Satan's Work and Wages
W. Atherton. Matthew 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why stand you here all the day idle? While the Lord of heaven is employing various means and instruments to engage labourers into His vineyard, Satan is going through the earth, with the pleasures of sin in one hand, and the allurements of the world in the other, to engage poor deluded souls into his thorny wilderness. Would you startle if we could now summon forward the Prince of Hell, and say, "Well, Devil, and what wilt thou give?" Listen. Hear that hoarse murmur from the pit: "I will find them work that they love. It shall please their senses, gratify their appetites, indulge their passions, and delight their grossly carnal hearts. Every one shall find the pleasure for which he lusts, his own besetting sin; the swine shall have husks and mire." "And what more? I will exempt them from the persecutions of religion, the contempt of the world, the reproach of the cross of Christ, from the irksome discharge of duty, and the gloomy services of piety." "Go on. What more?" "I will keep them in the fashion; lind them abundance of associates: for wide is my gate, broad is my way, and many there are that enter therein." "But what will be their food? The chaff of worldly pleasure and deceitfulness of sin, producing disappointment and dissatisfaction." "What their drink? .... The gall of hitter reflections, tormenting passions, reproaches of reason, and dread anticipations." "Where do they rest?" "Nowhere. Like a troubled sea, they cannot rest. They lie down in sorrow." "But what wages, Devil, wilt thou give? .... Darkness, outer-darkness, blackness of darkness." A bad master, hard disgraceful work, and tremendous wages! Why stand ye here all the day idle? Set to work. Have you sinned? now repent. Are you in the world? come out and be separate. Have you time? use it. Powers? employ them. A Bible? read it. A throne of grace? fall down before it. Is there a God? serve Him. A Saviour? believe in him. (W. Atherton.) Parallel Verses KJV: And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? WEB: About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'