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.

7. Direct. When thou hast made thy vows, thy next Duty is to keep them, to perform the word that is gone out of thy Mouth: 'Tis bet∣ter not to vow, than to vow and not perform; but it must be supposed then that the vows be Lawful and allowed by God, otherwise the performance is but adding Sin to Sin, and in∣creasing the guilt: He that vows to commit

Sin, ought not to do it. If thou Sin in thy Vow, do not ratifie it by performing it, as Herod, who made a rash Vow, but did in∣crease his guilt by Cutting off John Baptists Head. But supposing thy vow be Lawful, thou canst not Lawfully break it; nay, though the performance tend to thy damage, for if thou do, thou committest a Sin as bad, if not worse than Perjury; When thou hast Vowed, therefore deferr not to pay, for God takes no pleasure in Fools, pay that therefore which thou hast Vowed, Eccl. 5.3,4,5,6. Deut. 23.23. When thou hast Vowed a Vow unto the Lord thy God, deferr not to pay it, for the Lord thy God will surely re∣quire it of thee, and it will be sin to thee; but if thou wilt forbear to Vow, it shall not be sin to thee; that which is gone out of thy Mouth thou shalt keep and perform a Free-will Offering according to what thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy Mouth, Psal. 76.11. Vow and pay unto the Lord your God, &c. More places might be instanced in, if these were not sufficient. If thy vow be rash Repent of the rashness of it, but if it be other∣wise Lawful, it must be performed, if it prove to thy damage, it is a reward of thy Folly. But if it be unlawful, repent of thy sin, and Folly in making it, but it must not be perfor∣med; for a Vow must not be a bond of Ini∣quity: Christ himself shews the wickedness of such a vow, Mat. 15.5,6. where by their vow Corban, they made null the Command of God, concerning honouring Father, and Mo∣ther,

and Relieving them. It is not Law∣ful for us to Dedicate those things to Pious Uses; yea, to God himself, which we owe to anotner; David's rash vow, 1 Sam. 2.5.12.39. was not performed; he vowed the Destruction of Nabal, and all his Family, and Blessed God for keeping him from doing evil. The wicked vow of Paul's Persecutors ought not to have been fulfilled, had the power lain in their Hands, Acts 23.21. Nor the rash and unadvised Vow of Saul, which tended to hurt and not to good, 1 Sam. 14.39. Nor such Su∣perstitious vows, as we read of, Jer. 44.25. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, ye and your Wives have both spoken with your Mouths, and fulfilled with your Hands, say∣ing, we will surely perform our Vows, that we have Vowed, to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven, and to powre out Drink-Offerings unto her, ye will surely accomplish your Vows, &c. God takes it ill in them, and sorely threatneth them for it. But if the Vow be Lawful, he expects the fulfilling of it; as we see in Jacob's Vow, made Gen. 28.20. God minds him of it, Gen. 31.13. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the Pillar, Numb. 30.3, &c. A Young womans vow, if her Father contra∣dict it not, shall surely stand good. See also Lev. 7.16. & 22.17. & 27.2, &c. Psal. 76.12. Yea, the Lord threatens those that make not good their vows, that vow a better, and pay a worse, Mal. 1.14. Cursed be the de∣ceiver, which hath in his Flock a Male, and

voweth, and Sacrifices unto the Lord a Corrupt thing. Yea, we find he punished this Sin in Annanias and Sapphira, who Devoted the price of a Possession to God, and after kept back part of it, and were both struck dead for it, Acts 5.1,2, &c. A Godly Man, when he promiseth Reformation of Life, the leaving of any known Sin, the performance of any Religious duty, the doing of any Pious, or Charitable work, &c. will make good his Vow. But how usual is it for wicked Men in their Sickness, distress, or danger, to make vows and Promises of Reformation, which they for∣get as soon as the danger is past, and return, with the Dog, to the vomit, and the washed Sow, to her wallowing in the Mire.