The Second Commandment.
Which is the Second Commandment?
_Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain._
What does this mean?
_We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use
witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every
trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks._
1. We learned in the first Commandment that we should _fear and love our
God above all things._ That is the will of our Father in heaven. If we
fear and love God, we shall gladly fulfil His commandments and do His
will. And it is only if we fear and love God that we shall do so. All
our obedience to God and His commandments must come from a heart that
fears and loves God. In every commandment our God demands again that we
fear and love Him. Therefore our Catechism begins the explanation of
every commandment with these words: _"We should fear and love God."_
2. _"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain."_
Because we fear and love God, we must not take His name in vain. God has
a name, just as you and everybody has a name by which he is known and
called; indeed, God has many names. You already learned several of His
names. _(God, Lord, Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost, the Almighty,
Creator, Savior,_ etc.) These names God has given Himself in His Word.
Through His names He shows us who and what He is, what He has done and
still is doing for His children. God is called Savior, and He really is
the Savior; He is called Creator because He has created heaven and
earth; He is called the Almighty, for with Him nothing is impossible.
_God's name is God Himself as He has revealed Himself to us._
3. _We are not to take God's name in vain._ To take God's name in vain
means to use His holy name _thoughtlessly_ and _without any need._ Many
persons, it is sad to say, very often use the name of God, and
especially that of Jesus Christ, in their speech without thinking of
their Savior, without even knowing that they do so. They use it even
when they talk of vile things. They take God's name in vain and mock
God. _"Be not deceived; God is not mocked."_ Gal. 6,7.
4. Our Catechism shows us more plainly how God's name is taken in vain:
_"We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use
witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name."_ We should not _curse._ To
curse by God's name means _to call down upon oneself or another God's
punishment. Peter_ cursed. Matt. 26,74. He said God should punish him if
he knew "the man" Jesus. Christians should never curse. They bless and
praise God, their Father; how, then, can they curse their fellow-men and
wish them God's punishment? Blessing and cursing should not come out of
the same mouth. Jas. 3,9.10.
5. _We should not swear by God's name._ We swear when we use God's name
to affirm the truth of what we say, as we hear it done so often in daily
life. Our Lord says to His disciples: _"I say unto you, Swear not at
all. ... But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."_ Matt. 5,34,37.
6. _We should not use witchcraft by God's name._ We use witchcraft when
we try to perform things which by natural means we cannot do, such as
_fortune-telling, calling and asking the dead_ (as the Spiritualists
claim to do), etc. Such works are in themselves grievous sins, works of
the devil. But such sins are much greater when God's holy name is used
in performing them. Christians should have nothing to do with these
works of darkness, these works of the devil. (Read Deut. 18,10-12.)
7. _We should not lie or deceive by God's name._ Lying by God's name
means telling a lie and using God's name and Word in order to make the
lie seem to be the truth. So the _false prophets_ use God's name and
Word in order to hide their false doctrines and make them appear as
God's truth. _"Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that
use their tongues and say, He saith." _Jer. 23,31, The hypocrites
deceive by God's name. They use God's name, they talk about God and His
Word in order to hide their evil life. _"Not every one that saith unto
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that
doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven."_ Matt. 7,21. Think of
Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5.
8. To take God's name in vain is a _grievous sin._ God is greatly
displeased with it. How can we, who fear and love God, grieve Him by
taking His holy name in vain? _And God has threatened to punish all that
misuse His name. "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His
name in vain."_ Ex. 20,7.4
9. God has revealed His name to us in order to _bless and save us._ He
wants us to use His holy name _in the right way. "We should call upon it
in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks."_ That is the right use
of our Lord's name.--He wants us to _call_ on Him, to beg for His
help, especially in all our troubles; for He alone can help us in all
our needs. God says: _"Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."_ Ps. 50,15.--We should
_pray_ in His name; for in every true prayer we use His name aright. He
wants us to come to Him daily and speak with Him, as a child speaks to
his father.--We should use His name in _praising_ and _thanking_ Him
for His manifold goodness, for all His benefits, all the great things He
does for us. If He has delivered or helped us, we should glorify Him.
_"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy
name."_ Ps. 103,1. _"O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good;
because His mercy endureth forever."_ Ps. 118,1. If we rightly use the
name of our God, we shall be blessed by it. _"The name of the Lord is a
strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe."_ Prov. 18,10.