The foul of the Son of God was in hell, and hell was an heaven to it, becaufe God was with him in the valley of the fhadow of death, aud left not his foul in hell, he took him from the nethermoft hell.

3 Doctrine. The truth of God is a good ground. For faith gathered from Gods oath to the tribes, even his word: he addeth Selah, to fhevv that vve may fafely reft there. The reason is because, The Word of God is a fure word, and thofe things wherein men fail, are not incident to him.

I Whereas men do promise or swear rafhly, and without confideration, as David did,when he swore that he would not leave one of the houfe of Naball to make water against a wall, God cannot fail that way, because he doth all things with ftable truth, and according to the counfail of his will.

2 Men do sometimes vow and fwear things utterly unlawfull, and most wicked, as Herod did to Herodias daughter, tó give her whatsoever the demanded of him, which included the life of John Baptist.

So there were many that fwore they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul, our God cannot fail fo far, he loveth righteousneffe, neither fhall any evill dwell with him.

3 Whereas many promife, and fwear, what they mean not ever to perform, as Jacobs Sons in the Covenant, that they made of confederacy with Hamor the Son of Shechem: the Apostle faith: Our God cannot lie.

4 Whereas many amongit men, do fwear and promise, that vvhich they are never able to perform, therein like the Devil, who faid to Chrift, Omnia hac tibi dabo, all these will I give thee: God herein cannot faile, for hee is omnipotent, and he doth whatsoever he wil in heaven and earth, & in abyffis.

So then, if the Word of God be gone out of his mouth, we may build faith upon it, for heaven and earth may and shall paffe away, fo fhal not one jod of the Word of God.

5 Times may change with men, and he that was rich and able to make good his word, may fuddenly be poor and break,

and

and fail: but God is without variableneffe, or fhadow of alteration, all times are in his hand and power.

This ferveth for confirmation of faith, for fuch use the A- Use 1. poftle doth make of it, who fpeaking of the Decree and Oath of God, faith,

That by two immutable things in which it was impoffible for God H‹b.6.18. to lye, we might have a strong confolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope fer before us, By this faith, the juft liveth in Babylon, and in the weakness of their temporall eftate they have ἐσχυρὰν πασάκλησιν,and thus they lay hand hand upon the hope fet before them in the word.

Jonah faith, They that follow lying vanities do forfake their own mercie: Vana falus hominis, vain is the help of man: they that go down to Egypt for help, have their woe threatned.

An horse is but a vain thing to helpa man; Princes are the fons of men, there is no help in them: the word of God faileth none.

At that Word Abraham will leave his own Country,and go he cares not,he enquires not whether: At that Word Abraham will go three days journy to kill Isaac with his own hands, and will never difpute how the promife of God fhall be performed, That in lfaac his feed fhould be blessed.

At that Word Peter will let fall his net, against all rules of fishing, and he will forfake the Ship to come to Chrift upon the Sea,by the warrant of that Word.

The promises of God to his Church, and his threatnings of fin recorded in the living Book of his word are not antiquate, no age fhall ever fuperannate them, or put them out of full force and vertue.

What if good perfons, and good causes do fuffer oppreffion? the Poet is a Divine in that cafe, Non fi male noster & olim fic erit, informes byenes reducit fupiter idem fummovit after foul weather comes fair, though it be ill with us now, it will not be always.

What if enemies of Religion, and Moaths of Commonwealths, do flourish and profper, and have all things at will,

PPP

let

let it not trouble David, and fob, both of them faw as fair a Sun-shine shut up in a dark cloud, and a world of foul weather following.

2 This tenderneffe in God of his word and oath, doth ferve for example to teach us to make confcience of our promifes and oaths; and we may urge the Argument as the Apoftle doth. If God fo loved us, we ought alfo to love one ano

ther. So

Heb.5.19.

If God be carefull to keep his promise and oath with us, we ought alfo to do the like with our brethren.

Here arife two Quaries;

I Whether it be lawfull to fwear at all,
2 Whether all oaths must be kept.

I An liciat jurare? is it lawfull to fwear?

An oath is, a calling of God to witneffe in fuch things as cannot otherwife be affured, and it is oftvvo forts.

I Affertorie, when we do call God to witneffe against our fouls, if we affirm not the truth: in this cafe the awe of Gods Majeftie, is thought to be fuch a rule of the confcience, that no man will dare to violate the religion of an oath.

2 Promiffary, When vve do engage the honour of God, for the truth of our purpofe, to performe vvhat vve promise, and vve caft our felves upon his juft judgement, if vve be ether deceitful in our promife, or unfaithful in our performance. This may anfvver the firft Quare, for this doth declare that an oath doth ferve,

SI For the glory of God,

22 For the good of our Brethren.

The glory of God, for it fhevveth him,

1 To be prefent amongst us, and privy to our ways,
2. To be a God of Truth;

3. To be a God of juftice to punish unfaithfulneffe.

2. It theweth that we by fin have loft our credit, and therefore God doth engage himself for fuch as fwear aright.

2 lt ferveth for the good of our Brethren, for it is the end of all ftrife.

I wil not enter into the lifts with the Anabaptifts,to confute their weak arguments against the lawfulneffe of an oath, you hear it warranted by reafon, and examples grow thick in the book of God to juftifie it.

2 Quare, Whether every oath be to be kept.

To that we answer in a word; every lawful oath is to be kept, fo is every law full promife.

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or wear an Oath to bind Nun.30.3. his foul with a bond, he shall not prophane his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

Every oath and every promise engageth our faith, that is our fidelity, and fo it is a bond upon our fouls, and though it it be to our hinderance we must not break.

Remember how the breach of the oath of the Lord, made by Joshua,and the elders of the people to the Gibeonites,smarted in the house of Saul.

Zedekiah had engaged himfelf by oath to Nebuchadnezzar, an heathen King, and brake, and rebelled against him indeed, it was before the doctrine of Rome was afoot: Fides non eft fervanda cum hæreticis, no faith to be kept with hereticks: But here the Prophet, Shall be efcape that doth fuch things? Or fball he break the Covenant and be delivered?

And after faith God:

Eze. 17:15

As I live, furely mine oath that he hath defpifed, and my Cove- Ver.19. venant that he hath broken, even it will I recompence upon his own head: For he faid;

He defpifed the Oath by breaking the Covenant, (when lo,he had Vorle 18. given his hand.)

A lawfull promife and oath hath three notes to justifie it.

Truth,

Righteousness,

Judgement.

I In truth the heart joyning with the Author.

2 In righteousneffe feeking, Deo & proximo fervire, ferve God and our neighbour.

3 In judgement: it is deliberation and advice.

4 Doctr. God declareth his power fometimes openly to the comfort of his Church, and the terrour of the enemies thereof, gathered from these words.

Ppp 2

Thy

Jer.4.2.

Reaf.2.

Pf 105.45.

Reaf.2.

Pr.106.12.

Reaf.3.

Reaf.4.

Pfa.78 17.

32.

56.

Reaf.5.

Thy Bow was quite naked for as before there was abfcontio roboris, the hiding of his strength, when God revealed himfelf to his Church onely upon Mount Sinai, fo there was now revelatio roboris, a revealing of his strength; when he had made his Bow quite naked.

I For the fetling of his Church in obedience to him, so faith the Pfalmift, after commemoration of the wonder : All works of God done for Ifrael.

That they might keep his statutes, and obferve his Laws.

2 For the glory of his name, that he might fill the mouthes of the faithfull with his praife, and this effect it wrought with Ifrael a while, for when God had done great things for them. Then they fang his praife.

3 For the credit of his Word, that they might settle their faith in his promises, fo it is there faid; Then they believed his Word.

4 To convince the ingratitude of men,if they notwithstanding the manifeftation of his power to them, do start aside, and rebell against him; fo doth the Pfalmift taxe them: where repeating the manifeft and naked bow of God revealed to them, it is the burthen of his fong. Yet they finned more against God by provoking the most High in the wildernese he repeateth more of his great works, and addeth ;

For all this they finned ftill,and believed not, for all his wondrous works: he repeateth more,and faith,

Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his teftimony, &c.

5 To inftruct pofterity that fhould fucceed them.

That the generation to come might know them, even the children Pla.78.6. which should be borne, who should arife and declare them to their children.

7.

That they might fet their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his Commandements. This is the way to keep the bow of God ftill naked, that all the ends of the world may fee the falvation of our God.

God layeth his Bow quite naked in the fight of the world,

that