Theproperties ofa l4wfsall otk. 17 And this is that false fwearing,which in the word ofGod is principally condemned,and therefore to be of all Clari- ftians auoided,as being a mother finde, who in her fruitfull wombe containethdiuers itnpieties,and a compound wic- kednef e,comprifing in it diuers enormous tranfgreffions; as hereafter (hall appeare. The fecohdpropertic required to a lawful oth,is that we g, 3ea.z. fweare in iufiice,which propertybathhis fpecial place in a 2..kve promifforte oth; winchwhen wemake,we are carefully to fwearen takeheed, that that which byoth we promise, be iuf}and :Mace lawful' ; otherwife we are not to fweare it, or hawing fwvrne,not to performe it :for an och ought not tobe the bond of iniquitie ; and , as one faith, thofe othes are lau- dably broken , which are vnlawfully made . In this re- fpeet therefore our oth is vnlawfull, when as thereby we promife any thingwhich is vniufi and vnhonefi , whether it appeare vntovs prcfently whenwe make the oth , or af- terwards . For this is a horrible wickedneffe,when as we make God not onelyawitnef e,but alto our furetie,that wewill performe an vniuft or vnhostefi a&ion . And fuch was theoth ofVauid, T. Sam. z5.2 i. ofGehezie,2. King.5. i.Sam.zS. 2r. Zo. of .4chab, 2. King. 6. 31. ofthe Iewes,A .23.t 2. And zKing. s :O, fuch is the oth of the Popi(h Clergie, who not hawing the ZK'''g 6'3 ' gift of continencie,vow virginity ; and ofthofe,whobe- A`'Z'lx' ingyoung,fweare themfelues to the CIoiders againfi their parents will &c. So ifafter the oth is made, we finde that there is impietie and iniufice in it ,which we did not dif- couer at the making thereof; thenfirth an oth is rather to be broken then obferued; for we finne not inbreaking, but inmaking of it . Whereas he thatperformeth fuch an oth,addeth finne vnto fume, that is to fay, veto rafhnèffe in (wearing, wickedneffe in performing : as we may fee in the example of Herod,who after hehad made a wicked oth, did performe it with greater wickedneffe And this M ßè ar,6.13* Dauid knewwell, and therefore he made no confcience of breaking that vnlaw full oth, whichhe hadvnconfcion a- bly iriade,as appeareth i.Som.z 5.21.3. .D The
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