Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-05-05
&eadiuq fur the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED By
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
[Original J
IOIIsIHd
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.

image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth. Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve
them: for I, the Lord thy God, am jealous
God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth gene
ration of them that hate me; and showing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me,
and keep my commandments"
The difference between the first command.
ment and the second seems to be this. The
first commandment enjoins particular duty
by forbidding the opposite sin. The second
commandment specifies the manner in which
the duty enjoined in the first must be perform
ed, and also the way in which the sin forbid.
lien may be committed.
In the first commandment, we are required
to worship the living and true God, and for
hidden to worship any other god. In the
second, we are commanded not to worship
God by, through, or in any way by means OF
images of any kind or character whatever.
To the second commandment there is also a
reason assigned for what is commanded and
also for what is forbidden.
1t is not making craven images or likeness,
es in the abstract that is forbidden; but
making and using these images or likenessea
for religious purposes. That is, for the pur'
pose of either worshiping the images or like
nesses themselves, or worshiping God by means
Of them. Perhaps the exact date of the in
PRODUCTION of image worship into our world
is not known. 1t was certainly at very
early period. The first mention that is made
in the Bible of idolatrous worship, is found
in Genesis 81 {: 10; but Joshua tells the chill
dreu of Israel that Terah, the father of Abra
ham, served ether gods. Joshua "a 2
The probability is that the antediluvians were
idolatrous in their worship. Idolatry does
not, as some suppose, mean to worship images
but to worship the Deity by means of an i'm
age The image may be designed to repre-
sent the true God, or it may be designed tc
represent false god. In either case, it is
idolatry.
Very few of the human family ever have
been so degraded as to worship images, while
the mass of mankind are idolatrous. Who
ever will read the thirty.6rst chapter of the
book of Genesis, will see that although Laban
had his teraphim, still he had not absolutely
forgotten the God of Abraham and Major
He was an idolator That is, he had intro
duced into his religious exercises idols, and
through these idols he worshiped, or thought
he worshiped the God of Abraham and Major
1t is an exceedingly easy thing to become
idolatrous in our worship. God is an invisi.
BILE God, and we are forbidden to make any
image or likeness of what we suppose him to
be- In many copies of our English Bible, we
have pictures of Jesus Christ, of the Holy
Ghost, and of angels. This is a species Of
idolatry, and is positively forbidden in the
second commandment.
Whenever we introduce into the worship Of
God any form or ceremony that is not enjoin
ed in the word of God, we are treading on
dangerous ground. We are verging toward
the regions of gross idolatry. Apparently
these external forms and ceremonies increase
the devotional feelings of the worshiper; but
it is mere dulusion of the wicked one
They only encourage our idolatrous proclivi.
ties, and engender false hopes that never can
be realized Whatever, in the worship OF
God, is not commanded, is forbidden. This
is principle of universal application
Hence, in our religious exercises, the first
question to be asked is, have we "Thus saith
the Lord" for the forms and ceremonies we
propose to use If we have, it is our duty to
observe them, no matter how simple or appa'
rently unnecessary those forms and ceremo
nies may be. If we have not, every ceremo
ny or form, devised by man, is sinful either in
itself or in its tendency, no matter how impos
ing it may appear.
In the worshiping of God we are never left
to act as occasion may serve us. We are nev'
er left to the exercise of our own judgment
in the choice of modes of worshiping God
If this were the case, one way or mode OF
worship would be as good and acceptable as
any other. The idolatry of Major would
have been as acceptable in the sight Of God
as the spiritual worship of Jacob or Paul.
Not only so, but it would be foolish to attempt
to convert the heather. The better part of
the Pagan world do not worship idols, but
deity, by means of idols.
The only rule of action and directory for
the worship of God, both in public and pri-
vate, is the Bible. If any be disposed to
question this, we can only say that all that
God commands and forbids is contained in
the Bible, and whatever else is required has
no higher authority than the commandments
of men. To follow these is to obey men rath-
er than God.
The reason annexed to the second COM
mandment is stated in these words: 81, the
Lord thy God, am jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to
the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands
that love me, and keep my commandments. 5"
In this reason, two things are brought prom.
inently to view. First, Gods sovereignty in
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