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The devil for his father?
The following is from Edwards' sermon,
"Natural Men In A Dreadful Condition"
Those who are in a natural state are the
children of the devil.
As the saints are the children of God, so
the ungodly are the children of the devil.
They acknowledge this relation, and own
themselves children of the devil, by
consenting that he should be their father.
They subject themselves to him, hearken
to this counsels, as children hearken to
the counsels of a father.
They learn of him to imitate him, and do as he
does, as children learn to imitate their parents.
How awful a state is this!
How dreadful is it to be a child of the devil,
the spirit of darkness, the prince of hell,
that wicked, malignant, and cruel spirit!
To have anything to do with him is very dreadful.
It would be accounted a dreadful, frightful thing
only to meet the devil, to have him appear to a
person in a visible shape. How dreadful then
must it be to be his child!
How dreadful for any person
to have the devil for his father!
Natural men are the devil's captives and servants.
They are in Satan's possession and they are
under his dominion. They are brought by him
into subjection to his will, to go at his bidding,
and do what he commands.
The devil rules over ungodly men. They
are all his slaves, and do his drudging.
How awful to be taken captive by the devil,
the prince of hell, and made a slave to him!
The devil is, of all masters, the most cruel,
and treats his servants the worst.
The devil is a cruel master; for the service upon
which he puts his slaves is to undo themselves.
He keeps them hard at work day and night,
to work their own ruin. He never intends to
give them any reward for their pains, but their
pains are to work out their own everlasting
destruction. It is to gather fuel and kindle the
fire for themselves to be tormented in, to all eternity.
The soul of a natural man is the habitation of the
devil. Satan not only lives, but reigns, in the
heart of a wicked man. He has not only taken
up his abode there, but he has set up his throne
there. The heart of a wicked man, is the place
of the devil's rendezvous.
The soul of a wicked man is the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a
cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
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