joy for the upright in heart. They know the good that he has promised to the children of light, and that his faithfulness shall never fail. Although the fig-tree should not blossom, nor fruit be in the vine, and the labor of the olive should fail, and the fields should yield no meat, yet they will have solid ground to rejoice in the Lord, and to joy in the God of their salvation. Now, why will not you who have always rejoiced in yourselves, be entreated to rejoice with them who rejoice in the Lord? You must rejoice in the Lord in this world, or you never will rejoice in him in the next. And if you do not rejoice in him this Thanksgiving day, some of you may never

see another.

SERMON XXXIV.

THE GUILT OF PROFANENESS.

DECEMBER 10, 1826.

THOU 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. -EXODUS, XX. 7.

THIS is one of the ten commandments which God gave to his people at mount Sinai, by his own voice; and it is as easy to be understood as any of the rest. It does not mean that men may not make use of any of the divine names, titles, or attributes, on proper occasions. The Jews had a notion that the name Jehovah might never be used by the common people. Nor does it mean that men may not make use of God's name to confirm their testimony before a court of justice. For this was expressly required in certain cases. "If a man deliver unto his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 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." But the command, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," does forbid men to call God to witness perjury or false swearing; or to call upon God to curse, or punish, or destroy, any of their fellow creatures; or to use his name in a vain, trifling, contemptuous manner. Or, in fewer words, this precept forbids all profane cursing and swearing, which so much abound in the world, and which ought to be universally suppressed. Not to waste time, therefore, in describing a vice which is but too common and too well known, I shall directly proceed to offer a number of considerations to dissuade men from committing this 59

VOL. II.

pernicious and prevailing vice, and to impress their minds with some proper sense of the great guilt and danger of taking the name of the Lord their God in vain. Here I will begin by observing,

1. God has forbidden all profane language, in a manner the most solemn, and best adapted to make the deepest impression on the hearts and consciences of men. Moses having, by divine direction, sanctified the people, and prepared them to meet God, "It came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud: so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." Amidst these solemn scenes, the Lord descended upon the mount and spake out of the cloud, "saying, Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." When this third commandment was given by the living voice of the only living God, there was not a single soul in the camp of Israel that durst to take the name of the Lord his God in vain. This command is founded in the nature of things. It is right that men should love and revere their glorious and amiable creator, and it is wrong that they should ever take his name in vain. It is right that the Creator should give laws to his rational creatures and clothe them with his supreme authority. This command against profane swearing is founded in the nature of things, and sanctioned by the highest authority in the universe, and is of perpetual obligation. Every species of profane language is a transgression of this holy and righteous command, and as criminal now under the gospel, as it was under the law. It is a sin directly committed against God, which extremely aggravates its guilt. "If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" Though God does not now speak to men from the burning mount, yet he now speaks to them with the same authority, and solemnly forbids them to take his name in vain upon pain of his just and eternal displeasure. Whoever uses profane language in the highest or lowest degree, virtually calls upon God to pour upon him the weight of his almighty wrath. Let every man, therefore, whether young or old, high or low, be dissuaded from taking the name of the holy, sin-hating and sin-revenging God, in vain.

2. Taking the name of God in vain is destructive of all religion. A profane person cannot love, nor fear, nor obey, nor trust in

God. Who can love a being whom he despises? Who can fear a being whom he despises? Who can obey a being whom he despises? Or who can trust in a being whom he despises? He who takes the name of God in vain, expresses his perfect contempt of his being, of his perfections, of his laws, of his government, of his love, and of his hatred. He despises the very idea of a supreme being, who is able to govern, reward, or punish him. He openly declares that he feels above his creator, preserver, law-giver, and judge. Can such a person have one religious affection, or perform one religious duty? He treats God and religion with supreme contempt; and would, were it in his power, make God and religion appear odious and contemptible in the eyes of all mankind. There is no other vice that strikes so directly at the root of all religion, as profane swearing; for it brings God, the only ground and object of religion, into contempt; and when he is brought into contempt, all religious worship must be contemptible. Men may run into other vices merely to gratify their vicious hearts, without any thoughts of God, or desires to bring reproach upon him; but he who takes the name of God in vain, thinks and speaks of God with a design to bring dishonor upon him and upon all religion. This never fails to shock the feelings and excite the disapprobation of all the sober part of mankind, among both christians and heathens. While Paul stood in the midst of Mars-hill, he said, "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious;" or as it might be rendered, too religious. They had a multitude of gods whom they venerated and adored, and whom they would not allow any man to reproach, contemn, or profane, with impunity. When Alcibiades, their renowned general, the night before he was going against their enemies, presumptuously profaned the names of their gods, they rose in resentment and forbade him to march, until he confessed and atoned for his impious and profane conduct. They were afraid that the gods whom he had contemned would blast his enterprise. It is the common sense of all nations, that to take the name of the being whom they worship in vain, is destructive of all religion, and the highest crime that man can commit. It is, therefore, of all sins the most to be avoided.

3. The profanation of God's name tends to weaken and destroy the force and obligation of every civil government. Every civil society find the necessity of making laws to preserve their property, their liberty, and their lives. But their laws would be of little use to answer these important purposes, without the aid of solemn oaths. Causes before a civil judicature cannot be properly tried and decided, without the credible testimony

of living witnesses. But human nature is so corrupt, and witnesses may be under so many temptations to falsify the truth, that their simple declarations, without the confirmation of a solemn oath, cannot be safely considered as worthy of full credit. Jews, and christians, and heathens, have always been in the practice of confirming their declarations and testimonies in solemn and important cases, by appealing to the being whom they call their god and judge to approve their veracity, or condemn their perjury. But of what avail would it be to appeal to God, if his name may be profaned, and his favor and frown may be disregarded with impunity? The profanation of God's name directly tends to bring God, religion, and oaths into contempt; and when these are brought into contempt, how can civil government be administered to preserve the property, liberty, or lives of the subjects. Profane cursing and swearing in a lower degree, and perjury in the highest degree, tend to prostrate every civil government, and to destroy all the good it is designed to promote. Though a man who takes the name of God in vain every day, may fear the solemnity of a civil oath, yet there is reason to fear he will contemn it, and commit a perjury without remorse. All cursing and swearing is a gross breach not only of the law of God, but of the law of the land, and ought to be universally detested and avoided.

4. Profane swearing is the most unnatural sin in this wicked world. It does not originate from any natural propensity, instinct or appetite in the human mind, but is contrary to every dictate of reason and conscience. No one ever heard profane language for the first time without being shocked. No child ever uses it until he has learned it from others. There are many vices to which mankind are naturally prone, because they gratify some of their natural inclinations; and we can easily account for their running into these without being led. But profane language is almost universally learned, and learned gradually. Some begin to learn it very early from their parents, or from others in the family where they live. But their young and tender consciences never fail at first to condemn them for the profane words they utter, and it afterwards takes years to confirm them in the habit of profaneness. The sin of profane swearing is attended with great aggravation of guilt, both before the habit is formed and afterwards. Before it is formed and while forming, the child, the youth, or the man, sins directly against the dictates of his conscience, and after his habit is formed, he sins from the very worst of motives. He means to bring God and religion into contempt, and destroy all restraints from sin, arising from God, from religion, and from eternity. He does not take any peculiar pleasure in profane language