THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."-Ex. xx. 7.

By the name of God is denoted all the titles and perfections which distinguish the Almighty, and by which he has made himself and his character known to men. To take that name in vain is to profane any or all of these by any improper application, or to treat him or them lightly or irreverently. The spirit and intent of the command is evidently to impress mankind with great reverence for God, his character, his laws, his worship, his institutions, and his acts-to give God a high place, yea, the uppermost place in man's affections and esteem, and thus enthrone in the heart the great principle of obedience and love. Yet, despite the authority of God or the threatening annexed to his laws, men do in many ways blaspheme his name and profane his character.

The Third Commandment is violated by the Romish Church, in ascribing to inferior beings the attributes, and names, and prerogatives of Jehovah. A Roman Catholic paper of France, publishing an account of the election of the present Pope of Rome, used this language: Having entered the Sistine Chapel, the Pope prays, he then seats himself upon the altar where he receives the ADORATION of the Cardinals; his HOLINESS was then raised on the sedia, preceded by the cross and the chorister's chant, Behold the Great High Priest.' At the coronation, when the tiara was placed on his head, these words were repeated: Receive thou the tiara, adorned with three crowns, in token that thou art the Father of princes and kings, and governor of the world, the Vicar of our Saviour Jesus Christ upon earth, to whom be glory and honour, for ever and ever, amen.""-Lord Anthony Pucci, addressing the Pope, says, "The sight of thy Divine Majesty does not a little terrify me, for I am not ignorant that all power both in heaven and on earth is given unto you; that prophetic saying is fulfilled in you, 'All the kings of the earth shall worship him, and all the nations shall serve him." bishop of Modrusium called the Pope, "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Saviour; thou shalt rule from sea to sea," &c. In these extracts, the titles, and attributes, and offices of Jehovah -of Christ, are thus repeatedly applied

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to a sinful and wicked man, who, like Herod of old, receives worship as a God. It is violated also by false swearing.

The Bible evidently sanctions the use of judicial oaths, given for the confirmation of truth upon solemn and important occasions. An oath is a most solemn and impressive act, in which God is called to witness the manner in which the individual shall speak or act under certain circumstances. If he speak or act truthfully, he implores God to bless him here and hereafter; if falsely, he invokes Divine vengeance through time and eternity. make this appeal to sustain falsehood, is the most wicked and blasphemous species of profanity, and the highest possible contempt of God. No one can thus perjure himself until he has first learned to deny God altogether, or else hold him in the most perfect contempt.

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It is violated also by any act, in consequence of which the name of God is blasphemed among men. The individual who makes God the author of sin, who declares that his word written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, sustaining any system injurious to mankind, brings that name and word into contempt, and daringly profanes God.

And again; any light or irreverent use of the name of God is profanity. It is possible for persons, even in religious duties, to habituate themselves to the use of the name of God without due regard or respect. Ministers in the pulpit, in appealing to heaven, and calling upon God to witness the truth of their declarations, acquire the habit of swearing, which, in some cases, is a direct violation of this command.

It is broken, also, by the very general practice of profane swearing, in which men, with the most wanton disregard of God, call upon him to damn themselves or others, or thoughtlessly invoke the Almighty to bless themselves or others, with various forms of imprecations and curses. The question may here arise, What is profane swearing? I answer, the habitual use of expressions other than yea, yea, or nay, nay, to strengthen our testimony; a sudden burst of exclamation, or surprise, on hearing, or seeing anything new, or startling, such as, Oh Lord! Good Lord! My goodness! my gracious! oh mercy! upon my soul! upon my word! bless me! and such like. Every such expression in very common use, even among professing

Christians, is in direct violation of that word which says, 66 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." "Let your conversation be yea, yea; nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

The guilt of thus profaning the name of God, is manifest from several considerations:

1st. It is the most direct contempt of the authority of God. Third in order upon the first table of the decalogue is written by the fingers of the Almighty, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Christ, our Saviour, proclaimed again the same Divine law, in the words, "I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, but let your conversation be yea, yea; nay, nay." The Holy Spirit, through the apostle James, impressed the same important principle: "Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath." The prominence given to this law in the decalogue indicates the importance attached to it by God. Jesus showed the same by making it the first petition in our Lord's prayer, "Hallowed be thy name."

2. It is the most direct insult to the throne of Jehovah.

The name and character of God are guarded by the most solemn sanctions. The relations he sustains to man and the universe, are such as to throw glory and reverence around every attribute of the Almighty; and when properly realized, tend to bring man to occupy a very low place before God. Hence the Scriptures require that even the most solemn religious acts be marked by the most profound humility and reverence. David, while contemplating these relations, and coming before God for worship, exclaims, "As for me I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy face will I worship towards thy temple." And St. Paul, exhorting his Corinthian brethren, calls upon them in this language, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Jehovah is our Creator, preserver, benefactor, redeemer and God; in his hands are the destinies of all men; he is worshipped and adored by all the hosts of heaven, and is infinitely worthy of man's highest praises. To profane that name by an irreverent use upon every trivial occasion, by using it in cases of diversion; in times of anger and bitterness, to give vent to the passions; or in imprecations of the greatest evil upon our

selves or others, is a most insolent daring of God.

There is hardly any one so base and wicked as to allow the name of a beloved and respected friend to be abused, without feeling indignant and insulted. He would not adopt as a mode of expressing his passions, or in common conversation, the name of father, a benefactor, of mother or sister; all his natural feelings would revolt at such disrespect and familiarity; yet how few feel so towards the name of God, in whom every blessing is comprehended, and by whom every vengeance may be inflicted.

3. The practice of blaspheming the name of God, renders those guilty, most unlike to holy beings, and most fully to resemble Satan. The business of the redeemed is to ascribe honour, and praise, and glory, to him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever. With unceasing choruses they sing "holy, holy, holy, art thou Lord God of hosts;" while devils show their rage and bitterness by pouring out the most awful curses, and blaspheming the name of God, because he is righteous and holy. The language of the swearer is the language of hell, expressions of malignant hate used by the lost.

4. Profaning the name of God leads to other most destructive vices. The irreverence of God, which induces profanity, will drown the soul in acts of impiety, the most daring and reckless.

5. It exposes the soul to everlasting wrath: "I will not hold him guiltless."

The commonness of the practice arises, in part, from the force of evil company, and, in part, from the use of idle and vain expressions, such as I have enumerated above. The individual who studiously and religiously avoids these, will not publicly profane the name of God. As a counterpart to the evil influences around us, it is highly important that Christian parents instil into the minds of their children a knowledge of the holiness and purity, and sacredness of the Divine character. To do this, they must themselves revere and love that character; they must live impressed with a deep sense of his holy presence, and an abiding assurance of the fact, that he reads the thoughts, the words, and the actions of all men. There is not a word in your tongue but he knoweth it altogether, and for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment. Christian brother, sister, do you believe it? And will you not join with me in the prayer of the Psalmist: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips, that I sin not with my tongue?" If

you would escape the fatal career of the blasphemer-if escape his sinfulness and impenitence now, and woes and miseries hereafter, must you not shun every appearance of evil which would make you like unto him, and seek to realize not only the letter of the law, but its spirit and its power? "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

EXTRACTS FROM BARNES' NOTES.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.-Amen," 2 Cor.

xiii. 14.

In regard to this closing verse of the epistle, we may make the following remarks:-1st. It is a prayer; and if it is a prayer addressed to God, it is no less so to the Lord Jesus and to the Holy Spirit. If so, it is right to offer worship to the Lord Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. 2nd. There is a distinction in the Divine nature; or there is the distinction of what is usually termed three persons in the Godhead. If not, why are they mentioned in this manner? If the Lord Jesus is not Divine, and equal with the Father, why is he mentioned in this connection? How strange it would be for Paul, an inspired man, to pray in the same breath, "The grace of man or an angel," and "the love of God" be with you! And if the "Holy Spirit" be merely an influence of God, or an attribute of God, how strange to pray that the "love of God," and the participation or fellowship of an "influence of God," or an "attribute of God" might be with them! 3rd. The Holy Spirit has a person, or has a distinct personality. He is not an attribute of God, nor a mere Divine influence. How could prayer be addressed to an attribute or an influence? But here nothing can be plainer than that there were favours which the Holy Ghost, as an intelligent and conscious agent, was expected to bestow. And nothing can be plainer than that they were favours in some sense distinct from those which were conferred by the Lord Jesus, and by the Father. Here is a distinction of some kind, as real as that between the Lord Jesus and the Father; here are favours expected from him distinct from those conferred by the Father and the Son; and there is, therefore, here all the proof that there could be, that there is in some respects a distinction between the persons here referred to, and that the Holy Spirit is an intelligent, conscious agent. 4th. The Lord Jesus is not inferior to the Father; that is, he has an equality with God. If he were not equal, how could he be mentioned, as

he here is, as bestowing favours like God, and, especially, why is he mentioned first? Would Faul, in invoking blessings, mention the name of a mere man or an angel before that of the eternal God? 5th. The passage, therefore, furnishes a proof of the doctrine of the Trinity that has not yet been answered, and, it is believed, cannot be. On the supposition that there are three persons in the adorable Trinity, united in essence, and yet distinct in some respects, all is plain and clear. But on the supposition that the Lord Jesus is a mere man, an angel, or an archangel, and that the Holy Spirit is an attribute, or an influence from God, how unintelligible, confused, strange does all become! That Paul, in the solemn close of the epistles, should at the same time invoke blessings from a mere creature, and from God, and from an attribute, surpasses belief. But that he should invoke blessings from him who is equal with the Father, and from the Father himself, and from the sacred Spirit, sustaining the same rank, and in like manner imparting important blessings, is in accordance with all that we should expect, and makes all harmonious and appropriate. 6th. Nothing could be a more proper close of the epistle; nothing is a more appropriate close to public worship than such an invocation. It is a prayer to the ever-blessed God, that all the rich influences which he gives as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, may be imparted; that all the benefits which God confers in the interesting relations in which he makes himself known to us may descend and bless us. What more appropriate prayer can be offered at the close of public worship? How seriously should it be pronounced as a congregation is about to separate, perhaps to come together no more? With what solemnity should all join in it, and how devoutly should all pray, as they thus separate, that these rich and inestimable blessings may rest upon them. With hearts uplifted to God, it should be pronounced and heard; and every worshipper should leave the sanctuary deeply feeling that what he most needs as he leaves the place of public worship-as he travels on the journey of life; as he engages in its duties or meets its trials; as he looks at the grave and eternity is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the blessings which the Holy Spirit imparts in renewing, and sanctifying, and comforting his people. What more appropriate prayer than this for the writer and reader of these Notes? May that blessing rest alike upon us, though we may be strangers in the flesh, and may those heavenly influences guide us alike to the same everlasting kingdom of glory!

Ir is not only to the mountaineer, whose preference for the mountains is explicable from the value which every man attaches to his home, that a rocky and elevated region is attractive; the inhabitant of the plain finds in them a charm that draws him from his native abode to visit them, and that often calls them up vividly in his memory after he has made acquaintance with them. Though the circumstance that Nature in mountainous districts has been less altered than anywhere else contributes to this pleasure, the chief cause of the charm cannot lie in this, otherwise a heath or a sandy desert, which has remained in its present condition from time immemorial, should produce a similar effect. The chief cause must be sought in the bold and marked features which nature possesses in these elevated regions. As a human countenance, when the features, though not handsome, are striking, engages the attention and lives long in the memory, while the more rounded forms of an inexpressive face are soon forgotten, so does the aspect of nature in mountains, by their sharp contours and contracted outlines, stamp itself more deeply upon the mind than a uniform plain, or even a country whose surface is undulating. The great variety and extent of mountain scenery, with the picturesque beauty of its more detached and frequently narrow and confined portions of view, contribute to the interest which the traveller feels when he enters a mountainous district, and commences his arduous and giddy

ascent.

Schouw, an eminent botanist, has given the public some interesting sketches of mountain rambles. In the summer of 1812 he visited the mountains of Norway, rambling through the elevated region of Upper Tellemark, so rich in natural scenery; ascending the high, snow-covered, isolated Gousta; visiting the foaming Riukanfoss, one of the largest waterfalls in Europe; and intending to traverse the wild mountain tract that lies between Tellemark and Hardanger.

It is characteristic of all the Norwegian mountain ranges that, compared with others, they are very flat upon the top, and that the east side has a gradual inclination, while the west side falls down abruptly to the deeply penetrating fiords. Since the mountain chain thus rises gently on the stern face, the various zones of vegetation

lie rather side by side than above one another in this district. In the Alps, and other mountain ranges, the naturalist ascending quickly from the zone of the deciduous woods to that of the conifers, then into that of the rhododendrons, and thence into the zone of the Alpine plants, and of the snow, can witness this variety in the vegetable world in the space of a few hours. It is not so in the eastern parts of Norway. Here the student of nature, the lover of the wonderful works of God, travels several days in the zone of the conifers, several more through that of the birch, several more through that of the Alpine herbs and of the snow, ere he attains the summit of the ridge.

Our friend, Schouw, in August, found himself near the great lake, Miösvandet, lying 2,700 feet above the sea, in the zone of the birch. The pine and fir had vanished. But few fields were to be seen around the farm-houses. A harvest of ripe barley here can seldom be reckoned on. The life of the inhabitant stands quite in the transition from that of the agriculturist to that of the nomade. The traveller leaves the cultivated land further and further behind him. Homesteads are now half or whole day's journeys apart. Roads and paths disappear. Heaps of stones, at wide intervals, are the wanderer's guide. As he passes by he adds one to each heap. It becomes difficult to find a guide to conduct the stranger over the main ridge to Hardanger, and to lead him to the chalets, which the Hardangers have on the east side of the water sheds.

Here the naturalist enters the zone of Alpine plants, where all growth of timber has ceased. But Nature here has her charms. God, in this region, has not left himself without witness of His eternal power and Godhead. Little low bushes and dwarf herbs, bearing large and brightly-coloured flowers, alternate with naked cliffs and running streams. Humanity, too, dwells in this region; for here will the traveller come upon the chalet of the Hardangers, when the herd-girls, according to the cus tom of the district, will come to meet him, having in their hand a large white-scoured milk bowl, and giving him the simple but hospitable welcome, "Sit down, rest thyself, and drink!" In this little colony will be found none but girls. They are brought hither early in the summer, and