The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1907-07-12
THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS
DUTIES TOWARD GOD
Sunday School Lesson Tor July 1880
Specially Prepared for This Paper


LESSON TEXT. Exodus 2l-l. Mem
DRY verses. ILL.
GOLDEN TExT.-"Thou shalt love
the Lord. thy God, with all thine heart,
and all thy SOUL and with all thy might
-Deut SIS.
TIME.-Fffty days after leaving Egypt
eek. 1871, 80. The day OF Pentecost. the
feast OF hrst fruits Some time In May.
lt9i D. c. or perhaps 1900.
PLACE-In the plain at the base OF NJ.
Sinai In the southern part OF the slnal-
tic peninsula between tho two northern
arms OF the Red Sea.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.-The Ia
bles @. Stone: Elk. H;l2; BIS. 1lo-lS'
Nl. Deut. i:is; s:s-ii. io.i-5. Kings 3D.
Hell sA Read Psalms 10. lls-
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
MI. Sinai and it's surroundings
The exact mountain is uncertain, but
Hastings Bible Dictionary inclines to
the traditional Jebel Mousa, Noun
tain of Moses" 1858 feet above the
sea. in the wild, mountainous region
of the glorious range OF granite noun
tains of which Sinai is the nucleus,
Al its northwestern base stretches
Er-Rahah. the wilderness OF Sinai
the only plain In the neighborhood
capable Of holding 100000 persons
allowing a square yard for each. The
camp itself (Palmer) was doubtless
more extensive, occupying the neigh
boring glens and mountalnsides, wher'
ever there was sufficient fertility lot
the cattle. Fronting the plain Is
lofty and precipitous blum. Ras-Sufsa-
feb, whence. probably, the law was
proclaimed.
The Commandments Are Divine
Laws.-V /. And God spake all
these words" In three ways; ID by
his voice; 90 by writing them on the
tablets OF stone; and 90 he has writ
ten them on the very nature OF man.
We are not to imagine that nothing
of these commands was known before
Moses. They we're written on the
hearts and consciences OF men from
the beginning. We see them In the
early history. They are a lesson for
all mankind.
v. 3. Thou shalt have no other
gods before me-" Side by side with
mo-" in addition to me" in my pres
ence." and therefore in preference to
me-
VS.. 4-6. This forbids making any
representation Of God as a means OF
worshiping him.
The First Reason is that all images
misrepresent God. They are not like
God. They do not represent God as
pictures Of a friend represent him TO
US.
The Second Reason. V. 5. Il
am a jealous God" T. e., not willing
that any other should be regarded as
his equal. or take his place In the af-
tections and worship Of his people;
because no other can take his place;
no other can love as he loves, or help
as he helps. Every idol god is not
only useless, but leads to immortality.
The Third Reason. Visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the chill
lren." The visitation here spoken Of
IAN hardly be any other than that
which we are accustomed to witness
in the common experience Of life lex
}4:7; Jer 32:1S). 1t is a statement
If the scientific doctrine OF heredity.
VI. Thou shalt not take the name
II the Lord thy God in vain." T. e.,
lightly, carelessly thoughtlessly, IN
sincerely.
1. This forbids processing to be
Gods people, In covenant relations
With him, and then acting in a man
ler that dishonors God and misrepre-
sents him before the world II dis
races religion, and drives men from |
God
2 II forbids perjury. False |
swearing is among the greatest in
suits that man can offer TO God. and. |
rs being such, is naturally forbidden /
IN the first table. which teaches MS our
duty TO God II is also destructive Of |
civil society: and hence II is again |
forbidden In the second table ". l6). |
which defines our duties to our neigh
bor."-Ellicott.
3 But II does not forbid what is |
called taking an oath In court; for
that is a simple affirmation in the sol
emn presence OF God TO tell the truth, |
ending with a prayer for help TO do |
IT, The way these oaths are some
times administered borders very close
ly on the breaking Of this command
4. It forbids all profanity. the care.
less. irreverent use OF Gods name and |
Of holy things. because II tends 10 de-
stroy the power Of these things over
men.
g. II enforces Christ's interpreta.
ton that all efforts TO support our as
sertions Of a fact beyond the simple
yes" OF no" repeated cometh of
evil. II weakens the assertion itself
g. All thoughtless worship comes
under the ban of this commandment.
v 8. Remember the Sabbath day"
Remember implies that the Sabbath
already existed. ITO keep II holy"
Possibly We talk too much about what
not TO do on the Sabbath. Here is the
great thing to do; worship; keep the
day sacred for religious duties and
the culture OF the soul OF
yourself and OF others
The Covenant Of Love.
In the Old Testament there are
four covenants: that with Noah, Of
which the rainbow was the sign, prom
Using safety from destruction to all
that with Abraham, OF
which circumcision was the sign.
that with Israel as a nation. Of which
the sign was tho Passover; and that
Of which the Sabbath was the sign
for all mankind. The record OF the
Mosaic Law is called the book Of the
covenant (EX. PAD. But the main