PERJURY. The Law of God severely condemn’d Perjury, all false Oaths and Vows, and Promises made without an Intention to perform them; as also all Oaths made in the name of false Gods. Perjury offends against the Veracity and Justice of God himself, and is a great Insult upon his Power and Majesty, by appealing to him as a Witness to a Lye, and making use of his tremendous Levit. v. 4, 5, 6. vi. 2, 3. Heb. vii. 18. Gal. ii. 16. Rom. viii. 3. Heb. ix. 9, 13.Name to commit Evil.
specialibus legibus. Moses in Leviticus, seems to assign Sacrifices to atone for Perjury; which is contrary to St. Paul, who assures us, that the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of the Law did not remit internal Sins, but only external and legal Faults. It must therefore be affirmed, that these Sacrifices ordained by Moses, had only respect to the Ignorance or Temerity of him, who had made a rash Promise, or only to him that had made a secret Oath or Promise. Or else he supposes, that he to whom it was appointed to offer this Sacrifice, had already expiated his internal Fault, by a perfect Repentance and Contrition; and that the external Sacrifice prescribed, is only, as we may say, to satisfy for the Faults he might have committed, by approaching holy Things in a State of Defilement. ‘Tis otherwise known, that wilful Perjury, pronounced in publick, and before the Judge, was not to be remitted by Sacrifices, even according to Moses’s Law. He was punished by the Sentence of the Judges, when he was found guilty. Portabit iniquitatem suam; which is usually understood of capital Punishment. See Levit. v. 1. xix. 8. xx. 17, 19, 20. xxiv. 15. Numb. ix. 13. xv. 13.