A perfect discovery of witches shewing the divine cause of the distractions of this kingdome, and also of the Christian world : very profitable to bee read by all sorts of people, especially judges of assizes, sheriffes, justices of the peace, and grand-jury-men, before they passe sentence on those that are condemned for witch-craft / by Thomas Ady.

The Text opened.

THe Text is verbatim, according to the Originall as it was written by Moses in the Hebrew tongue, which I will expound orderly: and here is to be noted, that in these two verses, are nine sorts of Witches nominated by God, unto Moses, and the people, to this end and purpose; that whereas God hath chosen the people of Israel, to be a peculiar church and people to himself, he would be their only Counsellor, to keep them in the way of wisdome and holinesse, and there∣fore commandeth them, in no wise to aske counsell of any but the true prophets and messengers of God, as appeareth in the 14. and 15. verses of this chapter, and because there were so many sorts of people in the world, that did common∣ly abuse and usurp the office of Gods Prophets: God de∣scribeth them, in the 10. and 11. verses of this chapter, by nine severall nominations or descriptions, commanding them to shun and avoyd them as false Prophets and deceivers of the people; for it was the manner of the heathen (to seek unto such for counsell,) & the Lord having cast out those heathen people, for such abominable ways giveth his own people war∣ning of all such ways to avoid them, & not to hearken to them namely, to those nine sorts of witches, or deceivers, or false pro∣phets, or seducers of the people from God and his prophets, to lying Idolatrous waies, & giveth them warning in the three last verses of the same chapter of all false Prophets whatsoe∣ver, that should presumptuously take upon them to speak any thing in Gods name which God had not commanded, or to speak in the name of other Gods, that such should be slain,

and these nine appellations in the tenth and eleventh verses, are not tearms of distinction, but several terms of descripti∣on, whereby to discern false Prophets, or Witches, whom the Lord would have cut off from among his people; and thorefore the Lord describeth them in the tenth and eleventh verses, sheweth the destruction of the Nations that hearken∣ed to them, in the 12, 13, & 14. verses (where also he com∣mandeth his people to be holy, and not like those Nati∣ons) promiseth that his people should always have a true Prophet amongst them to hearken unto, in the 15, 16, 17, & 18. verses (which although it was fulfilled in Christ chiefly, Acts 3.23. yet it is meant, and also verified of all the rest of the Prophets, that were successively Messengers of Christ from Moses, till the coming of Christ in the Flesh) comman∣deth them to hearken to such a Prophet, in the nineteenth verse, but for all false Prophets, the Lord will have them cut off in the twentieth verse, and setteth down a trial, and a discerning rule between a true Prophet, and a false Prophet that speaketh in Gods Name, in the one and twentieth and two and twentieth verses, as appeareth orderly in the chapter, who so pleaseth to read it.

And now to come to the Exposition, or Interpretation of these two verses, Deut. 18.10, 11. and of the nine ap∣pellations or descriptions therein contained. And first, for the first.

Let there not be found among you, any that maketh his Son or his Daughter to pass through the fire, this is the first description whereby God describeth a Witch, or a false Prophet; and in what manner this should be a description of a Witch, or false Prophet, that we may the better under∣stand, I must first define what a Witch is, and then come to the matter.