SERMON III.

ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.

EXODUS, CHAP. XX. VER. 7.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

THERE is scarce any prohibition so repeatedly enforced in the course of the Holy Scriptures, as this against the profaning God's holy name. In this discourse I shall dwell chiefly on those two ways of taking God's name in vain, to which we are most subject.

The first and greatest commission of

VOL. I.

D

this sin is by perjury, when we solemnly and wilfully call upon the name of God to witness a thing which we know to bẹ false,

The general weakness of mankind, and the particular depravity of some individuals, have rendered it necessary to call in the aid of divine laws to assist the execution of the human legislature; for, however unpleasing the reflection may be, it is yet too true, that the laws of society have not been found sufficient to inspire men with that love of truth which should be implanted in every breast; nor have the punishments denounced against the vio lators of those laws been of force enough to deter them from too natural a propensity to falsehood.

To obviate this difficulty, it has been. deemed unavoidable by the united force of divine and human laws to restrain

mankind from the wild wanderings of falsehood and deceit, by confining them within the sure but narrow limits of openness and truth.

In order to this, the administering of oaths on certain occasions has been authorised in all ages and among all nations; in doing which, we swear to the truth of what we utter by the holy name of God, calling upon him to witness for us, and evidently provoking the fury of his wrath against us, if we take his name in vain. It is needless to point out the particular heinousness of this sin of perjury, which plainly appears from its being punished in this world as soon as detected, and threatened with certain vengeance in the world to come.

There are many passages in the holy scriptures which shew the just hatred of

the Almighty against this sin of perjury. He thus denounces vengeance against the king of Babylon :-" As I live, saith the "Lord, surely mine oath that he hath "despised, and my covenant that he hath "broken, even that will I recompense upon his own head."

66

It is not enough to intend to abide by the conditions of our oath, at the moment it is administered, unless we strictly adhere to the performance of that promise, and are never afterwards prevailed upon by any motives to deviate from it.

An instance of this perseverance we read of in the history of Jeptha, who, having bound himself by a vow to sacrifice. to God the first living object which should present itself to him on his return from the defeat of the Ammonites, did not hesitate to offer up his only daughter, who