a solemn invocation of a superior power, admitted to be acquainted
with all the secrets of our hearts, with our inward thoughts as well as
our outward actions, to witness the truth of what we assert, and to
inflict his vengeance upon us if we assert what is not true, or promise
what we do not mean to perform. Almost all nations, whether savage or
civilized, whether enjoying the light of revelation or led only by the
light of reason, knowing the importance of truth, and willing to obtain
a barrier against falsehood, have had recourse to oaths, by which they
have endeavoured to make men fearful of uttering lies, under the dread
of an avenging Deity. Among Christians, an oath is a solemn appeal for
the truth of our assertions, the sincerity of our promises, and the
fidelity of our engagements, to the one only God, the Judge of the whole
earth, who is every where present, and sees, and hears, and knows,
whatever is said, or done, or thought in any part of the world. Such is
that Being whom Christians, when they take an oath, invoke to bear
testimony to the truth of their words, and the integrity of their
hearts. Surely, then, if oaths be a matter of so much moment, it well
behoves us not to treat them with levity, nor ever to take them without
due consideration. Hence we ought, with the utmost vigilance, to abstain
from mingling oaths in our ordinary discourse, and from associating the
name of God with low or disgusting images, or using it on trivial
occasions, as not only a profane levity in itself, but tending to
destroy that reverence for the supreme Majesty which ought to prevail in
society, and to dwell in our own hearts.
The forms of oaths,” says Dr. Paley, like other religious ceremonies,
have in all ages been various; consisting, however, for the most part of
some bodily action, and of a prescribed form of words.” Among the Jews,
the juror held up his right hand toward heaven, Psalm cxliv, 8; Rev. x,
5. The same form is retained in Scotland still. Among the Jews, also, an
oath of fidelity was taken by the servant’s putting his hand under the
thigh of his lord, Genesis xxiv, 2. Among the Greeks and Romans, the
form varied with the subject and occasion of the oath: in private
contracts, the parties took hold of each other’s hands, while they swore
to the performance; or they touched the altar of the god by whose
divinity they swore: upon more solemn occasions, it was the custom to
slay a victim; and the beast being struck down with certain ceremonies
and invocations, gave birth to the expression, _ferire pactum_; and to
our English phrase, translated from this, of striking a bargain.” The
form of oaths in Christian countries is also very different; but in no
country in the world worse contrived, either to convey the meaning or
impress the obligation of an oath, than in our own. The juror with us,
after repeating the promise or affirmation which the oath is intended to
confirm, adds, So help me God;” or, more frequently, the substance of
the oath is repeated to the juror by the magistrate, who adds in the
conclusion, So help you God.” The energy of this sentence resides in the
particle _so_: So, that is, _hâc lege_, upon condition of my speaking
the truth, or performing this promise, and not otherwise, may God help
me! The juror, while he hears or repeats the words of the oath, holds
his right hand upon a Bible, or other book containing the Gospels, and
at the conclusion kisses the book. This obscure and elliptical form,
together with the levity and frequency of them, has brought about a
general inadvertency to the obligation of oaths, which, both in a
religious and political view, is much to be lamented; and it merits
public consideration, whether the requiring of oaths upon so many
frivolous occasions, especially in the customs, and in the qualification
for petty offices, has any other effect than to make such sanctions
cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel regularly
from the ship to the consumer, without costing half a dozen oaths at
least; and the same security for the due discharge of their office,
namely, that of an oath, is required from a churchwarden and an
archbishop; from a petty constable and the chief justice of England.
Oaths, however, are lawful; and, whatever be the form, the signification
is the same. Historians have justly remarked, that when the reverence
for an oath began to diminish among the Romans, and the loose epicurean
system, which discarded the belief of providence, was introduced, the
Roman honour and prosperity from that period began to decline. The
Quakers refuse to swear upon any occasion, founding their scruples
concerning the lawfulness of oaths upon our Saviour’s prohibition, Swear
not at all,” Matt. v, 34. But it seems our Lord there referred to the
vicious, wanton, and unauthorized swearing in common discourse, and not
to judicial oaths; for he himself answered, when interrogated, upon
oath, Matt. xxvi, 63, 64; Mark xiv, 61. The Apostle Paul also makes use
of expressions which contain the nature of oaths, Romans i, 9; 1 Cor.
xv, 31; 2 Cor. i, 18; Gal. i, 20; Heb. vi, 13–17. The administration of
oaths supposes that God will punish false swearing with more severity
than a simple lie, or breach of promise; for which belief there are the
following reasons: 1. Perjury is a sin of greater deliberation. 2. It
violates a superior confidence. 3. God directed the Israelites to swear
by his name, Deut. vi, 13; x, 20; and was pleased to confirm his
covenant with that people by an oath; neither of which, it is probable,
he would have done, had he not intended to represent oaths as having
some meaning and effect beyond the obligation of a bare promise.
OBADIAH the prophet is thought to have been the same as the governor of
Ahab’s house, 1 Kings xviii, 3, &c; and some are of opinion, he was that
Obadiah whom Josiah made overseer of the works of the temple, 2 Chron.
xxxiv, 12. Indeed, the age in which this prophet lived is very
uncertain. Some think that he was contemporary with Hosea, Amos, and
Joel; while others are of opinion that he lived in the time of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel, and that he delivered his prophecy about B. C. 585, soon
after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. His book, which
consists of a single chapter, is written with great beauty and elegance,
and contains predictions of the utter destruction of the Edomites, and
of the future restoration and prosperity of the Jews.
with all the secrets of our hearts, with our inward thoughts as well as
our outward actions, to witness the truth of what we assert, and to
inflict his vengeance upon us if we assert what is not true, or promise
what we do not mean to perform. Almost all nations, whether savage or
civilized, whether enjoying the light of revelation or led only by the
light of reason, knowing the importance of truth, and willing to obtain
a barrier against falsehood, have had recourse to oaths, by which they
have endeavoured to make men fearful of uttering lies, under the dread
of an avenging Deity. Among Christians, an oath is a solemn appeal for
the truth of our assertions, the sincerity of our promises, and the
fidelity of our engagements, to the one only God, the Judge of the whole
earth, who is every where present, and sees, and hears, and knows,
whatever is said, or done, or thought in any part of the world. Such is
that Being whom Christians, when they take an oath, invoke to bear
testimony to the truth of their words, and the integrity of their
hearts. Surely, then, if oaths be a matter of so much moment, it well
behoves us not to treat them with levity, nor ever to take them without
due consideration. Hence we ought, with the utmost vigilance, to abstain
from mingling oaths in our ordinary discourse, and from associating the
name of God with low or disgusting images, or using it on trivial
occasions, as not only a profane levity in itself, but tending to
destroy that reverence for the supreme Majesty which ought to prevail in
society, and to dwell in our own hearts.
The forms of oaths,” says Dr. Paley, like other religious ceremonies,
have in all ages been various; consisting, however, for the most part of
some bodily action, and of a prescribed form of words.” Among the Jews,
the juror held up his right hand toward heaven, Psalm cxliv, 8; Rev. x,
5. The same form is retained in Scotland still. Among the Jews, also, an
oath of fidelity was taken by the servant’s putting his hand under the
thigh of his lord, Genesis xxiv, 2. Among the Greeks and Romans, the
form varied with the subject and occasion of the oath: in private
contracts, the parties took hold of each other’s hands, while they swore
to the performance; or they touched the altar of the god by whose
divinity they swore: upon more solemn occasions, it was the custom to
slay a victim; and the beast being struck down with certain ceremonies
and invocations, gave birth to the expression, _ferire pactum_; and to
our English phrase, translated from this, of striking a bargain.” The
form of oaths in Christian countries is also very different; but in no
country in the world worse contrived, either to convey the meaning or
impress the obligation of an oath, than in our own. The juror with us,
after repeating the promise or affirmation which the oath is intended to
confirm, adds, So help me God;” or, more frequently, the substance of
the oath is repeated to the juror by the magistrate, who adds in the
conclusion, So help you God.” The energy of this sentence resides in the
particle _so_: So, that is, _hâc lege_, upon condition of my speaking
the truth, or performing this promise, and not otherwise, may God help
me! The juror, while he hears or repeats the words of the oath, holds
his right hand upon a Bible, or other book containing the Gospels, and
at the conclusion kisses the book. This obscure and elliptical form,
together with the levity and frequency of them, has brought about a
general inadvertency to the obligation of oaths, which, both in a
religious and political view, is much to be lamented; and it merits
public consideration, whether the requiring of oaths upon so many
frivolous occasions, especially in the customs, and in the qualification
for petty offices, has any other effect than to make such sanctions
cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel regularly
from the ship to the consumer, without costing half a dozen oaths at
least; and the same security for the due discharge of their office,
namely, that of an oath, is required from a churchwarden and an
archbishop; from a petty constable and the chief justice of England.
Oaths, however, are lawful; and, whatever be the form, the signification
is the same. Historians have justly remarked, that when the reverence
for an oath began to diminish among the Romans, and the loose epicurean
system, which discarded the belief of providence, was introduced, the
Roman honour and prosperity from that period began to decline. The
Quakers refuse to swear upon any occasion, founding their scruples
concerning the lawfulness of oaths upon our Saviour’s prohibition, Swear
not at all,” Matt. v, 34. But it seems our Lord there referred to the
vicious, wanton, and unauthorized swearing in common discourse, and not
to judicial oaths; for he himself answered, when interrogated, upon
oath, Matt. xxvi, 63, 64; Mark xiv, 61. The Apostle Paul also makes use
of expressions which contain the nature of oaths, Romans i, 9; 1 Cor.
xv, 31; 2 Cor. i, 18; Gal. i, 20; Heb. vi, 13–17. The administration of
oaths supposes that God will punish false swearing with more severity
than a simple lie, or breach of promise; for which belief there are the
following reasons: 1. Perjury is a sin of greater deliberation. 2. It
violates a superior confidence. 3. God directed the Israelites to swear
by his name, Deut. vi, 13; x, 20; and was pleased to confirm his
covenant with that people by an oath; neither of which, it is probable,
he would have done, had he not intended to represent oaths as having
some meaning and effect beyond the obligation of a bare promise.
OBADIAH the prophet is thought to have been the same as the governor of
Ahab’s house, 1 Kings xviii, 3, &c; and some are of opinion, he was that
Obadiah whom Josiah made overseer of the works of the temple, 2 Chron.
xxxiv, 12. Indeed, the age in which this prophet lived is very
uncertain. Some think that he was contemporary with Hosea, Amos, and
Joel; while others are of opinion that he lived in the time of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel, and that he delivered his prophecy about B. C. 585, soon
after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. His book, which
consists of a single chapter, is written with great beauty and elegance,
and contains predictions of the utter destruction of the Edomites, and
of the future restoration and prosperity of the Jews.