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Show S 'A Treadfe of Oaths. 6~ . . . about to fwear, What ]han I Ja tarb", J671 w1th·hold ; and fay to htm that IS fomrr nor to campti ro f'l.l..'tnr; he now ~AgainA: Com- ffilt'ibtb G-!Joodi dbetaht hm ceo?m mTonlu.ds~ tds, ennoeuubg~ r/ o~ rheL~w·gi\'el'S Honour, for tJiy SccupeUingto d riry, and his Fear who fhoul~ fw;~r~ that they rhar "come hither mar f"y, fwear,h a~ to £ Do thus much for me t ere. r I t~;bich is II( AntioCh l For rhry tbar ~o~J it~ ' That i$ not t~ be feen/n an{.;/1:;nguet fhould bt cur our, tb11n an Oar/) He differs_ ' inhabit tbnt Ctt)' bad rat 'J~r 1 · ~ 8i . much from 'fhou!d proceed ottt of tlmr Jlfojb, u~;o tl'C Lord rby Oaths : Th::tt is, in t~~elbth~! for • What is it? Thou jJJit ~~~=·erBu; I }'tty unto you, Not toSn-ear at all.· ~ot swearing. ' Jwearing thou fhalr1{~ H r;rs tllat they fhould not fwear by 9ocl, On~'· ' And then, ~o put o t e e:tfor ;tis the 1·brone of God; nor by_ the ~mb, Homn. IJ· ' he fJith, ~euber by lffjvef, h f:.~id nor hecaufe the Heaven JS F:m 3nd 'for it is hu Foot-fiool, cE 0~ .e Vile. b~t bccaute that is tbe Throne of ,' GGorde,a ta, nndo r h~cau_fe the 11~3 ~1. b! all ~hich he drives them to the Fear 1 bu bts Foot· oo , 1 ObJeft. ' of God. (], 1 nd tmpo[e n ll'eaj]ity of Sw<ormg? Ohj. W1Jat then, if a'? r;qM{t :nbefl~~;e forcible to thee than :Ill Necef. Anf. Let the Fear °F t e f (':: w·lt always objea fuch like Occafions, ftty or Compulfion: or 1 Thin1 s whlch are commanded: For thou thou w>lt keep nope of thofe h ~ife. Wbot 1{ jhe be a Scald' Wbat ;f m1ghtft alfo fay It c~ncerdm~ tth~ Righ~ Eye; What if I bavt a Deb~ht jhe be Ntu mid CunoJts Anh L f t &:c) and fo thou w1lt trample upJ7f 1t, and he mj{tuntd vuth 1 e ov;~ 1 s'ut in the Laws whtcb Men comon all Things th:Jt a{~ comma~ h ·Thing as Wbar if tbu or that, &c~ mand thou dareft ale ge no 0f Chnft 'rho~ wilt not fuffer any ComAnd if thou wth keep fhe' Ll~ 0 Ohferv;tion thereof, for he th:a bend pulfion to h1nder thee rom t. e h fame Sermon and fhc:ws himfelt fuch Conft:ancy m the Ble£fedneiS that lS b~fo~, he ~~ll futfer no fu~h Compulfion from any, notSweanng an one as ChrVlft combml en ~ Admirable wtlh all Men. i;Ctteth Vene- feeing he JS enera e an d 14 d Nay l ranon. Obj. Wbttf tbinfoaU we fny uJtybn ta P:rjury . Rth rhis is altogetl'let ObJell:· .Anfw. Wnhbdt doub: .lin at ' n~tt it is of Evil; and not fo J?lUc_h manifcft, and none neecl:. be- caught tb Now th .. r is fuperfluous wbtch IS Superfl.uous, as altogetfier conrrary.. urei is ~n Oath. added necdlelly, ond toob mbuj.chd; whbt<~,fE.,,)? .And ;ftt wdl of Evtl, bow GrtatRea· Ohj. Whytbenjhall 1 rs e m to e :1 fJ~ea. wm lf commanded !n tbe Lab l lfo conterning thy Wife ; How is it now .Anfw. Thou Wilt fay t at a~ ffi ed > What then !hall we fay to thefe .Adultery, which was fomettf\ ufc eThings which were then fpoken, rhe Things) But that many ~ t 0 e re mred . For it is a Th1ng very Weaknefsof them that recetved Jhe ~~w h qSmell ~f Sacnfices even :!sit unmeet for God ~o be ';,hr}?~P)~ r :/ftut:ere and babble; Thcr;fore fuch 1 1s not congruent rot a 1 0J 0P'Je d 0 th now comes of Evtl, r:thtnrbe E>rvorce is now called Adultery; ar. tba::r Pet{ellton. Btu if thefe Things ~~~J~a~rue locrenfingsho{Llfirrucf a~t D:V~ttfrom the Beglnmng, they had never cobme • Doflnne. had been t e aws o t e fi Th. h d gone before: thofe ot er to fucb Proficiency ; for unle~s tho e Ing: th~retore d'efire ;he Virtue ,of had never been fo eafilv recetved. lro T~ were ::rvatlable indezd then, thofe Things, whofe tJfc ts no~fp~. 1 :left now alfo. Fer now thett Wlth Chri· when t~e Tlme_required, yea, ~n \}r~ p :herei'n we moft 'accufe' for th~t fh:in!it ought Virtue IS !hewn m fith~t fameh ~h ~eat Pratfe. For unlefs they h:ld nursd \V~,~;,1,. ~~et "~~n"f[d~rofi~abl~, ~nd~a~ made us nt for'rhe 'jt'V:~~: K~~j;,; ""'"t!ohale Tht~gs they wonld not now fcem to us bo be["<~ ChaM to tbe lflenfure tt!~~u~ a- Tear, ~ben ir burb done all u"s Of!:e;o "~=bl;~~~:nd :b: Pa:ents, who former· ~<naltoes? of the Jlranger .Age, febml./a J/., fof.beir Cbtld, do ofrmogrd put]ue It Jy JUdged the Ttot to e tee ua/ do not on! make u un&omely tn Words. br;;" nlf/b':'J:{.:'::::,;b•;;,,:r:r bt~trr ]m<s ~ H'Thr, tl••tt rhn tbryc:,; VoL. I. A Treatife of Oaths: not bridle rh7 eoier unJe~ifonable Dejire of. rluc_hild about it. they JNJY quench I6n. it at !taft wuh rhoJe ThJngt. So o!Jo Chrifl J"1d, It was of Evil· not r1J11r ~ be 111igbt foew the old.Laro to be of the Devil, but that he miglu r~caU tbt1n more vehemently [rop~ rbe old Vi!enefs: And thefe Things he faid umo his Difcipl~; but Unto the fiupid Jews, 3nd them that perfift in the f3.me Impiety, as wirh fl certain Bitternefs, he fo compaft their City, they being captivated with Fear, :~s that he1 made it inacceffible: And becaufe he could 110t hereby reitrain them, but that they again defir'd to fee it, :J.S Children running hack ro the Teat, he took it quite away, defiroying it, -and fcaner-ing them, moft of them, far away from it ; 3.s Men ufually lhur up Calves from their Dams, that they may gilin them to be weaned from their ac-cuflomed Food of Milk. But i.f the old Teitament were of the De\•il, he wonld not have for· bidden ,._ Images to be worfhipped; and to the contrary, have brought in • A great 3nd commanded fuch a Worfhip as this; for rhe Devil would hav:e Enentytc fuch a Thing ro he done. Bur now we fee that the Law did on rhe con- Im;age1. trary; and for that Caufe alfo the W3y of Swearing was in Times per-mitted, t lefi Men fhould Worfhip Images-, and Swear by them, Swear, faith he, by the true God. So th<;; Law brought not a mean Good to • Men, but a very gre:u one, if it fought to bring them to folid Meat. Ohj. What Evil therefore bath Swearing? bbj'ea. .dnfw. Much Evil, wirhout Queftion ~ But now at this Time, afrer Jo :;1 }: :::re~ "great Mani/eflarions of Power; nor then by any Means. fomOttbtjm. eTt hnoout ?W ilt fay; How can it be, thattbe fame is fometimes GooJ, Objelt. A»Jw. I will alfo produce againfi thee, How is it that the fame Thing is fometimec ~ood, fometimes not good? Doth not all thlt is ip rhe World proclaim the Jame, as, Educations, Arts, Fruits and all other Things? "~ Therefore 1irfi weigh that in our own Nature: For to be carried in onc'.s ·Arms, is a good Part in the firfi Age, afterwards a very pitifMI Tbing. To ufe chew'd Meats in the Beginning of one's Lire is good, oftel'wartlr very /uO o{ Indecency and Lonrlifomnefs: To be fed with Milk and to flee to the Nouritbment of the Teats, at the Jidt is profitable and 'Yholfom, ~ut ofrerwords hurtful and noifom. Thou feefi: how the fame Things are fornedmes good, according ro rhe Times, and fornetimes appear robe of another NJturc: For iris a comely Thing for a Child to wear a Ch-ild's Vefturc, bur jhamefutfor a Mttn. Wouldll thou alfo learn on the cont~ary, how thofe Thihgs are not fit for a Child, which are for a Man? G1ve a ..tlfan's Ve/lnre to a Child, and greor Laughter wiD follow (ll(re"f.on, and lrearer Danger in GoinJ, maA:.ing him to ret! r.bis Way ond that rJ llJ: Commit unto him the Care oj Civil Bll-jineJ!es and .Affairs, eithtr to Trn.ffick, dl' Sow or Reap ond agtlin i1 wiO he very ridiculo11-s. But what do I fpeak of thefe ~ Even 'Man·flaughter ir felf, which Chrift calls evidently a Work of tbe Devil, fometime in due Seafon done, h3th been J>raifed; as Phine~ killed a Man, anti it wm rrputed ro bim for Rigbttolljnefs,; Abraham alfo 'Was n~t only an Homicide, but a Parricide, and Peter J!cm /f('o, but it.was a Spintual Work: ~we muft not only confider the AEl:.ions, bur the T1me, Caufe, Will and DifFerence of Perfons, and all other Cucumftqnces. Again, in his ImpcrfeE! ~Work, cap. ). It bath been faid, Tho11jhalr nor ForJwear,butjhalr perform to the I.ord thy Oatb1 : Bur !Jay unto you, Swear nor at aU, etc.] Behold the fourrh Com-mand, which covetous Men accounr the lcaft, becaufe they do not account it 3 Sin ro Swear, without which the Command of the Law CJI1nor fiand? For unlcfs Swearing ir felf be forbidden, Falfe 0Jth9 cJnnot be raken a-t The Rea ron why God admitted Oaths. No Ordinance of God or_Maa. Origiui!Y• bqt Corruption inreniibly brought it, and God only fuft'er'd it by a true De1ty tdl the Tnni!'S qf R.~~~~~~arded aad obferved by Yenerable Antiquity, faid 161/fll on the Fathen, patt2. P'i&~ 36, A:l. Mon. Yolo P• 701, ,. > • I \ r |