they are to be understood of voluntary oaths in ordinary conversation. And that the Jews meant this, by not fwearing at all, feems to be very plain from a paffage in Jofephus; who fays, that the fect of the Effenes forbad their difciples to fwear at all; and yet he tells us, at the fame time, that they who were admitted into that fect took an oath to obferve the laws and rules of it. So that they who forbad to fwear at all, allowed of oaths impofed by the authority of fuperiors.

3. Which will peremptorily decide this matter, this prohibition of our Saviour's cannot be understood to forbid all oaths, without a plain contradiction to the undoubted practice of the primitive Chriftians, and of the Apostles, and even of our Lord himself. Origen and Tertullian tell us, that the Christians refused to fwear by the Emperor's genius; not because it was an oath, but because they thought it to be idolatrous. But the fame Tertullian fays, that the Chriftians were willing to fwear per falutem Imperatoris; "by the health and "fafety of the Emperor." Athanafius being accused to Conftantius, purged himself by oath; and defired that his accufer might be put to his oath, fub atteftatione veritatis ; 66 by calling the truth to witnefs:" by which form, fays he, we Chriftians are wont to fwear. But, which is more than this, St. Paul, upon weighty occafions, does feveral times in his epiftles call God to witnefs for the truth of what he fays; which is the very formality of an oath: God is my witness, Rom. i. 9. As God is true, our word was not yea and nay, 2 Cor. i. 18.; and, y 23. I call God for a record upon my foul. Before God, I lie not, Gal. i. 20. God is my record, Phil. i. 8. God is witnefs, 1 Theff. ii. 5. These are all unqueftionable oaths; which we cannot imagine St. Paul would have used, had they been directly contrary to our Saviour's law. And whereas fome defend this upon account of his extraordinary inspiration, I cannot poffibly fee how this mends the matter: for certainly it is very inconvenient to fay, that they who were to teach the precepts of Chrift to others, did themselves break them by inspiration.

But I go yet farther; and shall urge an example beyond all exception.

Our

Our Saviour himself, who furely would not be the first example of breaking his own laws, did not refuse to anfwer upon oath, being called thereto at his trial. So we find, Matth. xxvi. 63. The High Priest faid unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us, whether thou be the Chrift the Son of God; that is, he required him to answer this question upon oath: for, among the Jews, the form of giving an oath to witneffes, and others, was not by tendering a formal oath to them, as the custom is among us, but by adjuring them; that is, requiring them to anfwer upon oath: as is plain from Lev. v. 1. If a man hear the voice of fwearing, and is a witness, whether he hath feen or known of fuch a thing; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. If he have heard the voice of fwearing; that is, if, being adjured or demanded to answer upon oath concerning what he hath feen or heard, he do not utter the truth, he is perjured. Now, to this adjuration of the High Prieft our Saviour anfwered, Thou haft faid: which words are not an avoiding to answer, as fome have thought; but a direct answer, as if he had faid, "It is as thou "fayeft; It is even fo; I am the Son of God:" for upon this anfwer the High Priest faid, He hath Spoken blafphemy. But, to put the matter beyond all doubt, St. Mark tells us, Mark xiv. 61. that he being afked by the High Prieft, Art thou the Chrift the Son of the Blessed? he answered, I am. So that, unless we will interpret our Saviour's doctrine contrary to his own practice, we cannot understand him to forbid all oaths; and confequently they are not unlawful.

I have been the longer upon this, that I might give clear fatisfaction in this matter to those that are willing to receive it.

As for the ceremonies in use among us in the taking of oaths, it is no juft exception against them, that they are not found in feripture: for this was always matter of liberty; and feveral nations have used several rites and ceremonies in their oaths. It was the custom of the Grecians, to fwear laying their hands upon the altar, quod fanétiffimum jusjurandum eft habitum, (faith A. Gellius): "which was looked upon as the most facred "form of fwearing." The Romans were wont Jovem

lapidem

lapidem jurare; that is, he that fwore by Jupiter held a flint-ftone in his hand, and flung it violently from him, with these words: Si fciens fallo, ita me Jupiter bonis omnibus ejiciat, ut ego hunc lapidem: "If I knowingly fal"fify, God fo throw me out of all my poffeffions, as I "do this ftone."

In fcripture there are two ceremonies mentioned of fwearing. One, of putting the hand under the thigh of him to whom the oath was made. Thus Eliezer fwore to Abraham, Gen. xxiv. and Joseph to Jacob, Gen. xlvii. The other was, by lifting up the hand to heaven. Thus Abraham expreffeth the manner of an oath, Gen. xiv. 22. I have lift up my hand to the most high God. And thus God, condefcending to the manner of men, expreffeth himself, Deut. xxxii. 40. If I lift up my hand to heaven, and fwear. In allufion to this cuftom, the Pfalmift defcribes the perjured perfon, Pfal. cxliv. 8. Whofe mouth Speaketh vanity; and whofe right hand is a right hand of falfhood. And there is not the least intimation in scripture, that either of these ceremonies were prescribed and appointed by God, but voluntarily instituted and taken up by men. And thus, among us, the ceremony of fwearing is, by laying the hand on the holy gofpel, and kiffing the book; which is both very folemn and fignificant. And this is the reafon why this folemn kind of oath is called a corporal sath, and was anciently fo called; because the fign or ceremony of it is performed by fome part of the body. And this folemnity is an aggravation of the perjury; because it makes it both more deliberate and more fcandalous. I fhall fpeak but briefly to the

IV. and last particular, viz. the facred obligation of an oath; because it is a folemn appeal to God as a witnefs of the truth of what we fay: to God, I fay, from whofe piercing and all-feeing eye, from whofe perfect and infinite knowledge, nothing is, or can be hid; fo that there is not a thought in our heart but he sees it, nor a word in our tongue but he difcerns the truth or falfhood of it. Whenever we fwear, we appeal to his knowledge, and refer ourselves to his juft judgment, who is the powerful patron and protector of right, and the almighty judge and avenger of all falfhood and unrighteoufnefs: fo that it is not poffible for men to lay VOL. II.

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a more facred and folemn obligation upon their confciences, than by the religion of an oath. Mofes very well expreffeth it, by binding our fouls with a bond, Num. xxx. 2. If a man fwear an oath, to bind his foul with a bond; intimating, that he that fwears, lays the strongest obligation upon himself, and puts his foul in pawn for the truth of what he fays. And this obligation no man can violate, but at the utmost peril of the judgment and vengeance of God: for every oath implies a curfe upon ourfelves in cafe of perjury, as Plutarch obferves. And this was always the fenfe of mankind concerning the obligation of oaths. Nullum vinculum ad aftringendam fidem majores noftri jurejurando arctius effe voluerunt, faith Tully: Our forefathers had no ftricter bond where 66 by to oblige the faith of men to one another, than "that of an oath." To the fame purpose is that in the Comedian: Aliud fi fcirem, quo firmare meam apud vos poffem fidem, fanctius quam jusjurandum, id pollicerer tibi: "If I knew any thing more facred than an oath, where"by to confirm to you the truth of what I fay, I would "make use of it."

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I will crave your patience a little longer, whilft, by way of inference from this discourse, I reprefent to you the great fin of fwearing in common converfation, upon trivial and needlefs occafions, and the heinousness of the fin of perjury.

1. The great fin of fwearing upon trivial and needlefs occafions in common converfation; becaufe an oath is a folemn thing, and referved for great occafions, to give confirmation to our word in fome weighty matter, and to put an end to controverfies which cannot otherwife be peremptorily and fatisfactorily decided. And therefore to use oaths upon light occafions argues great profaneness, and irreverence of almighty God. So Ulpian, the great Roman lawyer, obferves, Nonnullos effe faciles ad jurandum contemptu religionis: That mens 66 proneness to swearing comes from a contempt of reli"" gion." Than which nothing difpofeth men more to Atheism and infidelity. Befides that it doth many times furprise men unawares into perjury. And how can it be otherwife, when men ufe to interlard all their careless talk with oaths, but that they must often be perjured? And,

And, which is worse, it prepares men for deliberate perjury; for with those who are accustomed to swear upon light occafions, an oath will go off with them more roundly about weightier matters. "From a common "custom of fwearing (faith Hierocles) men easily flide "into perjury; therefore (fays he) if thou wouldst not "be perjured, do not use to fwear." And this perhaps is the meaning of St. James, when he cautions Chriftians fo vehemently against common fwearing, iva un sis CompTI TENTE, (for fo fome of the best ancient copies read it), left ye fall into hypocrify; that is, left ye lie, and be perjured, by using yourselves to rash and inconfiderate fwearing.

And men expose themselves to this danger to no purpofe; oaths in common difcourfe being so far from confirming a man's word, that with wife men they much weaken it. For common fwearing, if it have any ferious meaning at all, argucs in a man a perpetual distrust of his own reputation, and is an acknowledgment that he thinks his bare word not to be worthy of credit. And it is fo far from adorning and filling a man's difcourfe, that it makes it look fwoln and bloated, and more bold and blustering than becomes perfons of gentle and good breeding. Befides that it is a great incivility; because it highly offends and grates upon all fober and confiderate perfons; who cannot be prefumed, with any manner of cafe and patience, to hear God affronted, and his great and glorious name fo irreverently toffed upon every flight occafion.

And it is no excufe to men, that many times they do it ignorantly, and not observing and knowing what they do. For certainly it is no extenuation of a fault, that a man hath got the habit of it so perfect, that he commits it when he does not think of it. Which confideration fhould make men oppofe the beginnings of this vice, left it grow into a habit very hard to be left. Nemo novit, nifi qui expertus eft, quàm fit difficile confuetudinem jurandi extinguere, faith St. Auftin: "No man knows, but he "that hath tried, how hard it is to get rid of this cu"ftom of fwearing." But yet it is certain men may do it, by refolution, and great care of themselves. For he that can chufe whether he will speak or not, can chuse B 2 whether