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<NAME>Leah Yurasek</NAME>
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<P>SWEARING DENYED IN THE New Covenant, And its pretended foundation RASED.</P>
<P>VVith the remnant of lies &s;wept away. And the great and glorious name of Je&s;us highly exalted, above every name, to which powerful Name, all Swearers, and fal&s;e Swearers, and Lyars, Fighters, Plotters, and Per&s;ecutors, who are in the &s;trife again&s;t the Son of God, mu&s;t bow and &s;ub|mit, or be broken in pieces, for his wrath is kindled and his glittering &s;word is whet, to take venge|ance of all tho&s;e that will not have him to reign over them, in Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to the glory of God the Father.</P>
<P>By <HI>Morgan Watkins.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Robert Wil&s;on</HI> at the Sign of the <HI>Black-Spread-Eagle</HI> and <HI>Windmill</HI> in <HI>Martins Le-Grand.</HI></P>
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<HEAD>Swearing denyed in the New Covenant, and its preten|ded Foundation ra&s;ed; with the Remnant of lyes &s;wept away.</HEAD>
<P>_JE&s;us Chri&s;t, the &s;ame ye&s;terday, and to day, and for ever; him hath God the Father high|ly exalted, and given him a name, which is a|bove every Name, that at the Name of Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and that every tongue &s;hould confe&s;&s;e, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, <HI>Phil.</HI> 29.10.11. Now if he be Lord, wherein is he honoured? is it not in obeying his Com|mands, and doing the thing that he &s;aith? as he &s;aith con|cerning the di&s;obedient; <HI>Why call you me Lord Lord, and do not the things which I &s;ay?</HI> &s;o it appeareth he that obeyes him not, hath nothing to do to call him Lord, for he whom he obeyes is his Lord; as its written, his Servants ye are whom ye obey; he only enters the Kingdome that doth the will of the Father, and this is the will of the Father, that we &s;hould hear his Son; <HI>For this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well plea&s;ed, heare ye him,</HI> of him <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Prophe&s;ied &s;aying, <HI>him &s;hall ye heare in all things what&s;oever he &s;hall &s;ay unto you, and every &s;oul that will not hear that Prophet, &s;hall be de&s;troyed from among the people, Act.</HI> 3.22, 23. And this is the day of tryal in this Nation, who will heare him, or refu&s;e him; Who will chu&s;e to obey him, or man; who will fear him, or fear man: And &s;aith <HI>Solomon, the fear of man bringeth a &s;nare,</HI> Pro. 29.25. which thing is now witne&s;&s;ed, whereby Thou&s;ands are catched, and under Condemnations; <HI>but who &s;o putteth his tru&s;t in the Lord &s;hall be &s;afe,</HI> which thing al&s;o is known to the obedient, and &s;hall al&s;o be known to the &s;orrow of the di&s;obedient, for he will &s;uddenly appear for us and plead our cau&s;e, and make the innocency of it appear to the Na|tions round about, that they may fear and tremble before him; who will make his Name glorious, which the Father
<PB N="4" REF="3">hath given him, and is, and &s;hall be known to be <HI>above very Name,</HI> which Name is a &s;trong Tower, and he that be|lieveth not in this Name, is condemned already; and this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Into which tho&s;e that are gathered, and fly unto, are &s;afe, for his pre&s;ence and Power is felt in the midde&s;t of them, <HI>and his glorious voice is heard in Sion;</HI> where he raign|eth, let the people tremble at his great and terrible Name, for it is holy and great in <HI>Sion,</HI> and he is high above all peo|ple; Therefore exalt the Lord our God and wor&s;hip at his holy Hill, for the Earth &s;hall know we are his people, and the Sheep of his Pa&s;ture, and his truth (into which we are gathered) &s;hall be exalted to all Generations; <HI>but the way of the wicked &s;hall be turned up&s;ide down,</HI> and that vain wor|&s;hip, that teaches for Doctrines the Commandments of men, <HI>Mat</HI> 15.9. The&s;e be the blind guides that lead the blind people into the ditch; but Chri&s;t teacheth his Di&s;ciples to beware of their leaven, that was their Doctrine, which then would have made voyd the commands of God, and now would make voyd, or of no effect the Commands of his Son whom the Father hath given for a Commander to his peo|ple, <HI>and he that obeyes him not, &s;hall be cut off from his people;</HI> but his Sheep heare his voyce, and keep his &s;ayings, <HI>who &s;aith, &s;wear not at all;</HI> And herein is he acknowledged to be Lord, by the doing of the thing he &s;aith, <HI>Luk.</HI> 6.46. and this is to the glory of God the Father, who hath highly ex|alted him, and given him a Name above every Name, a|bove <HI>Abraham,</HI> above <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> above <HI>David,</HI> above the Pro|phets, and above the Angels, above every tongue of men &amp; Angels, that have &s;worn, who mu&s;t bow to his Commands <HI>(who &s;aith &s;wear not at all)</HI> and confe&s;s that he is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, to the glory of God the Father, who &s;aith every knee &s;hall bow, <HI>and let all the Angels of God wor&s;hip him, who&s;e throne is for ever and ever;</HI> A Scepter of righteou&s;ne&s;s is the Scepter of thy Kingdome, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.6.8. who &s;aid, <HI>Lo I come to do thy will O God,</HI> he taketh away the fir&s;t, that he may e&s;tabli&s;h the &s;econd, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.9.</P>
<P>Now that which was an ordinance in old time, he taketh away, &s;aying it hath been &s;aid by them of old time, thou
<PB N="5" REF="3">&s;halt not for-&s;wear thy &s;elf, but &s;halt perform unto the Lord thy Oaths; this of old was a &s;ervice of God under the fir&s;t Covenant which was of works) to &s;wear and per|form their oaths; this was a work acceptable to God, <HI>But the &s;econd Covenant being e&s;tabli&s;hed upon better premi&s;es,</HI> wherin God freely gave his own Son to be his Salvation to the ends of the Earth; to bring that forth in man, which he requireth of him; <HI>By writing his Law in his heart, and putting his words in his inward parts,</HI> whereby he comes to know the Lord, and be taught of him to know him&s;elf to be nothing, but what he is in, and through him, who hath all power; So of our &s;elves we can do nothing, therefore we cannot properly &s;wear, being not our own, (<HI>Mark</HI>) nor of abillity to perform of our &s;elves, any good thing, much le&s;s an Oath to the Lord, for we who are come into the true re&s;t, <HI>are not to think our own thoughts, nor &s;peak our own words,</HI> for Chri&s;t commanded to take no thought for our life, what to eat or drink or put on, <HI>becau&s;e we have not power of our&s;elves,</HI> to add to our&s;elves; for which of you by taking thought can add one Cubit to his Stature, therefore take no thought, or promi&s;e to your &s;elves, nor &s;wear to do this, or that, or the other, for the power is in another, by whom you draw your breath; Therefore we cannot promi&s;e any thing ab|&s;olutely, being not our own, <HI>nor born of the will of man, (then how can we &s;wear)</HI> that &s;tand not in our own wills, but in the will of him who &s;aith <HI>&s;wear not at all;</HI> for the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> reproveth ab&s;olute promi&s;ing, without relation to him who hath the power, <HI>go to now ye that &s;ay, To day and to morrow we will do &s;uch a thing, James,</HI> 4.13. <HI>Whereas ye know not whether ye &s;hall live till to morrow, for that ye ought to &s;ay if the Lord will,</HI> ver&s;e the 15. Now to &s;ay, I will &s;wear if the Lord will, or if the Lord help me, is a tempting of God, and wil|ling of him to help to break his own command, or to help him to perform that, which he commands him not to do; therefore leave off now ye &s;wearers, and fal&s;e &s;wearers, and forcers to &s;wear, for the Lord will rebuke you with his fiery indignation.</P>
<P>For the power that &s;hould perform the Oath is in him who is the Oath, Truth and Covenant of God to us, &amp; ends the <HI>Jews</HI> Oaths and Covenant, <HI>who &s;aith &s;wear not at all,</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="8">(why) becau&s;e &s;aith Chri&s;t, (that hath all power) <HI>thou can&s;t not make one hair white or black,</HI> &s;o here is man's power and ab&s;olutene&s;s denyed; who could not keep the fir&s;t Cove|nant, which became to him unprofitable, <HI>in that it was weak, Heb.</HI> 7.18. So he who required perfect obedience, <HI>finding fault with it, which could make nothing perfect, took it away,</HI> that he might e&s;tabli&s;h the &s;econd in which alone God's power Chri&s;t Je&s;us is ab&s;olute: who hath obtained it, by the denyal of his own will as he was man, and in that his State of humiliation, took not upon him ab&s;olutene&s;s, but &s;aid <HI>I can do nothing of my &s;elf, Joh.</HI> 5.30. and here &s;ware not, or as I may &s;ay from his own words, could not &s;wear of him&s;elf, for him&s;elf he denyed, but <HI>confe&s;&s;ed,</HI> (which word <HI>Confe&s;&s;e</HI> under the Law was <HI>Swear</HI>) to the glory of the God the Father, in whom the power was ab&s;olute, and therefore he might &s;wear, who was of all power to perform his Oaths, <HI>Who is the head of Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.3. <HI>who &s;ware not, and com|manded all who&s;e head he is, not to &s;wear at all, &s;o he that &s;wears di&s;honoureth his head,</HI> and doth contrary to his Command, and al&s;o his example, who while&s;t he walked upon Earth, it cannot be proved he &s;ware at all, and the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>he that &s;aith he abideth in him, ought him&s;elf al&s;o &s;o to walk even as he walked,</HI> 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 2.6. Now he that &s;wears breaks his Com|mand, di&s;honours him whom he calls Lord, and walks con|trary to him, who is given to his people for an example and leader, a Commander, and the Captain of their Salvation, the oath of God, who ends oaths, and did not &s;wear, <HI>but made a good Confe&s;&s;ion,</HI> to the glory of the Father, and &s;aid <HI>&s;wear not at all.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But if any &s;ay, though we have not power, and are not ab&s;olute of our &s;elves, we &s;wear but to our power, and &s;o &s;ay, help me God.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If thou ha&s;t not power thou art not to &s;wear, lea&s;t thou for&s;wear thy &s;elf; and if thy power be in Chri&s;t, thou can&s;t not expect that he will give it thee, to break his com|mand, for &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>without me ye can do nothing, John</HI> 15.5. that is to &s;ay well-plea&s;ing to God; but it is not well-plea&s;ing to him to break his Commands, (as many can now witne&s;s that have done it to their mi&s;ery, who are under dreadful
<PB N="7" REF="8">Judgement tormented:) Now he that &s;wears &s;ins, and doth it again&s;t Chri&s;t, and &s;o without him, <HI>for in him is no &s;in;</HI> but the power of darkne&s;&s;e being head, and the eye blind, where|by the Command &s;hould be &s;een and felt to be the will of God, the under&s;tanding comes to be darkned, and man takes coun&s;el in this &s;tate of his enemy, the <HI>Judas</HI> in his own heart, who betrayes him by a pretence of liberty, and thereby brings him in to bondage, and condemnation; but where the power is witne&s;&s;ed the Command is kept, which denieth &s;wearing, and cannot call God to help to break the Command of his Son, whom he hath &s;ent to do his will, in whom he is well plea&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;pake of &s;wearing, and as we judge, hath relation to the Go&s;pel times, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 65.16.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Chri&s;t Je&s;us our great <HI>High-Prie&s;t, Prophet,</HI> and <HI>King</HI> is come, is whom the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled and ended, and he that is in him is in Truth, and as he walks in Truth he an&s;wers the witne&s;&s;e of God in all mens Con&s;ciences, which is a &s;urer Te&s;timony then an Oath, be|cau&s;e <HI>it &s;tands in the power of God, and the endle&s;&s;e life;</HI> &s;o that the life of the Son of God, manife&s;ted in man, and reaching to the witne&s;&s;e of God in all Con&s;ciences, ends the occa&s;ion of an Oath, cau&s;ed through unbelief, or doubting of the Truth in a man; for one who is in Chri&s;t, to put his Brother who is in Chri&s;t to &s;wear, becau&s;e he cannot believe him, is as it were to undervalue or put a lye upon the Truth, <HI>and di&s;honour the holy Name by which he is called,</HI> for he that is in Chri&s;t, knoweth that he which is born of him cannot lye, <HI>for he is kept by the mighty power of God, that the wicked one toucheth him not, John</HI> 5.18. &s;o among the Brethren in Chri&s;t there is no place for an Oath, for there is no &s;trife, there is no lye, there is no fighter, plotter, killer, murtherer, nor di&s;order|ly per&s;on, <HI>but here is the true fear of God, and they that honour the King,</HI> here is Chri&s;t the head of his Church, and every Member is his own order: &amp; tho&s;e who trouble them, when they have all &s;aid, &amp; done, &s;candalized, reproached, &amp; per|&s;ecuted them, and tormented them&s;elves with their vain labour, mu&s;t lye down in &s;orrow and confe&s;&s;e, the&s;e are the Kings be&s;t Subjects, who lift not a hand again&s;t him, neither
<PB N="8" REF="4">can plot, nor contrive the lea&s;t evil again&s;t his Per&s;on and ju&s;t power; for what they do again&s;t his Per&s;on, or ju&s;t power, they do again&s;t their own life, and the Truth they do pro|fe&s;&s;e; for as we abide in the Truth, we can do no wrong to him nor any man el&s;e, for Truth cannot wrong any man, neither tho&s;e that are in it, but labours for the good of all men, <HI>that all might come to the knowledge of it and be &s;aved,</HI> for he that walks in this path <HI>mu&s;t do to every man, as he would have every man to do to him,</HI> and this Law &s;hall out-live all Laws to the contrary, and this way, and they that walk in it, &s;hall pro&s;per, and all other &s;hall &s;oon decay.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But &s;ome may &s;ay, though &s;ome may be believed that walk as Chri&s;tians, yet others that walk in deceit are not to be believed.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I &s;ay, that tho&s;e who are not in Truth are not to be believed though they &s;wear, for being in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion are captivated by the power of darkne&s;&s;e, <HI>who rules in the Children of di&s;obedience,</HI> and the&s;e make little Con&s;cience of an Oath, and le&s;&s;e to break it; for it is grown a fa&s;hion or cu&s;tom to take it, and al&s;o to break it, for you may &s;ee how little &s;tead it &s;tood the King in formerly, and how little it advantaged all the &s;everal powers &s;ince, and it will &s;tand them in as little &s;tead now, who tru&s;t to it; for how did the Magi&s;trates under the former powers, &s;wear again&s;t King and Hou&s;e of Lords, (and it may be had &s;worn once or twice before) and now &s;wear for that which formerly they &s;wore again&s;t, there are but few but who are in the Truth that will loo&s;e any thing for want of &s;wearing, as is made manife&s;t to all that can &s;ee; and al&s;o tho&s;e that love the Pope, and tho&s;e that love the works of the Devil, are unlikely by &s;wearing to come to love the King, or be made true Subjects to him, <HI>but tho&s;e that love God, and keep his Commands,</HI> are they that truly <HI>honour the King,</HI> and will be found faithful to him.</P>
<P>But &s;omething further to the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> his words, which are, <HI>and be that &s;weareth in the earth &s;hall &s;wear by the God of Truth,</HI> but he that is <HI>redeemed from the earth</HI> &s;weareth not in the earth, but abiding in the Truth <HI>&s;wears not at all, for the former things are pa&s;t away,</HI> and the Son of God is come, the promi&s;e of God in whom the Prophets end, <HI>and all the pro|mi&s;es
<PB N="9" REF="4">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.20. for the word of God, the Son of God, Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Truth of God, who was preached among the <HI>Co|riuths</HI> by the Apo&s;tle and others, <HI>was not yea and nay, but in him was yea;</HI> and he that abides in the word, and the word in him, as in the Son of God, <HI>who is yea, and amen,</HI> in Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is in yea, but again&s;t Truth and Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e is in nay, <HI>and what is more then this cometh of evil;</HI> but he that is in &s;wearing is in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, out of the Truth, and fallen under Condemnation.</P>
<P><HI>I&s;aiah</HI> prophecying in the time of the Law, when &s;wearing was lawful, as Circumci&s;ion, and other Ordinances were, <HI>as meats, and drinks, and divers wa&s;hings, and carnal Ordinances impo&s;ed on them until the time of Reformation, Heb.</HI> 9.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">0. and the Prophet &s;peaking of the calling of the Gentiles, who knew not God, nor &s;ware by his Name, but by their Idols and fal&s;e Gods, and al&s;o of a remnant of the <HI>Jews</HI> that he would bring forth, out of a great number who were departed from him, <HI>that were as a &s;moke in his no&s;e, who&s;e Name &s;hould be left for a cur&s;e, whom the Lord &s;hould &s;lay and call his Servants</HI> (both Jews and Gentiles that &s;ought him) <HI>by another Name,</HI> who were to inherit his holy Mountain; the which glory he men|tions by way of illu&s;trating the Jews wor&s;hip in its purity, which was to &s;peak to their capacity, figuring forth the glory to come, (which was to them invi&s;ible) by their wor&s;hip in its purity, which was vi&s;ible and outward, and al&s;o that they &s;hould build hou&s;es, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them, and &s;hould enjoy the work of their hands, and it &s;hould be (&s;peaking by way of compari&s;on) <HI>as the chil|dren of I&s;rael bring an Offering in a clean ve&s;&s;el into the bon&s;e of the Lord,</HI> I&s;a. 66.20. <HI>And I will take of them for Prie&s;ts, and for Levites, and it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e, that from one new Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, &s;hall all fle&s;h come to wor&s;hip before me &s;aith the Lord,</HI> ver&s;. 21, 23. &s;o here you may &s;ee the things mentioned under the Law, <HI>which are but the &s;hadow of the good things under the Go&s;pel, and where the &s;ub&s;tance is come, the &s;hadows are aboli&s;hed;</HI> and again, when it is &s;aid under the Law, <HI>every tongue &s;hall &s;wear,</HI> when the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> mentions the &s;ame Scripture in the time of the Go&s;pel <HI>(Mark) he &s;aith every
<PB N="10" REF="5">tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e to God,</HI> as for example, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14 11. <HI>For it is written, as I live &s;aith the Lord, every knee &s;hall bow to me, and every tongue &s;hall onfe&s;&s;e to God;</HI> Now &s;ee how it is written by the Prophet, where <HI>Paul</HI> quotes it, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.23. where it is written, <HI>every knee &s;hall bow, every tongue &s;hall &s;wear,</HI> here you may &s;ee plainly the Apo&s;tle changeth it from &s;wear, <HI>to confe&s;s,</HI> becau&s;e &s;wearing was not to among Chri&s;tians, and <HI>Paul</HI> again in the <HI>Philippians</HI> 2.10, 11. where it is again mentioned in the&s;e words, <HI>that every tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e</HI> (and not &s;wear) <HI>that Je&s;us is the Lord,</HI> and here you may plainly &s;ee, that the Commandement being changed, there was as nece&s;&s;ity that the words &s;hould be changed, according to the command of him who &s;aid <HI>&s;wear not at all,</HI> that his Name may be known <HI>to be above every Name of men and Angels;</HI> Now this were enough for tho&s;e that are not blind, to &s;ee the Command changed by the Apo&s;tle him&s;elf, but tho&s;e that will not hear the voice of his Son, who &s;peaks in their Con&s;ciences, will hard|ly hear the voice of his Servants, though they &s;peak by his Spirit.</P>
<P>Now I come to lay before you the Command of the Apo|&s;tle <HI>James,</HI> who &s;aith, <HI>But above all things my Brethren &s;wear not, neither by Heaven, neither by the Earth,</HI> (Mark) <HI>neither by any other Oath, but let your yea be yea, and your nay nay, lea&s;t ye fall into Condemnation,</HI> James 5.12.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider, above all things, is a word of mighty impor|tance, that above all &s;nares of the Devil, we keep out of this, which above all things brings &s;uch di&s;honour to our Lord Chri&s;t; (but tho&s;e that know not his glorious Name, are blind in this thing) for above all things in this his glory is chiefly concerned, <HI>who is Gods Oath, and Covenant in righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and truth,</HI> and every true Chri&s;tian is in Chri&s;t, <HI>Gods Covenant, in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and truth,</HI> fir&s;t being in the Cove|nant (is not in him&s;elf) but in the power of God. 2. Being in his Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, can do no wicked thing, and therefore an Oath is u&s;ele&s;&s;e here, for it undervalues the power and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God, <HI>his Oath and Covenant,</HI> which is to cre|ate us again in his own image, in his Son Chri&s;t Je&s;us, which is the birth that &s;ins not, which the wicked one cannot touch, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.18.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="5">
<P>Thirdly, he that is in the Truth Chri&s;t, is in that which the Devil is out of, <HI>and there is no lye in Chri&s;t the Truth,</HI> and the that is in him &s;peaks the Truth, and doth the Truth that he is in, the Spirit of Truth that cannot lye; but he that &s;wears he will be true, an&s;wers not the witne&s;&s;e of God in mens Con&s;ciences, but rather judges him&s;elf not true, but will be, and this will which is out of the truth is mans, in which the power is not, <HI>for 'tis not in him that willeth, Rom.</HI> 9.16. for Chri&s;t the Truth is the will of the Father, brought forth in every true Chri&s;tian, <HI>which will is our &s;anctification,</HI> 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4.3. <HI>The word is truth which &s;anctifies, &s;anctifie them through thy word, thy Word is Truth, John</HI> 17.17. and he that is &s;anctified through the Truth, &s;heweth forth the Life, Truth, and Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God, which ends Promi&s;es and Oaths, in him who is Yea and Amen for ever and ever.</P>
<P>But the true honour, in which God the Father is glorified, is in confe&s;&s;ing that his Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t is Lord, in bowing and &s;ubmitting to his great Name, (which is his power) in giving obedience to his Commands, though it co&s;t us the lo&s;&s;e of all, even the laying down of our outward lives; <HI>this is a good confe&s;&s;ion,</HI> and as Chri&s;t him&s;elf who &s;ware not, <HI>but made a good confe&s;&s;ion before Pontius Pilate,</HI> in the obedience of his Fathers Commands, and &s;ubmitted to the death, and abode in his Love, and obtained a Name, <HI>which is above every name,</HI> and as he abode in his Fathers love, &s;o we mu&s;t abide in his love, which is by giving up to the obedience of his Commands, who &s;aith <HI>&s;wear not at all,</HI> and tho&s;e who love him, and follow him, obey and honour him.</P>
<P>And the Apo&s;tle <HI>James,</HI> who &s;pake by his &s;pirit, &s;aid, <HI>above all things my Brethren &s;wear not,</HI> and &s;aith Chri&s;t <HI>if ye love me keep my Commandements, Joh.</HI> 14, 1. and &s;aith <HI>Paul, if any man love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him be acur&s;ed,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.22. But they who impri&s;on and per&s;ecute the people of God, becau&s;e they will not break the Commands of Chri&s;t, <HI>they love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> and wo is their portion, it had been better they had never been born; for as many as are come into Chri&s;t, <HI>their yea is yea, and their nay nay,</HI> and are out of Condemnation; <HI>for there is no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t,</HI> but where their yea is not yea, nor their nay nay,
<PB N="12" REF="6">they are out of the truth, and there is the lying, &s;wearing, and for-&s;wearing, and &s;wearing cannot bring into the truth, for it is again&s;t Chri&s;t the Truth, and <HI>James</HI> his Com|mand the Apo&s;tle of truth, and is under the Condemnation.</P>
<P>But the Common Objection among men (who know not the truth) is this, which <HI>Paul</HI> mentions in the 6. of the <HI>Heb.</HI> and the 16. In the&s;e words; <HI>for men verily &s;wear by the greater, and an Oath for Confirmation is to them</HI> (mark not to us) <HI>an end of all &s;trife</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Apo&s;tle in this place mentioning the practices of men, which &s;ware in the old time, who &s;ware by the greater, that it might be the greater ingagement to them to perform their Oaths, and to <HI>confe&s;s</HI> the God of Heaven to be the greater, becau&s;e it was the practice among men to &s;wear by the greater, and a command to the Jews ;<HI>and &s;o the Lord willing more abundantly to confirm his promi&s;es to the &s;eed, &s;ware to man by him&s;elf,</HI> who was the greate&s;t, (that in old time) men were to &s;wear by; but in the new Covenant <HI>old things were done away, and all things were become new.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But if it be &s;aid the Apo&s;tle &s;pake to the pre&s;ent practice among men.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I &s;ay it may be the practice among the Jews at this day, who are <HI>in the unbelief cut off;</HI> but if it be, it is &s;in to them, as is all the re&s;t of their Ordinances <HI>which are ended in Chri&s;t,</HI> being that thereby they go about, (by the practice of them) to e&s;tabli&s;h a righteou&s;ne&s;s of their own, <HI>endeavor|ing to make voyd the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t,</HI> who by their practice deny him to be come, to whom Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>If ye believe not that I am he, you &s;hall dye in your &s;in, and whither I go ye cannot come, Job.</HI> 8.21.24.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> And again if it be &s;aid, that it was then a practice among men, <HI>and an Oath or Confimation is to them an end of all &s;trife.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I &s;ay it is a practice among men at this day, who are in &s;trife, but both the&s;e practices, &s;wearing, and &s;trife, are evil, and under Condemnation, being both out of the truth, again&s;t Chri&s;ts Command &amp; practice, and again&s;t the Apo&s;tles Command, and the practice of them who walked in truth, and it is &s;o common now, that it is grown into a form
<PB N="13" REF="6">of ungodline&s;&s;e, and all in it are far from truth, that they cannot believe one another, without an oath, nor then neither; for as &s;wearing is common, &s;o al&s;o is for-&s;wearing, for without an oath little Law or Ju&s;tice is to be had, nor then neither, for him who is in truth; but if a man can &s;wear, he may &s;oon have a Lawyer to lye for him, if he be well paid before-hand, for he can draw up a form of lyes, and &s;ay it is a form of Law; And this is the way men take to end their money, and to begin the &s;trife, which many times continues while their money la&s;ts, and then it may &s;oon be ended at home, by their neighbours, for the&s;e things the Land mourns, and grones under the&s;e heavy burthens.</P>
<P>Again, if it were a practice among men, let us con&s;ider what men it were, that it was practiced among, whether they are men of the World, or men in Chri&s;t, (which were new men) but I &s;hall make it appear, to be among the men of the World, the carnal men who were in &s;trife, and there the oath, and &s;wearing was to end it; but Chri&s;t the Truth, where he is received, and witne&s;&s;ed, &s;trife comes to be ended, &amp; the Oath not to be u&s;ed; but that it may ap|pear what men it were, read <HI>Jam.</HI> 3.14, 15, 16. <HI>But if ye have bitter envying and &s;trife in your hearts, glory not, and lye not a|gain&s;t the Truth; this wi&s;dome is earthly, &s;en&s;ual and diveli&s;h, for where envying and &s;trife is</HI> (mark) <HI>there is Confu&s;ion and every evil work.</HI> Can any be &s;o blind as to think the&s;e things were among the Apo&s;tles, and owned and practiced among the Brethren of Chri&s;t, who walked in the Spirit? for the&s;e were the fruits of the fle&s;h, the works of <HI>Babylon,</HI> which is Confu&s;ion, <HI>and there is every evil work,</HI> which was not a|mong the elect People of God; for tho&s;e that are carnal, <HI>walk as men</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul,</HI> what men? Such that are in &s;trife, and &s;wearing, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3 3. <HI>For ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you, envying and &s;trife, and Divi&s;ions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?</HI> Here is the word <HI>men,</HI> an&s;wering the words, for <HI>men</HI> verily &s;wear, which <HI>men</HI> you &s;ee the A|po&s;tles reproves here and in divers places, and in <HI>Rom.</HI> 13.12.13. <HI>Let us therefore ca&s;t off the works of darkne&s;s, and let us put on the Armor of Light, let us walk hone&s;tly as in the day, not
<PB N="14" REF="7">in Rioting and drunkenue&s;s, nor in Chambering and wantonne&s;s,</HI> (mark) <HI>not in &s;trife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> Here you may &s;ee that &s;trife is condemned to be one of the works of darkne&s;s, in &s;uch who had not put on the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the&s;e be the <HI>men</HI> that have not put on Chri&s;t, who are in <HI>&s;trife</HI> and &s;wear to end it, and &s;aith <HI>Paul, let nothing be done through &s;trife,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Phil</HI> 2, 3. <HI>And the Servant of the Lord mu&s;t not &s;trive, Tim.</HI> 2.2. So it is &s;ufficently proved, that the Oath and Swearing was among them that walked not in Chri&s;t the Truth, but among &s;uch that were Carnal, and walked in darkne&s;s, in which they are now that are in envying and <HI>Strife,</HI> which be evil works; and they that &s;wear do another evil work to end it, and here the beginning and the end is evil, being the work of the Devil.</P>
<P>But the Children of the Light, (whom the dark World in &s;corn call Quakers) <HI>are come to the word which was in the beginning,</HI> (who ends the fir&s;t Covenant) <HI>even to Je&s;us the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of &s;prinkling, that &s;peaketh better things then the blood of Abel;</HI> and we cannot refu&s;e, nor turn away from his voyce, <HI>who now &s;peaks from Heaven</HI> (which &s;hakes both Heaven and Earth) for we who are faithfull, and hear the beloved Son of God, (who &s;aith <HI>&s;wear not at all, we do receive a Kingdome which cannot be mo|ved</HI> (which is not of this World, therefore the World &s;eeth it not) and having grace whereby we may &s;erve him ac|ceptably, cannot but <HI>obey, reverence, and fear our God, who as a con&s;uming &s;ire;</HI> And now for the obedience of his Com|mands, whom we <HI>&s;erve, reverence and fear,</HI> are we per&s;ecuted and impri&s;oned, (by tho&s;e who neither &s;erve nor fear him) and our goods &s;poyled, contrary to the Law of God, and al&s;o of the Nation; but in all the&s;e things we rejoyce, and are more then Conquerers, thorow him that hath loved us, who&s;e power and glorious pre&s;ence is witne&s;&s;ed among us; and his love is felt, in filling of us with the joy of his &s;pirit, by which we can freely forgive all our enemies, and pray that tho&s;e who di&s;pitefully u&s;e us, may come to &s;ee their wicked way, to the way of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, where they may find mercy and be &s;aved; But if they will not hear, nor re|pent, nor &s;peedily leave off the evil of their doings; I &s;ay <HI>Our God who is a con&s;uming fire,</HI> the Lord who is ri&s;en to plead
<PB N="15" REF="7">the Innocency of our cau&s;e, which is come before him, who is the God of the whole Earth, to whom all vengance belongs, he will recompence them according to their deeds.</P>
<P>And is it not a &s;hame for men, who would be called Chri&s;tians, to per&s;ecute, and impri&s;on tho&s;e who obey Chri&s;t, and keep his Commands, for obeying him, and keeping his Commands, and walking as they have him, and his Apo&s;tles, for an example? who &s;aid <HI>let us hold fa&s;t the Profe&s;&s;ion of our faith without wavering, not for&s;akeing the A&s;&s;em|bling of our &s;elves together, as the manner of &s;um is, but exhort one a nother, following peace with all men, and holine&s;s, without which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord;</HI> and who is he that can accu&s;e us, that we have not followed <HI>peace</HI> in our meetings, and <HI>holi|ne&s;s</HI> in our conver&s;ations? but they it be who neither love peace, nor holine&s;s in their Conver&s;ations, that di&s;turb us in our peaceable meetings, and A&s;&s;emblies, as the manner of the Churches of Chri&s;t were, and now are, <HI>who wor&s;hip the Lord in &s;pirit and in truth,</HI> and as we are kept and abide in the truth, we can injure no man; but walking in love, <HI>and doing to all men, as we would have all men &s;hould do to us; But all men</HI> (though they may be called Chri&s;tians) <HI>have not faith,</HI> and the&s;e are the unrea&s;onable men, who make warr again&s;t the Lamb and his followers; becau&s;e they do &s;hew forth that life, which they that per&s;ecute them do profe&s;&s;e, and therein they are unrea&s;onable and cruel; <HI>For if every one who names the Name of Je&s;us, did depart from iniquity,</HI> per|&s;ecution would &s;oon cea&s;e, &amp; Love would increa&s;e; <HI>but wo to the wicked, it &s;hall be ill with him;</HI> but his ble&s;&s;ing is, &amp; &s;hall be <HI>with his &s;eed,</HI> and his &s;piritual pre&s;ence with his <HI>off-&s;pring,</HI> which hath blo&s;&s;omed, and budded, and &s;hall fill the face of the Earth with fruit.</P>
<P>From one who waits to &s;ee the Lord exalt him&s;elf, over all this Enemies.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Morgan Watkins.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><HI>From Albans Common Goale,</HI> <DATE> this 7th. <HI>of the</HI> 12th <HI>Month,</HI> 1660</DATE></DATELINE><HI>Where I now &s;uffer bonds for the truth of God, and the Te&s;ti|mony of Je&s;us.</HI></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
