Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

1. The rule of Satan is owned before the rule of God. The natural man would rather be under the guidance of Satan than the Yoke of his Creator. Adam chose him to be his Governor in Paradise. No sooner had Satan spoke of God in a way of derision, Gen. 3.1, 5. Yea, hath God said, but man follows his Counsel and approves ⟨p. 68⟩of the scoff; and the greatest part of his posterity, have not been wiser by his fall, but would rather ramble in the Devils Wilderness, than to stay in Gods fold. Tis by the sin of man that the Devil is become the God of the world, as if men were the Electors of him to the Government: Sin is an Election of him for a Lord, and a putting the Soul under his Government. Those that live according to the course of the world, and are loath to displease it, are under the Government of the Prince of it. The greatest part of the works done in the world is to enlarge the Kingdom of Satan. For how many ages were the laws whereby the greatest part of the world was governed in the affairs of Religion, the fruits of his usurpation and policy? When Temples were erected to him, Priests consecrated to his service; The rites used in most of the Worship of the world were either of his own Coining, or the misapplying the Rites, God had ordained to himself, under the notion of a God: Whence the Apostle calls all Idolatrous Feasts, the table of Devils, the cup of Devils, Sacrifice to Devils, fellowship with Devils, ^*Devils being the real object of the Pagan Worship, tho not formally intended by the Worshipper; tho in some parts of the Indies, the direct and peculiar worship is to the Devil, that he might not hurt them. And tho the intention of others was to offer to God, and not the Devil, yet since the action was contrary to the Will of God, he regards it as a Sacrifice to Devils. It was not the intention of Jeroboam to establish Priests to the Devil, when he Consecrated them to the service of his Calves, for Jehu afterwards calls them the Servants of the Lord, 2 King. 10.23. See if there be here none of the Servants of the Lord, to distinguish them from the Servants of Baal, signifying that the true God was Worshipped under those Images, and not Baal, nor any of the Gods of the Heathens; yet the Scripture couples the Calves and Devils together, and ascribes the Worship given to one, to be given to the other.