Lord’s Day 36
Q99. What does God require in the third commandment?
That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such terrible sins by being silent bystanders. In short, that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may rightly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Leviticus 24:10–17
“And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name , and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name , shall be put to death. And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.”
Leviticus 19:12
“And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”
Matthew 5:37
“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
James 5:12
“But 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.”
Leviticus 5:1
“And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and a witness, whether he hath seen or known ; if he do not utter , then he shall bear his iniquity.”
Proverbs 29:24
“Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth not.”
Psalm 99:1–5
“The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The LORD great in Zion; and he high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; it holy. The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; he holy.”
Isaiah 45:23
“I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Jeremiah 4:2
“And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
Matthew 10:32–33
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Romans 10:9–10
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Psalm 50:14–15
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
1 Timothy 2:8
“I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Colossians 3:17
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Romans 2:24
“For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
This commandment contains two elements: the commandment itself and an exhortation to obey it. The purpose of this commandment is that the true God, who in the first precept commanded that He alone be worshipped, should be worshipped in the right way, with the kind of worship that rational creatures properly owe Him, worship that is pleasing to Him rather than worship invented by human imagination and ingenuity. Alternatively, we can say that the commandment's purpose is to keep the worship of God, as He has prescribed it, pure and uncorrupted, free from any form of superstitious practice. True worship of God is therefore required here, and a rule is given alongside it: we must carefully and conscientiously stay within the boundaries God has set, neither adding anything to the worship He has instituted nor corrupting any part of it, even the smallest detail. Scripture reinforces this principle explicitly in many other places. True worship of God consists of every inward and outward act that God has commanded, performed in faith, with full confidence that both the worshiper and the act are pleasing to God for the sake of the Mediator, and with the goal of glorifying God through it. To worship God truly is to worship Him in the way He Himself has prescribed in His Word.
This commandment also forbids every form of false or self-invented worship, requiring that we neither regard creatures as God nor worship them, that we not represent the true God through any image or figure, and that we not worship Him through images or through any form of worship He has not himself prescribed. When God condemns the most obvious and egregious form of false worship, namely worshiping Him at or through images, He is plainly condemning all other forms of false worship at the same time, since they all grow from the same root. He forbids this most shocking kind of idolatry not because He would overlook or excuse other forms of worship that contradict what He has prescribed, but because image worship is the root and foundation of all the rest. Therefore, this commandment of the Decalogue forbids every kind of worship that was invented by human beings rather than instituted by God, as well as every practice that shares the same reason for being prohibited.
All the things that oppose the true worship of God are contrary to this second commandment, including the following.