Study

1. A lawful oath is a part of religious worship, wherein the person swearing in truth, righteousness, and judgement, solemnly calleth God to witness what he swears,

Exodus 20:7 Deuteronomy 10:20 Jeremiah 4:2

Exodus 20:7 KJV Read in context

⁷Thou 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.

Deuteronomy 10:20 KJV Read in context

²⁰Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Jeremiah 4:2 KJV Read in context

²And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

and to judge him according to the truth or falseness thereof.

2 Chronicles 6:22-23

2 Chronicles 6:22-23 KJV Read in context

²²If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; ²³Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

2. The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear; and therein it is to be used, with all holy fear and reverence; therefore to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name, or to swear at all by any other thing, is sinful, and to be abhorred;

Matthew 5:34 Matthew 5:37 James 5:12

Matthew 5:34 KJV Read in context

³⁴But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Matthew 5:37 KJV Read in context

³⁷But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

James 5:12 KJV Read in context

¹²But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

yet as in matter of weight and moment, for confirmation of truth, and ending all strife, an oath is warranted by the Word of God;

Hebrews 6:16 2 Corinthians 1:23

Hebrews 6:16 KJV Read in context

¹⁶For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

2 Corinthians 1:23 KJV Read in context

²³Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

so a lawful oath being imposed by lawful authority in such matters, ought to be taken.

Nehemiah 13:25

Nehemiah 13:25 KJV Read in context

²⁵And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.

3. Whosoever taketh an oath warranted by the Word of God, ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an act, and therein to avouch nothing but what he knoweth to be truth; for that by rash, false, and vain oaths, the Lord is provoked, and for them this land mourns.

Leviticus 19:12 Jeremiah 23:10

Leviticus 19:12 KJV Read in context

¹²And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:10 KJV Read in context

¹⁰For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

4. An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words, without equivocation or mental reservation.

Psalm 24:4

Psalm 24:4 KJV Read in context

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5. A vow, which is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone, is to be made and performed with all religious care and faithfulness;

Psalm 76:11 Genesis 28:20-22

Psalm 76:11 KJV Read in context

¹¹Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.

Genesis 28:20-22 KJV Read in context

²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ²¹So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

but popish monastical vows of perpetual single life,

1 Corinthians 7:2 1 Corinthians 7:9

1 Corinthians 7:2 KJV Read in context

²Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

1 Corinthians 7:9 KJV Read in context

⁹But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

professed poverty,

Ephesians 4:28

Ephesians 4:28 KJV Read in context

²⁸Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

and regular obedience, are so far from being degrees of higher perfection, that they are superstitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself.

Matthew 19:11

Matthew 19:11 KJV Read in context

¹¹But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.