The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1910-04-30
u There .
Personal Devil?
D. nv. JAnEs \. GRAY
De-. = M:edy BIh's hssis.ss'

have been asked to speak to you
upon the theme. lis There q Per
eonal Devil?" but assume that the In
terrogative form was used as q mat
ter Of convenience and not as q sug-
gestion OF doubt. do not assume that
Christian men learned In the Bible.
and who accept 1t not as the word
of men but as II is in truth. the word
Of Cod have any doubt about the
personality Of the devil.
The dictionary tells us that person.
atty Is synonymous with self-con-
sciousness. or the power to identify
ones self. That which can contrive
or design must be person. DR.. Paley
tells us. for such capacities imply con.
sciousness Of thought. But that the
devil possesses these capacities just
as man does. or indeed Just as God
himself does. Is very evident from the
Inspired record.
That record In this case In progress
sive. At first the devil Is presented
only as serpent. although the whole
narrative OF Genesis I'LL. but especially
the spiritual nature Of the temptation
-'Ye shall be as God'-suggests more
than a mere animal agency at work.
So clearly indeed is this suggested
that we are quite prepared for the
Identification of the serpent with the
devil and Satan which we find In
Revelation xii, 8.
But when we come to the new Tes-
lament the veil is lifted. and his real
and awful character Is portrayed In
vivid colors.
1t is to the old Testament, however.
that we are indebted for the word
Satan which. as you know, means
an 'adversary'-but one possessing
hate, great hostility and purpose
to injure. Gesenius Is authority for
the statement that when this word
is preceded by the article is assumes
the nature Of proper name.
Reaching the new Testament, we
find the personality Of Satan sug.
ges.ed in several ways, as. for ex-
ample:
1. BY the titles given him. He is
called the accuser Of the brethren
the angel of the bottomless pitt
'Apollyon, or he that exterminates:
the father of lies,' the man murderer
the prince of the devils the spirit
that now worketh in the children Of
disobedience, the God Of this world,
the unclean spirit the wicked one
and the evil one
Q. BY the characteristics ascribed to
him. He is called presumptuous,
proud, powerful, malignant, deceitful.
cruel, always active in doing and pro-
noting evil and yet cowardly. He is
compared to fowler setting snares
for unwary souls, a sower scattering
tares by night. wolf ravaging the
flock and a lion restlessly wandering
about for prey.
It is astonishing in the light Of such
testimony that Christians of intelll-
gence should be found doubling, much
less denying, the personality Of the
devil. If personality means the essen.
tial characteristic Of person as dis.
tinguished from thing. is not Satan
rather more than thing?
But II 1t be astonishing that men
should deny his personality in the
face of testimony like this, what shall
we say of their folly who, accepting
It in a sense, treat the subject of the
devil in the spirit OF levity and crack
jokes at his expense and make merry
with his proclivitfes-as even minis
tiers have been known to do. How
such conduct testifies at once to the
ignorance Of the natural heart, and
the power which the archdeceiver has
obtained over It!
Let us continue the proof of his per
sonality by considering the elements
of his power. DR.. Ormiston. In his
valuable work on the subject, classi
fees It in four kinds.
There is first the physical element
He is an angel, although fallen one
and 1t is said of such they excel In
strength Take the history of Job al
an illustration of this. In his case q
great fire fell and burned up his sheer
and oxen. Then wind from the will
derness smote the four corners of hii
house. killing the young men who
were within, and then at last Job him
self is smitten with sore boils from
the sole of his foot to the crown o.
his head.
There is. secondly, Satan's intellec
tual power. He has a mind and will
to think, contrive and devise. Hill
knowledge, too. is very great. for tn,
reason, among others that he is yer,
old-'old but not infirm.'
He was In existence before Adam
and has had the advantage OF thi
long period Of observation to add Il
his original stock of information
With unremitting attention he ha
studied the evidences of time. ant
doubtless there is not an individua
on earth, and never has been, witt
whose power and peculiarities he 1
not familiar.
He Is ever going to and fro an,
walking up and down, In the earth
scriptural language which means. W
are told not merely a careless passin
from one place to another, but e
ing about to spy and search and oil
serve anything diligently.
t. lat ~ I'LL