A Copy of a Paper sent to John Otway, Justice of the Peace, concerning SWEARING.  
My Friend,  
Tho' I am little known to thee, or acquainted with thee, as to any Converse or Conversation, yet hearing of thy sobriety, and readiness to hear and inquire into those things which are scrupled among Christians; and what may be said for or against any thing wherein every true Christian ought to be satisfied in his mind, before he can believe and receive it as a Truth (to have his Conscience obliged thereby) which I account a point of Wisdom, and not to take things upon Trust, and Hear-say, and Tradition as many do, without any further enquiry; Also understanding, that thou hast not a hand in Persecuting thy Neighbour, in bringing them into Bonds, and others which I know thou mightst have done, had not something in thyself limited thee beyond either Law or Examples, which I hope thou wilt never have cause to repent thee for: For the Meek shall inherit the Earth; and to the Merciful God showeth Mercy. And If ever there was an Act of Mercy, this is one, To be tender of them that are tender of God's Glory and Worship, when so great severity hath been used against them that fear the Lord in their hearts, which is the Seat of the Lords Judgement in Man. Likewise hearing, that thou at a public Session at Kendal lately, in thy Charge or Speech in the Court, spoke something about Oaths, and the lawfulness of them, and said that some gave false Glosses upon Matth. 5. and James 5. and did assert the Morality of them among Christians, and how the Angel Swore after Christ had given that Command; and showed a necessity of them among Christians. The Consideration of these things, with some other, was an inducement unto me, to write these few things unto thee, and shall leave them to thy Consideration,, and to the Spirit of the Lord in thyself to Judge according to that, and seeing I am a Sufferer at this day, and a great one too, upon this account, which If I were not certainly persuaded upon good ground of the truth of that I have believed in this particular, I neither could nor would suffer for it; but I must not forcean implicit Faith upon any, only Judging it may induce thee the more to consider what I say. I have had my share of long Contests about this thing amongst my Brethren, and much hath been written about this particular by divers Hands, whether any of them ever reached thy hand or not; but however, I would not be tedious unto thee, and therefore shall contain myself in as narrow a compass as may be in so weighty a matter, for which many thousands have and are like to suffer.  
First of all, There was a time when there was no Oaths, When Man was made in the Image of God, which consists in Righteousness and true Holiness, Equity, long suffering, Patience, Goodness, Mercy and Truth, wherein man was in a capacity to believe in God, and men to believe one another: this was in the beginning after the Heavens and the Earth was made, and all things that are therein; Then there were no Oaths, neither needed any, for Truth lived and man in it, and that spoke; and a certainer Testimony there could not be, nor a greater: and this was before Sin and Unbelief entered.  
2. Whosoever comes to witness a restoration again into the same Image by Christ, the second Adam, as all that are born of God and are true Christians indeed do come to, there will be nothing but Truth speaking and ruling in the heart, and in the words: and Oaths ends.  
3. But after man had transgressed, and eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and went from the power of God, and had broken the Covenant of God, he lost his wisdom, and folly entered; he lost Truth and a Lie entered and Unbelief: so that he believed not God, neither the Sons of Adam in the Fall could believe one another; and Sin being entered, and Death by it, Deceit grew fast and Unbelief, and but a few in a Generation bore the Image of God before the Flood, as Abel, Enoch and Seth, and some few in comparison; and the rest generally corrupted their ways, and bore another Image, and went after the imagination of their own hearts, and set up Images and Idols; and also after the Flood when the earth began to be replenished, the cursed Seed grew faster, and many great Nations became ignorant of the True God, and made Gods of Gold and Silver, Wood and Stone, and reverenced them, and Worshipped them, and stood in fear of them, and had them in esteem; and Swore by them as the greatest thing, and gloried in them.  
4. Abraham who feared the Lord, and harkened unto his Voice, whom the Lord singled out of many people, as a righteous Root of whom he would raise up a righteous Generation; and more righteous than the rest of the Nations, and made a Covenant with him, and he was called The Father of the Faithful, and was the Original of all the Tribes of Israel, and the thousands of the people; but the most of them became vain also, and as corrupt as other Nations. And the four hundred years that they had lived among the Egyptians, they learned too much their manners, and were much corrupted and darkened in their understandings, and therefore the Lord was wroth with them, and few were made partakers of the Promise, because of their Unbelief.  
5. The Law was added because of Transgression four hundred and thirty years after the Promise was made; or as some account from the Creation two thousand years, which Law was given at Sinai to Israel, and not to the Gentiles; as it is written to Jacob, He gave his Law to Israel, his Statutes to every Nation he did not so; which Law some of latter times have divided into three parts, Moral, Judaical, and Ceremonial: which distinction I do not read of particularly in the Scripture. Moral, as that which pertaineth to the manner of Israel, how they ought to Worship God, and walk towards their Neighbour. Ceremonial, that which pertained to the Priests and People, as to Form or Discipline, which was shadowy. Judaical, as that which belonged to their Policy or State. The two last generally are acknowledged (if I may say parts of the Law) to be ended, and is not binding unto Christians; but the first part, some have said, is Moral and perpetual; the discussing of which would take up more time and reading than I intent to trouble thee with.  
6. Seeing the Law, all of it was added because of (Transgression) that was the cause its evident, If there had been no Transgression there had needed no addition of a Law, as a limit or rule: so whosoever comes thro' Christ Jesus, to witness Transgression finished, and an end of Sin, they become dead to the Law (though they are not without a Law to God) for it hath power over a man as long as he lives, to convict him, and Judge him; but being come to the Image of God against such, there is no Law, though they are not without one, as I said, to God and his Christ.  
7. But because the Lord would not suffer Israel to walk according to the Heathen, he in love to them, gave them a Law suitable to the State they were in before the Seed Christ was manifest, and the Covenant was suitable to their state; their minds was outward; and their Covenant was outward: their minds was mutable, their Covenant was so; and these pertained to a part above the Seed, and were shadows of good things to come, which ended all in Christ (though not destroyed) so the Tabernacle, Temple, Priests, Oblations and Offerings; Sabbaths, Fasts, Feasts, Oaths, Tithes, Circumcision, and the like, though they were all real Commands of God in their time, and continued unto the time of Reformation, that is, till the Law ended, and the Priesthood, Covenant and Hebrews.  
8. It is granted by us in the Covenant, the Jews might Swear, and did in Truth and Righteousness, and were Commanded so to do, to Swear by the true God, and reverence his Name and sanctify it; and lest they should Swear as the Heathens did by their false Gods, and reverence them that are no Gods, he Commanded to Swear, and fear and reverence his Name that was the living God; and I look upon it as the low condescension of God, or stooping to them in their state they were in, because there was Unbelief in them; therefore to end strife they might Swear, and it was permitted them, even as it was to have a King when their hearts was set upon it; so the Lord considering their state, the Lord Swore by himself, for their sakes, and as they Swore by the greatest; so he by himself, being there was no greater to confirm the Truth of his words, because of the weakness of their Faith, or rather Unbelief.  
9 But we do not read of all the Oaths amongst the Jews for some there was that feared an Oath, that ever they were imposed under any outward penalties, as they have been of late among Christians in name; but for all the Scriptures and Examples that have been or can be brought, to prove Oaths lawful under that Ministration and Covenant to save all men the labour, who would contend for the Jews Swearing, we allow the same and assent to them; so thus them that will contend and prove Swearing, than they shall contend without an Adversary for me or that People I own in Judgement.  
10. But the great thing that seems to carry all the weight on its back, is the Morality of it still among Christians, as some plead; unto which I answer, Was not the Sabbath of the Jews, as Moral of that of Oaths, or any other Command in the Ten, or elsewhere, which I have heard some Parish Priests say was Moral and perpetual among Christians, and yet they themselves break it by practice; the Command reached only to the Seventh day, and whoso altars it, lets up another thing, and then how is it Moral. The like Doctrine they teach about Oaths, and hath darkened people's understandings without distinguishing betwixt time and time, and Ministration and Ministration; but some say, Christ came not to destroy the Law Moral but to fulfil it; it is granted again, some say, though they very far strain the words in the third Commandment, we are not only forbidden to take God's Name in vain, but to sanctify by praying, praising, and Swearing upon occasion: If I grant all these under the Gospel in force, in the substance as under the Law; I say, leave nothing of the shadow, or Type, or Ceremony, as to be standing or binding among Christians (as it is not.) It's granted, the substance of all had nothing of force under the Gospel: For the Law had a Shadow of good things to come that came by Moses, but the Grace, the Truth came by Jesus Christ, the substance (and he is the substance) and he living in a Christian, speaks and testifies the Truth, and there need no other in any Judicature, and that was never denied by us but often proffered, but seldom received. Incense was the Ceremony of praying and praising, but the substance is lifting up the heart to the Lord, from the motion of his Spirit▪ and Praising is making melody in the heart to the Lord. And Circumcision of the heart is the substance of the Circumcision in the Flesh, Rom. 2. And Christ the substance of the Passover; and Christ is the substance of that Shadow or Ceremony of Swearing, and that which every Christian ought to do, is to speak the Truth, and to testify the Truth from the heart, and this is the substance, and that which is required under the Gospel; and this we never refused, and this divers learned men hath confessed is the sum; read Isa. 45. 23. and compare Rom. 14. & 11. and so is Confession of a Truth, and testifying the same about any matter, be not equivolent with an Oath under the Law.  
11. As for Matthew 5. and James 5. we give no glosses upon them, but do receive the words as they are, the Precepts of Christ and James; and we cannot allow all those Glossers, who would pervert their words from their jenuine sense, which we take clearly to be a limitation from all Swearing whatsoever under the Gospel; and not only in Communication, but even before all men, and at all times; not only from vain Oaths, and false Swearing, and by the Creatures, but from all Swearing whatsoever, the Scripture is so evident and so clear, that its much that any should stumble at the Commands; the very stop of the Chapter clears the thing; yea, even some who have contended against us, have been made to confess that the perfection of obedience required under the Gospel, was above that the Mosaical Law did exact or teach; and from these Scriptures, so Dr. Gauden and Usher, the one contended against the Quakers, the other for the Waldenses against the Romanists. Christ saith of old time it hath been said, Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not commit Adultery; Thou shalt not for swear thyself, nor by the Creatures; and if they were not to Swear by them alone, nor the Altar, neither Head nor Foot, then, why now by the Bible or upon a Book, seeing that it's made of Creatures? But it's said by the Contents of the Book what doth the Book contain more than true words; and if the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him, I am sure the Book cannot. Away with this Imposed Traditional Ceremony. But Christ saith, Whosoever is angry with his Brother, is in danger of Judgement. And again, Love your Enemies; And whoso looks upon a woman, and lusteth after her, hath committed Adultery: But I say, Swear not all, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, whatsoever is more cometh of Evil; So that its evident he speaks of a further perfection of obedience under the Gospel, than under the Law: For if it be only vain Oaths and false Swearing, and by the Creatures that he prohibits, than the Law had said as much, and he said no more than the Law, for these were reproved by the Law; but its manifest he required a more exact obedience than under the Law; and likewise those things that had been permitted because of the hardness of their hearts, he took away and brought them by his Doctrine to that state which was in the beginning before darkness and hardness was. And as concerning the Angels Swearing, to which of the Angels said he, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I bring forth my first begotten Son, and let the Angels worship him: and therefore the Ministration of the Son is above the Angels, and both Angels and their Ministration are to give way unto Christ, and he must be worshipped; and no example of either Angels or men ought or can violate the Commands of Christ.  
12. It was a Doctrine believed and received among the Primitive Christians not to Swear at all, that there was no question made of it, though in the times of Persecution, when their Liberties and Lives lay upon it, yet they denied to Swear, and keep in the first Gospel Doctrine taught, and would not violate it. A Cloud of Witnesses I might bring to confirm the truth of what I say in that particular, but that I intent this only as a Manuscript and no further; so I will not be tedious, but only take a few Fathers whose Doctrine is generally received. Origen saith, It behoves not a man, who lives according to the Gospel, to Swear at all. chrysostom forbids not only Swearing, but to Swear at all. Jerom, The Gospel Truth admits not of an Oath. Austin, Any man that is a common Swearer, no more credit can be given than to a Liar, a thing too much in use in our Age, yet none debarred from Swearing in Judicature. Jerom upon Mat. 5. and James 5. These are his words, It was permitted to the Jews, being in wickedness and infancy to offer Sacrifice to God, lest they should Sacrifice to Idols, so they might Swear by God, not that it was right full so to do, but because it was better to Swear by the Lord, than by false Gods or Devils; but the great Evangelical Sincerity and Truth admits not of an Oath, since every True Saying is equivolent thereunto. Theophalact, Hillary, Athanasius, Theodoret, and Lactantius, and others taught much against Swearing without any limitation. Polybius observes in the best and purest times, and simpler Ages of the World, Oaths were never used in Judicature; but after Unbelief and Lying increased, Oaths increased. Justin Martyr saith, It was enough security in all Cases to say, I am a Christian; and if any Oath either for matter or manner was tendered, they repeated this as the only satisfaction they could give, I am a Christian. Polycarpus and Basilides, both Martyrs, denied to Swear at all, and what is this become such a strange, new, and dangerous Doctrine amongst us in those days that profess Christianity; as that now are reckoned good Members either of Church or State but Swearers, But I have done, desiring thee to peruse these things over in the same love that I writ them, and what ever thou dost hold thy hand from Persecution, for assuredly God will bring a rebuke upon the Nation for it, and all them that withstand the Lord in his People. Farewell.  
Thy True Friend, Francis howgil.