268 (hep.22. An ExpeJJtietup u the 71eok f JO B. Verf.,2'., jball theLordbe my god, (that is, I will owne and honour him, love and depend upon him more thenever) And thisfitone which Ihave fet up 'hall be gods bstsfe, andofali that those 'halt giveme I,Jball /orely Site the tenth to thee. Here's flee tenour and forme of the molt ancient and famous vow that ever was made,Likewile Hanna (s Sam, i. 11.) vowed a wow, andfaul, 0 Lordof hoafl't,,tf thou wilt in feed bike on the of(tif1i>n ofthy handmaid, andresrem- ber me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wiltgive to thy handmaid a man ehil.Ie, then will Igive bimunto the Lord. We reade often in the Pfalmes of payingofVowes, V. 66. r 3 14. Pf. 5o. 54. ,l'f 76.11. Pfal. rr6,14. And we have the command for it (Eccl. 5 4.) Pay that which thou haff vowed. Futter, To explicate this Texr,, It may be irgt ired what, a Vow is ? I anfwer, A Vow id a [demote, free and voluntary proenif e made G,-d.,of thingt larafu/,weigbty,dfioffible,tofurther & help us toglo- rif.Godinour obedienceInwhich defcriptionwehave, rls,ther:e tune ofa Vow, It is a folemne promrfe, not a bare p,omife. Second- iv the obeft ; le muff be made to God; Thirdly, the manner of it, le ie afree and a v,lunt fry prowifr; for though a lawful] vow lay, eth a neceflìry upon us to keepe ir, when once we have made ir, yet there is not an antecedent nccef ity ofcompulfi on upon us to make ,tha-,a vowought to bea molt free and voluntary at. Fourthly,in this defcription of a vow,wehave the generall matter of it.As firff, it muff be,ofthings lawful!, we may not vow clra. wh ch we m;ry not doe, either exp..refîely, as they did (s4if123. 12, 13.) who vowed rokill Paul, or impheitly, as Herid did who ptomifed to give the daughter ofHerodias whatfoever the Ihould ask, limiting her only as to the quantity of her demand, the mutt not aske, above ha ifthe, kingdom, but leaving her without limits, as.to thequaliry of her demand, whether good or evill,lawfull or urylawfull made no matter. And.thus many conceive yephtahfay, led, implicitly! vowing todoe that, which was unlawful! for him todoe, and/. . r 1. 3ö, 3 1.) Secondly, a vowmutt be of things weighty and'ferious, we muff not vow about trifles. Thirdly, it . muff be of things, póflìbie, through grace, though we muff vow weighty things, yet wemuff not vow things itnpodlible, either in their own nattare,or without extraordinary atliftance and ftrength fromGod. Fifthly, we have here the ends ofa vow; firit, toGlo. aiee,
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