Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	witness_n	word_n	zeal_n	22	3	7.3219	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41303	The free-holders grand inquest touching our Sovereign Lord the King and his Parliament to which are added observations upon forms of government : together with directions for obedience to governours in dangerous and doubtful times / by the learned Sir Robert Filmer, Knight.	Filmer, Robert, Sir, d. 1653.	1679 (1679)	Wing F914; ESTC R36445	191,118	384

Perkins confesseth Some may say If these be the onely strong proofs for the Conviction of a Witch it will be then impossible to put any one to death because the League with Satan is closely made and the practices of Witch-craft are also very secret and hardly can a man be brought which upon his own knowledge can aver such things To this Mr. Perkins answer is a confession that howsoever the ground and practice be secret and be to many unknown yet there is a way to come to the knowledge thereof Satan endeavoreth the discovery and useth all means to disclose Witches This means he speaks of should be in the power of the Judge or else it is no help for the Discovery of a Witch but onely when the Devil pleaseth I do not find he proves that it is usual with Satan to endeavour any such Discovery neither do I see how it is practicable by the Devil for either he must do it by his own relation or report which as it cannot be proved he ever did so it is vain and to no purpose if he do it for Mr. Perkins hath discredited the testimony of the Devil as invalid and of no force for conviction or else the Devil must discover it by some second means and if there had been any such second means usual Mr. Perkins would have taught us what they are and not have left us onely to his two more sufficient proofs which he confesseth are not infallible King Iames tells us that the Devils first discovering of himself for the gaining of a Witch is either upon their walking solitarily in the Fields or else lying pausing in their bed but always without the company of any other and at the making of Circles and Conjurations none of that craft will permit any others to behold when the Devil and his Subjects are thus close and secret in their actions it cannot be imagined that he will use all means to discover his most special and trustiest Subjects and though Mr. Perkins tells us that by vertue of the Precontract the Devil is cock-sure of his instruments yet within a few lines he changeth his note and saith Though he have good hope of them yet he is not certain of their continuance because some by the mercy of God have been reclaimed and freed from his Covenant Besides he confesseth the Devil suffereth some to live long undisclosed that they may exercise the greater measure of his malice in the world It remains that if the two true proofs of Mr. Perkins which are the Witches Confession or sufficient witnesses fail we have not warrant as he saith in the word to put such an one to death I conclude this point in the words of Mr. Perkins I advise all Iurors that as they be diligent in the zeal of Gods glory so they would be careful what they do and not to condemn any party suspected upon bare presumptions without sound and sufficient proofs that they be not guilty through their own rashness of shedding innocent blood Of the Hebrew Witch IN Deut. 18. The Witch is named with divers other sorts of such as used the like unlawfull Arts as the Diviner the Observer of times an Inchanter a Charmer a Consulter with a familiar Spirit a Wisard or a Necromancer The Text addeth All that do these things are an abomination to the Lord and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them the Nations out from before thee If we desire to know what those abominations of the Nations were we are told in general in the 14. Verse of the same Chapter These Nations hearkened unto observers of times and unto Diviners There is no other crime in this Chapter laid to the charge of all or any of these practisers of such unlawful Arts but of lying Prophesies and therefore the Text addeth The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy Brethren like unto me unto him shall ye hearken and not to the Diviners Wisards Charmers c. Setting aside the case of Iob wherein God gave a special and extraordinary Commission I do not finde in Scripture that the Devil or Witch or any other had power ordinarily permitted them either to kill or hurt any man or to meddle with the Goods of any for though for the trial of the hearts of men God doth permit the Devil ordinarily to tempt them yet he hath no Commission to destroy the Lives or Goods of men it is little less than blasphemy to say any such thing of the admirable providence of God whereby he preserves all his Creatures It was crime sufficient for all those practicers of unlawful Arts to delude the people with false and lying Prophesies thereby to make them forget to depend upon God and to have their Souls turn after such as have Familiar Spirits and after Wisards to go a whoring after them as the Lord saith Levit. 20. 6. This spiritual whoredome is flat Idolatry in the common phrase of the Old Testament and those that be enticers to it thereby endeavour to destroy the Souls of the People and are by many degrees more worthy of death than those that onely destroy the Bodies or Goods of men If there were a Law that every one should be put to Death or punished that should advisedly endeavour to perswade men that they are skilful in those forbidden Arts or in foretelling of things to come or that they have contracted with the Devil and can thereby murther or destroy mens Goods I should never deny such a Law to be most consonant and agreeing with the Law of Moses But because I may be thought by some a favourer of these forbidden Arts through want of understanding the Scripture about the quality of them I have made choice of a Man who is no friend to Witches and whose learning in this point will not be denied In his own words I shall set down what either out of the Hebrew Names of those prohibited Arts or out of the exposition of the Jewish Doctors can be gathered for the understanding of them A Diviner in Hebrew a Foreseer or Presager a Foreteller of things to come as doth a Prophet The Hebrews take a Diviner to be one that doth things whereby he may foretel things to come and say Such a thing shall be or not be or say It is good to do such a thing The means of Divining some doing it with Sand some with Stones some by lying down on the Ground some with Iron some with a Staff He that asked of a Diviner is chastised with stripes 2. An observer of times or Soothsayer an Observer of the Clouds a Planetary or an observer of the flying of Fowls an Augur As the Diviners were carried much by inward and Spiritual Motions so these by outward Observations in the Creatures The Hebrews say they were such as did set times for the doing of things saying Such a day is good and such a