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| | | BOOKE I. The Discoverie Credulities |
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| Psal. 25. | | But certeinlie, it is neither a witch, nor divell, but a glorious God that maketh |
| Psal. 83. | | the thunder. I have read in the scriptures, that God maketh the blustering |
| Eccles. 43. | | tempests and whirlewinds: and I find that it is the Lord that altogither dealeth |
| Luke. 8. | | with them, and that they blowe according to his will. But let me see anie of |
| Matth. 8. | | them all rebuke and still the sea in time of tempest, as Christ did; or raise the |
| Mark. 4, 41. | | stormie wind, as God did with his word; and I will beleeve in them. Hath anie |
| Luke. 8, 14. | | witch or conjurer, or anie creature entred into the treasures of the snowe; or |
| Psal. 170. | | seene the secret places of the haile, which GOD hath prepared against the daie |
| Job. 38, 22. | | of trouble, battell, and warre? I for my part also thinke with Jesus Sirach, that |
| Eccles. 43. | | at Gods onelie commandement the snowe falleth; and that the wind bloweth |
| Leviti. 26. | | according to his will, who onelie maketh all stormes to cease; and who (if we |
| | | keepe his ordinances) will send us raine in due season, and make the land to |
| | | bring forth hir increase, and the trees of the field to give their fruit. |
| Paul. 78, 23. | | But little thinke our witchmongers, that the Lord commandeth the clouds |
| | | above, or openeth the doores of heaven, as David affirmeth; or that the Lord |
| Nahum. 1. | | goeth forth in the tempests and stormes, as the Prophet Nahum reporteth: but |
| | | rather that witches and conjurers are then about their businesse. |
| | | The Martionists acknowledged one God the authour of good things, and |
| | | another the ordeiner of evill: but these make the divell a whole god, to create |
| | | things of nothing, to knowe mens cogitations, and to doo that which God never |
| | | did; as, to transubstantiate men into beasts, &c. Which thing if divels could |
| | | doo, yet followeth it not, that witches have such power. But if all the divels in |
| | | hell were dead, and all the witches in England burnt or hanged; I warrant you |
| | | we should not faile to have raine, haile and tempests, as now we have: according |
| | | to the appointment and will of God, and according to the constitution of the |
| | | elements, and the course of the planets, wherein God hath set a perfect and |
| | | perpetuall order. |
| | | I am also well assured, that if all the old women in the world were witches; |
| | | and all the priests, conjurers: we should not have a drop of raine, nor a blast of |
| Job. 26, 8. | | wind the more or the lesse for them. For the Lord hath bound the waters in |
| Job. 37. | | the clouds, and hath set bounds about the waters, untill the daie and night come |
| Psalme. 135 | | to an end: yea it is God that raiseth the winds and stilleth them: and he saith to |
| Jer. 10 & 15. | | the raine and snowe; Be upon the earth, and it falleth. The wind of the Lord, |
| Ose. 13. | | and not the wind of witches, shall destroie the treasures of their plesant vessels, |
| Psa. 39, &c. | | and drie up the fountaines; saith Oseas. Let us also learne and confesse with the |
| | | Prophet David, that we our selves are the causes of our afflictions; and not |
| | | exclaime upon witches, when we should call upon God for mercie. |
| In epist. ad | | The Imperiall lawe (saith Brentius) condemneth them to death that trouble |
| Jo. Wierum. | | and infect the aire: but I affirme (saith he) that it is neither in the power of |
| | | witch not divell so to doo, but in God onelie. Though (besides Bodin, and all |
| | | the popish writers in generall) it please Daænus, Hyberius, Hemingius, Erastus, &c. |
| Exod. 13. | | to conclude otherwise. The clouds are called the pillers of Gods tents, Gods |
| Isai. 66. | | chariots, and his pavillions. And if it be so, what witch or divell can make |
| Ps. 18, 11. 19. | | maisteries therof? S. Augustine saith, Non est putandum istis transgressoribus angelis |
| August. 3. de | | servire hanc rerum visibilium materiem, sed soli Deo: We must not thinke that these |
| sancta Trinit. | | visible things are at the commandement of the angels that fell, but are obedient |
| | | to the onelie God. |
| | | Finallie, if witches could accomplish these things; what needed it seeme so |
| Mar. 4, 41. | | strange to the people, when Christ by miracle commanded both seas and winds, |
| | | &c. For it is written; Who is this? for both wind and sea obeie him.
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