Ghap.a 7. An Expofitîon upon the BA .f J s. V r .. a, t .. - Oathes are tafed by tbthe as if they thought them o-naments of the veryGraceof theirofìcoutte,wh -e*s m eed they speech, and ate thevery excrementsof fpetch,and an at guttar n, that the spea- ker bath no grace. Some arefo accuftomed to fwear jog , chat they fweare and knowit not, and moil know nor what they dor t, hen they fweare -, though they fweare Whatfoever they aredoing. And as light fwearing by the name of (,od is abon inable, fo any light ufing of his name in thofe fudden Out-cries, O Lord, O God, is .extreamely Gnfull. Secondly, Sob fware, becaufe his bare words were not belie -ved, he had oftenprofeffed own' Integrity, but they gave no Credit to him, as if he had fpoken rather vauntingly and vain:- glorioufly than truly ; now Yob fweares, Obferve It is law allfor us to fweare when we cannot otherwife be belie - ved, when ours are not fat:Jfed with words we may come to anoath. An Lath is the laft - medy, and this indeed fhculd flopall Çc oterrirg loci be a remedy of fit ife. The Apofile faith(Heb.6. 16.$) .A oath ani,ns men is the end of allJIrife ; that is, an oath ought to he the end of all fitife ; men fhould proceed no further rirife, when an oath ispafl. The deign of this great O,di nacce, iov-a ing,is that men may ceafe contending.If wecan give fatistoótion or aine credit any other way, we (Mould nor proc ed fo farre as an .oath ; and when we have givenan cath,.we have gone to the urmoft togive fatisfa Lion. When once a mans oath is nor credited, he path loft all his credit-. Thi-dly, Job cares by God, by the lifeof God ( as God li. veth ) ()Verve. An oath is proper to God ;and as we are tofweare by God, fo God onely is to be fworne 6y. (Jer, 1 a. 16,) And it fhall come to paje, if they will diligently learne the wages of mypeople,tofweare by myname(the Lord liveth) as they taught my people to (wear by Baal, then (hall they be built in themtafl of mypeople ; As if theLord had faid, you werehereto- fore taught to fweare by thename of Baal ; now if you will give this honour to mealone, to fwearc by my name, you (hall profper and
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