Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-10-03
SATAN'S FOOTPRINTS
They Run Hither and Thither
Through ALI the Earth.
Asan Defed and Defeated, But Christ
Vanquishes the Foe of Humanity
Sermon by the "Highway
and Byway" Preacher
copyright, 1862, by A. N. Kellogg News
paper Col

Text: And the Lord said unto Satan,
Whence CONTEST thou? Then Satan answered
the Lord and said: From going to ano fro
in the earth, and from walking up ana
down in it.-Job. IL.
A Remarkable Interview.-God's
Word opens up to us in the story OF
Job a most startling vision of the IN
seen and spirit realm. Satan is re-
vealed to us standing in the presence
of God and talking with Him regard
ing events in the earth. During the
period antedating the creation OF man
Scripture intimates that one of the
angels of Heaven, who was very hlgh
in the counsels of God and exercised
great power in the spirit realm re-
belled against the authority of the
triune God and was cast out with those
who had joined him in his insurrectlon
Christ declares in Luke 1915 that He
"beheld Satan as lightning fall from
Heaven so that limited as our knowl-
edge is regarding this tremendous
mystery Of the spirit world we Know
there was a portion of Gods universe
from which Satan was forever BAN
ished. But he seemed still to have &C
cess to place where he could meet
and talk with God, and our text repre-
SontS Such an OCCASION.
Tt NAV even be that Satan was
obliged to appear at the will and COM
mand of God, to regularly give an &C
count of his activities in the earth to
which he had been banished, for while
his power was very great and he was
in rebellion against God, it is but rea-
sonable to suppose that the Supreme
Ruler of the universe still exercised
certain restrictive powers over him.
The moment Satan rebelled against
God his doom was sealed, but He Who
is from everlasting to everlasting, Je-
hovah God. the great [ AM, works on
gigantic plan, and the destruction of
Satan was to be wrought out by a mar
velOus system of redemption in which
sin was to be forever punished and the
righteousness of God was to be glori-
ously triumphant.
Satan's Activity.-The context from
which our text is taken declares that
Satan appeared before the Lord, Who
said unit o him: "Whence contest thOu?"
To which Satan. seemingly in an off
hand and evasive way, replied: "From
going to and fro in the earth. and from
walking up and down in its in timat-
ing that he had things pretty much his
own way. He went to and fro in the
earth exercising dominion and power
and apparently meeting no opposition.
He walked whittier he would into the
homes and into business, into pleas
ures and human loves. into sorrows and
Affections and into death itself where
he foreclosed the mortga ge on the soul
and held it to his eternal destruction.
In the period of the worlds history
during which Job lived Satan seems. as
we have said, to have had things in the
earth pretty much all his own way.
The print of the cloven hoof could be
traced hither and thither through the
whole earth. What an interchangeable
traveller he was and how unceasing
and untiring in the oversight of his
dominions! Back and forth, back and
forth; up and down. up and down. I'M
til the footprints no longer marked a
trail. but filed in urbroken confusion
the fair face of the earth God had
created. And since the days of Job he
has not ceased his travels or his activ-
ity. but continues now, as then. in "go-
ing to and fro in the earth and walk
ing up and down in it,
Wherever there is human soul
there the footprints of the Devil lead,
and he uses his best endeavor to lure
that soul away from God. Peter holds
up roaring lion as picture of the
way in which Satan goes about seeking
| whom he may devOur. Unrelenting ir
| the pursuit of his prey, displaying the
utmost cunning in tracking and seiZ-
| ing it, and fierce and cruel when once
| the prey is within his powerful Jaws
what glimpse Scripture gives us of
| the Devil. And it is a true and faith
| full picture, too. But you must not for
get that he goes around in disguise and
ions sleeps clothing or appears as an
| angel of light. But under the sleeps
clothing and behind the angelic vision
| of light there is still the lion nature
which is ready to tear to pieces and de-
| stroy as soon as the yawning laws
have safely closed upon the intended
victim.
Satan has been dealing with human
nature for thousands of years, ever
| since he made Adam and Eve believe n
lie in the Garden of Eden. and poor
man is but puppet in his hands. His
| artfulness and ingenuity in compass
ing the destruction of a soul are al
| most infinite. BY the music of the
worlds pleasures and the glitter of its
tinsel he drew the whole world after
him into the flood of Gods wrath. and
| pnly Noah and his household with
| Itood his wiles and were saved. He
bought up the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah with riches and Injuries.
and crowded them so full of sensual
pleasures and wickedness that the
Inhabitants were Indifferent to the
| visit of angels who came to warn Lot.
Undoubtedly the Devil gleefullv
| watched the fire and birthstone of