Page:Strange and wonderful account of the wicked life, and deplorable death of Mr Alexander Parkinson.pdf/6

 go up & down like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, that he prevails on the souls of men; It is for sin that God gives us to sin & reproach, to rashness & despair of his mercies, so certain is it that God never leaves our soul eclipsed under the power of an implacable enemy, who being an immortal spirit too subtle for mortals to contend with, unless supported by the divine assistance, we are unable to resist the temptations which he gilds o’er like a bitter potion, that we may swallow them more secure, & studies to suit them to our inclination. To the choleric fiery spirit he represents revenge & blood-shed, bold & brave to the sanguine, carnal lust & luxury to the generous & jovial, to the phlegmatic laziness & sloth, & to the melancholy envy and despiardespair [sic], We find that he durst even in presence of the almighty be so bold as to demand a commission to tempt Job, & had no doubt prevailed had not the almighty sustained him, as you may read in Job chap ii. nay more transcendent than this he did tempt even the Lord his God when he had carried to an exceeding high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the earth