THE TEMPTATION OF DREAD.
By William Gurnall
FAITH, and only faith, can quench the fiery darts of Satan's affrighting temptations. This sort of fiery darts is our enemy's reserve; when the other proves unsuccessful, then he opens this quiver, and sends a shower of these arrows to set the soul on flame, if not of sin, yet of terror and horror. When he cannot carry a soul laughing to hell through the witchery of pleasing temptations, he will endeavor to make him go mourning to Heaven by affrighting him with the other. And, truly, it is not the least support to a soul exercised with these to consider that they are a good sign that Satan is hard put to when these arrows are upon his string. You know that an enemy that keeps a castle will preserve it as long as he can hold it; but when he sees he must quit, he sets it on fire, to render it, if possible, useless to them that come after him. While the strong man can keep his house under his own power, he labors to keep it in peace; he quenches those fire-balls of conviction that the Spirit is often shooting into the773conscience; but when he perceives it is no longer tenable, the mutiny within increases and there is a secret whisper in the soul of yielding unto Christ; now he labors to set the soul on fire by his affrighting temptations; much more doth he labor to do it when Christ hath got the castle out of his hands, and keeps it by the power of his grace. It is very observable that all the darts shot against Job were of this sort; he hardly made any use of the other when God gave him leave to practice his skill. Why did he not tempt him with some golden apple of profit, or pleasure, or such like enticing temptations? Surely, the high testimony God gave to this, his eminent servant, discouraged Satan from this method; yea, no doubt, he had tried Job's manhood before this, as to those, and found him too hard; so that now he had no other way left probable to attain his design but this.—Gurnall.