118 An Expojitlqn upon the Firft, Th~t we are nor tp weigh Sins by t~c Opinion of Mcn; 1lmt by the Cenfure and Sentence of God: He ha.th no more allowed you to take his Name in vain than he h_at~ to bhfpheme it:. The irreverent nling of it is as cxprefiy forbidden: as. the abJ_ur~np and. curliqg of 1t: An~ when the Law of qoo hat~ not difpenfed . w1th us, If IS .lllOft mtplerable prefumptton that we Jhould dare . to d1fpenfewith our · fclves. •· Agai11 confider, thou that fp<>rteil: away ;he Name of God in thy ordinary Prattle, what wilt thou.have to reJy upon in ~hy &reateft difrrelfes? The wife Man tells us, Prov. I 8: ro. The naP.le of the Lord U a. ftnmg tower; the ~ighreou1 runneth unt() it and is faved . But alas, what comfo.n canfl; thou find in the Name qf God in thy greateft neceffities, fince it is the fame Name thou hall: ufcd ~nd worn out before in the meaneft and moft trivial concerns: Thol,l haft already talkf qway the .(trength and virtue o( it, and wilt hardly find more fhpp<?rt from it in thy Tribulation, than thou gaveft reverence Unto it in thy_Converfatio,n. Let us then be more cautious than to fpend fo excellent a Remedy agaiqft all Fears, a11d Sorrows, and Afflictions, Callt. '"~·vainly a~d u~profitably: 'f!ly namt, faith the Spoufe, iJ an ointment pourtd forth. But ccrt<\mly 1f up~m every flight occafion we break the Box, and expoJe the Name of God to common Air, it ,Will in time l~;>fe its fccnt and virtue, and when we have moll: need of it, lhall find nO refrelhment, no comfort in it. Befides, .. - Thirdly, This ~omm~;>~ and irreverent ufing of the Name of God, v.:Ut infenGbly overfpread us With a Sptrit of Prophanenefs ; we Jhall by degrees arnve to a phin contempt of God, whom \vc thus hourly and unnecelfarily take into our Mouths: For what elfe is this but to make onr felves rude and famil,ar with that infinite Majefty, rowJrds whom the profoundeft teftimon.ies of refpcd: and reverence muft fall infinitely !hort of expreffil).g our due diJ;tance? But by ufin15 his Name vulgarly and promifcuoully, wh3t do Vo(e clfe, but make it our fport, and blow it up and down with, every Idle breath, as Children do bubbles in the A~r? Again, . Canft thou in 1 :Pn.ty eafily...ompofe thy felf to reverence the holy and dreadful Name of God, when thou ha1l: thus accuftomed thy felf to name him without any venention or refpea in thy common Difcourfes? Certainly it is the hardeft thing im~ginable to ma~e the heart fall down proftrate before that God whom thou ~~::.ttr:.n Prayer, whrn once thou art ufed to invoke l1im nightly in thy ordinary Let me therefore befee~h. you, 0 Chriftians, as you tender his Glory, of which I1e is jealous, whenfoeVer you fpeak of God, or but mention his Name, you would do it with ·an holy Awe and Dread of his Divine Majefty ; that you would feriouflyconfider, that that Name to wliich every Knee bows, both of things in Heaven, and things on Earth,~ and things under the Earth, whether they be Angels or De..: viis, requires from you more refped: and honour than to be idly blurted out with every ra!h and foolifh qpreflion:. · And you who are Mafttrs- of Families, and have ChildreJ! and Servants committed to your Care, beware that you ftbp this growing ~in in them betimes. It is the fin and fharnc of Parents, that they ):ilffcr l~ttle Ones to lifp the Name of God, and to lea rn the firft fyUal?fes and rudiments ofOJths andCurfes before they can well fpeak, whereby they lay a deep foundation for their future Impiety, and thereby bring the guilt of the ne,xt Gcnentio.n U.P?.O. us, who by indulging them in thefe young fins, do but introduce thofc habits of Wickednefs into them, whjch perhaps can never Jfterwards be rooted out. T here is alfo another kind of taking the Name of God in_vain; and that is in our Duties and holy Performances. And ·this is done two ways. · Firfl, When in our Prayers we ask th9fe, things of God w·hich are unlawful, or unwJr~ntable; a_s \vhe~ we pray on the behalf of our Lofts, to obtain. provi~on to fulfil tJ.lem, 7am. 4- 3· Tt as~ amifs, thaf ) 'e. 7f!ay confumt it upon your Lujfs. Wlien we pr'!y out of Envy, M_alice, an.d ReVien~e, that God wquld mak,.e hirofelf a Parry · in our unreafonable an,d 'a.ngry Quarrels. Such Prayers as thefc are vain; for what we. thus peure either jhallliot be granted ,l\lltO us, or·.if it be, lhall be granted unto . us tn WTath. · ~ Stcondly,
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