4. Though this Prophet fell into hainous crimes, and enormous sins, as tempting of God, who when the first Messengers came from Balak unto him, was positively commanded not to go with them, and yet as though God would change his mind entertained them again, whereby Gods anger was kindled against him. And though he was drawn to love the wages of unrighteousness, and so was rebuked by the dumb Ass, and though he taught Balak to lay a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, and therefore had that judgment to be slain among the Midianites: Yet none of these do conclude at all, that therefore he used Diabolical Divinations, or had not what he declared from Divine Revelation, no more than the flying of Jonah to Tarshish, when he was commanded to go to preach against Nineveh, or his repining at Gods mercy shewed to that great City, manifested him to be a lying Prophet, or to use devilish Divination. Neither the Prophets being seduced, that cried against the altar at Bethel, before Jeroboam, by the old Prophet, and his being slain in the way by a lion, & his carkase left there, did at all argue that his Prophecie was false, or that he had not his message from God, but they only shew, that even those that have been truly inspired by God and been truly taught by him, have notwithstanding often disobeyed him, and have had therefore fearful temporal judgments faln upon them, and yet no argument that they used unlawful Divinations.
From hence also the Witchmongers use to urge a frivolous and groundless argument which is this; that the Angel did speak in Balaams Ass, and therefore the Devil may speak in a Dog, or a Cat to a Witch, but this is confuted by these reasons.
Reas. 1.
1. What the Angel did there was by command and commission from God, but we never read, nor can it be proved that the Devil is sent upon such idle, and ordinary errands, to work a miracle, to speak in a Dog, or a Cat, to a Witch; for God doth not work wonders for any such wicked and abominable ends. And if he be not sent of God, he cannot of himself perform any such matter, who could not enter into the Swine, without Christs leave and order; but is kept in chains of everlasting darkness, from whence he is not loosed, but when God sends him as an instrument to accomplish his will, which is always for good and just ends, and not for such execrable and wicked purposes.
Numb. 22. 26, 27.
Verse 28.
2. They take up a false supposition, for the Angel was not in the Ass either essentially, or effectively, for at the very instant that the Ass spoke, the Angel was standing in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left, and then seeing the Angel of the Lord she fell down under Balaam, and spoke, and the Angel could not both stand in the narrow way and likewise be in the Ass, in the same moment of time, except we should grant that absurdity that a creature may be in two distinct places at one and the self same time, which was never yet allowed to any created being. But they openly belie, and falsifie the words of the Text, for it doth not say that the Angel spoke in the Ass, but that the Lord, (the word is Jehovah) opened the mouth of the Ass. So that (we suppose) here is enough demonstrated that from none of the places of Scriptures hitherto enumerated, any colourable grounds can be drawn to uphold those particulars that we have laboured to confute, and therefore we shall pass to another Chapter.
CHAP. VIII.
Of the Woman of Endor that pretended to raise up Samuel, and of some other places in the Scriptures, not handled yet, and of some other objections.
Concerning the Woman of Endor, that our English and many other Translators have falsly rendered a Witch, or a Woman that had a familiar Spirit, we have spoken sufficiently, where we treated of the signification of the word Ob. And there have shewed plainly, that she is only called the Mistriss of the bottle, or of the Oracle, and that what she there did, or pretended to do, was only by Ventriloquy, or casting her self into a feigned Trance lay groveling upon the earth with her face downwards, and so changing her voice did mutter and murmur, and peep and chirp like a bird coming forth of the shell, or that she spake in some hollow Cave or Vault, through some Pipe, or in a Bottle, and so amused and deceived poor timerous and despairing Saul, or had a confederate apparelled like Samuel to play his part, and that it was neither Samuels Body, Soul, nor no Ghost or Devil, but only the cunning and Imposture of the Woman alone, or assisted with a confederate. And though this might be amply satisfactory to all sound and serious judgments, especially if hereunto be added what Mr. Scot, Mr. Ady, Mr. Wagstaff, and the learned Authors of the Dialogue of Spirits and Devils have written upon this subject: yet because we have promised before to speak something of the History and matter of fact, and that Mr. Glanvil a Minister of our English Church hath of late espoused the quarrel, we shall confute his arguments and clear the case as fully as in reason can be required, and that in these particulars following.