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Show Voi.l. 167~. this a\fo is noi to be eReem'd a light Mttter, phinly appem to them, ~ that carefully confider rhar Sentence of the Lor~, where he f:.t.trh, Of er.·efy idle Word thot Men }hall jpeaR, tbty jhaU gzve .Account lR t~Jt Doy ~~ Judgmuit. . • [That ye faY not into Condtnmotion.J Tberefore ( faJth IJe) I re!lr.t(n you· from the Fault of Swearing, left by Swearing fte<tUent.ly True Things ye fall fometimes alfo into Forfwelfing? but fiand fo far from the Vice of • Forfwearing that you wd/. 11M Swear neither, bur by the greareft Neceffirv. But be alfo fans under rhe Judgment of Guilt, who although he ne\'er Foffwear, yet fwe:uerh True oftner than tkere is Nee?; n:~mely, he offends iA. the very Idlenefs of fuperftuous Speech, and he offendeth the J adge, Which forbad both every unprofitable Word and Oath. From this Chief Man among the Englijh of that Time, it is rnanifell thoft ~~:~~.~~: this was the DoCtrine th·oy rhen held, ag fanhe~ appears f~om H. Spe/m,n, -a6o. that Learn'd En1Jifh Kni~ht, iu his Book of Brzt1jh Counctls, Canons, e'c. j 0 the Exceptions, or SeleEt ColleEtions of Egbert, ArchbHhop .of Tcrk, Article J 9· That no Pritfi wbatforoer may Sruar ttn Oath, but let hmt _fprnk 4 11 Things ]imply, m PH~it} and Truth . . And il~ the fame Author and COua· cil1 Article IS, theChtet of Monafienes, Pnefts and Deacons, fhould fay (without Su:earint) when they were w purge aod clear themfelves, only thus, I Jp<ak tbt Truth in Cbrifl, ~ lyt not. . And in page 259, tn EnglaNd, at the Counctl of BergTJamjleJ, about tlte Year 750, Article 17· That a Bifhop, or a King's Word or Affirmation, wit/}.. out an Oath is irrefragable. . This agrees with Bla{laris Canons afore-mention'd; and at this Day in f"'me Countries, as in Germany, the Ele~oral A.rchbifhops of. Colen, Afenrz, and Triers, and many Noblemen in the1r Stauon, Jpeak w11bo11t an Oath updn their Honour'· ~c. . . . . . . Certainly then lt lS much below the Nob11Ity of True Chnfhans tn the1r Spiritual Statiorr to Swear, as ChryfaPom and the Ancients have well oh; fei\'ed. LXY. Haimo li\'ed about 84o, who on the Revelationt faith, 11Jat it't Lr6- ful only {or God and Angels to Swear; but to Men it is forbidden. LXVf. Ambrojilu Anjbert~ts, Gai!Ns PrePryter: Seeing the Lord prohibirs the Faithful frOPl every 0Jth, flying, Swear not at all, neither by lftaulfl On the l,tvt· &c. b11t let ;our 1&a be Ten, anJ yo"r Nay, Nt~y; what abounds' more thah l.nitms, pag. therh is from the Evil : Vi/ho ftretcheth out his Hand to Heaven, ah4 •96. fweareth by him that liveth for ever, Are not his S1yings and AB:ings fet for Examples for Believers to imitate ? Rut only in that Men are often deceived by an Oath; but He, who is the Truth, never is deceived; for He would not have prohibited Men from an Oath, if he had not known Sin to be in it~ For, what do we underftand to be Figured by the Hand of. the Angel, unlefs (as before noted) :1 Difpenfation of Redemption of Mankmd > For His Hand is the Operation of our Salvation ; although alfo, if it mat be fo faid, the fame Son be his Right-Hand, as when the 'Vord of tht Fa- *, Hemak~ Oaths 1er ijb, atleaft in Oppofitionto EV"angelial; becaure imperfeCt, and permitt~ to the4'Je•s, in Condefcenfil ther fpeaketh, He fheweth that He 'is the Word of the Father. . LXVII. Thtophylafl, Archbifhop of the Bulgarians, whom fome place 1ft the Nimh Century, others after; to be fure very fJmous, being as it were th_eir Apoftle, in his Comment on Maub. ). faith, To fwear, or adjure more to Yea or Nay, is of the Devil. Moreover {fays bt) if thou ChoutCHl f:Jy, That the Law 3lfo given to ftiofet was Evil, becaufe it commander~ t.o Swear, Le3rn, that then it was not Evil to Swear ; but after Chrift, 1~ 1'S Evil, as alfo to be Circumcifed ; and in brief, whatfoever is· + Jewtfo: For it is convenient for a Child to fuck, but not at all for a Mail. LX7Jlf. Btrnard : The Truth needs not an Oath, Dt m!Jdo bt"ne vivendi, Scr. 32. De Ptrj11rio .- A Faithful Word holds the Place of an Oath r, as·hc: cannpt Lye who doth not Speak, fo he cannot Forfwear who doth nor un~ derukc to Swear: Grounded on Matthew the srh. . LXIX. Pajlhatillr Rarbertur, on Mat. ). 1e b.we beard, &c. In tfns Place, -as aifv every' where in thofe Things, the PerfeEtioR in Rigb.rtO•Jfnc.f~ ~ VoL. t. A treatife of Oaths. G ~ is rcnew'd i for by what every one fwears he e'th · ' ) fe:Jrs}t i therefore by ~he Law, it was L~wful1 fo~r tbor~tps, loveth, .or I,67'J •. Swear by God, and rh1s was alloiY'd as to Lit 1 0 c rna! People' to ~ Sa.crifi'ces to GoCl, left they fhould offer them ~! IJ~~:· t~ac·jfo t.hey offer' d. mitred to them ~o ~wear by God: Not that the d'di h9a tt was per .. caufe it waa bet~er to give it to God than to Devftr 1· t 15 well, but 111::~ . LXK Otho Brunf<!fius on Mat, ~. B•r lu our iVord h< y. • • It •s the Duty of a Clm!lian Man to be fure (. his Word j;" ~c.. 1hat {worn, ~e furpafS any Jew or }f;atben, Swearing b}r afl shi! H~I eTg.Unr namely m thefe. bare Words only, Tta ·Tea 1 Nay 1\'ay. Such F .Y hfi tgs, <Jnd Can,ftancy rs commended in Good Men b p · an u nefi Stntca,_ Cictro, Valerius Maximus. y rophane Authors. Read i Bu~ ~hou wile fay, I jha/1 not ht rn~fled, unltft I Swear . E r; · · ' pe_rmnted by the Popes, to Swear Good Words in a Good C . veo o tt IS Dtfhufl ought nor to reign in the Faithful: Bur if we tr~f{e~orBW~~db, foh1~t ~oul~ an Oat'Mdo? It is a Proverb, None is ltfs trujlcd than be whit~ C~m~:~d otG~? oreover, Who gave Power t<? Popes, to break the LXXr. Druibtitar•s oo M~th. ~· Left the. Jcuu fhould Swear b' Idols Names, the Lord fuffeJed thc!l\ to Swear by his own Name. y , -.-. -.- T~e Lord raugh~ u~ Perfefiion, that fuch Truft is to be am on· W"tt'!'fs~s, that there th.ould be no need to interpofe the Name of God fo~ L:!fJS!l. ]an}<ni~ts.On Math.;.. If a'u· Chri!liatis were fuch a; the ou h ~ ;o be, lt •you\d certa~nly be needlefs both to require and ta~e a~ oarh..!..! 111!~:~k ~~~;~~~C~~fi~:tn; and not to Sw~ar at all, nof Coinftelto. Swear, AJ!irmfng: So Chri!t Sw~~e~::~ art tht fam~, 2 Cor. r. pot Sweanng, but Sec &rnard, Hom. 69. in Cant. De mort btne vivendi, Serm. ~~. LXX!ll. illh<rtus . .tl'1agn~s on Mat. 5. Swearing is by Indulgence. Tboma~Agum'!-1 cttes J<aqanus op Mar.). LX?CIV. ilkx. d< Jilts cir~th !J~l·, Card ina!, faying The Lord Forbad S.yeb.on1ng,1 !eft apny .fl]opld defire to Swear as a Good Thing alfo that none m1g t ai mto erJury. ' LXXV. Remi~ius on Rom. 1. Who nev~r S~ears, never Forfwears. , ,LXXVI. Ruffin us on Ff•l. '4· Not to fwear at all is of perfeEl Men. See P·l· ~· m rro SmiJragdiiJ on AJar. ). TJttlmannps on Pfa!. I+ Bru_fenjis 01) lllol 5 _11doiP._h~ Cartbuji~n111, Vita Chrifii,_ part 2. cap. 12. Rupert(fl · d~ q~: n,bus Sp.lrltus Sanat, Fol. 4B· Baptifla Folengillt, on Pjaf. 15• J,.t;c, L · · · and Onllnary Glafs on Mat. ;. .yra . LXXVU. &thymiiJs Zigahtnm, on Mat. ~· p. 43· faith thus, Jl ain • . . ' . Y: bt~ve htard, that II bath bun faid to them of 6ld 'tim~, TboujhaZ no; ~-v!~1;~~ .ro;Jw~ar, &:c. But lfiiJ unro youi .Swear not at aO, &:c. Now the old Law rrunJ. · ffa ub, thoJJ jh11lt Jtot farfwear, hutfoa/t offir to the Lcrtl thine Oat hi whilh ad1cd, that he migb,t put Fear into .tht St»t{lrtr, that btjh40 not (o;fwfar, nowmg that God, .. w,brcb knows oO Tbrngs, {Jndertaltis ,the Oath. [Out 1 fay ~nto you, fWear_ not at a1l} For he thf!t ,et{ily fwtartth, fomerimu perChance '!bfo,fwenr_, hy thtCujlom D[ Swtaring; but h~ that froeart by no meant "',: n~ver foifwear-. Bejide.r, tbt>u that jUJtarejt, fo he tbou do not forfwe11/ 1tJOU obf~rvrfl. the Worjhip .of God; hut Swearing, hy no .Af.~an;, thou Jo;i tropzotf 11 : And tbt other u tbt Pttrt of Mt,an and I'!JperfeU Pbiloflph)' Ut this .of tha~ whi~h is .the higheft a1;d perfca. The. other, thou fhal; not fotfwe~r, H Wfi!/Cll 111 tht. Boo!: af.Exodus ;. pur this, Thou fhalr re-o rvO:e to the Lp~d t,hme Oath~. m the B(lok of Deuteronomy; hut in otbeiK rds : Now pt <ommonJ<d tbu, l<fl tbty jhould fweor hy Gods of a fa!f< am_e. ~gam, . , l\ot IO fwenr_, anti 110110 require an Oath, come 1o the fomt nling: Ppr ••. ~~ cpnf!Jhou mduce .thy Brother untotbat, which tbo~tllvoiJtj/tbyfolf,if J"fl ot tbar tl•11u art 4 Lover pf thy Brnber,. and nN r6tber of .Jionq? , . N.,. |