it. It was this confideration that extenuated and diminished the guilt of Saul's taking upon him to offer facrifice before the Prophet Samuel came; and of Uzza's touching the ark, because it was in danger of falling: as, on the contrary, what fo highly aggravated the difobedience of our first parents, and of Lot's wife, was, because the former had fo little reason to eat the forbidden fruit, and the latter fo small a temptation to look back on Sodom.

And now if this be granted, furely the common swearer muft of all finners be the most without excufe, fince there is no manner of temptation in nature to the commission of his crime. In moft of the other commands, perfons, perhaps, may plead the force of natural inclination in excufe for the breach of them: one, for inftance, may alledge his ftrong propenfity to anger, to excufe his breaking of the fixth another, his proneness to luft, for his violation of the seventh. But surely the common fwearer has nothing of this kind to urge in his behalf for though he may have a natural inclination to this or that crime, yet no man, it is to be prefumed, can say, he is born with a fwearing conftitution.

But farther, As there is no temptation to it, fo there is no pleasure or profit to be reaped from the commiffion of it. Afk the drunkard why he rifes up early to follow ftrong drink, and he will tell you, because it affords his fenfual appetite fome kind of pleasure and gratification, though it be no higher than that of a brute. Enquire of the covetous worldling, why he defrauds and over-reaches his neighbour, and he has an anfwer ready; to enrich himself, and lay up goods for many years. But it muft certainly puzzle the profane fwearer himself, to inform you what pleafure he reaps from fwearing; for alas! it is a fruitless taftelefs thing that he fells his foul for. But indeed he does not fell it at all in this cafe he prodigally gives it away (without repentance) to the devil; and parts with a blefied eternity, and runs into everlasting torment, merely for nothing.

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II. But Secondly, what increases the heinoufnefs of profane wearing, is, that it is a fin which may fo often be repeated. This is another confideration which always ferves to leffen or increafe the guilt and malignity of any fin.. It was fome excufe

excufe for the drunkennefs of Noah, and the adultery of David, that they committed thefe crimes but once: as, on the contrary, of the patriarch Abraham's diftruft of GOD, that he repeated the diffembling of Sarah to be his wife, two several times. And if this be admitted as an aggravation of other perfons crimes, furely much more fo of the guilt of common fwearing, because it is a fin which may be, and is for the generality often repeated. In many other grofs fins it cannot. be fo if a man be overcome in drink, there must be a confiderable time ere he can recover his debauch, and return to his cups again or if he be accustomed to profane the fabbath, he cannot do it every day, but only one in feven. But alas! the profane fwearer is ready for another oath, almoft before the found of the first is out of our ears: yea, fome double and treble them in one fentence, even fo as to confound the fenfe of what they fay, by an horrid din of blafphemy! Now if the great and terrible Jehovah has exprefly declared that he will not hold him guiltless, that is, will affuredly punish him, that taketh his name but once in vain what a vast heap of thefe heinous fins lies at every common fwearer's door! It would be apt to fink him into an intolerable despair, did he but fee the whole fum of them. And O what a feared confcience muft that wretch have, that does not feel this prodigious weight!

III. But Thirdly, what makes the fin of profane fwearing appear yet more exceeding finful, is, that it hardens infidels against the chriftian religion.

It is the Apostle Peter's advice to the married perfons of his time, that they should walk as became the gospel of CHRIST, that those who were without, might be won to embrace the christian religion, by seeing and obferving their pious converfation coupled together with fear. And what the Apostle preffes on married perfons, we find elsewhere enjoined on each particular member of the church. Accordingly we are commanded by our bleffed LORD, to "let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven:" And the Apostle Paul bids us "walk circumspectly towards them that are without, redeeming the time;" that is, embracing all opportunities to do them good, ❝ because

because the days are evil." But alas! in what a dire contradiction does the profane fwearer live to this and fuch-' like precepts, who, inftead of gaining profelytes to CHRIST from the unbelieving part of the world, does all he can to oppofe it! For how can it be expected, that infidels fhould honour our GOD, when chriftians themfelves defpife him ; or that any fhould embrace our religion, when profeffors of it themfelves make fo light of one of its ftrictest commands? No; to our grief and fhame be it fpoken, it is by reafon of fuch impieties as thefe, that our holy religion (the best and purest in itself) is become a by-word among the heathen; that the facred authority of the holy JESUS and his doctrine is defpifed; and "GOD's name (as it is written) Blafphemed among the Gentiles."

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Thefe cannot but be fad ftumbling-blocks and offences in way of our brethren's converfion: "But woe be to those men by whom fuch offences come." We may fay of them, as our bleffed LORD did of Judas, "It had been better for such men, that they had never been born :" Or, as he threatens in another place, "It fhall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for fuch finners."

But this is not all; As profane fwearing muft undoubtedly harden those in their infidelity, that are without, fo muft it no lefs grieve and give great offence to thofe honeft and fincere perfons that are within the church. We hear of David's complaining and crying out, "Woe is me, that I am conftrained to dwell with Mefech, and to have my habitation amongst the tents of Kedar ;" that is, that he was obliged to live and converse with a people exceedingly wicked and profane. And St. Peter tells us, that "Lot's righteous foul was grieved, day by day, whilft he faw and obferved the ungodly converfation of the wicked." And no doubt it was one great part of our bleffed Mafter's fufferings whilft on earth, that he was compelled to converfe with a wicked and perverfe generation, and to hear his heavenly Father's facred name profaned and fcoffed at by unrighteous and wicked men. And surely it cannot but pierce the heart of every true and fincere christian, of every one that does in any measure partake of the spirit of his Mafter, to hear the multitude of oaths and curses which proceed daily and hourly out of the mouths of many people, and

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those too, whofe liberal education, and feeming regard for the welfare of religion, one would think, fhould teach them a more becoming behaviour. To hear the great and terrible: name of GOP polluted by men, which is adored by angels; and to confider how often that facred name is profaned in ⚫ common difcourfe, which we are not worthy to mention in our prayers: this, I fay, cannot but make each of them cry out with holy David, "Woe is me, that I am constrained to dwell with Mefech, and to have my habitation amongst the tents of Kedar." And though the blafphemous and profane discourses of others, will not be imputed to fincere perfons for fin, fo long as they have no fellowship with fuch hellifh. fruits of darkness, but rather reprove them;" yet it will greatly enhance the prefent guilt, and fadly increase the future punishment of every profane swearer, by whom fuch offences come. For if, as our Saviour tells us, "it had been better for a man to have a mill-ftone tied about his neck, than that he fhould offend one of his little ones, (that is, the weakest of his difciples) how much forer punishment will they be thought worthy of," who not only caufe God's name to be blafphemed among the Gentiles, and the religion of our dear Redeemer to be abhorred; but who make his faints to weep and mourn, and vex their righteous fouls from day to day, by their ungodly, profane, and blasphemous conversation? Surely, as GOD will put the tears of the one into his bottle, so it will be just in him to punish the other with eternal forrow, for all their ungodly and hard fpeeches, and caft them into a lake of fire and brimstone, where they fhall be glad of a drop of water to cool thofe tongues, with which they have so often blafphemed the LORD of Hofts, and grieved the people of our God.

IV. But it is time for me to proceed to give my Fourth and last reason, why common fwearing is fo exceeding finful; and that is, Because it is fuch an extremity of fin, that can only be matched in hell, where all are desperate, and without hope of mercy.

The damned devils, and damned fouls of men in hell, may be supposed to rave and blafpheme in their torments, because they know that the chains wherein they are held, can never be

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knocked off: but for men that fwim in the river of GOD'S goodness, whofe mercies are renewed to them every morning, and who are vifited with fresh tokens of his infinite unmerited loving-kindness every moment: for these favourite creatures to fet their mouths againft heaven, and to blafpheme a gracious, patient, all-bountiful GOD; is a height of fin which exceeds the blackness and impiety of devils and hell itself.

And now, after what has been here offered, to fhew the heinoufness of profane curfing and fwearing in common converfation, may I not very justly addrefs myself to you in the words of the text, "Therefore I fay unto you, Swear not at all;" fince it is a fin that has no temptation in nature, nor brings any pleasure or profit to the committer of it; fince it hardens infidels in their infidelity, and affords fad caufes of grief and lamentation to every honest christian; fince it is a fin that generally grows into a habit; and lastly, fuch a fin that can only be matched in hell.

1. And firft then, if these things be fo, and the fin of profane fwearing, as hath been in fome measure fhewn, is fo exceeding finful, what fhall we fay to fuch unhappy men, who think it not only allowable, but fashionable and polite, to "take the name of God in vain ;" who imagine that swearing makes them look big among their companions, and really think it a piece of honour to abound in it? But alas! little do they think that fuch a behaviour argues the greatest degeneracy of mind and fool-hardinefs, that can poffibly be thought of. For what can be more base, than one hour to pretend to adore Gon in public worship, and the very next moment to blafpheme his name: indeed, fuch a behaviour, from persons who deny the being of a GoD, (if any fuch fools there be) is not altogether fo much to be wondered at; but for men, who not only fubfcribe to the belief of a Deity, but likewife acknowledge him to be a GoD of infinite majefty and power; for fuch men to blafpheme his holy name, by profane curfing and swearing, and at the fame time confefs, that this very GOD has exprefsly declared, he will not hold him guiltless, but will certainly and eternally punish (without repentance) him that taketh his name in vain; is such an instance of foolhardiness, as well as bafenefs, that can scarcely be paralleled. This is what they prefume not to do in other cafes of lefs danger