III. Another was, the sufficiency of truth-speaking, according to
Christ's own form of sound words, of yea, yea, and nay, nay, among
Christians, without swearing, both from Christ's express prohibition to
swear at all; (Mat. v.) and for that, they being under the tie and bond
of truth in themselves, there was no necessity for an oath; and it would
be a reproach to their Christian veracity to assure their truth by such
an extraordinary way of speaking; simple and uncompounded answers, as yea
and nay, without asseveration, attestation, or supernatural vouchers,
being most suitable to evangelical righteousness. But offering, at the
same time, to be punished to the full for false-speaking, as others for
perjury, if ever guilty of it: and hereby they exclude with all true, all
false and profane swearing; for which the land did and doth mourn, and
the great God was, and is, not a little offended with it.
IV. Not fighting, but suffering, is another testimony peculiar to this
people: they affirm that Christianity teacheth people to beat their
swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and to
learn war no more; that so the wolf may lie down with the lamb, and the
lion with the calf, and nothing that destroys be entertained in the
hearts of people: exhorting them to employ their zeal against sin, and
turn their anger against Satan, and no longer war one against another;
because all wars and fightings come of men's own hearts' lusts, according
to the apostle James, and not of the meek Spirit of Christ Jesus, who is
captain of another warfare, and which is carried on with other weapons.
Pages:
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41