A DISCOURSE OF THE SOULS OF Men, Women, and Children; and of the Holy and Blessed Angels in Heaven, and of the Evil and Damned Spirits in Hell: SHOWING That they are Immortal, Spiritual substances, as well as the Angels in Heaven.  
Written because this Author met with Four wilful Ignorant men at one time, which said, the Souls of Men, Women, and Children, were nothing but breath, and vanished into air, when as the Body went to the Grave. These unfaithful people ought to be answered and reproved:  
By the Author, THOMAS HICKS.  
LONDON, Printed by T. Newcomb, and are to be sold by the Author, 1657.   

A Discourse of the Souls of Men and Women and Children, and of the Holy and Blessed Angels in Heaven, and of the evil and damned Spirits in Hell, showing that they are immortal spiritual substances, as well as the Angels in Heaven.  
LOving Christians, my desire at this time is, to write of high and powerful spiritual creatures, the highest and noblest creatures by Creation, which God hath revealed unto the sons of men; that is, of the Angels in heaven, and of the souls of men and women, and of the evil wicked spirits which are kept in chains of darkness for the day of wrath, these three great creatures, and all three spiritual substances, shall by the assistance of God's help, be my Discourse at this time, because I have been opposed by ignorant simple men against the truth of the spiritual substances of men and women's souls; these men see the gross substances of sea and land, and of their bodies, but want the eye of Faith and Knowledge, to know the excellent spiritual creature which God hath given to them, therefore although the souls of men and women are the youngest spirits of the three, which we discourse upon; yet the elected souls of men, women and children, being great spiritual Princes and Heirs to the kingdom of heaven; In order, we speak of them first: The souls of men women and children are spiritual substances, as well as the Angels in heaven; but they are young growing spirits, and have not yet attained to perfection, yet the Lord almighty beareth great love and good will unto them; he gave for a ransom for these young spirits, and their own bodies, his dear and only Son Christ Jesus, who being perfect and glorious, God coequal with the Father, and Holy Spirit, yet he took a reasonable soul and body upon him, and so died for the soul and body of mankind: Wonderful love unto these young spiritual souls, he sends his own Holy Spirit into them: Open your gates, your everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in; that is the soul of man twice spoken of in the four and twenty Psalms: The Spirit of God daily teacheth this young heir knowledge, to make him grow more holy and righteous, and hath given his holy Word unto him plainly, to make him know how to order his thoughts and desires, and to take good heed that that old, and subtle evil Spirit, the Devil, doth not deceive him. Christ Jesus commandeth this noble young spirit, to come unto him by faith and prayer, and to trust in him that he will protect them in this world, where he must stay while he come to that state of grace and knowledge which God hath appointed him: Mortal men cannot see the immortal substance of their souls, with their bodily eyes; no more they cannot see the Angels which tarry about them, unless they do assume a body to themselves, no nor they cannot see the Devil and evil spirits although they do go throughout the world continually with malice and envy to tempt and entice the souls of men and women to sin and rebellion, as it doth appear plainly in Job; and the evil spirit was ready as soon as he had Commission to be a lying spirit in the speech of all King Ahabs Prophets; yet we cannot see these spirits, and it is Gods great mercy unto us for mortal men cannot see invisible spiritual creatures without great fear and trouble. Daniel was much troubled at the sight and appearance of good angels, our eyes are made to look upwards to behold the Sun, and the Moon, and the Stars, and all earthly substances, but the invisible spiritual creatures of Angels, and the spirits of men, women, and children, are more excellent and lasting substances; and the souls of the righteous which are redeemed by Christ Jesus alone, they and the holy Angels shall stand firm for ever, when all the earthly substances in the world shall be consumed and burnt to nothing; then shall these invisible spirits of men, women, and children, be made perfect, and have their own bodies made a glorious body, and fit for such a noble and perfect spirit. They are simple and foolish men that think they have no spirits because they cannot see them, they may as well deny the good Angels, and the evil spirits to be no spiritual substances, as to deny the souls of men to be immortal spiritual substances, which none but Atheists and madmen will deny. For the holy Angels do appear plainly by holy Scripture, to be creatures by God's commission of mighty force and power, to be messengers to help God's people, and to destroy the wicked; the Angel of the Lord slew in Zenacheribs host many thousands of men, and saved Jerusalem, and the people of God; the Angel of God brought S. Peter out of prison, and guided him thorough the streets; the Angel of the Lord by commission slew of the plague in Jerusalem, and in the country in three days seventy thousand men; the Angel of the Lord smote the men of Sodom with blindness; the Angel of the Lord was a messenger to Zacharias, and to the Virgin Mary, and thousands of Angels, proclaiming good will and joy to men; at our Saviour's Birth the Angels appeared; at Christ's suffering, and comforted him, the Angels appeared at Christ's Resurrection, and told Mary he was risen from the dead, thousand thousands, and ten thousand thousands wait upon God, the holy blessed Trinity; are ready to do his will at all times, and by commission and appointment they wait upon men also: For take heed (saith our Saviour) that ye offend not one of these little ones that believeth in me, for their Angel beholdeth the face of my Father which is in heaven continually; the Angels of the Lord do tarry about the righteous to save them, and S. Paul biddeth women to be covered on their head, modestly, because of the Angels, the Angels see us all, though we cannot see them; then what simple men are they that have so little care of their souls, when the very Angels wait on them: for the Angels in heaven, do joy at the conversion of one sinner, and when S. Peter knocked at his friend's door, they said, It was his angel; they are ministering spirits (saith Saint Paul) sent forth for the good of his elect, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon to instruct him in the war; the Angel of the Lord persuaded Hagar to return, and humble herself to her Mistress: The Angel of the Lord told Cornelius what he should do; The Angel of the Lord rebuked Moses, because he had not circumcised his sons; The Angel of the Lord rebuked Balaam for covetousness: The Angel of the Lord delivered Lot out of Sodom; The Angel of the Lord smote Herod; The Angel of God declared Sampsons' birth. Now you may see plainly the wisdom, and power, and offices, of these glorious creatures, that they receive of God for the good of our souls and bodies; and shall any of us dare to say, our soul is not a spiritual substance upon whom these Angels do wait: The soul of man hath sometimes revelations and dreams of truth, as Daniel, Joseph, and 1 Kings 3.5. in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask, what I shall give thee. No man need to doubt but that this was his soul that God appeared unto; and the word of the Lord was like fire in the Prophets: I saw the souls of the Martyrs under the Altar, saith S. John, crying for justice, although when they were in this world they cried for mercy; the souls of faithful believers in the world do pray for the young children of God their friends and alliance, and desire the good of all men, but when they are grown holy and perfect in the world to come; then they shall stand boldly against their enemies, and rejoice in Gods righteous judgement upon them.  
Now by God's help I will speak something in particular of the souls of men and women; the soul is a spiritual substance, not seen of mortal eyes, unless God open their eyes, as S. John in the Revelation, the soul giveth life and heat to the body; the soul is the master, the body the servant, the body runneth and goeth at the souls command; if the desires and the love, and the lusts of the soul be wicked and ungodly, it sets the tongue and the whole body to doing of wickedness; it is most certain God hath placed the soul and body in a very near union and friendship, so that the body is maintained and preserved by the wisdom of the soul; the five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling; and hands, and feet, and strength are of the body, with the help of an active spirit, but the soul is of a more excellent nature; it hath the image of the holy Spirit of God, it hath wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and remembrance, and imaginations, and it hath love and affection, the will, and the thoughts; now this soul being young, and not come to perfection, the holy spirit of God cometh and teacheth him more wisdom, and knowledge, and understanding, and gives him many graces, he giveth faith and hope, and giveth him humility and love, to love the good, and hate the ill, he placeth in this young spirit judgement and conscience, being composed of the highest parts of the soul, and understanding, and knowledge, and remembrance; he sits like a Judge too, examining what his soul and body hath done. Understanding and knowledge being enlightened by the word of God, he commandeth the will and remembrance to tell him the sins of his very youth, and then his soul is troubled; and then that evil, old, subtle spirit, the Devil watcheth to put in his soul thoughts of despair, or else to sear up his conscience, and to blind his understanding until worse things befall him; but the holy loving Spirit of God, will come into the young spirits of all his elect people, and give them faith, and hope, and experience in the love and mercy of Christ Jesus, which hath paid the ransom for all true believers, which pray unto him with faith and humility, he will surely perform his promises, and save them for ever, and place them in glorious dwelling places in heaven, with their souls fully perfect, and their bodies made glorious and spiritual, bearing the image of the Lord of heaven; for as we have been troubled with our earthly bodies, so shall we have joy and gladness of our heavenly bodies. And our Saviour Christ Jesus himself will account us for his brethren and friends: Now I hope any reasonable man or woman will be satisfied in this, that this great Prince, his soul is a spiritual substance; take some more proofs, Luke 16. vers. 22. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried into Abraham's bosom by the Angels: Will any man be so simple to think that these heavenly Angels were sent on a message to carry nothing? No, no, they were sent to carry this young princely spirit to eternal rest. Another proof the faithful Thief which died that lamentable death upon the Cross who had been a foolish mad spirit, but by the help of Christ, now a patiented and faithful man, and so our Saviour tells him, This day shalt thou be with me in paradise; this was that his soul should be in Paradise; another proof is in Eccles. 12. v. 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God that gave it: Here then let no man nor woman undervalue the souls of themselves or others, lest they prove like the spies of the land of Canaan, which brought up an evil report upon that good land: For certainly the souls of men, women and children, which are guided by his holy Spirit, shall be highly advanced in heaven, and their bodies made glorious bodies, and there to live in joy and pleasure for evermore, which have obeyed the heavenly wisdom of their souls, when they were in this world, and suffered so much pains and sickness, and natural death, and lying in the grave, and turning into dust again, which often feared and troubled their loving souls when they were in this life, but now being departed out of their earthly houses, their bodies they there first rest in heaven; and have there acquittance and pardon for all their sins made fully known unto them, and have full knowledge and assurance, that they shall have their own very bodies, and their own eyes and senses restored to them again, at the day of the resurrection of their bodies; at the day that God hath appointed, glorified, and freed from all sickness and pains, for proof of this see John 5. vers. 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will: And vers. 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, (twice spoken) the hour cometh, and is already, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And vers. 28. of the same Chapter, Marvel not at this, for the hour it coming in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice: And shall come forth, they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation; and in the eleventh Chapter of S. john, v. 23. jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again; Martha said unto him, I know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day: Mark Martha's faith, I know he shall rise again saith she, but jesus saith plainly: I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, although he were dead, yet shall he live: And in Revel. 20. vers. 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, both small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which was the book of life, and the dead were judged of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up her dead which were in her; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to his works. This hath been written for the dignity and high noble birth of the souls of men, women, and children, which are regenerated by faith and repentance. For he that will not believe that his soul is a spiritual substance, and carried into heaven at the day of his departure from his body by the Holy Angels, and there to rest in joy until the day of the resurrection that he receive his own body again, with extraordinary joy and comfort; that man or woman that is so weak in faith will be very doubtful of the resurrection too: Therefore loving Friends and Christians, let us give no place to any vain disputers against these truths, but let us learn by the Word of God to silence them. I promised to write something of the evil spirits which we call Devils. These spirits are envious and malicious, lying and murdering Devils, and deceitful damned wretches. The Apostle S. Paul calls him, A Prince of the air, which rules in the children of disobedience; he being a spirit, a subtle old spirit of experience, that rangeth about the world, seeking whom he may destroy; he is a tempter and an accuser to: he always desires of God commission to do mankind hurt; see job, Chap. 1. vers. 11. But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.  
What a lying bold impudent Devil was this to accuse that righteous man so falsely, and having got Commission he raiseth up troops and bands of wicked men to spoil his estate: And so would he spoil the Estates and Lives of God's people now at this day, and in all ages, were he not chained up by God's power; but he rules and blinds the understanding of rebellious sinners, that they may not come to the knowledge of the truth, and so be saved. This Devil is the greatest Liar that ever was: He told our Saviour, That all the Kingdoms of the world were his, and the glory of them, and that he could give them to whomsoever pleased him: All the cheaters and couseners in the world could not tell a bigger lie; for he is chained up by the power of God, and hath nothing that is good for himself; our Lord and Saviour was too wise and strong for that lying Devil; but our Grandfather and Grandmother Adam and Eve, were plainly cheated and cozened by this abominable Liar. For saith he, you shall not die at all, if you eat this fruit; when as the poor cheated souls were judged to die, and their bodies to turn to dust presently after; and their souls had died eternally had not our merciful Lord God found out a way to save faithful believers.  
Now any man or woman that read this little Book, may well know what cheering lying Devils there are; although knowledge be sufficient for understanding men to beware, yet those children of disobedience whom this Devil doth so much rule in their souls, must take heed this envious cheating Liar do not cheat them still, for he will tell them that they be brave wisemen, and will tell them an hundred lies, that they be the happiest men in the world; and that they that dare not do as they do, are but Punies; but let those brave Sparks take heed they do not catch a serpent, instead of a fish: And so I am glad I have done with the Devil at this time.  
I now will write a Word or two more of the holy and blessed and good Angels; in the second and third Chapters of the Revelation, we read of Ministers called Angels, and those that divide the Word of God aright amongst us, and administer the two Sacraments, which our Lord Jesus Christ hath left to his Church, are Angels and good Angels indeed, and their lips shall preserve knowledge; but our writing hath been of invisible Angels which are ministering spirits sent forth for them which are heirs of Salvation: Hebrews the first, and the last Verse; these glorious Spirits are an innumberable company, thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, before the allseeing God, whose eyes behold all the inhabitants in the world at one time, and knoweth all the secrets of their souls, and heareth all their voices: In Dan. 7. vers. 10. A fiery stream issued, and came forth before him, the judgement was set, and the books were opened: The holy Angels have divers great Offices, as you see in many places of the Revelation; and in the sixth of Daniel, vers. 22. My God hath sent his Angel, and hath shut the mouth of the Lions, that they have not hurt me. Now you may know certainly that God hath made these spiritual creatures of great force and power: And so I desire God's blessing on this labour, Amen.  
FINIS.