One antidote more, against that provoking sin of swearing, by reason of which this land now mourneth given forth from under the burden of the oppressed seed of God, by way of reply both to Henry Den's epistle about the lawfulness, antiquity, and universality of an oath, and his answers to the Quakers objections against it, recommended (by him) to all the prisons in this city and nation to such as chuse restraint, rather then the violation of their consciences : and also to Jeremiah Ives his printed plea for swearing, entitituled, The great case of conscience opened, &c. about the lawfulness or unlawfulness of swearing, which said reply to these two opposers of the truth, as it is in Jesus, is recommended not onely to all the prisons in this city and nation, and to all such real Christians, as chuse restraint rather then the violation of their consciences, but also, to all such nominal Christians out of prison, as, rather then restrain, chuse to purchase their earthly liberties by swearing, to the violation of the command of Christ, who saith, Mat. 5.33, swaer not at all. Jam. 5.12, above all things my brethren swear not / by Samuel Fisher ...

POSTSTSCRIPT.

HEre followeth so much of a Letter of Jeremiah ives, as is sufficient to shew him his deep Degeneration in Spiritual Matters; Dated about five dayes before he himself took the Oath, while he (in that Case) stood in his Integrity, and was imprison'd himself for not taking it; and directed to two of his Brethren: In which he declares what great Scandal they brought upon the Truth, and Offence to him, and his then fellow-Sufferers for it, by their Swerving for fear of men, from the fear of the Great God, so as to obey their Precepts for it, rather then Gods own plain Pre∣cept against Swearing.

Brother Pitman and Brother Shewell.

I Am at this time surprized with a holy passion; and though Ionah could not say concerning the Gourd, that he did wel to be angry; yet (if my experience in the Word of the Lord doth not deceive) I can truly say, I do wel to be angry with you; who I have had a godly jealousie of all a∣long; viz. That you would be as easily perswaded to part with,—as unwilling to suffer for, your Spiritual Liberties: Oh my Brethren! where is your first love? How unlike the Chri∣stians in former times are you? whose zeal was so hot for God, that their eyes prevented the morning, that thereby they might prevent the rage of the adversary, who (as it is now) Commanded them no more to worship in the Name of the Lord.—I always did conclude, that those that would—quit the Cause of Righteousness—would quit the Ways of Holiness, as yesterday sad experience hath taught, to the perpetual joy of your adversaries, and the sadning the hearts, and adding afflictions to the bonds of the Prisoners of the Lord: I do therefore conjure you, as you wil answer the great God ano∣ther day, to consider, That now is the time for you to look to your Ministry, and to the Flock over which the Lord hath made you overseers, that you may be able through grace to say, You are clear from the blood of all men; and observe,

that God is now come to prove you, to see whether you wil keep his commandements or not. Remember when that A∣postates Case was debated, you had no zeal nor indignation against him, but you smothered all with this, If it were in a matter of Faith and Worship that he had fallen from, you would have been as one man against it: Wel, behold the Lord is come home to you; the matter now is purely for worship∣ping God; now God is proving to see if you wil obey him or no, and did not yesterdays work witness, that you were willing to prefer the fear of a man that must dye, before the fear of the great God; and the fear of them that can kill the body, before the fear of the Lord that can cast body and soul into Hell? I have no more to say but this, That your Cowardly Temporizing and complying with the precepts of Men, makes me jealous, that your fear towards the Lord is taught by the precepts of Men: I would not be too censori∣ous, but my Grounds are great, and my Bonds are my Crown, but your, Cowardly spirit is my great Cross: you lit∣tle think what a scandal it is amongst us to hear it affirmed, that one of you should say, You had rather a given fifty pound then haue sworn, and yet swear that you swear willingly. Oh for the Lords sake do somewhat that may roul away this Re∣proach; which that you may, is the praiers of your Brother, who could be contented to write himself, your Companion in Tribulation,

Ier. Ives.

Ian. 14. 1660.

Brother Ward my Fellow-prisoner desires to present his love to you, and so do some others.

Which Letter above printed, is here represented, as a Look∣ing-Glass for J. Ives to see himself in: not so much to shame him, as (if yet it may be) by the sight thereof (which being his own, may yossibly have more force upon him then another mans) to recover him again to that true Honor of taking the shame of his fall to himself, and also of suffering shame with the Saints for the Name of Christ, which he once stood in, and since very easily fell from; and that he may

remember from whence he is fallen, and repent, and do his first works (for his last have not been found perfect before God) and do somewhat that may roul away that reproach he hath rais'd against that Righteous Cause now suffer'd for by the Saints, lest the Light be at last totally taken from him; For as Humanum est errare, so Humanius nihil est quam errantem revocare: Or at least, (if J. I. be too far gone, and past recovery) then to recover the Honor of that Truth which, to the utmost that in him is, he hath dishonored by his shameful shuffles; that is to say, 1. By his shuffling departure from it in his sinful passion of slavish fear of man, so soon after his holy passion (as he calls it) of Anger against his Bre∣threns lesse shameful (because less sinful) departure; for J. I.'s suffering for it first, as (its likely) they two did not, declares his Con∣science was convinced that he should not swear. 2dly. By his shuf∣fling so much to defend and vindicate that same Evil of Swear∣ing, when it became his own, which he had but a little before so egregi∣ously condemned, wh•…•…le it was found not in himselfe; but in his Bre∣thren; and this in order meerly to the palliating of his meer painted Piety in that his paultry departure: For he that builds again those legal things which once himself destroied, therein makes himself no smal transgressor, Gal: 2. 18. 3dly. By his shuffling so much (though with as little success among such whose eyes are in their head) being once departed from the Truth himself, to draw all others after him into the Ditch. Had he onely (when he saw no other way to escape suffering) contented himself rather to swear to his own inward loss, then to suffer loss outwardly for refusing it, his re∣covery might likely have been more hopeful, and his Relapse less hurtful in all likelyhood then now it is: But seeing he sets himself so zealously to solicite others to sin by swearing together with him, the danger of its infecting others who are set to see with his eyes, as well as the desperateness of his Disease, in respect of himself, calls for a more desperate Cure, and searching Corrosive, then need else be used: And if by all that is, in no less then true love to his soul, though never so sharply, tryed towards him; his wound appears to be un∣curable, then

Ense recidendum est, ne pars s•…•…cera trahatur.

THE END.