THE
SWEARER'S PRAYER;
OR,
HIS OATH EXPLAINED.
What! a Swearer pray! Yes, Swearer, whether thou thinkest so or not, each of thine oaths is a prayer,—an appeal to the Holy 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 awful imprecations, Damn, and Damnation, roll so frequently from thy profane tongue? Tremble, Swearer, while I tell thee! Thy prayer containeth two parts: Thou prayest first, that thou mayest be deprived of eternal happiness! Secondly, that thou mayest be plunged into eternal misery!
When, therefore, thou callest for damnation, dost thou not, in effect, say as follows? "O God! thou 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 in judgment against me, and eternally condemn me! Let me never partake of thy salvation! May my soul and body be deprived of all happiness, both in this world and that which is to come! Let me never see thy face with comfort—never enjoy thy favour and friendship; and let me never enter into the kingdom of heaven!"
This is the first part of thy prayer.—Let us hear the second.
"O God, let me not only be shut out of Heaven, but also shut up in Hell! May all the members of my body be tortured with inconceivable agony, and all the powers of my soul tormented with horror and despair, inexpressible and eternal! Let my dwelling be in the blackness of darkness, and my companions accursed men and accursed
