“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Revealed Religion
The light of nature, aided by conscience, was not able to reveal to mankind all that should be known and done with reference to God and human society. God, in His wisdom and love, gave us a written law, that we may know more fully what we are to believe concerning Him and what duties we owe to Him and each other. This code of the moral law is found in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and so beautifully and plainly is it stated, even in a few lines, that no one who fails to learn and practice its precepts can be guiltless. It teaches, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
These commandments are the grand fundamental precepts of the moral law. They are put thus into the fewest words, that they may be more firmly fixed in our minds. From them as primary principles, all knowledge of our duties to God and man may be learned; all that is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We need to be taught, reproved, corrected, and instructed in what is right, that habits of love, purity, and goodness may be exhibited in our lives.
The Great Commandment
What is meant by this “first and great commandment”? God demands that we shall love Him with all our powers of affection and reason, judgment and will, and prescribes a method by which we may make our love known. He says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Groping darkly by the dim light of nature, we are not left to infer what these commandments are, but God has furnished them to us; and to avoid all errors we are directed to “search the Scriptures” that we may more fully discover His will. He not only asks that we shall love Him, but as an inducement for us to study His word and practice the precepts of His law, He says, “I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me.”
Worship
From the earliest ages to the present, and among all nations, the existence of a Supreme Being has been acknowledged. He has been and is worshiped as an intelligent First Cause, by whom all things exist, and through whose wise supervision they fulfill the designs of their creation. No object in nature has been considered too vast, and none too minute to escape His providential care. Mankind have feared Him for His judgments and revered Him for His wisdom and mercy. They have called upon Him as helpless, dependent children, soliciting His paternal guidance. These were the teachings of reason derived from the operation of natural causes, but the Scriptures impart more rational views of praise and prayer. It is written, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” We are told to fear and love; to trust and acknowledge; to call on and praise the Lord. These are the exercises of worship which He has prescribed, and which, if performed aright, He has promised to bless.
Profanity
We may exhibit our love to God by the constant remembrance of the precept which declares, “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 habitual use of God’s name and attributes in trivial conversation tends to weaken feelings of veneration toward Him, and to destroy the spirit of devotion which all should cherish. No man of delicate feelings, who loves his wife, will permit her name to be used familiarly and disrespectfully on occasions when there is no necessity for or propriety in alluding to it; so, for a stronger reason, if we love God we should not use His name with improper freedom and levity, nor countenance such a use of it by others.
Profanity is one of the grossest forms of vice, for which there can not be the least apology or excuse. It is not only a perversion of language, but a direct violation of God’s special command that nothing can justify. It becomes a habit usually in youth, among those who think it manly to be wicked, and is practiced by those who have no command of elegant language and who suppose that to be earnest or emphatic they must be profane. It may be said that they who denounce God’s terrible judgments upon their own souls or the souls of others do not always mean what they say; possibly not in every case, yet no one can excuse the sinfulness of a bad habit by the plea, “I did not think.” It is too fearful a crime against God for any such apology. Men must think.
No gentleman or lady uses profane language, since it is contrary to the law of God and the usages of good society. The most worthless and vile, the refuse of mankind, the drunkard and the vagrant, swear. Profanity never did any one the slightest good. No one is richer, wiser, happier, or more esteemed for it. It helps no man’s education or manners; it commends no one to good society; it is disgusting to man and insulting to God.
The Sabbath Day
We may also show our love to God by observing the commandment, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” God, in His supreme wisdom, has ordained that the seventh part of man’s time shall be devoted to purposes differing from the ordinary business of the week. Man, as well as the beasts in his service, needs rest. If there were no day especially set apart for repose, he would become so much occupied by the business affairs of life as to forget God. The constant return of the day brings with it the perpetual reminder of his Maker.
As a measure of prudence and worldly policy, the proper observance of the sabbath day is of special interest and importance. Those communities or nations that solemnize a seventh day, by abstaining from the employments of other days, exhibit the wisdom of this Divine arrangement in their intelligence, morality, and thrift. On the other hand, those people who neglect to conform to the requirements of the day, or spend it in acts of pleasure-seeking and dissipation, are neither virtuous nor prosperous.
It may be asked, then, how shall the sabbath, or Lord’s day, be observed? We should on that day endeavor to lay aside all unnecessary business, and devote the time to the public exercises of God’s worship; to the study of His word; to the improvement of our minds; the culture of our affections, and in acts of mercy and benevolence.
CHAPTER QUESTIONS
- What is the subject of this chapter?
- Paraphrase the lesson.
- What besides the natural law teaches man his duty?
- Why has God given man the Scriptures?
- What constitutes the moral law?
- Give a condensed view of man’s duty as it is written.
- What do heart, soul, and mind mean?
- Why is this the first and great law?
- What is the second law?
- Why are these great laws so condensed?
- If we follow these rules, is it enough?
- What is it written that the Scriptures contain?
- Do we need reproof, correction, etc.? Why?
- What does God demand of us first?
- How shall it be known that we try to love God?
- Where shall we find His commandments?
- How will He repay us for our love?
- What does He promise?
- Has God always been worshiped by man?
- Why have men feared God?
- Why may they love Him?
- Repeat the command to trust in the Lord.
- What does He tell us to do?
- What is written concerning profanity?
- What effect has it to hear God’s name used with irreverence?
- Why can there be no apology for swearing?
- When does it generally become a habit?
- Is it ever excusable?
- Do gentlemen and ladies ever swear?
- Can persons be emphatic without being profane?
- Do persons always mean what they say in swearing?
- Why do people swear?
- In what other manner can we show love to God?
- Why is the observance of the sabbath day necessary to man and animals?
- Why does the sabbath day remind man of his Maker?
- Is it wise to stop work every seventh day?
- What advantage have those communities that observe the sabbath?
- How should that day be observed?
- Is it for man’s good that he observe the day?
- Why did God prescribe its observance?
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