The main observation that Brooks hopes to prove in this book is that, “Satan hath his several devices to deceive, entangle, and undo the souls of men.”
In the first chapter Brooks aims to merely prove his point. To do this the author takes us to a few choice Scriptures. From Ephesians 6:11 we see the following observations taken from the word ‘wiles’:
- “It signifies such snares as are laid behind one, such treacheries as come upon one’s back at unawares…the word signifies an ambushment or stratagem of war…”
- “It signifies such snares as are set to catch one in one’s road.”
- “It signifies such as are purposely…and craftily set for the taking of the prey….Satan doth more hurt in sheep’s skin than by roaring like a lion.”
From 2 Timothy 2:26 we observe:
- “The word for ‘taken captive’ signifies being taken alive…[it is] properly a warlike word…”
- Satan hath snares for all manner of people. The wise and simple, the hypocrite and the upright, the rich and the poor, etc.
From Revelation 2:24 we observe:
- That souls can be so deceived that they believe their opinions to be from the depths of God but they are really from the depths of Satan.
Next time we will begin looking at the several devices Satan uses to draw the soul to sin.