THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



Christian dispensation, we have too much reason 

 to fear, that effects somewhat analogous to these 

 have been produced, and a species of mental idol 

 atry practised by thousands who have professed 

 the religion of Jesus; owing to their inattention 

 to the visible operations of Jehovah, and to their 

 not connecting them with the displays of his 

 character and agency as exhibited in the revela 

 tions of his wore. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God 



The name of any person is that which distin 

 guishes him from other individuals. Whatever 

 word is employed to distinguish any object, 

 whether animate or inanimate, is its name. In 

 like manner, the Name of God is that by which 

 he is distinguished from all other beings. It in 

 cludes those terms which express his nature and 

 character, as Jehovah those titles by which his 

 relation to his creation is designated, as &quot; The 

 Creator of the ends of the earth, The Father of 

 mercies, The God of salvation,&quot; &c. the at 

 tributes of which he is possessed, as his Eternity, 

 Omnipotence, Holiness, Justice, &c. the works 

 which he has exhibited in heaven and on earth 

 the movements of his Providence, and the Reve 

 lations of his word. By every one of these, the 

 character of God is distinguished from that of 

 all other beings in the universe. In relation to 

 this name or character of the Divine Being, it is 

 solemnly commanded that &quot; we are not to take it 

 in vain,&quot; that is, we are not to use any of the 

 titles or designations of the Divine Majesty, for 

 trifling, vain, or evil purposes ; nor are we to 

 treat any displays of his character with levity, 

 profaneness, or irreverence. 



We violate this command, when we use the 

 name of God, in common discourse, in alight and 

 irreverent manner, when we interlard our con 

 versations with unnecessary oaths and assevera 

 tions in which this name is introduced ; when we 

 swear to what we know to be false, or when we 

 multiply oaths in reference to vain and trifling 

 concerns ; when we imprecate curses and dam 

 nation on our fellow-creatures ; when we ap 

 proach God in prayer, without those feelings of 

 reverence and awe, which his perfections de 

 mand ; when we swear by any object in heaven 

 or in earth, or by the false deities of the heathen 

 world ; when we treat his wonderful works with 

 indifference or contempt ; when we endeavour to 

 caricature, and misrepresent them, or attempt to 

 throw a veil over their glory ; when we insinuate 

 that his most glorious and magnificient works 

 were made for no end, or for no end worthy of 

 that infinite wisdom and intelligence by which 

 they were contrived ; when we overlook or deny 

 the Divine Agency, which is displayed in the 

 operations of nature ; when we murmur and re 



pine at his moral dispensations, or treat the 

 mighty movements of his providence, whether 

 in ancient or in modern times, with a spirit of 

 levity, with ridicule, or with contempt ; when we 

 treat the revelations of the Bible with indifference 

 or with scorn ; when we make the declarations of 

 that book, which unfolds to us the sublime and 

 adorable character of Jehovah, the subject of mer 

 riment and jest; when we endeavour to throw 

 upon them contempt and ridicule, with the view 

 of undermining their divine authority ; and when 

 we sneer at the public and private worship of God, 

 and at the ordinances which he hath appointed. 

 In all these and many other ways, the name of 

 God is profaned, his character reproached, and 

 that reverence of the Divine Being, which is the 

 foundation of all religion and moral order, under 

 mined and subverted. 



When the name or the titles by which a fellow- 

 mortal is distinguished, are made the subject of 

 banter and ridicule in every company, when they 

 are brought forward for the purpose of giving an 

 edge to a sarcastic sneer ; and when his employ 

 ments and the works he has constructed are con 

 temned, and associated with every thing that is 

 mean and degrading ; it is an evidence of the low 

 estimation in which he is held by the individual 

 who does so, and has a tendency to debase his 

 character in the eyes of others. On the same 

 principle, the profanation of the name of God, has 

 an evident tendency to lessen our admiration of 

 the Majesty of Heaven, and to banish from tho 

 mind every sentiment of veneration and reve 

 rence. The man who can deliberately violate 

 this command, from day to day, thus offering a 

 continual insult to his Maker proclaims to all 

 around, that he has no emotions of reverence and 

 affection towards that Almighty Being, whoso 

 power upholds the fabric of heaven and earth, and 

 who dispenses life and death to whomsoever ho 

 pleases. &quot; He Siretcheth out his hand against 

 God, and strengthened himself against the A1-&quot; 

 mighty.&quot; He proclaims to every reflecting mind, 

 that pride, enmity, rebellion, and irreverence, 

 are deeply seated in his heart, and that &quot; the fear 

 of God,&quot; and the solemnities of a future judg 

 ment &quot; are not before his eyes.&quot; 



Were the violation of this law to become uni 

 versal among men the name of God, among all 

 ranks, ages, and conditions of life, would be as 

 sociated, not only with every (rifling discourse 

 and altercation, but with every species of ribald 

 ry and obscenity. The lisping babe would be 

 taught to insult that Mighty Being, from whom 

 it so lately derived its existence ; and the man of 

 hoary hairs, even in the agonies of death, would 

 pass into the eternal state, imprecating the ven 

 geance of his Maker. All reverence for Jehovah 

 would, of course, be banished from society ; no 

 temples would be erected to his honour ; no silen. 

 adorations of the heart would ascend to his throne ; 

 no vows would be paid ; no forms of worship ap- 



