The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-06-29

Uncrcated. Thor shall s0f 6ow d0wH
Myself to them, nor ayoyship them. There
is such disproportion between block of
marble and the Being who supports uni
versal nature, that it may seem at first view
that men could never be so stupid and de.
graded as to substitute the worship of one
for that of the other. Yet the worship of
deities made by mems hands was once the
fashion of the world. There were, we are
told, no less than thirty thousand devoted
images in ancient Athens. Image-worship
largely prevails among pagan nations in
our day.
A distinction however is to be made. 1t
is only when an image-maker tries to SYM
bolize the Deity that his work is sacrile-
gious. The cherubim in the tabernacle
were images; they symbolized the divine,
however, rather than the Person of Deity;
they suggested attributes of God rather
than the whole of God. Wherever an
image enlarges the conception of the Di-
vine, it may serve the truth. God can be
Jealous" of no such friendly rival. But
wherever an image narrows and material
ICES the thought of God, or serves to local
ize God in the mind of the worshipper, it
is moral abomination.
THIRD COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord Thy God tn
vain. AS the first commandment prohib-
its any worship save that of the One God,
and the second commandment prohibits
dissertation of the One God by craven i'm
age, this commandment prohibits irrever-
ence and insult toward God in speech.
Alike perjury, or false oaths spoken under
semblance of reverence, and light speech
regarding the Holy One, or proclamation of
sacred names, are here prohibited. The
one whose habitual speech is irreverent,
must needs have irrevence in his heart.
Profanity is the cheapest of all the vices,
and the most prolific of moral evils. ALI
noble appeals are lost on the shallow
natures of the profane. Every irrcverent
utterance is sign of corrupt heart and
of low breeding.
FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Remember
the Sabbath day to keeb it holy. Here is
the first appearance of the Jewish Sabbath
in history but the injunction to keep it in
memory suggests that it had already been
known. 1t is not probable that the Jews
were suffered to keep the Sabbath as
day of rest while enduring the Egyptian
bondage; but a tradition of the Seventh
Day, as a memorial of the completed crea-
ton, day of human rest from labor, may
have been preserved from the patriarchal
period. However the Sabbath originated,
there can be no question that it is one of
the most benefsent institution of the He
brew Theocracy. 1t required severe laws
and swift and heavy penalties, in the Mo
sale code, to wrest the day from the World
Spirit The day was never meant to OPP
press men; it was meant to be mans
servant.
TRANSPORTED to the Christian Sunday,
the Sabbath is now one of the best boons
to humanity. While kept holy it will be
impregnable. If it is ever devoted to mere
pleasure-seeking, the day will be lost The
Sabbath needs still to be guarded against
the besetting world.
FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Honor thy
father and thy mother. The fact that this
commandment is on the first table proves
that the great Hebrew legislator regarded
the family as divine institution, and that
not bear false a0ttness against lily netgA
Dor. To uniformly speak the truth is an
essential part of knowing and living the
truth. To be careful to tell the exact
truth, without malice, with no unwarranted
differences, and with the charity for others
we claim for ourselves, is the exaltation of
truth here required
Truth-speaking is a high virtue. The
truthful historian, the truthful teacher, the
truthful man of business, the truthful
neighbor, the truthful boy or girl,-how
estimable. How helpful to clear inner
vision is the passionate love of Truth.
TENTH COMMANDMENT: ZHoH shalt
not c0vet. The previous prohibitions have
concerned acts; this is prohibition of
wrong state of the heart. 1t is not
mere desire to accumulate that is here
forbidden but a desire for gain at the ex-
pense of others or by disregard of the
rights of others. To desire gain at the
expense of wrong to the community, is
covetousness. To seek by overreaching
to dispossess a neighbor of his property,
is covetousness.
The positive duty enjoined is spiritual
content. To regard another's wellbeing
as ones own, and scorn to own anything
wrongly-acquired, is to keep this law. The
final commandment extends somewhat
within the borders of human brotherhood.
The SUM OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
is to love God with the supreme love, and
do unto others as we would have them do
to us. (Matt 81 37-4o; Deut. 6:5; III;
Lev. 10 :I8) These two commandments
include the Ten. They are the fountain
from which all righteousness must flow.
TEACHING POINTS.
INTRoDUcTIoN-To Israel, even before Rome
we are indebted for the example of nation gov
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