Exposition Upon Matthew 27(1), Matthew 5 · Verse 20
Agayne ye hauehave harde how it was ſayd to them of olde tyme / forſwere not thy ſelfe / but paye thyne othes vntounto thy lorde. But I ſaye vntounto you / that ye ſwere not at all / neyther be heauen / for it is the ſeate of God / nether by the erthe / for it is his foteſtole / nether by Ieruſalem / for it is the cety of the great kynge nether thou ſhalte ſwere by thyne heed / for thou canſte not make a whyte here or a blacke. But your communycacyon ſhalbe ye ye / nay naye. For yf ought be aboue that / it procedeth of euell.
Swerynge.As to hate in the harte, or to couet another mannes wyfe / was no ſynne with the phareſeys, no more was it to hyde one thynge in the harte and to ſpeake another with the mouthe, to deceyue a mannes neyghbour / yf it were not bounde with an othe. And thoughe Moyſes ſay Leuitici. xix. Lye not nor deceyue any man hys neyghboure or one another, yet they interpreted it but good councell / yf a man deſyred to be perfecte. But no precepte to bynde vnderunder payne of ſynne. And ſo by that meanes not onelye they that ſpake true / but alſo they that lyed to deceyue, were compelled to ſwere and to confyrme theyr wordes with othes, yf they wolde be beleued.
But Chryſte bryngeth lyght and ſalt to the texte whiche the phareſeys had darkened and corrupte with the ſtynkyngemyſte of theyr ſophyſtry,To ſwere by God. and forbyddeth to ſwere at all▪ eyther by God or any creature of Goddes, for thou canſt ſwere by none othe at al, excepte the dyſhonoure ſhal redowne vntounto the name of God. If thou ſwere, by God it is ſo, or by God I wyl do this or that, the meanynge is, that thou makeſt God iudge, to auenge it of the, yf it be not as thou ſayeſt, or yf thou ſhalte not do as thou promyſeſt. Nowe if truth be not in thy wordes thou ſhameſte thyne heuenlye father, and teſtyfyeſt that thou beleueſt that he is no ryghtwyſe iudge nor wyll aduenge vnryghtwyſnes / but that he is wycked as thou arte and conſenteth and laugheth at the / whyle thou deceyueſt thy brother, aſwell created after the lykenes of God and ſo deare bought with the precyous bloude of Chriſt as thou. And thus through the a wycked ſonne is the name of thy father dyſhonoured, and his lawe not fered nor hys promyſes beleued. And when thou ſwereſte by the goſpell boke or byble, the meanynge is, that God yf thou lye. ſhall not fulfyll vntounto the, the promyſes of mercye therin wrytten. But contrarye wyſe to brynge vp on the all the curſſes / plages / and vengeaunce therin thretened vntounto the dyſobedyent and euell doers. And euen ſo whē thou ſwereſt by any creature, as by breade or ſalte. the meanynge is, that thou deſyreſte / that the creator therof ſhall aduenge it of the, yf thou lye. &c̄. wherfore our dealynge ought to be ſo ſubſtancyal that our wordes myght be beleued without an othe. Our wordes are the ſignes of the truth of our hartes, ī which ought to be pure and ſīgle louelove toward thy brother, for what ſo euer procedeth not of louelove is damnable. Nowe falſhed to deceyue hym and pure louelove can not ſtande together. It cā not therfore be but dampnable ſyn to deceyue thy brother with lyenge, thoughe thou adde no othe to thy wordes. Moche more dampnable is it then to deceyue and to adde an othe therto. &c̄.
Howe be it al maner of ſweryng is not here forboden, no more then all maner of kyllyng.Swerynge. when the commaundement ſayth, kyll not / for iudges and rulers muſte kyll. Euen ſo ought they, when they put anye man in offyce, to take an othe of hym that he ſhall be true and faythfull and dylygent therin. And of theyr ſubiectes it is lawefull to take othes, and of all that offer them ſelues to beare wytnes. But yf the ſuperior wolde compell the inferior, to ſwere that ſhulde be to the dyſhonour of God or hurtynge of an innocent, the inferior ought rather to dye then to ſwere. Nether ought a iudge to compel a man to ſwere agaynſt hym ſelfe, that he make hym not ſynne and for ſwere whereof it is ynough ſpoken in another place. But here is forboden ſweryng betwene neyghbour and neyghboure, and in all our pryuate buſyneſſe and dayly communycacyon. For cuſtomable ſweringe, thoughe we lyed not, doth robbe the name of God of hys due reuerence and feare. And in our dayly communicacyon and buſynes one with another is ſo moch vanyte of wordes that we can not but of many thynges lye, which to cōfyrme with an othe, though we begyle not is to take the name of God in vayne and vnreuerently agaynſte the ſeconde precepte. Nowe to lye for the intent to begyle / is dampnable of it ſelfe / howe moch more then to abuſe the holye name of God therto, and to cal to God for vengeaunce vp on thyne owne ſelfe.
Charite moderateth ye lawe.Many caſes yet there chaunce dayly betwene man and man, in whiche charyte compelleth to ſwere, as I knowe that my neyghboure is faſly ſcalundered, I am bounde to reporte the truth and may lawfully ſwere, ye and am bounde if it nede, and that thoughe nat before a iudge. And vntounto the weake where ye and naye hauehave loſte theyr credence thorowe the multytude of lyers,Othe. To performe an euell othe is double ſynne. a man maye lawefully ſwere to put them out of doute. whiche yet cometh of the euell of them that abuſe theyr language to deceyue with all. Fynally to ſwere to do euel is dampnable, and to performe that is double dampnable. Herodes othe made hym not innocent and gylties of the dethe of Iohan the Baptyſte thoughe the ypocryte had not knowen what his wyfes doughter wolde hauehave aſked. And when men ſaye, a kynges worde muſte ſtande / that is trouth, yf his othe or promyſe be lawfull and expedyent.
In al our promyſes it is to be added, if God wyll and yf there be no lawful let. And though it be not added, it is to be interprete, as added As yf I borowe thy ſwerde, and by the houre I promyſe to brynge it yt agayne, thou be beſyde thy ſelfe. If I promyſe to paye by a certayne daye, and be in the meane tyme robbed or decayed by chaunce that I can not perfourme it. I am not forſworne yf myne herte ment truely when I promyſed. And many lyke caſes there be of whiche are touched in other places. To lye alſo and to dyſſemble is not alwaye ſynne. Dauid. 1, Regum. 27. Tolde Kynge Achis the Phylyſtyne that he had robbed hys owne people the Iewes, whē he had ben a rouyng amōge the Amalekytes, and had ſlayne man / woman and chylde for tellynge tales. And yet was that lye no more ſynne then it was to deſtroye the duplicate page duplicate page Amalekites thoſe deedly enemyes of the fayth of one almyghtye God. Nether ſynned Cuſay Dauydes truſty frende. 2. Reg. 18. in faynynge and begylynge abſolon. But pleſed God hiely To beare a ſeke man in hande that a wholſome bytter medecyne is ſwete. to make hym drynke it, is the duty of charite & no ſyn. To perſuade him that purſueth his neyghbour to hurt him or ſlee hym, that hys neyghboure is gone another contrary way, is the duty of eueryevery chryſten man by the lawe of charyte and no ſyn, no though I confyrmed it with an othe. But to lye for to deceyue and hurt, that is damnable onelyonly. &c.