A help to holy walking, or, A guide to glory containing directions how to worship God, and to walk with him in the whole course of our lives / by Edward Bury.

2. Direct. Having already shewn you who may swear, and who ought not to swear; I come, in the next place, to tell you by whom you ought to swear; and here also we shall meet with much Corruption in Practice, though an Oath is Lawful, when Lawfully re∣quired; as by a Lawful Magistrate, in a Law∣ful Cause, from a Person rightly qualified, as I hove already Discoursed, yet 'tis not Lawful to swear by whom he pleaseth; for an Oath, as I told you, is part of Divine Worship due to God; and his Glory is Concerned in it, and he will not give it to another, Gen. 21.53.

Jacob sware by the fear of his Father Isaac; that is, by the God whom his Father feared: That we ought to swear by God, I have shewed you already, both by Scriptures and Exam∣ples, Deut. 6.13. & 10.20. and many more: But where we have any Injunction, or Tole∣ration, given to swear by any thing that is not God, is not easie to find; yea, it is plain Idolatry, to ascribe unto any Creature Divine Worship; 'tis a setting of them in the place of God, yea, a dishonouring of God, and setting up something else in his stead. In a Lawful Oath we do not only assert the Truth for that we do, or ought to do without an Oath, but we ascribe Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence; yea, the Justice, wisdom, and Truth to God: we acknowledge him to be the Searcher of the Heart, and the Tryer of the Reins; and that he is both the witness, Judge, and Revenger of Falshood, and Ly∣ing; and furthermore, by Prayer, and Invo∣cation God is called upon to give Testimony, with the Conscience of him that sweareth, that he speaketh the Truth from his Heart, with an Imprecation in which a Man acknow∣ledgeth that God is a just Revenger of a Lye, and binds himself to be punished by him if he swear falsly, or speaks an untruth wittingly or willingly: & now I appeal to any Man's Consci∣ence, if these things can be Attributed to any Creature, without gross Idolatry; can we ascribe to the Creature Omniscience, Omnipotence, Searching the Heart, and witnessing with the

Conscience, that we speak the Truth, and an ability to punish, or reward according to the Integrity of the Heart; to protect the Inno∣cent, and detect the Guilty? what is this, but to make them Gods, in giving to them the Incommunicable Attributes of God? Can all this be done without Idolatry? VVe may find God in Scripture complaining of this Sin, and threatning to punish such Sinners, Jer. 5.7. They have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no Gods: See Swearing by the Crea∣tures, is in God's Account, and Scripture Language, a forsaking of God, Jer. 12.16. They have taught my People to swear by the Name of Baal. God threatens such as Swear by the Sin of Samaria, that they shall fall, and never rise again, Amos 4.8. Now, this was swear∣ing by the Idols of Samaria, for Samaria was full of Idols: Let those look to it, that swear by the Popish Idol the Mass, or by our Lady, which they make their great Idol, and set her up as high, and in some cases higher than Christ himself. Nay, those that in their Oaths joyn any thing with God, as if he were not of him∣self sufficient, cannot be Excused, as those, Zeph. 1.4,5. That swear by God and Malchom; and the Excuse which many make, for this horrid Crime, is indeed the aggravation of the Sin; they say, what they swear by are petty trivial things, and therefore no Offence; they take not the Name of God in Vain: But is not the Offence the greater, when we give the Incommunicable Attribute of God to those

petty things; if there be no need of an Oath, why dost thou swear? If there be, why dost not swear by God, when thou hast so many direct Commands, and so many Examples of God, Angels, and the best of Men. Nei∣ther is the Practice of some of the Holy Fa∣thers, an Excuse sufficient; Joseph's swearing by the Life of Pharaoh, is by most, if not all Learned Expositors, judged his failing, learn∣ed by Custom in Pharaohs Court, and will no more warrant the Practice, than Noah's, Lot's, and David's Example will Drunkenness, In∣cest, Murder, or Adultery: And whereas some use the Expression, as thy Soul Liveth, &c. This is not properly an Oath, but an Asservera∣tion, wherein God is also tacitely invoked to witness the Truth; it signifies such a thing is as really True, as thou art alive, yet doth invoke his to witness this Truth; 'tis hard to say which is the greater Sin, to swear rashly by God, which is Blasphemy, or to Swear by the Creatures, which is Idolatry.