Satan Transformed Into an Angel of Light, Title page – Dedication
SATHAN TRANSFORMED into an Angell of Light, expressing his dangerous Impostures vnderunder glorious shewes.
Emplified Specially in the Doctrine of Witch-craft, and such sleights of Satan, as are incident thereunto.
Very necessary to discerne the speci-Plague raging in these dayes, and so to hide our selues from the snare thereof.
LONDON, Printed by Barnard Alsop. 1622.
To the right worshipfull Alderman Holiday, the worthy Gouernour of the East Indian Merchants, together with the prouident Treasures and graue Committees, and the rest of the aduenturers in that famous trade All things pertaining to life and godlinesse.
RIght worthy and beloued in our Lord Iesus Christ: It is the wonderfull mercy and exceeding patience of our gratious God towards vsus of this sinfull Nation that in the middest of such fearfull stormes and bloody garboyles deuouring our neighbors round about vsus, wee of this Iland though, as it were, enuironed round about with such tempestuous seas, do yet notwithstanding enioy such temperate seasons, as not onelyonly to eate the fruite of our owne labours, but to be enabled moreouer out of our aboundance to entertaine and releeue our distressed neighbours. And is not the wisedome of God admirable herein to warne vsus to looke home, when our neighbours house is on fire, and to make it our owne case, what is common to vsus with others. Is not his mercy vnspeakeable that seeing charitie couereth a multitude of sinnes, and much is forgiuen to those that louelove much, therefore wee may hauehave hope of Gods longer forbearance & indulgence towards vsus, so long as we regard the afflictions of Ioseph, & by our brotherly affections, beare one anothers burthen. Surely though the sickle must be put in when the haruest is ripe, and there are too many signes among vsus that the regions are white vntounto the haruest, yea that the Deere is gone out to go through the land, yet euen here I hauehave obserued these meanes to stay the execution. First, when there are some remaining to stand in the gap to turne away the wrath. Secondly, when the Lord is iustified and approued by his word. And thirdly, when by our compassion and prudence wee doe communicate with the afflictions of our brethren, and so voluntarily suffer with them in their distresses. Wherein as we hauehave speciall cause to blesse our gratious God for his good hand with our worthy Nehemiah in this holy worke, so are wee wisely to secure our selues in succouring others, and doing good while wee hauehave time to the houshold of faith. Shall not Sathan and his instruments herein otherwise condemne vsus, who if euer heretore, do speedily combine them selues against the Lord and his annoynted, whose maine policy it is in these latter dayes to disunite the hearts of Christians and to weaken their hands that they may more speedily and easily make prey of them. Doe not his croaking frogges those infernall Iebusites compasse land and sea to this end, creeping into the chambers, yea into the harts of Princes, both to exasperate such as are auerse against the poore mēbers of Christ, and also alienate euen the well affected from the maintenance of the common faith. And doe wee thinke that they hauehave left any stone vnrowled to compasse the same, can we imagine but that these spirits of diuels hauehave waded into the depth of their fathers methods, and as she in the Poet:
When heauen will affoord no helpe, shee'le moue the infernall powers, so in despite of heauen these limbs of Sathan hauehave now failed to employ the powers of darkenesse for the more effectuall deluding of the children of disobedience? And are not these the times wherein if it were possible the very elect may bee seduced and ensnared hereby. Is not the wisdome and iustice of God admirable herein that when the Foole saith in his heart there is no God, & the Atheist dreams of no other hell but to bee in debt, and affliction, and so plots by all meanes to build his heauen on earth by wallowing in all excesse of riot and vanitie, as hereby he reapes such wages of his error as is meet, euen to be giuen vp to a reprobate sense, and so not onelyonly to all monstrous and desperate wickednesse, but euen to maintaine and secure the same against all future reckonings, as if he had made a couenent with hell, and were at an agreement with death▪ so is he iustly taken in his owne craftinesse, and most wonderfully arrested by the power of hell, to the apparant confusion of his imagined happinesse, and while hee dreames of no other heauen but to doe what hee list in earth, hee is not onelyonly therein restrained by the power of heauen to the confusiō of his present hopes for the good of the Saints, but also iustly caught in the snares of his owne wickednesse by the power of hell, as to beginne and seale hereby vntounto him eternall vengeance, and to hasten him thereto; so that the righteous may more wonderfully escape of our trouble, when the wicked are falne into the pit they digged for them. Surely as it is a righteous thing with God, that they that doe not receiue the louelove of the truth, shall be giuen vp to strong delusions to beleeue lies: so if euer satan were transformed into an Angell of light, and so more effectually by his lies and subtilties did deceiue vnstable soules: If euer the sure word and wonderfull workes of God were outfaced and suppressed by the sleights and forgeries of the God of this world, the experience here of is most notorious in our times: to instance in this particular being the subiect of our experience how mightily the Lord hath iustified his word, both auouching in these dayes the truth of this doctrine of Witchcraft as also euidencing the power thereof in dissoluing the workes of Satan, as experience hath made it manifest, so we hauehave had not onelyonly the great Patrones and friends of the Church confirming the same, but euen the Churches verie enemies hauehave beene enforced to acknowledge no lesse. And yet such hath been the efficacy of delusion, that this very same most glorious truth vponupon other respects as it hath found hard measure among fained friends, so it hath also thereby beene traduced and peruerted by it enemies. And surely we may the lesse wonder hereat, if we consider wisely, that as commodities are in request with many according to their diuers humours, and different seasons, so doth it befall the sacred truth. which though it be sometimes in request, when it may serue to aduance the pride of the flesh and infancie of religion, yet doth it easily grow out of date, when either it tends to humble the flesh, or iustly challengeth lukewarmnesse and hypocrisie. Which as it was the portion of the Lord and master of the Church, sometimes to bee cryed vp with Hosanna, eftsoones to bee cryed downe with crucifige so hath it beene the lot of the scepter of this kingdome, the budding rod of Aaron sometimes to be turned into a serpent in the opinion of man, as if it onelyonly entended to destruction and not to edification, no better then a doctrine of licentiousnesse or sedition and despaire, which eftoones was in esteeme as Angels foode, sweeter then honey, pretious aboue rubies, most orient gems. Which seeing it hath beene also the portion of this truth concerning witchcraft, is it any maruell if what man opposeth and seeketh to suppresse, the Lord himselfe hath powerfully maintaind and iustified, as prouing vntounto it gainesayers a sauour of death, that hauehave refused to embrace the same as a sauour of life vntounto life. Surely when I discerne the efficacy of delusion preuailing in these dayes euen vponupon such that hauehave tested of the good word of God, and beene pertakens of the enlightning spirit: and so hauehave had some kenning of the power of the life to come, and yet are so falue away from conscience, yea from science it selfe, that they are very strangers from the life of God through their affected ignorance, and being willingly ignorant of what they hauehave formerly beene conuinced of, are growne to bee starke-mockers of all powers; yet all forme of Religion, and so in this their Atheisme, sing a Requiem to their soules, fearing no other hell, then to be mooued in their slippery state, and dreaming of no other heauen then to build their foundation in the sands: Mee thinkes I see the foolish worldling on the pinnacle of his confidence, and so in his greatest security, lying open to confusion. And do I not see the Iustice of God working wonderfully herein, in besotting the foole in his owne wisedome. Euen giuing him vp to rest vponupon such broken reedes, for the securing of his Babel, which are the onelyonly meanes to confound the same. And hath not the God of the world by diuine permission a speciall stroke in this delusion, not only to proue a lying spirit in the mouth of our false Prophets, bidding to go page missing