authority, to tempt, deceive, and destroy, and thus to oppose the purposes of heaven, by injecting into man the poison of their own infernal principles and persuasions [Matt. xiii. 19, 25, 28, 38, 39; 1 Peter v. 8.].
Behold here then a full solution of the riddle of the voluntary and involuntary, of which I am speaking; and at the same time, the most satisfactory confirmation of what the gospel teaches respecting the two kingdoms of good and evil! Behold, I say, how gospel truth is in perfect agreement with the experience of every good man, who is seeking first the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness. For is this good man opposed and disturbed in his voluntary purpose of serving his GOD, by the infusion of some contrary, but involuntary affection and thought! What a demonstration is this, not only of the existence of opposing principles, but that these principles are in some secret unseen connection with the interiors of his own mind! What a demonstration therefore, not only that there is a heaven and a hell, but that the inhabitants of each region, as the Scriptures teach, have access to him; the inhabitants of the former to cherish and confirm his voluntary good, and the inhabitants of the latter to check that heavenly purpose, by presenting the infectious cup of involuntary evil!
