Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
love_n holy_a spirit_n word_n 5,544 5 4.1289 3 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A60994 The case of the Quakers relating to oaths stated wherein they are discovered, to oppose propheticall, to pervert evangelicall, to falsifie ecclesiasticall, and to contradict their own doctrine / by J.S. J. S. 1674 (1674) Wing S48; ESTC R2531 37,570 48

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

THE CASE OF THE QUAKERS RELATING TO OATHS STATED Wherein they are Discovered To oppose Propheticall To pervert Evangelicall To falsifie Ecclesiasticall and To contradict their own Doctrine By J.S. Feb. 17. 1673. Imprimatur Auto Saunders Ex Aedibus Lambothauis LONDON Printed for H. Brome at the Signe of Gun at the West End of S. Pauls 1674. THE PREFACE THe Envious man finding the whole Fabrick of our Church too heavy a burthen to bear away at once divided the work of her ruine to the heads and shoulders of many Instruments committing to one Sect the study to pull up her hedge to another the atempt to overthrow her doctrine to another the care to undermin her worship And because their respective tasks still proved too difficult for any one of these Parties to compasse alone he subdivided these Provinces to subordinate Vice-gerents allotting to one the defacing of her Ceremonies to another the vilifying of the substance of her common and stated Devotions to another the opposing of her extraordinary and most august acts of Sacred Worship amongst which the Invocation of Gods Name in Solemn and Religious Swearing fell to the Quakers Lot who being a Generation of men that stick in the bark of the letter admitting neither coherence of Texts nor analogy of faith and stumbling upon two Texts that abstracted from both these seem to favour their Opinion have with raised out-crys attempted to explode that Catholick Custome of the Vniversal Church of giving God the honour of appeal to his Omnisciency for the Vmpirage of such controversies as by his Ordinance cannot be determined without an Oath For the Redemption of these sacred spoils out of their Sacrilegious hands I have undertaken this expedition and entred upon this Race wherein the Prizes I run for are First The maintenance of this Ancient Truth diametrically opposite to their new Errour so farre as by their canting I 〈◊〉 discern their minds viz That Christians of the highest rank as greatest proficiency may lawfully in sone cases confirm the 〈◊〉 Oath Secondly The Vindication of the Evangelical Writings frim false glosses Thirdly The Demonstration of their a faithfulnesse on their Quotations of Ecclesiastical Testimonies in favour of their Cause SECTION I. Christians of the highest rank and greatest Proficiency may lawfully in some cases confirm the Truth with an Oath Arg. 1. SAint Paul both knew the minde of Christ 2 Cor. 1.23 And served God in the spirit in the Gospel of his Son Rom. 1.9 yet he was so far from pleading that of the Essenns mentioned by Josephus Bell. Jud. lib. 2. c. 7. who profess'd that quicquid dixerint validius esse omni juramento supervacuum esse ipsis jurare their word was stronger then the oath of other men and therefore it was superfluous for them to swear● Or that of the Scythians who told Alexander as Quintus Curtius reports that their love of veracity was so eminent as their affirming a thing was in stead of an Oath Or the custome of the Heroick Age wherein as Homer relates the shaking of their Sceptre or shaking by the hand did more oblige men to speak the truth and perform promises then the most sacred Oaths could oblige succeeding degenerate Ages So far I say was S. Paul from pleading such examples or his own exemption from his performance of this office of charity to common humane infirmity which in many cases requires the interpositon of an oath in order to the procuring an indubitable perswasion of the truth as he frequently confirms what he asserts in such like forms of sacred oaths as these God is my witnesse Rom. 1.9 I say the truth in Christ I lie not my conscience also bearing me witnesse in the holy Ghost Rom 9.1 I call God for a record upon my soul that c 2 Cor. 1.23 The God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ knows that I ly not 2 Cor. 11.37 As God is true our word towards you was not yea and nay 2 Cor. 1.18 Before God I ly not Gal. 1.20 God is my record Phil. 1.8 Ye are witnesses and God also 1 Thes 2.10 upon which St. Austin Juravit autem ipse Apostolus in Epistolis suis sic ostendit quomodo accipiendum quod dictum est Non Jurate omnino Augustine de mend cap. 15. for the Apostle himself did swear in his Epistles and thereby demonstrate how that is to be understood where it is said swear not at all That these forms of speech are sacred oaths is manifest from Genesis 31.50.53 where Laban and Jacob are said to swear in these forms of words So God is witnesse betwixt men and thee and the God of Abram the God of Nahor the God of their fathers judge betwixt us and Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaack that is by God whom his father worshipt And to spare the labour of making more quotations from the definition of an oath which in Philo's phrase de legibus particularibus and in the common notion of mankinde is nothing else but a calling of God to witnesse to the truth of what we say From which if eminency of Holinesse would excuse any man it would have excused S. Paul who before the writing of those Epistles had given greater testimony of his sincerity veracity and love to truth then any man living can either in truth or with Christian modesty lay claim to Who can have the face to say That he hath delivered the truth with greater demonstration of the spirit and of power in words which the Holy Ghost teacheth 1 Cor. 2.4.13 That he hath by manifestation of the truth commended himself to every mans conscience in the sight of God 2 Cor. 4.2 more then this chosen vessel did which of them that tell us we may take their word and spare their oath dares vie with him in the perills pains hardships labours losses which he sustain'd for the truths sake If then S. Paul notwithstanding Christs prohibition and that he could pleade more for mens taking his bare yea and nay then any man now living can pleade did yet frequently confirm his sayings with an oath what more then Essaean then Scythian then Luciferian pride possesseth those monsters of men who have the impudence to pleade their own eminency in grace as that which exempts them from calling God for a record against their soul when the considerableness of the thing requires it From exhibiting to the divine Majesty that part of incommunicable honour due to his sacred and dreadfull name Away with that smoakie pride out of Gods house let it not be so much as named amongst Saints whose character is humility Ang. 2. Without the interposition of an oath 't is impossible in many cases that Justice can be administred according to the rule of the Gospell To instance in one for all Exod. 22.10 11. If a man deliver unto his neighbour an oxe or ass or sheep to keep and it die or be hurt or driven away no man seeing it