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SERMON XXIV.

MATT. V. 33.

Again ye have heard, that it hath been faid by them of old Time, Thou shalt not forfwear thy Self, but fhalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths. Ver. 34. But I fay unto you, fwear not at all, neither by Heaven, for it is God's Throne, Ver. 35. Nor by the Earth, for it is his Footstool: neither by Jerufalem, for it is the City of the great King.

Ver. 36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy Head, because thou canst not make one Hair white or black.

Ver. 37. But let your Communication be, yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than thefe, cometh of evil.

I

The Second Sermon on this Text.

Na former Difcourfe on thefe Words, I fummed up the Contents of them in these three Heads.

I. We have here what was good in the Opinion of the Jewish Doctors concerning the Third Commandment.

II. Wherein our Saviour finds their Opinion faulty or defective.

III. What

III. What further Improvements he makes on this Subject.

As to the First, it was certainly good in general that they condemned Perjury. Ye have heard, it hath been faid by them of old Time, Thou shalt not forfwear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths. But having discoursed of this, at the laft Occafion, I shall not spend time in Repetition, but proceed to the

Second thing contained in the Words; namely, wherein our Saviour finds the Doctrine of the Jewish Teachers faulty or defective, in what they taught upon this Third Commandment. And it was faulty or defective in these four Particulars : Which I intend to speak to at this time.

1. In that they taught, that nothing else was prohibited in the Third Commandment, but the Sin of Perjury: Which was a very lame Account of the Matter.

2. It was faulty in their Doctrine, that they allowed of Oaths by Creatures, of which' feveral are here mentioned.

3. It was another fault in their Doctrine, that they reckoned fuch Oaths by Creatures not binding, a very few excepted; whereas, notwithstanding the defect of their not being in God's Name, they ought to have been obferved.

4. It was another fault in their Doctrine, that by reason of the loofeness of it, they had brought in a practice of Swearing in common Converfation, and fo made way for Rafh, Profane, Cuftomary' Oaths.

I. The First Thing I take notice of, as defective in their Doctrine upon the Third Commandment, is, that they Taught that nothing else was prohibited

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prohibited in it, but the Sin of Perjury: Which was a very lame Account of the Matter. For though I confefs the Words of the Third Com-. mandment, Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, fignify principally, thou fhalt not fwear falfly; they fignifie likewife, thou shalt not swear vainly or unneceffarily. So that all rafh, trifling, fuperfluous Oaths, are forbidden as well as falfe ones. The Reasons of this Doctrine may be gathered from the Confideration of God, whofe Teftimony we invoke; from the Sacredness of an Oath, which ought not to be prostituted to common Ufes; and from the Confideration of our felves, who ought to keep up better the Gravity and Dignity of our Speech, than that it should need to be backed with a common use of Oaths. Let us confider thefe a little more particularly.

(1.) First, I fay, the Confideration of God fhould deter us from the common ufe of Oaths: for he is not a common Witness to be called in upon all trivial Occafions. For as among Men, we choose rather to lose a small trifling Business, than to give a great Man the trouble to come in, and be an Evidence to it; fo it is much more for the Honour of God, that he be not called in, except in a Matter of Weight and Difficulty. This the very Heathens faw by the Light of Nature, and therefore prescribed it as a rule in all their Plays, and Poems, or other Compositions, never to introduce any of their Gods, but upon a very weighty Occafion.

Nec Deus interfit, nifi dignus vindice nodus
Inciderit.

Two or three Things, at least, for the Honour of God, should be minded in this Business of an

Oath.

Oath.

1. That it be a matter of Weight and Confequence. 2. That it be a matter of Difficulty, which cannot be cleared by other Proofs. 3. That it be a matter neceffary to be decided, and that we have no other way left to do Juftice, or to make an end of the Controverfy. For if it be a trifling Business, it is a leffening of the divine Majefty, to invoke his Testimony. Or if it be a Thing eafy in itfelf, and capable of other Proof, that other Proof should be made ufe of, and the Appeal to God referved for the last Refult. Or if it is a Thing no way neceffary to be decided, it is then in the Nature of those Secrets which are not to be published; or those small Things for which an Action doth not lie.

(2.) The Sacredness of Oaths fhould deter us from making them cheap and common: For as in Human Judicatures for small Matters there are inferiour Courts, and it is not allowed that the fuperiour Courts be troubled, except in Cafes of Moment or Difficulty; fo God hath set such an Honour upon an Oath, which is an Appeal to himself, that it must be a matter of great Confequence, in which this laft Refult is allowed. For to make Oaths cheap and common, is to make a Sacred Thing Profane, and directly to spoil an Oath of all the Reverence due to it, and confequently to make it an useless Thing in the World.

(3.) A due regard to our own Dignity and Reputation, fhould make us abftain from unneceffary Oaths; for he who has ftrictly kept up his Honour and Reputation, will be believed upon his Word without an Oath; and there is nothing will fooner prostitute any Man's Credit, than if he himself seems fo doubtful of it, as to think all his Words want to be backed with Oaths.

II. The

II. The fecond Thing I took Notice of as faulty in the Doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees in the Text, is, that they allowed of Oaths by Creatures, of which feveral are here mentioned, particularly Heaven, and Earth, Jerufalem, and their Head. As far as I can gather, there were two Occafions of this part of their Opinion. One, that they were convinced it was an indecent Thing to make use of the Name of God fo often, as in the Eagerness of their Mind, they thought fit to make use of an Oath. They thought (and so far thought justly) that the Name of God himself was to be referved for their most folemn Sorts of Oaths, fuch as were those they took in Judgment. But the ufing of inferiour Oaths for leffer Matters, was a Thing purely of their own Invention, not only without, but exprefly contrary to God's Prefcription. Another Reafon for their flying to these inferiour Oaths, was, that they took them to be not fo binding, and therefore made bold, upon a Pinch, eafily to break through them; fo that they were a commodious Invention to colour their Fraud or Falfhood. But now, that this fwearing by the Creatures was a fault, may be cafily fhewed, both from Scripture and the Reafon of the Thing. As for Scripture, I shall quote but that one Paffage, Jer. v. 7. How fhall 1 pardon thee for this? thy Children have forfaken me, and. fworn by them that are no Gods. As to the Reason of the Thing, it must be confeffed, that no Creature can be proper to be invoked as a Witnefs of the Sincerity of one's Heart, because it has not thofe Properties requifite for it, fuch as Omnifcience to know, and Omnipotence to execute Vengeance, and unerring Juftice to decree Righte

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