CHAP. XXXVI.

Of the Third Commandment.

Q. 1. WHAT are the words of the third commandment? A. 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.

Q. 2. What is it that is specially here forbidden?

A. Profaneness; that is, the unholy using of God's holy name, and holy things; especially by perjury, or any other entitling him to falsehood, or to any of the sins of men, as if he were the author or approver of them.

Q. 3. What is meant by the name of God?

A. Those words, or other signs, by which he is described, denominated, or otherwise notified to man; which I opened so fully on the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, that to avoid repetition I must refer you thereto.

Q. 4. What is meant by taking the name of God in vain? A. Using it profanely, and specially falsely. It is contrary to the hallowing of God's name, which is mentioned in the Lord's Prayer.

In the Scripture, 1. The creature is called vanity, as being but a shadow, and untrusty thing; and to use God's name and holy things in a common manner, as we use the creature's, is to profane his name, and take it vainly.

2. And falsehood and lies are usually called vanity; for vanity is that shadowyness which seemeth something and is nothing, and so deceiveth men. A lie is that which deceiveth him that trusteth it: so idols are called vanity and lies, for their falsehood and deceit; and all men are said to be liars, that is, untrusty and deceitful.

Q. 5. What is an oath?

A. I have said heretofore as others, that it is but an appeal to God as the Witness of the truth, and the Avenger of a lie; but, on further thoughts, I find that the common nature of an oath is to pawn some greater thing in attesting of the truth of our words; or to take some grievous thing on ourselves as a penalty if we lie; or to make some certain truth a pledge of the truth of what we say. And to swear by our faith, or truth, or

honesty, by the temple, the altar, the fire, the sun, is as much as to say, 'If this be not true, then I have no faith, truth, honesty; there is no temple, altar, fire, sun:' or 'Let me be taken for one that denieth that I have any faith, that there is any sun, fire,' &c.: or, 'It as true as that this is fire, sun,' &c. So to swear by God is to say, 'It is as true as that there is a God,' or as God liveth,' &c.; or, 'If I lie, take me for one that denieth God to be God;' and consequently it is an appeal to him as the Avenger; so, 'By the life of Pharaoh' was 'As true as Pharaoh liveth,' or Else take me for one that denieth the life of Pharoah.' So that there is somewhat of an imprecation, or self-reproach, as the penalty of a lie, in every oath, but more dreadfully of divine revenge when we swear by God, and of idolatry when men swear by an idol, as if it were a God.

Q. 6. Which be the chief ways of taking God's name in vain?

A. 1. Fathering on him false doctrine, revelations, or laws; saying as false prophets, God sent me,' and 'Thus saith the Lord,' when it is false; saying, 'This doctrine, or this prophecy, God's Spirit revealed to me,' when it is not so. Therefore all Christians must be very fearful of false revelations and prophecies, and see that they believe not every spirit, nor pretend to revelations; and to take heed of taking the suggestions of Satan, or their crazed, melancholy fancies, for the revelations of God.

2. So also gathering false doctrines out of Scripture by false expositions, and fathering these on God. And therefore all men should, in dark and doubtful cases, rather suspend their judgments till they have overcome their doubts by solid evidence, than rashly to conclude, and confidently and fiercely dispute for error. It is a great profanation to father lies on God, who is the hater of them, when lying is the devil's work and character.

3. The same I may say of a rash and false interpretation of God's providences.

4. And also of fathering false laws on God, and saying that he either commandeth or forbiddeth what he doth not; to make sins and duties which God never made, and say he made them, is to father falsehood on him, and corrupt his government.

5. Another way is by false worship. 1. If men say that God commanded such worship, which he commanded not, it is the

sin last mentioned. 2. If they worship him with their own inventions without his command, (particular or general,) they profane his name, by offering him that which is unholy, common, and unclean.

6. Another way is by false pretending that God gave them that authority which he never gave them; like counterfeiting a commission from the king. If princes should pretend that God gave them authority to oppose his truth, to persecute godliness, unjustly to silence faithful ministers of Christ, to raise unnecessary wars, to oppress the innocent; this were a heinous taking of God's name in vain. If priests shall pretend that God gave them authority to make themselves pastors of the flocks that are unwilling of them, without a just call, or to make laws for any that are not rightfully their subjects, and to impose their dictates, words, and forms, and unnecessary inventions, as conditions of ministration or communion, without true right, and to make themselves the rule of other men's words and actions by usurpation; this is all taking God's name in vain. And so it is, if they preach false doctrine in his name, and if they pronounce false excommunications and absolutions, and justify the wicked, and condemn, reproach, and slander the just, and brand unjustly the servants of Christ as hypocrites, schismatics, or heretics, and this as by ministerial power from Christ: especially if they silence Christ's ministers, impose wolves or incompetent men, scatter the flocks, and suppress serious godliness, and all this in the name of Christ. Much more if any pretend, as the pope or his pretended general councils, to be Christ's vicar general, or head, or supreme, unifying governor over all the church on earth, and to make laws for the whole church: or if they corrupt God's worship with imposed superstitions, falsehood, or profanations, and say God hath authorised them to do this; it is heinous profaning God's name by a lie; such doing brought up the proverb, In nomine Domini incipit omne malum: when all their abuses began with, "In the name of God, Amen."

And they that make new church forms which God made not, either papal, universal aristocracy, patriarchial, and such like, and either pretend that God made them, or gave them, or such other power to make them, must prove what they say, lest thev profane God's name by falschood.

But the highest profanation is, when they pretend that God hath made them absolute governors, and set them so far above his own laws, and judgment, and himself, as that whatever they

say is the word of God, or the sense of the Scripture, though never so falsely, must be taken for such by all; and whatever they command or forbid, they must be obeyed, though God's word command or forbid the contrary: and that God hath given power (to popes or councils) to forbid men the worship which God commandeth; yea, to interdict whole kingdoms, and excommunicate and depose kings; and that from these, as a supreme power, no man must appeal to the Scripture, or to God and his final judgment. This is, by profane lying, to use God's name to the destroying of souls, the church, and the laws and government of God himself."

7. Another way of taking God's name in vain is, by heresies; that is, embodying in separated parties or churches, against the church and truth of God, for the propagating of some dangerous false doctrine which they father on God, and so militate in his name against his church. If men, as aforesaid, do but promote false doctrine in the church without separation, it is bad; but to gather an army against the truth and church, and feign Christ to be the leader of it, is worse.

8. Another way is by perjury, appealing to God, or abusing his name, as the witness and owner of a lie.

9. Another way is by false vows made to God himself. When men either vow to God to do that which he abhorreth, or hath forbidden; or when they vow that which is good, with a false, deceitful heart, and, as Ananias and Sapphira, with false reserves; or when they vow and pay not, but wilfully break the vows which they have made. The breach of covenants between princes, or between them and subjects, or between husband and wife, confirmed by appeal to God, is a dreadful sin; but the violation of the great baptismal vow in which we are all solemnly devoted and obliged to God, is one of the most heinous sins in the world. When it is not about a lesser duty, but even our oath of allegiance to God, by solemn vow taking him for our God, our Saviour, and Sanctifier, and giving up ourselves to him accordingly, renouncing the contrary, and laying on this covenant all our hopes of grace and glory, pardon and salvation, what can be more heinous than to be false to such a vow and covenant ì*

10. And hypocrisy itself is a heinous taking God's name in

* Jer. xiv. 14; xxiii. 32, and xxxvii. 14; Mark xiii. 22; 2 Cor. xi. 13; 2 Pet. ii. 1; Jer. xxvii. 15, and xxix. 9, 10, 31; 1 John iv. 1, 2.

t

* Acts xx. 30; Rom. xvi. 16, 17; Eph. iv. 14.

Jer. iv. 2; v.2; vii. 9, and xxiii. 10; Mal. iii. 5; Psalm xv. 4; Zech. v. 3, 4; Hos. iv. 2, and x. 4.

vain. When we offer God the dead carcass of religious acts without the life and soul, and present him with ceremony, selfexalting pomp, mere heartless words, an artificial image of religion, that hath not the spiritual nature, life, or serious desire of the heart; that is, seeking to mock God, or making him like an idol that seeth not the heart, and knows not what is offered him. Alas! how much of the preaching, hearing, praying, and sacraments of many is a taking God's name in vain, as if he did accept a lie.

11. Another way of this profanation is making God's name and acts of religion an engagement to wickedness: as when men bind themselves to treason, murder, or any sin, by taking the sacrament. As many, alas! (which I unwillingly name) have done in a blind zeal for the Roman usurpation, being told, that it pleaseth God and Saint Peter, and meriteth salvation to destroy the enemies of the church, that is, of the pope and his clergy. And those that bound themselves with an oath to kill Paul, thought God accepted the oath and deed. And the general council at Lateran, under Innocent III,, which bound temporal lords to take an oath to exterminate such as they called heretics, fathered the work on God by that oath. And the pope and council of Trent, which hath brought in on all the clergy a new oath to many new and sinful things, by that oath make God the approver of all. And the Mahometans that give liberty of religion, yet think it pleaseth God and meriteth heaven, to kill the enemies of Mahomet. And Christ saith, "They that kill you, shall think they do God good service." And is it not profaning the name of God, to make him the author of the murder of his servants?

12. Another way of taking God's name profanely, and pleading it for vanity and lies, is by making God the determining first cause of all the acts of men in the world, as specified by their objects and circumstances; that is, of all the lies, and all the other sins that are done in the world: as if God had given no such free-will to men or devils, by which they can lie, murder, hate God, or commit any sin, till God move their wills, tongues, and hands to do it, by an unavoidable, predetermining efficacy, This is so much to profane and take in vain God's name, as that it maketh him the chief cause of all the devil's works.

13. Another way of vain abuse, and profanation of God's name, is by blasphemy, and contempt, and scorn of God, or of the word or ways of God: and, alas! who would think that this