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Show 1- f:lom.to.pr. God never Swore pro· perly. A Treatlf~ of Oat!{~; VoL r. fewi}h Matters, and ours; but as muc~ as is between'' Angcfs aRd .~~en. Tell me now if any fhould call down :w Angel from Heaven, and tflt'htm, That he muft fiand and ht:ar our SermOns, as if he ~uft he ther:by_ihlhua. ed would it not be a ridicutous and confufed Thmg ~ Ahd If Jt Were a ridiculous Thing to be yet inflructed by thefc,, tell me no"'! ho1v gre:tr Condemnation, and how great Confufion were tt, not to gn•e. Pr.ttenuon to thofe former? And how then is it not Confufion, that a Chn}l1~n mull: be infiruaed that he muft nOt fwe:n? But let us repref.'i our AftealOnSi that we be no'r more l:lught at. Let us now difcourfe concerning .rhe Jrrvjjh Law to DJy: Wbat U tb11r, will he fay? Do not ufe thy Mouth t~ Swt.zr, nor be familiar with the Ho!y Name. Why? For as a Ser~:-~nr, tf he be continually fcourged, fhall not he clear fro~1 Marks, fo n~nher he that fwearerh. Confider the Wifdom of that Wtfe ~an; He fa1d not, Do nor ufe rhy JHindT but tlJy ltlouth; becaufe he. kn;w It to be all of t~e Mourh, and which is: eafily amended, f.:! c.: The Pumfh~ent here .that IS oppofed to it, tell!! us, thH it is not PerJ.ury, bu~ Swearmg, ~hat IS here to be removed; Therefore to Swear is a Sm. Venly the Soul. ts full of fuch Wo~ndi and Sq.rs. B11t if thou JWear becaufe he doth not beltevc; fay thou, &bev~, or if thou wilt not, fwear by thy felf; and I .do not fay, tba~ thou •rt c~ntrary to th~ Lavrgtver: Far be It ; For, fatth he, Lt:t yom Word be Jea, Tea 011d 1\'ay ]\lay that herein I may cr;,zdefcend to you, mzd bring )Oil to th.; thnt I ni~Y frc~ you from this Tyrannical Cuflom. Will you 1earn why theY allowed them of Old to Swear, not to Forfwear? It WtU hecaufe they jwore by Idols. You mu!t not he confounded in thefe Laws, in which they that wete Weak were converfant. For, if I. now. take a Gr~ek., I do 1101 forthwith enjo;n him tbH; but now I admonijh ~1m, That Chrijl_ muft he Rnown: But a Believer, and bne who bath le11rned h1m, and beard, d he .fho11ld ufe the fame Indulgence and Liberty, tU tbe Greek, What Profit and iidvantage would there be? Chri!t blth made a Law, that None Swear; tell me now what is done about tlrls Law, left perchance coming again, as the Apoftle faith, I do no\v~"h~'pe none will difpute whether Chryfojlom was againft All Swear;ng, or that he underftood Chrift's DoB:rint as we do; yet no Body can promife for them that endeavour to fqueeze Swearing out of Chri{t's Sroear nor at aU. We have been the larger in this Authority, partly becaufe he ex .. tellendy difputes it, and partly, becaufe our Cafe needs H; and laftly, too fhow Chril\ians their Apoftacy, that they may reform. ]trom. Libr. Epiftol. Parr 3· Tratt •· Of Obedienre, Knaw!dge, 111fd Reve~. . Lll. Thou faidft, if r miftake riot, That an tbir Auount tboM ma;f/ J•f/· /1_ render Evil for Evil, and ou,gbtejl to (VJ(~r witb t~em that Jwcar, hrcaufe 1fie Lord Jometimes Jwore, ,,an'd rendredEvtl for Evtl. .. . Firfl, I know that all Thmg! are not fit for us, that are_ Serva~fS, whtch are agreeable to the M:tfler, f!Jc- I know the Lord oftennm~s f~ore, Wbo bntb forbidden us to fwear. Nor muft we raJh.ly ~peak Ev1l of, or. Blafpheme in this, that he forbad another what he dtd h1mfelf, becaufe t.r may· be faid, The Lord Swore tU Lord, r»hom none forbad ttJ fwcar: It t! not Lawful for us as Servants to fwear; Bec4ufc we are forbidden by th~ Ldw of 11ur Lord to fwear. But left we fhould fuffer an OfFence by hts Ex· ample, fince the Time he forbad us to Swear, Neitbtr did he bimJe!f ever Swear, &c. Upon Zachary, Book :2. Chap. 8. . .And love ye nor a Falfe Oath ]-As to the Lord's c'*m:mding in tbe Gofp~ J But I fay unto you, Sf!Jear not all ; bur let your Word be Yea, Yea ; Na'y Nay; HC that fhall Never Swear, can never Forfwear; But he that fwea'reth let him hear that which is written, Thou }halt not talte rht J\'11111e of the L~rd thy God in a vain Thin~; for alltb~fe Things I h:~~e, Jair!J the Lord, according to the \V"ords of Malachy, faytng, .llnd yr d1d oll tbb!r:. VoL: I. . . )) 1reatife of Oaths. 64$ btte. In PreceptS Wh1ch belong to Life and are clear w h · 6 feek an Allegory, le!t we feek a Knot in a 'Rufh, as fays the C:m~~J.. t hot to ~ On Jerem; + Book r. Chap. J. .And thou ftJO!t Swcor the Lord liveth in Truth and RiP!Jtcour11,r. d ]itdgmenr, &c. Q '.1' :;s, an And how doth the Gofpel forbid us to S\;'Vear: Bur here it is faid, For 1z Confeffion, thou fhnlt Svr4r, a!ld for the Cundemn11tion of Jd,J), by v\•hich Jfrael fwore. Lnjl!y •. ~ffences are taken awav, and he fivearedl by the lord; and whar IS fa1d m the Old Teftamenr The LorJ tivtJh is a 0 b An excellent ,to .the condemn~J~g of a]] the Dead, by who~ all ldolarry fw~arerh~ ~~J Reafun why 1t 1s alfo to be m1ntled, tbar an Oath hath rhefe Compan'ions Truth J d - O;~.ths were ment .and Righteoufnefs; if thefe be wanting, it is not Swe~ring b~ f g: permitted, fweanng. . ' t or Alfo on lJ.Ianb. Book r. <!hap. ;. But I fay unto you, Sv.·e~r not aU, neither by Heaven, &c. The :(ews had always th1s Cuftom of Swearing by the Elements, as the Prophets Speec~ often reproves them. He that fivearech, either reverenteth or loveth h1m by whom he fweareth. In the Law it is comm.mded t·bar we m11jl not fwear b11t by the Lord our God. , The .Jews Sweari~g by rhe.J!ngt'/s, and rhe City Jerufa!em, and theT~mpl~, :fnd the Elem.enu, d1d wor!htp the Carnal Creatures with the Honour and Obfer\'ance of God. ""' Lajlty, confider, that here the Saviour forbad nor This between to Swear by ~od, bur by Heaven, f.!! c."~~- And this was allowed by the the T•oSr.rt Law, as to Lade Ones, that as they offered Sacrifices to God left rhey f~ms ... ~If~ fhould faer~fice ~o ~dols, fo alfo th~y were tUffcred to Swear by God ; 1\:dt ~n;~~11f1~ that rh:ydzd tbn ngbrly, bur that It was better to yield rh:u to God than doubtlefs he to Devils. BNt the Truth of the Go!}'n doth not receive an Oatb fince evrry intends ir ot Rtitbfu!TVord i.t for an Oath · • rhe Second Thofe of after Tim~, tha~ in fom.e Refpea allow of an Oath, ground ~:oah?~~~~ moft upon the Authonty of .AJJg'!fillZ, as he from the larger Acceptation Reafon why ef the \\lord Swear, and Ot~tb, whJch he extends to that which N!tzianun Oarh.s were (a~ before) ca1_ls but a firm Faithfulnefs joyned to his Words, which yet he p:rmJtttdo WI!~-. not admtt of, but to a P(1ul, a Plaitter of Churchrr, /}taking by the Sp1rtt of God to them, be bad h.egotte'! intbt Gofpel, in D11n_ger to be fd11• ~ed ~y F11/fe .Apo/1/es, and to fhtbt btm, and feck a Proof of Chrifl jjtali.ing tn htm, co.mpe/JeJ by them to feem a l:"aol in glorying, ahd fo dnven, mid no otberwije, to feem 4 Sw_eartr too, yea, even to aq .Augujlin, and fo tO co~pcl ~1m (even Auguflm) to fay, It i1 a har,d !l.ueflion; I have alway$ avttuled zt. But though he durft not condemn it altogether out of Reve~ renee to the Apoftle, which he thought ufed ir, becaufe of the Form of Speech, yet to fhew that. he did little encourage Men to praaife ir, ::~s any Afr at all of th~ W~rfhtp of God, much lefs an .dugrift .11.{{. He faitH, That Fa!fe Su:earm,g u Deadly; True Swearing, Dangrrour 1 A7fi·StMaring, Safe t God only Sv:tar.t Safely, who cannot be tltreived. Au(uftin de Sermone Domini, Serm. 28. LII.J.. And .Augujtin himfelf confefi'eth, 'That it was ufual to alledge lfifMencan'~:, : Cbrijl~anJty for nor Swearing, bring.ing in one Saying, It is not lawf111 for fwear. fa_fely, 1 ~ <;hnihan to Swear when an Oatb zs rt')uired of hint; I am a Chriftian ; ~~~e~~d!gell u not lawful tofwear. And on PJ;dm 88. as allowing the Unlawflllnefs rous eo !wear ~e f~ith.' ' It is well that God hJthf.orbidtlen Afrn tofwear, left by Cuftom' th;m notto. of It (mafmuch :Js we are apt to Millake) we commit Perjury. There is [wear, and 1t none but God can ;If- [itfe!yfwear, &c. u bett~rfllr And in that very Book, which is ;~Hedged for it, he faith, ' I faJ 1111to ~~o~~~;e nay, c you, Swear not at all, left by Swearing ye come u1 a Facility of Swtnri11g; bound tore· '/:rom a Facility to a Cll]lom; andfrom a Cujlom ye fall into Perjury. But fufe it. i any think that Book m~kes moft for them let them confider the Au- Dcmendac.thor hath retraCled it; for what Caufe let himf(flf fpeak in tbe F.nd of his It is obfcure Book of Rnraflions: For fure, th:tt Which we have here cited ouc of it, a.nd intrititO,. agreerh with his other \Vorks, which contain much moro- to thi~ Plit~ . po:e. |
