He is full of hatred, envy, and revenge: For what other motives could
induce him to molest innocent man and woman in paradise? And why is he
still so restless in his attempts to destroy us, who have done him no
wrong?
He is a being of great power, as is evident in his being able to act
on the imagination of our blessed Lord, so as to depict some sort of
vision to Him of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, and
all this in a moment of time. His power is also displayed in the
transporting of the sacred body of our dear Savior, through the air up
to the highest point of the temple; and also of his driving a herd of
pigs so furiously that the whole herd rushed down a steep bank into a
lake and died in the water. Yes, so great is Satan’s power, that, I do
not doubt, that if God was to permit him to use his full strength, he
could turn the earth upside down, or pull the sun out of its orbit.
But Satan is most known for his remarkable ability to use his
cleverness against mankind. Since he is not given power from God to take
us by force, he is therefore required to wait for opportunities to
betray us, and to catch us by the use of deception. He, therefore, made
use of the serpent, which was the most crafty of all the beasts of the
field, in order to tempt our first parents; and accordingly he and his
accomplices are described in the New Testament as being cunning and
crafty in their deceitful scheming. In the words of our text, this
morning, the Apostle says, “We are not unaware of his schemes:” thereby
implying, that we are more in danger of being seduced by his system of
deception, than overpowered by his strength. Read it all HERE
