Christian Admonitions, against the two fearful sins of Cursing and Swearing, most fit to be set up in every house, that the grievousness of those sins may be both remembered, and avoided, whereby the hatred of them may possess the heart of every Christian.  

Against Cursing.  
FIrst, (if thou wilt live in a holy fear and reverence of the Name of God) thou must consider what thou art, and learn to know thyself; for he that truly knoweth himself, is a man of very happy acquaintance, for by this thou shalt know thyself to be Earth, Gen. 2. 7. conceived in sin, Psalm 51. 5. Born to pain, job, 5. 7. Evil, Eccles. 9 3. Wretched Rom. 7. Filthy, job 15. Corrupt, abominable, and doing nothing good, Psal. 14. Mortal, Ro. 6. Vain, Psal. 62. Wicked, Esay 9 Unprofitable, Rom. 3. Vanity, altogether more light than Vanity, Psal. 62. Sinful, 1 Kings, 8. Miserable, 1 Corinth. 15. Dust and Ashes, Gen. 18. God's enemy, Rom. 8. A child of wrath, Ephesians 2. 3. A worm, job 25. Worm's meat, Esay 51. Nothing, yea less than nothing, Esay 40. 17.  
Having thus by the Touchstone of God's Word tried, and examined thy miserable estate and condition, and therewithal knowing thyself, then on the other side, consider (as near as thy frailty will permit) the power of God in creating thee, his mercy in Redeeming thee, his love, in preserving thee, his bounty, in keeping thee, his promise to glorify thee in heaven, if thou honour him on earth, and his judgements to condemn thee, if thou blaspheme and dishonour him.  
Our Saviour Christ, being the Head of Blessedness, and of all that are or shall be blessed, how is it possible, that any Accursed or Cursing person can be a member of that Blessed Head; who hath expressly forbidden us to Curse, but to bless them that Curse us? Luke, 6. Math. 5. Rom. 12 And in the 109. Psalm, It is said of him that accustomes himself to Curse, Cursing was his delight, therefore shall it happen unto him, he loved not blessing, therefore it shall be far from him.  
And seeing no man can merit the least part of blessings temporal; how, or with what face can one that lives accursedly, or useth cursing (here,) hope for a Kingdom of Eternal blessedness hereafter?  
It is fearful to hear how, and with what cold dulness, many men do pray for blessings either for themselves or for others, and (contrarily) with what vehemency they will Curse: as some have willed and wished themselves God's Plague, the Pox, and other mischiefs, and some have too often bid the Devil take them, God Sink them: Renounce, Confound, Consume, Refuse, and Damn them: and yet these silly graceless earthworms, have an ambitious deceitful aim to be blessed, partakers of the blessed Kingdom of Heaven.  
Therefore, if thou hast a desire of Eternal blessedness, know that the way thither, is not by Cursing: if thou hast a hope to escape the dreadful sentence of, Go ye Cursed, Math. 25. Then give thy mind to prayer and blessing, and then shalt thou have the joyful welcome of, Come ye blessed inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. To the which God of his mercy bring us all.  
Amen.   

Against Swearing.  
Having with a Christian humility considered thy own base and contemptible estate and condition, then think with thyself, what an Incomprehensible, Glorious, Infinite and Almighty Majesty thou offendest and blasphemest with thy ungodly Swearing, who hath said, that he will not hold him guiltless, that takes his Name in vain.  
And much better were it at the last day, for that miserable wretch, that he had been created a Toad, a Viper, or the most loathsome creature, then to appear before that great and dreadful Tribunal, and there to be accused by the Devil and his own conscience, for Swearing and for Forswearing, and Blaspheming the blessed Name of the Eternal God, where no excuse can serve, no Advocate can plead, no Proxey or Essoyne is to be granted, but presently the guilty Caitif is commanded to utter darkness and perpetual torments.  
There is some excuse for the ignorant jews, that crucified our Saviour, because they knew not what they did: but for a prosessed Christian, who knows God to be his Creator, and that jesus Christ paid no less than the peerless & most precious blood of his heart for man's Redemption, how can any one that knows and believes these things, hope for salvation by that blood, wounds, heart and body, which he so much, and so often blasphemes and tears betwixt his accursed teeth? So that there is no Traitor so bad, or treason so great, as is against the Majesty of heaven, nor hath the Devil any that doth him more pleasing service, than an odious and common Swearer doth, and herein he goes beyond all the Devils in hell, in impiety and contempt of God: for Saint james saith, Chap. 2. 19 That the Devils do believe there is a God, and that they also tremble in fear of his mighty power; but the Swearer, though he do know and believe there is a God, yet he believes not his Word, or fears or trembles at his judgements.  
Besides these endless torments ordained in hell for odious Swearers, God hath promised to afflict them in this life: for he saith, The plague shall never go from the house of the Swearer, Ecclesiasticus 23.  
So that the gain of a Swearer is nothing but the eternal wrath os God, the hatred of all good men, the ill example to others, and the vexation and discredit of himself, his kindred and friends, with a fearful reward hereafter, (except true repentance obtain mercy.) What a foolish absurdity is it for a man (being crossed in any worldly affairs, or gaming, or other business, either material or trivial) to revenge himself upon God, and carelessly and blasphemously fly in the face of his Maker, with Oaths and Execrations?  
If we did consider what God hath done for us, we would not so unthankfully requite him: if we called to mind his gracious promise of glory everlasting, to those that love and fear him, we should then hold his Name in such reverence as becomes Christians: if his fearful threatenings against the takers of his Name in vain, could terrify us, (no doubt) but we would be more careful and circumspect in our lives and conversations, as that we would be alured by his mercies, or restrained by his judgements.   

GOd hath naturally placed and enclosed the tongue of man within the stone walls of his teeth, and without those walls there are also the two earthen Bulwarks or Rampieres of his lips: he hath appointed Reason to be the tongues guide and guardian, and he freely offers his Grace, to be Reason's counsellor & governor: wherefore let us flee to the Throne of Grace, and beseech the God of Grace, that he will cause his saving Grace to guide our Reason, that our Reason may rule our tongues, that Cursing may be cashered, Swearing suppressed: that (by God's Spirit) our lips may be opened, that with our mouths his Name may bepraysed: that God's holy Name may be glorified, and our sinful souls eternally saved, through the merits of our great and blessed Redeemer jesus christ, To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit, be all Honour, Power, Majesty, Glory, Dominion, and Thanksgiving, ascribed and rendered (as is due) of men and Angels, both now and for evermore.  
Amen, Amen.  
JOHN TAYLOR.    

Printed at London by Eliz. Allde for Henry Gosson, and are to be sold at his shop upon London Bridge.