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A28913
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The dutie and danger of swearing opened in a sermon preached at York, February 3, 1655, the day of swearing the lord maior / by Edward Bowles ...
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Bowles, Edward, 1613-1662.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing B3871; ESTC R31277
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20,505
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28
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in truth in righteousnesse and in judgement where we have the form and qualifications of a lawfull Oath the form The Lord liveth In every Oath there ought to be an interposing of the Name of God Deut. 6. 13. Thou shalt swear by his Name To swear is to confesse a Deitie as appears by comparing those two places Isa. 45. 23. To me shall every knee bow and every tongue swear with Phil. 2. 11. That every tongue should confesse that Iesus Christ is Lord And because we finde this expression frequent in Scripture The Lord liveth it deserves a little opening to which purpose we may take notice of that passage in Hebrews 6. 16. Men verily swear by the greater And when the Lord sweareth he doth it by that in himself which is the greatest his Life and his Holinesse which are more then single Attributes His Life is his fundamentall excellency and his holinesse is more then an Attribute for it is that complexion which runs thorow all his Attributes and makes them beautifull And this is the usuall forme in Scripture which Men and Angels have made use of Revel. 10. 6. because of the peculiar accommodation of the life of God unto an Oath for it imports that he sees and knows our appeal that he abides ready to confirm the truth or avenge the false-hood of him that swears And I see not how swearing by any Creature can be exempted from Idoltary if swearing be as it hath been proved a part of Worship God complains that the Children of Israel swore by them that were no gods Ierem. 5. 7. and to swear by Creatures turns them into Idols if they were not so before to worship an Image and swear by a Creature may be ranked together And though some would excuse that expression of Ioseph By the life of Pharaoh and tell us that the primitive Christians did sometimes swear per salutem Imperatoris yet the former language seems fitter for Aegypt then for Canaan and the later savours more of Courtship then Christianity There is indeed a passage of our Saviour Matth. 23. 21 22. where he seems to make it all one to swear by some Creatures as to swear by God himself for he saith that he that sweareth by the Temple sweareth by him that dwelleth therein and he that sweareth by Heaven the Throne of God sweareth by him that sitteth thereon but the scope of our Saviour must be attended who reproves the vain conceit of the Pharisees who thought God was not concerned in those Oaths where his Name was not expresly mentioned and tels them that because those Oaths were reducible unto God who accounted himself interessed in every Oath they could not be excused from perjury in the breach of them Pareus expresses it briefly and well that those Oaths were formaliter vitiosa sed finaliter obligatoria So that our Saviour doth not countenance those forms of swearing but discountenance their great vanitie and folly in the construction of them for an Oath taken by that which is no god if he that swears puts it in the room of God it will be found to oblige Thus much for the Form of an Oath from which howsoever it hath pleased men to vary yet it is good to have recourse to the first and purest use of Oathes which was to mention the Name of the Lord with lifting up the hand to Heaven so Abraham as fit for our pattern as any man else Genes 14. 22. I have lift up my hand to the Lord the Possessor of Heaven and Earth that I will not c. Thus much concerning the Form the Qualifications follow In truth in righteousnesse and in judgement Hierome gives this brief and clear interpretation of these words There must be veritas in re justitia in causa juditium in modo jucandi First he that swears must have a principall eye to Truth for the end of an essertory oath is to evidence truth and of a promissory oath to engage truth veritas entis must be looked to in the former veritas mentis in the latter and no room is left for equivocation which crosses the very end of an Oath It is certainly a most horrid impiety to call God to witness an untruth who delights to be stiled The God of truth it is an affront we should be ashamed to offer a Person of Honour to make him a partner in our iniquitie In brief he that swears a falshood doth insinuate that God doth either not know the truth or not regard it but his eyes are on the truth Ierem. 5 2 3. Let those that swear falsly well consider it lest a curse enter into their houses as the Lord threatneth Zech. 5. 3 4. 2. He that sweareth must do it in righteousnesse in a lawfull and just matter if the oath be promissory the thing sworn must be lawfull and good not such an oath as David swore against Nabal and his house 1 Sam. 25. 22. or Herod to Herodias Matth. 14. 7. If the oath be assertory let it be with righteous and just intentions to the furtherance of justice and charitie and upon no other account 3. In judgement that is wisely discerning the occasion and ordering the circumstances of his oath for instance he that swears in judgement will not swear in a triviall or sleight businesse the Name of the Lord is great wonderfull and holy and not to be made use of but in solemn and serious things An honest man will not swear in a false matter nor a wise man in a frivolous Oathes and Lots are of like nature in this particular both seriously to be used and in cases of necessitie Temere jurat qui aliter potest proximo consulere is a sober speech and to be regarded If by any other means we can provide for our neighbours good and safetie it is rashnesse to swear on his behalf To swear in judgement is to do it with deliberation and actuall consideration of the importance of an oath the Majesty Truth and Justice of him by whom or unto whom we swear Having thus confirmed and illustrated the Proposition a word of application will be needfull First by way of consutation to those who utterly deny the lawfulnesse of oathes in the times of the Gospell and that under the countenance of this Scripture which I am insisting on together with that of the Apostle Iames already mentioned which I hope are sufficiently vindicated from any such meaning in the judgement of the considerate Reader If men will run away with the sound of words instead of the sence of them and single out an expression of Scripture and urge it against the evidence of severall plain places speaking the contrary it argues an Hereticall disposition more addicted to opinion than to truth Calvin takes notice of such a temper in his Commentary upon this place his words are these Vna cum rixandi libidine crassam inscitiam produnt Anabaptistae dum vocem unam morose urgendo
THE DUTIE AND DANGER OF SWEARING Opened in a Sermon preached at YORK February 3. 1655. the day of Swearing the Lord Maior By Edward Bowles M A. Preacher of the Gospell there Zach. 5. 4. And I will bring forth the Curse saith the Lord of Hosts and it shall enter into the House of the Thief and into the House of him that sweareth falsly by my Name and it shall remain in the midst of his House and shall consume it with the Timber thereof and the Stones thereof Printed and sold in York by Tho Broad 1655. To the Honourable Stephen Watson Lord Maior the Aldermen and the Common Counsell of the ancient Citie of York Honoured and beloved IT hath pleased the Lord of the Harvest in his wise and good Providence to allot my Work and Service if it be worth the name of Service to that Citie which God hath made not onely your habitation but also your charge I am pleased with my lot not onely as it is from the Lord but as it is among you I must acknowledge and hereby do that I have found that affection and respect from you as becomes a Minister of Christ and I have endeavoured to give you a testimony that I have not sought my own profit but the profit of many that they might be saved if I may use the words of so great an Apostle concerning my self I have been induced partly by way of acknowledgement and respect but especially by the sense of my duty as a Minister to offer to your reading and consideration the substance of a Sermon lately preached among you which I hope through Divine blessing may be usefull to you You who are awakened cannot but be sensible how easily and how quickly the Word spoken slips from you It is soon gone from us who study it and write it and speak it you have lesse advantage to retain it who hear it but once unlesse the peculiar Promise and Blessing made to the Word Preached do befriend you I am jealous over you I hope with a godly jealousie least through inadvertency of mind unsutablenesse and unprepardnesse of heart earthlinesse of affection seconded with Satans depths and devices this counsell given you concerning Oathes may be forgotten I know you have almost daily need to consider of this subject being frequently called to actions relating thereunto and it is now in your power daily or at least frequently to peruse it If you walk in the violation of the Oathes of God that are upon you it will not be charged upon me I have delivered my own soul and endeavoured to deliver yours I have but two words further to speak unto you at this present First that you would more frequently and diligently attend the preaching of the Word The Power of God unto salvation It pleaseth God out of his bounty and good will to you to afford you besides the publique Ordinances on the Lords day a weekly Lecture which I apprehend to be very much neglected and I have often heard the paucity of hearers laid as a reproch upon the Citie by well disposed strangers I pray consider your selves and those that are sorrowfull for the solewn assembly to whom the reproach of it is a burthen Zeph. 3. 18. You may plead our unworthinesse wheâ— preach unto you but that Plea I doubt will not be admitted at the great Barr there is not the meanest oâ— the Ministers of Christ by whose labours you mighâ— not profit if the defect were not in your own hearts Remember that Divine Institution and Blessing are the main advantages in hearing the Word not the Gifts of the Speakers or the capacitie of the Hearers God is pleased most frequently to concurr with the plainest I had almost said the meanest gift in the conversion of men that the glory might be of God and not of men I am sure you cannot plead want of leisure through multitude of trading worldly imployment I wish it were more and truly I think there is no better way to help it then to deal liberally with God in publike Duties First he hath secured you that you shall be no loosers by that promise made to the Israel of God Neither shall any man desire thy Land that is thou shalt sustain no dammage the Lord is thy security when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God Nay I think you may safely applie that passage of the Lord to his people Hagg. 2. 18. Consider the day that the foundation of the Temple was laid consider it from this day will I blesse you Trie the Lord or rather trust the Lord You complain of great decayes and they are visible You Sow much and bring in little c. Consider your wayes whether you be not defective in that which concerns the House of God The second is this that you would studie by all means to preserve peace and unitie among your selves by delivering up unto perpetuall oblivion all inveterate envies and enmities to that end that Magistrates would equally and gently as to Brethren administer justice I mean onely such a gentlenesse as to execute the Law with a Gospell spirit that the people would submit themselves in the fear of God not wear out the spirits of their Rulers by their cumbrance and strife but turn some of their complaints into prayers to which they are obliged by the sacred Rule * It is easier to blame then understand the work and weight of Magistracy and Ministery especially when they have to deal with a people that are poor foolish and know not the way the Lord nor the judgement of their God Jer. 5. 4. And lastly it will tend much to unity that you be very carefull what Ministers are planted among you such as give some evidence of the Spirit of God dwelling in them whose fruits are love and peace such as are desirous of Reformation least superstition vanitie and strife proceed from them who should be the greatest promoters of Knowledge Truth and Peace I will detain you no longer if I have erred in what I have written to you impute it to the largenesse of my affection to the Citie which may possibly have intrenched upon my understanding in what I have said Finally brethren farewell Be perfect be of good comfort be of one minde live in peace and the God of love und peace shall be with you Yorke March 15. 1655. Your affectionate servant in the Lords work Edw Bowles Matth. 5. 33 34. Again ye have heard it hath been said by them of old time thou shalt not for swear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oathes But I say unto you swear not at all c. I Have often had it in my thoughts to speak something concerning Oathes a subject which duely considered would administer matter of humiliation and reformation to us and many more and having this opportunity put into my hands I shall deliver my self taking the words of our Saviour