnare the Game he ,purfues: So the Dev\i hath many Snares and cunning Wiles to catch and deftroy the ·Souls of Men. .Hence he is compared to a Serpent : We are 11ot ignorant, faith' Paul, of his Devices, 2 Cor. ix. 1 '· and in another Place, he exhorts the Saints to put on the whole Armor of God, that th~y may be able to ftand againft theWiles of the Devil. The · Greek Word 'fignifies fuch Snares as ate fet to catch a Man, He will deliver thee, faith ,the Pfalmi!l, from the St!are of the Hunter, Pfal. xci. 3· meaning, faith dinfwortb, the ,Devil. Satan hath many Devices and Snares to draw Men into Sin. ~. By perfuading the Soul it is no great Matter, it is, faith he, but a little one. 2. By prefenting the 1 Pleafure..and ,.Profit of finful Praetias, and hiding the Shame thereof, and the Wrath and Mifery they will certainly bring on the Soul at !aft. 3· He lays before a Man the Sins of good.Men, .Q faith he, do ·.you not find that fuch and fuch godly Men have done as bad as this; was not.Davidovercome with Adultery, Ezekiah with Pride, and Noab with Druiikennefs, & c. but all the while he ftrives to hide from them their Virtue :and unfeigned Repentance, and utter Abhorrence of thele Sins afterwards. 4· He pre– Jents God. to the Soul, as one made up all of Mercy, and that Repentance will make .all whole again.; but afterwards, it may.be, when the Soul is defiled by yielding to his Temptation, perfuades Souls, the Sin is fo great, and God fo juft, that he will not .Pardon Sin, ir_ is little before committed, but great when it is committed, and this Way .he feeks·to enlnare the Stnner. 5· Another Way he hath to catch his Prey with, IS ·by leading the Soul into the Way of Sin, it may be, to the Harlot's Door, he allures ,into the Company of Sinners, and entices the Soul to contemplate upon Sin, to toy a little with Dalilah, as it were, and a Multitude of other Snares he hath. lV. A Hunter, that he may the better carch his Prey, hath not only his Snares, but ,alfo his -Dogs, and them of every Sort fit Jor his Sporr .and Emerprife, he hath his .Setting-dogs, his Scenting-dogs, his Race-dogs, fome to.il:art his Game, and others to purfuc his Game, &~. So the Devil, the great Hunter of Souls, hath, belides hts ·fubtil Wiles and Snares, fit ln!hurnents to effeCt and accomplifh his .Delign; he has his Dogs, for fo..as we have fi1ewed you.elfewhere, wicked Men are called, and them alfo of every .Sorr, fome great ones, and fome fmall ones, fame that are like Setting– .dogs, who watcn .how they may trapan, and prey ll_pon the Godly to draw them inte Sin, or into SLJfferiogs; and <Others, who are like cruel Blood-hounds, .who, as being ·void of Mercy, endeavor to tear the Saints in Pieces. V. Some.Hunters mind little elfe, fave Hunting; it is faid of Nimrod, he .was a miahty Hunter, &c. Gen. x. 9· So the Devil he is a mighty Hunter, he minds no· ;thi~g more than the ,Hunting of the Souls of Men; 0 the .Millions, that he hath ,catch~d. al)d de!l:royed, hc.is a rrto!l cruel Hunter. VI. Some
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