Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-06
Speech and Sabbath Service.

The Interpretation of the command
Thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain turns upon the
meaning of the phrase "in vain These
words may mean I'D Purposelessly
and. therefore. needlessly or irreverent-
ly; (Y for destruction, as when a man
calls down a curse upon another: CD for
nothing-that is swearing for that which
is not true: and in the practice of sorcery
or witchcraft, for this wore was fire.
quently used by the Hebrews as scorn-
full designation of heather denominations.
1t is probable that the commandment
was given to guard against evils of speech
in which men would use without rever-
ence or sincerity the name of Jehovah.
The principle that underlies this law
is that of due reverence to God. whica
is broad enough to cover all evils of
speech, especially profanity, which was
condemned by our Lord in one of His
sermons. 1t is violated in prayer, praise
and public testimony. whenever the
name of God is used without sufficient
consideration.
these commandments. was the corner
stone OF the integrity of Israel and the
foundation of their unity nation.
that was fostered and developed by the
proper observance of the Sabbath day.
The day OF rest, we learned several
weeks ago. was not a Mosaic institution.
hence at Sinai Israel was called upon 10
remember the Sabbath tapponted after
creation) to keep ii holy. The other ma
tons, as we are at present IN danger Of
doing, failed to keep the Sabbath Cod
re-enacted the law and provided for It's
enforcement by issuing Ihe first lnJuilc-
ton upon the labor question that pro-
hibited work upon the Sabbath and de-
mands its observance as a day of rest
and worship By Israel, through whom
the redemption of the word was TO be
accomplished Later when they were
about to enter Palestine, nation of
landowners and shareholders, God made
definite the application OF this law 10
servants. slaves and even the cattle that
toiled.
God requires that We should live daily
for His glory. yet He has always blessed
the nation that has properly observed
the Sabbath day. Jesus saw the tremen-
dous social and ethical power Of this
law when He reatiirmed its application TO
the needs of humanity by insisting that
the Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath. Surely il ought
to teach us to give to all that toll at
least one days rest in seven
Political economists see the close con-
nection between the prosperity and prog
ress OF a nation and the observance or
the Sabbath, for they have declared that
the position held by America and Eng
land today is due to their Sabbath
keeping custom. II we are to maintain
our commercial leadership We must give
to the toilers o. our land what nature
demands, and this law commands at
least one days rest in seven, which day
ought to be spent N rest and worship.
Our life as nation is rooted in re-
ligion and our prestige. prosperity and
permanency depend upon our seeking
first the kingdom of God and His right
eousness," which alone exalteth ma
ton.
The commandments that have furnish
ed the foundation of our study this week
possess a threefold look In relation to
our spiritual life. as individuals and q
nation, for they have pointed out TO US
the relation of the worship Of God to
our spirit speech and service They have
also warned US against the sins or tho
heart. tongue and labor that does not
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