Let us see then how he managed this first great plot.

Observe then that he used subtilty and deceit. He came in the form of a serpentand why? "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field." Satan came not openly, in his own form; he knew that would not do. He came as a serpent. He is often in other parts of Scripture called "the serpent." See 2 Cor. xi. 3; so also in Rev. xii. 9, "That Old Serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." We read of his serpent-like qualities in John viii. 44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. We read also of his power to change himself still into deceiving forms, "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 2 Cor. xi. 14. Satan knows how to deceive. If he came in his natural form, men would beware of him. He comes in some attractive way. He tempted our Lord once by the fair-sounding words of a friendly disciple, and the Lord knew him and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Oh! think not Satan will show himself in a black form, with cloven feet, and fiery mouth and eyes, as you see sad pictures of him sometimes-he

knows better than that; he is a spirit, and will come in a subtile, a serpent-like manner.

Next, you see his wisdom, in coming to the woman first. "The woman, being deceived, was in the transgression." She is the "weaker vessel." Satan knew it. He knows our weakness, and is still wise to direct his force accordingly. He tempts men with those temptations which he thinks are most likely, from their condition or circumstances, to be successful. Some are tempted with sins which are no temptations to others; and what are powerless with some men, are full of attraction to others. Satan still knows all this, and acts accordingly.

But let us chiefly note the nature of this present temptation. What was his aim? To make man disobey God. This is his one object, for then all the rest follows. How then shall he do this? His wisdom told him in two ways. First, throw doubts on God's word. Secondly, make them see some benefit to be gotten by disobedience.

See how he began by casting doubts on God's word. He said, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?" Implying that God had said a hard matter, or something He did not mean. And then, having prepared

the way, he flatly

denies the truth of what

God had said, and puts his own words along side of it, yea, over and above it, "Ye shall not surely die." And he believing this, rather than

adds a reason for God's word; tells

them what gainers, instead of losers, they will be, if they will do as he said, "Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." This sounded a great gain. To be more than what they were, "as gods:" to know more than what they did, "knowing good and evil." And this it was succeeded. Eve could not resist this. It was not the taste of the fruit only that she desired, but what Satan said it would do for her. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."

It would seem that her husband was not far from her all the time; he sinned with her-for not to resist sin is to partake of it.

Now you have here the simple history of every temptation by which Satan prevails, or seeks to prevail, over men, and women, and children now. God's word has gone forth against all sin and unrighteousness. God has spoken a word against every possible sin which man can commit by word, deed, or thought. To

keep this from bearing on man's conscience, is the Devil's first aim; and many are his ways of doing it. First, he tries to make men blind to see and deaf to hear God's plain words.

The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of God should shine unto them." And, When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the Wicked One, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart," and as in St. Luke, "lest they should believe and be saved." His object is to keep God's words against sin from dwelling in men's hearts. For this cause he will make them neglect reading their Bibles, turn away from the house of God, or sleep whilst there, or take no pains to understand the sermon. For this cause he will make them make excuses about the meaning and force of God's word, saying it does not mean what it says, or making them see it in a perverted, twisted sense, and not in God's plain sense. In all these ways he will try to make men not hear God's plain words, "Ye shall surely die," and will cast doubt on all He has said, whispering, "Hath God said?" where it is plainly written, “Thus saith the Lord." And then sometimes when any particular temptation presses upon a man, and

yet that man cannot but remember that God has plainly written the sentence of death against those who do so sin, then he will whisper again, "Well-but you will not die at once, God doth know that you will have time to repent and turn from sin before you die,' and so he says, "Ye shall NOT surely die." Thus he "deceiveth the whole world."

But this is only one side of every temptation. The chief strength lies in what the Devil offers for yielding. If he had said to Eve, "Eat of the fruit, for ye will not die," God's word would, at any rate, have been as good to Eve as Satan's; so he told her the gain she would get by eating. And so in every temptation-there is a profit to be had, a pleasure to be enjoyed, otherwise sin were no temptation. It is the pleasures of sin that make it so. If Esau will give up his future blessings of birthright, he shall have the present pleasure of a mess of pottage. And so, if men will act against God's word now, there is ever the promise to every such act, “You shall be as gods," you shall have this or that, that you have not got-this gain, this pleasure, or that freedom from evil which is before you.

Now it is to be observed, as from the case of Eve, that it is the seeing God's word when we are thus acted on by our desires