Deuteronomy 6

Deu. 6:13. "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and swear by his name." It might have been rendered swearing in the name, or into the name, in the original Bishmo. And the thing chiefly intended here by it seems to be, the making that public, solemn profession of faith in the name of God, of being the Lord's, and being dedicated to his honour and glory, and that covenanting and avowing to be the Lord's, and serve him, that is very often in Scripture called by the name of swearing. A public profession of religion has respect to two things.

It has respect to something present, viz. their belief, or faith: this is the profession God's people make of their faith. It has respect also to something future, viz. their future behaviour in the promises or vows that are made in a public profession.

It is evident that the profession that is made in the latter, viz. in the promises and vows of the covenant, is often called swearing; but the profession that is made in the former, which relates to their faith, is a no less solemn profession. In the public profession they make of religion, they profess what is present with the same solemnity as they promise what is future. They declare what their faith is with the same solemnity with which they declare their intentions. Both are declared with an oath - one an assertory oath, and the other a promissory oath; and the whole profession is called swearing in, or into, the name of the Lord. In the former part of it, they swear their faith in the name of the Lord, and swear that they are God's; that their hearts are his, and for him. In the latter part they swear to live to his honour and glory, which is often called his name. And by the whole they appear by their profession to be God's people, which in Scripture is often expressed by being called by God's name; and so by this swearing they come into the name of God, as persons when they make profession of religion by baptism, are said to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The former part of this profession of religion, viz. the profession of faith in God, is called saying, or swearing, the Lord liveth. Jeremiah 5:2. "And though they say, The Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely." They have sworn by them that are no God, i.e. had openly professed idol worship. Chap. 4:2. "And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory." That this saying that the Lord liveth was in their profession of faith in the true God in the public profession they made of his name, is confirmed by Jeremiah 44:26. "Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord liveth:" i.e. they shall never any more make any profession of the true God, and true religion, but shall be wholly given up to heathenism. And Jeremiah 12:16. "And it shall come to pass if they will diligently learn the way of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth, as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of my people." Here is a promise to the heathen, that if they would forsake their heathenism and turn to the true God, and the true religion, and make an open and good profession of that, they should be received into the visible church of God. Jeremiah 16:14; Jeremiah 16:15. "Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of the north:" i.e. God's people, in their public profession of their faith, shall not so much insist on the redemption out of Egypt, as on a much greater redemption that shall hereafter be accomplished. We have the same again. Jeremiah 23:7; Jeremiah 23:8; Hosea 4:15. "Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye into Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth."

This has respect to that public profession of religion which the ten tribes made at Bethel (here called Bethaven), the place of their public worship before the calf that was set up there, by which they pretended to worship Jehovah. Amos 8:14. "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth." They had also places of public worship at Dan (where was one of their calves) and at Beersheba. See Deuteronomy 5:5.

The words, Jehovah liveth, summarily comprehended that which they professed in their public profession of religion. They signified hereby their belief of a dependence upon that all-sufficiency and faithfulness that is implied in the name Jehovah, which will appear by the consideration of the following places, Joshua 3:10. "Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you." 1 Samuel 17:26. "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" Verse 36. "Seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." 2 Kings 19:4. "It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria hath sent to reproach the living God." Also verse 16 and Isaiah 37:4; Jeremiah 10:8; Jeremiah 10:9; Jeremiah 10:10. "The stock is a doctrine of vanities - But the Lord is the true God (Heb. The God of truth). He is the living God." Daniel 6:26. "He is the living God, and stedfast for ever." Psalms 18:46. "The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted." So 2 Samuel 22:47. Other places showing that by Jehovah's living and being the living God, is meant his being all-sufficient and immutable, and faithful. Deuteronomy 5:26; Joshua 3:10 compared with Exodus 3:14; Exodus 6:3 with the context. 1 Samuel 17:26; 1 Samuel 17:36; 2 Kings 19:4; 2 Kings 19:16; Psalms 42:2; Psalms 84:2; Isaiah 37:4; Jeremiah 10:10 with the context. Jeremiah 23:36; Hosea 1:10; 2 Samuel 22:47; Psalms 18:46; Job 19:25; Matthew 16:16; John 6:69; Acts 14:15; Romans 9:26; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Timothy 4:10; 1 Timothy 6:17; Hebrews 10:31; Hebrews 12:22.

The things professed in a public profession of religion are two, faith and obedience. The faith that was professed, was called believing in God and believing in the name of God (Beshem, with the prefix Beth). Genesis 15:6. "And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." Exodus 14:31. "And the people believed the Lord" (in the original believed in the Lord). 2 Kings 17:14. "Did not believe in the Lord their God." 2 Chronicles 20:20. "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established." Psalms 78:22. "They believe not in God." Daniel 6:23. "Because he believed in his God." The other thing is a believing obedience. This is called a walking in the name of God (still with the same prefix Beth). Micah 4:5. "All people will walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name (Beshem) of the Lord our God for ever and ever." And that solemn professing or swearing wherein both these were professed by a like idiom of speech, was called a swearing in the name (Beshem) of the Lord.

Agreeable to this way of speaking, in the New Testament, when persons solemnly profess the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and are devoted to them in their baptism, they are said to be baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Making a public profession of religion or of faith in God, is often called making mention (Zakar) of the Lord, or of the name of the Lord; and this in the original commonly is making mention in the Lord, or in the name of the Lord, with the prefix Beth, as they are said to swear in the name of the Lord. Thus, Amos 6:10. "Hold thy tongue, for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord," (in the original Beshem, in the name), i.e. we may not make profession of our God, being under the dominion of the heathen. Psalms 20:7. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God;" in the original, we will remember or make mention (for the word is the same as before) in the name of the Lord our God, with the prefix Beth, i.e. we will openly profess and declare our faith and trust in the Lord, etc. Isaiah 26:13. "O Lord, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee (Beka, in thee) only will we make mention of thy name," i.e. we will forsake all other lords, and renounce our profession of idolatry, and profess and worship thee alone. They that professed the worship of false gods, are said to make mention in their name. Hosea 2:17. "I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered (or mentioned, for still the word is the same) by their name," (Bishmain, in their name), i.e. their name and worship shall no more be professed. So Joshua 23:7 neither make mention of the name (in the original, in the name) of their gods, nor swear by them.

This abundantly confirms that swearing by or in a God, signifies what was done in the public profession of his name and worship, which is signified by making mention in his name. This also may evidently appear in Isaiah 48:1; Isaiah 48:2. "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name (Beshem, in the name) of the Lord, and make mention of the God (Belohei, in the God) of Israel, but not in truth and in righteousness, for they call themselves of the holy city." By their profession they were visibly of the church of God, were called by the name of Israel, and called themselves of the church.

That profession which in the law of Moses and many other places, is called swearing by the name or in the name of the Lord, is evidently the same with swearing to the Lord [in the Hebrew]. Isaiah 19:18. "In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts." (Laihovah.) In 1 Kings 18:32 it is said that Elijah built an altar in the name of the Lord, Beshem, that is, to the name of the Lord. Here the prefix Beth is evidently of the same force with Lamed in 1 Kings 8:44. "The house that I have built for thy name," or to thy name. Here Leshem is plainly of the same signification, in speaking of building a house to God, with Beshem in the other place, that speaks of building an altar to God.

In and to, or the prefixes Beth and Lamed, are manifestly used as of the same signification in the case of swearing to a God, or an object of religious worship, in the same sentence in Zephaniah 1:5. "That swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham." The words are thus, that swear to the Lord (Laihovah), and that swear in Malcam (Bemalcam). In Genesis 23:8. "Entreat for me to Ephron, the son of Zoar. To Ephron, in the original, is Be Ephron, with the prefix Beta.

What is meant by swearing to the Lord (Laihovah), we learn by 2 Chronicles 15:12; 2 Chronicles 15:13; 2 Chronicles 15:14 with the context, viz. publicly and solemnly acknowledging God, and devoting themselves to God by covenant. "And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul - and they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice." Deuteronomy 29:10-15. We also may learn what is meant by swearing to the Lord, by Isaiah 45:23, "Unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength;" together with the apostle's citation and explication of this place, which instead of the word swear, uses confess, in Romans 14:11 and Php_2:10 which, in the apostle's language, signifies the same as making open and solemn profession of Christianity. Romans 10:9; Romans 10:10. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe with thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." In that place in the of Isaiah 45:23-24, it is said, "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength." This is the profession of their faith in Christ, and is the same with what is called making mention of God's righteousness. Psalms 71:16. "I will go in the strength of the Lord God, I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only." The phrase make mention, as was observed before, is used for making a public profession; and here in this place in Isaiah glorying in God, and blessing themselves in him (or in his righteousness and strength), are joined with swearing to him, as they are in Jeremiah 4:2. "And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory;" and Psalms 63:11. "The king shall rejoice in God, every one that sweareth by him shall glory."

The prefix Beth is put for into as well as in. See innumerable instances of this in places referred to in the Concordance, under these words, enter, put, brought, Judges 9:26 went over to Shechem, in the Hebrew Beshechem. To choose other gods, is in Judges 10:14 expressed by choosing in them, with a prefix Beth. Agreeably to the manner of speaking among the Hebrews, confessing Christ before men, Matthew 10:32 is, in the original, confessing in him. "He that shall confess in me, ομολογησει εν εμοι, before men, I will confess in him, before my Father, and before his angels."

Judges 17. "Ask counsel now of God," Belohim, with the prefix Beth.