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Show 7~0 1679: ~ Sea. 6. An Addtefs to Proteffants; Vo1. I. Sefr. 6. Uf th• Horrid Sin of Oaths, Curfmg and Blafphemies. I H3\'e therefore referved to fpeak of Oarbs, Curfu ~nd 'f!l11fpbeJilie1 'tilllafi, becaufe I take tijem to be the moft provok.mg Srn. ,The o.. tber Enormities of Drunkennefr, Wboredom, Excefs, f.!! c. do more' immediately relate to our felves; and are therefore Sins againft God, becaufe they are a Tranfgreffion of that Or~cr, which he placed in the Na.ture of Things: But Oaths and Blafphe!fllCS ~uft he r:fetre~ to ~ad l~tmfelf; they are Sins committ~d !~lore ~l!lm~dtately agat,nU bts. &mg, hts l\an1e, and the Majefiy and D1gn1ty o.f hts ~ature. lr .ts. hornble to hear, how· he is called upon about everyThing be It never fo triVIal; yea, about nothing and worfe than nothing. He is fummon'd at their Games, thei.r Sporrr: their Ohfceltitiu, in their DrunA.~nnefs, Whoredo11u, lriurde!s, RflPJ'!es, and Treachery. There is a Generauon that cannot ~peak wtthout htm, rho' they can live without him. They would make h1m a Voucher of all their Fa!fhood and a Wirnefs for their L;·es as often as they would be belie~•'d_, But I tremble to remember, with what !Ptefurnption fome Men, when tranfported into' Rage, invoke him to damn thofe they are angry wit~ yea themfclves roo; and how impioufly they fend him at their PleJfure up~n the Erunds ·of their Vengeance. Can there be greater Blafphemy, than tO due fo much as to think, that the I:Ioly, Wife and J uft God fbould be the Executioner of their Paffion and Fury, and the Avenger of their Malice and Corrupt Interefts ? And it is obfervabl.e, that if in any t~ing they are crofs'd or difappointed, they fall a Sweanng, Curfing, Damntng, Bin~ phemittg, as if the Name of God {hould make them SarisfaEtion ; or that it were a Sort of Eafe to them, to deliver thernfelves of a Burden of Oaths. But that which aggraYJtes this Evil, is the Impudence of the People that commit it : They are noi contented to ufe it at Home, and at Ale-houfes. and Taverns abroad; but in the open Streets, Markets and Fairs; in the moft notorious Places of Commerce and Traffick J to the Difhonour o£ God, the Grief and Offence of Sober Men, and the bad Example of thofe that are not fo. But this Shameful Impiety ends not here; it has not only pre\'ail'J with the Populace, the Kennel, the Vulgar; but the Men of Cl.lla· lity, theGentry, and the Nobles of the Realm,., to whom God in his Pro· vide~ce hath been more Propitious, placing them ar the Difiance of Ex· :1mple and ImitJrion to the Multitude: Even thofe that ought to be the Heads of our Tribes, the Leaders of the People; whofe Virtue fhould at leaft keep Pace with their Qpaliry, are guilty of this Impious and B.:lfe Cufrorn; and too many of them more concerned in it, than the Meanefi of· the People. And to carry this Praaice to the utmofi Height of that Mifchief it feems capable of doing, too many, God knows) of thofe in Authority ufe it; even the Men, that by Law fhould fupJ:!refS it! And if Men of Office and Power, that ought, in their feveral Trufts, to beaTerror ro Evil-doers, were fo, methin"ks, theyfbould not fuff~r ~he Name of the God of the Nation (wh0m they pretend to wof(hip) to be fo profanely tH'd and blafpbcm'd; and leaft of all, that they (hould be the Men themfelves, who commit the Enormities that they fhould punHh. To fay Truth, and with Grief of Soul I fpeak it, fo univerfal is this Contagion in the Kingdom, that not only the Elder Sort and Youth, but the Children are infefted : ThC" Boys of feven Years Old, that in my Time did 'nor think upon an Oath, are now full of their God·Damn·You's and God·Damn·ll1t".r at their Sports and Plays! And the Women of our Nation, efpecia11y rhofe of any Rank, who by a Referv'd Education and the Modefty of the Sex, were fcarcely ever heard to Curfe, even what they did not like, (much lefs to fwear upon Ordinary Occafions) are, fome of them, grown hardy enough to do both. At whofe Door muft all rhefe Mifchiefs lie ? I befeech God to put it into the Hearts of our Superiors, to ufe their utmoij,: Di}igence to rebuke and fupprefs this and the ~!ke Impieties! We Vox.. i. Ali Addrefr to Protrfta11t1• ~e profefs our fe)ves to be Chrifllans, FoUoraerr of thJt p.r. · uboje Mourb nc Gut!e wa1 ever founJ, what Precept did he ever ~ 115 ; 1 ~ What Example·hath be left us to countenance thts Praa1c ~ 'T grve 05 charged hts DifCiples, Not to Jwear at aU; but we cannotethink1s0 true, h: to obey htm, when we fwear at every Thing. Pra confid ur felve~ ference there is betwtxr Chnit and fuch Cbr;ftian;, Chnfr tl~e ~~~~~ ;;;..~~ !llore perfea Law, than rhat whrch came by MoJes, whiCh admns of Onths 1n fame Cafes; bu[ rhev were few, and muft be kept upon great Penalnes ~ Th1s New Law of ]efrn takes away Oaths by raking away the Caufe and Need of them, namely, Faljhood and Diflrujf; and by plamin P!a1 Trurband J,ugnty tn the Naru~es of Men, which make rhcmg1uch '].~;{/,: fui Difc1p_ks to h1m, and fo entuely Breth,en to one another thJt h feems no fanher UJe for Oa1bs amon~ Men under that Qualtficar t e)~ have be1rd of Old Trme, (faith Chrift Jefus) Tboujhalt not forf~ear'~b; Jei hut perform thy Vows unto the Lord: This was nor Swearrn at Pieafi ' norfwearmg Vamly , this was thus far Good, it was the Pe~fec1ron of ~~c, ~ P:1rr 1. SeE\.6. Law. So ~twas Not to K!U, Not to commu .d.dulter1 ; bur Cbnft Jefu~ carnes 1t htgher Thou mufi not b, Angry ; Thou mult not look upon a Wo- Mat. S• mal! to lufl4rer ber; Thou rnuft not [r»etlr at nil Thou mull: not do that Whl(>h was Allowed or Dtfpenfcd wuh under the Law· For what the Law c~u!J not do through Weaknejs, 1 am come to do; T!.erefore let )OIIr Comrnunlcauon, yo11r Speech, for fo the Word fhould be rend red he Teo Te d J.Jay, Nny, Speak the Truth, lzyfayzng, Yea, Yea, or Nay: Nay ,'Ye:,'Y~. or No, No; [or mhat u. more,, or Imports more, than thu, or nfes higher,. or goes farrh~r than thts Platnnefs and S1mpliciry, u both ]1/eedle{s and Evil 111 a Chnft1an ; for tt cometh of Evrl. Thts lS the Doarine 0 { Jefi Certainly then there can be no Agreement between him and the Swear :s· Dam1ung Cbrijftans of (hts Age, who are fo far from Obeymg htm, \t'ho~~ Name they take, that they are not come to the Rtghteou{ncjs of the Lfl that condemns all Vam Stvearmg ; hut lie under the Heavy Judgment ~f the L?rd for the Breaeh of hi!t Thtrd Commandment Thou foalt not take FJod tbe ]\.'ame of the Lord tby G_od m vam: fgr tbe Lord ~tlJ not bold htm Glll!t- ' 20' 1• feji, tbat toket~ .b;s Name.rn vam. It 11 efteem'd a Profanation of thin 8 fet aJ?art for D~vtl!e Worjh1p, to e~plo.y them in our f:ommon and Ordina; SerVIces; and ts tt not Prof(tnatJO'h wtth a Ve,geance to fuH"er rhe Name of the Great God to~ profiirured at everv Turn by i.ewd and Debauch'd People? Can we be fo careful of our own Names and fo carelefs of God's) Is it J?Offible,rhar we can be more render of our iel\•~,than concern'd for him~ for h1m, I fay, who made us, artd _gives us Life, Breath and Being, r~ whom we owe oar felves, and all that we are. Bur that Men to right themfelves, upon every linle Affront, fhould expofe their Lives to Utmoft Peril, and not 6nd in their Heart fo much as to rebuke the Indignities daily put _upon Heaven, is an ill Pro?f of Zealand Religion. But as mfenfible as fu:h are of thelf. Duty, God is not wanting to his own Glory : .He has forb1dden thefe thtngs; let Men difobey at their Peril. Te foall not fwear by my Name fa!jly; faith God neirhtr jhalr rbou pro· fane the Name cf thy God, I am tb.e Lord. Hear o'ye Swearers, the ]t~dg~ Jer. 2~~1o.rr; ment that God has denoun£:ed agamfi yo?! Every one that Sweareth.fha/1 be Zach. ~· 3• cut off, [how cut off?] from God : Agam, The Land is full of Adnlteries. . nnd becaufe of Swearing the Land Mourneth: Behold! the Wbirl-tuind 0j rbe Lord foal/ heavily fall upon rbc Head aJ tbe Wicked. Sea. 7· Of the Sin of Profanenefs. Sea. 7· _ TO this I !hall add a Brief Rejfelliop upon that pernicious Sin of Pro- ~ fanenifs, 10 near ofkin to 0(1ths and Blnj'phemy. Such is the Degene-racy of the Age we are fallen into, thar Profanenifs does no[ only go un-puni£ h'd, but boldly lays Claim to Wit, and fills the Con\'erfation of roo many of thofe that think rhemfelves rais'd above the Genius of the Vul-gar. He is reputed Formal, that will not be Rude ro Sacred Things; and ;A2 aMan |
