Matthew 14:9

Sorry; he knew it was wrong, and was afraid it would make him trouble.

Them which sat with him; he was more afraid of them than of God. No oath can lay a man under obligations to do wrong. It is a sin to take such an oath, and it is an additional sin to fulfil it. The wicked, while they often lay claim to great courage, and sometimes show what in some respects resembles it, are at heart great cowards. They are afraid even of being called cowards by those whose praise would be a blot; and to avoid it, they will commit murder, and expose themselves to the endless wrath of God.