[b]This lion of hell is ever hunting after his prey!
(Thomas Watson, "The Lord's Prayer")
"Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil,
your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring
lion, looking for some victim to devour!" 1 Peter 5:8
Consider Satan's diligence in tempting. He neglects
no time. He who would have us idle--is always busy
himself. This lion of hell is ever hunting after his
prey! He compasses sea and land to make a proselyte.
He prowls around--he watches where he may throw in
the fireball of temptation. He is a restless spirit; if we
repulse him, he will not desist--but come again with
a new temptation.
Satan's diligence in tempting, is seen in the variety
of temptations he uses. He does not confine himself
to one kind of temptation--he has more plots than
one. He has many tools to work with. If he finds one
temptation does not prevail--he will utilize another.
If he cannot tempt to lust--he will tempt to pride.
If temptation to covetousness does not prevail--he
will tempt to extravagance.
If he cannot make men profane--he will try to make
them religious formalists.
If he cannot make them wicked--he will tempt them
to be erroneous. Error damns as well as vice. Vice
pistols; error poisons!
Satan has acquired long experience in the art of
temptation. He has been a tempter for as long as
he has been a devil. Having such experience, he
knows what the temptations are, which have foiled
others, and are most likely to prevail--as the fowler
lays those snares which have caught other birds.