like the witneffes against Chrift, whofe witnefling did not agree together, Mark xiv. 58, 59.

2. 9. When are perfons guilty of perjury, in promiffory baths?

A. When they promife upon oath what they have no mind to perform; or when, without any infuperable.impediment laid in their way, or any just and relevant excufe, they fail in the performance; as in the perjury of Zedekiah king of Judah, who broke his oath to the king of BaBylon, Ezek, xvii. 16.

2. to. Is a perfon guilty of perjury, if he fwears to do a thing impoffible or unlawful?

A. Surely he is: for, if he fwear to a thing impoffible, hë fwears to a manifeft lie; if he fwear to do a thing unlawful, he is doubly perjured; both in making fuch an oath, and in fulfilling it, as was the cafe with Herod, Mat xiv.

211. What is the aggravation of the fin of perjury? A. It not only breaks all bonds of fociety among men, but impeaches the omniscience of God himself, calling him to atteft what confcience knows to be an untruth; and therefore God threatens, that his curfe fhall enter into the house of him that fweareth falfely-and shall confume it, with the timber thereof, and the ftones thereof, Zech, v. 3, 4.

2. 12. How is God's name profaned by finful curfings? A. When God's wrath and vengeance is imprecated upon ourselves or others; or when the devil is in any manher of way invocated for harm.

2. 13. What do wicked perfons wifh for, when they imprecate the wrath and vengeance of God upon themselves. A. They do, in effect, pray, that God would baften their everlasting deftruction, and that their damnation may not fumber, but be speedily inflicted, 2 Pet. ii. 3.

2. 14. Do the devils themselves venture to wish for this ? A. No; they believe that there is further wrath abiding them at the judgement of the great day; and they tremble at the forethoughts of it, James ii. 19. Jude verfe 6.

215. What is the evil of imprecating divine vengeance upon others?

A. It is a piece of the most profane, prefumptuous, and impudent freedom with the majefty of heaven; as if he were bound to empty the vials of his wrath upon our felPART II.

low creatures, at our pleasure, and that in order to gratify our passionate revenge upon them, 2 Sam. xvi. 5, 8.

2. 16. Is it not a moft horrid and abominable wickednefs, to call or invoke the devil to TAKE ourselves or others?

A. Be fure it is; for it is a putting the devil in God's ftead, or an employing of him to do God's work for him, even when he is delaying to do it himself; which is no less than devil worship, and we ought not to have fellowship with devils, 1 Cor. x. 20.

2. 17. How is the name of God abused by finful oaths? A. When men take unlawful oaths that may be imposed upon them; and when, in their ordinary converfation, they fwear by God, or by any thing whereby he maketh himself known; contrary to Mat. v. 37. Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than thefe, cometh of evil: or, of the evil one.

2. 18. Wherein lies the heinoufnefs of fwearing in common difcourfe?

4. It is a moft heaven daring wickedness, even an infulting of the great God, our maker, to his face; a crime, which we dare not, without danger, be guilty of against our fellow-creatures: and after all, there is neither pleasure nor profit attending it.

2. 19. Is it a taking of God's name in vain, to fwear by the creatures; fuch as, by heaven, by our life, foul, confcience, or the like?

A. Yes: becaufe fwearing by any of the creatures, is interpretatively a fwearing by God, the Creator and Preferver of all things, Mat. xxiii. 22. He that shall fwear by HEAVEN, fweareth by the throne of God, and by him that fitteth thereon.

2. 2c. Did not Jofeph, who was a good man, swear once and again, by the life of Pharoah, Gen. xlii 15, 16.

A. The goodness of the man did not excufe the finfulness of the action: we are not to do evil that good may come, Rom. ii. 8. For, though it may be alleged, that to fay, By the life of Pharoah, is no more than to fay, As fure as Pharoah lives: yet the words themselves being in the form of an unlawful oath, which, it would feem, was commonly used by the Egyptians, they ought not, for this reafon, to have been uttered.

221. Is fwearing by faith, or troth, a formal profan. of God's name?

A. No doubt it is; for, when a perfon fwears in this manner, he tacitly invokes God to bear witnefs, that he is fpeaking faithfully and really, and to punish him, if he is doing otherwife; which, in ordinary converfation, is undoubtedly finful, and a falling inte condemnation. Jam. v. 12. Q22. Will a habit or cuftom of fwearing in common discourse, be an excufe for it?

A. By no means; any more than an habit or cultom of killing men, can be an excufe for wilful murder.

Q.23. How is the name of God profaned by finful vows ? A. Either when we folemnly enter into a refolution to do what is abfolutely unlawful, as Jezebel did, 1 Kings xix. z,; or, when we come under engagements to duty, and against fin, in our own ftrength, without a due de pendence on the grace of God, as the greater part of the Ifraelites did, Deut. v. 27, 29.; or, when we vow, and are not refolved to perform, as Johanan and his confederates did, Jer. xlii. 5. compared with ver. 20.

Q. 24. When is the name of God profaned or abused by lots?

A. When God is appealed unto by way of diverfion, as in playing at cards and dice, where the great God is most prefumptuously invoked to determine who fhall be the gainer. Lots are alfo unlawful, when there is an appeal by them to God in matters of small moment, which might be otherwife easily decided; this being too like the practice of the foldiers, who, after they had crucified Chrift, did caft lots for his vesture, John xix. 23, 24.

Q25. How do men profane the name of God in their outward walk?

A. By making profeffion of religion in hypocrify, and backiliding from it, Heb. vi. 6.; or, by committing such enormities and immoralities, as reflect dishonour thereupon, and make the name of God to be evil spoken of, Rom. ii. 24.

Q. 26. How are the ordinances of God profaned and abuled?

A. Either when they are quite neglected, Acts vii. 42, 43. or, when they are attended, and gone about in a formal, fuperficial, and cuftomary manner, without feeking to meet with God in them, or to have spiritual food and nourishment to our fouls by them, Ifa. xxix. 13, 14.

Q27. How is the word profaned and abused?

A. "By misinterpreting, mifapplying, or perverting

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"any part of it, to profane jefts, curious and unprofitable questions, vain janglings or the maintaining of false doctrines; abufing it, or any things, contained under the "name of God, to charms,...or any way oppofing God's ❝ truth, grace. and ways---*.”

228. How are the works of God abused?

A. When" the creatures" are prostituted to" finful lufts "and practices; and when there is a "murmuring and quarrelling at God's providences t."

55. QUEST. What is the reafon annexed to the third commandment?

ANSW. The reafon annexed to the third commandment is, That however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not fuffer them to escape his righteous judgement.

2. 1. Are there any arguments against taking God's nams in vain, couched in the preceptive part itself, of this

commandment?

A. Yes he whose name we are discharged to take in vain, is the LORD OUR GOD;-Thou shalt not take the namą of the LORD THY GOD in vain.

2.2. What is the force of the argument taken from his being [the Lord] or JEHOVAH ?

A. That his infinite effential glory and excellency fhould fill us with the greatest reverence and humility, when we think, or fpeak of any thing by which he makes himself known, Pfal. lxxxiii. 18.

Q3. What is the force of the argument taken from his being [our God]?

A. That his making himself over to us in the covenant of promife, as our reconciled God and Father in Chrift, fhould lay us under the strongest obligation to a holy and reverent use of his name, Exod. xv, 2.

Q. 4. What is the particular reafon expressly fubjoined, or annexed to this commandment?

A. It is in these words, by way of threatening, For the Lord will not held him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Q5. What is the import of the threatening, the Lord will not hold him guiltless?

A. It imports, that he will furely hold him guilty in a peculiar manner, who prefumes to profane or abuse his name, so as that divine vengeance shall be infallibly certain against him, Zech. v. 3.

Q. 6. In what light doth the scripture represent them who take God's name in vain?

A. It reprefents them as his open and avowed enemies; Pfa. cxxxix 20.... Thine ENEMIES take thy name in vain.

2. 7. How doth it appear that divine vengeance is infallibly certain against the profaners of God's name?

A. It appears from the very terms of the threatening, The Lord WILL NOT hold him guiltless; that is, as fure as there will be a judgement feat, before which finners must appear; fo fure it is, that this fin fhall then be taken particular notice of, as a main article of the indictment, Mal, iii. 5.

Q8. Why do [the breakers of this commandment escape punishment from men]?

A. Because many of thefe to whom the adminiftration of justice is committed, being themselves guilty, do therefore fhew no concern for vindicating the honour of God's name in punishing the profaners of it.

2. 9. Why will not the Lord our God [fuffer them to efcape his righteous judgement]?

A. Because, if Heathens are highly punishable for this • crime, as contrary to one of the firft dictates of nature's light, Rom. i. 32. much more, among Chriftians, the manifeftation of God's name in Chrift, being the greatest bleffing, John xv. 22. their profaning or abufing of it must be the greateft fia, Amos iii. 2.

47. QUEST. Which is the fourth command

ment?

ANSW. The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy.