Swearing an Oath, or Vowing.
By J. B. Frisbie
THERE are different kinds of oaths mentioned in the Bible: sacred, profane, and rash oaths. I. Judicial oaths allowable and never prohibited either in the Old or New Testament. Ex. xx, 16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Rom. xiii, 9. God says he will be a swift witness against false swearers. Mal. iii, 5. The law is made for perjured persons, (having sworn falsely.) 1 Tim. i, 9, 10. Where is it said, we shall not bear true witness under oath against our neighbor? Joshua vi, 26. And Joshua adjured (swore) them, &c. 1 Sam. xiv, 24. Saul had adjured (sworn) the people. Matt. xxvi, 63, 64. The high priest said unto Jesus, I adjure (swear) thee by the living God, &c. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said. Here Jesus answered under oath to the high priest. Ex. xxii, 7–13. The parties shall come before the judges. . . . Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. Paul refers to this oath-taking. Heb. vi, 16. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. To swear: "Solemnly to call on God to witness." Union Bible Dictionary. Jer. iv, 2. And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth. Jer. xii, 16. Swear by my name. Isa. lxv, 16. He that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth. This is in the gospel dispensation, after the call of the Gentiles, and rejection of the Jews. Verse 12. Deut. vi, 13. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. The nature of an oath. The making an appeal to the Supreme Being, and calling him to witness and record, constitutes the spirit and essence of an oath. "It is no matter in what form this appeal is made." Bishop Hopkins says: "We find St. Paul himself more than once attesting the truth of those grave and weighty matters which he delivered in his epistles, by calling God to witness, which is the very form and nature of an oath. See 2 Cor. i, 23. I call God for a record (or witness) upon my soul, that, to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth." Dr. Clarke's note on this is, "A more solemn and more awful form of oath, was never presented, nor taken by man, than this: no kissing of the book, holding up the hand, nor laying hand on the Bible, can add either solemnity or weight to such an oath! It is as awful and as binding as anything can be; and him who would break this, no obligation can bind." See other similar expressions of Paul's. Rom. i, 9; Rom. ix, 1; 2 Cor. xi, 31; Gal. i, 20; Phil. i, 8; 1 Thess. ii, 5. II. What kind of oaths did Christ and James refer to, when one says, "Swear not at all," and the other says, "Neither by any other oath." Matt. v, 34; James v, 12. 1. Christ referred to a class of oaths that were to be "performed," or something to be done, more than simply stating facts, as in judicial oaths. 2. He refers to a class of oaths which are never used in any court of justice; as, by the heavens, by the earth, by Jerusalem, and by my head, &c. 3. He refers to communication, or common conversation, in which such language is often used. 4. The very class of texts that the Saviour refers to, clearly shows what kind of oaths he intended to prohibit. This we will briefly examine. Num. xxx, 2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do (perform) according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. This is the swearing, or oath, that has a bond in it to be performed, but not judicial oaths. This was then allowed by Moses, but is prohibited by Christ. This was the same kind of oath that the forty men bound themselves with, that they would not eat or drink till they had killed Paul. See Acts xxiii, 21. Such kinds of rash oaths were permitted once, but are now prohibited. Deut. xxiii, 22, 23. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. Ps. lxvi, 13, 14. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings; I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. Eccl. v, 2, 4. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God. . . . When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it. Vow—Promise to God; as they appeal to God to witness their sincerity, &c. Webster. Oath—To take an oath is solemnly to call on God to witness or take notice of what we affirm.—Brown. A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what we affirm. Webster. Swear—To affirm or utter a solemn declaration with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. Webster. "Thus we see that a vow, oath, or to swear to God, are nearly the same. To this permission of Moses the Pharisees added their traditions. As in Matt. xxiii, 16–22. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, is bound. Margin. Ye fools and blind, for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift! Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Now we can plainly see that Christ refers to that kind of swearing that required a bond to be performed, which cannot refer to judicial oaths. We can now answer the question, we think, satisfactorily to all as to what the Saviour meant by the sentence, "Swear not at all; neither by heaven," &c.; namely, all that kind of swearing permitted by Moses or the traditions of the Pharisees, also false swearing which they were guilty of by this kind of swearing. To illustrate my meaning further I will refer to Dr. A. Clarke's Com. Matt. v, 37. "The Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing, for which our Lord particularly reprehends them, and warns his disciples against. . . . One of the holiest of their precepts relative to swearing was this: Be not much in oaths; although one should swear concerning things that are true; for in much swearing it is impossible not to profane." See Lightfoot's Works, Vol. II, p. 149. They did not pretend to forbid ALL common swearing, but only what they termed much. A Jew might swear, but he must not be too abundant in the practice. Against such permission our Lord opposes his "Swear NOT AT ALL." Again, "Our Lord's command, Swear not at all, can never relate to an oath in a civil cause, taken according to the definition above given. Profane and common swearing, with all light, irreverent oaths and imprecations, &c., are certainly intended by our blessed Lord." The subject is so clear to my mind that it does not admit of a doubt. By looking at the matter carefully, with the connections and references, bearing in mind the many expressions of Paul which amount to the most solemn oaths, it seems that it must be plain to all. III. James' testimony. James v, 8–13. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned; behold, the Judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. But 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. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. This swearing stands connected with brethren who have their patience tried like Job's. Job ii, 9. His wife said to him, "Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die." If it be thought that there can be no danger of the remnant's cursing and swearing like Peter, we will say that such has already happened. And with this agree Jas. iii, 2, 9, 10, 13. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Speaking of the tongue, he says, Therewith bless we God even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. This corresponds with, "let your yea, be yea; and your nay, nay." If this is not James' meaning, it will be hard to tell what he155does mean from the connection. That James does not mean judicial oaths, may be plainly seen by the expressions, by heaven, by the earth, "neither by any other oath" of this class or kind; for it is not the practice to swear witnesses by heaven, by the earth, nor any other oath of this kind.