front to God, and of the moft injurious confequence to our neighbour: By which the name of God is horribly abused, his judgment contemned, and his vengeance infolently held at defiance: By which also, not only this or that particular perfon fuffers wrong, but the human fociety is injured thereby; the foundations of publick peace and justice, and the private fecurity of every man's life and fortune are at once overthrown: And the best and last way that the wisdom of men could devife for the decifion of doubtful matters, is hereby defeated: which has caused good men to compare it to a pestilence that walketh in darkness, and a secret stab and blow against which many times there is no poffibility of defending onesfelf. But it fhould be fufficient to deter men from this fin, when we are affured that the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain: that he will most severely punish the perjured perfon. Moreover, it should be observed, that as there is no threatning added to any other commandment, but to this and the second, it intimates to us, that next to idolatry and the worship of a falfe god, perjury is one of the greatest affronts that can be offered to our Creator, and may without aggravation be accounted one of thofe fins that cry fo loud to heaven, and quicken the pace of God's judgments upon the obftinate finner. For this, God threatens utter deftruЄtion to the man and his house, undermines eftates and families to their entire ruin, by his fure, tho' fecret judgments. So the very light of nature taught the heathens that it is one of the greatest crimes, and which, they did believe, God did not only punish upon the guilty person himself, but upon his family and his offspring. And alfo from hence, III. We learn the great fin of fwearing upon triOf common vial and needlefs occafions, in common converfafwearing, or vain oaths. tion. For as an oath is a folemn thing, and referved for great occafions, to give confirmation to our word in fome weighty matter, and to put an end to controverfies, which cannot otherwise be peremptorily and fatisfactorily decided; fo, to ufe oaths upon light occafions, argues great profaneness and irreverence of the Almighty; not to mention how often it furprizes men unawares into perjury; when men use to interlard all their careless talk with oaths. And And what is worse, it prepares men for deliberate perjury; for, thofe who are accuftomed to fwear upon light occafions, an oath with them will go off more roundly about things of greater concern. And yet Lead to per jury. temptation. this is a vice that can plead no worldly temptation to promote it: there is no fenfual pleasure in it, because it is not founded in the temper of the bo- Have no dy; no man, I think, is born with a fwearing conftitution, though it may be, a man can be naturally prone to anger or luft. Befides, there is as little profit as pleasure in it; for, the common and trivial use of oaths makes them perfectly infignificant to their end, and is fo far from giving credit to a man's word, that it rather weakens it's credit: A danger to which men expose themselves to no purpofe; oaths in common discourse being fo far from confirming a man's word, that with wife men they much weaken it: for common swearing (if it have any ferious meaning at all) argues in a man a perpetual diftruft of his own reputation, and is an acknowledgment that he thinks his bare word not worthy to be taken. Neither can it be said to adorn and fill a man's difcourfe; for, on the contrary, it makes it look fwoln and bloated, and more bold and bluftring, than becomes perfons of genteel and good education. But great incivility is it's leaft crime; for it highly offends and grates upon all fober and confiderate perfons; who cannot be prefumed with any manner of eafe and patience to hear God affronted, and his great and glorious name fo irrevocably toft upon every flight account. A crime for which men can plead no excufe; they who pretend to do it ignorantly, and not obferving and knowing what they do, are inexcufable; because, certainly it is no extenuation of a fault, that a man hath got the habit of it so perfect, that he fo commits it when he does not think thereof. A confideration, which should make men oppose the beginning of this vice, left it grow into a habit very hard to be overcome. Befides, it is certain men Muft be a voided. may do it, by resolution and great care of themfelves: for he that can choose whether he will speak or not, can choose whether he will fwear or not, in his conversation. When a custom is most inveterate, the greater care should be taken By what taken to break it off. This practice, in fine, is contrary to the plain precept of our Saviour, and by the breach thereof we incur fo great a danger (as St James affures us) that it must be a great charity that can find out a way to reconcile a common cuftom of fwearing with a serious belief of the christian religion: which I would to God those who are concerned would seriously lay to heart. means. Of repentance. IV. A change of mind, which produces the like change in our lives and converfations, is that repentance neceffary to be had before we can hope for God's pardon; fo that to repent of our fins, is to be convinced that we have done amifs, whence follows hearty forrow for our past follies, and a firm and effectual purpofe and refolution of mind to forfake them all the days of our life: Which change being fo great in our defires and resolutions, the fcripture calls it a new nature, the fincerity and reality whereof, appears in actions fuitable to fuch new refolutions. Who can forbear grieving, when he confiders that he is fallen under the heavy displeasure of Almighty God, whose infinite patience he hath abufed; that he is exposed to all those miseries that are implied in an eternal feparation from the fountain of all happiness; that he hath foolishly neglected the most important concern of his life, and done what in him lies to make himself everlastingly miserable; that he hath been ungrateful to his mighty Benefactor, and unfaithful to his best friend; that he hath affronted heaven with those very bleffings he hath received from thence; that he hath despised the riches of God's goodness, and forbearance, and long-fuffering, which should have led him to a thorough change of his life and converfation. And, What it is. This forrow for our fins must be expreffed, by humbly confeffing them to Almighty God, with shame and confufion of face, by an utter abhorrence and deteftation of them, by being heartily troubled for what we have done amifs, and refolving not to do the like any more; by teftifying the reality of our inward forrow, by all those ways that we find naturally occur in other cafes that afflict us, as in fafting, weeping, and mourning, practised by peformed. nitents, both under the old and new covenant; How per all deep deep impreffions of the mind naturally producing fome proportionable effect upon the body; and it being very fit, that as the foul and body have been partakers in the fame fins, fo they should join together in the fame humiliation and firm resolution of amendment; that is, in fuch a purpose of mind as is formed upon calm deliberation, after all the difficulties of a holy life have been throughly confidered; and those difencouragements that will frequently attend us in purfuing fuch a course for the future; after all the pleasures of fin have been feriously weighed, and those temptations that will conftantly perfwade us to commit fin; with all those motives and arguments that excite us to perform the one and avoid the other, as most dangerous to our fouls; because without this refolution of mind, framed after this manner, there can be little hopes of our perfeverance in our holy refolutions. Now tual. The best method to make fuch refolution of amendment effectual, is to extend it to all the particulars of our duty, obliging ourselves to have a refpect to all When effecGod's commands, and to avoid every thing his law condemns: to make it fuitable to all times, not only hereafter, but at prefent; not only when we are out of temptations, but when we are under them; not only when we cannot act them, but when we can act and repeat them also: to refolve upon avoiding all those occafions that betray us into the breach of our duty; and to make use of all those means and helps that are established for our growth in grace, efpecially to pray to God that he would strengthen our weakness, and confirm our holy purposes; and that they may be durable; frequently to repeat and renew them, particularly when we approach the holy table of the Lord's fupper. Whence a rifing. Hence we may collect that all true forrow for fin, and all real purposes of amendment for the time to come, are not in all cases fufficient to be properly called repentance, or an hearty contrition. Because, if this forrow and purpose of amendment arise not from a pure love of God, and deep fenfe of our own foul ingratitude in offending fo good and gracious a being, but only from a dread of his justice, and fear of being punished for tranfgreffions, our repentance M repentance and good purposes, though they carry with them the appearance of never fo much truth and reality, ought justly to be fufpected as infufficient. Befides, Suppofes fatisfaction. Repentance supposes, that if we have any ways wronged or injured our neighbour, we must make him all the reparation in our power. Such as we have drawn into fin, by our example, or neglect of our duty towards them, we must endeavour all we can to contribute to their recovery; if we have injured their good names, we must acknowledge our faults, and vindicate their reputations; and by all fitting ways repair their credit; if we have wronged them in their eftates, either by fraud or force, we must make restitution; that is, restore to the right owner what we unjustly poffefs, or to his heirs, or, when neither can be discovered, to the poor; and that with all those measures and circumstances, which upon confideration we shall find to be according to God's commandments. Where this fruit of repentance is wanting, all other expreffions of it will ftand us in no stead; fince our obligation to reftitution is founded upon unchangeable reason and natural justice, which is to do that to another, which we would have another do to ourselves. Befides, the detaining of what we know to be another's right, is a persevering in the first injuftice; and as long as we continue in that state, we cannot expect pardon and forgiveness of our fins. And, However difficult this method of repentance Is neceffary. may appear to human nature in it's corrupt ftate, we are certain that without it mankind is uncapable of God's mercy and forgive.iefs. In fine, without repentance we must be unavoidably miferable; for it is the great condition upon which our falvation depends; and this change in our wicked tempers must be wrought, before we can be qualified for that happiness God hath promised in the gofpel by Jefus Chrift. Becaufe, às by the forgiveness of fins, we are freed and delivered from that punishment to which we were before fubject: fo the first condition of our pardon from the ishment due to our fins, is repentance through Chrift Jefus, who having paid a valuable confideration to divine juftice, is the caufe of our forgiveness. For thus it is written, that our bleffed |