An exposycyon vpon the v.vi.vii. chapters of Mathewe which thre chapters are the keye and the dore of the scrypture, and the restoring agayne of Moses lawe corrupt by ye scrybes and pharyses. And the exposycyon is the restorynge agayne of Chrystes lawe corrupte by the Papystes. Item before the boke, thou hast a prologe very necessary, conteynynge the whole sum of the couenaunt made betwene God and vs, vpon whiche we be baptysed to kepe it. And after thou haste a table that ledeth the by the notes in the margentes, vnto al that is intreated of in the booke.

Agayne ye haue harde how it was sayd to them of olde tyme / forswere not thy selfe / but paye thyne othes vnto thy lorde. But I saye vnto you / that ye swere not at all / ney∣ther be heauen / for it is the seate of God / nether by the erthe / for it is his fotestole / nether by Ierusalem / for it is the cety of the great kynge nether thou shalte swere by thyne heed / for thou canste not make a whyte here or a blacke. But your communycacyon shalbe ye ye / nay naye. For yf ought be aboue that / it procedeth of euell.

* 1.1As to hate in the harte, or to couet another mannes wyfe / was no synne with the phare∣seys, no more was it to hyde one thynge in the harte and to speake another with the mouthe, to deceyue a mannes neyghbour / yf it were not bounde with an othe. And thoughe Moyses say Leuitici. xix. Lye not nor deceyue any man hys neyghboure or one another, yet they interpre∣ted it but good councell / yf a man desyred to be perfecte. But no precepte to bynde vnder payne of synne. And so by that meanes not onelye they that spake true / but also they that lyed to deceyue, were compelled to swere and to confyrme theyr wordes with othes, yf they wolde be beleued.

But Chryste bryngeth lyght and salt to the texte whiche the phareseys had darkened and corrupte with the stynkyngemyste of theyr so∣phystry,* 1.2 and forbyddeth to swere at all▪ eyther by God or any creature of Goddes, for thou canst swere by none othe at al, excepte the dys∣honoure shal redowne vnto the name of God. If thou swere, by God it is so, or by God I wyl do this or that, the meanynge is, that thou ma∣kest God iudge, to auenge it of the, yf it be not as thou sayest, or yf thou shalte not do as thou promysest. Nowe if truth be not in thy wordes thou shameste thyne heuenlye father, and testy∣fyest that thou beleuest that he is no ryghtwyse iudge nor wyll aduenge vnryghtwysnes / but that he is wycked as thou arte and consenteth and laugheth at the / whyle thou deceyuest thy

brother, aswell created after the lykenes of God and so deare bought with the precyous bloude of Christ as thou. And thus through the a wycked sonne is the name of thy father dys∣honoured, and his lawe not fered nor hys pro∣myses beleued. And when thou swereste by the gospell boke or byble, the meanynge is, that God yf thou lye. shall not fulfyll vnto the, the promyses of mercye therin wrytten. But con∣trarye wyse to brynge vp on the all the cursses / plages / and vengeaunce therin thretened vnto the dysobedyent and euell doers. And euen so whē thou swerest by any creature, as by breade or salte. the meanynge is, that thou desyreste / that the creator therof shall aduenge it of the, yf thou lye. &c̄. wherfore our dealynge ought to be so substancyal that our wordes myght be beleued without an othe. Our wordes are the signes of the truth of our hartes, ī which ought to be pure and sīgle loue toward thy brother, for what so euer procedeth not of loue is dam∣nable. Nowe falshed to deceyue hym and pure loue can not stande together. It cā not therfore be but dampnable syn to deceyue thy brother with lyenge, thoughe thou adde no othe to thy wordes. Moche more dampnable is it then to deceyue and to adde an othe therto. &c̄.

Howe be it al maner of sweryng is not here forboden, no more then all maner of kyllyng.* 1.3 when the commaundement sayth, kyll not / for iudges and rulers muste kyll. Euen so ought they, when they put anye man in offyce, to take

an othe of hym that he shall be true and fayth∣full and dylygent therin. And of theyr subiec∣tes it is lawefull to take othes, and of all that offer them selues to beare wytnes. But yf the superior wolde compell the inferior, to swere that shulde be to the dyshonour of God or hur¦tynge of an innocent, the inferior ought rather to dye then to swere. Nether ought a iudge to compel a man to swere agaynst hym selfe, that he make hym not synne and for swere whereof it is ynough spoken in another place. But here is forboden sweryng betwene neyghbour and neyghboure, and in all our pryuate busynesse and dayly communycacyon. For customable sweringe, thoughe we lyed not, doth robbe the name of God of hys due reuerence and feare. And in our dayly communicacyon and busynes one with another is so moch vanyte of wordes that we can not but of many thynges lye, which to cōfyrme with an othe, though we begyle not is to take the name of God in vayne and vnreue¦rently agaynste the seconde precepte. Nowe to lye for the intent to begyle / is dampnable of it selfe / howe moch more then to abuse the holye name of God therto, and to cal to God for ven¦geaunce vp on thyne owne selfe.

* 1.4Many cases yet there chaunce dayly betwene man and man, in whiche charyte compelleth to swere, as I knowe that my neyghboure is fasly scalundered, I am bounde to reporte the truth and may lawfully swere, ye and am bounde if it nede, and that thoughe nat before a iudge.

And vnto the weake where ye and naye haue loste theyr credence thorowe the multytude of lyers,* 1.5 a man maye lawefully swere to put them out of doute. whiche yet cometh of the euell of them that abuse theyr language to deceyue with all. Fynally to swere to do euel is damp∣nable, and to performe that is double damp∣nable. Herodes othe made hym not innocent and gylties of the dethe of Iohan the Baptyste thoughe the ypocryte had not knowen what his wyfes doughter wolde haue asked. And when men saye, a kynges worde muste stande / that is trouth, yf his othe or promyse be lawfull and expedyent.

In al our promyses it is to be added, if God wyll and yf there be no lawful let. And though it be not added, it is to be interprete, as added As yf I borowe thy swerde, and by the houre I promyse to brynge it y^t agayne, thou be besyde thy selfe. If I promyse to paye by a certayne daye, and be in the meane tyme robbed or de∣cayed by chaunce that I can not perfourme it. I am not forsworne yf myne herte ment truely when I promysed. And many lyke cases there be of whiche are touched in other places. To lye also and to dyssemble is not alwaye synne. Dauid. 1, Regum. 27. Tolde Kynge Achis the Phylystyne that he had robbed hys owne peo∣ple the Iewes, whē he had ben a rouyng amōge the Amalekytes, and had slayne man / woman and chylde for tellynge tales. And yet was that lye no more synne then it was to destroye the

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Amalekites those deedly enemyes of the fayth of one almyghtye God. Nether synned Cusay Dauydes trusty frende. 2. Reg. 18. in faynynge and begylynge absolon. But plesed God hiely To beare a seke man in hande that a wholsome bytter medecyne is swete. to make hym drynke it, is the duty of charite & no syn. To persuade him that pursueth his neyghbour to hurt him or slee hym, that hys neyghboure is gone another contrary way, is the duty of euery chrysten man by the lawe of charyte and no syn, no though I confyrmed it with an othe. But to lye for to de∣ceyue and hurt, that is damnable onely. &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Swerynge.
• * 1.2

  To swere by God.
• * 1.3

  Swerynge.
• * 1.4

  Charite mo¦derateth y^e lawe.
• * 1.5

  Othe. To perfor∣me an euell othe is dou¦ble synne.