A26888:390
The certainty of the worlds of spirits and, consequently, of the immortality of souls…
The certainty of the worlds of spirits and, consequently, of the immortality of souls of the malice and misery of the devils and the damned : and of the blessedness of the justified, fully evinced by the unquestionable histories of apparitions, operations, witchcrafts, voices &c. / written, as an addition to many other treatises for the conviction of Sadducees and infidels, by Richard Baxter.The certainty of the worlds of spirits and, consequently, of the immortality of souls of the malice and misery of the devils and the damned : and of the blessedness of the justified, fully evinced by the unquestionable histories of apparitions, operations, witchcrafts, voices &c. / written, as an addition to many other treatises for the conviction of Sadduces and infidels, by Richard Baxter.
London: printed for T. Parkhurst, 1691
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
SIR,
IN Obedience to your desire by Mr. Hat, to have it under my Hand, what he told you of Mr. Tyro, who was sent by Mr. Brand at Bishops Hall near London, to Preach at Ungar in Essex; and to prevent mistakes, I think fit, in order to your Satisfaction, to give you this Account of him; and therein take occasion to let you know, how great an Honour and Esteem he had for you. Sir, I believe, had you known him, you would have ranked him among those Worthies that you have helped to Heaven, for he followed you as you follow Christ. About seven Weeks before his Death, when there was hope of recovery, he told me, he had something to tell me, that he had not imparted to any Body, and expressed it thus, When I was one Evening returning to my Lodging, then at Ungar, from this House, being then in a good degree of Health, and in a serious frame, meditating by the way, I heard a voice say, You shall die, and not pass your five and thirtieth Year of Age, which Voice astonished me greatly, and looking round about me, seeing no body, put me into great Consternation and Sweat all over me, ⟨p. 200⟩such as I never felt (though I dare not compare it to drops of Blood) yet I cannot express how dreadful it was. You know, Madam, my Principles, and that I am no Enthusiast▪ and how cautious I am as to Revelations But I am sure this was no Melancholy Fancy, but an auricular Voice. After I had a little recovered my self; I begged of God to discover to me, if this were from him, or a Delusion from Satan, but still the Impression remained, though I sought God by Prayer most part of that Night; and you may remember, in my next Visit, I told you, I should die shortly, but I did not tell you of the Voice I heard. And then he added, This is my five and thirtieth Year of Age; in July next I shall be so old. And many other Expressions he added, which is too much for a Letter; but he died in January 1690. I cannot omit, Sir, to let you know, how much he desired the happiness of a personal Converse with you; though he did write to you formerly, when he was under great trouble of Conscience, and you were pleased to write to him again, though his Name was unknown to you, and God made you instrumental to his Relief and Comfort: He told me, whenever he heard you preach, there was such a Presence of God accompanied your Ministry, that he felt both Fear, and Trembling, and Joy possess him at once.