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Originally Posted by Saurreg
I think oaths themselves must have some sort of a bidding power as you have placed it - akin to the powers the maiar used for their bidding. Otherwise words spoken hold little substance. But by what power did oath work by? Did one have to swear upon the Gods of Arda or Illuvatar himself so as to get that deity's endorsement for an oath to work?
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JBoromir has touched on this already, but I'd like to expand on it. Words were important to Tolkien. So important, in fact, that he was convinced that they are important to everyone whether we realize it or not. Words carry meaning, and therein have power. To speak an oath is to bind oneself to a future course of action that, due to the power of words,
must come true. Swearing an oath by Iluvatar (as did Feanor and his sons) binds the oath to the power of Iluvatar. If one swears by one's own father, then the powers inherent in one's father (to beget, to thrive, to provide for family, to rule over his house), are the things which bind the oath speaker. Failure to keep an oath brings down these powers against one.
This is an example of my sig below: words and oaths still hold in the real world, though people would like to deny it. Sure, it's my opinion, but I think it's accurate.
This relates to sorcery (goetia) and spirits as well. Sorcery is the act of binding spirits by means of words and names of power. Spells (magia) are similar: words spoken cause a thing to act in a way that is against its basic nature, or speeds it up or enriches it.