A Puritan Quote on the Devil
-This “citizen” of the “far country” is none other than the devil. You must remember always that the “citizen” is only interested in his pigs prospering and all else being destroyed in the process.
Thomas Watson -- Satan does value souls, he knows their worth; he says as the king of Sodom did to Abraham, ‘Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.’ So saith Satan, ‘Give me the persons.’ He cares not how rich you are, he doth not strive to take away your estates, but your souls. Give me the persons, saith he, take you the goods; whence are all his noemata, his warlike stratagems, his subtle snares to catch souls? Why does this lion so roar but for his prey? He envies the soul its happiness, he lays the whole train of temptation to blow up the whole fort-royal of the soul. Why does he lay such suitable baits? He allures the ambitious many with a crown; the covetous man with a golden apple; the sanguine man with beauty. Why does he tempt to Delilah’s lap, but to keep you from Abraham’s bosom? The devil is angling for the precious soul; to undo souls is his pride; he glories in the damnation of souls; it is next to victory to die revenged. If Samson must die, it is some comfort that he shall make more die with him; if Satan, that lion, must be kept in his hellish den, it is all the heaven he expects, to reach forth his paw, and pull others into the den with him. (From Harmless As Doves, p. 110)