Thirdly whereas the diuell of himselfe is an inuisible spirit he taketh often vpon him the shape of other creatures whereby wherein he appeareth vnto men after diuers sorts sometimes in insensible things as he gaue his oracles in olde times otherwhiles out of images set in the temples of the heathen gods as also it is reported that hee did out of an oake in a wood neere to the citie Dodona Sometimes in sensible creatures as he did deceiue our Grandmother Eue by in the serpent Sometime in reasonable creatures as in man whereof there are many examples in the new testament of those whose bodies he had possessed and in our time also the like hath beene seene and obserued as Fernelius in the 16. chapter of his second booke de abditis rerum causis recordeth a historie wherof himselfe was as it seemeth an eye-witnes Of one which was possessed with a diuell who beeing a young man of good place and calling and being grieuously pained as it is there set downe did send for diuers Physitions who hauing vsed their best skill to cure the said malady did notwithstanding all their labour and cunning nothing preuaile In the end about some three moneths after it was found out that hee was possessed with a spirit as well by other things as also and that especially by speaking of greeke and latine whereas the party diseased was vtterly ignorant of the greeke tongue wherefore after that the fitte was somewhat slaked he confessed that hee had vttered those speeches against his will and to conclude after these waies and meanes and such like the diuell doth worke counterfeit miracles as I haue said to the which he is apt and able rather then man both in regard of his nature in his first creation and also in regard of his long experience since For beeing a spirit he easily doth pierce into that which a solide substance cannot and also beeing void of that burthen of the flesh wherewith man is clogged and pressed downe hee is able to mooue himselfe as well vpward as downeward or sidewaies and that with such speede as it passeth mans capacitie to conceiue of it Thus he sometimes stirreth vp windes and lightnings in the aire as Iob. cap. 1. from whence also he espyeth what is done or to bee done vpon the earth beneath sometimes raising earthquakes and fire and vapours out of the earth sometimes passing from place to place as occasion serueth to marke to see or to doe that which is most fitting for his owne turne as the Apostle Saint Peter saith 1. Epist. cap. 5. vers 8 that he goeth about like a roaring lyon seeking whome he may deuoure And further at the first beeing made an angell of God euen by nature he surpasseth man farre as well in vnderstanding and knowledge as also in power and dexteritie to put their knowledge in practise All which are much confirmed and augmented by his daily experience the which hee hath had from the creation of the world the which is graunted to no mortall man and therefore he is rightly called the olde serpent in the Apocal. cap. 12. vers 9. And albeit he bee fallen from his former integritie by reason of his transgression yet his naturall powers and faculties are not vtterly taken away but onely corrupted being now prone to all kinde of mischiefe and naughtines For whereas God almightie at the first framed him a most excellent creature furnished with most admirable gifts as the other angels to the obedience of his will now hee is become an enemy both to God and man turning his wit and knowledge into cunning and deceit and his strength and such like qualities to the working of sinne and iniquity euen to the ouerthrow of all vertue and goodnes but that the Lord hath put a bridle in his mouth so that he can go no further then God will permit him no not in naturall causes as it is manifest in the booke of Iob c. 1. 2. where it is set downe that he could not touch Iobs goods without especial licence and when he had done that he could proceed no further without a new commission to touch his bodie yet hee opposeth himselfe as much as in him lyeth against God erecting to himselfe by tyranny a kingdome of his own withdrawing by all meanes possible mankinde from the obedience of the almightie to serue him And to bring this matter the easier to passe as neere as he can he wil notwithstanding imitate God in these actions thereby to set a better glosse vpon his bad dealings In so much that as the Lord hath giuen a law vnto his subiects namely his word wherin is set downe both how himselfe will bee worshipped and also they should deale amongst themselues Euen so the diuell giueth rules of instruction to his liege people which haue giuen as it were their names vnto him to serue him I meane the magitians witches sorcerers inchanters and such like how they should vse themselues towards him both in regard of his owne person and also how they should do mischiefe and worke counterfeit miracles and vaine trickes of legerdemaine amongst themselues and other men Howbeit nothing is brought to passe indeede by these meanes but the diuell himselfe vnder the colour therof to wit of certaine sette formes of words or characters of what forme or fashion soeuer they be whether circular angular crossewise or in the figure of man beast or any other thing which is vsed in magicke The diuell I say vnder the colour of these and such like doth worke those effects which by his ministers are intended For what can words of themselues doe but onely signifie neither can characters doe or effect any thing but onely represent For if they doe any thing it must bee either of their owne nature or else by God his institution aboue and beyond nature But not of their owne nature seeing that the meanes and matter onely of words at the beginning were made when as God created al things and gaue vnto them their naturall properties and words were deuised by man afterward for otherwise they would be the selfe same among all nations which we see is false and this seemeth true and approued by the second chapter of Genesis the 19. and 20. verses where it is said that the Lord God formed of the earth euery beast of the field and euery foule of the heauen and brought them vnto the man to see how hee world call them for howsoeuer the man named the liuing creature so was the name thereof the man therefore gaue names vnto all cattell and to the foule of heauen and to euery beast of the field And as for characters they as euery man may see are not things naturall but artificially made and formed as we say according as it pleaseth the painter And as for this prerogatiue of words by God his institution besides that there can no warrant out of the scripture be brought to approoue it so it seemeth
or vnder the table but on a candle-stick that they that enter in may see the light so these men if they had an effectuall calling from God they could not but in some measure exercise the same to the glory of God and the good of his Church As the prophet Ieremy when as he saw little or no profit of his labours in so much that he was euen smitten and cast into prison for preaching of the word yet he could not forbeare but saith that the word of God was in his heart as a burning fire shut vp in his bones So that he was weary with forbearing and could not stay Ieremy the 20. cap. vers the 9. But these men of whome I speake are much vnlike to the prophet Ieremy For they are either so ignorant in the word of God and Christian religion that they know not the truth thereof and therefore how should they giue testimony vnto the same by the working of miracles Or els their life is so lewd and vaine that their witnes would rather giue offence then any wise confirme the truth of the word preached But to leaue this and come to the next note or marke whereby we may discry the working of miracles whether it be of God or not Let vs first consider the nature and difference of miracles A miracle may be defined a rare and vnwoonted thing or worke which either is or seemeth impossible to be wrought by any naturall force or meanes and thereby mooueth admiration Hence we may gather two kinds of miracles Namely right and true miracles and false or feined miracles The true miracles are those which cannot possibly be done by any naturall meanes or creature but onely by diuine vertue and power and these are of two sortes For some are so of and by themselues as was the feeding of the children of Israel with Manna in the wildernesse in the 16. cap. of Exod vers 36. The staying of the sunne in the time of Iehosuah cap. 10. vers 12. The raising of the dead Yea and the healing of diseases that by no natural meanes of any creature can be cured and a great many more such like set down in the scripture the which cannot be wrought but onely by the finger of God and therefore not by any diuilish meanes or sorcery Albeit the diuell may sometimes counterfeit the same Yet his legerdemaine is heere sooner espied then in any other kind of miracles by reason that he wanteth the ground of naturall causes to support it The second sort of right and true miracles are those which are so onely in regard of their manner of working being not effected by nor proceeding from any naturall cause but from the power of God As the curing of diseases with the onely shadow of Peter Act. cap. 5. if the said diseases were otherwise curable although hardly by naturall meanes And in this chap. ver 12. with the napkins and partletes of Saint Paul As also the raine and cloudes of Elias in the first booke of the King cap. 18. And the thunder of Samuel 1. Sam. cap. 12. In this sort of miracles the diuell doth often intermeddle his ministers the sorcerers vsing otherwhiles the same outward meanes which the seruants of God haue vsed in such like cases and the diuel vnder this veile worketh the effect intended by naturall meanes as many sorcerers in these our daies doe send cloathes vnto their patients the which being done the diuell doth secretly infuse some naturall remedy whereby the malady wherewith they are greieued is cured And when things are thus wrought they are not true but false miracles for right and true miracles as I said before are those which are effected by the diuine power of God onely of which sort were all those which were done by the Prophets Apostles and our Sauiour Christ himselfe and his disciples For the grace of working miracles is a spirituall gift and not a naturall as it is set downe in the 12. cap. of the 1. epist. Cor. And therefore the meanes of the said working must needs be supernaturall being wrought by the same spirit who is the author and distributer of the said gift For euen as the Lord God hath created heauen and earth so hath he giuen to euery thing therein in the creation a seuerall nature vertue and property to be wrought or to worke this or that effect if it be rightly vsed and applyed the which it is not possible for any creature in the world to alter or change but onely for the creator who made al things of nought at the first as the Psalmist saith He set the earth vpon hir foundations that it neuer should mooue Psal. 104. Wherefore neither man angell nor diuell can doe any thing but onely by naturall meanes for they cannot create any thing of nothing for that is proper to God alone and therefore they of themselues can doe no true and right miracles but as God himselfe by his diuine power doth supernaturally worke the said miracles by them But they may worke false and counterfeit miracles Which are those which either are not the thing that they seeme to be or els if they be so yet are they wrought by naturall meanes albeit to vs vnknowne For the diuell doth often times deceiue and delude the senses so that things do shew to be other and otherwise then they are indeede as it commeth to passe in night spells as they tearme them when as it seemeth that a wal or some great water is obiected and set against the party that is within the circle of the said spell that he cannot passe forth Which is nothing els but a meere delusion of Satan For let them goe backward and they may passe the circle without any such let with many other such like Howbeit sometimes he exhibiteth the thing it selfe which in shew appeareth as was the fire which consumed Iobs sheepe and his seruantes Iob. 1. cap. And this he doth by diuerse and sundry waies and meanes but especially by three The first is by applying the efficient or working cause vnto the matter whereof they know any thing which they intend may be effected And so it is thought that Pharaohs sorcerers made the frogges before him Exod. 8. The like wherof we may see by daily experience amongst vs when as by the blowing of flyes vpon flesh there arise wormes or maggotes And by this means partly they both bring diseases vpon men and likewise sometimes cure them by applying or infusing secretly either inwardly or outwardly to the bodie things that may hurt or heale the same Secondly by the stirring and moouing of things as in the aire when he raiseth windes and lightnings as Iob. cap. 1. vers 19. and when he maketh any to be carried aloft in the same In the waters when he causeth inundations In the body of man or beast when he mooueth the spirits or humours whereby diuers and sundrie diseases are ingendred the which it were long here to recite
God did as well cure diseases as foretell the euent thereof For the damsell which waited vpon the wife of Naaman the Syrian told her mistris that if her master Naaman were with the prophet Elisha in Samaria he would soone deliuer him of his leprosie The which no doubt shee would neuer haue done if she had not knowne or heard that he had done the like before Nay if it had not been well knowne that they which went to the Idol Baalzebub had sometimes obtained their purpose in those cases Ahaziah being a man of that power and authority would not haue sent vnto him But to leaue this come to their next argument which is That oftentimes they vse good and godly words and characters and therefore their doings are not euill nor wrought by Satan But herein they doe mightily bewray their ignorance in the crafty policies of the diuell who euer as neare as it is possible for him will couer his wicked entents and dealings with the cloake of holinesse and honesty turning himselfe as the Apostle Saint Paul saith 2. Cor. cap. 11. vers 14. into an angell of light For euen as the holy angels in heauen doe indeede performe all duties and vse al good and godly meanes according to God his commandements to the honour of God and the good of his elect euen so Satan and his ministers the sorcerers will seeme to doe the same albeit they haue alwaies another yea a contrary entent and meaning So the diuell in the beginning would not seeme to doe it himselfe but when there was no humane creature vpon the earth to suborne in that behalfe he entred into the serpent vsing him to perswade the woman to disobey the commaundement of God in eating of the forbidden fruit because he was the wiliest beast of all that God had made and therfore Eue might the rather be drawne thereby to follow his counsell which he would seeme to giue vnto her for her good as one that wished her well and sought her commodity when as he went about her eternall destruction and of all her posterity And in the 22. cap. of the first booke of the King he did not take a direct course to shew himselfe according vnto his intention in that action but he vsed the tongue of the prophets to tell lies that thereby Achab might be perswaded to goe and fall in battell And albeit they were all of them false prophets yet they were not so reputed or esteemed of the king who asked counsell at their hands And it is manifest in that place that they pretended the authority and commaundement of God by the suggestion of the diuell as it is in the aforesaid chapter v. 11. where it is said that Zidkiiah made hornes of iron saying thus saith the Lord with these shalt thou push the Aramites vntill thou haue consumed them We see also in the 4. cap. of Saint Mathewes Gospel and likewise in Saint Luke That Satan himselfe in his owne person vsed the words of the scripture to couer his mischieuous intent when he tempted our Sauiour Christ. The which if it be so then why may not his seruants and instruments the sorcerers vse the like meanes to colour their wicked practises Nay whosoeuer shall looke into their bookes and writings albeit for the most part they be badly and without any sense or reason applied yet he shall find often times very good words and sentences partly out of the scripture and partly of their owne deuising the which a man would not thinke to be greatly to be found fault withal if their intent were good and their authority from God lawfull and allowed As it is manifest by histories That the Aegyptian sorcerers vsed in their sorceries these words To wit The god of Israell The god of the Hebrewes The god which drowned the Aegyptians and their king in the red sea And is it not most manifest by the plaine words of this text which I haue in hand that the Exorcistes vsed the same words in effect which Saint Paul and the other holy Apostles of our Sauiour Christ did making as it were a charme of the scripture of God For what is a Charme els but a certaine or set forme of words either by themselues alone or ioyned with characters without any commission or especiall authority from God vsed to the intent that by them some extraordinary worke or wonder might be wrought So that how glorious soeuer or how goldy soeuer the words may seeme to be in outward shew yet if they be vsed without gods especiall direction or commaundement to the aforesaid end they are but meere charmes Albeit my selfe haue heard some being patrones of these kinds of wicked practises who haue said That then it is a charme onely when as such words are vsed which are not vnderstood of him which vseth them The which is confuted in the 58. Psal. in these words They are as venemous as the poyson of a serpent euen like the deafe adder that stoppeth hir eares which refuseth to heare the voice of the charmer charme he neuer sowisely In which words the prophet Dauid describeth the obstinate wickednesse of his aduersaries in the court of king Saul who hauing beene often reprooued and told their duty out of the word of truth did notwithstanding wilfully persist in their sinnes giuing no eare to that wholesome counsell whereby they might be bettered much like vnto the adder which will not heare when she should with inchantment be bound and restrained from hurting with her poison but stoppeth her eares least shee should hear the voice of the charmer charming Now if a charme cannot be vnderstood what it signifieth what needeth the adder to stoppe her eares at it or what wisedome or cunning can be discerned therein if so be the meaning thereof is not to be knowne what is said or sung or finally how serueth this comparison to the purpose of the Psalmist if no difference may be perceiued betwixt one charme and another whether of them is the better or morewise or cunning Nay the very etymologie of the word doth insinuate vnto vs that it may be vnderstood For it is certaine that the word charme is deriued of the Latine word carmen the letter h being put in as we see in the word Inchantment when as in the Latine word incantamentum whereof it is deriued the said letter is not found but in the french tongue it is put in Wherefore both these words viz. charme and inchantment seeme to come from the Latines vnto the French men first and from them to vs by the comming in of William the Conquerour as it appeareth by auncient recordes that charmes and inchantments in old time were called Spells which seemeth to haue the same signification that carmen hath in Latine as it may be gathered out of Chaucer where he saith Listen to my spell which is as much to say as Listen to my words or worke in vers For a spell as also carmen among the