Arg. 1. That profane oaths are an high abuse of the dreadful and sacred name of God, which should neither be spoken or thought of without the deepest awe and reverence. It is the taking of that sa- cred name in vain, Exod. xx. 7. Now God is exceeding tender and jealous over his name ; it is dear to him ; his name is dreadful and
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glorious; Mai. i. 14. " I am a great king, and my name is dreadful " among the Heathen." The heathens would not ordinarily men- tion the names of such as they reverenced. Suetonius saith, that Augustus prohibited the common use of his name : he thought it an indignity to have his name tossed up and down in every one's mouth. Yea, says Dr. Willet on Exod. xx. it was an use among them to keep secret such names as they would have in reverence. They durst not mention the name of Demogorgon, whom they held to be the first god : they thought when he was named, the earth would tremble. Also the name of Mercurius Tresmegistus, was very sparingly used, because of that reverence the people had for him. Now, consider, shall poor worms be so tender of preserving the reverence of their names ! Shall not heathens dare to use the names of their idols ; and shall the sacred and dreadful name of the true God be thus bandied up and down by tongues of his own creatures ? Will not God be avenged for these abuses of his name .'' Be confident, it shall one day be sanctified upon you in judgment, because ye did not sanctify it according to your duty.
Arg. 2. Swearing is a part of the worship of God ; and therefore profane swearing can be no less than the profanation of his worship, and robbing him of all the glory he has thereby ; Deut. vi. 13. " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear " by his name." So Jer. iv. 2. " Thou shalt swear the Lord liv- " eth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness." If a man swear by God after this manner, God is exceedingly glorified thereby. Now, that you may see what revenue of glory God hath from this part of his worship, and how it becomes a part of Divine worship, you must know then an oath is nothing else but the asking or desiring a Divine testimony^ for the confirmation of the truth of our testimony : Heb. vi. 16. " For men verily swear by the greater ; and an oath for " [confirmation] is to them an end of all strife." The corruption of human nature by the fall has made man such a false and fickle crea- ture, that his single testimony cannot be sufiicient security for another especially in weighty cases, to rest upon ; and therefore in swearing, he calleth God for a witness of the truth of what he affirms, or pro- miseth : I say, calleth God to be a witness of the truth of what he saith, because he is truth itself, and cannot lie, Heb. vi. 18. Now this calling for, or asking of a testimony from God, makes an oath become a part of God's worship, and gives him a great deal of glory and honour ; for hereby he that sweareth acknowledgeth his omni^ sclency and infallible truth and I'ighteousness. His omnisciency is acknowledged : for by this appeal to him, we imply and acknowledge liim to be the Searcher of the heart and reins ; that he knows the secret intents and meaning of our spirits. His supreme and itifallible truth is also acknowledged ; for this is manifestly carried in an oath, that though I am a false and deceitful creature, and my affirmation cannot obtain universal and full credence, yet he that is greater thaa
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I, by whose name I swear, cannot deceive. And, lastly, his rigk-' teousness is acknowledged in an oath : for he that sweareth doth, either expressly or implicit^, put himself under the curse and wrath of God, if he swear falsely. Every oath hath an execration or im- precation in it, Neh. x. 29. " They entered into a curse, and an " oath, to walk in God's law." And so 2 Cor. i. 23. " I call God " for a record upon my soul."' And the usual form in the Old Testament was, " The Lord do so to me, and more also.'' Now hereby God hath the glory of his righteousness and justice given him by the creature, and therefore it is a choice part of the Divine worship, or of that homage which a creature oweth to his God. And if this be so, then how easily may the sin of rash and profane oaths be hence argued and aggravated ? The more excellent any thing is by an institution of God, by so much more horrid and abominable- is the abuse thereof O how often is the dreadful Majesty of hea- ven and earth called to witness to frivolous thino-s ! and oft to be a witness cf our rage and fury ! as 1 Sara. xiv. 39. Is it a light thing to rob him of his peculiar glory, and subject poor souls to his curse and wrath, who has said, " He will be a swift witness against you .?" Mai. ill. 5. Your tongues are nimble in committing this sin, and God will be swift in punishing it.
Arg: 3. It is a sin which God hath severely threatened to punish, and that with temporal and corporal plagues : " For by reason of " oaths, the land mourns," Hos. iv. 2, 3. That is, it brings the heavy judgment of God upon whole nations, under which they shall mourn. And in Zech. v. 2, 3, 4. You have there a roll of curses ; i. e. a catalogue of judgments and woes, the length thereof twenty cubits ; (i. e. ten yards) to set out the multitude of woes contained in it : it is a long catalogue, and a flying roll, to denote the swift- ness of it : it flies towards the house of the swearer ; it makes haste. The judgments that are Avrltten in it linger not, but are even in pain to be delivered. And this flying roll, full of dreadful woes, flies and enters into the house of the swearer ; and it shall therein remain^ saith the Lord ; it shall cleave to his family ; none shall claw off* these woes from him : and it shall consume the timber thereof, and the stones thereof, i. e. bring utter subversion, ruin, and desolation to his house. O dreadful sin ! what a desolation doth it make ! your mouths are full of oaths, and your houses shall be full of curses. Woe to that wretched family, into which this flying roll shall enter ! Woe, I say, to the wretched inhabitants thereof! " The curse of ^^ the Lord (saith Solomon) is in the house of the wicked ; but he <* blesseth the [habitation] of the just," Pro v. iii. 33. Tuguriolum^ i. e. (saith Mercer) his poor little tenement or cottage. There is a bles- sing, the promises, like clouds of blessing, dwell over it, and drop mercies on it; but a curse in the house of the wicked. Ah ! how many stately mansions are there, in which little other language but ©aths and curses are heard i and these are as so much gun-powder
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