Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

and saith, Swear not at all,' and calls the first oath the old time ; he fulfilled the truth, and let them see how, in the time of the law, false oaths were forbidden in the old time, and heathenish oaths were forbidden in the time of the law, for they were not to swear by Baal, but they were to perform their oaths to the Lord, which Christ saith unto them, Swear not at all,' and so he ended that oath; so there are no oaths before the fall, and there are no oaths in the restoration again by Christ Jesus, but yea and nay, according to his doctrine; but amongst Moses and the Prophets, and in the old time before Moses and the Prophets, men did swear, as Abraham and Isaac, &c. But he, the great Prophet, is come, that is to be heard in all things, and he, the oath of God, Christ Jesus, stands and remains.

Eleventhly, The Apostles speaking to the Hebrews, swearing by a greater, which was an end of controversy and strife amongst them, he brought this as a similitude, not that the Hebrews should swear, for, if he had, he had contradicted James, which wrote to the twelve tribes his doctrine to them, which were Hebrews; but he brought it as a similitude, that the oath, which men sware by the greater, ended strife; but God, not finding a greater than himself, he sware concerning his Son, which is Christ, who ends the strife, who destroys the devil and his works, the author of strife; for the oath, in the time of the law, ended the strife; but we see oaths, now-a-days, begins it; and why? The matter is, because in Christ Jesus men do not live, who is the Peace and God's oath.

Twelfthly, Whereas the bishop saith, That they hold in Divinity, that to swear, of and by itself considered, is an act forbidden no less than to kill, &c.

6

Answer, In the time of the law they killed and swore; but Christ saith, Swear not at all;' and also, he saith, Love enemies ;' And how do these agree to kill and to love enemies, and love one another: And if one strike thee on the one cheek, turn the other to him.'

And this paralleling the magistrates executing justice upon malefactors; as, 'He that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed again;' Is not a paralleling with Christ's doctrine, who saith, Swear not at all,' for that may be done by witnesses without oath, as thou mayest read the scriptures in the old time, when oaths were denied in the primitive time amongst the primitive christians, who were in Christ's doctrine, thou mayest read how they did things by witnesses; as the Apostle speaks, in the mouth of two or three witnesses, &c. Which place he instances of what was done in the time of the law, which was a statute of judgment amongst the Jews, Whosoever killeth any person, the murtherer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses,' &c. But no oaths are mentioned here, Numb. xxxv. 30. with Heb. x. 28. read that throughout, and also Deut. xix. 15, and 1 Kings xxi. 10, &c. And many more scriptures might be alledged, which you, that have read scriptures, are not ignorant of.

Now, for the practice amongst the saints, see Matt. xviii. 16. Christ, who bids them keep to yea and nay, in that place he lays down a practice to be used amongst them, in matter of fault and transgression, how it should be ended by two or three witnesses; read the words, That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established:' And what, Dost thou think that he would order them to swear, who had once forbidden it? And read the viiith chap. of John and 17th ver. and we do not find, that the witnesses against Christ that he should speak blasphemy, Matt. xxvi. 65, that they did swear; and also you may see in Acts vi. 11, 12, 13, how they, that were hired against Stephen, no mention is made of their swearing: Moreover, you may see in 2 Cor. xiii. 1. the speech of the Apostle amongst the Saints, how he tells them of his coming unto them in the mouth of two or three wit. nesses; he doth not tell, that he is coming to them with oaths in their mouths; Mark, the Apostle was an elder, and had care of the churches. And again, the Apostle that writes to Timothy, a bishop, and overscer of the churches, saith he,' Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.'— Now he doth not say, Before two or three men that swears, for, if he had, he would have contradicted Christ's doctrine and James; 1 Tim. v. 19, and 2 Tim. ii. saith the Apostle to Timothy, the bishop, The things that thou hast heard of me amongst many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.' Now he received this by witnesses, not by oath, and he was to commit it, and not by oaths: And were not these the things that the whole church came to be ordered by? And this was amongst the christians in the primitive times when oaths were end. ed; and many more things might be alledged, which were too tedious for you to read.

Thirteenthly, And whereas he brings that objection of the anabaptists, which is, that it standeth not with christian profession, but was tolerated as an imperfect thing under the law.

Answer. Which objection of theirs we do not own, as we do not own the bishop for swearing; for it was the way of the Lord, and the way of the Lord was perfect, and the commandment for swearing was good in itself, until the time of Christ, who is perfect, that ends the law, and people must live in him, Christ Jesus, and walk in him that saith, Swear not at all,' that ends the oath, and is the oath of God: Dost thou not read of a people in the Galatians and Romans, that was turned back into the law, from the law of the Spirit; and the Apostle told them, 'He that broke one point was guilty of all,' and he brought them to the law of love which fulfilled the law.

Fourteenthly, And as for all the scriptures, the bishop brings to prove that the christians sware in the primitive time, they are nothing to the purpose, though the bishop say, that Christ admits of some swearing, which both his own words, and the Apostle's, contradicts; Christ's words are, Swear not at all;' and the A postle's are, 'Above all things,' &c.—And so he goes on, and lets them

and And he sets forth,

see what was in the law. Committing adultery was forbid under the law, but, in the time of Christ, looking upon a woman, lusting after her, was committing adultery — in the justice of the law, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;' and shews how that, in the time of the law, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment; but 1 say unto you, that whosoever shall be angry with his brother without cause, shall be in danger of judgment;' and so he tells, both swearing and killing to be in the old time, and said, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Hea

ven.'

6

Fifteenthly, And as to that of the apostle speaking in the 1 Thes. ii. God was his witness that he did not make covetousness his cloak.

Answ. It were well if the priests could say so now; but this doth not prove that he swore, and there are many men that takes man to be his witness; and that is not an oath, surely, is it? Thou understands that: And if this were an oath, why do you cast friends into prison?

Sixteenthly, And that of the Galatians, chapter i. 2. There is nothing in that place like unto an oath which he brings.

Seventeenthly, And as for the 2 Cor. iv. 23d verse, there are not so many verses in that chapter. And as for Ephesians the 4th and the 15th, which he brings for Christians to swear, wherein he says we are bound at all times to speak truth to our neighbours.

Answ. He doth not say we are to swear truth at all times, but to speak it at all times.

Eighteenthly, And that which he brings in Acts xxiii. 3. How the apostle reproved the high priest, that caused him to be smitten contrary to law.

Answ. Here the apostle was preaching the gospel and Christ's doctrine to them, to the priests that had the law and outward things; this was nothing to the purpose, that the apostle should swear, or that Christians should swear.And in the 14th verse which he quotes. Answ. Those were the bad people that bound themselves with a curse, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul that preached the gospel; this is nothing at all that Christians should swear.

6

Nineteenthly, We say there were heathens oaths, and Jews oaths, which were to swear by the Lord, which Christ calls the old time, which they were to perform, which oath Christ ends; and saith, Swear not at all;' for in the time of the law the Jews were to deny all false oaths, and heathenish, oaths, and they were not to swear by Paul, but the true oath which Christ ends. And did not the Christians suffer in the primitive times, because they could not swear by the prosperity of Cæsar; and was not that oath then imposed upon them? And by the good fortune of the

emperor, was not that another oath? And did not many Christians then suffer, because they could not swear? Read the ten persecutions which was a long time before the Pope got up; and then did not the Pope, when he had got up over the churches, give forth both oath and curse, with bell, book, and candle? And was not the ceremony of his oath to lay three fingers a top of the book, to signify the trinity; and two fingers under the book, to signify damnation of body and soul, if they sware falsly?—And was not there a great number of people that would not swear, and suffered great persecution, as read the book of Martyrs but to Bonner's days? And it is little above an hundred years since the Protestants got up; and they gave forth the oath of allegiance, and the oath of supremacy; the one was to deny the Pope's supremacy, and the other to acknowledge the kings of England; so we need not to tell you of their form, and shew you the ceremony of the oath; it saith, kiss the book, and the book saith, kiss the Son, which saith, Swear not at all,' and so cannot allegiance be to the king in truth and faithfulness, as was said before without an oath, yea, and more than many that swears.

So you may see to deny swearing is no new thing, for it was the practice of the Christians in former times to deny it, both in heathens and the times of popery before Protestants, and so it is in obedience to the command of Christ that we do not swear in our loves to him; and if we say he is the Lord and Master, and 'do not the thing that he commands, that is but deceit and hypocrisy. And so rash and bad swearing, that was forbidden in the time of the law, it was not that which Christ came to fulfil, but true oaths, and the true types, figures, and shadows; and he saith, "Swear not at all.'

Twentiethly, And, for Acts the xiiith, there is nothing spoken of swearing there, as all people may read.

Twenty-firstly, And whereas the apostle often speaks of taking to witness a record upon his own soul by his rejoicing in Christ Jesus, what is all this to swearing, and taking an oath, or where did ever the apostle take a solemn oath, or command the brethren and churches to do the same? For often he speaks of the witness out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. And the bishop often brings the 1 Cor. xv. 31. By our rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus, I die daily:' This place cannot be brought for a proof, that the apostle sware; if so, when thou sayest by the meat thou art refreshed, and by the fire thou art warmed, and people tells thee thou must go by such a lane to such a town, they all swear then, do they not?

Twenty-secondly, As for the particle N, the bishop says it is never used, but in an oath only.

Answ. And what is N, is it not (truly) as, also the primitive word val, which signifies yea? And is not that word val in the afore-mentioned fifth of Matthew, and the fifth of James, where swearing is denied; for is not vai in Greek, yea in English; and is not N in Greek, truly in English? And if every man that

says

yea and truly sweareth, then the bishop proves his assertion. And is not there a difference between 1 and yawa? So, in meekness and love, read this over in that from which it was sent.

POSTSCRIPT.

Christ Jesus, who is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Beginning and Ending, First and Last, him by

whom God will judge the world in righteousness.

WE quæry of you whether he or any of his apostles, after they had given forth a command that none should swear, but keep to yea and nay, in all their communications, can any minister or teacher prove this in express words out of the New Testament that they ever commanded to swear, or did swear? That will satisfy, that will end all. But that we should be cast into prison for our obedience to Christ's command, by you, that profess yourselves to be Christians, and own Christ Jesus as you say, is not right: And he commands you to love enemies, if you did obey his com mands, and love one another; for they that are Christians, and own Christ Jesus, they should love one another: For this was a mark by which they were known to be disciples, learners of him. And so they, that are lovers of him, own him and obey him and his doctrine; so, though we do suffer here by you all the sessions or assizes, we do commit our cause, and you that do persecute us, to the general assizes and terrible day wherein God will judge the world in righteousness, whose commands we obey in tenderness; and there we know we shall have true judgment without respect of persons, there our hats will not be looked at before the Almighty, but the action and transgression, and who hath served God, and who hath not served him: For Christ hath told you before-hand, what he will say to them, that visits him not in prison, where he is made manifest in his brethren: Then what will become of them that casts them into prison for tenderness towards God, for obeying his doctrine, and keeps to yea or nay in their communications according to his words?-And so these things we leave to the general day, though we can say, the Lord forgive you that doth thus persecute us, if it be his will, freely from our hearts, for we do you, nor no man harm, but seek the good and peace of all men, and for this cause, for obeying the truth, we do suffer.

G. F.

« ForrigeFortsæt »