lz r»0 DllObOtt"'. ill No. 72. THE SWEARER'S PRAYER. OR, HIS OATH EXPLAINED. WHAT ! a swearer pray ? Yes, sweartr, whether tliou thinkest so or not, each of thine oaths is a prayer — an appeal to the hoh r and almighty God, whose name thou darest so impiously to take into thy lips. And what is it, thinkest thou, swearer, that thou dost call for, when the awfnl imprecations, damn and damnation, roll bo frequently from thy profane tongue? Tremble, swearer, while I tell thee! Thy prayer contains two parts: thou prayest, First, that thou mave.-t be deprived of eternal hap- piness ! Secondly, That thou maye.st be plunged into eter- nal misery. When, therefore, thou callest for damnation, dost thou not, in effect, say as follows ? — "0 Cod! thou who hast power to punish me in hell for ever: therefore, let not one of my sins be forgiven ! Let every oath that I have sworn, every lie that I have told, every Sabbath that I have broken, and all the sins that I have committed, either in thought, word, or deed, rise up injudgment against me, and eternally con- demn me ! Let me never partake of thy salvation ! May my soul and body be deprived of all happiness, both in this world and in that which is to come ! Let me never see thy face with comfort ; never enjoy thy favor and friendship j and let me never enter into the kingdom of heaver !" This is the first part of thy prayer. Let us hear the second. 1 A 4 2 THE SWEARER S PllAYKR. ' God, let m9 not only be shut out of heaven, but also shut up in hell ! May all the members of my body be tor- tured with inconceivable agony, and all the powers of my soul tormented with horror and despair, inexpressible and eternal ! Pour down thy hottest auger ; execute all thy wrath and curse »pon me ; arm and send forth all thy terrors against me; and let thy fierce, thy fiery, thy fearful indigna- tion rest upon me ! Be mine eternal enemy and plague, and punish and torment me in heli, for ever, and ever, and ever !" Swearer., this is thy prayer! Oh dreadful imprecation ! Oh horrible! horrible! most horrible; ! Blaspheming man! dost thou like thy petition ? Look at it. Art thou sincere in thy prayer, or art thou mocking thy Maker 7 Dost thou wish for damnation? Art thou desirous of eternal torment? If so, swear on— .-swear hard The more oaths, the more mis-* ery. and, perhaps, the sooner thon mayest be in hell. Art thou shocked at this language ? Does it harrow up thy soul ? Does the very blood run cold in thy veins? Art thou con* vinced of the evil of profane swearing? How many times hast thou blasphemed the God of heaven? How many times hast thou asked God to damn thee in the course of a ^par, a month, a day ? Nay, how many times in a single hour Last thou called for damnation ? Art thou not yet in hell ? Wonder, O heavens, and be astonished, earth, at the goodness and Ion '-suffering of that God, whoso great name swearing per- sons so often and so awfully profane ! Swearer, be thankful, oh be exceedingly thankful, that God has not answered thy prayer — thy tremendous prayer ! — that his mercy and pa- tience have withholden the request of thy polluted lips ! Never let him hear another oath from thy unhallowed tongue , lest it should be thy last expression upon earth, and thy swearing prayer should be answered, Oh let thine oaths be turned into supplications ! Repent, and turn to Jesus who died for swearers, as well as lor his murderers. And then, oh ! then, (though thou mayest have sworn as many oaths as there are "stars in the heavens, and sands upon tbe sea- shore inunmerable.") then thou shalt find to thy eternal joy, that there is love enough In his heart, and merit sufficient in his blood, to pardon thy sins, and save thy soul for ever — Swearer, canst thou ever again blaspheme such a Goo" and Sa- Tiour as this ? Does not thy conscience cry, " God forbid !" ? Even so. A men ! THE PRAYER ANSWERED, In the following, among multitudes of othef instances. IN* November, 1786, a person much given to swearing, be- ing disappointed by one of his companions not returning to the public-house as soon as he expected, swore he would ne- ver drink with him again, and that if he did, it should be his last. Accordingly that day was his last. God took him at his word, and thus called him into eternity. In November, 1787, one W — rs, a smith, spending the eve- ning at a public-house in Leather-lane, quarrelled with one of his companion*, and, while swearing one of the most horrid otths; God struck him instantaneously dead, with an oath on his lips, upon the bench where he was sitting. The jury who sat upon the body, after hearing all the circumstances of the case, brought in their verdict — that W — rs was struck dead as a judgment from God. This narration was given by the foreman of the jury. Another remarkable judgment overtook a person living in Brewer street, Soho, who, cursing and swearing in a most dreadful manner, wai struck speechless, and died the same afternoon. T. It., who lived in the parish of Sedgeley, near Wolver- hampton, having lost a considerable sum at cock-fighting, to which practice he was notoriously addicted, swore, in a most horrid manner, that he would never fight another cock, fre- quency calling upon God to damn his soul to all eternity if he did : and, with dreadful imprecations, wishing the devil might fetch him, if ever he made another bet. His resolution, thus impiously formed, was, for awhile, ob- served, but, about two years afterwards, Sf»tan, whose willing servant he continued to be, inspired him with a violent desire to attend a cocking at Wolverhampton; and he complied with the temptation. He there stood up, and cried, "I bold four to three on such a cock." " Four what?" said one of his com- panions in iniquity, "Four shillings," replied he. Upon THE SWEARER S PRAYER. which the wager was confirmed, and he, putting his hand into his pocket for the money, instantly fell a ghastly corpse upon the ground. " Who hath hardened himself against God, and prospered ?" Job ix. 4. " 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." Exod. xx. 7. " Because of swearing the land mourneth." Jer. xxiii. 10. ", Every one that sweareth shall be cut oif." Zech. v. 3. Dear reader, art thou a swearer ? Oh, take this, friendly warning ; the next oath may be thy last ; if thy prayer is heard, thy soul is damned forever. R I C HM O N D , V A : PRESBYTERIAN COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. Hollinger Corp. P H8.5