Discourse of the Subtle Practices of Devils, Chapter 12
The true remedy whereby men are deliuered from all feare and daunger of witchcraft. Chapt. 12.
MEn are glad to finde a medicine that will driue away & rid them off an ague: how much gladder would they bee to finde a present remedy to preserue them safe & frée from the feare off all imagined hurt and danger which cometh by witchcraft▪ but it is a merueilous thing to sée in what feare men are and yet will not imbrace y• wholsome remedy which the Lord hath prescribed: they séeke many meanes, & that with cost and trauell, but yet they are neuer the better: for if they finde some ease vntounto the body, it is with the losse of y• soule: the deuill himselfe did inuent those medicines which they fly vntounto, for God neuer appointed them, is he so foolishe as to make weapons against himself? if they be vexed or hanted with a spirit (as they vse to say) & a witch driue him out, it is the deuil yt driueth him out, if he be indéede driuen out. But the trueth is, he is not: for Satan doth not driue out Satan. Put the case that one deuill did expell another, what comfort could it be vntounto the possessed, more then this, that a weaker deuill is driuen out of him to giuegive place to a stronger: For the stronger deuill would neuer expell the weaker, vnlesse it were to enter there himselfe. To let this passe, it will be demaunded where there is any remedie prescribed by the Lord against witcherie? The Lord saith he would raise vp a Prophet vntounto the people Deut. 18. Those which giuegive eare vntounto him shalbe safe. Some man will say that is but in this one poynt, that he shall not be deceiued by such as wrought by the deuil, nor led into error. But where is there any remedie mentioned to preserue a man from the bodily harmes done by Witches? I aunswer, that it were a straunge thing for the holy Scriptures to appoynt a medicine for such a disease as it neuer mentioneth. The word of the Lord doth neuer mention that Witches can hurt the bodie at all: & therfore it doth no where prescribe any remedie for that which is not. The malignant spirits or wicked deuils, doe hurt both bodies and soules: and therefore there is a way taught how to be frée from thē: They hauehave no increase of power by a Witch: but only thus much, that for the iust vengeaunce of God vponupon the vngodly, the is glad to bee sent, and obteyneth power: but he that is armed against them alone, is armed against both witch and them. Against them there is no power can preuaile, but the power of God. Therefore when the holy Apostle doth set men in battell against deuils, he willeth them to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. This mightie power of God is made ours onelyonly by faith. For which cause S. Iohn saith that faith is our victorie. He that beléeueth doth ouercome the world: which cannot bee vnlesse he doe ouercome the prince of the world. This faith is the free gift of God: but yet because he hath ordeyned outward meanes to come vntounto it, we are willed to take vntounto vsus all the whole armour of God wherein this might consisteth. And to the end that the exhortation may the more affect vsus, Saint Paule doth expresse the whole matter vnderunder the likenesse and termes of warre. For thereby appeareth that there is néede of Gods power, that we may escape out of the great perrill. The Apostle as a chiefe Captaine in the Lords Armie, doth stirre vp and prepare all Christian souldiers. He sheweth who be the enemies. He declareth their terror in sundrie respects. But yet vndoubted victorie vntounto all those which followe his prescript. All the power of God wherewith wee resist and ouercome the deuill, is conueyed into vsus by faith alone. But because he speaketh as of a souldier in his compleat armour, he applieth but one part vntounto faith, and the rest vntounto those things which doe goe vnseperably with faith. The souldier had his head and all parts of his bodie with his legges and feete armed: then had he his sword in his right hand, and his shield in the left. Euen so in this spirituall armour applyed by similitude vntounto the soule, here is armour for the head, for the feet and legges, and for al the whole bodie, and then the shield of faith to hold foorth in the one hand, and the spirituall sword which is the word of God in the other hand. The summe of the whole is, that by faith in the Gospell of Iesus Christ we are armed with power of grace, with true knowledge and light, with sincere integritie of heart, and with a godly life, with zeale, with patience, and with all other heauenly vertues, so that the fierie darts of the deuill, neither in tempting vntounto filthie sinnes, nor yet in damnable heresies and opinions, can fasten vponupon vsus. If wee want the true faith, wee want grace: we be not in Christ, we hauehave not his spirit. This faith is grounded vponupon the word of God: for the word is sent to bee preached, that men may heare and beléeue. If men bée ignorant in the word of God, they cannot hauehave power to resist the deuill: they hauehave no sword to fight with him. Christ our great Captaine hath left vntounto vsus an example which we ought to follow, when he resisted the deuill. For at eueryevery temptation, he draweth foorth this same spirituall sworde, and saith it is written, and so woundeth Satan therewith, that he taketh the foyle. Moreouer, as men are to bee armed with the power of GOD, so are they continually to pray, for by faithfull prayer they shall obtaine a continuall supplie of grace, to ouercome the new and fresh assalts of the deuill. We are to giuegive thanks also vntounto God at all tymes for his benefites, to depend vppon his prouidence, to commend vntounto his keeping both our soules and bodies, and all that we possesse. Thus shall the deuill hauehave no power for to hunt vsus: but if the Lord doe giuegive him leaue to afflict vsus, yet shal it be no further then may tend vntounto our good. For all things worke together for good vntounto those which doe louelove God. Let it mooue vsus to seeke increase of faith, by often hearing of Gods word taught: let it driue vsus vntounto continuallRom. 8. meditation in the same, and vntounto a godly life. For all those which despise the glorious Gospell of Christ, or the publishing of the same, and most especially such as fight against it, doe to their power set vp the kingdome of the deuill, and bring in all witcherie. The light of the Gospell doth beate him downe: and therefore when Christ sent foorth his Disciples at the first to preach, and they returning reioyced, that euen the deuilles were made subiect vntounto them: he saith, I saw Satan fall downe from heauen like lightning. The Lord send abroad the light of his truth to throw downe Satan, and to driue away darknes from the mindes of the people.
Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · George Gifford, Discourse of the Subtle Practices of Devils (1587)