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
A70779	A treatise of oaths containing several weighty reasons why the people call'd Qvakers refuse to swear : and those confirmed by numerous testimonies out of Gentiles, Jews and Christians, both fathers, doctors and martyrs : presented to the King and great council of England, assembled in Parliament.	Penn, William, 1644-1718.; Richardson, Richard, 1623?-1689.; Parker, Alexander, 1628-1689.; Whitehead, George, 1636?-1723.	1675 (1675)	Wing P1388; ESTC R17219	94,426	174

Particular LXXXII And Bp. USHER pleads for them against the Papists who were Swearers LXXXIII Likewise a People of Albi in France Ann. 1176. held It was Unlawful to Swear LXXXIV The Plowman's Complaint containing as abundance of mournful Applications to God so many notable and serious Reprehensions of the Lapst Erroneous and Cruel Nature of Men among others it hath this notable Passage to our Purpose Lord thou givest us a Command of Truth in bidding us say Yea Yea and Swear for Nothing but Lord he Pope that calls himself thy Vicar on Earth hath broken the Commandment so makes a Law to Compel men to Swear Who was the Author of this is not certainly known but to be sure it was embraced of the Wickliffians as worthy of their Patronage and remembred and recorded by John Fox as not unworthy to keep Company with Protestant Martyrs LXXXV JOHN WICKLIFF our Country-man and in his time Divinity-Professor of Oxford Famous for his Learning and Godly Courage in oppugning the Doctrines and Practices of Rome in the time of Edward the third and Richard the second about the year 1370. was accused among other things for maintaining that all Oaths which be made for any Contract or Civil Bargain betwixt man and man are Unlawful LXXXVI We will bring in here a Passage out of the Plowman's Tale as it lyes in GEFFRY CHAUCER's Works not impertinent to our Purpose whose Learning Honour and Wit was great in the time he lived which was about 1360. John Wickliff's Contemporary ' These Wollen make men to Swear ' against Christ's Commaundment ' And Christ's Members all to tear ' on rood as he were new yrent ' Such Laws they maken by common Assent ' each one it throweth as a Ball ' Thus the Poor be full shent ' but ever Falshood foul it befal He hath Expressions not less disliking Oaths in his Parson's Tales where he makes the Parson to say After those then cometh Swearing expresly against the Commandment of God and our Lord Jesus Christ who saith by St. Matthew's words Ne shall ye not Swear in all manner or on no Account LXXXVII WILLIAM SWINDERBY Priest and a Zealous Follower of John Wickliff also lived in the time of Richard the second as appears by his Appeal to that King from the Unjust Sentence of the Bishop of Hereford in which to this part of the Charge exhibited That no man ought to swear for any thing but simply without an Oath to Affirm or Deny he answers thus Whereas Christ's Law forbids Swearing the Pope's Law justifieth Swearing and compels men thereunto Methinks saith he there is no need to Comfort or Encourage the People in Swearing LXXXVIII WALTER BRUTE also an early Dissenter from the Roman Church and Intimate of William Swinderby being charged among other things with saying That it is not Lawful for Christians for any Cause to swear by the Creator neither by the Creature thus answer'd for himself and indeed it comprehends much of our Belief in this Matter As concerning Oaths I believe and obey the Doctrine of Almighty God and my Master Jesus Christ which teacheth That Christian-men in Affirmation of a Truth should pass the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees the old Testament or else he excludes them from the Kingdom of God For Christ sayes Unless your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And as concerning Oaths Christ saith It hath been said by them of old time thou shalt not Forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord those things that thou knowest But I say unto you Thou shalt not swear at all neither by Heaven nor yet by the Earth c. but let your Communication be Yea Yea and Nay Nay for whatsoever shall be more then 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 Christian Men is Not to Swear at all because we are so commanded of Christ whose Commandments must in no Case be broaken Thus much of W. Brute LXXXIX John Purrey John Edward John Becket John Clements Richard Herbert and Emmot Willie with many more in the time of Henry the fourth through Fears and Hopes deserted their Profession and revolted as John Fox tells us from their Faith which was the Religion then profest of those called Wickliffians or Lollards the True Poor Persecuted Christians of that time And of the Fifteen Articles by them abjured this was one Item That neither the Pope nor the Prelate neither any Ordinary can compel any man to Swear by any Creature of God or by the Bible-Book XC WILLIAM THORPE whom John Fox calls The Constant and Blessed Servant of God and good Man and Servant of Christ c. refused to swear upon a Bible when the Arch-Bishop tendered the Oath to him for he thought it Not Lawful to take or give an Oath thereon Because a Book is nothing else sayes he but divers Creatures of which it is made and such Swearing is ever Unlawful as witnesseth Chrysostom plainly blaming them greatly that bring out a Book to swear upon charging Clarks that in no wise they constrain any Body to swear well when that thing is sooth or true that they swear for And also full many Men and Women now say That it is well done to swear by God and by our Lady and by other Saints to have them in mind others say That they may not swear when they may otherwise be believed But since all these Sayings are Excuses and Sin methinks Sir saith he that this Sense of Chrysostom may be alledged well against all such Swearers XCI ELIZABETH YOUNG who was brought to Examination in the Marian-days before the Catholick Inquisitors of Heritical Pravity as they then called themselves and commanded to Swear this Language was used to her Dr. Martin Thou shalt he racked Inch-meal thou Trayterly Whore and Heretick but thou shalt swear before a Judge before thou go Eliz. Young Sir I understand not what an Oath is and therefore I will take no such thing upon me Dr. Martin She refuseth to swear upon the four Evangelists before a Judge for I my self and Mr. Hussey have had her before us Four Times but we cannot bring her to swear Then said the Bishop Why wilt thou not swear before a Judge c Eliz. Young My Lord I will not swear that this Hand is mine No said the Bishop and why Eliz. Young Christ saith That whatsoever is more then Yea Yea or Nay Nay it cometh of Evil. Then Dr. Cook brought her to a Book commanding her to lay her Hand thereon Eliz. Young No my Lord I will Not Swear And so she persisted till God delivered her out of their Hands John Huss Jerom of Prague Walter Brute William Swinderby William Sawtry William White William Thorpe c. are recorded by those of other

Neither by any other Oath be added after such a plain Prohibition as My Brethren Above all things Swear not And why must Yea and Nay be substituted in the room of an Oath if it was yet intended by the Apostle that Christians might rise higher in their Evidence then a bare Affirming or Denying that is Though their Yea be never so truly Yea and their Nay never so sincerely Nay or the very Truth of the Matter be spoaken which is the Import of the Words yet that they ought to swear What is this but to contradict the natural Tendency of the Command of Christ and his Apostles which is plainly this If your Yea be Yea it is enough if your Nay be Nay it is sufficient for Christians ought not to swear if they do they fall into Condemnation in that they break their Master's Command who hath told them that Whatsoever is more then Yea or Nay cometh of Evil which is the Ground of all Oaths for they ought to mean so simply and honestly in what they say as that they should never need to swear in order to tell the Truth Our 4 th and last Consideration and that which to us seemeth of great Moment to clear up our Lord and Saviour's sense and rescue the Passage from the Violence of Objectors is this Clause For whatsoever is MORE then Yea Yea and Nay Nay cometh of Evil. This cannot be intended of more Words then Yea Yea and Nay Nay provided they are not of an higher Strain but of the same Degree of Speach importing a plain Assertion or Denyal of a thing for it is not the Number but Nature of the Words spoaken that is here prohibited Nor can it be only understood of Perjury for every body knows that to be evil in it self which is more then that which cometh OF or because of Evil Therefore it must be understood as well of Swearing as of Forswearing which is not Evil it self yet cometh of or by Reason of Evil in the World Nor is there any thing more then Yea and Nay besides Perjury which can be intended but an Oath and therefore that was intended Christ doth not only prohibit Evil it self but that which is Evil by Superfluity to Evangelical Sincerity and that Swearing is be it of what sort it will wherever Yea is Yea and Nay is Nay In short If what is More then Yea and Nay cometh of Evil then because any Swearing as well as Forswearing is more then Yea and Nay it follows that any Swearing cometh of Evil and therefore ought to be rejected of Christians Nor will our English Translation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shelter our Objectors For Communication doth not exclude those many Cases that require Evidences among men no nor any the least Action of Man's Life on the contrary they have a great Place in Human Communication which is comprehensive of the various Discourses and Transactions of a Man's Life as 2 Kings 9.11 2 Sam. 3.17 Eph. 4.29 Col. 3.8 1 Cor. 15.33 It is a word of the same Extent with Conversation which takes in all that can happen between man and man in this World Thus the Psalmist To him that ordereth his Conversation aright Psalm 50.23 So the Apostle Let your Conversation be as becomes the Gospel Phil. 1.27 Besides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred Word as in Joh. 1.1 and the Italian and French Translations have it Let your Word be Yea Yea Nay Nay as much as if Christ had said As I do not only condemn the Act for Adultery which the Law did but also the Conception of the Mind and not only Murder but Revenge likewise so I do not only condemn Forswearing which is done to my hand in the Law of God but prohibit Swearing at all for I make that to be Unlawful which the Law doth not call Unlawful Therefore when your Evidence is called for Swear not at all but let your Word be Yea Yea and Nay Nay that is Do not speak Untruth for that is Evil Don't Swear for that comes of Evil. To conclude People swear to the End they may speak Truth Christ would have men speak Truth to the End they might not swear he would not have his Followers upon such base Reserves but their Word to carry the Weight of an Oath in it that as others ought not to be guilty of Perjury Christians ought not to be guilty of Lying For such is the Advance from Moses to Christ Jew to Christian that as the Christian needs not the Jew's Curb so his Lye is greater then the Jew's Perjury because his Yea or Nay ought to be of more Value then the other's Oath X. And lastly Besides these express Prohibitions Swearing is forbidden by the very Nature of Christianity and unworthy of him that is the Author of it who came not to implant so imperfect a Religion as that which needed Oaths or should leave Fraud the Ground of Swearing unextirpated but to promulgate that Gospel which retrives ancient Sincerity builds up Waste Places restores those Breaches Oaths entred at and leads into the Ancient Holy Paths of Integrity they never trod in He is that Powerful Lord which cureth the Diseases of all them that come unto him and Mystical Serpent exalted that relieves all that believingly look up to him His Office is to make an End of Sin that made way for Swearing and introduce that Everlasting Righteousness which never needs it The Religion he taught is no less then Regeneration and Perfection such Veracity as hath not the least Wavering Sincerity throughout that it might not only exceed the Righteousness of the Swearing Jews but that Law which permitted it till the Times of Restitution which he brought to the Degenerated World who said Swear not at all for the Law that permitted Oaths was given by Moses but Grace and Truth that ends them came by Jesus Christ who therefore prohibits them And not only is this Gospel of Christ or the Holy Religion he taught of so pure and excellent a Nature but those who will be his Disciples are oblieged to obey it insomuch that he himself hath said If ye love me keep my Commandments and if ye keep my Commandments ye shall abide in my Love Again Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me For I say unto you that except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no Case enter the Kingdom of Heaven Be ye therefore Perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect These are the weighty Sayings of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and certainly he who breaks not the least Commandment forbidden Vers 19. who can Suffer rather then Revenge love Enemies and be perfect as his Heavenly Father is perfect is above the Obligation of an Oath unto Truth-speaking His Disciples preacht