That thou wilt not hurt me nor my Children Then Abram being afraid of his life Gen. 12.12 and also having a controversie at that time with Abimelech about a Well of water Gen. 21.22 23 24 25. said I will Swear And here was the first Oath or Swearing that is recorded in the Scriptures of Truth together with the original ground or cause thereof viz. Unbelief the fruit of sin and this was in time before the Lord is said to have sworn and long before the Law was given under which an Oath for confirmation was to be unto them that were under that Law an end of all strife Heb. 6.16 And an Oath and Swearing was also in long time after Witness-bearing for we read That Eve before the Fall did bear witness concerning what the Lord had said Gen. 3.2 3. And Sarah after the Fall and in time before any Oath or Swearing did call the Lord to witness or judge betwixt her and Abram Gen. 16.5 without any Oath or Swearing So that witness-bearing was in the beginning before the Fall and so in time long before any oath or swearing was in the world Afterwards the Lord proved Abram who obeying the Word or Command of God The Lord made a Promise unto Abram That in his Seed all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed and to shew to him and his seed the immutability of his Counsel and to the end that he and they might have strong consolation The Lord by way of condescention to Man in his weakness which by reason of transgression all men by nature were involved in gave a token as he had done to Noah Gen. 9.12 and said By my Self have I sworn because thou hast not spared thine only son therefore will I surely bless thee and multiply thy Seed and in thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed And so the Lord added word to word thereby to regain or beget man into the belief of the truth of his Word and Promise and that by two immutable things wherein it was impossible for God to lye man might have full assurance that what the Lord had promised he would performâ— yet notwithstanding they believed not his Word neither put their trust in his help whom he had chosen out of the Nations to place his Name among and to be a peculiar People to himself therefore their dayes he consumed in vanity and their years in trouble yet he helped them for his Name-sake and made his Power known in their Deliverance out of Egypt and leading them through the Deep and in the Wilderness and yet they sinned still against him and provoked the Highest in the wilderness and tempted God in their hearts Wherefore the Lord because of their transgression and that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful and that the offence might abound Rom. â— 20 added the Law called The first Covenant or Testament Gal. 3.19 until the Seed should come which was out of transgression mark to whom the Promise was made which Seed is Christ Gal. 3.16 who being come the true and faithful Witness the Oath and Promise of God made to Abraham was fulfilled and performed in him Luke 1.72 73. whom God had appointed to finish the transgressions and to seal up the sins that were under the first Covenant which was not faultless Heb. 8.7 for the Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did Heb. 7.19 and to bring in everlasting Righteousness Dan. 9.24 that they which are called might receive the eternal Inheritance So Christ being come in whom all the Promises of God are Yea and Amen for ever he was the end of the Law which was added because of transgression until he came that was out of transgression for Righteousness to all that believe by whose obedience many were are and shall be made Righteous through Faith But the Law is not of Faith Gal. 3.12 neither was given for a righteous man mark that but to the lawless and disobedient I Tim. 1.9 10. And therefore what the Law saith it faith to them that are under it viz. to the transgressions and disobedient c. But Christians in Christ Jesus and in the Faith of him are new Creatures and therefore are not under the Law of a carnal Commandment which was peculiar to the Iewes but under the Law of the Spirit and of Faith the power of an endless life Heb. 7.16 And as the Law was not given for a righteous man so neither was it given to the Gentiles For God shewed his Word unto Iacob his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel He dealt not so with every Nation neither had the Heathen knowledge of his Laws Psal. 147.19 20. And therefore as Allan Smalwood faith of the Judicial Laws as he calls them I may say of the whole Law written whether by Men called Moral Judicial or Ceremonial that it was never obligatory to the Gentiles neither to us who by nature are no Iewes nor ever dwelt in Canaan And so what was never imposed need not to be abolished as to the Gentiles neither to us but Swearing was never commanded by God unto the Gentiles as any part of his Worship and Service therefore as to them and us who by Nature are no Iewes nor ever dwelt in Canaan it was never Obligatory So that A.S. and all that plead for Oaths and Swearing with all their Arguments drawn from the authority of that which they call the Moral Law are overthrown and will not avail them to prove the lawfulness of Swearing amongst us of these Islands who by Nature have descended from the Gentiles and not from the Iewes And therefore A. S. is worthy of blame in going about to lay a yoke which neither the Fathers nor we were able to bear upon them which from among the Gentiles are turned unto God and are become Christians in Christ Jesus which the Lord never required nor laid upon them Acts 15.10 For what the Lord required of the Gentiles was manifest in them for God himself shewed it unto them Rom. 1.19 So that they also who amongst the Gentiles were unfaithful to and in that which they knew of God were likewise left without excuse as it is written As many as have sinned without the Law shall perish without the Law and as many as have sinned in the Law shall be judged by the Law Rom. 2.12 And as to the Iewes to whom the Law was peculiarly given and so were under it and therefore what the Law said it was to them that were under it When the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law that he might redeem them that were under the Law that they might receive the adoption of sons Gal. 4.4 That so both Iewes and Gentiles without respect of persons might receive in Christ the blessing promised to Abram when he was in uncircumcision through the righteousness of Faith and not through the Law which is not
of Faith Gal. 3.12 And so as it s written The Promise is sure to all the seed and not to that only which is of the Law but also to that which is of the Faith of Abraham Rom. 4.16 although they were never under the Law of any carnal commandment nor never dwelt in Canaan For all who are of Christ they are Abrahams seed and heirs according to promise Gal. 3.29 And so he is our peace who hath made both Jew and Gentile one and hath broken down the middle Wall of Partition betwixt them having abolished in his flesh the enmity the Law of Commandments contained in the Law written That so both Jew and Gentile through him might have access unto the Father by one Spirit and not by Swearing or observing any carnal Commandment and might worship the Father who is a Spirit not in the oldness of the letter but in the newness of the Spirit the Law and Power of the endless Life which was in the beginning with God before any Oath or Swearing was from which Word and Power of God that is Eternal not Moral Man departed when he sinned And as Christ is our Peace he is also our Peace-maker by taking away sin and finishing transgression the ground or cause of the Controversie betwixt God and Man and one man with another and bringing into the Heart everlasting Righteousness he reconcileth man unto God and one man unto another turning the hearts of the Fathers to the Children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the Just. And Christ Jesus coming to do the will of God he fulfilled the Law which could not in any wise pass away till it was fulfilled Mat. 5.18 and having fulfilled the Law not destroyed it as he that fulfills and performs his Covenant in every particular he doth not destroy it although the Covenant once fulfilled is no longer obligatory to him that hath fulfilled it according to the will of God who gave the Law he took it away or out of the way and disanulled the first Covenant or Testament written in Tables of Stone that he might establish the second Heb. 10.9 called the new Covenant written not with Ink but with the Spirit of the Living God not in Tables of Stone but in fleshy Tables of the Heart according to 2 Cor. 33. Heb. 8.10 10.16 And in that he saith a new Covenant he hath abrogated the old Covenant or Testament Heb. 8.13 For being Testaments they were not be of force both together the latter being in its self a revocation of the former and where a Testament is revoked there every Legacy or Gift therein contained is also revoked and taken away and not some particulars only but the whole which Testament or Covenant is established upon better Promises That so what was impossible for the Law or first Testament to do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8.2 3. And thus Christ Jesus according to the will of God having fulfilled the Law not destroyed it which was not of Faith and therefore was not to abide for ever And the end of God in giving the Law which was but to continue for a time as a School-master to bring to Christ being accomplished in Christ he took away the Law or first Testament that made nothing perfect Heb. 7.19 which was not of Faith being changeable and in the stead or place thereof he established the second Testament or new Covenant upon better promises which perfecteth for ever them that are Sanctified according to Heb. 10.9 which being the Law of Faith is unchangeable and abideth for ever So that Christ Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament the faithful dispenser of the manifold Graces of God unto all that believe came not only to reform the abuses of the Scribes and Pharisees in Swearing in the Temple in the first Priesthood and other things under the first Covenant but also to take away the things that were changeable which they had so abused and in the stead and place of them to establish that which is unchangeable the New Testament upon better promises Heb. 8.6 And in that he faith a New Testament he hath abrogated the Old Heb. 8.13 And therefore when Christ Jesus the true and faithful Witness was come who was to restore all things as in the beginning was set down on the Mountain and his Disciples whom he had chosen out of the World to be his Witnesses came to him and he being to make known unto them that were to bear witness of him the true Witness-bearing as it was in the beginning before any Oath or Swearing was amongst other his gracious words he said unto them who were of the Jews and then were come to be his Disciples and not to the multitude Ye are the Salt of the Earth ye are the Light of the World let your Light so shine before men that they seeing your good Works may glorifie your heavenly Father And that they being Iews might not be offended at what he was to say unto them He told them He was not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfil them And that not one jot or tittle should pass from the Law till it should be fulfilled mark that In which words is plainly shewed That as the Law was fulfilled by Christ it was to pass away being only given by God and added because of transgression for a time viz. till the Seed should come that was out of transgression and so the Law being temporary was changeable And having so prepared their minds he told them among other Precepts in the Law That it had been said of old time Thou shalt not for swear thy self but shalt perform thine Oaths to the Lord But I say unto you Swear not at all neither by Heaven for it is the Throne of God neither by the Earth c. but let your yea be yea nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil Mat. 5.34 c. By which words which are the interpreters of the heart it is evident that the Oaths which they were under the Law to perform unto the Lord and which Christs words had reference unto were such Oaths as were required by the Law and those Oaths the Law required were by the Lord and not by the Creatures for all swearing by the Creatures was by the Law forbidden Which being so then the words following But I say unto you who were to be Lights of the World Swear not at all must needs be a prohibition of all Swearing by the Lord. And that he added Neither by Heaven c. Christ giveth a reason for the same Mat. 23.22 where he faith He that sweareth by Heaven he sweareth by the Throne of God and by Him that sitteth thereon who is the Lord And
Unbelief of Man in God his Word and Truth of which Transgression was the first ground or cause which not being any fruit of the Spirit of God as true witness-bearing is entred into the World and the World into Mans heart by sin and death And therefore an Oath and Swearing is not any part of the worship and service of God now under the Spirits immediate Administration And the Law having but a shadow of good things then to come therefore could never make the Comers thereunto perfect as the bringing in of a better Hope doth And so Christ Jesus the true and faithful Witness that ends the Controversie between God and Man being the End of the Law under which the Oath for confirmation was to be unto them that were under it an end of all controversie and strife amongst men for Righteousness to all that believe which Law not being of Faith was to be taken away or out of the way when Faith was come which was before the Law which is not of faith was given or any Oath or Swearing was For as the Love of God to Israel appeared in giving them his Laws and Statutes notwithstanding they could not accomplish their eternal Peace and Happiness by reason of the weakness of the flesh neither could be taken away nor they freed therefrom until they were fulfilled and the end accomplished for which they were given Even so the Riches of the Love of God appeared in sending forth his Son to effect that which the Law could not do for man neither could man free himself from who being manifested in the flesh the Oath and Covenant of God was fulfilled in him And to as many as received and do receive him by believing in his Word which is night in the heart to do thereafter the heart cometh to be purified and made clean and being prepared by the Lord cometh to witness and feel the Love and Power of God to quicken it and enable it to every good work So that a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things Mat. 12.35 Speaking the Truth to and witnessing the Truth for his Neighbour according to and from a good understanding And thus the righteousness of the Law cometh to be fulfilled by Christ in us who walk not according to the Flesh but according to the Spirit and the end of God in giving the Law accomplished according as it 's written 1 Tim. 1.5 The end of the Law is love out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unsained So that the Law which required an Oath in witness-bearing nor any other part of the Law by Christ or any that are of him is not frustrated neither destroyed but the righteousness of the Law by true witness-bearing is fulfilled And being fulfilled was by Christ according to the will of God disanulled abrogated abolished and taken out of the way with all Oaths Swearing and Signs that were required by it And in the stead and place thereof the Law of the Spirit and of Faith the true witness-bearing as it was in the beginning before any Oath or Swearing was established by Christ in the House of God for ever By which Law of Faith the Victory over the World Sin and Unbelief cometh to be witnessed the first ground or cause of Swearing in the World And now the Righteousness of God without the Law written which is not of Faith is manifested by the Light of Christ that shineth in mans heart for to give unto man the knowledge of the things that are immediate of the Spirit and therefore are spiritual not moral being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets according to Rom. 3.21 And is not now called the Works of the Law but the Fruits of the Spirit which as the Apostle faith Ephes. 5.9 is in all Goodness Righteousness and Truth And Gal. 5.22 23. is Love Ioy Peace Long suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance c. And so the Cause being removed the Effect ceaseth From all which it is evident That true Witness-bearing was before any Oath or Swearing was And the Law that is Perfect and Eternal was though hid from their Eyes whose Minds were alienated from the Life and Light of God because of the hardness of their Hearts before the Law in the Tables of Stone was written And the Lord was worshipped in Spirit and Truth before any Oath or Swearing was And therefore an Oath and Swearing neither is nor ever was any part of the Law eternal nor of Faith neither any essential part of the Worship of God in Spirit and Truth which is unchangeable and spiritual So that the laying aside or taking away of an Oath and Swearing in witness-bearing is not to destroy witness-bearing but the reducing it to its Original Verity and Purity as it was in the beginning from all Oaths and Swearing which was added for a time to wit till the true Witness Christ Jesus and the true witness-bearing was made manifest and restored according to the Prophesies that were written of and concerning Christ And as true witness-bearing was in time before any Oath or Swearing was and therefore an Oath and Swearing was not neither is of the essence and substance of true witness-bearing even so the Truth was before any Lye although the Lyar is more ancient than the Swearer Now these things being so why should men professing God and Godliness and Christianity go about to continue an Oath and Swearing in witness-bearing under the Gospel which is everlasting and was preached to Abraham before the Law of Oaths was or any Swearing was commanded or required by God Gal. 3.8 which had its beginning and ending in time not being of the Law of Faith that abideth for ever and therefore was and is changable being of those things that might be shaken and so to be removed That true witness-bearing which being of Faith and therefore cannot be shaken may remain Therefore O ye called Christians let it not seem to you a thing so grievous to have the Bondwoman Unbelief and her Son Swearing cast out for assuredly it must not inherit the Kingdom of God with the Son of the Freewoman True Witness-bearing And now these things thus premised being a true Testimony concerning Oaths and Swearing c. I proceed to answer the subject matter contained and laid down in Twelve Arguments or Reasons whereby Allan Smallwood hath endeavoured to prove but in vain that our Saviour did not forbid all Swearing when he said unto his Disciples Swear not at all c. Mat. 5.34 Arg. 1. The first Argument as it is stated by A. S. in his Reply to F. H. his Book intituled Oaths no Gospel Ordinance c. is That the Father and the Son are one and the same God immutable in Nature and Will for mutability would argue imperfection and consequently cannot issue forth contrary Commands for that would evidence a contrariety or mutability in their Will And the Father having
therefore as they were not to swear by the Lord so neither might they swear by Heaven it being Gods Throne which would amount to swearing by God that sitteth thereon Neither by the Earth neither by Jerusalem neither by the Head which being the greatest of the Creatures the prohibition includeth also the lesser Therefore it is evident none of Christs words being spoken in vain That Christ Jesus did not onely forbid all swearing by the Creatures but also by the true God For if there had been any exception intended by Christ the Wisdom of God he doubtless would have mentioned it as well as he did vers 32. where it 's said Whosoever shall put away his Wife except it be for fornication causeth her to commit adultery c. For an Oath and Swearing not being in the beginning with God nor originally of him as true witness-bearing was but being added because the true witness-bearing was transgressed for a time viz. until Christ Jesus the true and faithful Witness and ground of all true witness bearing was made manifest to restore the true witness-bearing as it was at the first Now Christ being come and having chosen his Disciples out of the world to be his Witnesses and to place and restore the true witness-bearing unto and amongst them whom he had appointed to be Lights and good Examples unto the World he therefore took away Swearing which was not of Faith but was added because of transgression as before is said and as being more than Yea and Nay that he might restore and place the true witness-bearing which is of Faith and therefore to abide in the House and among the Houshold of God for ever For it is evident from the words of Christ where he saith Let your yea be yea and your nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil that swearing being more than yea and nay the original ground or cause thereof in man came of the evil and not of the good in man And thus Christ Jesus having forbidden all swearing whatsoever as aforesaid and taken away the first ground or cause thereof in his Disciples he according to the will and promise of God in the place and stead thereof restored the pure Language the Word of Faith which is the Word of Truth that was in the beginning by the Light of which every one that believeth with his Heart cometh to know the Truth and so to do the Truth to confess and speak the Truth from his Heart unto his Neighbour or before a Magistrate in witness-bearing And this Witness being of God will not lye and is therefore the greater Witness which every one that believeth hath in himself according to 1 Iob. 5.9 10. And the Testimony that is born from this and according to this word of Truth in the heart in witness-bearing is in Truth in Righteousness and in Judgement being from and according to a good understanding And as the Truth which is in Christ the Wisdom and Power of God in mans heart is believed in it doth purifie and make clean the heart by taking away sin and unbelief out of the heart and so reconcileth it unto God and one man unto another And now the Testimony that is born according to the truth in the heart is that which God hath appointed to end all Controversie and Strife amongst men for now it is the Spirit that beareth witness because the Spirit is Truth 1 Iohn 5.6 And it is the Spirit of Truth which leads into all Truth and so from all Oaths Shadows and Swearing in witness-bearing which having but a shadow and not the substance of true witness-bearing when the substance was come the shadows were to pass away So what Christ Jesus received of his Father that he made known to his Disciples as he said Iob. 17.8 I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee and have believed that thou hast sent me Insomuch as the Apostle Iames when he writ his Epistle to the Tribes which were scattered abroad he put them in mind being Jews not Gentiles of that Precept of Christ where he saith Above all things my Brethren swear not c. Iam. 5.12 Not that Swearing was a greater offence than Murder or Adultery But they being Jews and not Gentiles by nature had a Command from God under the Law to swear c. were apt to think they might as well swear then as they might before Not at that time being so fully informed that Christ Iesus was the end of the Law for Righteousness to them that believe in him and that by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses Act. 13.39 For many among the Jews which then believed were at that time zealous of the Law of Moses insomuch as there were of them that taught the Brethren That except they were circumcised and kept the Law of Moses they could not be saved Act. 15. 21.20 So that although Adultery and Murder were as great sins as Swearing yet the Law which they were zealous of having forbidden the one and required the other it was more difficult to bring them off from Swearing than from Murder or Adultery And therefore as it 's usual amongst men to exhort those they are to watch over above all things to take heed of those evils they have been most addicted to and of those things they have been trained up in even so the Apostle exhorted them being Jews to remember the Command of Christ in whom they believed Swear not at all c. And although it be now concluded that Christ Jesus did intend by those words Swear not at all an absolute universal and unlimited prohibition of all manner of Swearing whatsoever as indeed it must be either all Swearing that was formerly commanded or else Christ in that Command forbid nothing which was not forbidden before nay by those words Swear not at all he made the case about Swearing more questionable dark and doubtful than it was before which for any to affirm were a great injury to Christ the Wisdom and Power of God And yet Christ Jesus in forbidding all manner of Swearing whatsoever did nothing but according to the will of his heavenly Father Nor did the Apostle Iames in putting the Jews in mind of his Masters Command Swear not at all any thing in opposition but in obedience to the requiring of Christ. And now of the things before written this is the sum That an Oath and Swearing was not in the beginning with God neither was the original ground or cause of an Oath Swearing of God And therefore neither was nor is an Oath or Swearing any part of the Law eternal nor of the essence of the worship and service of God in Spirit and Truth But the original ground or cause of an Oath and Swearing amongst men in the World was the
but for them that were under it He Redeemed them that were under the Law and so delivered them from the Law Rom. 7.6 Gal. 4.5 that they together with the Gentiles that never were under the Law of the first Covenant might receive in Christ the adoption of sons Again That the Law was perfect although it were denied that any swearing was enjoyn'd in the third Commandment is witnessed yea every word of God is perfect because in the Law was fully contained so much of the Will and mind of God as he was pleased to make known at that time unto his People Israel and as he did require obedience unto from them secret things belongs unto God and things revealed to us and our Children no man being capable of knowing the whole Will and Mind of God And yet what man doth know of the Mind of God by the manifestation of his Spirit is perfect because every measure of the Will of God as every Word of God is perfect And the Law of God being perfect therefore nothing is by man to be added thereto or taken therefrom Insomuch as when the Israelitish Womans Son blasphemed the Name of God and cursed and there being at that time no positive punishment appointed by God in that case he was put in hold until the Lord himself shewed unto Moses what punishment was to be inflicted upon him Levit. 24.11 12 13. So that Moses who was a Prophet did not take upon him to give any extensive interpretation to the Law which being Penal to the transgressors was not to be supplied by man by way of implication or intendment neither to say of it That the Law before given by God was imperfect because the whole Mind of God was not therein revealed concerning all things that after might fall out by reason of Man's wickedness Neither had the Lord as A. S. would infer limited himself to what before was written but that he might and did as he himself thought good further add to what before was written or take away from the same and that without any mutability in his Will although he had forbidden Moses so to do And besides the Name of God was and may be used with reverence and godly fear many other wayes than by Swearing And therefore this Argument fails in proof with the other But to proceed to the eight Argument viz. Arg. 8. That Christ never did any thing without reason But there was no reason why he should absolutely forbid swearing And therefore he did not so forbid it Answ. That man should require a reason wherefore the Lord doth forbid or command him to do or not to do such a thing or that God should give unto man a reason for what he doth Iob. 9. 12. Rom. 9.20 is more than right reason doth require But that man should obey what God commandeth him without asking a reason wherefore is reasonable and according to right reason It being the Lord hath made us and not we our selves And it being asserted by A. S. That Christ never did any thing without reason And proved that Christ did say unto his Disciples Mat. 5.34 Swear not at all Therefore it ought to be granted That Christ in forbidding all Swearing did it not without reason For if Christ Jesus in that Command did not forbid all Swearing whatsoever Then it would follow That men under the Gospel might have liberty not only to swear by the Creatures but also if they should swear by the Name of God and not perform they should go unpunished because where there is no Law there is no transgression For the Law in which an Oath in some cases was commanded and forswearing vain and prophane swearing by God and the Creatures forbidden being abolished and taken away by Christ as before is proved Unless Christ Jesus had forbidden all swearing whatsoever by a Command that changeth not men would have thought themselves at liberty not only to Swear by the true God and not perform but also to Swear by the Creatures and that without any sin And indeed it may justly be feared That such pleading as hath of late been by some for the lawfulness of some swearing and such interpretations of Christs words as have been made thereby to prove some swearing lawful and that from those words of Christ Mat. 5.34 c. hath encouraged some men in these dayes to such a height of swearing as they are now come And therefore Christ Jesus the Wisdom of God in giving forth that Command as a prohibition of all swearing did it not without reason And what is before said may be a good reason wherefore Christ added those words Neither by Heaven c. after he had said Swear not at all And so the words following are neither vain nor impertinent For under the Law they were to Swear by the Name of the Lord and not by the Creatures And by the Law they were required to perform their Oaths unto the Lord which they swore by his Name lest they should forswear themselves which Christ having before repeated in substance By way of opposition of and not in compliance with said But I say unto you Swear not at all neither by Heaven c. So that the words truly considered are thus in effect But I say unto you Swear not at all by the Name of the Lord as heretofore under the Law you were commanded neither by Heaven c. according to the erronious Doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees For if Christ had not intended absolutely to forbid all manner of Swearing Then he by that Command Swear not at all had made the case of Swearing more doubtful and questionable than it was before which to affirm were a great injury to Christ the Wisdom of God whom God sent into the World to give sight to the blind and to guide their feet into the way of peace Again Christ Jesus being the Mediator of the new Covenant which perfecteth for ever those that are sanctified which being given upon better promises than the first Covenant which made nothing perfect was unchangable It was therefore according to right reason That the first Covenant with all those things under it that were changable and so might be shaken as being things that were not in the beginning with God as an Oath and Swearing was not in the beginning with God neither originally of him and therefore might be shaken should be abolished and taken out of the way To the end that nothing that was changable or in which there was a remembrance again of sin might remain in the new Covenant which is unchangable And so when that which was perfect was come then that which was in part was abolished 1 Cor. 13.10 For Christ being come the true and faithful Witness the first and the last Rev. 1. he restored or the true witness-bearing was restored in him to all that believe which is perfect which being so it was according to right reason that an Oath and Swearing which was but
in part should be done away foâ— true witness-bearing though without an Oath never did prejudice to any as Oaths and Swearing have done when the witness born before or after hath been false as daily experience doth testifie And what if some now as heretofore believe not the Command of Christ shall their unbelief make the Faith of God of none effect God forbid For seeing that true saying is asmuch or more than swearing and that Christ hath said That for every idle word men shall give an account in the day of Iudgment And that the Lyar as well as the false Swearer shall he shut out of the Kingdom of God Therefore every one that feareth the Lord for thereafter as a man feareth is Gods displeasure is as much bound by his Word as by an Oath and there being no more security to the Magistrate by an Oath than by true saying or witness-bearing neither benefit to our Neighbour Therefore if the same outward punishment were inflicted upon the Liar as false Swearer the difference in a short time would not be great because experience doth evidence That he that makes no conscience of his words will not matter to Swear falsly for Conscience sake to God And it may be believed That one reason why strife doth so much in these dayes abound amongst men notwithstanding that Oaths and Swearing abound is because that the true witness-bearing as it was before swearing was is not received in Judicial proceedings for want of an Oath and Swearing Again To say That Christ did forbid all Swearing because his Father would have it so is a better reason than any A. S. hath produced to the contrary But to proceed to A. S. his ninth Argument viz. Arg. 9. That our Saviour gave no new Moral Command And consequently did not prohibit that Swearing which long before had been Commanded by God Answ. The question in dispute is not Whether Christ the Mediator of the new Covenant did give any new Moral Command But Whether he forbad all Swearing to his Disciples which that he did his own words Mat. 5.34 Swear not at all do prove As for the word Moral it is a word of Art invented by the wisdom which is from below which is not subject to the Law of God For it 's evident That the Penmen of the Scriptures did never make use of that word Moral when they writ and declared the Testimony of God And therefore the Apostles Caveat in such things is useful Col. 2.8 Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of man after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. For the Law of the new Covenant in Christ Jesus is Spiritual and Eternal not Moral and according to the Promise of God Ier. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 the commands thereof are by the Lord according to his Promise put into the mind and written in the heart of man written not with Ink but with the Spirit of the Living God not in tables of stone but in fleshy tables of the heart 2 Cor. 3.3 And therefore is called the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Iesus Rom. 8.2 and the Law of Faith Rom. 3.27 and not Moral by way of excellency above the Law of the letter as the Scriptures do declare 2 Cor. 3. And Christ said unto his Disciples If ye love me keep my Commandments Joh. 14.15 And when he commanded them to go and teach all Nations c. They were to teach them to observe not the Law of Moses but all things whatsoever he had Commanded them Mat. 28.19 20. And in Iob. 14.26 He told them The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father would send in his Name he should teach them all things and bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever he had said unto them And Ioh. 16.12 13. Christ told them He had yet many things to say unto them but they could not then bear them Howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth c. So that Christ did not send them to the Law called Moral for to be their guide written in tables of stone but promised to send the Spirit of Truth to guide them into all Truth and to shew them things to come So that although Christians do and are to practise and observe many of those things which were commanded in the Law as being originally of God of which the Law had a shadow but not the substance Heb. 10.1 yet they do not observe them because they find them to have been Commanded in the Law of Moses but as they are Commands of Christ in the new Covenant written in the heart and put into the mind by the Spirit of the Lord that quickneth and giveth Life and power to do thereafter Heb. 8.10 Rom. 10.8 For now the Righteousness of God without the Law is manifested being witnessed both by the Law and the Prophets Even the Righteousness of God which is by the Faith of Iesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe Rom. 3.21 22. But the Law is not of Faith neither ever was any Oath or Swearing of the Law of Faith as true witness-bearing was and is So that by the works of the Law which is not of Faith no man is or can be Justified but by Faith without the deeds of the Law a man is Justified according to Rom. 3.28 3.20 And now those things which were commanded in the Law which were Eternal as the Love of God c. was Eternal not Moral of which the Law engraven in stone had a shadow although they continue under the Gospel yet as was said They are not the works of the Law which made nothing perfect but the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5.22 23. and therefore are perfect as Love Joy Peace long-Suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance against such there is no Law But against Swearing there is a Law as before is proved So that which was impossible to the Law in regard of the weakness of the flesh to do God sending his Son for sin condemned sin in the flesh That the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit the law and power of an endless life For as before is said Swearing was never any part of the Law Eternal or of Faith therefore the taking of it away was no addition to or substraction from the Law Eternal or of Faith And although the Lord had limitted Moses and in him all others from adding unto and taking from what was then written in the Law yet he had not limited himself to what he had then given in command to Israel not to the Gentiles and but for a time until the Seed should come Gal. 3.19 and so was temporary And it being acknowledged by A.S. that Oaths are no Gospel Ordinance and before proved that Christ did abolish abrogate disannul and take away the Law yea that Law which