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made to fome fuperior and almighty Being, which thoroughly knows our confciences, and can and will reward our falfhood. But,

3. ALL fuch expreffions alfo are forbid, as do covertly, and with fome difguife, abbreviation, or the like, imply an oath, however qualified and foften'd, as, God knows, faith, egad, and others, which the wit, fhall I fay, or the folly of mankind, has contrived to evade a fcandalous and barefaced prophaneness? All these, and every ufage of this kind, are but as fo many trifling methods to deceive our felves. Oaths they ftill are, and will without doubt be charged upon us accordingly at the day of judgment, being forbid, not only in this paragraph of our Saviour's fermon, but in other places of the holy Scripture, as in that of St. James's Epiftle, * Above all things, my brethren, fwear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by ANY OTHER OATH: but let your yea, be yea; and your nay, nay; left ye fall into condemnation. And thus much for the fin of fwearing Befide which we are forbid,

II. ALL ufing of the name of God, or Chrift, or Jefus, Lord or Saviour, in our ordinary, difcourfe, without a due and fuitable reverence, and a juft occafion. For as fuch a reverence to the name of God is the very reafon and foundation of our Saviour's precept against fwearing here, the fame reafon equally affecting fuch a loose and careless mention of it, as I am now defcribing, this alfo must be fuppofed to be equally forbidden thereby. 'Tis undoubtedly taking the name of God in vain, and therefore falls within the very letter of the prohibition in the third commandment. If it be used in curfing, there is not only prophaneness, but a defpe

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rate malice too, to encrease the guilt; and it is juftly accounted horrible to all religious minds. But fuppofe it be not uttered in a curfe, the prophanenefs ftill is vifible, whether it be by way of exclamation, admiration, or expletive; as, good God! O my God! O Fefu! O Lord! and many the like expreffions too frequently ufed; as if thofe venerable names were fit only to fill up a period, and to give an air of boldness and impudence to our converfation. Nor is the cafe at all mended, when those names are used in a way of rafh and unconfidered prayer; as, God bless us, God be merciful, God fave you, Lord have mercy upon us, &c. which very often occur in fome mens coffimon difcourfe, when there is no due ferioufnefs attends it, and probably no thought at all of what is then defired by fuch a prayer. And fometimes it comes in fo unfeafonably and improperly, having no coherence at all with the reft of the difcourfe, that it is downright nonfenfe, as well as impiety. Let thofe (if there be any fuch) that use this, and yet have that regard to religion which they pretend, confider, that their being good words, and good wishes depends more upon their fincerity and devotion in uttering them, than upon the mechanifm of fyllables and a fentence; and that all the goodness that can be in the expreffion it felf, will never atone for the trifling manner of "ufing it: but it will still be taking of God's name in vain, while we treat it with fo little folemnity, and throw up our addreffes to him at fuch an impertinent and thoughtless rate. I will but just name a third thing naturally included in the prohibition, viz.

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III. ALL heedless, unattentive, and irreverent taking even of lawful oaths impofed by authority. Thefe oaths, and of these especially fuch as are by way of qualification for an office, or obligation to difcharge

difcharge it well, are for the most part look'd upon as mere formalities in law, and fo the religion of them is loft; and those that take them are gazing about the while, or thinking of other matters, with no more devotion and concern, than if they were hearing fome idle ftory, or repeating an ordinary difcourfe. And the cafe is not much better, in this regard, with oaths of evidence; thofe that take them are apt to confider them no farther than as folemn promises to speak the truth, not doing it with that awful folemnity that becomes an appeal to the great God, in what they fay. But fuch a behaviour is plainly taking the name of God in vain, because they mention him, and appeal to him, without any confideration to whom they are speaking, and perform what is in the very nature of it a folemn act of worship and religion, without that ferious fenfe of God, that ought to fill their minds, and without that reverence to his name, which is the foundation of the third commandment.

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CHA P. XIV.

Of FORGIVING of INJURIES.

MATTH. V. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42.

Te have heard that it hath been faid, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

But I fay unto you, that ye refift not evil: but whosoever shall fmite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other alfo.

And if any man will fue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke alfo.

And whosoever fhall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.

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ETALIATION of evil being one of the permiffions indulged the Jews, in their politick laws, because of the hardness of their hearts, left if they were not allowed this liberty, under ftated rules, and by the fentence of the magiftrate, they fhould in revenging themselves exceed all bounds

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CHAP. XIV. and measures; our Saviour takes occafion from hence to lay down, in this paragraph, the duty of the injured party, or fufferer, (as he had before under confideration of the fixth commandment that of the aggreffor) forbidding here all manner of private revenge, or returning evil for evil; as tho' he had faid,

"THE judicial law, it's true, allows of a 'requi"tal of like for like, that he who deprives his "brother of a member, forfeit one of his own; "as an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. "But I charge you all, whofoever will be my "difciples, that ye prefume. not to give your "felves the ill-natured fatisfaction of rendring evil «for evil, either in a publick or a private way: "but that rather than revenge one injury, ye

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fuffer two. If any man ftrike you, ftrike him "not again by way of refentment or retaliation. "And rather than take the advantage, which even "the laws do give you, for profecuting upon "wrongs of fmall concern, or impofitions of no

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great confequence, fhew your adverfary how lit"tle his malice or his violence moves you, by be66 ing forwarder to bear, than he is to inflict, and "ready to do more to gratify him, than he requires. "If by contentious fuits he extort from you what "is really your own, and what ye can really bear "the lofs of; let him take that, or more, rather

than conteft it farther with him: And if he will "force you against your own convenience to go "with him one mile, go with him another, rather than paffionately difpute your liberty in fo fmall

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a matter. Say not this tameness is like to encourage him to farther and greater injuries; that ❝ is more than ye are fure of: Meckness and com"placency are the beft means to foften an enemy; "but though he fhould be fo difingenuous, that ye have reafon to fear the contrary, truft that to

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