rich in patience and forbearance, they are refolved to try how far his patience will extend, and what load of wickedness it is capable to bear.

If their damnation be not yet fure enough, they will do their utmost to make it fure, by breaking down the only bridge whereby they can escape damnation : I mean, by trampling under their feet the precious blood and wounds of the Son of God, and imprecating the damnation of hell upon their own fouls, as if it flumbered too long, and were too flow-paced in its motions towards them. I am of opinion, there are few Chriftians to be found on earth, crying fo often, Lord, pardon; Lord, fave me; as fome wretches among us cry, (I tremble to Speak it!) God damn me; the devil take me.

Herein they seem to envy the happiness of the devils, and damned wretches in hell, and endeavour (as one speaks) to fnatch damnation out of God's hands before the time; as if they could not be soon enough among their roaring and howling companions, in the midst of the everlasting burnings. But, why fuch hafte to be perfectly miferable? The very devils themselves deprecate torments before their time, though you imprecate them. Your mifery makes hafte enough towards you; you need not quicken it, or thus run to meet it.

I am perfuaded, that if the bars of the bottomlefs pit were broken up, and devils fhould afcend in human fhapes, none among them would be found haftening upon themselves the fulness and completeness of their misery, as you do. It is a truth, though a strange one, that it is much eafier to find, than imagine men upon earth profeffing Chriftian religion, yet in fome respect funk below the wickedness of the diabolical nature, by making damnation both the subject of their drollery, and the object of their very wifhes and defires. Some greater mafters of our language, may more lively and emphatically exprefs the horrid nature of this fin; but excufe me, reader, if I believe, no words or thoughts can measure the height or depth of this monftrous abomination.

§ 4. Such contumelious language as this (especially when grown modish or common) cannot but be a moft high and dreadful provocation of God, and fuch an one as will certainly bring down his defolating vengeance, not only upon the heads of blafphemers themselves, but upon the ftates and kingdoms that connive at, or tolerate them. We read, Zech. v. 2, 3, 4. of a flying roll, full of curfes, the length thereof twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits; which fhall enter into the house of the fwearer, remain in the midst of his house,

and confume it with the timber and ftones thereof. Blafphemy and profane fwearing, are like barrels of gunpowder laid under the foundation of many great and noble familes, many of which are already blown up, and laid in ruins by this fin, and many more ready to follow, as foon as the juftice of God fhall give fire to it.

And (comparatively speaking) it were happy if the mischief ended here; but, alas! it caufes God to commence a quarrel with the whole land; Hof. iv. 2, 3. "And because of oaths, the land mourneth." You find in Ifa. xxxviii. what it was that brought that unparalleled defolation upon that famous and flourishing city of Jerufalem, and the whole land of Judah; " for Jerufalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because "their tongues and their doings are against the Lord, to pro"voke the eyes of his glory."

But, alas! fcripture-threatnings fignify scarce fo much with these men, as the predictions of the weather in an almanack; and, which is ftrange to confider, the very execution of fcripture-threatnings before their eyes, will not terrify them from this inhuman wickedness; even these alfo are laughed to fcorn, or easily forgotten.

Oh! that God would fet it home with power, upon the fpirits of all that are in power, to take some speedy and effectual course, to remove this accurfed thing, this iniquity to be punifhed by the judge; one (and a chief one too) of thofe direful provocations of heaven, to which we owe a special part of our national infelicity at this day. We all acknowledge, that all profperity and fuccefs depends upon God; if fo, reafon will readily own, that it must be therefore the intereft of kingdoms and commonwealths, to prevent and restrain those impieties, which so audaciously provoke and incenfe his wrath. As much is this their duty and intereft, as it is the intereft of a courtier to avoid offences of his royal master, the king, upon whose favour his honour and preferment depends: Or as it is the duty of the owner, to keep in that ox which is used to goring; or cover that pit into which fome have, and others of his family are like to fall or carefully and speedily to remove that gunpowder, which his enemies have placed under the foundation of his houfe, to blow it up. Both reafon and experience will inform the rulers of this world, that profeffed rebels to the God of heaven, are never like to make useful subjects in the kingdoms of men.

5. Until public juftice lay hold upon fuch offenders, let us try what close reasoning may effect, for their reformation.

It is hard to imagine that men of fenfe fhould fo generally, and fo far engage themfelves in this courfe of profane fwearing, and have nothing at all to fay for themselves.

If they have no reafon at all, to offer in juftification or excufe of what they do, they act the brutes, not the men, and are self-condemned already.

It is a queftion with me, whether the foul of man, on this fide hell, can fink fo deep into the nature of a devil, as to fin because he will fin; or to engage himself in a course of fin, without any respect at all to fome carnal intereft, either of profit, pleasure, or honour?

The thief hath a visible temptation of gain to allure him, of pinching neceffity, to induce him. The liar is drawn in, to commit that fecond fin, to cover the shame and turpitude of a former. The adulterer promifeth himself pleasure in the fatisfaction of his lufts. And though men generally stand amazed to think, what that temptation fhould be, which prevails upon the swearer; yet doubtlefs, fomething there is he hath to plead in excufe and extenuation of his fault. Whatsoever it be, let it be produced, and weighed in the balance of right reason; Valeat quantum valere poteft, Let it have its due value and confideration. And could I imagine any thing more likely to be their inducements, than what I fhall here mention, I would not conceal them. There are only four things, that can fall within the compafs of my imagination, pleadable by them, when feriously charged with the evil of the fact.

1. Some of them will haply tell us, that they would not fwear as they do, if they could gain credit to what they say without it; but the incredulity of others, provokes them to add so many oaths to their fingle affirmations.

2. Others of them will tell us, they only fwear in their paffion, when provoked by injuries received from others; and if men did not wrong them, they would not wrong God as they do.

3. Some will plead, that fwearing is become modifh, the badge and character of a gentleman; that it gives them reputation among men of their own rank and quality; and that they fhall be looked upon as sneaking fools, unfit for the company of gentlemen, if they could not discourse with them in this dialect.

4. And fome will confefs the practice is evil; but that they have gotten fuch an ill habit, and the fin is become fo cuftomary with them, that many times they know not whether they fwear or no.

cannot imagine, nor (I think) they themselves, what else is pleadable in excufe, or extenuation of this horrid fin: Let thefe that are produced, have a fair trial at the bar of reafon; and carry yourselves towards this fin for ever hereafter, according to that righteous verdict yourselves thall be forced to pass upon it.

§ 6. To begin with the firft plea. You fay, you would not Iwear as you do, could you gain credit to your words without it. Weigh this question in the upright balance of thine own reason, whether any wife or fober man in the world, will find himself ever the more obliged to believe what you fay, by the addition of blafphemous oaths and imprecations, to your plain and fimple affirmations or negations. I cannot think, that you yourselves would give the more credit to any man, that fhould profefs his fincerity to you, by finding him, in that his very profeffion, falfe and treacherous to his God. Say, reafon, doft not thou take this for a fure truth; that he who makes no confcience of being trite to God, will never make much confcience of being false to men? For what is that which gives any man's words reputation among wife and fober men, but the fuppofition of his integrity, and confcientious fear of his deceit and guile? Take away that, and with it you take away the credibility of all his reports and affirmations.

If I look upon the perfon that speaks, as a man of integrity and confcientious tenderness, I have a fufficient ordinary fecutity of the truth of what he faith. But if I look upon him as a man of a prostitute and feared confcience, that dares venture upon any fin; a man, in whom there is no awe of God, to produce veracity in his words; then my reafon presently concludes, that where there is no truth, there ought to be no truft: For truth is the very ground-work and foundation of truft. Now, what truth can we fuppofe to be left in that man that sticks not; upon any trivial occafion, to break afunder all the obligations of a creature to his Creator; together with all the bonds of kindness, his great and beft benefactor hath bound him withal; and without any the least injury he can pretend his God hath done him, to fly in his very face with the mott contumelious language? Can we fuppose any truth to be in, or any trust to be due to fuch a man as this?

Good men and bad are thus contradiftinguished, Eccl. ix. 2. Him that fweareth, and he that feareth an oath." A confeentious man is fo afraid of an oath, that he would rather VOL. VII. Z z

chufe to die, than fwear fome kind of oaths: And though he be fatisfied of the lawfulness of an oath in general, and of the matter of that oath he sweareth in particular; yet an holy awe and fear of God fills his heart, when he fwears lawfully and neceffarily, left he should fail in the manner of it, by not giving that due reverence to the name of God, which fo facred and folemn an action requires.

But from profane fwearing, and blafpheming the name of God, every man's reafon may juftly and plainly infer this conclufion; that the fear of God, is not in that man's heart. And where there is no fear of God, what truth can be fuppofed in him; or what truft can be due to his words or oaths? But the more he fwears, ftill the less reason all wife men have to believe him. And I am fure, the credulity of fools adds little reputation to him. This plea therefore, for profane swearing, is altogether fhamed, baffled, and cashiered, by the common reafon of mankind, :

7. Call therefore to the bar of reafon the second plea, or apology, for profane fwearing.

You fay, you fwear not, unless provoked by injuries men have done you

This is fo weak a plea for fo great a fin, that I wonder men are not afhamed to bring it into the court of reason. This is the true fenfe, and strength of it: My enemy hath abused me; therefore I will avenge the wrong my enemy hath done me, upon my best friend and benefactor. I challenge you to give but the colour, or fhadow of found reason, why, upon any abuse you have received from men, you should fall fo injuriously upon the name of God, who never abused or injured you, fince he gave you a being, but hath always done you good. Tell me, man, (if thou have the reafon of a man in thee) what wrong hath God done thee? Wherein hath he injured thee, that thou thus wreakeft thy revenge upon him? If an enemy have affronted you, reason would tell you, you ought not to take revenge for it, upon your friend, and beft benefactor. Have you none but God to abufe, when men abufe and injure you? Can your reafon comprobate and allow fuch an action as this? Satan inftigates the corruptions of men to injure you; and you fly in the face of God for it, whose laws feverely prohibit fuch actions, and will avenge the inju ries done unto him. Speak no more therefore for ever, in the way of excufing the horrid finfulness of this fact against God, upon the account of injuries done thee by thy fellow creature.