They speak words, swaring falsely, in making a Covenant

They speak words, swaring falsely, in making a Covenant.

What has this reference to? What Covenant did they make? And wherein did they swear falsely? Some think it has reference to the Covenant that the People did make with Jeroboam at the first, and so with his Successors; that is thus, The People came to him and took their Oaths, and entred into solemn League, that they would stand by him in the breach that he made from the house of David, that they would stand by him in opposing those that would not yeeld to him in the alteration of worship: For their Princes would not probably have been so strongly set upon the alteration of the waies of worship, had not the People joyned themselves freely to him by way of Oaths and Covenant; now when he saw that the People came in floking and willing to yeeld to the Oath which he would give them, upon this he was confirm'd in the way that he went in; and so they took Oaths in Covenanting with Jeroboam which were but Oaths of vanity; for so the same word that signifies False, signifies Vain in the Hebrew tongue: so I find Arias Montanus, and Vatablus take the words as having reference to that.

But now others (and that more probably) understand this Covenant and Swearing to be the Covenant that they took with the Assyrians, and with the Egyptians, the story of which you have in the fornamed place, in 2 Kings 17. Hoshea sent Messengers to So King of Egypt, and brought no present to the King of Assyria as he had done year by year. First, he had Covenanted with the King of Assyria and that was broke, and then they would Covenant with So King of Egypt, and so they swore falsely, in making a Covenant with the Assyrians, and the Egyptians.

Now the observations are, that carnal hearts in their straights have no God to go to, therefore they take shifting courses; as a Dog that has lost his Master, will follow after any for relief.

And secondly, it's an evil thing in straights for men that profess religion to combine with wicked men. God professed he will not take the wicked by the hand, neither should we; it's a sign the cause is evil, when men can have no other help but by combining with wicked and ungodly men. Just thus it is for all the world with our adversaries (at this day) to the Parliament, all men generally that have any profession of godliness they see they cannot have help that way, therefore combine and bring into Covenant Irish Rebels, Papists, any People in the world, If it were Turks, or Jews, or any in the world to help themselves withal; this is the wickedness of mens hearts.

And then thirdly, there is no trust to be had to wicked men in their Oaths and Covenants; let their Protestations be never so solemn, their Oaths, their Covenants, it is but only to gain time to work about some advantage, that they cannot work about for the present while they have any opposition. If they have not things under their power as they desire, they will promise you any thing in the world, but when once they come to get power in their hands, then who shall require the fulfilling of their Promises, their Oaths, their Covenants? And therefore certainly, when we have to deal with those that we have had experience to be false, we must ever retain this conclusion, except we see an apparent change in their hearts, for that's not enough that they are willing to take Covenants, that's no new thing; but till we see that God has wrought some mighty work upon their hearts we must carry this conclusion, Certainly if they can they will ruin us, therefore our condition cannot be safe but to be so as they can do us no hurt. That's the third Note. And then the fourth is this:

That, breaking Covenant, though with wicked men, is a very great wickedness, God will be revenged for it. I have heretofore spoken of falseness, and falseness in Covenant, and Promises, and shewen you the example of Saul and Zedekiah, therefore I shall not look back to those things. God loves humane societies, which cannot be preserved but by faithfulness; faithfulness (it's the speech of a Heathen) it's the common safety of all men. I remember I have read of the Romans that they did so esteem of faithfulness, by the light of Nature in Covenants, that they accounted faithfulness to be a goddess, and they built, and dedicated a Temple to fidelity as to a goddess, in which Temple all their Leagues, Truces, Covenants, and Bargains were sworn, which were so religiously observed, that whoever broke them, was to be held as a cursed and damned creature, unworthy to live in humane societies. And the Egyptians would punish Perjury with death. Among the Indians the fingers and toes of Perjured persons were cut off. And I have likewise read when Tissaphernes the Persian warred against the Grecians, he broke Covenant with the Grecians. Now Agesilaus when he saw that they had broke their Covenant, he rejoyced at it greatly, saying thus, For (says he) by this means he has made the gods to be his enemy, and our friend; therefore let us boldly give him battel. We know how our enemies have broken their Covenants from time to time, and their Conditions that they have made themselves, yes, even lately in that Town that we hear such good of now, that we hope the Lord is even revenging himself upon them for breaking Covenant even in that very place. Now my Brethren, that even Heathens themselves are convinc'd of this great evil, that is so dreadful an evil; what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts this day in respect of that part of our Covenant, that concerns one another, for certainly since the time of our solemn Covenant there was never more treachery than there has been in England, and in Scotland too, there has been as much treachery since that time as ever yet was, since either of them were a Nation; we have been false one to another so far as it relates to our selves.

But I find that Calvin in his Notes upon this Scripture, understands this Oath and Covenant not to be a Covenant to men, but their Covenant with God, in promising repentance and new obedience, and so they spake only words, swearing falsely, they did but deceive him in swearing and making a Covenant. And this indeed is a sore and dreadful evil to swear to the high God, and to Covenant with him, to draw so nigh to him and yet to be false. God threatens in Leviticus 26:25 that he will send a sword to avenge the quarrel of his Covenant. And when we see the sword rageth so as it does, we may have cause to fear that the Lord has a quarrel against us, in avenging the late Covenant that has been made (I mean our falseness in it). And that we may see further our guiltiness and evil in swearing falsely in making a Covenant, we must know that many ways our hearts may be false in our Covenants with God. It is a dreadful evil to be false any way in Covenant with God. Any of you that upon your sick beds have been solemnly promising to God reformation if God restored you; if you be false, oh know, that the Lord has a quarrel against you, and he has a dreadful evil to charge upon your souls. How many of you have been false in your private Covenants? But to be false in public Covenants, that's most dreadful. But our hearts may be false divers ways. As,

First, if we take our Covenant merely upon political grounds, we make the solemn worship of God, wherein we express our fidelity for reformation of religion to be merely subservient to political grounds, here's a falseness of heart, we are false in swearing thus, and making a Covenant. We do not sanctify the Name of God as we ought.

Or secondly, if we put false interpretations, we are false; when we shall make our Covenant a mere [illegible] to our brethren; let us consider how far any of us are guilty of this, and let the Lord judge between us. I say, when we seek to make it a snare even to our brethren: how have those been accused for the breach of this Oath which have not accorded in things that are in controversy with our brethren, as if this Oath were put upon all men to determine most abstruse and difficult points of controversy, to bring men to submit to things as are very abstruse and difficult to understand; this were to make an Oath a snare, and to take the Name of God in vain in a fearful manner. Certainly the Lord never would have Oaths put to men to this end, that men that are of different ways and opinions in controversial things, for to be forced by way of an Oath to be of the same judgment, and to do the same things; this is a great abuse of this Oath wherever it is urged so far. Certainly there's no man guilty of the breach of this Oath and Covenant, that shall but endeavor what he can to understand what the mind of God is, and then to practice according as he understands, though he should mistake, as in the point of schism in that point of the Covenant. The thing itself being a sin, we may as well swear against it, as David did to keep God's commandments. But now, if David did labor to understand God's commandments, and do as far as he did understand; suppose he did not understand all things aright, it might be his weakness, but not his perjury. So, let us be in point of schism, or any other point of the Covenant, if men do endeavor to understand what is schism by the Scripture, and accordingly do in their several places, by what means their consciences tells them is lawful endeavor to oppose it, though they should not think that to be schism that their brethren do think, or perhaps is so, yet they are not forsworn. This is evil, to make a Covenant to be a snare to us, and our hearts so far are false in it.

And then thirdly: then is the heart false in making a Covenant, when it does not fulfill it according to the nature of it, when it goes quite opposite against it. As since our Covenant has been made; when was there ever greater divisions? Our Covenant is for unity: when more ungodliness; our Covenant is against it; when more injustice? Our Covenant is against all these, and yet since England was a nation there was never stronger cries came to Heaven for these sins than there has been since our Covenant. And therefore certainly there's a great breach between God and us in this regard.

And then fourthly, when men make their Covenant to be a cloak for malignity; that is, though they have malignant and vile wicked spirits, yet they can but take the Covenant and then all is well. Here they swear falsely in making a Covenant.