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<DATE>2007-09-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed text and corrected markup.</ITEM>
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<VID>163861</VID>
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<HEAD>Something again&s;t SWEARING And concerning the Oath of ALLEGIANCE And SVPREMACY.</HEAD>
<P>AS it was the Di&s;ciples Religion principle and practice to obey Chri&s;ts command as in <HI>Matth.</HI> 5. 34. <HI>But I &s;ay unto you &s;wear not at all neither by Heaven for it is Gods throne nor by the Earth for it is his foot&s;tool, neither by Jeru&s;alem for it is the City of the great king, neither &s;halt thou &s;wear by thy head, for thou can&s;t not make one hair white or black but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, for what&s;oever is more then the&s;e cometh of evil,</HI> and this being the Apo&s;tles Religion and practi&s;e, they preached this doctrine unto o|thers as it is written, <HI>James</HI> 5. 12. <HI>But above all things my brethren &s;wear not neither by heaven neither by the earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, lea&s;t you fall into condemnation,</HI> &s;o this is our doctrine, principle and practi&s;e that we can|not &s;wear at all; by any oath lea&s;t we fall into condemnation, and &s;o &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t, and if we do &s;uffer or be per&s;ecuted, and impri&s;oned, becau&s;e we cannot &s;wear. then it is for our Religion, and exerci&s;e of our Con&s;ciences, and obedience of Truth un|to our God in which &s;uffering we &s;hall rather dye then &s;in again&s;t him.</P>
<P>And whereas it is required of us to te&s;tifie our obedience as &s;ubjects unto CHARLES the &s;econd, as our lawful King and own his Supremacy and Government in all ju&s;t and lawful commands, whereupon an oath of Allegiance and Supremacy is tendred.</P>
<P>As it is our principle and hath ever been our practi&s;e to be obedient &s;ubjects under every Power ordained of God, <HI>and to every ordinance of man</HI> (&s;et up by him) <HI>for the Lords &s;ake whether unto King as &s;upream, or unto Governors or any &s;et up in Authoritie by him who are for the puni&s;hment of evil doers, and for the prai&s;e of them that do well,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 13. 14. and unto &s;uch we do freely promi&s;e obedience unto all ju&s;t and lawful Commands: And we do own and believe that it is not without but according to the purpo&s;e of the Lord, that he hath this Day and Power given him as King head and chief Magi&s;trate over this Nation, that while he hath his Day and Power he may rule for God in civil and outward affairs, and matters relating unto the outward man and e&s;tate, in which all his ju&s;t, and lawful commands we can willingly be &s;ubject unto <HI>not for wrath but even for con&s;cience &s;ake,</HI> and all com|mands which are otherwi&s;e, whether from him, or any other, we &s;hall willingly and patiently &s;uffer under them what men &s;hall be permitted to impo&s;e upon us, and thus we do accept and own the King and his Government, as he and it is according to God, and an&s;werable unto him, we are willingly obedient, and in Con&s;cience bound to accept it, and &s;hall yeeld &s;ubjection thereunto, but if otherwi&s;e contrary to God, he rule in Tyranny, oppre&s;&s;ion inju&s;tce or the like that we mu&s;t bear witne&s;s agin&s;t by the &s;pirit of Truth, but not by outward oppo&s;ition as rebellion by in&s;urrections plots, or carnal weapons to de&s;troy or overthrow, either him or the Government thereby; for that is contrary to our life.</P>
<P>But as for &s;wearing it being contrary both to Chri&s;ts Command, and our Con&s;ciences as we never have, &s;o we never &s;hall &s;wear, neither for nor again&s;t any Man Power or Government but &s;hall be true and faithful, to what we promi&s;e and profe&s;s.</P>
<P>And as concerning the Church of God, and &s;piritual things relating unto Gods Kingdom, we own onely Je&s;us Chri&s;t as &s;upreme Head, Ruler and Lawgiver there according to <HI>James</HI> 4. 12. <HI>There is one Lawgiver which is able to &s;ave and to de&s;troy,</HI> and as it is written, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1. 22. <HI>that God hath given him to be the h<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">ad over all things to the Church which is his body the fulne&s;s of him which filleth all in all,</HI> and as the Apo&s;tles did hold forth him to be the head of the body the Church, <HI>who is the beginning the fir&s;t born from the dead, that in all things he might have the preemenence</HI> Col. 1. 18.</P>
<P>And him we do own as Head Ruler and Commander in all matters of Faith obedience and wor&s;hip in things appertaining unto his king come, and he onely is to rule (give laws and order) in the Con&s;ciences of men, by his &s;pirit light and power, and as he is the Author of his peoples Faith, &s;o he is the defender of it; and them in it, and &s;o to him we give the Dominion Rule and Government, as head and &s;upreme over his Church, and not unto man: &s;o in him who is our Life King and Lawgiver we honour all men, and do &s;eek the peace of all men and not the de&s;truction, and unto this we do acknowledge, and bear witne&s;s to, who are members of his body which is his Church.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>London, <DATE>23 day 4 mone<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">h. 1660.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Richard Hubberthorne.
<HI>George Fox,</HI> the younger.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>G. C.</HI> at the <HI>Black-Spread-Eagle</HI> at the we&s;t end of <HI>Pauls.</HI> 1660.</P>
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