The combat between Christ and the Devil displayedThe combat betvveene Christ and the Diuell displayed

This dealing of Satan and his wicked miscreants with the scripture, must make all Gods children willing to spend their strength in searching out the Scripture; for that is the only way to descry their fraud in depraving of it. This caused Christ to bid the people in his time to search the Scriptures, to learn to know him to be the true Messiah, which the Jewish teachers did then deny. In regard whereof we must say with^a Moses, oh that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them! oh that all could read and understand the word of God! This is it, wherein all that either be, or intend to be ministers must labour especially, even to get sound knowledge and judgement in the text of Scripture. The Minister must not only be able to teach the truth, but also to discern, to discover, and to confute errors and heresies, which he can never soundly do without good understanding in the text it self. The Devil knows the whole Scripture, and he will spare no text therein it he can corrupt it; therefore to resolve Gods truth out of his hands who is the father of lies, the Minister must show himself a good soldier of Jesus Christ, as Paul exhorteth Timothy, giving such attendance to the word that all men may see his profiting therein; yea with Jeremiah, the Minister must eat the books of God, and digest them in his understanding, and rejoice therein, labouring to feel them the joy of his heart. The Devil knows that Scripture truly understood and well applied, is the only engine for the battery of his kingdom; and therefore, even from the beginning, but specially since the coming of Christ he hath laboured by all means to keep ⟨p. 31⟩men from the knowledge and true understanding of them: he it is that hath brought men from the reading of the Scriptures, to betake themselves to the writings of men, as schoolmen, fathers, and such; by this means he hath for many years even to this day in the Church of Rome, locked up the Scripture in an unknown tongue: yea even in Gods church the Devil works mightily this way, by stealing away the affections of young students from the Bible, and ravishing them with delight in the writings of men; for thus he keeps them from the fountain of truth, that they either fall into error themselves, or be less able to discern and confute it in others.

This dealing of Satan and his wicked miscreants with the scripture, must make all Gods children willing to spend their strength in searching out the Scripture; for that is the onely way to descrie their fraude in deprauing of it. This caused Christ to bidde the people in his time to search the Scriptures, to learne to know him to bee the true Messias, which the Iewish teachers did then deny. In regard whereof wee must say with