CHAP. VII.
Again, it is said,Isa.viii. 29. the Prophet speaking there to unbelievingIsraelitesthat did not believe the Word of the Lord through the Prophets Mouths, concerning the Destruction that should come uponIsrael; this Judgment did the Lord threaten by the Mouth of his ProphetIsaiahto bring uponIsraelfor their Unbelief; and this Prophet seeing the People would not hearken unto the Voice of the Lord's Prophets, nor inquire of them, but altogether persecuted them as false Prophets, Deceivers and Liers, and the Inclination of their Hearts was more willing and desirous to enquire of a Witch or Wizard, who had a Familiar Spirit then of the Prophet of the Lord, as you may see Chapter and Verse above-written; the Words are these as followeth.
And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have Familiar Spirits, and unto Wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a People seek unto their God for the living to the dead.The Meaning of these Words is this, that unbelieving Men do think and believe that Witches and Wizards who hath a Familiar Spirit, can rise out of the Ground where dead Men were buried, living Spirits without Bodies that can reveal Things unto them, by that motional Voice that doth proceed from these Familiar Spirits, which doth peep and mutter.
That is, the Whisperings that proceeds from this Familiar Spirit, that is begotten by the Imagination of Reason the Father, and the Seed of Reason the Mother, as I said before, is that motional Voice all Witches and Wizards have, whereby they peep and mutter in themselves, as if they did hear Voices and see Shapes, and living Spirits arise out of the Ground, as the Witch ofEndorsaid to KingSaul,She saw Gods ascend out of the earth. When as there was no Spirit norShape came out of the Ground, at all; but the Gods she saw ascend out of the Earth came out of her own Imagination, even that Familiar Spirit begotten in her, it seemed unto her as if it did ascend out of the Earth, but those Gods she said she saw ascend out of the Earth, they ascended out of her own Imagination, andSaulbelieved her, and so was Partakers with her, and he did believe that she had raisedSamuel's Spirit out of the Earth, as the Witch had said.
And this is to be minded by the Reader, that when Spirits are to be raised by Witches, her Familiar Spirit always ariseth out of her own self, even from the Seed of Reason and Imagination of her own Heart, whereby she doth hear Voices within her, whispering low Voices, as if some other Spirits without her did spake with a low Voice unto her, and present Shapes unto her dazled Eyes, which seemeth to the Witch to be real Voices of a Spirit without her, and a real Shape without her; when as in Deed and in Truth, it ariseth out of her own self, even from the Seed of Reason, and Imagination of her own Heart, whereby she doth hear Voices within her, whispering low Voices, as if some other Spirit without her did speak with a low Voice to her, and present Shapes to her dazled Eyes, which seemeth to the Witch to be a real Voice of a Spirit without her, and a real Shape without her, when as in Deed and in Truth it is nothing else but a motional Voice begotten in her self, and Shapes begotten in her self, by the Imagination in the Womb of Reason as aforesaid, which is that Familiar Spirit.
Which is that Familiar Spirit she doth deal with, she thinking it is from some Spirit without her, she not knowing it is begotten in her; and this Familiar Spirit begotten in her, it whispers within her with a low motional Voice, as if some Spirit did whisper out of the Ground. According to that saying of the Prophet,Isa.xxix. 4. concerning the Destruction or Judgment of God uponJerusalem; the Words are these,And thou shalt be brought down and shalt speak out of the Ground, and thy Speech shall be low out of the Dust, and thy Voice shall be as one that hath a Familiar Spirit out of the Ground, and thy Speech shall whisper out of the Dust.
As if the Prophet should say, Seeing you have refused to hearken to the Voice of the Prophets, which hath declared the Mind of the God ofIsraelopenly with a loud Voice; you have heard them speak plain Words with your Ears, but you have not believed they spoke Truth unto you; therefore you have rejected the Word of the Lord by his Prophets, and have persecuted and slain some of them as falseProphets, because they spake unto you in the Name of the Lord, as it was revealed by the Spirit of Revelation in them.
They spake plain Words unto you, as might be heard to the outward Ear by the Standers-by; they were visible Men that spake unto you, so that you need not to enquire after any that hath a Familiar Spirit, who speaketh so softly and so low, that no Standers-by can hear this Familiar Spirit speak, but he or she that hath it.
But as for plain Words openly declared by the Prophets, and publickly heard by the outward Ear, these you have rejected, despised, persecuted, and counted them Liars, Deceivers, false Prophets, and such like: Therefore God hath given you over to strong Delusions, to enquire of a Witch, who makes you believe that Spirits may be raised out of the Ground, and that Spirits do come out of the Dust, and whisper to the Witch with a low Voice, that none can hear but her self. So that those that enquire do believe as KingSauldid, that a Familiar Spirit can enter into the Dust or Ground, and bring up another Man's Spirit that is dead without its Body, and so their two Spirits whisper so low together, that none can hear that stands by, nor tell what this Spirit that is raised did say, nor whether the Spirit so raised is gone into the Body again, or into the Ground from whence the Witch said it was raised; which Spirit that is said to be raised, or said to speak out of the Ground, I say, it was raised out of the Witches own Body, and no where else; and those low Voices and Whisperings were both within her, and not without her.