Swearing
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Theol. Swearing may well, indeed, be called a sign of condemnation.
For 1 think it more than a sign ; it is indeed an evident demonstration of a reprobate.
For I never wist any man, truly fearing Grod in his heart, that was an usual and a common swearer.
Fhil.
I am flat of your mind for that.
For it cannot be that the true fear of God, and ordinary swearing should dwell together in one man, since swearing is a thing forbidden by flat statute.
And God addeth a sore threat to his law, that "he will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain;" but will most sharply and severely punish that man, Theol. You say true.
And God saith, moreover, that if we do not fear and dread his glorious and fearful name Jehovah, he will make our plagues wonderful.
He sayeth also by his prophet, Malachi iii.
5, that he will "be a swift witness against swearers."
The prophet Zechariah saith, v. 3, 4, that the flying book of God's curse and vengeance shall enter into the house of the swearer, and he shall be cut off.
Therefore let all swearers take heed and look to themselves in time; for we see there is a rod in pickle laid up in store for them.
Phil. These threatenings being so great and grievous, and that from the God of heaven himself, one would think should cause men's hearts to quake and tremble, and make them afraid to rap out such oaths as they do ; if they were not altogether hardened, past feeling, and past grace.
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Tkeol. True, indeed: but yet we see, bv lamentable experience, how men are given over both to swear, and forswear.
For at this day there is no sin more common amongst us than swearing.
For many there be which cannot speak ten words, but one shall be an oath.
And numbers have got such a wicked custom of swearing that they can by no means leave it: no more than a black can change his skin, or a leopard his spots.
For it is made natural unto them, through custom; and they have got the habit of it.
I do verily think, if it were high treason to swear, yet some could not leave swearing.
And sure I am, as light as we make of it, that it is high treason against the crown of heaven.
Tea, it is a sin immediately against God: even against his own person; and therefore he hath forbidden it, in the first table of his law.
Phil.
Questionless, this vice of swearing is of all other sins most rife in this land.
For you shall hear little boys and children in the streets rap out oaths in most fearful manner.
It would make a man's heart quake to hear them.
We may think, they have sucked them out of their mother's breasts ; but sure we are, they have learned them from the evil example of their parents.
And now-a-days we cannot almost talk with a man, but, in ordinary speech, he will belch out one oath or another.
Tkeol.
I will tell you a strange thing, and with great grief I speak it :
I do verily think there are sworn in this land an hundred thousand oaths every day in the year.
Phil. No doubt, sir, you are within compass.
For now almost so many men, so many oaths; excepting some few in comparison.
Nay, I know I
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divers of mine own experience, which, if they may be kept in talk, will swear every day in the year an hundred oaths for their parts.
Theol. Oh, what a lamentable thing is it! We may well take up the old complaint of the prophet
Jeremiah, who saith, that in his time, "The land did mourn because of oaths."
And we may well wonder, that the land sinketh not because of oaths:
For, if God were not a God of infinite patience, how could he endure his most sacred and glorious name to be so many thousand times blasphemed in one day, and, that, by such miserable wretches as we be?
Phil. We may indeed admire and wonder at the patience and long-suffering of God, that he spareth us so long, and giveth us so large a time of repentance; but sure it is that the prophet saith, that howsoever "the Lord is slow to anger, yet he is great in power, and will not clear the wicked," Nab. i.
Though he may wink at their monstrous oaths for a time, yet he forgeteth them never a whit, but scoreth them up, and registereth them in his book of accounts, so as they stand in record against them ; and, when the great day of reckoning shall come, he will set them all in order before them, and lay them to their charge.
Let not wicked swearers and blasphemers therefore think that they shall always escape scot-free, because God letteth them alone for a while, and deferreth their punishment.
For the longer God deferreth, the more terrible will his strokes be when they come.
The longer an arrow is held in the bow, the stronger will be the shot when it cometh forth. Though God have leaden feet, and cometh slowly to execute wrath, yet hath he an iron hand, and will strike deadly
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when he cometh.
" Though God giveth the wicked security for a time (saith Job, xxiv, 23) yet his eyes are fixed upoa all their ways."
And in another place he saith, xxi.
30, " The wicked is reserved unto the day of destruction, and they shall be brought forth unto the day of wrath."
So then the holy man, Job, plainly afiirmeth, that the state and condition of all the rich and wealthy worldlings is, as the condition of an ox that is fatted up against the day of slaughter; for, in the same chapter, he saith, ver. 13, " They spend their days in wealth, and suddenly go down to hell."
But now I pray you nominate the oaths which are so rife and conmion amongst us.
Theol. There be six oaths, which are, of all other, most rife and common in every man's mouth; and they be these:—by my faith—by my troth—by our Lady—by St. Mary—by God —as God shdl judge me.
For you cannot lightly talk with a man, but he will flush out some of these in his ordinary speech.
Asun. Do you count it so great a matter for a man to swear by his faith or his troth ? *
Theol, Yes, indeed do I; for our faith and our troth are the most precious jewels we have.
Shall we then lay them to gage, for every word we speak?
It sheweth we are of small credit; nay, very bankrupts.
For who but a bankrupt will lay the best jewel in his house to pledge for every small trifle?
Asun.
I know a man that will never swear but by cock, or pie, or mouse-foot.f 1 hope you * Truth.
+ Beliques of the superstition of the dark ages, when birds and herbs were often thought sacred to some saint.
See Matt. v. 34-3".
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will not say they be oaths; for he is as honest a man as ever brake bread.
You shall not hear an oath come out of his mouth.
Theol.
I do not think he is so honest a man as you make him; for it is no small sin to swear by creatures.
The Lord saith by his prophet, Jeremiah v.
7, "They have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods."
So then, to swear by creatures, is to forsake God; and I trow you will not say he is an honest man which forsaketh God.
Asun. I do not believe that to swear by small things is a forsaking of God.
Theol. You, and such as you are, will believe no more of the word of God than will stand with your fancy.
But whatsoever you believe, or believe not, the word of God standeth sure; and no jot of it shall ever be proved false.
But this I will say unto you, because you think it so small a matter to swear by creatures, that the more base and vile the thing is which you swear by, the greater is the oath; because you ascribe that unto a base creature, which is only proper to God: namely, to know our hearts, and to be a discerner of secret things.
For whatsoever a man svveareth by, he calleth it as a witness unto his conscience that he speaketh the truth, and lieth not; which thing only belongeth unto God.
And, theiefore, in swearing by creatures, we do rob God of his honour.
Therefore, to swear by the cross of the money, or by bread, or a mouse-foot, or the fire which they call God's angel, or any such like, is a robbing of God of his honour, and an ascribing of that to the creature which is proper only to the Creator.
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Asun.
What say you then to them which swear hy the mass* and by the roodpf Theol. Their sin is as great as the other; for it is an heinous thing to swear hy idols: as St.
Mary, our Lady, by the mass, by the rood, &c.
The prophet Amos saith, viii.
14, "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and that say, thy God, O Dan, liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again."
To swear by the sin of Samaria is to swear by idols; for Samaria was full of idols.
Moreover, the Lord threateneth by the prophet Zephaniah, i, 5, that he "will cut off them that swear by the Lord, and by Malchom," or by their king.
For the idolators called their idol Moloch, their king.
Asun. Seeing you condemn both swearing by creatures, and swearing by idols, what then must we swear by^ ?
You would have us swear by nothing belike.
Theol.
In our ordinary communication we must not swear at all, either by one thing or another; but, as our Lord teacheth us, "our communications must be yea, yea; nay, nay.
For whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil,"
Matt. V. 37.
And St. James saith, v. 12, " Before all things, my brethren, swear not: neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay ; least you fall into condemnation."
Antil.
It seemeth you are an anabaptist. You condemn all swearing; vou will have no swearing at all.
Theol. Not SO; for though I condemn swearing by creatures, swearing by idols, and all other
* The chief ordinance of the Romish worship, f The image of Christ oo the cross.
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swearing, yet do I allow swearing before a magistrate, and privately also, in matters of weight and importance, for the further bolting out of the truth.
This is warranted from God's own mouth, where he saith, "Thou shalt swear, the Lord living, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness,"
Jer. iv.
And in these cases only, the name of God is to be sworn by ; as it is written, Deut. X. 20, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and thou shalt serve him, and shalt cleave unto him, and shalt swear by his name."
Asun. May we not swear by God in our common talk?
Theol. At no hand; for that is to take the name of God in vain, which you know is forbidden.
And one of the wise heathens could say thus, "When an oath is laid upon thee, undertake it for two causes; either to deliver thyself from some grievous crime and accusation, or else to preserve thy friends from danger."
So then, that heathen man in common talk will not allow any oath, much less to swear by God.
Another saith, "Avoid an oath, though thou swear truly."
So then we see vain swearing condemned even by heathens.
Asun. Yea, but for all that we must swear; men will not believe us else.
Theol. Neither yet will they believe you any whit the more for your swearing.
For it doth manifestly appear, that thousands make no conscience at all of it.
They make no more conscience of it than of cracking nuts; and therefore what wise man will believe them, though they swear never so much?
But if you would make conscience always to speak the truth, from your heart, vvdthout any oaths at all, you should
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be better believed of all honest and wise men, than otherwise with a thousand oaths.
Antil.
It is the custom to swear.
Theol. But a wicked and devilish custom.
Antil. I hope, sir, we may swear as long as we swear truly, and swear by nothing but that which is good.
Theol.
It hath been answered before, that in vain matters you may not swear at all.
Antil. As long as we do no worse than that, I hope God will hold us excused.
Theol. God will not hold you excused when you break his commandments, and continue so doing.
Antil. What say you then, to them, that swear wounds and blood,* and such like, in a bravery, thinking that it setteth out their speech very well?
Theol. Hell gapeth for them.
And they shall know one day what it is to blaspheme God.
Antil. What may we think of such as swear by God's life, God's soul, God's body, God's heart?
Theol. That their cause is most woful and dan- : and I quake at the naming of them.
They are most horrible, monstrous, and outrageous bias* gerous : enough to make the stones in the street phemies to crack, and the clouds to fall upon our heads.
And we may think, that all the devils in hell are in a readiness to carry such blasphemous villains headlong into that late which burneth with fire and brimstone for ever.
Antil. Do you find in the scriptvires that God will so severely punish swearers ?
* That is, by duist's wounds and bkod.
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Tkeol. Yes, verily.
For Lesides that which hath bcbn spoken before, we have divers other examples: first, of Senacherib, the king of Ashur,* who, for his outrageous blasphemies against the God of heaven, was in most fearful and tragical manner slain by his own sons, Adramelech and Sharezer, 2 Kings xix. 35
; and that in the temple, when he was worshipping his idol god, Nisroch.
And yet, behold a more fearful example of God's wrath, against blasphemers, in 1 Kings xx. 29, 30, where we read that an hundred thousand of the Aramitest were slain by the Israelites, in one day, for blaspheming of God ; and seven and twenty thousand being left, and flying into the city of Aphek for refuge, were all slain, by the fall of an huge great wall.
What should I here speak how the seven sons of Saul, the king of Israel, were hanged up before the Lord in Mount Gibeah, for the breach of the oath made to the Gibeonites long before? 2 Sam. xxi.
In these examples we may plainly see that the just God, even in this life, sometimes will be revenged of blasphemers, and oath - breakers ; and, therefore, the very heathen in all ages have been very careful for the performing of oaths; as Pharaoh, king of Egypt, willed Joseph to go up into the land of Canaan, to bury his father, according to his oath made to his father.
Phil. Methinketh these so terrible and fearful examples of God's vengeance, against swearers and blasphemers, should strike some terror into the hearts of our blasphemers.
Theol. One would think so indeed, if any thing could do it.
But, alas! they are so hardened in it, * Assyria.
+ Syrians.