Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	day_n	lord_n	see_v	6,946	5	3.6931	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35118	The case of swearing, at all, discussed with several objections answered, the primitive practices therein asserted out of several ancient authors : together with several presidents out of the book of martyrs : the inconveniences that follows the present practice of swearing, which might easily be prevented by a law to punish false witnesse-bearing, and lying as well as other evils : also, a word to all people that are zealous for the commands of Christ, recorded in the Scripture / by a friend of truth and righteousness, John Crook.	Crook, John, 1617-1699.	1660 (1660)	Wing C7197; ESTC R5532	23,258	32

restimony which would not be gratined if so be that witnesses were to prove the thing or that a ●an deliver his knowledge of such things without an Oath otherwise how can the Magistrate be clear from guilt not onely of the Planti●●s swearing but also of his swea●ing maliciously and falsly And also the same temptation is in an Indictment which one Party waiting to do his neighbour a mischief may swear to and the Indictment upon that Oath must be found and that in the absence of him that is indicted as before hath been said and this Indictment sworn to by a malicious man shall be the foundation to take away his life if the Crime be of that nature So that here also is another mischief whereby the lusts of wicked men are gratified with other cases of the like nature which might be instanced Thirdly The inconveniences that follows those that cannot swear at all for conscience sake whereby many are made uncapable of being made Free of Cities and Corportations and others are made un●apable of being serviceable in the Common-wealth in any place or office of trust and others also are made unserviceable as to give their testimony and evidence in cases of difference between man and man besides many who in divers cases loses the benefit of the Law of the Nation because that they cannot swear and so by that means suffer the spoiling of their goods and ungodly men make a prey upon them knowing they cannot swear at all which thing might be prevented if according to the righteous Law of God all things were established out of the mouth of two or three Witnesses and those that bore false witness to be punished as he should have been against whom they have witnessed if their testimony had been true which Law is equal and just Fourthly This NATION which now mourns because of Oaths might be preserved from the Wrath and Indignation of God that hangs over this Nation not onely because of those that command men to swear contrary to Christs Command and that for to establish cruelty and injustice but also because of those that swear falsly and that against their knowledge for their own profit and disadvantage of others to accomplish their wicked malicious and revengeful designs against the innocent who dare not swear at all and thereby are made a prey to the teeths of the Wolves and to the wills of corrupt men who take occasion as it were to plough furrows upon the back of the poor and to oppress the needy for which thing sake the Wrath of God shall be poured out upon the head of the wicked and the Nations shall be on heaps and the wise men shall be turned backward and their table shall be a snare and the curse shall be upon the rebellious and they shall fall and be broken and rise no more And this may justly befall this Nation because of Oaths and because of oppression Now follows a word of Advice to all those who say the Scripture is their rule and are zealous for the things contained therein c. NOw all you that are seeking the Kingdom of Heaven in outward observations by which it comes not and are taking up practises by imitation from Commands laid down in the letter Let me demand of you Do you not finde this Command to proceed out of the mouth of Christ viz. But I say unto you swear not at all And do not you finde the Apostle James abiding in this Doctrine and hath it no room in your hearts hath the traditions of your Fathers made it void to you o● is it because it cannot be practised without reproach Fines and Imprisonment and so will cost you something which you cannot tell how to undergo or part with you having not received the gift to suffer for his Names sake or is your spirit different from Davids who would not offer an offering to the Lord his ●od of that which cost him nothing in the fear of the Lord God of heaven and earth I beseech you consider is there not a Vail over your hearts untaken away to this day that you cannot see nor understand this to be a Command of Christs with divers others as plainly and as fully laid down in the letter as those you contend so much for And may you not be as justly numbred amongst those that make their boast of the Law and yet through breaking of the Law dishonour God Do ye think that the Lord will not arise to Judgement and make you know that he is the Lord and that you have not walked in his Statutes neither executed his Judgements but have done after the manner of the Heathen that are round about whose wayes Israel was not to learn for their Customes were vain Jeremiah 10.23 Ezekiel 11.12 And upon a true and thorough search when the hidden things of Esau shall be searched out will you not be found walking in the way of the Heathen speaking their unclean words contrary to the language of the Scripture and following their customes which are vain in respecting of mens persons which the Apostle James sayes James 2.9 10. whoever do commits sin and are convinced of the Law as transgressors For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all Mark that and think not to cover your selves with saying it is meant of persons in Judgement for here is not a word spoken of Magistrates but the words are general and concerns all that regards Gods Law as appears by the next words viz. For whosoever shall keep the whole and yet offend in one point c. And are not they out of the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ who respecte persons who sayes How can ye believe while ye receive honour one of another and seeks not the honour that comes from God onely John 5.44 Matthew 22.16 God onely Mark from God onely and he himself practised this Doctrine for he neither received honour from man nor regarded any mans person as his very enemies bore testimony of him that he taught the way of God truly and regarded no mans person But is not this Command also too dear for you Will it not cost you too much to practise Do you not know it will hinder your promotion in the world Are you not more afraid that if you should refuse to respect mens persons and to give slattering titles to men Job 32.21 22. the Goaler would take you away then that your Maker would soon take you away if you did do it and is not this a Command that you should not be conformed to this world Romans 12.2.16 and that you should not conform to men of high degree but condiscend to men of low degree are not these with others the Commands of Christ and are not you too much like the professing Jews herein who had plentifull knowledge of the letter without them but had not his word abiding in them Though they could dispute and reason with Christ and

against his Apostles with the word of truth yet Christ tells them plainly his Word was not abiding in them which the Saints had received from Christ whereby they were made clean and by it which dwells richly in them they made melody in their hearts to God and David the Servant of the Lord Psalm 119.6.11 by the word which he had in his heart he was kept from sin against God and thereby had respect to all Gods Commands Now examine your selves and try your own selves whether you be in the Faith and the same Word of Life be in you and whose steps you walk in and whom you are found imitators of whether Abraham who forsook his Country to go to the Land which the Lord had shewed him and Moses steps who chose rather to suffer with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season or whether you do not walk in the steps of him whom you so often upbraid others with namely Naaman the Assyrian who spoke good words and yet could not forsake his old Master to serve the Lord fully 2 Kings 5.18 But when he went into the house of Rimmon his Master leaning on his hand and he bowed down himself in that thing he would be pardoned Mark In this thing pardon thy Servant he knew it was evil and desired pardon for it and yet when his Master leaned upon his hand he must bow least he should lose his place and gain his Masters displeasure Now examine your selves doth not something let you see that notwithstanding all the Lord hath done for you and all that you have ever tasted or enjoyed from him yet there is this thing or the other thing that you continue in the practise of for one end o● other which you know you should not do and in words you desire pardon for them but you still continue in the same practise your very prayers witnessing against you and like those James 4.3 you are still asking but receive not becauss you ask amiss to spend it upon your Lusts still to continue in your Masters service in conforming to the customes and fashions of the world and in walking after the traditions of your Fathers as in particular in this case of swearing which Christ hath so plainly and sully forbidden and therefore your prayers return as dung in your faces your consciences condemning of you the which if you did regard to keep void of offence both towards God and towards men in the light of Christ you would have confidence towards God and whatsoever you asked of him you would receive because you keep his Commandements and do those things that are pleasing in his sight John 3.22 But now is blindness barrenness and leanness of soul upon you and yet you cry you are rich and you see and have need of nothing and hateth and disputeth against that which letteth you see the things which have need of pardon and so you are loaden with Sin and led away with divers Lusts alwayes learning never able to come to the knowledge of the truth and therefore are not free and in your principles conclude never can be while you are in this world and so by what hath been said you may see your own condition as a man sees his face in a Glass how that you not only respect mens persons preferring one before another but also Christs Commands picking out what you like and what may keep you in the repute of the world and preserve you in the preferment thereof but those that may expose you to hazzard or make you liable to the worlds scorn though as fully and expresly required by Christ of all his followe●s to be kept and observed you let slip and pass by as a thing of nought But be not deceived God will not be mocked for what a man soweth that shall he reap he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption And this shall you assure●l● receive at his hand if you repent not of your double min● you shall lye down in sorrow and he shall laugh at your Calamity and mock when your fear comes Now follows some reasons or grounds whereby the Spiritual eye or the man whose understanding is opened may come to see the necessity of the ab●l●shing of swearing since the dayes of Christs coming in the flesh FIrst Because all the things of the Law were but shadows of the good things to come Heb. 12.1 But Christ is the substance of all those types and sha●ows and is come into the world and is manifest in his Saints and true Christians and hath given them an understanding whereby they know him that is true and are in him that is true and he in them and he works all their works for them and in them and teacheth them to speak truth simply without guile or fraud and as he is so are they in this world and believes in him and follows his steps who is the truth and in whose mouth there was found no guile Secondly Because swearing implyes unbelief to be either in the person swearing or in him for whose sake the oath is taken or sworn which is not to be supposed to be in those as predominant or ruling who are Saints or true Christians who are redeemed not only from a vile but a vain conversation also and from the traditions of their Fathers that are not after Christ and from fear and unbelief also and every evil word and way and are called unto holiness and truth and are without fault before the Throne of God which things are found in the new heart that is Gods gift and in the new man that is created after God and renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him and so they are come to the end of all oaths and out of fears and doubts and unbelief to have strong consolation through Christ Jesus the way to the Father Thirdly Because herein namely by the abolishing of swearing do the excellency precedency and eminency of the New Covenant exceed the Old for the Old in this was faulty viz. that it made nothing perfect but this New Covenant and better hope doth for in this Covenant all the Children of the Lord are taught of the Lord and great is their peace and out of strife and contention and the use of Oaths are they come into the Covenant of Light and Peace in which they rest with God in the sense of the forgiveness of their fins and the blessedness of their state wherein their iniquity is remembred no more for their Tents are beautifull and their habitations are pleasant And here is Jacob inheriting the blessing in whom God sees no sin and the true Israelites indeed who walks according to the rule and in whom he sees no iniquity but peace is his portion for ever Of what hath been spoken thi● is the sum that Christ hath forbid all manner of swea●●ng in all cases whatsoever and this Doctrine was continued in b● his Apostles and practised by the true Christians in the first ages of the Church and hath been sealed with the blood of Martyrs and borne witness to by some in all ages down to this day and the contrary practise is a Popish Innovation and a Jesuiticall design to keep down the true headship of the Church and to set up him and to keep his Authority afoot wh●m the Lord is a●ising to destroy with the Spirit of his mouth and to consume with the brightness of his coming who hath been and is the cause of so much bloodshed and discord and variance among the Children of men whereb● Self hath kept the Thro●e and Equity and Righteousness hath fallen in the streets and he that departs from iniquity hath made himself a prey and the manner and customes of the Heathen hath been followed even by those who have professed a zeal for Christ and his Commands who while they have been professing of them have made them void by the traditions of men and true Christianity with Saintship by their means is become a reproach and the Name of the Lord hath been Blasphemed among the Heathen because of these things but the ●ord is arising as a Giant refreshed with Wine who hath seen the desolate state of his Spouse and is saying to Son Arise shine thy light is come for the Glo●y of the Lord is risen upon thee shake off the dust from thy feet put on thy beautifull garment for thou shalt be no more termed desolute or forsaken and to the brightness of thy rising shall Nations come and Princes to thy beauty and the glory and the riches of the Nations shall be laid down at thy feet and thou shalt be crowned with renown for ever and the everlasting gates shall be opened and the righteous Nation that keeps the truth shall enter in and none shall be able to make them afraid but the swearers and lyars shall be shut out and this is the Heritage of the Servants of the Lord foreve● But because of swearing and lying and killing and stealing and whoring they break out and blood toucheth blood therefore shall the Land mourn and every one that dwells therein shall be cut off Hosea 4.2.3 From henceforth let no man think it strange that any denies to swear at all but rather wonder that the God of this world should so long have blinded the mindes of them that believe not in the light of the Son of God least by the shining of the light in their hearts they should come to the knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Christ and by him should be taught to speak truth without swearing and so he become the Head over all things to the Church who is God over all blessed for evermore Amen THE END