A Guide to Grand-jury Men, Book 2 · Chapter 10
CHAP. X. That many yet runne vntounto these Witches, and their reasons which they alleadge, answered.
THere is no action so bad, but if men either get, or saue thereby, there will bee both the practice, and the approbation thereof, euer by some: so are men captiuated to the care of a bodily safety, and preseruation of an outward estate in this life. So it happeneth in this case, of going vntounto, and seeking helpe of VVitches, who vse such reasons as these, to countenance their going to them.
I. Such surely worke by God, because they vse good prayers, and good words, and often name God.
But to answer this, let them remember that the Diuell himselfe can vse good words, Mar. 1.24. and 5.7. Act. 17. that hee can counterfeit the habit and words of an holy man Samuel, 1. Sam. 28. 13, 15, 17. that he can turne himselfe into an Angell of light, 2. Cor. 11. Therefore hee can teach his seruants to faine holinesse. As for their prayers, they are foolish, popish, superstitious, if not all, most of them, and some of them learned of the Diuell himselfe,Bodin. l. 3. c. 5. as some hauehave confessed.
II. That they vse oyntments, hearbs and medicines to cure the diseased.
I answer, These are but colourings to couer their Witcherie.
1. Because they vse but one medicine, and the same commonly to cure many diseases.
2. Because they cannot cure any disease, but that which is by cherie, and therefore they say, that such persons, or that thing is bewitched, for which the commers to them seeke remedie, shewing hereby what diseases they can cure. Therefore naturall medicines to cure supernaturall diseases, are vsed onelyonly to hide their Witchcraft, and sorceries.
III. That it may be, as some thinke, that they hauehave a gift from God, this way to doe good.
Answ. There is no reasonable probabilitie for this, for then God would not condemne them, nor such as seeke to them: neither would hee suffer his seruants to bee so afflicted, (as you hauehave heard) in vsing his gifts; hee would not so ill reward his seruants: and this conceit of being the power of God, was in the bewitched Samaritans, who thought so ou r…well of Simon Magus, as these Samari…an-like bewitched people do of these silly Ma-gooses.
IV. That they hauehave indured great torment, and great losses of cattell, and could not otherwise finde helpe.
Iob was in another manner tormented, and receiued farre greater losses, yet he depended vponupon God, patiently waited his leisure, resolued to trust in God, though hee should hauehave dyed, and therefore was at length deliuered. A woman which had a disease twelue yeeres, & had spent all she had, vnderunder the hands of Physicians to be cured, but could not, but rather grew worse, yet shee resorted not to diabolicall means (that we reade of) though ordinarie meanes failed her, but waited Gods good time, and was miraculously deliuered, Mar. 5.25. 29. So another woman had a spirit of …fi…mi…ie, and was bound by Satan eighteene yeeres; yet she would not (for any thing wee know) vse any ill meanes for her helpe: for the Text saith; Shee was a daughter of Abraham, Luk. 13. 15, 16. and therefore was at the length also cured.
V. That many hauehave gone to such, and found present remedy.
1. As some hauehave found remedy, so other some hauehave not, euen by your owne testimony; so set one against the other. 2. The lawfulnesse of an action is not to bee iudged by the successe. Wicked men in ill wayes prosper sometimes, to the hardening of their heart in euill, and so is there a spirituall plague vponupon them for their wickednesse, which they doe not consider of. 3. Wee hauehave the Apostles lesson.Rom. 3.8. We may not doe euill, that good may come thereof: the going to them God forbids, and therefore euill: and bodily ease will not excuse the sinne before God.
4. Let such consider what before is deliuered, touching such as bee holpen, whether they continue well, or whether a worse euill hath not after befalne them, or whether the like hath not hapned to some of theirs, or to some of their cattell, or to some of their friends, as stories shew, that so it hath hapned, and so it may still fall out.
VI. That they hauehave helpe from these at a little or no cost at all, whereas Physicke is very chargeable.
But let such consider, that physicall meanes is of God, in the vse whereof wee may pray for a blessing; whereas this is of the Diuell, and the remedy with a curse. We cannot, wee may not pray to God to finde remedie in seeking to the Diuell. It's also a miserable sparing, to spare the purse, and to damne the soule.
VII That these speake against bad Witches, and often discouer them, and therefore cannot they themselues be bad.
This is no good argument; for hee may bee bad inough himselfe, that speaketh against another, in some thing worse then himselfe. As for the discouerie of a bad Witch, you hauehave heard by the testimony and conf…ssion of a Witch, that this they doe by the Diuels telling: Therefore being in league with the Diuell, they are for all these pretexts to bee detested, and their villanies before God to be abhorred.