"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Ex. 20:7).
We need not spend much time over the common idea of the violation of this commandment, that which is most obvious, and generally recognized. There are probably very few of those who read this who are guilty of what is ordinarily known as profane swearing. This is considered vulgar, and not in good taste, even by those who are not Christians.
The Word of God is “a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). When we get that fact before us, there is probably not one of us that will not have to plead guilty to violating this commandment, both in spirit and in letter.
We have already found that sin is not merely the thing done, but that within which impels the deed. The Lord looks not on the outward appearance, but on the heart, and on the thoughts and intents. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me, . . . You understand my thought afar off” (Ps. 139:1, 2). The faintest thought sounds as distinctly in the ears of God as the loudest speech.
In like manner, after King David’s adultery and murder, the prophet Nathan said to him: “By this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Sam. 12:14).
No man’s sin can end with himself. It is impossible for a man to sin, even in secret, without influencing somebody also against the Lord. So here again we see the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and how impossible it is to violate this third commandment without breaking the whole law."
E.J. Waggoner
We need not spend much time over the common idea of the violation of this commandment, that which is most obvious, and generally recognized. There are probably very few of those who read this who are guilty of what is ordinarily known as profane swearing. This is considered vulgar, and not in good taste, even by those who are not Christians.
The Word of God is “a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). When we get that fact before us, there is probably not one of us that will not have to plead guilty to violating this commandment, both in spirit and in letter.
We have already found that sin is not merely the thing done, but that within which impels the deed. The Lord looks not on the outward appearance, but on the heart, and on the thoughts and intents. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me, . . . You understand my thought afar off” (Ps. 139:1, 2). The faintest thought sounds as distinctly in the ears of God as the loudest speech.
In like manner, after King David’s adultery and murder, the prophet Nathan said to him: “By this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Sam. 12:14).
No man’s sin can end with himself. It is impossible for a man to sin, even in secret, without influencing somebody also against the Lord. So here again we see the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and how impossible it is to violate this third commandment without breaking the whole law."
E.J. Waggoner
