… that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:11
… for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor 2:11
One of the most revealing and helpful books ever written exposing the seductive influence and terrible power of Satan, is that of Puritan Thomas Brooks’ Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. The outline provided in the beginning of the book alone, is richer and more informative than any other entire book on the subject. Below are some excerpts from the book:
Satan has his several devices to deceive, entangle, and undo the souls of men. … Satan’s first device to draw the soul into sin is, to present the bait—and hide the hook; to present the golden cup—and hide the poison; to present the sweet, the pleasure, and the profit that may flow in upon the soul by yielding to sin— and to hide from the soul the wrath and misery that will certainly follow the committing of sin! By this device he deceived our first parents, “And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die — for God knows, that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and you shall be as gods.”
Your eyes shall he opened, and you shall be as gods! Here is the bait, the sweet, the pleasure, the profit. Oh—but he hides the hook—the shame, the wrath, and the loss that would certainly follow! So Satan cheats them—giving them an apple in exchange for a paradise! Satan with ease pawns falsehoods upon us, by his golden baits, and then he leads us and leaves us in a fool’s paradise. He promises the soul honor, pleasure, profit—but pays the soul with the greatest contempt, shame, and loss that can be!
