The whole treatise of the cases of conscience distinguished into three bookes: the first whereof is revised and corrected in sundrie places, and the other two annexed. Taught and deliuered by M. W. Perkins in his holy-day lectures, carefully examined by his owne briefes, and now published together for the common good, by T. Pickering Bachelour of Diuinitie. Whereunto is adioyned a twofold table: one of the heads and number of the questions propounded and resolued; another of the principall texts of Scripture vvhich are either explaned, or vindicated from corrupt interpretation.

Sect. 3.

III. Question. How farre-forth doth an Oath binde, and is to be kept?

The answere to this Question is large, and * 1.1 therefore for orders sake I distinguish it into two parts, and first I will shew when an oath bindes, secondly when it bindeth not.

For the first; An Oathe taken of things cer∣taine, lawfull, and possible, is to be kept, yea and bindes alwaies, though it bee tendred even to our enemies; To this purpose God hath giuē special Commandemēnt in sundry places. Numbers. 30. 3. Whosoeuer sweareth an oath, to bind his soule by a bond, he shall not break his word, but shall doe, according to all that pro∣ceeds out of his mouth: Mat. 5. 33. Thou shalt not forswear thy selfe, but shalt performe thine oathes vnto the Lord: Exod, 20. 7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine; that is, lightly and rashly. But Gods name is taken in vain, when an oathe made of things law∣full and possible is not kept; Dauid, at the humble request of Shimei, (who had before

cursed him) pardons his fault for the time, & sweares to him that he should not die, 2. Sam. 19. 23. Dauid made conscience of this oathe, knowing himselfe to be bound thereby, and therefore till his death he kept it; onely hee charged Solomon not to count him inno∣cent. 1. King. 2. 9.

Now for the better clearing of the an∣swer, we are to consider four particular cases touching this point.

I. Case. What if a man take an oath by false Gods, whether is he bound to keepe it, yea or no?

Ans. He is, and the reasons are these; First from the like. There was a question among the Scribes and Pharises, Matt. 23. 16. whe∣ther a man swearing by the creature were a debter or no? The Pharisees taught, that if a man sware by creatures, the oathe did not binde; But Christ vers. 20. affirmeth, that he that sweares by the Temple, or by the Altar or by heauen, sweares by God indirectly, & so takes an oathe, though not a lawfull oath; and thereupon remaines bound, and is a debter; now by propotion he that sweares by false Gods, sweares by God indirectly, because the false God is, in the opinion of him that sweares, a true God, and so his oath bindeth, and is to be kept. Secondly, Abra∣ham accepts the oathe that Abimelech tendreth vnto him in the name of a false God, Gen. 21. 23 So doth Iacob accept of the

oathe made vnto him by Laban, Gen. 31. 53. which they would not haue done, if their oathes had not beene sufficient bondes, to binde them to obseruation, and perfor∣mance.

It will be said; He that admits of an oathe by an Idoll, doth communicate in the sinne of him that sweareth. Ans. In case of necessi∣tie, a man may admitte of such an oath, with∣out sinne. A poore man, beeing in extreame want, borroweth of an vsurer vpon interest. It is sinne to the vsurer to take it; but it is not so in the poore man, who is compelled by the vsurer to giue interest: Thus the poore man doth vse well the iniquitio of the vsu∣rer: So it is in an oath; A Godly man may well vse, and take benefite by the wicked oathes of Idolaters, so farre forth as they shall serue for the ratifying, and confirming of lawfull couenants.

II. Case. If a man take an oathe, and after∣ward endure hurt or dammage by it, whe∣ther is he then bound to keepe his oath or no?

Ans. If the losse he but temporary and pri∣uate, (the oath beeing made of a thing law∣full) it must be indured. For Dauid reckoneth it among the properties of a good man, That he sweareth, and changeth not, though it be to his hurt, Psal. 15. 4.

And here a difference is to be made be∣tweene a promissorie oath, and a single promise.

A single promise may be reversed by the will, and consent of him, to whom it is made; but a promise made by an oath, is to be kept, though losses and hinderances ensue therevpon. For the reuerence we beare to the name of God vsed in the oathe, ought to be of greater force with vs, then any priuate hinderance or inconueniēce, which may be∣fall vs, vpon the performance of the same.

III. Case. Whether doth an oath binde conscience, whereunto a man is drawne, by fraud and subtiltie?

Ans. If the oath be of things lawfull and possible, it bindeth and is to be kept, though we were induced to it by deceit. Ioshua de∣ceiued by the Gibeonites, was brought to make Couenant of peace with them, and to bind it by an oath: Now perceiuing after three daies, that they had wrought it by craft, he would not touch them, in reuerence of the oath, that he had taken. Iosh. 9. 18, 19, 20. And about 300 years after, whē Saul had slaine certaine of the Gibeonites, the Israe∣lites for that fact, were punished with three yeares famine; which could not be staied, till seauen persons of Sauls house were hanged vp in Gibeah. 2. Sam. 21.

IV. Case. What if a man take an oath by feare and compulsion, is he to keepe it, yea or no? For example. A man falling into the hands of theeues, for the safetie of his life, is vrged to take a solemne oath, that he will

fetch and deliuer them some portion of mo∣ney, and withall neuer disclose the parties. The oath beeing thus taken, the Question is, whether he be bound to keepe it?

Ans. Some Diuines are of opinion, that the oath is to be kept, and some say no: but generally it is answered, that it must be kept, because this feare did, not abolish the con∣sent of his will. But if it be alleadged, that in so doing, he shall hurt the Common-wealth: Answer is made, that if he doe not sweare se∣crecie, he may in probabilitie bring greater damage to the weale publike, in depriuing it of a member, by the losse of his owne life. But it will be saide, by this meanes he main∣taines a theefe. Ans. Be it so: yet he re∣maines excusable, because that was not his intent, but onely to preserue his owne life, to the good of the Common-wealth.

Thus the most and best Diuines doe hold. But for my part, I leaue it in suspense; though it seemes in likelihood that the partie which sweares silence, doth after a sort maintaine theft, and communicate with the sinne of the robber: and further giues occasion, that others may fall into the like hazard and ieo∣pardie of their liues. And so much of the first part of the Answer.

The second part of the Answer to this third maine Question followes: namely to * 1.2 shew, when an oath bindes not. An oath doth not binde in sixe Cases.

I. When it is against the word of God, and tends to the maintenance of sinne. The reason is, because when God will not haue an oath to bind it must not bind: For an oath must not be a bond of iniquitie. Hereupon Dauid hauing sworne a rash oath, to destroy Nabal and his house, and beeing staied from it by the Lord in the meanes of Abigail; he praiseth God in this manner: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meete me, and blessed be thy counsell, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day, from cōming to shed blood. 1. Sam. 25. 32, 33.

II. If it be made against the wholesome lawes of the Commonwealth; because euery soule must be subiect to the higher powers. Rom. 13. 1.

III. If it be taken of such persons, as want reason; as of children, mad-men, or fooles; because they know not what they sweare: and there can be no binding of Conscience, when he that sweareth wanteth reason to discerne what he doth.

IV. If it be made by those, who are vnder the tuition of their superiours, and haue no power to binde themselues; as by children which are vnder the gouernment of their Parents: For these are part of their parents goods, and therefore not fit to vndertake an oath, without their consent. Neither are they to choose a calling, or make any contract of themselues, but onely by the direction and

aduise of their parents; though some of the Popish sort do erroniously teach, that a child may binde himselfe by oath, to become a Monke of this or that order, without Con∣sent of Parents.

V. If it be made of things impossible: for then it is a vaine oath.

VI. If at the first it were lawfull, and af∣terward become impossible and vnlawfull. For such oathes God himselfe may be said to reuerse. Thus if a man bind himselfe by oath to liue in single life without marriage, and after findes that God-hath not giuen him the gift of continencie; in this case, his oath becomes impossible to be kept, and there∣fore beeing reversed by God, and becōming vnlawful, it may be broken without impiety.

To these sixe, the Papists adde two other. The first, when the oathe is made vpon cu∣stome. And they put this example; If two men going out of a dore or ouer a bridge, the one sweares by God that he will not goe first; likewise sweares the other: yet at the last after contention, one of them goes first. In this case, saies the Papist, the othe bindes not. Ans. Custome cannot make that, which is sinne, to be no sinne, or periurie, to be no periurie: but rather doubles the sinn, & makes it aboue measure morevile & abhominable: and they that giue themselues to this vsuall, and customable swearing, cannot but often∣times become guiltie of flat periurie.

The Second Case is, when the Superiour power, that is, the Pope, or other inferiour Bishops, giue order to the contrarie, by re∣laxation or dispensation. Ans. It is falfe. For in euery lawful oath there is a double bond; one of man to man, the other of mā to God. Now if in the oath taken, man were onely obliged to man, the oath might be dispense∣able by man: But seeing man, when he swea∣reth to man, sweareth also to God, and ther∣by is immediately bound to God himselfe; hence it followeth, that an oath taken, can∣not haue release from any creature. There∣fore our Sauiour Christs commandement is, Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt per∣forme thy oathes, to whome? to the Lord. Math. 5. 33. And the oath that passed betweene Dauid and Ionathan, is called The Lords oath, 2. Sam. 21. 7 and 1. Sam. 20. 8. God will haue the oath to binde, as long as seemeth good vnto him; yea and cease binding, when it pleaseth him. And that which himselfe bindeth, or will haue to be bound, no crea∣ture can loose; The things which God hath cou∣pled, let no man separate. Math. 19. 6. And here∣in the Pope shewes himselfe to be Anti∣christ, in that he challengeth power to dis∣pense with a lawfull oath, made without er∣ror or deceit, of things honest and possible.

Out of this answer, another Question may be resolued; namely, when doth a man com∣mit Periurie?

Ans. 1. When a man sweares that which he knowes to be false. 2. When he sweares that, which he meanes not to doe. 3. When he swearing to doe a thing, which he also meanes to doe, yet afterwards doth it not. In these three, the not performing of an oath made, it flat periurie.

That we may yet be informed, concerning the sinne of Periurie, one Question of mo∣ment is to be skanned. In Societies & Cor∣porations, there be Lawes and Orders; to the keeping whereof, euery one admitted to an office, takes a corporall oath: Afterward it falls out vpon occasion, that he breakes some of the saide Statutes: The Question is, whether he be not in this case periured?

Ans. Statues are of two sorts. Some are principall or fundamentall, which serue to maintaine the state of that bodie or Corpo∣ration. Others lesse principall, or mixt, that serue for order or decencie. In the statutes principall, the lawmaker intends obedience simply; and therefore they are necessarie to be kept. But in the lesse principall, he exacts not obedience simply, but either obedience, or the penaltie; because the penaltie is as much beneficiall to the state of that body, as the other. The breach of the former makes a man guilty of periurie; but it is otherwise in the latter, so be it the delinquent party be content to beare the mulct if it be impo∣sed. Thus, students and others belonging to

such societies, may in some sort excuse them∣selues, from the sinne of periurie, though not from all fault, in breaking some of the lesser locall statutes, els few could liue in any soci∣etie without periurie.

Yet one more Question is propounded touching periurie, whether a man may exact an oath of him, whome he feares or knowes will forsweare himselfe. Ans. A priuate man must not; but a Magistrate may, if the partie offer to take his oath, (not beeing vrged therto,) and be first admonished of the grei∣vousnesse of the said sinne of periurie. In the execution of Ciuil Iustice, Magistrates must not stay vpon mens sinnes: Moses expected not the Israelites repentance, for their Ido∣latrie; but presently proceeded vnto punish∣ment. Neither must the publicke good of the Common wealth bee hindred, vpon the likelyhood or suspition of a mans periu∣rie.

Notes

• * 1.1

  When an oath bindes?
• * 1.2

  VVhen an Oath bindes not?