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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	new_a	scripture_n	testament_n	8,305	5	8.0705	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39570	The bishop busied beside the business, or, That eminent overseer, Dr. John Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, so eminently overseen as to wound his own cause well nigh to death with his own weapon in his late so super-eminently-applauded appearance for the [brace] liberty of tender consciences, legitimacy of solemn swearings, entituled, A discourse concerning publick oaths, and the lawfulness of swearing in judicial proceedings, in order to answer the scruples of the Quakers ... / by Samuel Fisher ...	Fisher, Samuel, 1605-1665.	1662 (1662)	Wing F1051; ESTC R37345	155,556	170

Christians Christs own Disciples or in his true Church 5. By way of proof and not by meer affirmation onely or bare position 6. This proof not by way of meer probable Argumentation only but by way of plain Scriptural evidence and Scientifical demonstration that is able to give an infallible eviction 7. This Scriptural demonstration from the Scriptures of the New Testament not of the old onely 8. Any thing in any Books put out out by the Quakers or in those two Texts Matth. 5 Iam. 5. to the contrary notwithstanding 9. Such as must succeed so as effectually to produce its immediate end viz removing all difficulties such clear conviction and infallible satisfaction to their Consciences as actually leaves them without any doubt cloud or exception in themselves against the truth of the thing imposed and to be practised 10. Or else in case of non-conviction or of non-submission against conviction after the Bishop's so full and effectual endeavo●… of their information denominate them undoubtedly such wilful resisters and obstinate offenders against the Law as fall and that so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the severe penalties thereof as to he left in their sufferings without Plea for themselves and without any just Excuse before God and Man These being the particulars of the Bishop's professed Work it remains now that we onely take some account of the residue of his Book how accordingly he hath accomplish'd it which if it appear to right reason that he hath God forbid that we should wilfully deprive our selves of that Religious Liberty is left us and obstinately refuse that which is not onely lawful for Christians to use but as the case stands prudentially necessary 〈◊〉 the expedienc●… of our Lives outward Liberties Estates gond 〈◊〉 and enjoyments but if otherwise it be so that our Bow like Ioseph's at least abides in the same strength it did before however the Arch-Archers of all have shot sorely at us to the wounding of our reputation among such as are apt to be more ●…way'd by the Bishop's proofless positions than by the Quakers evident demonstrations and that our Testimony heretofore given stands extant in the for●…●…d ●…d vigour as before then what ever others do and what ever the contray cost us God forbid that we should turn aside from following the Lord so as to lead Truth and Reason captive after mens 〈◊〉 conjectures and conceits and not suffer violence quietly without violent resistance under the Laws of men rather than do that which the Bishop sayes p. 10 11. no man may do i. e. act contrary to those dictates we judge or but suppose to be Gods and sin formally and maliciously against but appearing principles of Truth and so wilfully rebel against the Truth or but supposed Will of God whose ●…ly Will shining on the soul in Reason or Religion seeming or real is indeed the present Rule of Conscience which binds so far a●… it represents though in a false glass and though it err as to the truth of the Rule and so violate both our own Consciences and his Commands to whom we Christians owe the highest love Loyalty and obedience First then as to the lawfulness of imposition of publike Oaths under penalties in Iudicial Proceedings he professes it's fit p. 2. we should be informed thereof before we suffer as offenders by the Law of God as well as Man But we profess we cannot find throughout his Book any proof at all for imposing Oaths under penalties unless he should count upon his instancing in Abraham Iacob Ioshua David and others requiring or desiring an Oath of 〈◊〉 they entrusted but not under penalties which is not demonstrative neither being drawn but ab exemplo from the example of 〈◊〉 and that under the Law too whose practice in many things or indeed in any thing though they were good men is not our Rule but God's own Precept under the Gospel whose permission of sundry things then is no commission●…or ●…or the doing of the same things now whereupon if there were any ground from which to prove it lawful for Christians now to swear in some cases with a good Conscience that 's far from justifying it as lawful in Christians by penalties to force other Christians to swear against their Consciences in Courts of Iudicature so that therein he hath done his work but by the halves 2. As for that kind form or manner of poenal imposing and taking Oaths in such cases and places as 't is now used in and so strictly pleaded for by our English Professors there 's not one inch o●… evidence about the warrantableness of that although it 's not onely possible but exceeding probable that thousands of people if they were well satisfied as to the thing in some form or other of it which the Powers Priests and People of this Nation call Swearing though the Qu. do not so call it who can never with good Conscience to God conform to those many cumbersom customary superfl●…ous fidling formalities of handling fingering kissing of a Book with so help me God and the Contents of this Book and suck like by which meer ceremonious accidental odd petty practises postures and gestures as by the substantial and essential form thereof they at least must be supposed to define an Oath who confine men so to them as that they will punish them as not swearing to their satisfaction though offering that which is ten times more Evangelical and Substantial as I call God to record upon my soul or I speak as in the presence or in the sight of God or I speak truth before God and lye not my Conscience bearing me witness d●… in the sight of God or God is my Witness or some such solemn form of Words as may be suggested to the person at the time of his Attestation unless the other adventitious inventious forms aforesaid of touching or talking by road after some Clark or Cryer be conform'd to yea which makes the matter the more either renownedly or ridiculously remarkable on the part of those Rabbies by whose Opinions some subordinate Rulers are in this point irregularly ruled though they almost in all their Boo●… tell us that an Oath is no more than a calling God to witness as a special honor or appeal to him yet if we who do not count it swearing by God to call God to witness any more than it is swearing by a man to call a man to witness unless there be such a form of speech us'd as to say By God and then that 's an Oath whether by God by man or by any other creature as by Heaven by Earth c. if we say God is my Witness I speak before God I appeal to God I call God to record or such like not stinting nor limiting our selves syllabically to those very monosyllables onely of Yea Yea Nay Nay which words the Bishop sayes p. 31. but on his own head or by hear say onely for it 's not so the Quakers so much affect to use

against swearing p 39. that they would not swear in Iudicature any more than out of Iudicature for Iosephus sayes of them That whatsoever they say is firmer than an Oath and to swear is among them counted as a thing superfluous This the Bishop might have noted in that Book call'd the Antidote as well as many more matters which by sundry passages of his Book it seems to us ●…e hath read there save onely that he is loath to seem to cite any thing out of our Books lest thereby his weakness in not answering them should the more bewray it self And perhaps what we quote out of Iosephus in English he to hide both himself and it quotes in Greek both in the 22 and 24. pages of his ●…ook 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iosephus de Essenis And now it comes under consideration since the Bishop states the case upon those Terms of Swearing in Iudicial proceedings as if he were 〈◊〉 really so he seems to be sometimes and sometimes not again 〈◊〉 against all swearing whatever whether rash or serious prophane or solemn private or publike save onely in publike Iudicature or Iudicial proceedings We have often marvelled in our selves to see the Bishop state his Question so narrow concerning that by which he entitles his Book on the top of every page from one end thereof to the other●… viz. the Lawfulness of Swearing in Iudicial Proceedings and yet wanders so wide off from it a●… he does in his Disputation for it For he comes not whatever the matter is so much as near any proof of the warra●…tableness of such kind of Swearing but all that p●…tty proof he puts forth at all for the lawfulness of present Swearing if it were of weight to warrant any swearing at all is more pertinent to prove the lawfulness of Oaths in private ordinary conversation and common communication than of Oaths in publike Courts and Consistories in order to judicial proceedings there Indeed if by Courts of Iudicature he should mean as we see not how he can the Synodical Councils of Clergy-men in inferior Ages 'T is true he tells us of Oaths imposed and taken as in the 〈◊〉 the Ephesine Council 't was so and so ordered and in the sixth Synod of Constantinople Yea nor did any Canons of the Church saith he p. 44. forbid such swearing Yea we read of old saith he p. 45. some condemned by the Orthodox part of the Church for this error that they denied all swearing to be lawful And we know th●… Bishops that were so backward as Basilius was at Calceden to be done to as they did to others and looking on themselves to be priviledg'd to the contrary unwilling to take and be imposed upon in the point of Oaths were ever or else were not like their wonted selves free and forward to impose Oaths on others and to bind that heavy burd●…n upon other mens backs which they were not willing to touc●… with the least of their own fingers But what 's all this to us as to convince us of the warrantableness so to do because those men who call'd themselves the Orthodox still as they sa●…e at the 〈◊〉 condemned of old all others as Heterodox that did not dance after their Pipe and sing to the same Tune with them in swearing and every thing else when they had once got up into a 〈◊〉 Lordly Dominion over mens Faith And what is that consonant Iudgement of those mordern Eminent Divines as he Calls them of the Romanists as well as Reformists agreeing against P●…rjury and Pr●…phane Oa●…hes and yet assenting to the Lawfullness of Iudicious and Solemn Swearing and not thinking them by any positive Law of Christ become unlawfull what 's this in respect of the Quakers satisfaction who know hundreds of things wherein as much as they fall out and fight even to blood with each other about their fan●…ied Formalities they all agree against the Light of God the Power of Godliness and the very appearance o●… the ●…mage of him in his holiness who is the substantial Truth it self We say what is that 〈◊〉 rather Tri 〈◊〉 Ecclesiastical Authority agreement of the Clergy to the Quakers whose Faith standing higher than the wisdom and thoughts of men cannot as the Bishop both thinks and sayes truly enough p. 41. 45. value them not much be moved by any such Engine so as to lead their Faith and Reason captives after them 〈◊〉 any Lydium Lapidem or infallible Touch stone whereby to try this or any other Truth But if by swearing in Iudic●…ture in Judicial proceedings he intends that sort of Swearing that is now impos'd and us'd by and before Iustices men in Authority or Magistrates in their civil Courts saving that its one of those many customs of the Nations which the Scripture sayes Ier. 10. 3. are vain Where does the Bishop produce any evidence or so much as an Inch of Inst●…nce out of the Scriptures of either Testament of such a thing in order to the Quakers satisfaction 'T is true he tells us as others tell him p. 43. Certain stories which make more against than for him that other Christians were impos'd upon and had Oaths by Officers Civil and Military exacted of them Some whereof 〈◊〉 swear as he sayes being required by Authority and some did not as 〈◊〉 who when promised dismission by the Prefect if he would swear by the Fortune of Caesar refus'd saying Christianus sum I am a Christian. And 〈◊〉 the Martyr who replied to the Officers It is not lawful for me to swear at all being a Christian And he tells us as 〈◊〉 tell●… him that the Christian 〈◊〉 took Oaths in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit to obey their Commanders not to dissert their colours and dye for the common welfare which was called Sacramentum Militare before and so after Christianity prevail'd in the Empir●… Whence that name Sacrament came to be apply'd to Christian Misteries But where 's his proof of the warrantableness of such exactions of Oaths by Officers and of such swearings of those Christians from whom they were exacted in Courts of Judicature from either old or new Testament or in order to Iudicial proceedings among all the texts which he ●…russes together and thwacks one upon another out of the Old-Testament p. 36 37. in proof of what we deny not viz. that swearing by God himself was then lawful not one of them speaks out the legallty of that solemn swearing by Gods Name any more in Iudicial proceedings than in private communication and conversation And as for what he alledges out of the New p. 37 38 39. from the example of Gods Christs Pauls Angels Swearing if any o●… all that would prove any swearing lawful for us now as we have shew'd heretofore in our Books at 〈◊〉 it possibly cannot for the reasons therein sufficiently rendered or if those words of Christ Amen Amen Verily Verily were an Oath as the Bishop would sain r●…ad them if possibly