Now how a Man may be said to be brought down, and shall speak out of the
Ground, and their Speech shall be low out of the Dust: The Meaning is,
when a particular Man or Woman, or a People or Nation, be in the same
Distress and Condition as King _Saul_ was; that is, in Danger of loosing
his Crown and Kingdom, his natural Life; and not only so, but his Soul
is tormented with the Fear of eternal Death; this maketh the Heart of
Man to melt in him; it makes his Speech to grow weak and feeble, so that
his Speech can hardly be heard; it is even as if a Man did speak out of
Death, or out of the Ground.
A Man with the Extremity of outward and inward Trouble, he becomes
Speechless, yet he speaks in his Thoughts, but so low, that none that
stands by can hear or tell what he saith. This many can experience, that
have seen their Friend or Relation in this Condition; this is like
speaking out of the Ground, and low out of the Dust. And the Voice of
every such troubled Soul, who hath the Plagues of this Life, and the
Horror of Conscience as to the Life to come, as King _Saul_ had the
Voice such People have, is as one that hath a Familiar Spirit out of the
Ground, and their Speech shall be as if one did whisper out of the Dust.
This Place of Scripture hath the same Meaning as the Place
before-mentioned, _Isa._ viii. 19. where such as King _Saul_ was, are
bade to seek unto them that have Familiar Spirits, and unto Wizards,
that peep and mutter, (that is) that whisper out of the Ground; for
whisper, peep, and mutter, signifies all one Thing.
These Things did _Manasseh_, 2 _Kings_ xxi. 6. he dealt with Familiar
Spirits, and did great Abominations; he made his Sons to pass thorough
the Fire, in offering them up a Sacrifice to an unknown Devil, which he
thought was God; and this he did by the Whisperings of the Familiar
Spirit within him, and being acquainted with others, who were known to
have Familiar Spirits also. And so did several other Kings of _Israel_
deal with Familiar Spirits, and had those low whispering Voices in
themselves, as if Spirits had risen out of the Ground, or from the Dust
to speak unto them; and this they did attain unto by Industry, in that
they forsook the Words of the Prophets, and would not hearken unto them,
but gave themselves up to follow the Imaginations of their own Hearts;
imagining they might as well know God, and what Worship would please God
as well as the Prophets; therefore why should we, being Kings, hearken
unto such mean inferiour Men as these? May not we by our Familiar Spirit
as well know God, and what Worship will please him by our Familiar
Spirit, as the Prophets do by the Spirit of Prophecy? Why should we be
in such Bondage, that we can do nothing but what they say, the Lord
commands us to do? So the Imagination saith, Come, we will not be tied
up thus; we will see what our Familiar Spirit begotten in us will do; we
will erect and build Altars in several Places, and sacrifice Bullocks
and Lambs to an unknown God; and so by this Means they procure in
themselves low motional Voices, which whisper in themselves, which
becomes in them a Familiar Spirit, is produced in themselves: And there
is a more Increase of low motional Voices, which doth whisper in the
Mind, moving them to a further Degree of Knowledge, and endeavour after
more Voices, so that to attain to this diabolical Wisdom in a more high
Measure. They are moved by this low Voice within them to offer up their
own Children in Sacrifices to their imaginary God, which they believe is
an invisible Spirit without a Body, which reveals these Things unto
them, and whispers and speaks those Voices unto them.
They count nothing too dear for this their imaginary God, no not their
own Sons and Daughters, as _Manasseh_ and others did, that made their
Sons and Daughters pass through the Fire as a Sacrifice to their
imaginary God, that had spoke so many Voices to them, and had whispered
to them.
But all these Whisperings and low Voices, and peeping of Spirits out of
the Ground, as they thought, I say, they were all within them; for when
they came in any Trouble, their Familiar Spirit departs from them, and
will not comfort them any more, let it be either in Poor or Rich, nay,
Kings that have dealt with Familiar Spirits, when they have been in
Trouble, all their comfort hath been lost, as the poorest Witch that is,
as may be seen by _Manasseh_ and other King spoken of in the Scripture.
Now observe, when God doth bring upon a People, Nation, or particular
Person, some great Judgment and Destruction, let it be either outward or
inward in the Mind, when it comes upon a People, Nation, or particular
Person, for their Sins and Wickedness they have committed, in forsaking
the Lord's Prophets, and dealing with Witches and Familiar Spirits; as
_Saul_ forsook the Lord and went to a Witch, and _Manasseh_, and several
other Kings of _Israel_, who ought only to have obeyed the Prophets of
the Lord; but they forsook him, and enquired of Witches and Wizards, and
dealt with Familiar Spirits themselves, and caused the People to worship
the Devil (whom they imagined to be God) instead of the true God, whom
the Prophets would have had them to worship.
But when this Punishment for Sin is inflicted upon a People, Nation, or
particular Person, for dealing with Familiar Spirits, and worshipping of
Devils; when Punishment comes, it makes the Heart or Hearts to fail, for
the Spirit is brought down by this Judgment even to Death, and so goeth
to the Ground; so that the very Fear, Trouble, and Sorrow of Heart,
shall speak as it were out of the Dust, or out of Death; for Sin will
speak out of the Ground, and the Speech of Death will be low in them
that have escaped the Destruction which others did go through; for there
will be a Resemblance in those that have escaped, how their Friends and
Relations are fallen to the Ground or Dust of the Earth for their
Wickedness, so that Sorrow and Grief will speak in the Mind of those
that have escaped with a low Speech, even as one doth who hath a
Familiar Spirit. Or as if their Friends and Relations, the Remembrance
of their Destruction being taken away in Wrath for Sin, it speaks a
small low Voice of Grief and Sorrow in the Heart of those that are
alive, even as one that hath a Familiar Spirit, even a low motional
Voice of Sorrow and Grief, and it cometh as it were out of the Ground,
or out of the Dust.
That is the very Influence of Grief and Sorrow, for their dead Friends
and People; it causeth, where Grief is, to hear as it were low Voices
and small Speeches, even out of the Ground or out of the Dust of the
Earth: Just as it was with _Cain_ in another Case, the Lord said to
_Cain_, _Thy Brother's Blood crieth from the Ground for Vengeance_; and
so the Blood of those that were slain under the Altar did _from the
Ground cry for Vengeance_, as in _Rev._ vi. 10. it crieth for Vengeance
in the Consciences of all bloody Persecutors. So in like Manner doth the
Death and Destruction of a People, who are destroyed for wicked
Idolatry, as those were the Prophet _Isaiah_ speaketh of, they spake
from the Ground a low Speech in the Conscience of those that were
concerned, Grief, Sorrow, and Fear of the same Punishment, and such
like.