Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	enter_v	righteousness_n	scribe_n	2,630	5	11.0710	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44363	The Spirit of Christ, and the spirit of the Apostles and the spirit of the martyrs is arisen, which beareth testimony against swearing and oaths, for which the martyrs suffered in the time of the ten persecutions and some since, which we also, the people of God called Quakers, do suffer for, as many thousands have done, for keeping the commands of Christ who saith, swear not at all and also, here you may see such martyrs as could not put off their hat or bonnet to the Pope, nor his legate, and as example of one martyr that could not give sureties, being innocent, so that you may see in this book following, to swear not at all, nor to take oaths, nor to deny putting off the hat or bonnet, nor to deny giving sureties being innocent is no new thing, which is proved out of the Scriptures and book of martyrs / published by Ellis Hooks.	Hookes, Ellis, d. 1681.	1661 (1661)	Wing H2662; ESTC R4402	20,779	30

custom of the Romans at that time and of divers Heathen Emperors And now would not all people say for obeying Christ's Doctrine that they disobey the Command of the Rulers which commanded that which their Master forbad for the sake of which many did deny their Lives and Estates for the keeping of his Commands And that also that people may now see it is no new thing to deny Swearing and Oaths take a few Examples of the Faithful in Ages past G. F. Swearing denyed by the Martyrs POlicarpus who was as it is said John's Disciple Vol. 1st fol. 55. and had been a Disciple eighty nine years when he came to suffer Martyrdom the Proconsul required him to swear by the Emperors good Fortune and by Caesars Prosperity which was the custom of the Romans at that time And divers Heathen Emperors set up their own Images to be worshipped and their Persons to be sworn by but Policarpus denied and said he was a Christian and would shew forth the Doctrine of Christianity if he desired the same if the Proconsul would appoint a day and hear it For Policarpus refused to swear but kept Christ's Doctrine so he was led away to be burned being an old ancient man confessing himself to be a Christian So at that time it seems Christians did not Swear as afterwards they did in the Apostacy See Acts and Monuments And Basilides a Soldier and afterwards a Martyr being required to swear affirmed plainly That it was not lawful for him to swear for that he was a Christian. So that it seems that it was the mark of a Christian not to swear See Eusebius lib. 6. chap. 4. pag. 98. And Justinian the Emperor appointed first that men should swear By the Gospel and lay their hands thereupon and kisse it saying So help me God And here Christendom may see who are in the Apostacy and who were the first Inventors of this Swearing and the manner thereof which the Teachers of these latter Ages do ignorantly press for an Ordinance of God since the Apostles dayes See the old manner of the Papists Oath Acts and Monum Vol. 1. pag. 854. which they use to require of People as the quality and fact required by a Corporal Oath taken upon the Evangelists or upon the Reliques of Saints or upon the Image of the Crucifix c. Another manner of the Papists Oath They caused them to swear by the Evangelists with their three middle fingers stretched out and laid upon the Book as a sign of the Trinity and Catholick Faith Hen. 8ths dayes and the other two the thumb and little finger put down under the Book in token of damnation of Body and Soul if they did not depose the Truth in the matter Also in the dayes of Nero and Domitian both Heathen Emperors and Cruel Tyrants was very great and sore Persecutions of the Christians and they had a form of an Oath for men to swear by the Inquisitor of their Inquisition put the Christians whom they persecuted to swear by their form of Oath whether that they were Christians or no but the Christians refused to swear confessing and saying That they were Christians and could not deny Christ nor his Doctrine and then according to the Heathens Law Sentence of Death was pronounced against the Christians by the Proconsul and forthwith the Sentence was put in Execution by wicked blood-thirsty-men who put the Christians to death some after one manner and some after another according to the wills of these cruel Tyrants the Emperors And the Waldenses or Leonists whose Names are so famous in the Reformed Churches and who are said immediately to succeed the Apostles De Succes cap. 6. and were the most antient and true Protestants professed it to be no way lawful for a Christian to swear In the Defence of whom in the very thing Bishop Usher late Bishop of Armath Primat of Ireland pleadeth their Cause against the Papists and Jesuites who are the Swearers and breakers of Oaths and yet pleads for Swearing The Plowman in his Complaint saith Vol. 1. pag 527. Thou givest us a Commandment of Truth in bidding us say Yea yea Nay nay and swear for nothing Thou givest us also a Commandment of Meekness and another of Poorness but Lord he that calleth himself thy Vicar on Earth hath both these Commandments broken for he maketh a Law to compel men to swear and by his Law he teacheth that for a man to save his life may forswear and lye and so Lord through the comfort of him and his Laws the People draweth out to swear and to lye nay oft-times to forswear them Lord here is little truth Further he saith Whether thou ordainest an Order of Fighters to turn men to the Belief other ordain that Knights should swear to fight for thy Words And it is one of John Wickliff's Articles Vol. 1. pag. 586. Rich. 2ds daye whose Works were as much esteemed of by the Protestants in England and Bohemia as despised by the Papists and their Clergy having his Bones taken up and burned forty one years after his decease and his Books were also burned and this Article with many other was condemned by the Council of Constance That all Oaths which be made for any Contract or Civil Bargain betwixt man and man be unlawful John Hus and Jerome of Prague were condemed for holding Wickliff's Opinions And Walter Brute Vol. 1. fol. 653. Rich. 2d's days a Teacher among the People of God in the Age of Scorners called the Devil's servant or Lollard against whom the Pope and King Richard the Second and then the ungodly Bishops made such ado to have the name of Truth extinguished and the Professors thereof cut off this is Walter 's Testimony as concerning Oaths I believe and obey the Doctrine of Almighty God and my Master Christ Jesus which teacheth that Christian men in the Affirmation of Truth should pass the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees of the Old Testament or else he excludeth them from the Kingdom of Heaven for he saith Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And as concerning Oaths he saith It hath been said of old time Thou shalt not for swear thy self but shalt perform those things unto the Lord thou knowest But I say unto you Thou shalt not swear at all neither by the Heaven nor by the Earth c. But let your communications be yea yea and nay nay for whatsoever shall be more than this proceedeth of evil Therefore as the perfection of the ancient men of the Old Testament was not to forswear themselves so the perfection of a Christian man is not to swear at all because they are commanded of Christ whose Command in no case must be broken although the City of Rome is contrary to the Doctrine of Christ c. A good Testimony of a blessed Martyr Hear it appears that the Swearing which