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because they are the productions of men whom the world admires
as great thinkers? Shall men professing to believe in God, gather
from these unsanctified authors their expressions and sentiments, and
treasure them up as precious jewels to be stored away among the riches
of the mind?—God forbid.
The Lord bestowed upon these men whom the world admires,
priceless intellectual gifts; He endowed them with master minds; but
they did not use them to the glory of God. They separated themselves
from Him as did Satan; but while they separated themselves from Him,
they still retained many of the precious gems of thought which He
had given them, and these they placed in a framework of error to give
luster to their own human sentiments, to make attractive the utterances
inspired by the prince of evil. It is true that in the writings of pagans
and infidels there are found thoughts of an elevated character, which
are attractive to the mind. But there is a reason for this. Was not Satan
the lightbearer, the sharer of God’s glory in heaven, and next to Jesus
in power and majesty? In the words of inspiration, he is described as
one who seals up “the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”
The prophet says, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every
precious stone was thy covering.... Thou art the anointed cherub that
covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of
God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee.... Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:
I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they
may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude
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of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring
forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring
thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee:
thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”
The greatness and power with which the Creator endowed Lucifer
he has perverted; and yet, when it suits his purpose, he can impart to
men sentiments that are enchanting. Everything in nature comes from
God; yet Satan can inspire his agents with thoughts that appear elevat-
ing and noble. Did he not come to Christ with quotations of Scripture
when he designed to overthrow Him with his specious temptations?