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
and came to restore the true witness-bearing as at the first which was and is the Righteousness of the Law of Oaths And the Apostle being an able Minister of the Spirit not of the Letter he was come to see the End of that which was abolished and preached the everlasting Gospel the word of Faith which was and is the Word of Truth the Author of true witness-bearing which was before any Oath or Swearing was And so as Christ his Lord and Master had done before when he said unto Pilate For this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness unto the Truth Joh. 18.37 He in obedience to his Lord and Master did bear witness to and of the Truth And in witness-bearing did as the Servants of the Lord do call God to witness or appeal to the witness of God in men concerning the truth of what he declared without observing any set forms of words And as Sarai had done before when she said unto Abram The Lord judge betwixt thee and me yet did not swear at all But A. S. saith That calling God to witness is a formal Oathâ— because there is an attestation of the Name of God Answ. That the Name of God was used in witness-bearing before any Oath or Swearing was doth appear Gen. 3.3 where Eve before the Fall in witness-bearing used the Name of God when she said God hath said Ye shall not eat c. yet did not swear at all And Sarai after the Fall did use an attestation of the Name of God in witness-bearing when she said unto Abram The Lord judge betwixt thee and me Gen. 16.5 and yet Sarai did not swear at all in so doing And therefore the calling of God to witness or saying God is my witness c. without adding of somewhat more is neither Oath nor Swearing For if such attestations or mentioning the Name of God without somewhat more were swearing then it would follow That People did swear oftentimes in their Prayers As when they use that expression Oh God the Father of Heaven c. O God make haste to help us Amen Amen c. which for any to affirm were a great injury to the People Again If a bare attestation of the Name of God by what terms soever expressed were an Oath and Swearing without adding of some what more Then would the Magistrates in Judicial proceedings in cases where an Oath and Swearing is by the Law required receive such Attestations of the Name of God without denying them for Oaths and Swearing But such Attestations or the like without adding somewhat more is denied by the Magistrates in Judicial proceedings c. Therefore they are no formal or legal Oaths without addition of somewhat more which somewhat more being more than yea and nay cometh of evil For it must be confessed and it is the chiefest ground or cause that is alleadged for the lawfulness of some swearing under the Gospel that it is necessary for the ending of Controversies and Strife in Judicial proceedings c. That if an Oath or Swearing were lawful in any case whatsoever it must be in Judicial proceedings c. And I do not find in the Scriptures of Truth That any Oath was lawful but in such proceedings or the like emergent occasions All vain and prosane Oaths being forbidden by the Law And as the lawful use of Oaths under the Law was in legal or judicial proceedings so the definition or determination of what was a legal Oath or Swearing and what was neither Oath nor Swearing was by the Law and the Ministers of it and not by private or particular men For at this day there are several kinds or forms of Oaths required by the National Laws And yet the bare Attestation of the Name of God without addition of somewhat more is not answerable to any of them neither doth fully answer the requiring of the Law as the daily practise of the Law in the Courts of Judicature doth manifest which practice doth declare what a legal Oath is in the judgment of the National Laws And for illegal Oaths A. S. I hope will not contend By which Laws also it doth appear That the Law doth put a difference betwixt an Oath or Swearing and Witness-bearing and doth not confound them together as many men do As for instance in one particular When a Party or a Witness doth appear to answer a Libel or to give Evidence in the Ecclesiastical Courts upon his Appearance in the Court he is required to take his Oath and then the Book being held the Party having laid his hand thereupon some words being spoken to him by the Judge of the Court and after the Party having kissed the Book then is the Party said to be Sworn or to have taken his Oath And being so Sworn he is admonished to give in his Answer or his Evidence as the Case is at or before such a time so that the Evidence after given into the Court is the Witness-bearing and not the Oath which Evidence or Answer as the Case requires if he neglect or refuse to give he is proceeded against for refusing to give his Evidence or Answer And not as one that refuseth to Swear or take an Oath he having Sworn or taken his Oath before which Evidence if given is the Witness-bearing and not the Oath For if he refuse to swear he is proceeded against for refusing to swear although he offer to give his Evidence without swearing So that the Evidence is the witness-bearing and not the Oath By which it doth appear That an Oath is in and of it self a distinct thing from Witness-bearing which was before any Oaths was and is but a Bond or Tye for true Witness-bearing and not the substance For when the Evidence is given if what is Evidenced be false the Oath taken before or after doth not make it true And if it be truth that is Evidenced the refusing to take or add an Oath or give a Token Sign or Pledge doth not detract any thing from it By which it may appear to the unprejudiced in mind That the laying aside of an Oath and Swearing which was added for a time under the Law in witness-bearing because men had transgressed or gone from the Truth of God which was in the beginning before any Oath was in witness-bearing is not to destroy true witness-bearing but the reducing it to its primitive purity as it was in the beginning So that the true Witness Christ Jesus being made manifest all that believe in him and receive him to them he gives power to become the Sons of God and by his Spirit which is Truth and leads into all Truth he enableth them to do the Truth confess the Truth and speak the Truth from the heart unto their Neighbour or before a Magistrate in witness-bearing as it 's written A good man out of the good treasure in his heart he bringeth forth good things So that our Neighbour
if he receive our Testimony being Truth he is not damnified by us although we may not Swear at all or give him any outward sign or pledge which cannot add any thing in Truth to the Truth which we are willing and free to bear Witness of and unto upon any just occasion Neither can the Magistrate be more assured of the Truth of what is Evidenced by an Oath than by a bare Affirmation For as the one so the other may be true or false Again I say That not only our Neighbour is not prejudiced by us because we may not add any sign token or pledge to the Truth which we bear witness of and to but he is by true witness-bearing more advantaged than he is or can be by Swearing when the Evidence born is not true which neither is nor ever was of the essence of true witness-bearing Because true witness-bearing was before any Oath or Swearing was For there may be and hath been many times Oaths and Swearing in Judicial Proceedings when the Evidence given upon such Oaths have not been true but false and so men thereby have and do suffer prejudice But when and where true witness is born and received although an Oath be denied or not given yet hereby men are advantaged and receive benefit and no prejudice at all for where a true Testimony is born there none ever did or can thereby receive loss Again Christ Jesus being come to restore and establish everlasting Righteousness in the new Covenant that is faultless and so unchangable And Oaths and Searing not being faultless and so changeable not being from everlasting but added for a time because of transgression as is before said It was expedient that all Swearing with those things under the first Covenant should be taken away that were things in themselves changable and might be shaken to the end that true witness-bearing which could not be shaken might be established in the House of God for ever So that although where Moses or the Old Testament is read an Oath and Swearing as a Vail remains to this day undone away yet nevertheless all whose hearts and minds are turned to the Lord in the Light that was before any Avail or Oath was they see and witness the End of that which is abolished for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom 2 Cor. 3. And therefore the Apostle Paul having seen and witnessed the removing of those things which might be shaken and knowing that when that which was perfect was come that which was but in part was to be done away he in witness-bearing said God is my witness I speak the Truth in Christ I lye not c. without adding any outward token sign or pledge or observing any form of words at all So that as he himself said He became as without Law to them that were without Law 1 Cor. 9.21 yet was he subject to the Law of Christ and did not Swear at all And as he did not himself swear so neither did he teach swearing to be lawful by way of Doctrine to the Hebrews when he said That an Oath is among them for an end of all strife and controversie Heb. 6.18 which words he spoke not by way of Doctrine as a thing to be practised by them as Christians but by way of repeating what formerly had been used amongst the Jews under the first Covenant and so that he might shew unto them being Jews how that by Christ the first Testament was taken away or out of the way and the second established upon better promises For as he said of Swearing he also said of the Priesthood That every High Priest is not was ordained to offer c. Heb. 8 3. And that after the second Vail was the Tabernacle which is not was called the Holiest of all Heb. 9.3 And when Moses had spoken every Precept to the People according to the Law he took the blood of Calves saying This is not was the blood of the Testament which God hath appointed to you Heb. 9.19 20. All which his sayings do plainly shew That what he had in those particulars mentioned was by way of repeating what had been in use under the first Covenant and not by way of Doctrine what they were to practise then as Christians But I proceed to the seventh Argument which as A. S. saith in brief runs thus Arg. 7. Some Swearing is enjoyned in the third Commandment every Precept prohibitive of vice being necessarily so to be expounded as implying the contrary duty or else it is impossible to free the Decalogue from imperfection And consequently Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain implies Thou shalt take the Name of God that is Thou shalt Swear when there is a just occasion And therefore Christ who came not to destroy the Law did not forbid all Swearing Answ. What is impossible with man is possible with God and that Christ did fulfil not destroy the Law is confessed And having fulfilled the Law the end for which it was for a time given was accomplished which being accomplished according to the Will of God was abolished abrogated disannulled and taken away by Christ as before is fully proved Now as said the Apostle Rom. 7.3 4. The Woman which is in subjection to her Husband is bound by his Law to him as long as he liveth but if her Husband be dead she is delivered from his Law So then if while the man liveth she take another Husband she shall be called an Adultress but if the man be dead she is free from the Law so that she is no Adultress though she take another Husband Wherefore my Brethren ye also are become dead by the Body of Christ that ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit to God What words more plain to prove That Christians in Christ Jesus are freed from the Law of the carnal Commandment that they may serve God in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter Heb. 7.10 Rom. 7.6 And though it be true that Christ came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it yet that doth no more prove A. S's Conclusion inferred thereupon viz. Therefore Christ did not forbid all swearing because some swearing was commanded in the Law Then it doth where a man is ingaged by his Bond to pay so much money upon such a day and the man upon that day doth make payment of the money according to his Bond That the man in so doing doth destroy his Boud or that it is after Obligatory to him when he hath fulfilled it For although the People of Israel to whom the Law was given by God could not be freed therefrom until it was fulfilled yet notwithstanding when it was fulfilled it was by the Ordination of God to pass away and the People freed from it as before is proved So that when Christ Jesus had fulfilled the Law not for himself