Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	great_a	know_v	speak_v	4,061	5	4.0748	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67758	A hopefull way to cure that horrid sinne of swearing: or An help to save swearers, if willing to be saved being an offer or message from him, whom they so daringly and audaciously provoke. Also a curb against cursing. By R. Younge.	Younge, Richard.	1659 (1659)	Wing Y163; ESTC R218084	9,553	10

Light this Bread by the cross of the silver or the like which is no great matter I hope so long as I swore not by God nor by my Saviour Messenger That is your gross ignorance of the Scriptures for God expresly forbids it and that upon pain of damnation James 5.12 First our Saviour Christ in his own person forbids it Mat. 5.34 35 36 37. I say unto you Swear not at all neither by Heaven for it is Gods Throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool nor by Jerusalem for it is the City of the great King neither shalt thou swear by thine head because thou canst not make one hair white or black but let your communication be Yea Yea Nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil And then by his Apostle Above all things my brethren swear not neither by Heaven nor by Earth nor by any other Oath but let your Yea be Yea and your Nay Nay left ye fall into condemnation Jam. 5.12 Where mark the Emphasis in the first words Above all things swear not and the great danger of it in the last word condemnation If the matter be light and vain we must not swear at all if so weighty that we may lawfully swear as before a Magistrate being called to it then we must only use the glorious Name of our God in a holy and religious manner as you may see Deut. 6.13 Isa 45.23 65.16 Josh 23.7 Exod. 23.13 Jer. 5.7 And the reasons of it are weighty if we look into them for in swearing by any Creature whatsoever we do invocate that Creature and ascribe to it divine worship a lawfull Oath being a kind of Invocation and a part of Gods worship Yea whatsoever we swear by that we invocate both as our witness surety and judg Heb. 6.16 and by consequence deifie it by ascribing and communicating unto it Gods incommunicable Attributes as his Omnipresence and Omnisciencie of being every where present and knowing the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart and likewise an omnipotency as being Almighty in patronizing protecting defending and rewarding us for speaking the truth or punishing us if we speak falsly all which are so peculiar to God as that they can no way be communicated or ascribed to another So that in sweating by any of those things thou committest an high degree of gross Idolatry thou spoilest and robbest God of his glory the most impious kind of theft and in a manner dethronest Him and placest an Idol in his room And as to swear by the Creature makes the sin far more hainous so the more mean and vile the thing is which you swear by be it by my fey by cock and py hares foot by this cheese and such like childish Oaths which are so much in use with the ignorant and superstitious swarm the greater is your sin in swearing such an Oath because you ascribe that unto these basest of Creatures which is only proper to God namely to know your heart and to be a discerner of secret things why else should you call that Creature as a witness unto your conscience that you speak the truth and lie not which only belongeth to God And therefore the Lord calls it a forsaking of him as mark well what he saith Jer. 5.7 How shall I spare thee for this thy children have forsaken me and sworn by them that are no gods And do you make it a small matter to forsake God and make a God of the creature Will you believe the Prophet Amos. If you will he saith speaking of them that swore by the sin of Samaria That they shall fall and never rise again Amos 8.14 A terrible place to vain swearers Neither are we to joyn any other with God in our Oathes for in so doing we make base Idols and filthy Creatures Corrivals in honour and Competitors in the Throne of Justice with the Lord who is Creator of Heaven and earth and the supream Judg sole Monarch of all the world Or in case we do our doom shall be remediless for the Lord threatneth by the Prophet Zephany That he will cut off them that swear by the Lord and by Malcham which Malcham was their king or as some think their Idol Zeph. 1.4 5. But admit the sin were small as you would have it to be yet the circumstances make it most heinous for even the least sin in its own nature is not only mortall but rests unpardonable so long as it is willingly committed and excused or defended Swearer But all do swear except some few singular ones and they also will lie which is as bad Messenger You must not measure all others by your own bushell for although ill Dispositions cause ill suspicions even as the eye that is bloudshed sees all things red or as they that have the Jaundice see all things yellow yet know that there be thousands who can say truly through Gods mercy that they had rather chuse to have their souls pass from their bodies than a wilfull premeditated lie or a wicked Oath from their mouthes wherefore when you want experience think the best as Charity bids you and leave what you know not to the Searcher of hearts As for the number of Swearers it cannot be denied but the sin is almost universall and this is it which hath incensed Gods wrath and almost brought an universall destruction upon our whole Nation But is not this excuse That others do so a most reasonless plea and only becoming a fool when our Saviour Christ hath plainly told us that the greatest number go the broad way to destruction and but a few the narrow way which leadeth unto life Matth. 7.13 14. And St John that the whole world lieth in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 And that the number of those whom Satan shall deceive is as the sand of the sea Rev. 20.8 13.16 Isa 10.22 Rom. 9.27 And tell me Were it a good plea to commit a Felony and say that others do so or Wilt thou leap into Hell and cast away thy soul because others do so A sorry comfort it will be to have a numerous multitude accompany us into that lake of fire that never shall be quenched Besides it is Gods express charge Exod. 23.2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil and St Pauls everlasting rule Rom. 12.1 2. Fashion not your selves like unto this world Swearer But I may lawfully swear so I affirm nothing but the truth Messenger If you be lawfully called to it as before a Magistrate or when some urgent matter constraineth for the confirming of a necessary truth which can by no other lawfull means be cleared and for the ending of all contentions and controversies and clearing our own or our neighbours good name person or estate and to put an end to all strife aiming at Gods glory and our own or our neighbours good which is the only use and end of an Oath in which case a man is rather a