Oaths, and Execrations, be banished out of our common Converfation: It remains then, that our Words be Few, Plain, Sincere, and Modeft; and this is the Chriftian Simplicity required in Speech by this Precept, Let your Communication be yea, yea; nay, nay.

III. And fo now I am come to the last Thing I observed in this Precept of our Saviour's; namely that it is our Duty to be exactly true and ho neft in our Speech and Difcourfe: For this likewife I take to be meant by thefe Words, let your Communication be yea, yea; nay, nay; as if he had faid, let your Words and your Heart go together; let your Promifes and Performances exactly anfwer one another. Thus St James, Chap. v. 12. feems to give the Senfe of this Precept; But above all things, my Brethren, fays he, fwear not, neither by Heaven, neither by the Earth, neither by any Óath: But let your yea, be yea; and your nay, nay; left ye fall into Condemnation. There is another Reading of these last Words, preferred by many Learned Men, where, inftead of uro xpion, which we render into Condemnation, it is, eis rongior, into Diffimulation, q. d. let your yea, be and your

yea;

other

nay, nay; that is, be Men of your Word, left ye be found Lyers and Diffemblers. And this Senfe agrees with a common Maxim of those Times, that the yea of the Righteous is yea; Juftorum etiam eft etiam, that is, his Promises are always attended with Performances. And on the contrary, when they would defcribe a Man whofe Word and Deeds were not alike, fuch a one's Word was faid to be yea and nay; backward and forward; that is, a thing not to be depended on. And this we may plainly gather from St Paul's

Dialect.

Dialect, 2 Cor. i. 18, 19. As God is true, fays he, our Word towards you was not yea and nay, that is, it was not wavering or uncertain; but as it follows there, The Son of God, Jefus Chrift, who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Sylvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea: For all the Promises of God in him, are yea, and in him Amen. Where it is plain, that yea and nay is put for Inconftancy and Uncertainty; and yea for Conftancy and Certainty. Now in this Senfe it will answer our Saviour's Defign as well as the other. For Veracity, as well as Simplicity, makes Oaths needlefs; the accuftoming our felves to Modefty, and to Truth, is the best way to fet a value on our Word, and confequently to make Oaths in Converfation fuperfluous.

This truth and fincerity in Discourse, so much recommended by our Saviour, fhould chiefly guard us against these Vices. 1. Flattery. 2. VainGlory. 3. Lying and Equivocating. 4. CalumI niating. 5. Inconftancy and Perfidy. For there is a general Falfhood runs through all these, and they all tend to leffen a Man's Reputation and Credit: For the repairing of which, he flies to Oaths, that he may be believed. But I fhall not enter upon the particular Confideration of these Vices, but fhall content myself in general, to tell you that Truth is from God, who Styles himfelf the God of Truth; and Lies and Falfhood are from the Devil, who is the Father of them. And this leads me to the

II. Second Thing in the Words; namely, the Reafon annexed; for whatsoever is more than thefe, cometh of Evil: Öf which Words there are two

very commodious Senfes given, and no way inconfiftent with each other. 1. One is, that if we exceed the Plainnefs and Veracity of Speech, this flows from fome bad Principle or other. For example, from a Principle of Pride and Vanity, we depart from the Truth in fpeaking of our felves, and fet off all our own things, by making them much finer and better than they truly are. And from a Principle of the fame Pride, mixed with a Spice of Malice to others, we depart from' the Truth, by detracting from their Worth, and by throwing in fome fpiteful thing or other to lef fen them. From a Principle of Covetousness, or Ambition, we coax and flatter our Superiours, and others from whom we have any Expectations, and care not what aggravating Speeches, or Oaths, we use to gull and deceive them. When we have done an ill thing, from a Spirit of Obstinacy and Impenitency, we either deny and abjure it, or we justify and defend it, instead of taking Shame to our felves, and confeffing our Error, or our Fault. In the Heat of Difpute, instead of being convinced by our Adversary, we do obftinately contend for Victory, be the Cause ever fo bad, and to help out with it, mifrepresent Matters of Fact; and perhaps when we are not readily believed, help them out with Oaths and Imprecations. And especially, Anger is a common Principle and Occafion of Oaths. What our Saviour means then, when he says, that whatsoever is more than a modeft Affirmation or Negation, cometh of Evil, is this, That it is not only the running into a new Sin, but that it proceeds from fome evil Principle. 2. Another Senfe of the Words is this, for whatfoever is more than thefe,

cometh

cometh of the evil one, meaning the Devil, who, in the New Teftament, is often called the evil, or wicked one: as Matt. xiii. 19. The wicked one cometh and catcheth away the Seed; and ver. 38. the Tares are faid to be the Children of the wicked one: and it follows immediately, The Enemy that Jowed them is the Devil. What we are to learn then from this, is, that whenever our Discourse exceeds the due Bounds of Simplicity and Modefty; particularly, when Anger, or Malice, or Pride and Vanity, or any other Luft, or Paffion, ftirs us up to great Aggravation of our Matters, we are immediately to take the Alarm, as beginning then to be under the Temptation of the Devil; and to what Intemperance of Language he may carry us, from one Degree of Paffion to another, till at last he involves us in Oaths and Imprecations, no body can tell. The fureft way is to keep our Ground, for if once the Devil moves us from our calm fteady Temper, and gives us a push down Hill, it will be a very hard Matter to ftop till we tumble headlong to the bottom.

Thus now I have done with my Text, and have, in four Difcourfes, explained to you our Saviour's Doctrine concerning the Third Commandment; but I am afraid I have done no good all this while, and that the evil one, from whom this Spirit of Swearing and Lying comes, will be abundantly too hard for all that I can fay or do to fortify you against his Devices. Learn, I befeech you, this eafy part of Chriftianity, to be Men of your Word, and to refrain from this evil Custom of Swearing, and to refrain from it out of a right Principle of the Fear of God. I know no Vice brings more Scandal to our Church of VOL. II England;

Bb

England; the Church may be in danger from other Enemies, but perhaps fhe is not fo much in danger from any Enemy, as from the great Number of profane Perfons that pretend to be of her, enough to make all ferious People afraid of our Society, and to bring down the speedy Judgments of God upon us, for by reafon of Swearing the Land mourns. But be not deceived, our Church has no Principles that lead to Swearing, more than the Diffenters; but whatever Church is uppermoft, there are always a great many who have no Religion at all, crowd into it, and bring it under Difgrace and Difreputation. But the time is coming, when the Tares fhall be separated from the Wheat, and they fhall be caft with the evil one, the Devil that fowed them, into Hell; but the Angels fhall carefully gather the Wheat into God's Barn. If ye know thefe Things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be all Praise.

SER M.