What is required in the third commandment?
The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word and works.
Proofs
- The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, (Matthew 6:9; Deuteronomy 28:58)
- titles, (Psalm 68:4)
- attributes, (Revelation 15:3–4)
- ordinances, (Malachi 1:11,14)
- word (Psalm 136:1–2)
- and works. (Job 36:24)
Additional Exposition
Practical response
Should we make profession of God’s name?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: O Lord, we are called by thy name, (Jeremiah 14:9)
And be sincere in our profession?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, (Jeremiah 50:5)
And be careful to credit and maintain it?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Thou hast kept my word and hast not denied my name, (Revelation 3:8)
Practical response
Should we use the name of God in prayer?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: I will call on the name of the Lord, (Psalm 116:17)
And in praise?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Let them praise thy great name, (Psalm 99:3)
And in Christian conversation?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: I will declare thy name unto my brethren, (Psalm 22:22)
But should we do it with the profoundest humility?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Behold I have taken upon me to speak unto God, who am but dust and ashes, (Genesis 18:27)
And when great seriousness and deliberation?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Be not rash with thy mouth, (Ecclesiastes 5:2)
Practical response
Should we give glory to God in his word?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For he hath magnified his word above all his name, (Psalm 138:2)
And in his works?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Let them declare his works with rejoicing, (Psalm 107:22)
And in his worship?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of his saints, and to be had in reverence by all them that are about him, (Psalm 89:7)
Section 4
Is it lawful to swear?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: An oath for confirmation is the end of all strife, (Hebrews 6:19)
But should we be cautious in swearing?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: We should fear an oath, (Ecclesiastes 9:2)
And conscientious?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Thou shalt swear in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, (Jeremiah 4:2)
Doth an oath bind the soul?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: If a man swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, (Numbers 30:2)
Should we therefore look upon ourselves as bound by it?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: David spared Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, because of the oath of the Lord, (2 Samuel 21:7)
And that though it is to our detriment?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: The good man sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not, (Psalm 15:4)