Beveridge on Article XXXIX: Of a Christian man's Oath

witness the truth of what we say, a rash or a vain oath must needs be nothing else than the taking the name of God rashly and in vain; and therefore our Saviour, who came not to destroy, but to fulfil the law, commands us not to trans- gress, but to obey the law, saying, Swear not at all, Matt. v. 34; and the apostle James, writing after his Master’s copy, Swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath, James v.12. In which places though to swear lawfully is permitted, yet to swear rashly is altogether prohi- bited. A sin which there being neither pleasure nor profit in, one should think man might easily be persuaded from ; but so corrupt is the heart of man, that I am confident the only reason so many indulge themselves in it, is only because it is a sin. Had God commanded it, we should have been natu-

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Art.

614 Of a Christian Man’s Oath.

rally averse from it, but seeing God hath forbidden it, we are naturally inclined to it; so that had it been no sin, the heart of man would not have been so set upon it, especially consi- dering he can reap neither pleasure, profit, nor honour from it. But seeing it is a sin so frequently forbidden by God, and a sin so highly odious to him, therefore is the heart of man (which, being fallen from God to sin, naturally delights itself more in sin than God, therefore I say is it) so much taken with it, therefore doth it please itself so much in it; so that though there be no other pleasure in this sin, they will there- fore take pleasure in it because it is a sin. But I wish the foulmouthed ruffians of the world, who never think they speak rhetorically enough unless they back each word or emphasis each sentence with an oath, I wish, I say, they would at length bethink themselves how they offend their Maker by it. But I know that is no motive to drive them from it, but rather an encouragement to draw them to it; for was not God so displeased at it, they would never be so pleased with it. I wish, therefore, they would consider how they do not only offend God, but condemn themselves by every vain oath they pollute their mouths withal; they condemn themselves, I say, for men of no credit, nor ever to be believed unless they vainly bring God to witness what they say. And if they will not receive this at mine, let them receive it at St. Basil’s mouth, b“ For it is altogether a foul and a foolish thing,” saith that reverend father, “for a man to accuse himself as one unwor- thy to be believed, and therefore to confirm what he saith by oaths.” °“ For an oath,” saith St. Chrysostome, “is a bring- ing of a surety for those things which otherwise would not be believed.” So that he that swears is first accused as one not to be believed without a surety, yea, so great a surety. For it is for their great unbelief of him that they do not seck a man but God himself to be his surety. And hence it is, that

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whensoever I hear a man swear, I presently think that man is conscious to himself that he hath so often falsified his word, that now he is not to be believed without an oath; and if he is not to be believed unless he swears, he is not to be believed though he swears. For he that makes no conscience of his word, will make as little of his oath; and he that doth not stick to swear rashly, will not stick to swear falsely. And therefore the more a man sweareth what he saith is true, the more am I apt to think what he saith is false. But as there is a sinful, so there is also a lawful use of an oath. So that though many a man sins when he swears, yet a man may swear and not sin, especially if a man be commanded by the lawful magistrate to swear in a lawful thing; then a man is so far from sinning if he swears, that he sins unless he swears ; and that because an oath is in itself lawful, so that a man may do it without sin, and therefore must do it when commanded or else sin. And that it is thus lawful in itself to swear, we may see in the frequent command and examples of it we meet with in the scripture: as, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and swear by his name, Deut. vi. 13. x.20: Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand to his neighbour’s goods, Exod. xxii.11: Who shall abide in thy tabernacle, or who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not, Ps. xv.1, 4: Every one that sweareth by him shall glory, Ps. \xiii.11. And many of the eminent saints of God are recorded in scripture to have sworn. Abraham sware to Abimelech, Gen. xxi. 24, 31; ‘Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac, Gen. xxxi, 53 ;

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4 Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac, that is, by God, whom his father Isaac feared. So Onke- los in his Targum plainly op)

pry’ omar m> mata apy? And Jacob swore by him whom his father Isaac feared; and Jonathan more fully, > ST NTR’ py? OP) pz? ax And Jacob swore by the God whom his father Isaac feared. And God may well be called our fear, because he is the only person in the world we need or ought to fear, Matt. x. 28. And hence it is

amt )x) HD? Gods of silver and gods of gold, and in the Syriac Wolar |aSXo loan lads Gods of gold and gods of silver, Exod. xx. 23, the Chaldee para- phrase hath it j>m7) DIT 7M aaq7. And so xbr7 is mostly used for false gods. V. Hos. vii. 6.

616 Of a Christian Man’s Oath. Art.

Moses sware on that day, Jos. xiv.9; And Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain, 1 Sam. xix. 6 ; And David sware unto Saul, ch. xxiv. 22; Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, 1 Kings ii.23. And as they sware themselves, so they required others to swear too. And I will make thee swear by the Lord, saith Abraham to his servant, Gen. xxiv.3; And Jacob said unto Joseph, Swear unto me; and he sware wnto him, Gen. xlvii. 31. Yea God himself is often in scripture said to swear: By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, Gen. xxii.16; For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Heb. vi. 13; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, Jer. xliv.26; The Lord hath sworn by his holiness, Amos iv.2; and, The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it, Ps. exxxii.11. And certainly what God himself doth cannot be unlawful in itself to be done. And hence it is also that there are rules set down to be observed in our swearing, And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in righteousness, and in judgment, Jer. iv.2: in truth, so as not to swear falsely ; in righteous- ness, so as not to swear unjustly ; and in judgment or disere- tion, so as not to swear ignorantly. But if it were a sin in itself to swear, it would be in vain to prescribe rules to be observed in swearing; nay, seeing there are rules thus pre- scribed to be observed in swearing, it thence follows that it is no sin in itself to swear.

Against this cloud of witnesses which this truth is thus encompassed about withal, its adversaries have nothing to plead, but that our Saviour and the apostle James, as we saw even now, said expressly, Swear not at all ; from whence they conclude, that though it was lawful under the law, it is now sinful under the new testament, not considering what our Saviour expressly avoucheth in the beginning of the said sermon, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: Tam not come to destroy, but to fulfil, Matt. v.17; though he came to destroy the judicial and ceremonial, yet he came not to destroy the morallaw. Now it is plain that this law about oaths doth not belong to the ceremonial or judicial law, which he came to destroy, but only to the moral law, which he came to fulfil; and therefore whatsoever interpre-

XXXIX. Of a Christian Man’s Oath. 617 tation we put upon these words, Swear not at all, we must be sure not to make our Saviour to contradict himself, and say he came to destroy the moral law, when himself expressly saith he came to fulfil it. And therefore, when he saith, Swear not at all, we must not so understand it as if he forbad all manner of swearing, but swearing after that manner which the Jews had brought up among themselves, even to swear by the creature as well as by the Creator, by the heavens, where God dwells, as well as by that God that dwells in the heavens, and the like ; and ¢neyver to think themselves obliged to per- form what they had so sworn to do. And it was these false glosses upon the law which our Saviour strikes at in these words, as we may see plainly by what follows ; Swear not at all ; neither by heaven ; for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool, Matt. v.34, 35: so that it was swearing by heaven, and swearing by earth, and swearing by other creatures, which Christ here commands us to abstain from. Or, howsoever, it is manifest that it is common swearing he here aims at, as appears from what follows ; But let your com- munication, or common discourse, be, Yea, yea; and Nay, nay, y. 37: fso that it was in our common discourse that he here commands us not to swear at all; not at all forbidding us to swear upon necessary and urgent occasions.

But that our Saviour doth not forbid all manner of swearing when he commands us not to swear at all, is plain also from

dum arbitretur.

€ Queri autem potest, cum dice- retur, Ego autem dico vobis, Non ju- rare omnino, cur additum sit, neque per celum, quia thronus Dei est ; et cetera usque ad id quod dictum est, neque per caput tuum? Credo prop- terea, quia non putabant Judeei se teneri jurejurando, si per ista juras- sent; et cum audierant, Reddes autem Domino jusjurandum tuum ; non se putabant Domino debere jus- jurandum, si per ceelum aut terram, aut per Hierosolymam, aut per caput suum jurarent; quod non vitio pre- cipientis, sed illis male intelligenti- bus, factum est. Itaque Dominus docet nihil esse tam vile in creaturis Dei, ut per hoc quisquam perjuran-

Aug. de serm. in monte, l. 1. [52. par. ii. vol. III.]

f Ita ergo intelligitur praecepisse Dominum ne juretur, ne quisquam sicut bonum appetat jusjurandum, et assiduitate jurandi ad perjurium per consuetudinem delabatur. Aug. Ibid. [51.] Lex poenam posuerat perjurio, ut fraudulentiam mentium sacramenti religio contineret, simul- que plebs rudis atque insolens fre- quentem de Deo suo mentionem haberet familiaritate jurandi. Fides vero sacramenti consuetudinem re- movet, simplicitatem loquendi audi- endique prescribens. Hiilar. in loc.

[p. 627.]

618 Of a Christian Man’s Oath. Art.

the practice and example of the apostle St. Paul. For that St. Paul understood the meaning of our Saviour in these words better than any one doth or can in these days, I hope there is none as yet’ so sottishly ignorant and so highly pre- sumptuous as to deny. & Yet we find him often swearing, and calling upon God to witness what he saith: Hor God is my record, saith he, how greatly I long after you all, Phil. i. 8: T say the truth in God, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, Rom. ix.1: The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not, 2 Cor. xi.31: We speak before God in Christ, ch. xii. 19: The things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not, Gal. i.20: As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting, 2 Cor. xi.10. Nay, it is observable, though himself takes notice of that expression, Yea, yea, and

y, nay, which our Saviour commanded us always to use, _ Cor. i. 17, yet in the very next words he saith, But as God as true, ver. 18; and presently, Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet to Corinth, ver. 21: so that it is impossible any one should swear more plainly than he did; yet who dare say he durst have sworn if our Saviour had expressly forbidden all manner of swearing. ‘T’o which we may also add, that not only St. Paul, but the angel, sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, Rev. x. 6; and St. Paul himself also saith, Mor men verily swear by the greater ; and an oath for contirmation is to them an end of all strife, Heb. vi. 16. For men, not men of this world only, not Jews only, not Gentiles only, but men in general, swear

& Sed tamen quoniam jurat qui

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dum est hoc capitulum, ne contra preeceptum Domini apostolus dixisse videatur, qui seepe hoc modo juravit, cum dicit, Que autem scribo vobis, ecce coram Deo, quod non mentior ; et iterum, Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui est benedictus in s@cula, scit quod non mentior ; tale est ilud, Testis enim mihi est Deus, cui servio in spiritu meo in evangelio Filii ejus, quoniam sine in- termissione memoriam vestri facio

jurationem, cum per aliquod dicitur quod juratur ; ut non juraverit, qui non dixerit, per Deum; sed dixit, Testis est miht Deus ; ridiculum est hoc putare, tamen propter conten- tiosos aut multum tardiores, ne ali- quid interesse quis putet, sciat etiam hoe modo jurasse apostolum dicen- tem,. Quotidie morior, per vestram gloriam, 1 Cor. xv. Aug. de serm. Dei ‘ monte, l. 1. [51. par. il. vol.

III

XXXIX. Of a Christian Man’s Oath. 619

by the greater ; for one sort of men is not here opposed to an- other, but men in general to God; neither doth he reprove them for it, but commends it, as that which is the end of all strife. So full, so clear is scripture, both in precepts and precedents, to assure us that it is as lawful to swear in itself, as it is sinful to swear in vain.

Neither doth seripture only, but reason also, proclaim this doctrine for a truth. For, first, that which is part of God’s honour must needs be lawful; but now to swear lawfully is part of his honour, and therefore is serving God and swearing by his name joined together, Deut. vi. 13; indeed, from swear- ing by his name lawfully, according to his will, there is much honour redounding to him, for hereby we acknowledge him to be an all-seeing God, who seeth what I think, as well as men hear what I speak. Hereby we acknowledge him to be a God that loveth justice and truth, and will severely revenge all such as take his name in vain; so that to deny this truth is to rob God of a great part of his honour. Secondly, if we consider the nature of a lawful oath, we shall easily see that it is lawful to take an oath ; for a lawful oath is nothing but a calling upon God to witness what is true. Now to call upon God is no sin; and to call upon God to do good, even to defend the truth, by bearing witness to it, cannot possibly be accounted any sin, there being no law transgressed by it. Lastly, to this we may also add, that an oath is the end of strife ; and so the end of an oath is to be the end of strife, and to establish peace and equity betwixt man and man: and so the end of it cannot possibly but be acknowledged as lawful in its nature; and seeing the nature and end of it is lawful, itself cannot be sinful, but a man may swear when the magistrate requireth him, and not sin; nay, but rather sin if he doth not swear, in not obeying the magistrate in such things which he may lawfully do.

And if we consult the Fathers we shall find them indeed much inveighing against rash and vain swearing: as St. Chrys- ostome ; 4 “ Let us now,” saith he, “set ourselves daily laws ;

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620 Of a Christian Man’s Oath. Arr.

and in the mean while let us begin from those things that are the easiest. Let us cut off the evil custom of swearing from our mouths; let us put a bridle to our tongue ; let no one swear by God: here is no charges, here is no labour, here is no care of time required ; it sufficeth that he be but willing, and all is done ; it is merely a business of custom: I beseech you and entreat you therefore let us set upon this study.” And presently ; ‘“ With a loud and a clear voice I speak to all, and witness, that those that are guilty of this sin, those that speak things that are of evil, (for so is such swearing,) that they come not over the church threshold.” And again ; k « Fast, and pray to God, and we with you, that he would take from amongst us this pernicious custom.” And St. Au- gustin, prescribing rules for an upright conversation, puts this amongst the rest; !‘* Altogether shun the custom of swearing, for in this you go much contrary to the commands of God.” And many such like expressions we meet with in the Fathers, especially in Tertullian, Basil, Chrysostome, and Athanasius.

But howsoever, though they did so much condemn vain and rash swearing, yet they accounted swearing as a thing in itself lawful. For .the sixth general council, commonly called the Trullan council, decreed, ™‘* Those that swear the oaths of the gentiles the canon punisheth, and we decree them to be excommunicated.” They punished such as took the sinful oaths of the gentiles by their false gods, not such as swear the lawful oaths of the Christians by the true God ; and seeing they punished them and not these, it follows that

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Kav. Ibid. [p. 655, 8.]

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XX XIX. Of a Christian Man’s Oath. 621 they a¢knowledged these to be lawful, but condemned them only to be sinful. And St. Gregory saith, » “ Let therefore every one be wary before he swears, that he may either not swear at all, or that he do not swear to do any evil things.” So that a man may swear, but he must have a care how he swears ; he may swear, but to do good, not evil. And Cyril of Alexandria; ° “ Let yea and nay, amongst those that have chosen to live the best life, have the use and force of an oath, and let things be so confirmed; for it will follow that we ought so also to be believed: but if yea and nay be despised by any, let the use of oaths be at last turned or directed to that which is greater than us, yea, and every creature, viz. the Deity; so that when bare asseverations will not do, eonfirma- tion by oaths may be allowed of.” St. Augustin hath many things to this purpose: P “ It is much safer,” saith he, “as I said, that as much as we can we never swear; that our com- munication be Yea, yea, Nay, nay, as our Saviour admo- nisheth: not because it is a sin to swear what is true, but because it is a most grievous sin to swear what is false :” so that to swear in itself is no sin, for a man may swear, and not sin. And again; 9‘ Wherefore he that understandeth that swearing is to be reckoned not amongst the good but the necessary things, refraineth as much as he can, so as not to use it but upon necessity, when he seeth men slow to be- lieve what is profitable for them to believe, unless they be

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Pp Multo enim tutius, ut dixi,

quantum ad nos attinet, nunquam juremus, ut sit in ore nostro, est est, non non, sicut Dominus monet; non quia peccatum est, verum jurare ; sed quia gravissimum peccatum est falsum jurare; quo citius cadit, qui consuevit jurare. Aug. epist. ad Hilar. [157. vol. II.]

622 Of a Christian Man’s Oath. Art. XX XIX. confirmed by swearing.” And presently; ‘“ But thou dost not do evil that usest swearing well; for though it be not good, yet it is necessary that thou shouldest persuade another that which thou profitably persuadest him.” And therefore Photius tells us, that, according to their law, sin doubtful matters, the judge used to take their oath, and make them swear, and so to pass sentence in the case; and that the magistrate may lawfully require an oath, and by consequence others lawfully take it. I shall only add that of St. Augustin ; t“ Though it be said we should not swear, yet I do not re- member it is any where read that we should not receive or take an oath from another ;” and therefore I conclude, that though a man ought not to swear rashly and vainly, yet if it be required of the magistrate, he may lawfully swear.

t Tu autem non malum facis, qui bene uteris juratione, quia etsi non bona, tamen necessaria est, ut alteri persuadeas quod utiliter persuades. Ibid.

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digec Oa. Apud Balsam. incan. p.212.

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Notes

• Quapropter qui intelligit, non in, bonis, sed in necessariis jura- tionem habendam, refrenat se quan- tum potest, ut non ea utatur, nisi necessitate, cum videt pigros esse homines ad credendum quod eis utile est credere, nisi juratione fir- mentur, Id. de sermone Dom. in monte, l. 1. [51. p. 187. par. il. vol. III. ]