A26888:481
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.
One thing more I think meet to mind the Reader of, that he may not lose the Benefit of these Histories: That is, How to discern a good Spirit from a bad. The Scripture telling us that three things are the Characters of Devils, Lying, Malignity and Hurtfulness, (Joh. 8.) which include all Uncharitableness, Revenge and Division, we may certainly gather, that it is a Diabolical Spirit that promoteth these, whatever the Pretences are.
One thing more I think meet to mind the Reader of, that he may not lose the Benefit of these Histories: That is, How to discern a good Spirit from a bad. The Scripture telling us that three things are the Characters of Devils, Lying, Malignity and Hurtfulness, (Ioh. 8.) which include all Uncharitableness, Revenge and Division, we may certainly gather, that it is a Diabolical Spirit that promoteth these, whatever the Pretences are.
1. The Antichristian Error, called Antinomian, that would set Christ against Christ, and make Men believe that his Death hath made all our Obedience to his Government a thing that shall never do us any good, (being called Works,) and all ⟨p. 237⟩our Sins against his Grace to be so harmless, that we ought not to think that we shall be ever the worse for them; and that the Elect that live in Perjury, and Murder, and Adultery, or any other Sin, are not perjured, Murderers, Adulterers, because now they are Christ's Sins, and not theirs, (with many such Reproaches of Christ, called by the Crispians, the Exalting of him.) These certainly are from Devils, and God doth notably disown them, as the fore mentioned Instances of the Ranters, and those in New England, mentioned by Mr. Weld, do show. And the doleful Form of Mr. Davies Congregation, about Rowel in Northamptonshire, of the Madness, Blasphemies, Barkings and Bestiality there, I leave to the Enquiry of sober Persons: Though I am no Witness of it, the Reports are such as are not meet to be silenced.