Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
7. The third commandment. The name of God to be treated with reverence.
take in vain ] properly, take up (viz. upon the lips, as Exo 23:1, Psa 15:3; Psa 16:4) for unreality (Di. ‘zur Nichtigkeit ’) i.e. make use of it for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose. The root idea of shw ’, is what is groundless or unsubstantial: hence in a material sense it means unreal, vain (Psa 60:11); and in a moral sense it denotes what is empty, frivolous, or insincere: cf. Exo 23:1 ‘Thou shalt not take up a groundless report’; Psa 24:4 ‘hath not lifted up his soul (i.e. directed his desires) unto unreality ’ (i.e. to what is either frivolous or insincere): in the Psalms it is generally rendered vanity, but it often really means what we should call insincerity, as Psa 12:3, Psa 41:6 (see the Glossary in the writer’s Parallel Psalter, p. 464). God’s name is to be treated with reverence; it is not to be desecrated either by false swearing (Lev 19:12 (H), Jer 5:2; Jer 7:9, Zec 5:4, Mal 3:5), or by being used disrespectfully for any other frivolous or idle purpose, as in cursing or reviling, or to support false pretensions of being able to use magic or divination, or to predict the future (Jer 27:15).
hold guiltless ] i.e. leave unpunished, as 1Ki 2:9 shews is implied and as the word is sometimes actually rendered, e.g. Pro 6:29 Jer 25:29. Cf. Jer 34:7, with the note.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
The Third Commandment
The name of God stands for Himself and for that which He has revealed of Himself, not for our thoughts about Him. It is not surprising that this great name was invested with a superstitious sanctity. Even the Jews used it rarely. There is a tradition that it was heard but once a year, when it was uttered by the high-priest on the great day of atonement. In reading the Scriptures it became customary never to pronounce it, but to replace it with another Divine name, which was regarded as less awful and august. The Third Commandment requires something very different from this ceremonial homage to His name. His name stands for Himself, and it is to Him that our reverence is due.
I. We may transgress the commandment in many ways.
1. By perjury.
2. By swearing.
3. By the practice of finding material for jesting in Holy Scripture.
4. By the habit of scoffing at those who profess to live a religious life, and taking every opportunity of sneering at their imperfections.
II. It is not enough to avoid the sin of profanity; we are bound to cultivate and to manifest that reverence for Gods majesty and holiness which lies at the root of all religion, We have to worship Him. It is the pure in heart who see God, and only when we see God face to face can we worship Him in spirit and in truth. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)
On taking Gods name in vain
I. The first expression to which I refer is, the name of the Lord thy God, or strictly, the name of Jehovah thy God. The name of the Lord is not, on the one hand, the mere articulate sound by which the mouth expresses the idea of Deity, nor is the phrase, on the other hand, a simple synonym for God. It holds up God in His special character of Jehovah, the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God of His own dear people. The name of Jehovah means God, known and served under His revealed aspect of mercy, God appreciated as the pardoner of sin and giver of the Spirit, the Jehovah or keeper of His precious promises to His people. For example, of the antediluvian piety it is said: Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord–i.e., it was then that distinctive recognition was made of Gods special provision of mercy for sinners. His name of Jehovah was received as indicating His relation to His believing people. A name is an expression of the personal substance–an exhibition of the essential character. Gods name by which He delights to be known among men, is Love. His character of compassion is especially displayed in His Word, and hence the Psalmist says: Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name–that is, of all revelations of Gods character, all expressions of His being, the written Word is most full and complete. Here is the way of pardon and acceptance clearly portrayed. Another conspicuous display of Gods character, but only local and temporary in its personal contact, while universal in its possible application, is in the Lord Jesus Christ; and so Jesus is in a high sense the name of Jehovah. If. The second expression to which our attention should be directed is the phrase, to take in vain. The literal rendering is, Thou shalt not lift up the name of Jehovah thy God lightly. Taking Gods name in vain is the flippant and thoughtless use of Gods name. It is the taking up the name in the vacant, purposeless way in which we pluck off a leaf as we pass along the road–the use of the name, not only where the purpose is evil, but where there is no defined purpose at all. Again, there may be not only an absence of evil purpose, but, beyond an absence of all purpose, there may even be a purpose of good, but this purpose may be seized upon in so rash and ill-advised a way that the use of the Divine name in it is a taking the name in vain, just as Uzzahs touching the ark of God, even to stay it upon the cart and prevent its fall, was a sin of profanity, and called for the Divine punishment.
1. In respect to Gods verbal name, we are not to be satisfied with our freedom from the coarse profanity which culture and good breeding forbid, but we are to remove the habit of using the holy name in ordinary conversation in which the use has no religious character. We are not to call a wretched and forlorn person or thing God-forsaken, or to hail a gift as a God-send, when, in using these epithets, we have no design to use their full meaning, and therefore have not the proper attitude of mind for their utterance.
2. In respect to Gods written Word, we are to take it up with reverence both in our hearts and on our tongues.
3. But chiefly, in relation to Jesus and the great eternal truths which the Holy Spirit introduces to the soul. To each man comes through his conscience a summons from God to give heed to his future spiritual and eternal condition. If you slight that summons, given to you in the gospel, you are taking Gods name in vain. (H. Crosby, D. D.)
The Third Commandment
I. The Divine prohibition–
1. Forbids perjury.
2. Forbids hypocrisy–insincere worship.
3. Forbids profanity.
II. The Divine warning. Being in its very nature the most godless of sins, God from His very nature cannot allow it to go unpunished. Did you ever read that remarkable assertion of the famous mathematician, Charles Babbage, in the Ninth Bridgwater Treatise, to the effect that the slightest word, though it be but a whispered interjection, vibrating in the air, sets in operation a series of changes which undulate to the very outskirts of creation, rising and falling like an everlasting tide? The whole material universe is a mighty whispering-gallery, in which the Infinite One is everlastingly hearing every word, every whisper, breathed by every human being, from the day Adam pronounced his first vocable in Eden to the day when human time shall be no more. If, then, the scarcely audible rustle of an unconscious aspen leaf sets in inexorable motion atom after atom–from leaf to tree, from tree to earth, from earth to star, till the whole material creation responds in undulation–think you that an oath, spoken by conscious, responsible man, will ever die away, or go unpunished? Oh, no! Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. (G. D. Boardman.)
The Third Commandment
There are other ways besides making an image of Him by which the conception of Deity can be lowered. Man by his words embodies his thoughts of God as really as when by his hands he carves an image of Him. It bears significantly upon certain usages which tend, though perhaps unconsciously, to dissociate the name of God from the, deep reverence which should invest it. Among these is the habit, formed often unthinkingly, of using frequent and almost meaningless repetitions of the name of God in prayer. Akin to this evil, and one equally opposed to the spirit of the Third Command, is the familiar and endearing use of Gods name in prayer. Some, while praying, employ epithets as if they were on terms of special intimacy, and almost of equality, with their Heavenly Father. Christ has, indeed, taught us to call God Father; but He has, in the same breath, bid us gather around the name these reverent words, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. And there is nothing in Scripture to indicate a less hallowed aspect toward Christ in prayer than toward the Father. With what unvarying reverence do Paul and John, in their Epistles, refer to the ascended and glorified Redeemer! A true acquaintance with God produces reverence for Him; a correct knowledge of Christ exalts Him far above all principality and power, and gives Him a name that is above every name. (P. B. Davis.)
The Third Commandment
I. What is required. The holy and reverent use of Gods names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words, and works.
II. What is forbidden. All profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes Himself known. This command is broken two ways–
1. By not using the name of God as is required (Mal 2:2). So as many duties as are required, so many sins there are in omitting these duties. Hence this command is broken by our not hallowing and glorifying Gods name, by not taking up the name of God into our minds, lips, and lives.
2. By profaning or abusing of the name of God; that is, anything whereby God makes Himself known.
1. When it is used ignorantly, as it was by the Athenians, whom the apostle Paul charges with worshipping God ignorantly (Act 18:23).
2. When it is used vainly and irreverently, that is, lightly and rashly.
3. When the name of God is used superstitiously.
4. When it is used profanely and wickedly.
(1) Profane swearing.
(2) Sinful imprecations or cursings, whereby people pray for some evil against themselves or others, whether absolutely or conditionally.
(3) Perjury is falsehood confirmed with an oath.
(4) Blasphemy, which is a wronging of the majesty of God, by speeches tending to His reproach.
Having spoken of the more gross and palpable breaches of this command, I shall now consider other ways how the Lords name is abused and taken in vain.
1. With respect to His names and titles. They are taken in vain–
(1) When they are not improved for those uses to which they natively attend (see Mal 1:6).
(2) When we make an ill use of them, either to encourage ourselves in sin by them, or to drive us away from Him by terror, or to any other use dishonourable to God, and contrary to the intent of the revelation of them to us.
2. With respect to His attributes, Gods name is abused–
(1) By the working of unbelief against them, doubting of, questioning, and denying them.
(2) By the aversion of the heart unto them, and its rising against them (Rom 8:7).
(3) By using them to wrong ends and purposes. Thus the mercy of God is abused to encouragement in sin; His patience to continuance in it; His justice to desperation, etc. (Ecc 8:11; Rom 2:4-5).
3. With respect to His ordinances. The name of God is abused in ordinances when we do not go about them after the right manner, etc.
4. With respect to His Word, men are guilty of profaning the name of God–
(1) By misimproving and misapplying the Word of God, as the Pharisees did (Mat 5:1-48; Eze 13:19).
(2) Jesting upon it (Jer 23:33).
(3) Using it to the maintenance of erroneous principles, unprofitable questions, and vain janglings (2Ti 2:14-15).
5. With respect to His works, men are guilty of profaning the name of God, when they use the works and creatures of God to sinful lusts and practices.
6. Men profane the name of God, in respect of religion, and the profession of it.
(1) By maligning, scorning, and reviling religion, and the profession of it.
(2) By a hypocritical profession.
(3) By a scandalous walk.
III. The reason annexed. This is, that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape His righteous judgment.
1. Whence it is that men think so lightly of the profaning of the name of God, so that in effect they hold themselves guiltless.
(1) It proceeds from that wicked and malicious spirit the devil (Jam 3:6).
(2) it springs from the low and mean thoughts they have of God and His dreadful name (Psa 36:1-2).
(3) There are many profanations of the name of God, that untender men will not allow to be such. They are not and will not be convinced of a fault in them, as in obsecrations, appeals to God, adjurations, etc. But a due sense of the majesty of that name would clear peoples minds in these things (Mat 5:37).
(4) There are many profanations of that name which men do not at all observe, as profaning that holy name in duties by formality, and want of faith and fervency.
(5) It proceeds from the passion of anger or malice.
(6) Custom in taking the name of God in vain takes away the sense of it.
(7) Swearing proceeds from unwatchfulness.
(8) In some it proceeds from vanity and hellish bravery.
2. Whence it is that profaners of the name of God escape punishment from men.
(1) Little zeal for Gods honour.
(2) Those who ought to put in operation the laws against swearing are themselves often guilty of that sin.
3. I proceed to show how God will not let men escape with it; that He will by no means hold them guiltless. Consider that the profaning of the name of God is a sin–
(1) That brings wrath upon a land (Hos 4:1-2; Jer 5:7; Jer 5:9).
(2) It brings wrath upon families (Zec 5:3-4).
(3) It brings a curse upon particular persons.
4. What is the great evil of this sin, that it is so severely punished?
(1) It is a sin that is directly against God, His glorious greatness and infinite majesty.
(2) It is a direct violation of the law of God, Swear not at all; Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Have you no respect to the authority of God?
(3) It is not only a violation of the law of God, but a breach of mens laws.
(4) It is a sin that has a peculiar contempt of God in it, striking most directly against His honour (Psa 139:20).
(5) It is most directly contrary to the great end of all Divine revelation. The first petition in the Lords Prayer is, Hallowed be Thy name.
(6) It has a particular malignity in it, and in a most special manner proceeds from the devil, as it has less to carry us to it than ordinary sins have. What profit or pleasure can be derived from it?
(7) Common swearers and cursers will be found to be men either of consciences already seared, or next door to it. I shall conclude all with a very short word of improvement.
1. How can these lands escape a stroke that have so much of this guilt to answer for?
2. I warn all gross profaners of the name of God to repent and flee to the blood of Christ for pardon; certifying, that if ye do not, ye shall lie under the wrath of God for ever.
3. Let us endeavour not only to reform ourselves, but contribute to the reformation of others in this point. ( T. Boston. D. D.)
The Third Commandment
I. What is meant by the name of God?
II. How is Gods name taken in vain?
1. We take Gods name in vain when we use it lightly or without thinking.
2. It is taking this name in vain when we use it falsely, or speak what is not true in connection with it.
3. But we break this commandment also when we use Gods name profanely.
III. Why should we not take this name in vain?
1. Because it is useless.
2. Because it is cowardly.
3. Because it is vulgar.
4. Because it is wicked.
5. Because it is dangerous. (R. Newton, D. D.)
The guilt of profaneness
1. God has forbidden all profane language, in a manner the most solemn, and best adapted to make the deepest impression on the hearts and consciences of men.
2. Taking the name of God in vain is destructive of all religion. A profane person cannot love, nor fear, nor obey, nor trust in God.
3. The profanation of Gods name tends to weaken and destroy the force and obligation of every civil government. The profanation of Gods name directly tends to bring religion and oaths into contempt; and when these are brought into contempt, how can civil government be administered to preserve the property, liberty, or lives of the subjects?
4. Profane swearing is the most unnatural sin in this wicked world. It does not originate from any natural propensity, instinct, or appetite in the human mind, but is contrary to every dictate of reason and conscience. No one ever heard profane language for the first time without being shocked. No child ever uses it until he has learned it from others.
5. To use profane language is below the dignity of any man. It requires no superior knowledge, learning, or intellectual talents to take the name of God in vain, or to rise to the highest attainments in the art of swearing.
6. Profane swearing is a vice which never lives alone. Who ever knew a profane swearer that was free from every other vice? It is true, a profane swearer may not be a liar, a thief, or a drunkard; but it is the nature and tendency of his profaneness to lead him into these and all other vices. For it takes off the most powerful restraints that can be laid upon the human mind.
7. Profane swearing is a land-defiling iniquity. It is a moral infection, a spreading leprosy, and more infectious than any natural disease. It is a sin which can be more easily and oftener repeated than any other sin. The profane man can utter his oaths and imprecations every hour in the day, and every day in the week, wherever he is, and wherever he goes, as long as he lives.
8. Profane swearing is a sin, which exhibits infallible evidence, that those who are guilty of it are pursuing the broad road which leads to future and endless ruin. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Taking Gods name in vain
There is a three-fold swearing forbidden.
1. Vain swearing; when men in their ordinary discourse let fly oaths.
2. Vile swearing; horrid, prodigious oaths not to be named.
3. Forswearing; this is a heaven-daring sin: Ye shall not swear by My name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God. Perjury is a calling God to witness to a lie. In righteousness, therefore, it must not be an unlawful oath. In judgment, therefore, it must not be a rash oath. In truth, therefore, it must not be a false oath.
4. We take Gods name in vain by rash and unlawful vows. (T. Watson.)
The law of reverence
What God approves is not the parade of homage for the letter, but the inward homage of the soul for what the name represents.
I. In relation to public duty.
1. Perjury. Worthily to take an oath being one of the loftiest of human actions, it follows that to take it unworthily is one of the most infamous of crimes. The perjurer professes to believe in God. His pretence is that he confides in the presence, truth, majesty, justice of God. Yet he dons this fair cloak of piety that he may get a lie believed! It is a dastardly attempt to make the righteous God his partner in wronging the innocent, by leading a jury to an unjust verdict, and a judge to an unrighteous sentence.
2. Blasphemy: to impute evil to God; to scoff at the holiness and power of God; to assume the prerogatives of God.
II. In relation to private speech
1. Profane swearing. Leave expletives to those who have more words than ideas, and more tongue than brains. Be sure that reverence is the saving salt of society, and the very soul of virtue.
2. Flippant talk of sacred things.
III. In relation to Divine worship.
1. They who are in the pulpit are there on purpose to lift up the name of God like a standard. Let them beware that they do not, through utterance of false doctrine, lift it for a lie! Let them beware of turning their piety into a mercantile profession, or using it for unworthy ends! Let them beware of preaching Christ out of strife, and of the opposite vice of perfunctory utterance; or unawares they may lift up the name of God for a thing of nought!
2. They who are in the pew need the warning also. We want reverence in the house of prayer–reverence in attitude, reverence in demeanour, reverence in worship. (W. J. Woods, B. A.)
On oaths
1. For the matter of an oath, assertory oaths must be of things that are–
(1) True.
(2) Weighty.
(3) They must be such to our knowledge.
Again, promissory oaths must be things just and lawful, possible, profitable, and in our power, and which to our knowledge are such.
2. The form must be, By the true God, it being a peculiar part of His worship.
3. Its rise must be edification, that is, Gods glory, our own vindication, or our neighbours good, or the call of a magistrate putting us to it.
4. As to the expressions in which it is conceived, or the thing sworn, it is required that it sought not only truth to, and in the mans meaning that sweareth, but that the expressions be plain and intelligible to his meaning and understanding to whom the oath is given; otherwise it deludeth, but doth not clear.
5. As to the right manner of swearing, these things ought to be noticed–
(1) That it be in judgment, that we understand the thing we swear, and the nature of our oath, and Him we swear by (Jer 4:2).
(2) Fear and reverence in going about it, as being in an especial way in Gods own sight.
(3) Singleness in the end, that it be not to deceive any, but to express the truth only and faithfully, called righteousness (Jer 4:2). (J. Durham.)
The Third Commandment
For the Lord, etc.
1. This implies that the sin under consideration may be lightly thought of, and rarely punished, among men.
2. It is an aggravation of this sin, that there seems to be very little temptation to the commission of it.
3. In the next place, it is a sin most pernicious to those who indulge it, and to those with whom they are connected.
4. In conclusion, I observe that God notices, records, and will certainly, in this world or the next, avenge the insults done to His majesty by a violation of this command. (G. Clayton.)
Rules to avoid profanity
1. Beware of the first rudiments and beginnings of oaths, if thou wouldst not learn them.
2. Subdue, as much as you can, all inordinate passion and anger.
3. Labour to possess thy heart and over-awe it with the most serious considerations and apprehensions of the greatness and majesty of God. (Bp. E. Hopkins.)
A proper use to be made of the gift of speech
The Third Commandment shows man at the head of the material creation with the crowning glory of intelligent speech, and, as a social being, possessing the power of speech as the highest instrument of his social nature. God reveals Himself to him by word, by name, as to a speaking being, making language a bond of union between Him and man. God commands him to use this great gift in His worship, in honouring Him.
1. The tongue is the glory of man, and the glory of the tongue is to voice the praises of God. All nature praises God as it obeys His laws. Man stands at the head of creation to take up its many notes of praise and give them intelligent utterance. He stands thus not as a single individual, a great High Priest, but as a race whose myriad voices are to join and mingle in a vast chorus of intelligent and harmonious praise. We are to speak of Him, and to Him, with adoration. He is our Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Judge. We are to speak of Him, and to Him, with love and praise. Our lips should quiver with emotion when we speak of Him who is our Father and our Saviour. We are to speak to Him in His worship, and of Him to each other, only in such a way as shall promote His worship in our own hearts and in the hearts of others.
2. The command is in the prohibitory form. Man has broken this law, and is prone to break it. His voice is silent often when it should be praising God. A man uses the name of God as an exclamation of surprise at some trivial thing or assertion of another, or to sustain some unimportant statement of his own. Sometimes a story is dull, and the story-teller seasons it with a few oaths; or some joke is without point, and so a curse is used to awaken a laugh. Man calls God to make sport for him. A man has become accustomed to exaggerate or to speak falsely, and, conscious that others hesitate to believe him, he continually calls upon the truth-loving God to witness to his lies. Sometimes he becomes heated in argument, or angry under contradiction, or in a quarrel, and he calls upon God to curse him if he is not right, or in his anger he calls upon God to curse the one who irritates him. Sometimes he so loses control of himself that curses pour out of his lips as dense smoke out of a chimney. (F. S. Schenck.)
No excuse for swearing
The swearer tries to excuse himself. I did not mean it. I was only in fun. There are some things not the proper subjects of fun. Surely a man ought not to make fun of God, or of invoking the wrath of God upon himself or others. But the swearer says: It is a relief for me to swear. It cools off my heated spirits. Often it is the reverse, adding fuel to the flame, not only to himself, but to others, especially those he curses. But if it is a relief, what is it a relief of? It is a relief to the storm-cloud to throw out its lightnings, because it is over-charged with electricity. So it is a relief for you to throw out your cursing because you are over-charged with cursing. Your heart is so full of hatred that when stirred in anger it overflows in curses. You had far better bring such a heart to God with a strong cry for mercy. Again the swearer says: I know it is wrong, but it is a habit I have fallen into to such an extent that I often swear without knowing it. Do you not see that habit does not excuse but rather aggravates the offence? No one can become wicked at once. Your habit only shows how often you have sinned, how far you have gone down in this kind of wickedness. Again the swearer says: I may as well say it as think it. You should not think an oath or curse. But it is worse to speak it. The letter of the law forbids the word, and so checks the evil in the heart, and at any rate prevents its injuring others. You gain inward control by outward control. Come toward the spirit of the law, checking the thought by obeying the letter. You keep yourself also from being a curse. The swearer is a moral blight in a community, his oath-speaking is a spreading infection, he is himself a curse to others. (F. S. Schenck.)
Speaking of God
The positive side, underlying the negative, is the requirement that our speech of God shall fit our thought of God, and our thought of Him shall fit His name; that our words shall mirror our affection, and our affection be a true reflection of His beauty and sweetness; that cleansed lips shall reverently utter the name above every name, which, after all speech, must remain unspoken; and that we shall feel it to be not the least wonderful or merciful of His condescensions, that He is extolled with our tongues. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
God not to be trifled with
It is enough to make the blood curdle, to think of the name of God bandied about as a bauble and plaything of fools. This offence cannot go unpunished. If there be a God, He must vindicate His own majesty and glory. It is the very spirit and essence of all evil, the very core of iniquity. If you could see it as it is, in the naked enormity of its guilt, you would flee from it as from the very pestilence of death. You may sport with the whirlwind and trifle with the storm, you may lay your hand upon the lions mane and play with the leopards spots, you may go to the very crater of a burning volcano, and laugh at the lava which it belches out in thunder; you may trifle with any and everything; but trifle not with God. Let there be one holy thing upon which you dare not lay a profane hand, and let that be the name of God. (J. H. Thornwell, D. D.)
Reverence
To swear by his gods was the most common usage of the heathen; and it grew out of a worship that of necessity debased the heart of moral reverence. Unbelief comes oftener from irreverent association than intellectual doubt. The sneer of a Voltaire has killed more than all his arguments; for, in Paleys keen words, who can refute a sneer? The youth who grows in the midst of profane minds imbibes a scorn of truth before he has searched a single doctrine, as the breath of an infected garment may engender disease. In this light you perceive how this old commandment covers the whole ground of our Christian conduct. So shall we build our piety, as Israel built the Temple; without, the costliest work that faith could rear; the walls overlaid with gold, each door carved with cherubim and palms and open flowers: each pillar with its chapiters and wreaths; its vessels, its lamps, its censers of the beaten gold of Ophir; a house of God, finished throughout all the parts thereof; but within, the Holy of Holies, where the unseen God dwells alone behind the veil of the heart! (E. A. Washburn, D. D.)
Frivolous use of Scripture
Nothing is more easy than to create a laugh by a grotesque association of some frivolity with the grave and solemn words of Holy Scripture. But surely this is profanity of the worst kind. By this Book the religious life of men is quickened and sustained. It contains the highest revelations of Himself which God has made to man. It directly addresses the conscience and the heart, and all the noblest faculties of our nature, exalting our idea of duty, consoling us in sorrow, redeeming us from sin and despair, and inspiring us with the hope of immortal blessedness and glory. Listening to its words, millions have heard the very voice of God. It is associated with the sanctity of many generations of saints. Such a book cannot be a fit material for the manufacture of jests. For my own part, though I do not accept Dr. Johnsons well-known saying, that a man who would make a pun would pick a pocket, I should be disposed to say that a man who deliberately and consciously uses the words of Christ, of apostles, and of prophets, for mere purposes of merriment, might have chalked a caricature on the wall of the Holy of Holies, or scrawled a witticism on the sepulchre in Josephs garden. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)
Irreverence in prayer
An aged minister told me, says a correspondent of the Morning Star, that when he was a young man, he had, on a certain occasion, been praying in a family, and in his prayer he had made a very frequent and energetic use of the terms Good God, and God Almighty. At the close of his prayer, a little child, about four years of age, came to his mother and said, Mother, I dont like to hear that minister pray. Why? inquired the mother. Because, replied the child, he swears so when he prays. This reproof from the child broke the minister of swearing when he prayed. Prayer is petition, and no one would use the name of a ruler to whom he was making a petition in as harsh a manner as many use the name of the great God.
Profanity known to God
A coachman, pointing to one of his horses, said to a traveller, That horse, sir, knows when I swear at him. Yes, replied the traveller; and so does your Maker.
Swearer rebuked
Mr. Meikle, a gentleman of eminent piety, was a surgeon at Carnwath, in Scotland. He was once called to attend a gentleman who had been stung in the face by a wasp or bee, and found him very impatient, and swearing, on account of his pain, in great wrath. Oh, doctor, said he, I am in great torment; can you any way help? Do not fear, replied Mr. M., all will be over in a little while. Still, however, the gentleman continued to swear, and at length his attendant determined to reprove him. I see nothing the matter, said he, only it might have been in a better place. Where might it have been? asked the sufferer. Why, on the tip of your tongue.
Payment for swearing
What does Satan pay you for swearing? asked one gentleman of another. He dont pay me anything, was the reply. Well you work cheap–to lay aside the character of a gentleman; to inflict so much pain on your friends and civil people; to suffer; and, lastly, to risk your own precious soul, and for nothing–you certainly do work cheap, very cheap indeed.
Satanic swearing
A thoughtless, conceited young man was boasting of the number of languages he knew. In French he was a complete Parisian; Spanish and Portuguese were as familiar to him as his old gloves. In Italy he had passed for a native. Now and then he popped out an oath, swearing that he thought he knew almost all languages. An elderly man, who had listened attentively to his address, suddenly stopped him by asking him if he were at all acquainted with the language of Canaan. (J. Cope.)
Swearing reproved
A good old man was once in company with a gentleman, who occasionally introduced into conversation the words devil, deuce, etc., and who at last took the name of God in vain. Stop, sir, said the old man, I said nothing while you only used freedoms with the name of your own master, but I insist upon it that you shall use no freedoms with the name of mine.
A wise prohibition
It is interesting to know that when St. Pauls Cathedral was in building, Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, caused a printed notice to be affixed to the scaffolding, threatening with instant dismissal any workman guilty of swearing within those sacred precincts.
Profanity subjects the soul to Satan
In ancient feudal times, when a man paid a small peppercorn rent to the landlord, it was in token of submission. It was no onerous burden. But when the landholder fell to fighting with some neighbouring chief or baron, or when he was summoned by the king to join the royal army into France, the peppercorn submission brought its corresponding penalty and danger. The payee was bound to follow in the barons train, to make any sacrifices required by the landholder, and encounter any dangers, even death, in his service. Such are profane expressions. They are tokens of submission to Satan, and the prince of darkness does not scruple to make the utterers testify their allegiance whenever it suits him. Oaths are light things. Blasphemies are rents too readily paid to the prince of this world; but they bring in their train heavy responsibilities from which there is no escape, except by sincere repentance.
Profanity
The perniciousness of profanity is its vulgarizing names that should never be uttered save with reverence and awe. The old monks, in their cloistered work on sacred manuscripts, wiped the pen and breathed an invocation before writing the name of the Most High. A great deal of the religious apathy of our day is the natural recoil of the heart from language about Deity and sacred things which shocks the sensibilities and makes piety seem akin to blasphemy.
Reverence for Gods name
That great and good man, the Hon. Robert Boyle, a nobleman, a statesman, and an author, during his lifetime, before he ever said the name of God, always made a hush, a pause!
A signal light
I once knew a sweet little girl called Mary. Her papa was the captain of a big ship, and sometimes the went with him to sea, and it was on one of these trips that the incident, of which I am going to tell you, happened. One day she sat on a coil of rope, watching old Jim clean the signal lamps. What are you doing? she asked. I am trimming the signal lamps, miss, said old Jim. What are they for? asked Mary. To keep other ships from running into us, miss; if we do not hang out our lights, we might be wrecked. Mary watched him for some time, and then she ran away and seemed to forget all about the signal lights; but she did, not, as was afterwards shown. The next day she came to watch old Jim trim the lamps, and after he had seated her on the coil of rope, he turned to do his work. Just then the wind carried away one of his cloths, and old Jim began to swear awfully. Mary slipped from her place and ran into the cabin; but she soon came back, and put a folded paper into his hand. Old Jim opened it, and there, printed in large letters–for Mary was too young to write–were these words: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. The old man looked into her face, and asked: What is this, Miss Mary? It is a signal light, please. I saw that a bad ship was running against you because you did not have your signal lights hung out, so I thought you had forgotten it, said Mary. Old Jim bowed his head and wept like a little child. At last he said: You are right, missy. I had forgotten it. My mother taught me that very commandment when I was no bigger than you; and for the future I will hang out my signal lights, for I might be quite wrecked by that bad ship, as you call these oaths. Old Jim has a large Bible now, which Mary gave him, and on the cover he has painted: Signal lights for souls bound for heaven. (Great Thoughts.)
Clothed with cursing
I remember, some time since, hearing of a rich man who had a large plantation. He was the most terribly profane man that had ever been known in the neighbourhood. He could hardly speak a word on any subject without mingling it with oaths. It was perfectly shocking to hear him speak. At length he was seized with a stroke of something like paralysis. This left him in good health, only he had lost the use of his limbs. And the remarkable thing about it was, that the power of speech was taken away from him, except that he could still swear. Profane words were all that he could utter. He used to be carried about his plantation by his servants in a sort of hand-carriage, and the only words that ever felt from his lips were dreadful oaths and curses. How awful this must have been! What a terrible illustration it affords of that passage of Scripture in which God says that because the wicked love cursing it shall come into their bones like oil, and they shall clothe themselves with cursing like a garment! (Psa 109:17-19) Surely this man was so clothed. A dreadful garment it must have been to wear!
A just reproof
As the Rev. Dr. Gifford was one day showing the British Museum to some strangers, he was much shocked by the profane language of a young gentleman belonging to the party. Taking down an ancient copy of the Septuagint, he showed it to the youth, who, on seeing it, exclaimed, Oh! I can read this. Then, said the doctors read that passage, pointing to the Third Commandment.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Against false swearing, blasphemy, and
irreverent use of the name of God.
Verse 7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain] This precept not only forbids all false oaths, but all common swearing where the name of God is used, or where he is appealed to as a witness of the truth. It also necessarily forbids all light and irreverent mention of God, or any of his attributes; and this the original word lashshav particularly imports: and we may safely add to all these, that every prayer, ejaculation, c., that is not accompanied with deep reverence and the genuine spirit of piety, is here condemned also. In how many thousands of instances is this commandment broken in the prayers, whether read or extempore, of inconsiderate, bold, and presumptuous worshippers! And how few are there who do not break it, both in their public and private devotions! How low is piety when we are obliged in order to escape damnation, to pray to God to “pardon the sins of our holy things!”
Even heathens thought that the names of their gods should be treated with reverence.
, , .
“It is most undoubtedly right not easily to pollute the names of the gods, using them as we do common names but to watch with purity and holiness all things belonging to the gods.”
The Lord will not hold him guiltless, c.] Whatever the person himself may think or hope, however he may plead in his own behalf, and say he intends no evil, &c. if he in any of the above ways, or in any other way, takes the name of God in vain, God will not hold him guiltless – he will account him guilty and punish him for it. Is it necessary to say to any truly spiritual mind, that all such interjections as O God! my God! good God! good Heavens! &c., &c., are formal positive breaches of this law? How many who pass for Christians are highly criminal here!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Or, not carry, or not take, or lift up, to wit, in or into thy mouth, as the phrase is more fully expressed, Job 4:2; Psa 16:4; 50:16. So men are said to take up a proverb, or a lamentation, Isa 14:4; Eze 26:17. The name of the Lord; not only the proper name of the Lord, but any of his attributes, ordinances, and works, by which God hath made himself known. In vain; or unto vanity, or vainly. Either,
1. Falsely, or in a false oath; thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord, or not lift up the name of God into thy mouth in an oath to the confirmation of a lie. Or,
2. In vain, as we render it, and as the word schave is frequently used, as Job 7:3; 15:31; Psa 60:11; 89:47; Isa 1:13. You shall not use the name of God, either in oaths or in common discourse, lightly, rashly, irreverently, or unnecessarily, or without weighty or sufficient cause. Which being a duty enjoined not only in many places of sacred Scripture, but also in the apocryphal Sir 23:15-17, and even by heathen authors, as Plato in his Book of Laws, and it being evident by the light of nature to mans reason, it were strange if it were not here understood; especially considering that it is most reasonable to take these short laws in the most comprehensive sense, such as this, not the former, is; for the prohibition of using it vainly and rashly doth certainly include that of swearing by it falsely, but this latter doth not include the former. Besides, the former exposition restrains the words to swearing, whereas the words are more general, and speak of any taking Gods name into their mouths, either by oaths or any other way. And it becomes not us to set limits to Gods words where God hath set none. It is also here to be observed, as well as in the other commands, that when this sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded, to wit, to use the name of God, both in swearing and otherwise, holily, cautiously, and reverently.
Guiltless, or, innocent, i.e. free from guilt, and the punishment of it: the meaning is, the Lord will look upon him as a guilty person, and will severely punish him. And so this or the like phrase is used 1Ki 2:9. And it is a common figure, called meiosis, where more is understood than is expressed, as 1Sa 12:21; Psa 25:3; Pro 10:2. And this reason is here added, because sinners of this sort are usually held innocent by men, either because they cannot discover their fault when they forswear themselves, or because they take no care to punish the abusers of Gods name by vain and customary oaths, curses, or blasphemies: q.d. Though men spare them, I will assuredly punish them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain,…. Make use of the name Lord or God, or any other name and epithet of the divine Being, in a light and trifling way, without any show of reverence of him, and affection to him; whereas the name of God ought never to be mentioned but in a grave and serious manner, and with an awe of the greatness of his majesty upon the mind. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan restrain this to swearing by the name of the Lord; and so the Jewish writers generally interpret it either of swearing lightly, rashly, or falsely; and to this it may very well be extended, though not limited; and so forbids, as all profane oaths; imprecations, and curses by the name of God, which the mouths of wicked men are full of, so swearing by it in matters trivial, and of no importance; for swearing even by the name of the Lord ought not to be used but in matters of moment and consequence, for the confirmation of a thing, and putting an end to strife, and where a matter cannot be determined and decided without an appeal to God. And great care should be taken that a man swears to that which is true, and not false; for false swearing, or perjury, is a very grievous sin, and as it is strictly forbidden, it is severely punished by the Lord, as follows; see Le 19:12, this is the third command, and the reason enforcing it follows:
for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name is vain; will not look upon him as an innocent person, and treat him as such; will not acquit and discharge him as just and righteous; but on the contrary will consider him as a guilty person, a profaner of his name, and a transgressor of his law, and will condemn and punish him, if not in this world, yet in the world to come; and so the Targum of Jonathan, by way of explanation, adds,
“in the day of the great judgment;”
see Mal 3:5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Third Word, “ Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain, ” is closely connected with the former two. Although there is no God beside Jehovah, the absolute One, and His divine essence cannot be seen or conceived of under any form, He had made known the glory of His nature in His name (Exo 3:14., Exo 6:2), and this was not to be abused by His people. does not mean to utter the name ( never has this meaning), but in all the passages in which it has been so rendered it retains its proper meaning, “to take up, life up, raise;” e.g., to take up or raise (begin) a proverb (Num 23:7; Job 27:1), to lift up a song (Psa 81:3), or a prayer (Isa 37:4). And it is evident from the parallel in Psa 24:4, “to lift up his soul to vanity,” that it does not mean “to utter” here. does not signify a lie ( ), but according to its etymon , to be waste, it denotes that which is waste and disorder, hence that which is empty, vain, and nugatory, for which there is no occasion. The word prohibits all employment of the name of God for vain and unworthy objects, and includes not only false swearing, which is condemned in Lev 19:12 as a profanation of the name of Jehovah, but trivial swearing in the ordinary intercourse of life, and every use of the name of God in the service of untruth and lying, for imprecation, witchcraft, or conjuring; whereas the true employment of the name of God is confined to “invocation, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving,” which proceeds from a pure, believing heart. The natural heart is very liable to transgress this command, and therefore it is solemnly enforced by the threat, “for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless” (leave him unpunished), etc.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 7:
“Name” means more than the written or spoken title of God. It refers to His reputation, honor, and the means by which He manifests His glory.
“Vain”shav, is “vanity” or “false-swearing.”
This third “Word” forbids the use of the Name of Jehovah for untruth or for empty words in false swearing, idle talk, cursing, or magic.
Among the ancients, perjury was punishable by death.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Exo 20:7
. Thou shalt not take the name. There is a manifest synecdoche in this Commandment; for in order that God may procure for His name its due reverence, He forbids its being taken in vain, especially in oaths. Whence we infer on the other hand an affirmative commandment, that every oath should be a testimony of true piety, whereby the majesty of God Himself should obtain its proper glory. Moreover, it is clear that not only when we swear by God, His name is to be reverently honored, but whenever mention of it is made. Thus in these words He maintains His holiness not only in His word, but also in His works, against all profane contempt of it. We shall soon see that to swear by God’s name is a species or part of religious worship, and this is manifest too from the words of Isa 45:23; for when he predicts that all nations shall devote themselves to pure religion, he thus speaks, “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear by me.” (308) Now, if the bowing of the knees be a token of adoration, this swearing which is connected with it is equivalent to an acknowledgment that He is God. Since, then, reason dictates that the species is put for the genus, we must see what is to be understood by God’s name, and by the adverb לשוא , leshav. It is silly and childish to restrict this to the name Jehovah, (309) as if God’s majesty were confined to letters or syllables; but, whereas His essence is invisible, His name is set before us as an image, in so far as God manifests Himself to us, and is distinctly made known to us by His own marks, just as men are each by his own name. On this ground Christ teaches that God’s name is comprehended in the heavens, the earth, the temple, the altar, (Mat 5:34,) because His glory is conspicuous in them. Consequently, God’s name is profaned whenever any detraction is made from His supreme wisdom, infinite power, justice, truth, clemency, and rectitude. If a shorter definition be preferred, let us say that His name is what Paul calls τὸ γνωστόν , “ that which may be known” of Him. (Rom 1:19.)
God’s name, then, is taken in vain, not only when any one abuses it by perjury, but when it is lightly and disrespectfully adduced in proof of frivolous and trifling matters: I speak with respect to oaths. In this, however, man’s ingratitude is very gross, that when God grants them His name, as if at their entreaty, to put an end to their strifes and to be a pledge of their truth, still it flies promiscuously from their mouths not without manifest disrespect. God will again condemn perjury in the Fifth Commandment of the Second Table, viz., in so far as it offends against and violates charity by injuring our neighbors. The aim and object of this Commandment is different, i.e., that the honor due to God may be unsullied; that we should only speak of Him religiously; that becoming veneration of Him should be maintained among us. The word לשוא, leshau, might indeed be translated “for falsehood,” and in this sense we shall see it used elsewhere; but since it often is equivalent to חנם , chinam, which means gratuitously, or in vain, this exposition seems to be most appropriate. In this, too, fuller and richer instruction is contained, viz., that men should not drag in His name in light matters, as in sport or derision of Him, which cannot be done without insulting and profaning it. And thus the holiness of God’s name, which preserves us in His fear and in true piety, is contrasted with the particle לשוא, leshau. But since nothing is more difficult than to restrain men’s licentiousness in this respect, and to excuse or at least diminish the sin, the slipperiness of the tongue is pleaded, its punishment is here denounced: that if God’s name is rashly exposed to reproach or contempt, He will avenge it. The more hardened, therefore, in their licentiousness they may be, the less will be their impunity; so far is depraved habit from diminishing the guilt.
(308) The quotation more nearly accords with the Apostle’s citation in Rom 14:11, than with the original passage in Isaiah. See Owen’s note in C. ’s Romans, (C. Society’s Edition, p. 503.)
(309) “ Au mot Hebrieu, qui nous translatons l’Eternel ;” to the Hebrew word, which we translate the Eternal. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT VERSUS PROFANITY
Exo 20:7
A WEEK ago this evening we gave ourselves to the study of the first and second commandments versus idolatry; and saw polytheism prohibited, idolatry inhibited and Gods character revealed.
There were those present who expressed surprise at the treatment given to that text, saying they thought the preaching would take up the popular amusements and the common fleshly indulgences, and present them as the idols before which men bow. But I wish to get at the larger truths in these texts and see what God meant when He gave these commandments to Moses.
It is not necessary, therefore, to put upon them any strained interpretation, but by a study of the circumstances under which they were uttered, we may learn what God meant by these commandments.
It would be natural to expect that the sermon tonight should be wholly given to condemning profanity and pleading with those who are guilty of that useless and iniquitous practice to cease therefrom. But such an interpretation of the text would be narrow, and, from the preachers standpoint, extremely unsatisfactory.
I want to get at the very meat of this commandment and see its greater truths. I cannot, therefore, limit this discourse to an invective against what Sam Jones called cussing, for there is other profanity equally bad, against which God here certainly means to speak.
Truly, as one has said of this third commandment, It was a safeguard of outward reverence. Its literal interpretation kept the Jews safe as a nation from that shocking profanity which has sometimes disgraced the conversation of nominal Christians, and, as we shall see tonight, it was intended to go beyond the question of righteous speech and cover the very sentiments of the heart, control the professions of men for righteousness sake, and make us careful concerning every speech that passes ones lips. Perhaps, however, the first prohibition is against
PROFANITY
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain (Exo 20:7),
But we must see that there are other ways of taking Gods Name in vain than that of oaths.
There is the idle speech. Beyond all doubt, such speech is a species of profanity. You remember what Jesus said,
I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment, for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
We have fallen into a bad habit in America, namely, that of idle speech. I doubt if there is a country in the world where slang is so popular as in this. From the tiny children toddling about the house to the aged grandfathers and grandmothers, Americans are much given to this slang method of expression. There are so-called slang phrases that express certain ideas in the strongest, and possibly in the very best way, but a great deal of such speech is both meaningless and silly, and, to say the least, is a waste of words. I doubt if a man has any more right to throw away his words than he has his time, his talents, or his money.
You may search the New Testament record as long as you will, and never once will you discover Jesus Christ squandering human speech, saying meaningless nothings. Never did He open His lips but there came out a word worth ones attention, a thought calculated to impress and improve mankind.
Of his auditors it was said, All bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth, and if we would be like Christ, we do well to pray the prayer of the Psalmist, Set a watch, oh Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.
Then there is the profanity of false swearing. Many men try to make oaths stand as the substitutes of truth. There is something false which they would have people believe and they confirm it by an oath, for the sake of deeper impression.
Poor Peter was guilty of such swearing. When, on the day before the crucifixion, the Master was under arrest, and was before the Jewish authorities for examination, Peter followed as far as the porch, and when the damsel came unto him, saying, Thou wast with Jesus of Nazareth, he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him and said to them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth, and again he denied with an oath, I do not know the Man, and after a while came unto him they that stood by and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the Man.
Whenever one finds it necessary to make his declaration emphatic by an oath, there immediately arises a doubt as to its truth, for strong speeches are commonly employed to cover up falsehoods. A truthful man has little need of such terms. He knows that the plainest, simplest way of stating a thing is sufficient, and no matter how important the thought expressed, nor yet how anxious he is to have it received, he does not think it necessary to seal it with an oath, for his word is as good as his oath.
When Louis, the French King, was taken prisoner by Meletisika, the Sultan, and conditions of peace having been concluded between them, the Sultan proposed that they take an oath touching the fulfillment of these conditions. For his own part, he was ready to swear that if he failed in performing what he had pledged, he would renounce his Mohammet, and if the French king should in any respect fail, he was to deny his Christ. But Louis replied, I have given my word and no oath could possibly add to its worth, and so the league was published without it.
Jesus Christ brought out this same idea when He said,
Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But J say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is Gods throne: Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever be more than these cometh of evil (Mat 5:33-37)
Then there is the profanity of cursing. It may be a matter of surprise to you to know that this iniquity is more common to so-called Christian countries than to those that are regarded heathen. There is a greater reverence upon the part of the devotees of false gods for their deities, than many people who know of the Heavenly Father show for Him.
When the old Dr. Scudder returned from India, he was upon a steamboat with his son, and a man on board was indulging himself with profane language. The old missionary approached him and said, My man, this boy of mine was born and brought up in a heathen country, in a land of idolatry, but in all his life he never heard a man blaspheme his Maker until now.
Profanity is one of the sins to which my youth was a victim, but I confess only shame upon every memory of it, and today nothing that I hear hurts more deeply than the profane words that so easily pass the lips of thoughtless and indifferent men.
Wherever you go, well-dressed men, men that have at least the semblance of gentlemen, men that move in fairly good circles, are pouring out a volume of oaths that strongly suggest Satanic possession. They seem to feel no shame touching such speech, nor confusion at putting their tongues to such employment.
Recently I have had trouble with the end of my tongue, arising out of the habit of touching my lead pencil to it in the common uses to which I put that pencil daily; but I wonder indeed that men whose tongues are compelled to toss out such vile words are not blistered and burned.
Dr. Meikel, a surgeon at Carnwath, Scotland, was once called to see a gentleman who had been stung in the face by a wasp. When he arrived the patient was very impatient and was pouring out a volume of oaths on account of his pain. The doctor tried to relieve him, but he continued to swear. At length the doctor, being annoyed by his oaths, said, Well, my friend, I see nothing the matter with you except that the bee ought to have stung you in a different place. Where might it have been? Why, sir, on the tip of your tongue.
I would like to say to the young men and boys here tonight that it is no mark of a man to be always using profane oaths. It is known, of course, that no lady will swear. It ought to be known that no gentleman will. I do not say that a profane swearer may not be a man of some good traits of character, but I do not hesitate to say that he is not a gentleman. The word loses its old meaninggentle-manthe moment you think of applying it to him whose mouth emits fire and brimstone. Never in the world would I permit my boys to be associated with such a man if I could help it; and surely he is not fit company for my wife and daughter. In the lowest walks of life you will meet the most profane. Not one hobo in a hundred but swears; gamblers are commonly adepts in this matter; drunkards go about the world damning everybody; and yet James wrote,
Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, lest ye fall into condemnation (Jas 5:12).
And God has written it once for all into His unbreakable law,
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain (Exo 20:7).
But this third commandment rises equally against
PRETENCE
The man who is making a mere profession and employs the Name of God in doing it, violates the third commandment, for surely he takes that Name in vain. Much of what men call worship is purely and simply profanity.
There is cursing in some religious ceremonies. I doubt if the world ever saw a more punctilious lot of religionists than the Pharisees of Christs time. The high churchmen of the present dayRoman and Anglicanare not up to the high churchmen of that day, the Pharisees. They out-robed Romanism. They made broad the phylacteries; their ceremonials, prostrations and genuflections were of the most elaborate kind. But, as Jesus Christ looked upon them, He said,
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me (Mat 15:7-8).
And to the people to whom He spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, He said,
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Mat 5:20);
and His charge against them was,
Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. * * Ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these ought ye to have done and not leave the other undone (Luk 11:39; Luk 11:42).
Of the scribes He said,
Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts; which devour widows houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation (Mar 12:38-40).
One of the saddest things that comes into the Church of God is the hypocritethe man who prays aloud and practices low things; and all such employ the Name of God in vain. They are a reproach to the profession. They retard the progress of Christs cause. They become stumbling blocks to them that seek the light, and every word of religion they utter is a violation of the third commandment.
The offering of the pretender is profanity. Banker Dwiggins was one of the liberal men of Chicago. The very time he was wrecking a bank, he was showing himself benevolent to a fault; and the world has in it not a few people of this same stamp men of whom Mr. Spurgeon said, They will come to you with money in their hands, like Peters fish with the silver in its mouth. They will be so helpful in the work. They speak so softly. They are such perfect gentlemen. Yes, I believe Judas was a man of exactly that kind, very clever at deceiving those around him.
You remember on one occasion, when Mary broke the ointment upon her Lord, anointing Him for burial, Judas complained, and his splendid self-sacrificing spirit (?) showed itself. Why was this waste of the ointment made? It might have been sold for three hundred pence and give to the poor. There are men like that. No matter what good work you are doing, they are always ready to object, and in the Name of the Lord plead for something which seems more necessary, in which they have not the slightest interest save to make a subterfuge. It was of this class that the Lord spake through the mouth of His Prophet Esaias,
Give ear unto the Law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah! To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me, saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and the sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with it. It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
The faith many profess is a pretence. I meet people who are very proud of saying, I believe in God. I met a man a few days since who said, Believe in Jesus Christ? Well, I should say I do. You dont suppose I am a heathen, do you? Well, such a profession of faith is not sufficient. If thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well; the devils also believe and tremble. And, though your profession is so extended as to take in the creed of a reputable church, still everything depends upon whether your conduct is in keeping with your profession.
On the old farm where I grew up there was a fruitful orchard covering some acres of ground, and near to the house, close to a magnificent spring, was a beautiful apple tree; its roots were always well watered; its bows more spreading than any other tree beside. In the springtime its bloom was a thing of beauty, and if you looked upon it in April, you would imagine that the autumn would bring the richest harvest therefrom. But it was a hypocrite; it only cumbered the ground, casting a shade that killed other things, and producing nothing but blossoms and leaves; and in Gods garden, the church, there are not a few such. Who shall say that such profession is not profanity, and that when they relate their faith, they employ Gods Name in vain?
They want their names inscribed upon the church-roll, and they are angry unless you give them constant honor; but all their praises to God are for the purpose of self-exaltation.
Cnidius, the architect, was employed by the king of Egypt to build a watch-tower for the benefit of mariners. When it was going up, he caused the workmen to engrave his own name in large letters upon the great stone, and afterwards he covered this stone over with lime and water, and upon the outside wrote the name of the King of Egypt in gold letters, and in an inscription below, ((For the kings honor and glory. Very well did he know that the dashing of the water in a little time would carry away the plastering and the kings name and glory with it, while his own carved in the rock would remain to be honored in after generations.
And, beloved, there is occasion for us to ask whether, when we are pretending to seek only the glory of God and the good of His Church, we are sincere; or, whether back of that pretention there is a hypocritical spirit which seeks the glorification of self and becomes thereby a transgression of the Law of God.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain (Exo 20:7).
There may be profanity also in a
PLEDGE
Men are always taking the Name of the Lord on their lips in pledge-making. Sometimes these pledges are made when it is not the purpose of people to keep them. There is danger when men take unto their lips the Name of the Lord as a talisman, hoping to be saved thereby, but not purposing to keep the pledge made.
I remember to have read a year or two ago about an old man who was walking in the woods in Canada, and he heard some one speaking. Following the path he came to an open space where a great crowd was assembled, and a young man standing on a stump was delivering himself of an infidel discourse, sneering at the Bible, denying the existence of God, etc., a la Ingersoll.
The old man listened until he had finished his discourse; then mounting the same stump, he looked on him, and addressing the audience, said, Ladies and gentlemen, I will make no argument in answer to what this young man is saying, but if you please, I will relate an incident. But two days ago I was wandering by the Niagara, walking along the shore just where the rapids start above the falls, and I heard a cry for help; looking I saw a young man who had been bathing caught in the current, and he was being carried down. He was calling upon the Lord for help and making promises to God for a better life, if saved. I went to his rescue. Wading into the waters as far as I could, even to the point of risking my own life, I stretched out a helping hand, laid hold upon him as he swept by and assisted him to the shore. Imagine then my surprise to discover here today that same man speaking to you in the speech of a scoffer, denying the Bible and decrying God!
The wickedest men among us, when dangers hour is on, take the Name of the Lord in their lips and are ready to make pledges to Him, but upon their escape from danger they forthwith forget that such pledges were made, because they never truly purposed to keep them.
You remember what Jesus Christ said of these in that same wonderful Sermon on the Mount.
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. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Mat 7:21-23).
Such taking unto the lips the Name of the Lord is profanity. A promise made to God without a fixed purpose to keep it is a violation of this third commandment.
Again, a man who makes a pledge to the Lord and breaks it, has taken His Name in vain.
This is the most common and by much the most serious profanity. Every time the Gospel is faithfully preached, the Holy Spirit is present to convict men of sin and show to them their lost estate; and every time a man so sees himself, he calls upon the Name of the Lord and makes promise of repentance and reformation. But out of every hundred who do so, there are not half a dozen that keep this covenant with God.
There are a hundred here tonight who are saying to God, I will forsake sin. I will accept Thy Son. I doubt if there are half a dozen here tonight who are now willing to perform this pledge. The other ninety-four take the Name of God in vain, and the Lord will not hold them guiltless.
Some years ago, when Mr. Moody was holding meetings in Chicago, a man arose and requested prayer. In the after-meeting, Mr. Moody found that while under the deepest conviction he did not have the courage to confess Christ. He was afraid of his companions, and so he went away as he came, unsaved. Sometime after this, a messenger came to see Mr. Moody, telling him the man was sick and had sent for him. When Mr. Moody arrived at his bedside, the sick man said, Mr. Moody, do you think there is hope for me in the eleventh hour? Mr. Moody told him there was, and presented to him Christ in His great mercy and love, and prayed the Lord to raise him up and redeem him. Pretty soon he began to improve, and when Mr. Moody found that he was going to get well, he said, Now, my friend, you will be going to confess Christ. You will be taking your stand for Him at once, wont you? Well, Mr. Moody, I promised God on my sick bed that I would, but I think now I will wait a little. I am going to Michigan to buy a farm and settle down. When I get that all straight, then I will become a Christian. Mr. Moody was greatly surprised, tried to show him the folly of such delay and the danger as well, but the man said, Well, I will risk it till next spring, at any rate. You need not trouble yourself. You have done your duty, and if I die without Christ, the fault will not be yours, and Mr. Moody went away from the house with a heavy heart. Just a week from that day, on Thursday, at noon, a messenger came for Mr. Moody again to go to this home, and when Mr. Moody reached there the wife met him at the door, and Mr. Moody said, How is the husband? Oh, he is very sick. He has had a relapse. Did he send for me? No, he said he did not want you to come. He said there was no hope, but I cannot bear to see him die in that condition. Mr. Moody went into the room, but the man turned his face to the wall. Mr. Moody said, Are you not going to speak to me? He turned on Moody a deathly look and said, There is no use for us to talk now. It is too late. There is no hope for me. I made a promise to Christ and I broke it. Well, Moody said, Christ is merciful, and he got down on his knees to pray for the man. The man said, You need not pray for me. It is too late, and Moody said, God is merciful! A husky whisper came back, The harvest is past, the summer is ended and I am not saved! He was gone!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 20:7. Take in vain.] Rather: utter loud (as for the purpose of solemn attestation) for falsehood, i.e., in the service of falsehood, to confirm falsehood.
(1.) The word ns, from the primary notion of taking up, lifting, lifting up, comes to mean, when applied to the voice, the lifting up or elevating of the voice in public utterance (cf. Isa. 3:7; Isa. 24:14; Isa. 42:2), and hence obtains the signification, in certain connections, of uttering aloud.
(2.) The word shav means not only vanity but also falsehood (cf. Deu. 5:20; Eze. 12:24; Hos. 10:4; Jon. 2:9). The last cited passage is worthy of special notice: lying vanities; habley shav = vanities of falsehood, where the qualifying notion of falsehood is expressly conveyed by the word shav. The more fundamental result thus obtained,in harmony with the downright prohibition of murder, adultery, theft, &c., favours the view that nothing less than the awful crime of perjury is here forbidden; so that, as Kalisch says, our verse contains what is more distinctly expressed in Lev. 19:12, Ye shall not swear by My name falsely.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 20:7
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
I. What is meant by the name of God?
1. By the name of God is often understood God Himself; for to call on Gods name and on Himself are one.
2. Properly hereby is understood His titles, as God, Jehovah, the Lord, Holy, Just, &c.
3. More largely it is taken for whatsoever He maketh use of for making Himself known.
II. What is meant by taking His name in vain?
1. False swearing, or blasphemy, charming, and what is wrong as to the matter. Nor
(2) only profane abusing of the Lords name when the matter is right, but by rashness, precipitancy, frequency in swearing. Nor
(3) doth it mean unnecessary swearing when it may be forborne. But
(4) in vain when it is not made use of to good purpose; that is, to Gods honourperjury, levity, scoffing.
III. Why the Lord is so peremptory in urging this command.
1. That He may set out His own greatness and work reverence of Him in the hearts of His people.
2. Because His name is dreadful and glorious.
3. Because this is the way to curb atheism and profanity, which the devil driveth on by these steps; first to think little of God, and then to profane His name.
4. Gods name is precious, and given to His people for a great refuge (Pro. 18:10). God is a Friend in Covenant, yet so that relation may not in the least wear out His honour, and our due distance with Him (Deu. 28:58). Because this honoureth God, and adorneth the possession of the gospel before others; whereas irreverence therein dishonourath God. Look through your public duties, if there be not much taking of Gods name in vain. Look through your private duties in families, reading, praying, singing, saying grace; how little regard is had to the name of God in these! Look through secret duties between God and you. Look through occasional duties, as when we say it is Gods will. In the writing of books and letters. Accidental mention of Gods name, in salutations. Consider narrations of Scripture history. Let us not take the name of God in vain in any of these things.See Denham.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
THE REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Profanity! Exo. 20:7. In ancient feudal times, when a man paid a small peppercorn rent to the landlord, it was in token of submission. It was no onerous burden. But when the landholder fell to fighting with some neighbouring chief or baron, or when he was summoned by the king to join the royal army into France, the peppercorn submission brought its corresponding penalty and danger. The payee was bound to follow in the barons train, to make any sacrifices required by the landholder, and encounter any dangers, even death, in his service. Such are profane expressions. They are tokens of submission to Satan, and the prince of darkness does not scruple to make the utterers testify their allegiance whenever it suits him. Oaths are light things. Blasphemies are rents too readily paid to the prince of this world; but they bring in their train heavy responsibilities from which there is no escape, except by sincere repentance.
Take not His name, who made thy mouth, in vain;
It gets thee nothing, and hath no excuse.
Herbert.
Profanity! Exo. 20:7.
(1) When the name, titles, and attributes of God are lightly, falsely, and profanely employed, this link is broken. And it is to be feared that many ignorantly do this in prayer. We have read about a good man once, who made it a rule always to pause and took up before he uttered the name of God. That action was the index of his heart. He stood in awe of God. His holy name was to him holy.
(2) A Southern planter had a favourite negro servant, who always made a low and solemn bow whenever his master uttered the Divine name. On being asked why he did this, he replied, that he never heard that great name mentioned but it filled his soul with awe and reverence. How many fear not frequently and foolishly in their prayers to take Gods name in vaini.e., to make it commonto utter it carelessly and irreverently!
Oh! may we never dare
To act that wicked part;
Nor offer up a prayer
That comes not from the heart;
Or speak that Name in careless phrase
That heaven adores, and earth obeys.
Profane-Penalty! Exo. 20:7. (I) In one of the loghouses so common in the southern counties of Vermont sat a man watching a fearful snowstorm. He was on his way across the Green Mountains, and was determined to reach home that day. When urged to tarry with his host, and not brave the perils of the increasing storm, he profanely declared that he would go though God Almighty stood in the way. But he never reached home. He was found dead near a large tree, partly supported by its trunk. His body was bent forward, and his ghastly intent features told the stubbornness with which he had profanely taken Jehovahs name in vain. For more than thirty years that tree stood by the solitary road, scored to the branches with names, letters, and hieroglyphics of death,a silent rehearsal of the Sinaitic speech: The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
(2) A profane coachman, pointing to one of the horses he was driving, said to a pious traveller, That horse knows when I swear. To this remark his listener made the solemn retort, Yes, and so does ONE ABOVE.
Look to thyself, then deal no more with oaths,
Lest He that hears against thee sends His woes.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.The Hebrew is ambiguous, as is to some extent the English translation. Most modern critics regard the phrase used as forbidding false swearing only; but some think that it forbids also profane or vain swearing. Our Lords comment in the Sermon on the Mount favours the view that false swearing alone was actually forbidden by the Law, since He proceeds to condemn profane swearing on His own authority: But I say unto you (Mat. 5:34). False swearing is among the greatest insults that man can offer to God, and, as being such, is naturally forbidden in the first table, which teaches us our duty to God. It is also destructive of civil society; and hence it is again forbidden in the second table (Exo. 20:16), which defines our duties to our neighbour. The laws of all organised States necessarily forbid it, and generally under a very severe penalty. The Jewish Law condemned the false witness to suffer the punishment which his evidence was calculated to inflict (Deu. 19:19). The Egyptians visited perjury with death or mutilation. The Greeks were content to punish it with a heavy fine, and ultimately with the loss of civil rights. The Romans, in the more ancient times, inflicted the death penalty. It was generally believed, alike in Egypt, in Greece, and in Rome, that the anger of the gods was especially provoked by this crime, and that a Divine Nemesis pursued those who committed it, and made them suffer for their sin, either in their own person or in that of their posterity.
The Lord will not hold him guiltless.Punishment will assuredly overtake the perjured man, if not in this life, then in another. Jehovah will vindicate His own honour.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT, Exo 20:7.
7. Thou shalt not take the name If Jehovah is God alone, and if all artificial attempts to produce a likeness of him deserve such fearful visitations as the preceding verses show, it follows that his name should be held in highest honour . The Jews have a tradition that the whole world trembled when this commandment was proclaimed, and Eben Ezra, as quoted by Kalisch, enhances the seriousness of the prohibition by the consideration that, while other crimes, as murder and adultery, cannot be committed at any time, “he who has once accustomed himself to use superfluous oaths swears in one day to an infinite amount, and that habit at last becomes so familiar to him that he scarcely knows that he swears; and if you reproachfully ask him why he swore just now he will swear that he has not sworn, so great is the power of the habit; and, at last, almost his every assertion will be preceded by an oath.” The import of the commandment is seen in the three words, name, take, and vain. The word name in such texts comprehends all that is in the being and nature of God; not merely the title by which the Deity is designated, but all and every thing which is indicated by the various names, attributes, and perfections of the one true God. To take the name is to lift it up, put it into prominence. Compare the expression, “raise a false report,” in chap. xxiii, 1, where the Hebrew word is the same, ( . ) To get the full meaning here intended we must at the same time consider the qualifying adverbial phrase in vain, ( . ) To lift a name in vain is to make a vain or false use of it; to employ it in a manner damaging to truth and piety . The Hebrew phrase is by many exegetes translated for falsehood, and so is nearly equivalent to , in Lev 19:12: “Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God . ” The prohibition contemplates, not only all vile blasphemy, but also, doubtless, all irreverent use of the divine name, and accordingly comprehends perjury also, as when “a man vows a vow unto the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond,” and then breaks his word, or profanes it by failing to observe his oath . Comp . Num 30:2. Hence the strictures of Jesuson this subject, Mat 5:33-37, where see Whedon’s notes . The great remedy of all this is: “Swear not at all,” (Mat 5:34; Jas 5:12,) but rather “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts . ” 1Pe 3:15.
Will not hold him guiltless Will not treat him as innocent, and allow him to go unpunished.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain Our Saviour, who, it must be allowed, was the best expositor of the commandments, has given us (Mat 5:33.) the true meaning of this, which is, primarily, thou shalt not forswear thyself; which he further explains, by adding, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: and, in Lev 19:12 this commandment also is fully and clearly expressed thus, ye shall not swear by my name falsely; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy GOD: so that taking the name of the Lord in vain, primarily signifies the highest degree of profanation of that name by perjury; and, secondarily, all subordinate and lower degrees of profanation; among which, as our Saviour informs us, every species of light and vain swearing is forbidden. Thus that offence may be included in it, which some expositors have supposed its immediate scope and intention; namely, the transferring to idols the titles which belong to GOD, and of swearing by those idols; a known practice of the heathens: and, in this view, they would render the words of the commandment, thou shalt not bear, or transfer, the name of the Lord thy God to a vain thing; the appellation often given in Scripture to an idol. But the meaning of the commandment is more extensive; it being levelled against all vain, light, and unbecoming use of the name of GOD in general, and perjury in particular; which, being a vice so daring in itself, and so pernicious to society, it was well worthy the majesty of GOD to place in his law the strongest barrier against it. And, accordingly, we find that most awful denunciation annexed to the commandment, the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain: more strongly asserting by the negative, that the Lord himself will undoubtedly, and severely, punish those who are guilty of this crime: ch. Exo 34:7. Jer 30:11 it may escape punishment from men; but as it cannot escape the knowledge, so it shall not pass free from the vengeance of GOD. This has been the general opinion of mankind: “the divine punishment of perjury, says the law of the twelve tables, is destruction; the human punishment is infamy:” And Alexander Severus was so sensible of this, that he thought the contempt of the religion of an oath always had GOD for a sufficient avenger.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
This is the third commandment. It were to be devoutly wished, that it were written in the heart by the Spirit of the Lord. Then should we not have so much occasion to lament the profanation of it, as we now have, by the rash use of the tremendous name of the Lord in ordinary discourse; anti in the solemn appeal that is too often made to it, m oaths and the like, without a just occasion. Reader! let me beg of you to pause over the perusal of this commandment; then look into the world; and then read what the prophet saith, Hos 4:1-3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
XV
THE DECALOGUE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Exo 20:7
1. Repeat the Third Commandment, showing its division into parts.
Ans. “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” This commandment is divided into three parts: (1) The name of God; (2) In vain, taking that name in vain; (3) The warning, giving a penal sanction to the commandment: “God will not hold him guiltless.”
THE NAME OF GOD 2. What is the important phrase in this commandment?
Ans. The name of God.
3. What three historical incidents given in the Pentateuch go to show the progress of revelation as to the meaning of “the name of God”?
Ans. (1) The passage in Gen 32:24-29 : “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. . . . And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask alter my name?” This incident shows an exceeding great desire upon the part of Jacob to know the name of the one who could bless him and promote him and with whom he had successfully wrestled in prayer. The next historical incident is in Exo 3:5-6 , which gives an account of Moses seeing the burning bush: “Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exo 3:13 : “And Moses said unto God, behold when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” (Here is the advance): “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM; tell them that I AM hath sent you.” And in the following scriptures is the third instance; Exo 33:18-23 ; Exo 34:5-7 : “And Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And God said, I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.” And now follows a proclamation of the name of the Lord: “And Jehovah descended in the cloud and stood with Moses there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah passed before him, and proclaimed [here we get the name], Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth genera lion.” These historical incidents answer the question: What is thy name? And the commandment says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” and we have said the most important phrase in it is, “the name of God”; hence the next question:
4. What is Isaiah’s revelation of the name?
Ans. Isa 9:6 , says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father) Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end.”
5. How does John in his Gospel further reveal his name?
Ans. Joh 14:8-14 , is the account of it. Philip says unto him, “Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us.” He wanted to understand what Jesus had just said about the Father. “What do you mean by the Father?” Isaiah says that he shall be called the “Everlasting Father.” And Philip wants to know and see what that means. Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long time, Philip, and you have not known me? Whenever you have seen me you have seen the Father.”
6. What further revelation by our Lord after he ascended into glory?
Ans. In Rev 19:11 : “And I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called [note the name] Faithful and True.” Rev 19:16 : “And he hath on his garment, and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Thus I pass through the Bible, giving a few of many instances to show you the progress made in the revelation of the meaning of God’s name.
7. Cite other New Testament passages showing the importance of this name.
Ans. Mat 6:9 , where Jesus is teaching them to pray: “Hallowed be thy name.” Mat 18:15 : “Whosoever receiveth one of these little ones in my name receiveth me.” In Mat 18:20 , he says, “Where two or three come together in my name I am there.” In Mat 28:19 , “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Joh 14:13 : “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.” Joh 20:31 : Believing on Christ secures life through his name. In Act 4:12 , Peter says, “In no other name is there salvation,” and Act 5:41 , he says, “Suffer for the name.” Col 3:17 says: “Do everything in the name of the Lord.” Phi 2:9 : “The name that is above every name,” and Rev 14:1 : “His name shall be written in their foreheads.” This commandment says, “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
8. What, then, is the meaning of the name of God?
Ans. The name of God means God himself as revealed; therefore it means all his nature, virtues, attributes, the character, authority, purpose, methods, providences, words, institutions, truth, kingdom; in a word what has been revealed, whether the revelation is concerning his nature, virtues, attributes, his word, his kingdom or his truth, or anything else.
9. What are the great hymns on the name?
Ans. (1) Wesley’s hymn on Jacob’s question, What is Thy name? commencing: “Come, O thou Traveller unknown, Whom still I hold, but cannot see.” (2) The Coronation hymn: All hail the power of Jesus’ name, Let angels prostrate fall.
10. What modern book has been written on the subject?
Ans. A book written by E. E. Hale. The title is In His Name, and the object of the book is to show the significance of the name of God as apprehended by man in his obedience to God.
And now we come to the second part:
IN VAIN 1. What is the primary meaning of that phrase?
Ans. “Thou shall not use the name of God to attest a falsehood,” which, translated literally, means, “Thou shall not utter the name of God unto a falsehood.” For example, in Lev 19:12 : “Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely.” That shows you must not use God’s name to attest a falsehood.
2. What is the secondary meaning? Illustrate.
Ans. Thou shalt not evade, take back, repudiate, or fail to perform any pledge or vow made to God; or any oath made to him. If you do, you violate this commandment. I will cite a few points on that. Num 30:1-2 : “And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.” Next Deu 23:21 : “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: For the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.” Then Ecc 5:4-6 , bears on this point, and I wish I could write it on the face of the skies for the benefit of some Baptist preachers. I read thus: “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error:” i.e., I made a mistake in making that pledge “wherefore should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of thy hands?” I say solemnly, that a lesson which needs to be burned with fire on the hearts of Christian people is the sanctity of a pledge made to God and to the cause of God. I wrote a man a letter the other day about $2.50 he wanted to go back on. I said, “I am willing to pay this $2.50 for you, but what is going to be the demoralization that will come to our people from the repudiation of their pledges? I can show you a way, if you will give me an opportunity, by which I can come to your church and raise that $2.50 for you. Not that it won’t cost me more than $2.50 to do that, but I will at least have prevented the demoralization that will result from the forfeiture of your vow made to God.”
3. What is the third meaning?
Ans. Thou shalt not use God’s name lightly, jestingly, foolishly, irreverently.
4. If these be the three meanings of this commandment, what therefore does the commandment forbid?
Ans. (1) Perjury; “Thou shalt not lift up thy hand to the Lord thy God in falsehood.” That is, you shall not hold up your hand and make oath falsely. That is perjury. (2) The nonkeeping of vows, oaths, and pledges which have been made unto Jehovah. (3) It forbids, in a religious matter (now mark that), all lying of thought, speech, deed, and appearances; such as, hypocrisy, tithing of mint, cummin and anise, and neglecting the weightier matters of the law; such as making a pretense of long prayers to be seen of men; such as the lie that Ananias told. We are not discussing truth in general, nor lying in general, but we are discussing lying in religious matters in order for it to come under the purview of this law. Peter said to Ananias, “Did you sell the land for so much?” “Yes, that is all of it.” “Ananias, thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God,” and he dropped dead. After awhile his wife came in. Peter said, “Did you sell the land for so much?” “Yes.” “Is this all of it?” “Yes.” And she dropped dead. “God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (4) It forbids all swearing, jesting or speaking seriously, by any other name or thing other than God himself. It forbids taking an oath at all, unless the oath is taken unto God, even though you are sincere about it. For instance, you can’t swear by the Temple; you can’t swear by the gold of the Temple; you can’t swear by the seven-branched candlestick, nor by anything that is in the skies or on the earth or under the sea; you can’t swear on a crucifix. (5) It forbids all irreverence toward things or persons that are sacred on account of their relation to God. That is why you are commanded to “honour the king,” if you live in a monarchy; that is why you are not to laugh and ridicule in a church, a church that is sacred to the Lord; that is why you pay respect to the pastor; he occupies a relation Godward toward you.
5. What are the things it inculcates or sanctions?
Ans. (1) It sanctions religious oaths and vows that are solemnly made unto God: (a) In solemnizing covenants. If a covenant is made, a sacred covenant in which God is involved, then it sanctions an oath to confirm that covenant. (b) In solemnizing introductions into office, e.g., Ezra and Nehemiah (and many others when entering the priest’s office) took oath to be faithful in discharging the duties of that office, (c) In solemnizing testimony, where you have to testify in a court. Exo 22:10-11 , is an example: “If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it die or be hurt or driven away, nobody seeing it, then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both; one of them that he hath not stolen his neighbour’s goods, and the owner shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.” Now a question arises here: A man has deposited some of his property in trust to another, and it disappears. Nobody saw how it disappeared. This law says in such a case the man who had it in trust shall go before God and take oath that he didn’t steal the property; he doesn’t know what became of it. (d) Again, in confirming allegiance to a ruler or a king. A man comes over to the United States and says, “I want to be a citizen.” The law requires him to be put on oath that he will be in allegiance to the United States. Reference to this is in Ecc 8:2 . (e) In attesting official fidelity and character. In 1Sa 12:5 , an old man laid down his office after a king had been chosen in the presence of his people, and lifted up his hands and made an oath that while he was in office he had taken nothing wrongfully from any man; that he had never been bribed. Again (f) in attesting one’s religious veracity. I cite a case, 2Co 1:23 : “Moreover I call God for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet to Corinth.” Take Gal 1:20 : “Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not.” That is the strongest form of an oath. (g) In attesting vows, e.g., Jacob in Gen 25:33 ; and a passage in the psalms. (2) It inculcates absolute fidelity in keeping oaths and in redeeming vows and pledges that have been made unto Jehovah. (3) It inculcates sincerity in thought, opinion, speech, deed, or appearance in all matters of religion. (4) It inculcates reverence for God’s name and for all persons and things that are sacred by reason of relation to God. 6. Cite Scripture proof that it does sanction religious oaths and vows that are made to God, under the following heads: Covenant Oaths, Judicial Oaths, Official Oaths, Allegiance Oaths, oaths to test official integrity, and to test veracity in religious matters.
Ans. (1) Covenant Oath: Gen 15:18 ; Gen 21:22 ; Gen 26:26-29 ; Gen 25:33 ; Gen 31:53 ; Gen 47:28-31 ; Gen 50:25 . (2) Judicial Oaths: Mat 26:63 ; Exo 22:10 f; Num 5:19-24 ; Heb 6:16 . (3) Official Oaths: 2Ki 11:4 ; Ezr 10:5 ; Neh 5:12 . (4) Allegiance Oaths: Ecc 8:2 . (5) To attest official integrity: 1Sa 12:5 . (6) To attest veracity in religious matters: 2Co 1:23 ; Gal 1:20 .
7. Does our Lord in Mat 5:33-37 , countermand making all these oaths that are strictly religious and exclusively and solemnly made unto him? If not, give proof.
Ans. The Sermon on the Mount, Mat 5 : “Again ye have -heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not perjure thyself, but shall keep unto the Lord thine oaths.” That is, thou shalt perform all oaths made unto God. “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thine head; because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be yea, yea; and nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” My question is: Does the Lord here absolutely forbid the making of the kind of oath sanctioned by the Third Commandment? (1) They must be religious oaths. (2) They must be made exclusively to God, such as covenant oaths, judicial oaths, etc., as enumerated. Jesus, I say, does not forbid these oaths, because when he says, “Swear not at all” he then specifies what are the things in which you shall not swear at all, and God’s name is not in it at all. He says, ‘Swear not at all,” i.e., neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by thy head. He names the things by which you shall not swear. Further proof that that is right: Jesus himself took the judicial oath when he was on trial when the High Priest said, “I adjure thee,” that is, “I put thee on oath before God, Are you the Messiah?” He says, “I am.” He took an oath that he was the Messiah. Would Jesus himself commit a sin? Or did Paul commit such a sin in taking those oaths he took? Read carefully the comment in Broadus’ Commentary on Matthew.
8. What religious sects so understood Christ and practiced it?
Ans. Anabaptists; also the Quakers; and I believe the Mormons do.
THE WARNING 1. What warning giving penal sanction to this commandments, and some examples?
Ans. The warning is: “For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who taketh his name in vain.” Ananias will do for an example; and in the letter to the Romans Paul says concerning the heathen, that turning away from God they become covenant breakers.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Ver. 7. The Name of the Lord. ] That “holy and reverend” Name; Psa 111:9 that Nomen Maiestativum, as Tertullian callcth it; “dreadful among the heathen.” Mal 1:14 The very Turks at this day chastise the Christians that live amongst them for their oaths and blasphemies darted up against God and Christ. The Jews also are much offended thereat, and it should be no small grief to us to hear it. When one of Darius’s eunuchs saw Alexander the Great setting his feet upon a low table that had been highly esteemed by his master, he wept. Being asked the reason by Alexander, he said, it was to see the thing that his master so highly esteemed, to be now contemned, and made his footstool. a See Trapp (for summary of Law) on “ Exo 20:17 “
a Diod. Sic., lib. xvii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
take the name . . . in vain. Much more important than the mere mispronunciation of the Name.
not hold him guiltless. Figure of speech Tapeinosis. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
take: Lev 19:12, Lev 24:11-16, Deu 5:11, Psa 50:14-16, Pro 30:9, Jer 4:2, Mat 5:33-37, Mat 23:16-22, Mat 26:63, Mat 26:64, 2Co 1:23, Heb 6:16, Heb 6:17, Jam 5:12
guiltless: Jos 2:12, Jos 2:17, Jos 9:20, 2Sa 21:1, 2Sa 21:2, 1Ki 2:9
Reciprocal: Gen 3:5 – God Gen 24:3 – swear Gen 24:5 – Peradventure Gen 27:20 – Because Lev 24:16 – blasphemeth Num 30:2 – swear Jdg 11:10 – if we do Jdg 17:2 – Blessed 1Sa 28:10 – sware 2Ki 5:20 – as the Lord liveth Job 9:28 – I know Psa 34:21 – desolate Psa 139:20 – thine Pro 16:5 – unpunished Jer 34:16 – polluted Jer 42:5 – The Lord be Eze 17:16 – whose oath Eze 39:7 – and I will Mat 15:9 – in Mat 26:72 – with 1Ti 1:10 – perjured
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE HOLY NAME
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Exo 20:7
Though every feeling of reverence and gratitude bids us use the wondrous name of God with awe and recollection, we can offer no mere ceremonial homage to His name. It is Himself we reverence, it is Himself in His nature, His will, His character, for being what He is and what He has told us that He is.
I. Our reverence for Himself spreads over all that is connected with Himover man made in His image whatever may be his outward conditions; over all that is affected by His name, all that is associated with His worship, the Bible, the Ministry, the Sacraments. Our reverence is shown, not by unwillingness to mention His name, but by that inward prostration of heart and soul and spirit before Him which affects and colours all our outward actions. All external reverence is the result of this inward awe. This is very much misunderstood, and it may be well to say a few words about it. We are often exhorted to reverence in these days as if it were an outward thing; there are certain outward acts said to be reverent, and we are told that to omit them is to be wanting in reverence. To make it quite clear, such outward acts as bowing to the Altar and making the sign of the Cross are said to be reverent. Certainly they are, if they mean anything at all. If making the sign of the Cross means that you are filled with a sense of the great love of our Master and only Saviour in dying for you, that you desire to keep it alive in that fashion, it may be a token of real reverence. But if it is made as a mere form, it becomes the most shallow and meaningless ceremony.
Certainly the body has its share in reverence; the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the Lamb. Certainly no one full of reverence could possibly sit on a chair and stare in front of him, while imploring God to have mercy on him. Kneeling in prayer, standing in praise, bowing the head at the name of Jesus, are outward tokens of reverence, but they are not reverence itself. Reverence is an inward thing; it comes from the sight of God, from the spiritual vision. Woe is me! cries Isaiah, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
II. This Third Commandment is, when we consider it deeply, not only the safeguard of reverence; it is also the protection of truth and honesty. Falsehood arises really from indifference to the real nature of God. If God is a fetish, then you may lie. If He is a living Person, you cannot. To lie is to take Gods name in vain. We have almost forgotten that the Third Commandment gives the strongest support to truthfulness, that its meaning for us Christians is that in every word we speak, we speak in the name of God, as His representative, and in His Presence.
III. There is one other effect of entering into the spirit of this Commandment which must be dwelt on, because there are signs in our conversation and our literature of its necessity. We take Gods name in vain assuredly when we scoff at anything which either is good or tries to be; when we sit and criticise those who are labouring to make the world better, when we laugh at their failures and misrepresent their motives.
Let it be said once and for all that people who try to live Christian lives are sure to present some inconsistencies. They must be inconsistentall of them for awhilesome of them always. They must be inconsistent because their standard is a very high one, and it is hard to attain to it in this world: only those who try to attain to it know how hard it is. The Christian position is so often misunderstood that it is always worth while restating it. The Christian does not profess to be better than other people; he acknowledges that he often breaks Gods Commandments, that he is a sinful man, that he needs redemption; he knows far better than his critic that he often fails, he weeps bitter tears about these very inconsistencies over which they are chuckling, he is conscious of his sinfulness and of his inability to cure it without help from above, he is clinging to Christ as his Saviour from those very inconsistencies at which the scoffer is jeering. Seen in this light, is not then the whole attitude of scoffing brutal and inhuman? It is like laughing at a wounded soldier on the battle-field; it is like jeering at a fever-stricken patient in a sick-room. If you are doing nothing yourself to hallow Gods name, to make His nature, His character and will known and loved by men, at least beware how you scoff at those who, with whatever inconsistencies and whatever infirmities, are trying to maintain His cause.
Illustration
Profanity is the most puzzling of all vices, for it looks so improbable that its effects should be so profound. No man realises beforehand what damage it will do him, nor afterwards what it has done him. This discovery is left for others. They know that he has been coarsened, vulgarised, and brutalised. I knew a man who wouldnt believe how coarse and vulgar and brutal profanity was, until, one day (to teach him a lesson), his beautiful wife began to swear like a pirate. It gave him such a shock of horror that he never uttered another oath. The Devil has some sort of reward for every vice but swearing, and this dirty service he gets men to perform for nothing. It gratifies no passion, it promotes no interest, it gives no pleasure. On the other hand, it destroys reverence, offends all decent people, and insults God. An oath in the mouth is a worm in a flower, a serpent in a birds nest.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Exo 20:7. The third commandment is concerning the manner of our worship: where we have, 1st, A strict prohibition. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain Supposing that, having taken Jehovah for their God, they would make mention of his name, this command gives a caution not to mention it in vain, and it is still as needful as ever. We take Gods name in vain, 1st, By hypocrisy, making profession of Gods name, but not living up to that profession. 2d, By covenant-breaking. If we make promises to God, and perform not to the Lord our vows, we take his name in vain. 3d, By rash swearing, mentioning the name of God, or any of his attributes, in the form of an oath, without any just occasion for it, to no good purpose, or to no good. 4th, By false swearing, which some think is chiefly intended in the letter of the commandment. 5th, By using the name of God lightly and carelessly. The profanation of the form of devotion is forbidden, as well as the profanation of the forms of swearing; as also, the profanation of any of those things whereby God makes himself known. For the Lord will not hold him guiltless Magistrates, that punish other offences, may not think themselves concerned to take notice of this; but God, who is jealous for his honour, will not connive at it. The sinner may perhaps hold himself guiltless, and think there is no harm in it; to obviate which suggestion, the threatening is thus expressed, God will not hold him guiltless. But more is implied, that God will himself be the avenger of those that take his name in vain; and they will find it a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in {f} vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(f) Either by swearing falsely or rashly by his Name, or by condemning it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The third commandment 20:7
Taking God’s name in vain means using the name of God in a common way. The name of God represents the person of God. The Israelites were to show respect for the person of God by their use of His name. They were not to use it simply for emphasis or for any unworthy objective in their speech (cf. Mat 5:33-37; Jas 5:12).
"The third commandment is directed not toward Yahweh’s protection, but toward Israel’s. Yahweh’s name, specifically the tetragrammaton but in principle all Yahweh’s names and titles, must be honored, blessed, praised, celebrated, invoked, pronounced, and so shared. To treat Yahweh’s name with disrespect is to treat his gift lightly, to underestimate his power, to scorn his Presence, and to misrepresent to the family of humankind his very nature as ’The One Who Always Is.’" [Note: Durham, p. 288.]
The "tetragrammaton" refers to the four-letter name YHWH.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”– Exo 20:7.
What is the precise force of this prohibition? The word used is ambiguous: sometimes it must be rendered as here, as in the verses “Vain is the help of man,” and “Except the Lord build the house, their labour is but vain that build it” (Psa 108:12, Psa 127:1). But sometimes it clearly means false, as in the texts “Thou shalt not raise a false report,” and “swearing falsely in making a covenant” (Exo 23:1; Hos 10:4). Yet again, it hangs midway between the two ideas, as when we read of “lying vanities,” and again, “trusting in vanity and speaking lies” (Psa 31:6; Isa 59:4).
In favour of the rendering “falsely” it is urged that our Lord quotes it as “said to them of old time ‘Thou shalt not forswear thyself'” (Mat 5:33). But it is by no means clear that He quotes this text: the citation is closer to the phraseology of Lev 19:12, and it is found in a section of the Sermon which does not confine its citations to the Decalogue (cf. Mat 5:38).
The Authorised rendering seems the more natural when we remember that civic duty had not yet come upon the stage. When we have learned to honour only one God, and not to degrade nor materialise our conception of Him, the next step is to inculcate, not yet veracity toward men when God has been invoked, but reverence, in treating the sacred name.
We have already seen the miserable superstitions by which the Jews endeavoured to satisfy the letter while outraging the spirit of this precept. In modern times some have conceived that all invocation of the Divine Name is unlawful, although St. Paul called God for a witness upon his soul, and the strong angel shall yet swear “by Him Who liveth for ever and ever” (2Co 1:23; Rev 10:6).
As it is not a temple but a desert which no foot ever treads, so the sacred name is not honoured by being unspoken, but by being spoken aright.
Swearing is indeed forbidden, where it has actually disappeared, namely, in the mutual intercourse of Christian people, whose affirmation should suffice their brethren, while the need of stronger sanctions “cometh of evil,” even of the consciousness of a tendency to untruthfulness, which requires the stronger barrier of an oath. But our Lord Himself, when adjured by the living God, responded to the solemn authority of that adjuration, although His death was the result.
The name of God is not taken in vain when men who are conscious of His nearness, and act with habitual reference to His will, mention Him more frequently and familiarly than formalists approve. It is abused when the insincere and hollow professor joins in the most solemn act of worship, honours Him with the lips while the heart is far from Him–nay, when one strives to curb Satan, and reclaim his fellow-sinner, by the use of good and holy phrases, in which his own belief is merely theoretical; and fares like the sons of Sceva, who repeated an orthodox adjuration, but fled away overpowered and wounded. Or if the truth unworthily spoken assert its inherent power, that will not justify the hollowness of his profession, and in vain will he plead at last, “Lord, Lord, have we not in Thy name cast out devils, and in Thy name done many marvellous acts?”
The only safe rule is to be sure that our conception of God is high and real and intimate; to be habitually humble and trustful in our attitude toward Him; and then to speak sincerely and frankly, as then we shall not fail to do. The words which rise naturally to the lips of men who think thus cannot fail to do Him honour, for out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh.
And the prevalent notion that God should be mentioned seldom and with bated breath is rather an evidence of men’s failure habitually to think of Him aright, than of filial and loving reverence. There is a large and powerful school of religion in our own day, whose disciples talk much more of their own emotions and their own souls than St. Paul did, and much less about God and Christ. Some day the proportions will be restored. In the great Church of the future men will not morbidly shrink from confessing their inner life, but neither will it be the centre of their contemplation and their discourse: they will be filled with the fulness of God; out of the abundance of their hearts their mouths will speak; His name shall be continually in their mouth, and yet they shall not take the name of the Lord their God in vain.