Devil's Devices

"Jeroboam… took counsel, and… ordained a feast… like unto the feast that is in Judah… sacrificing unto the calves that he had made… in the month which he had devised of his own heart" (1 Kings 12:32,33).  "O God… the tumult of those that rise up against Thee increaseth continually" (Psalm 74:22,23).  "A lying tongue… and a flattering mouth worketh ruin" (Proverbs 26:28).  "Be obedient in all things… lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:9,11).

The devil's devices abound

Where flattering counsel is heard,

As king Jeroboam had found

When he had rejected God's Word. 

How dark was the counsel he sought

To turn hearts away from our God,

As Satan inspired the thought

That sinners would gladly applaud. 

The devil deceives old and young

To steal, to kill, and destroy. 

The lying and flattering tongue

Is all that he needs to employ.

The devil's devices, O Lord,

Are surely employed in our day,  

But we have Your two-edged sword

With truth we are called to obey.