A27017:672
The Saints' Everlasting Rest
The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is showed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...
London: printed by Rob. White for Thomas Underhil and Francis Tyton, 1650
THE SAINTS Everlasting REST. PART II. › Chapter 7 › Section 4
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.
SECT. IV.1
- 1§. 4.
Fourthly, the fourth and last of these palpable Arguments, to §4prove that man hath a future happiness or Misery, is drawn from the Devils compacts with Witches. It cannot be only his desire of hurting their bodies, that makes him enter into these ⟨p. 244⟩contracts with them: For that he might procure by other means as likely. Beside, it is some kind of prosperity, or fulfilling of their desires, which he conditioneth to give them. It is a childish thing to conceit, that the Devil cares so much for a few drops of their blood: Is not the blood of a beast or other creature as sweet? Neither can it be only the acknowledgement of his power that he aims at; nor a mere desire of being honoured or worshipped in the world, as Porphyrius and other Pagans have thought, For he is most truly served, where he is least discerned, and most abhorred, when he most appears. His Apparitions are so powerful a means to convince the Atheist, who believes not that there is either God, or Devil, or Heaven, or Hell, that I am persuaded he would far rather keep out of sight, and that for the most part he is constrained by God to appear against his will.1 Besides, if Satan sought his own honour, he would still speak in his own name: But contrarily, his usual appearance is in the shape and name of some deceased person, affirming himself to be the soul of such a one, or else he pretends to be an Angel of light; And when he makes his compacts with Witches, it is seldom so plainly and directly, as that they understand it is indeed the Devil that they deal with. So that it is apparent, Satan seeks something more then the honour of domineering, that is, the ruin of the party with whom he deals; And that it is not their bodily and temporal ruin only, appears further by this; that he will heal as well as hurt, and give power to his confederates to do the like, and this tends not to the ruin of mens bodies. Though there be a great deal of deceit among them, yet doubtless many have been cured by Popish spells, and Pilgrimages, and Exorcisms. Carolus Piso mentions one of his patients, who was incurably deaf a year together, and was suddenly cured in the midst of his devotion to the Lady of Loretto. Fernelius mentions those that could stop any bleeding by repeating certain words. He saw an universal Jaundice cured in one night, by the hanging of a piece of Paper about the neck.