lye with her every night, the
Devil will hold the candle, or do any thing to forward it, but will
never disturb you; he's too much a friend to your wickedness, it could
never be the Devil, _Thomas_; 'twas only your own guilt frighted you,
and that was _Devil_ enough too, if you knew the worst of it, you need
no other enemy.

_Tho._ Why that's true, Master, one would think the _Devil_ should not
bid me repent, that's true; but certainly 'twas the Devil for all that.

Now _Thomas_ was not the only man that having committed a flagitious
crime had been deluded by his own imagination, and the power of fancy,
to think the Devil was come for him; whereas the Devil, to give him his
due, is too honest to pretend to such things; 'tis his business to
persuade men to offend, not to repent; and he professes no other; he may
press men to this or that action, by telling them 'tis no sin, no
offence, no breach of God's Law, and the like, when really 'tis both;
but to press them to repent, when they have offended, that's quite out
of his way; 'tis none of his business, nor does he pretend to it;
therefore, let no man charge the Devil with what he is not concern'd in.

But to return to his Person, he is, as I have said, notwithstanding his
lost glory, a mighty, a terrible and an immortal Spirit; he is himself
call'd a Prince, _the Prince of the Power of the Air_; the Prince of
Darkness, the Prince of _Devils_, and the like, and his attending
Spirits are call'd _his Angels_: so that however _Satan_ has lost the
glory and rectitude of his Nature, by his apostate state, yet he retains
a greatness and magnificence, which places him above our rank, and
indeed above our conception; for we know not what he is, any more than
we know what the blessed Angels are; of whom we can say no more than
that they are _ministring Spirits_, &c. as the Scripture has describ'd
them.

Two things, however, may give us some insight into the nature of the
Devil, in the present state he is in; and these we have a clear
discovery of in the whole series of his Conduct from the Beginning.

1. That he is the vanquish'd but implacable enemy of God his
Creator, who has conquer'd him, and expell'd him from the
habitations of bliss; on which account he is fill'd with envy,
rage, malice, and all uncharitableness; would dethrone God and
overturn the thrones of Heaven, if it was in his power.

2. That he is man's irreconcilable Enemy; not a