LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, ©gap. iapijngtyt ^a.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THE

TEN COMMANDMENTS

IN THE

NINETEENTH CENTURY.

BY F. S. SCHENCK,

Pastor of the Brick Church, Montgomery, N. Y.

FUNK & WAGNALLS.

NEW YORK: LONDON:

1889 18 AND 20 ASTOE PLACE. 44 FLEET STREET.

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by

FUNK & WAGNALLS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.

LC Control Number

tmp96

029049

CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. Preface 8

II. The Law-Giver « . 5

III. The First Commandment 15

IV. The Second Commandment 26

V. The Third Commandment 38

VI. The Fourth Commandment 48

VII. The Fifth Commandment 61

VIII. The Sixth Commandment 75

IX. The Seventh Commandment 87

X. The Eighth Commandment 102

XI. The Ninth Commandment. . v . . 4 118

XII. The Tenth Commandment. . . . , . . ... 129

PREFACE.

A great philosopher has said that the mind must be filled with awe when one contemplates either the Universe or the Ten Commandments. The psalmist saw the glory of God alike in the heavens and in the law. Given in the early dawn of civilization, this law has not been left behind in the advance of the race, but still stands far ahead beckoning on the centuries. Its perfection is a sufficient evidence of its divine origin. Each commandment is an authoritative state- ment of a fundamental principle of human nature. I send forth this book with the great design of help- ing men to see the glory of God, and our own nobility, as set forth in this law of our being.

THE LAW-GIVER.

"And God spake all these words, saying : I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."— Ex. 20: 1,2.

There is a law by which the earth revolves, and light follows darkness. There is a law by which the earth sweeps round the sun, and the seasons follow each other in endless procession ; spring with its flowers, summer with its harvests, autumn with its fruits, and winter with its snows. There is a law by which fishes swim in the sea, birds fly in the air, and the lion roams through the forest ; by which man goes forth to his labor with the morning light and returns to his rest with the even- ing shades. Wherever we look, over our heads, beneath our feet, on every side, within our bodies, there is the working of law. Nature teaches us that her mysterious force is regulated and so manifests an established order of events ; that she produces the harmony of the whole and the well-being of each part by obedience to law. We can imagine a particular thing casting off the law of its being, but only to its own ruin. A stone flies from the earth and is consumed; a plant refuses the rain and languishes ; an animal resists the craving of appetite and starves. We can imagine a combined breaking of the law — an organized rebellion — *an.d the earth throws off the power of the sun and rushes out into space, only to find the chill darkness of death. The only conceiva- ble way of escape from the evils of such rebellion would be by a restoration to obedience.

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6 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

The highest well-being of nature in whole or in any particular part can be attained only by operation of law. The law does not arise from this well-being, for it is its source. There can be only one source of law, the will of the Law-giver. All nature is as Mount Sinai, the throne of the Law-giver. All law being the expression of His will is the manifestation of His character, and with reference to the creature subject to it is the description of its highest possible well-being, the ideal of God for it. All the well-being we can see in nature comes through the operation of law whose source is God's good will.

Let us recognize at the beginning of our study of the Ten Commandments that this law has its source in God. It comes to us from His will whose authority is beyond question and our obligation to obey is complete.

We will be able to see with various degrees of clear- ness, according to the powers of soul which God has bestowed upon us and according to the attention we give to the subject, that the law prescribes a "general fitness of things," that it aims to promote the general happiness, and that it describes the nature of man according to the design of his Creator, so setting forth the unchanging principles of his being. But our obli- gation to obey could never be complete if it rested upon our seeing these things, for the most gifted of mankind are incompetent to judge of the " general fitness of things," have at best a limited view of the general good, and have not yet fully discovered all the unchanging principles of our being. Neither could these things in themselves, if fully seen, bind the conscience ; to awaken the "I ought not" of conscience against an aroused

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 7

desire, there is needed further the voice of God. If we weigh the general good or even an acknowledged prin- ciple of our nature against an intense desire, the act is one of the judgment, and the desire will have a controll- ing influence upon it; but at the bar of conscience the voice of God saying, " Thou shalt not," concludes the case, and desire can have no standing.

When, however, we regard the unchanging principles of our nature as wrought into the constitution of the creature by the Creator, they become the expression of his will and so a law binding upon the conscience. A godless evolution can never devise a law binding on the conscience, but an evolution searching for the Creator finds in these principles of man's nature the voice of God. These principles and the Ten Command- ments coming from the same source confirm and illus- trate each other. The giving of the law at Sinai is not to be regarded therefore as the institution of a new law, only as the publication in a new way of the original law of our being. The terrible circumstances attending* its issuing, and the fact that it is issued largely in a prohibitory form, indicate that it is issued to a race who have already broken, and whose strong tendency is to continue to break, the unchanging principles of their being — to fall from the ideal of God. Their fall gives the reason for the issuing of the law. God does not lower his ideal for the race, but since they have lost sight of it, He sets it before them in a new and striking form. He chooses a time in the history of the race for issuing his law which precludes all thought of its hav- ing a human origin. The world would never look for its highest code of religion and morals to the Egyptian

8 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

civilization, nor to a race of slaves. He stamps upon it the seal of His work, perfection.

We shall see as we pursue our study that each com- mand states a great principle of our nature; that highest manliness can only be attained in recognizing and follow- ing this principle. The highest civilization the world has yet reached has not gone beyond, has not even attained to the carrying out of these principles. No reason has been discovered for setting aside a single command as unworthy of God or man. Neither is there any prospect that man will ever become conscious, dur- ing this earthly stage of his existence, of a principle of his being which is not covered by the law of God, nor of a " fitness of things " not provided for, nor of a way of securing happiness other than obedience to it.

The Ten Commandments are the authentic state- ments by the Creator of the great general principles of the constitution of man and of human society, since they are the statutes issued by the Supreme Law-giver. The voice teaching man of his own nature and relationships has the tone of rightful authority, is the voice of God.

Since " God spake all these words " we find in them the law of our being. The conscience hears his voice, acknowledges his rightful authority and bows before him.

There is great need of the " I ought " power being developed in our nature so that it controls our lives ; a need at least as great in this advanced age and in rich America as it was in that early age and in the wilderness of Sinai. To be swayed not by impulse, nor by intense desire, nor by aroused willfulness, but by a sense of obligation to God, insures a manhood which is

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. g

a success in itself. What better start in life can the young have than a firm determination to obey God ? Can there be a better guide in life, in the perplexities of society, of business or of politics, than this same principle of obedience to God ? Will not the character of steadfast obedience to God be the only kind of character we will care to take with us when we pass beyond this life ? We may well be very diligent in our study of the Ten Commandments, with the strong pur- pose to make them the rule of our lives.

While this law coming from God binds the conscience, it at the same time secures true liberty of conscience. Nothing can bind the conscience beyond or contrary to this law. It is the comprehensive and only law of the conscience. All moral and religious duties are covered by it ; there can be none beyond or contrary to it. It provides for obedience to State and Church and regard for public opinion, and sets limits also to such regard and obedience. Our obligation to obey human enactments rests upon this law. They therefore must never be contrary to it. We are not called to obey but rather to resist the usurpations of men, in whatever position and however well meaning, who would make that to be sin which God does not forbid, and that obligatory which God does not command. The spirit of obeying God. rather than man has led martyrs to the stake and patriots to the battle-field, and to it we are largely indebted for the civil and religious liberty we possess in this land of the free.

This law coming from God repels many of the as- saults of infidelity upon the Bible. Infidelity finds it impossible to account for the existence of this law in the

10 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

Bible. It is too absurd to claim that this consummate moral and religious code arose from the religious and moral condition of the race at that time. The law, and the life of Jesus Christ, perfect according to the law, these are in the Bible — its exclusive possession — and all the criticisms and witticisms of infidels fall from them as arrows shot against a fortress, broken, and leaving no mark. Besides, infidelity is forced to honor the moral law in making it its standard of criticism. Much of its fault-finding of lives and measures is an unintended tribute to the law of God. They forget that the Bible, like any historical record, does not commend all it records ; but it does contain the highest standard of judgment, the revealed will of God, before which they instinctively bow. Their criticism of the civil law, that it upheld polygamy, established slavery, inflicted the death-penalty for many offenses, is virtually a com- parison of it with the moral law, and shows only their own lack of discrimination as to the different realms of these laws. The civil law was to be enforced by the nation itself, and was evidently designed for the de- velopment of the nation, and was the best possible that could be self-applied by a low condition to elevate to a higher. The result shows this. Only about a dozen offenses were punishable by death, a far less number than a few years ago were sanctioned by the laws of England, when she had left the barbarous stage already far behind. Slavery and polygamy were already exist- ing institutions, and were so restricted by the civil law that at the time of Christ there were few if any polygamous or shareholding Jews in Palestine. The civil law was the best possible law for that nation in

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. II

that day, and was wisely designed to lift up towards the moral law.

Infidelity has a great deal to say concerning the ceremonial law, and especially concerning the sacrificial element in it. They forget that they look upon it from a Christian condition where no bloody sacrifices are known, a condition that has grown out of that same ceremonial law, and is a fulfilment of it. If they would look at it from the stand-point of that day and of sur- rounding religions, they would see that God restricted sacrifices to one place, and prescribed such regulations as gave them deep meaning. The ceremonial law taught of the holiness of God and of a coming Savior, and was designed to provide for restored obedience to the moral law. In condemning some of the terrible events in the Bible as immoral, infidelity forgets that it is within the province of a Law-giver to define and provide for the in- fliction of the penalty for the disobedience of the law, and so these terrible events set forth the importance of the moral law as the law of man's being.

The fact that this law comes from God, carries with it another lesson and one of the utmost importance to us — His authority runs through all the divisions of the law. This one law is arranged in ten sections, and these sections are grouped into two classes. Whatever may be said of the relative importance of each table or of each commandment in itself, the truth should be kept in mind that the authority of God is the same in all.

There is a tendency to separate the two tables. Some men seem to rely upon observing the first table without much regard to the second, and others claim to

12 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

keep the second while they ignore the first. No such separation can be made. Both must be fully observed or the whole law is broken. We cannot be devoted to God, correct in matters of faith and zealous in his worship, while we neglect charity of feeling, word and act toward our neighbor. If God is our Father, man is our brother. Neither can we truly love our neighbor while we neglect God, for we cannot keep any part of the law without supreme reverence for Him who com- mands. Neither can we truly love our neighbor with- out recognizing that we are both and equally creatures of God. If man is our brother, it is because God is our Father. Duties to man flow from and are a part of duties to God. No worship of God will satisfy his law — not even the first table, which is lacking in love to our neighbor; and no love to our neighbor will satisfy God's law — not even the second table, which is lacking in love to Him. Much that goes under the names of piety and morality in our day is seen at a glance to be terribly defective in the light of this self-evident principle.

There is a tendency also to separate the command- ments, and to claim virtue for keeping some while we make light of breaking others. One says: "I sometimes swear, when excited, but no man ever could charge me with dishonesty." Another says : " I do not make a practice of observing the Sabbath, but all men will tell you that my word can be relied upon." Now the violation of one precept is not an actual violation of another, but it is the breaking of the whole law in that it sets aside the authority of God. He who breaks one command disregards the authority of God. If he keeps other commandments, it must be from other considera-

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, 13

tions. If it was the authority of God which kept him from stealing or lying, that same authority would restrain him from swearing or Sabbath-breaking. Thus by breaking one commandment he shows he has the spirit of breaking them all, for he does not submit to the authority of God. It is true, the more precepts we keep the more valuable men and women we are to the society in which we dwell. He who steals is an injury to society. He who is honest is so far a blessing. But a man may have a kind of honesty without the least regard to God, and hence cannot be said to obey even the commandment requiring honesty. Such an one, how- ever, is not only a better citizen but he honors God to this extent, that he approves of that which God com- mands. Still he should recognize that he has at heart no respect for the authority of God.

In the preface to the law, God describes himself not only as the self-existing Creator, but as having entered into close personal relation with the Israelites through promises made to their fathers, some of which had just been faithfully fulfilled in conferring great blessings upon them. So he appeals not only to their respect for his authorhvv, but to the relation to him which they had inherited and accepted, and to the gratitude they should have for such benefits received. This preface does not limit the following law to the Israelites, but makes a special appeal to them. The law is general, for all mankind, the original law of their being, since it appeals to and arouses the universal conscience ; but a special revelation of God and rich favors bestowed form a strong appeal for the most hearty obedience. God describes himself to the fall extent in which he

i4 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS,

had at that time revealed himself. Whatever increase of revelation we have received strengthens the appeal. This shows the kind of obedience we should give ; not reluctant, but eager ; not forced, but spontaneous; not irksome, but with delight ; not heartless, but with the enthusiasm of love. Created things obey the laws of their being joyously. Stars shine, flowers bloom, birds sing. Surely intelligent beings, recognizing the law of their being, should joyously obey it, especially when God reveals himself fully and confers richest blessings upon them.

As wTe enter upon the study of each separate com- mand, let it be with a firm purpose to seek for the whole truth, and with an honest resolution to apply it to our own hearts and lives. A knowledge of the revelation of God made through Jesus Christ, and a reception of the blessings bestowed through him strengthen God's claim upon us. The newness of life in Christ is sub- ject to this law. The love we bear him, is not an aim- less rapture, but the spirit of new obedience, to mani- fest itself in keeping his commandments. If we shall find that we have in any respect broken this law of God, or are prone to break it, let us at once seek for- giveness and new life in Jesus Christ. He came to save sinners from their sins, to restore them to complete and hearty obedience.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

" Thou shalt have no other gods before me." — Ex. 20 : 3.

There is a marked difference between the laws of man, though moral, and this law of God. Human laws govern outward conduct alone. Man can only take notice of the action of his fellow-man, and infer the intention from it. But God searches the heart of man. His law applies directly to the inner life, the feelings and purposes, the disposition and character. This fea- ture of the whole law is particularly prominent in this first commandment, where no outward act whatever is commanded or prohibited, but the soul purely and simply is the subject of the law.

This commandment like many others has the prohib- itory form. Wherever this is the case the opposite of the thing forbidden is commanded, being guarded by the prohibition. Hence we are here commanded to give supreme allegiance to and find our highest good in God alone. When we give supreme allegiance to and find our highest good in any person or thing other than God, we make that person or thing our god, and we do this of necessity in the presence of God, before his face. This idolatry is forbidden.

It is quite evident without further study that this commandment prescribes a general " fitness of things," the proper relation of man to God ; aims to promote the highest happiness, directing man to seek his good in the highest source — God himself; and describes the

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nature of man, setting forth a great principle of his being, that lie is capable of giving allegiance to God, has faculties and powers capable of knowing and lov- ing God.

This commandment at once arouses the conscience with the claim that our first duty is not to oursel-ves, not even to our neighbors, but to our God. The awak- ened conscience says : " That is right. He made me and continues me in being. My chief duty is not to myself but to Him. He made and continues my fellow- men in being. He places us in these relations of life. My first duty is not to them, but to Him." It is not then a little thing to neglect God, as so many seem to think. It violates and degrades a foundation principle of our nature — it is failure in the principal duty of life.

The Egyptians and the neighboring nations, when this law was given, worshiped many diverse imaginary beings, the creations of their own fancy, as gods. This commandment was directly opposed to this prevailing practice, strictly prohibited it, and commanded the worship of the one true God. Wherever it has been generally received the worship of such imaginary beings has ceased, and with us is entirely unknown. To this extent the commandment seems to have accomplished its purpose. It is generally conceded now that there are not more gods than one, the true and living God. That He exists is the only explanation of our own exist- ence. Conscious of the one, we are sure of the other.

Our power of knowing and loving Him is the dis- tinguishing power of man, separating him from the brutes with whom he is in many other-respects allied.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. iy

Not to exercise this power is to cast away the crown of our manhood. God dignified man in the highest degree when he gave him this commandment. He calls him to the highest realm of knowledge, the knowledge of Him- self. Of course we cannot know God fully. Our weak, limited minds cannot comprehend the Infinite One. Shall we therefore claim He is unknowable, and refuse to affirm or deny anything concerning his existence and character ? As well might the child, who fails to put the ocean into the hole he has dug in the sand, look wise and say, " Well then, there is no ocean." The truths above and beyond us, whose greatness may not be understood. but can be acknowledged, sway and elevate us. Not that which we can comprehend, but that which comprehends us ; not that which our little minds can hold, but that which fills them and holds them — the height of the mountain beyond where we can climb ; the expanse of the ocean beyond our power of vision ; the distance of the stars beyond the flight of our imagina- tion— these fill the mind with awe ; we are in the pres- ence of the sublime. If we could comprehend God we would be greater than He. The unknowable in God leads us to worship the God we know. This command calls us to a constant advance in the knowledge of God, so securing the activit}^ and development of our power of knowing, and making it our duty to carefully attend to the revelation He has made of Himself.

This certainly commends the study of Nature ; not only the poetic listening to its subtile teachings, but the scientific research for its great truths. While it cannot be claimed that some scientific theories have any respect for this commandment, it is certainly to be 2

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acknowledged that the earnest search of science for truth is to that extent a keeping of the law. To neglect this great realm where God has expressed so many of His great thoughts, where He has so clearly revealed " His eternal power and God-head," is con- demned as indifference to the knowledge of Himself.

This certainly commends the study of the Scriptures. These claim to contain a special revelation of God. To give a fair investigation to this claim, and an earnest effort to understand this special revelation, is to that extent a keeping of the law. Every neglected Bible should thrill the conscience with the charge, " You have not yet taken the first step towards obeying this com- mandment."

God's revelation of Himself in the Holy Scriptures is progressive. It had reached a certain stage at the time the law was given at Sinai, sufficiently clear and full to make man's duty plain. But it did not stop there. It unfolded through succeeding ages until* it culminated in the Lord Jesus Christ. So this first commandment makes it our duty to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To reject Christ is not merely to reject an offer of mercy. It is to refuse to receive the complete revela- tion of God made in His Son. It is to say, "We will not have this God revealed in Christ as our God." But there is no other God. We are to know God as revealed in Nature, in His Law, in the Holy Scriptures, and in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the one living and true God.

Now, man is capable of closer relationship to God than mere knowledge of His existence and character. He has powers of loving God, of coming into the closest

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 1 9

personal fellowship with God. This will in its exercise make more intimate and full our knowledge of Him. You know of the existence of the president of the nation and something of his character by his acts and general reputation. The knowledge you have of the man you are well acquainted with is more full and accurate. But this knowledge is surpassed by that you have of your friend. Your love for him clearly dis- cerns qualities which his love for you frankly reveals. You know his real worth and highly value your rela- tionship to him. It is to such intimate knowledge of love, to such fellowship of love, that God calls us by the power He has given us, and by this commandment. He reveals Himself as a person, in personal relationship with man, as possessing in Himself qualities of charac- ter worthy of our love, and as being desirous of pur love, a revelation shining in this commandment as it does in all nature and in Scripture, and especially in him "who is the image of the invisible God." Our highest duty and real nobility are to give Him supreme allegiance and find our highest good in Him alone, the love recognizing and responding to the loveliness of God, the love that completely trusts Him, and finds its highest delight in Him.

The prohibitory form of the commandment further shows that there are tendencies in our nature to break this law of our being. We are prone to give supreme allegiance to and find our highest good in some person or thing other than God. Humiliating as it may be, a little reflection will force us to confess that the com- mandment is right in taking this form, that these ten- dencies exist, and that they are so strong that they have

THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

often led us and do still lead us to break the law. Wherever this written commandment is not known in the world to-day men are worshiping imaginary beings as t heir gods. The principle of our nature as God created it, the power of knowing and loving Him, has been overruled by these tendencies, which from some source or other, certainly not from God, have come upon us.

Neither are we free from these tendencies though we have the knowledge of His law. Are we not prone to ignore God, or to rest with an insufficient knowledge of Him, or to imagine Him other than he has revealed him- self? Do not the fields of even religious controversy afford sad evidence of the tendency to magnify some one or more features of His character out of proportion with all the others, so making a caricature of Him ? The superstition of worshiping imaginar}* gods has passed away, but that of attributing effects to things with which there is not the slightest evidence of their having any connection, still lingers. There is quite a prevalent opinion that Friday is an unlucky day, and that it is unlucky to see the new moon over the left shoulder, and many who speak light of it still are influenced by it. How a horse-shoe became a symbol of good luck, I do not know. Perhaps from the old belief that a hot horse-shoe would drive a witch out of a churn, and now this symbol is nailed to the masts of many vessels sailing our rivers, and over the doors of many of our houses, and many young people are yery careful to stand directly under a floral horse-shoe as they enter the married life. Of course all fear of ill luck and all hope of good luck as dependent upon any

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such things are the opposite of trusting in God, "our Sun and Shield."

Fortune-tellers still live, and live off their victims whom they torment with foolish hopes or causeless fears. What reason is there to believe that the devil knows anything about our future, or that God who hides it from us would reveal it to a fortune-teller ? Those who are sick with complicated diseases or involved in perplexing troubles sometimes consult clair- voyants, whose astounding claim of possessing a sense other than the senses and reasoning power of ordinary men is sustained alone by a few happy conjectures and a great amount of clap-trap. Surely to consult them is a belief in their possessing supernatural power without a particle of evidence — to that extent a kindred super- stition with the belief in imaginary gods. Spiritualism, too, in our day enchains many dupes, an attempt to learn of the spirit world by communication with departed spirits, brought about by the aid of mediums whose base tricks have been so often exposed. God gives us present duty and all the light we need about the future, about the nature of present trouble and the conditions of the spirit world. Obedience to Him and complete trust in His wisdom and love will free us from all fortune-telling, clairvoyance and spiritualism ; they would have no more influence upon us than do the almost forgotten gods of high Olympus. That these superstitions still linger in our day, and are present to some extent in our minds, shows that the prohibitory form of this commandment is still needed by us.

But even if we had full and accurate knowledge of the one true God, and were free from all debasing

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

superstitions, we would still have tendencies drawing us away from entire consecration to Him. Alas! there are other idolatries besides trust in imaginary gods, or in false conceptions of the true God. Whatever we value more than God, and delight in more than we delight in Him, is our god. Wherever a man makes the gratification of himself his chief aim, he takes the crown belonging to God and crowns himself. He is his own god — a kind of idolatry to which, I fear, we will all have to confess a great proneness.

There is a strong tendency to make the gratification of even the lowest portion of our nature our chief aim and greatest delight. We are not yet free from the danger of belonging to the class the Apostle describes in such plain words, " whose god is their belly," which includes not only gluttons and drunkards, but all those who, however refined the way, make sensual enjoyment their highest good. It is obvious this not only dishon- ors God but degrades man, and deprives him of the highest happiness even in his lower nature. He only can have the highest animal enjoyment who remembers that he is more than an animal, and, honoring God, seeks to discover and obey His laws of healthful living.

One would think that the exercise of our reasoning powers would lead the soul to God, yet there is a very strong tendency to make this exercise end in itself. Many of the great thinkers of the world have been worshipers of their own powers of thinking, and we who can with difficulty follow their great thoughts are prone to worship our own intellectual culture and acquirements, and to claim a considerable amount of incense from our fellow men. Centering in itself — mak-

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 23

ing the intellectual life our highest good — debars the intellect from its highest attainment, which can only come from following the thoughts of God up to the knowledge of Himself.

How prone we are to make our loved ones idols ! Now the idolatry of loved ones does not consist in lov- ing them too much, but in not loving them enough. God gives us our home, " the dearest spot on earth," he gives us our loved ones and us to them and continues us to each other, and he makes us spiritual beings hav- ing the power of loving and being worthy of the love of each other. Loving each other truly we are learn- ing to love God. It is safe to say that the father who allows his child to so absorb his love that he has no thought of or love for God, does not love his child as an immortal spiritual being, nor does he regard himself as such. His idolatry degrades himself and his child as well as dishonors God.

Above the animal, the intellectual and the social nature in man, is the spiritual. To ignore this nature or dwarf it is to degrade man. To have this nature in healthful control and giving supreme allegiance to God, is to bring the whole man into obedience to this com- mandment; is to ennoble his social, inspire his intellec- tual, and elevate his animal natures; is to reach the noble manhood God designs for us. Lovers of personal dis- play, of fine dress and jewels, lovers of money, little or much, the grasping to have or to hold, lovers of our- selves in whatever direction — how wide the contrast between all such and lovers of God ! Alas, my broth- ers, to which of these contrasted classes are we most prone? See, too, the greatness of the sin. God, who

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made us, and continues us in being, and constantly blesses us, and who has a right to our service — God, avIio is the best of beings, who is worthy of our service — God, who commands and so greatly desires our serv- ice, is neglected, and some object which has no right, is not worthy and cannot appreciate our service, is ele- vated to his throne. And although we may not fully recognize the greatness of our sin, God knows what unworthy object has taken His rightful place in our affections. It is obvious likewise that the only possi- ble way of being freed from the degradation and misery of such sin is to have the proper relation of man to God fully re-established.

It is claimed by some that the Lord Jesus Christ has abolished the Ten Commandments. On the contrary Christ claims that he came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. The law can give no ability to keep it — that is not its province. It shows the rule of duty, awakens the con- science, holds before us God's lofty ideal, incites all the power within us to highest action ; but here its mission ends. It evokes all the power within, but confers no power from without. The same thing is true of the teaching and example of Christ. However high and noble they are, even perfect, they are limited in their effect by the capacity of the disciple. They incite, they draw out all the power within, but they give no ability to attain, they confer no power from without. Now Christ brings to us power from without, the power we need. lt The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Christ reveals and brings to us the true nature of God, the grace we need, for- giving sin and conferring new life. The teaching and

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 2$

example of Christ and the law they so clearly set forth should lead us to see our sinfulness and to seek forgive- ness and new life in Christ ; and this new life in Christ follows his teaching and example to the complete keep- ing of the law. That it obeys the law not reluctantly but heartily so much the more honors the law. The skilled carpenter loving his work does not have to be told how to hold his plane as does the obstinate appren- tice, but nevertheless he holds it according to the rule, and the more thoroughly since he does not regard it a hardship but a pleasure. Christ abolish this command- ment! and God no longer claim the highest place in man's thoughts and affections ! No, never ! Man may degrade himself, but God will never degrade him. Christ came bringing divine power to restore man from degradation to the high nobility of keeping this com- mandment. His glorious work is not to set it aside, but to reestablish it as the rule of life to all his follow- ers. Now we shall see that the remaining command- ments of the first table not merely follow this first one, but so flow from it and are so vitally related with it, that what is so obviously true of it is true also of them, and that Christ instead of abolishing any of them has glorified them all. May we so believe in Christ and so regard the law that it shall become more and more our delight to do the will of God !

Now as we separate from one another, let us each one take with us the impressive truth that God speaks in this commandment not only to the race of men, but to each member of the race ; that He selects each one us, and addresses us personally, " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." It is as if each one of us stood alone before God.

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any like- ness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the eaith. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them : for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me : aud showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love me and keep my commandments." — Ex. 20 : 4 — 6.

Inscriptions in hieroglyphics and pictures on the mon- uments and tombs of Egypt, recently discovered and deciphered, confirm the Bible history that the ancient Egyptians were idolaters. Surrounding nations were also idolaters. There was a strong tendency in the Israelites, by their own confession, to idolatry. This religious condition was not local and temporary, we may rather say it was constant and universal. History tells but one story, that in former times all the tribes and nations of men were idolaters, that they worshiped imaginary gods by means of images, and to a great extent the images themselves. This religious condition prevailing in former times prevails as well to-day. With the exception of three large classes our fellow men have been in all the past and are to-day idolaters.

How can this strong tendency to idolatry be ex- plained? One class of thinkers, rejecting the Bible account, say that man's original condition was dense ignorance, and that the various systems of idolatry are his groping after the idea of God, until at length he reaches the idea of a supreme spiritual Being. Some 26

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 2J

of these thinkers say there is such a Being, whom man has at length discovered : others hold that there is no such Being, that man has only obtained by all his feeble groping an idea. These evolution thinkers have evolved their theories out of their own brains without the slightest basis of fact. There is no evidence that such a process is going on among the heathen nations to-day. Some of these nations are highly gifted intel- lectually, and on this theory ought to have come to the worship of one God long before this. Neither is there any evidence of any people ever having lifted themselves out of idolatry. Nations have grafted other systems on to their own, their intellectual leaders have become skeptical with regard to the whole matter, here and there an individual has seemed to grasp the idea of one God, but no large class of men — certainly no nation — has ever cast aside idolatry for the worship of one God. The three large classes of men, some embracing nations, who in the past and now worship one God without the use of images, the Jews, the Christians, and the Mohammedans, all trace this distinguishing trait to these Ten Commandments. This commandment shows no trace of feeling its way to the true God and grad- ually casting off features of idolatry, but existing in that early age of dense idolatry it with the utmost pre- cision prohibits the whole system. The worship of the one God is not therefore a growth from within, but a lifting up from without ; not an evolution from idolatry, but a revelation from heaven.

The only other conceivable explanation of the uni- versal tendency of the race to idolatry is that of the Bible. It teaches that idolatry is the willful departure

28 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

of a sinful race from the worship and knowledge of the true God ; that having the knowledge of the true God from nature they refused to honor him, but changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds and four- footed beasts and creeping things ; they refused to retain God in their knowledge and made this base ex- change. The tendency reveals the effort of the sinful heart to get rid of the moral excellencies of a spiritual God. Men were held in restraint by the thought of a spiritual Being infinitely above the appetites and passions of a sensual life, so they put him out of their minds. They could not banish the thought of the divine power, nor was there much reason for such an effort, but they succeeded largely in banishing the thought of the divine holiness. The gods they worshiped had like appetites and passions with themselves. The fleshly nature in man could degrade the spiritual but one degree further, compel it to bow down to objects of sense, to images. The edu- cated among idolaters claim that they do not worship the image or thing but the being or power dwelling in the thing or represented by the image, but the mass of the people worship the image itself. While idolatry thus expresses the moral condition of the people, and confirms it, the various systems also show the intel- lectual endowment of the different nations. In some of these systems there are distinct traces of the idea of a Supreme Being, though he is not perfect, nor is the highest worship given to him ; but these traces grow faint in other systems, showing greater intellectual and moral degradation. But the spiritual in man still

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 29

exists. It is not destroyed by sin, only degraded. It cannot get rid of the truth inwrought in its nature, u There is a God whom I must worship." The fleshly nature ma}^ say, " Well, then worship through me, and in the way I dictate," but can go no further. Man is a spiritual being, he has gods of some kind, the most degraded people still have their idols : he is a moral being, the effort to throw off restraint shows it. The commingling voices of the tribes and nations of men in all ages speak the clear and distinct confession, " There is a God," though it can be heard only as an undertone to the tumultuous and sullen roar of the race, " We will not have the true God to reign over us."

That idolatry arises from the sinful nature of man, explains the fact also that those people who have had a revelation of the true God long continued to them have constantly manifested a tendency to fall back into it. The Israelites corrupted themselves with idolatry at the foot of Mount Sinai, and after they were settled in their own land they frequently fell into the worship of the idols of the neighboring nations. The Christian Church also showed the same tendency very early in her history. She brought images and pictures to orna- ment her church buildings, to instruct the ignorant, and to incite the devout spirit in the worship of the true God. The images of Christ and the Apostles, of the Virgin Mary and the Saints, are now so used in the Roman Catholic Church. But while this use of the images may be claimed by the intelligent and by the councils of the Church, and while the worship given to the Saints may in their view and practice be far inferior to that given to God, still this practice so explained is

30 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

a decided drift perilously near to the verge of idolatry, and it is to be feared that large numbers of the less intelligent and devout have gone over the verge and that the constant tendency is in that direction.

This commandment is expressed in the prohibitory form. We have seen the decided tendency in fallen human nature it is designed to check. Now turn to the positive command. We find it expressed clearly and concisely by our Savior : " God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." Prohibiting bodily prostration to a visible idol, it commands spiritual worship of the invisible God. Our old English word, " worship," brings out the idea of the spirit's attitude to God strongly and beautifully. It is a combination of the words "worth" and "ship" or " shape." Man, a spiritual being, is to be brought into a shape worthy of God, the Spirit. Two highly important truths are embraced in this statement. The first is that the spirit in man is to be in a shape worthy of God. Tins can only be when it is in full harmony with God, when it possesses moral likeness to him. The second is that the whole man is to be in a shape worthy of God, that his spirit possessing moral likeness to God is to be in full and constant command of the whole man. The man is not to be ruled by his animal nature, nor by his intellectual nature, nor even by his social and domestic nature, but by his spiritual nature : and this enthroned spiritual nature is to shine in the likeness to God.

Surety here is a great commandment. It describes the nature of man as coming pure from the Creator's hand, and as the Redeemer designs to restore it. It

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 31

shows the noble ideal God still holds before man and the high happiness he desires for him, when all his varied powers shall be in full and harmonious exercise in the worship of himself, a spirit possessing the highest moral excellence. We are commanded to ever hold aloft the thought of God in our minds ; infinitely above all the things our senses behold, which are the creations of his power. He exists, a pure spirit, of absolutely perfect character. We are to so reverence, adore and love Him that we give Him the highest honor possible from created spirits, that of growing like Him in char- acter. We are to give Him this worship so thoroughly that all our lower powers are enlisted in it and con- stantly under its control and so become spiritually ennobled. The man in shape worthy of God ; this is the highest " fitness of things " among the powers within the man, his highest blessedness, his noblest being, and this God requires of us. It is obvious that the ten- dency to have the fleshly nature assume the ascendency over the spiritual, is not confined to heathen lands. To be inconstant in the worship of God, confining our attempted adoration of Him to stated times, to be con- tented with the formal acts of his worship, and to neg- lect His worship altogether, are some of the ways in which it manifests itself.

The commandment is of such vital importance, and the tendency to transgress it is so strong, that God has added to it a most solemn appeal which demands our careful attention. God declares himself a jealous God. We are to leave out of consideration all low features frequently associated with human jealousy — there can be no envy, nor unjust suspicion, nor selfishness, nor

32 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

anything unworthy in the jealousy of God. A father has with great love and care trained his children in virtue, and a corrupt and fascinating youth seeks com- panionship with them. The father guards his children with jealousy against such influence. A husband loves his wife, and a corrupt and fascinating man seeks her societ}\ The husband guards with jealous care the wife he loves. Not only, or even mainly does the father, or husband, think of his own honor, but mainly of the welfare of dear ones. Jealousy seeks to guard the children and the wife from degradation and ruin. So God, the great Father, the loving Husband of his peo- ple, guards not his own honor only, but therein and mainly the welfare of those he loves against a fascinat- ing corruption which would degrade and ruin them. " I the Lord thy God am a jealous God."

This feature of his character is seen in his visiting punishment for disobedience and rewards for obe- dience through successive generations. The appeal is to one of the strongest and noblest emotions in man, his love for his children. Fathers, guard against the tendency to idolatry ! It will degrade you not only, but your children. Fathers, bring yourselves into a shape worthy of God! Worship Him in spirit and in truth ! It will ennoble you not only, but your children. Under the government of God the race of man exists in successive generations, and one generation receives from those that have passed not merely its being, but largely its character and conditions. The character is not received, however, to such a degree as to interfere with responsibility nor to preclude great changes, nor are the conditions fixed. Each generation may reject

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 33

the evil and retain the good of its inheritance, may advance to greater good, and may then transmit its improved character and conditions to its successor. Under this feature of the divine government the race of man is distinguished from animals and may make progress. The beaver builds his dam as at the first, so the bee builds the cell for honey ; both are marvels of construction, but no progress, no improvement is ever made. While if our fathers of but two generations back should return and visit our harvest fields and barns, astonishment at new methods of gathering and storing harvests would fill their minds, an astonishment which would vastly increase as they learned of railroads and steamships, of telegraph and telephone. The gen- eration to-day enjoys the inheritance of liberty and free government won by our fathers on the battle-fields of the Revolution. The generation just taking the lead in the nation's life rejoices in a united and prosperous country, the inheritance which the generation fast pass- ing away secured by toil and heroic self-sacrifice. Should great dangers threaten us now, what would be a strong appeal to patriotism ? Let us defend the inheritance we have received from heroic fathers and transmit it unimpaired and greatly improved to our children — an appeal against low and selfish ease to noble manhood in a virtuous cause. This is the appeal of this commandment on the highest plane of man's well-being.

This feature of the divine government embraces indi- viduals as well as great classes of men, and should be very solemnly considered by each one of us. A man chooses a vicious life. He therein impairs his constitution, 3

34 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

ruins his reputation and squanders his property. The awful consequences of his sin do not end with himself. The wife and mother, while she shares them to some extent, may be of reverse character and so counteract largely the evil among the children. But she may be weak, or possibly of the same character. The strong tendency will be for the children to have the same vicious character, the impaired constitution, certainly the ruined reputation and the poverty. Certainly if there remains a spark of love in that man's heart for his wife and children, the appeal of this law is that he should reconsider his choice of a vicious life. There seem to be three great principles in steady action in the race and among individuals : the principle of heredity, of physi- cal and mental and moral qualities of parents — the prin- ciple of influence, by the example and teaching accord- ing to the character of the parents — and the principle of in- heritance of the conditions and surroundings made by the parents in the society where they dwell. Whether these great principles shall work disastrously or benefically, is for us to choose. Consider the two classes described in the commandment : " Them that hate me." Sin is no light thing. In its essence it is hatred of God, and so has terrible consequences. " Them that love me and keep my commandments." Love him who has highest excellence. Keep his commandments which are good and lead to noble well-being. It is for us to choose, and we choose not only for ourselves, but largely for our children.

Look carefully now at a very important feature of the appeal which is not brought out clearly in our English translation. He visits iniquity "unto the third and

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 35

fourth " and shows mercy u unto the thousandth," the commandment reads. Our translators have supplied the word " generation " in italics to the first numeral, and evidently they were right in doing so, but they should have supplied for the same reasons the same word to the second numeral : " He visits iniquity unto the third and fourth generation" " He shows mercy unto the thousandth generation:' The third and fourth show an indefinite number, the thousandth is also an indefi- nite number, but it is a much larger number. The prin- ciple of the divine government has a very decided lean- ing to the side of mercy.

Now perhaps you will say : " I see that this feature of the divine government works with absolute imparti- ality, with strict justice, but I can see no indication of its leaning to the side of mercy." Then look again and more closely at the race and the individual. Look at the individual first. A child inherits an impaired con- stitution. Two features of the divine government respond at once. First, the restorative forces within the child, the recuperative powers of man's nature ; and second, the restorative forces without, the whole realm of remedies and skill awakened in others in their appli- cation. The child of ignorant parents is ignorant. Two features here also are on the side of mercy. The innate thirst of the mind for knowledge, present though weak in the child ; and the intelligence of the community in which the child lives, the atmosphere of enlightenment which he must breathe while he lives. The child of irreligious parents is irreligious. Here, too, there are two principles on the side of mercy. However corrupt he may be there is something in the soul of the child

36 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

at unrest for God which may be touched into power ; and the surrounding Christianity — the Christ who has loved and died to save — lives in many believing hearts through whom he seeks 10 save the child.

Now, concerning the race it may be said that the limit of degradation seems to be fixed, but the limit of progress cannot be even imagined. How far man will advance in the control and use of the powers of nature, we who witness to-day the stupendous achievements of Chris- tian civilization will not even dare to conjecture. And how far man will be lifted up, in the knowledge and fel- lowship of God, the Bible tells us that we cannot even imagine. In the whole race also the two principles we have seen working in individuals on the side of mercy exist. However corrupted in idolatry men may become, however great the ascendency of the flesh over the spirit in man, the spirit still exists and in its very nature cannot be satisfied until it finds and lays hold upon the living God. There is something within men that can- not be satisfied with idolatry, or with sensual corrup- tion, something that may be touched into strong and glorious life. And there is something to touch it. God makes the appeal of his infinite love in Jesus Christ, who has at infinite cost taken away sin and brought in new life to all who receive him. And we who receive him, as he lives in us, will touch all the dark souls we can reach with his light and life. Our fathers were idol- ators under the gloomy German forests and on the stormy shores of England. Their spirits were touched by the love of God in Christ and they turned from idols to the worship of the true God. We have received from them the elevation and happiness of our. Christian land. Let

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 37

us cherish and transmit to our children the glorious inheritance, and let us send the light into the whole earth. Let us, receiving forgiveness and new life in our Savior, bring our whole being into a shape worthy of God in moral likeness. This will be for the highest wel- fare of our own souls, of our children, of our land, and of the world.

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.

" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh bis name in vain." — Ex. 20 : 7

The law of Gocl is designed to exercise control over the whole man. It would be very imperfect if it did not govern his speech. By speech man expresses the condition of his mind and heart, and such expression generally tends to strengthen that condition. By speech he influences his fellow man. The command- ments not merely follow one the other, but are closely related with each other. One flows from the other and leads on to the next until we see the whole nature of man under the reign of one law. The first precept commands us to have the true God alone for our God. The second precept commands us to worship the true God who is a spirit in spirit and in truth. These two commands tell us how we ought to think and feel to- ward God. If there was but one individual man in existence, and he was speechless, these commands would describe his nature and make plain his duty. It would be right for him to hold God supreme, and to have his spirit in a shape worthy of God in moral likeness and in control of all his powers. Now the third command shows man at the head of the material creation with the crowning glory of intelligent speech, and as a social being possessing the power of speech as the highest instrument of his social nature. God reveals himself to

38

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him by word, by name, as to a speaking being, making language a bond of union between Him and man. God commands him to use this great gift in his worship, in honoring Him.

The tongue is the glory of man, and the glory of the tongue is to voice the praises of God. All nature praises God as it obeys his laws. The sun and the stars in their courses praise Him in notes of light— music our dull ears may not hear. The earth with her myriad voices praises Him ; the deep-toned ocean, the quiet music of the streams, the gentle notes of the winds, the storms with thunder peals, unite in a grand hymn of praise ; but it is unintelligent. The birds with sweet songs greet the morning light, and all the creatures of God lift up their voices to Him ; but this praise of animate creation lacks intelligence. Man stands at the head of creation to take up its many notes of praise and give them intelligent utterance. He stands thus not as a single individual, a great High Priest, but as a race whose myriad voices are to join and mingle in a vast chorus of intelligent and harmonious praise. We are to speak of Him and to Him with adoration. He is our Creator, Preserver, Governor and Judge. We are to speak of Him and to Him with love and praise. Our lips should quiver with emotion when we speak of Him who is our Father, and our Savior. We are to speak to Him in His worship, and of Him to each other onty in such a way as shall promote His worship in our own hearts and in the hearts of others. These three commands show God's ideal of man unfolding as they advance. Man is to give his allegience to God alone, is to be in character worthy of God, and this character is to ex-

40 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

press itself in such speech as shall praise God, confirm itself and foster the same character among one's fellows.

The command is in the prohibition form. Man has broken this law, and is prone to break it. His voice is silent often when it should be praising God. Alas ! it is often used to speak lightly of God. All irreverent or vain use of God's name is forbidden.

A name is that word which calls to mind the thing or person named. The name " stone " sets apart a certain kind of thing from all other things. When we use it or hear it we do not think of a tree or of anything else but that single kind of thing. So the name " man " calls to mind a particular kind of being, and no other. So the name of an individual calls to mind a person separate from all others. The name of God therefore is that word or those descriptive words which call to mind the Being named. So I cannot speak the name of God without referring directly to the person who bears it ; and if others hear me I bring before their thought that one person, and no other. Hence the Bible usage is that the name of God equals Himself — to call upon the name of the Lord is to call upon the Lord.

One vain use of God's name is calling Him to bear witness to a falsehood; and a reverent use of His name is calling Him to witness to the truth in an important matter. Oaths on proper occasions are commanded in the Scripture and sanctioned by the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who when put under oath by the High Priest declared that he was the Son of God. Oaths are demanded in courts of law, that the witness will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 4 1

truth. He calls upon God who knows the truth and who hears what he says to judge him as he speaks. He declares that he testifies not merely before the human court, but before the great Judge of all. If he lies he lies not only to man but to God. It is an act therefore of the greatest solemnity. The oath should be administered reverently. I have often heard the clerk of the court run over the form hastily and slightingly as if it was of no consequence, a meaningless ceremony. Such con- duct is insulting to God and calculated to defeat the aims of justice. However administered when we are placed under oath we should feel all the solemnity of an act of worship of God. Oaths are often required by law in connection with a promise, as of an officer enter- ing upon his office. The officer promises to faithfully discharge the duties of his office, and then calls upon God who will witness every act of his life to be the Judge of his faithfulness.

An appeal to God to bear witness to the truth of our declarations and to the faithful performance of our promises may be made not only when required by law but when justified by the importance of the case. But of this we should be very cautious. The matter should be of such great importance to the glory of God and to the welfare of man, that the appeal to God is made an act of solemn worship. Of course the promise must be for something lawful. A man making a promise con- firmed by an oath to do something wrong, is in no way bound to do that thing, for the simple reason that no man can bring himself under an obligation to do wrong. The making of the promise was wrong and calls for repentance; the taking of an oath upon such a promise,

4-

THE TEX COM MAXDMEXTS .

important as it may be, even if it extends to the half of l's kingdom, is wrong, and calls for repentance. It is taking God's name in vain to ask Him to witness our wrong doing. It is not likely that the importance of a private matter will ever make it our duty to appeal to God, but we are at any time liable to be called as witnesses in courts of law, 01 to serve on juries, or in some public office. We should have clear views of the oaths we may be required to take. They are solemn acts wherein we appeal to God to hold us to a strict account. We call upon Him to witness that we will be truthful and faithful, and to judge us according to our action in His sight.

While it is clear that the taking of the name of God in vain applies to false swearing in important matters, it is as clear that it ar plies to the whole awful field of pro- fanity— the trivial, rash, and cursing use of the name of God in ordinary conversation, which is the reverse of honoring God in our speech. The minister probably hears less swearing than any man in the community. Profane persons seem to have more respect for him than they have for God. and if they venture on an oath it is with bated breath ; and yet the minister hears enough of it to know that the sin is terribly prevalent even in this Christian community. A man uses the name of God as an exclamation of surprise at some trivial thing or assertion of another, or to sustain some unimportant statement of his own. Generally he is a frequenter of rum-shops; sometimes he is otherwise respectable. Sometimes a story is dull and the story-teller seasons it with a few oaths, or some joke is without point and so a curse is used to awaken a laugh. Man calls God to

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 43

make sport for him. A man has become accustomed to exaggerate or to speak falsely, and conscious that others hesitate to believe him he continually calls upon the truth-loving God to witness to his lies. Sometimes one becomes heated in argument or angry under contradic- tion or in a quarrel, and he calls upon God to curse him if he is not right, or in his anger he calls upon God to curse the one who irritates him. Sometimes he so loses control of himself that curses pour out of his lips as dense smoke out of a chimney.

But the swearer tries to excuse himself: "I did not mean it. I was only in fun." There are some things not the proper subjects of fun. Surely a man ought not to make fun of God, or of invoking the wrath of God upon himself or others. But the swearer says : " It is a relief for me to swear. It cools off my heated spirits." Often it is the reverse, added fuel to the flame, not only to himself but to others, especially those he curses. But if it is a relief, what is it a relief of? It is a relief to the storm-cloud to throw out its light- nings, because it is over-charged with electricity. So it is a relief for you to throw out your cursing because you are over-charged with cursing. Your heart is so full of hatred that when stirred in anger it overflows in curses. My brother, you had far better bring such a heart to God with a strong cry for mercy. Again the swearer says : " I know it is wrong, but it is a habit I have fallen into to such an extent that I often swear without know- ing it." Do you not see that habit does not excuse but rather aggravates the offense? No one can become wicked at once. Your habit only shows how often you have sinned, how far you have gone down in this kind

44 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

of wickedness. Again the swearer says : " I may as well say it as to think it." You should not think an oath or curse. But it is worse to speak it. The letter of the law forbids the word, and so checks the evil in the heart, and at any rate prevents its injuring others. You gain inward control by outward control. Come toward the spirit of the law, checking the thought by obeying the letter. You keep yourself also from being a curse. The swearer is a moral blight in a community, his oath-speaking is a spreading infection, he is himself a curse to others. Few, if any, ever began swearing but from imitation. Profanity is a contagion in the sound waves of the air. By checking the oath at the lips you prevent the spread of the evil.

We should be on our guard against the insidious beginnings of this sin. There are b}MVords we are apt to use thoughtlessly, which are on the verge of swear- ing, are apt to lead us over it, and certainly influence others, especially the young, in that direction. The words "goodness," "gracious," "mercy," are often used as by-words. Now goodness, grace, and mercy, while attributes of God, are also qualities found in man. Neither the one using them nor the one hearing them may have the thought of God brought to mind, and so we cannot say that their careless use is taking the name of God in vain, and we certainly should not burden our consciences unnecessarily. Our reverence for God should so fill our souls that our lips should have but one message, that of reverence, and should instinctively avoid the slighting use of any word which might bring Him irreverently to mind.

Our Savior teaches us that we are not to swear at

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 45

all in our ordinary conversation, either by the name of God, or by any person or thing, for all are related to Him. He teaches us that our statements should be always in accordance with the exact truth, that each one of his disciples should have a character of such pure truthfulness that his word needed no affirmation. "But can I not use by-words at all?" you say. Your speech would have more strength and elegance without them, would be more acceptable in good society, and what is of far greater importance, would be more pleasing to God.

We should also have such reverence and love for our God that we could not bear to hear others take his name in vain. If any one -should in your presence speak slightingly or unkindly or insultingly of your father, mother, husband, wife or friend, you would feel hurt and your feeling would probably be so deep that you would show him in some way, without sharing his im- politeness, that you valued highly the one he dishon- ored. Our love for God should lead us to cherish his honor to the extent of our influence.

This commandment is distinguished from all the others by having a threat connected with it. The former command had an appeal. This has a menace. The Judge by whose laws and sentences our eternal state is to be fixed, from whose sentence there can be no appeal, says He will not hold guiltless — a strong way of declaring He will pronounce guilty— the one who takes his name in vain. The swearer is apt to think his offence a slight one. God says He regards it a grievous one. The swearer thinks God will not punish the use of a few tri- fling words. This is only another instance of the sinner

46 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

underestimating the enormity of his sin. God declares He will punish the guilty. My brother, my sister, if you ever swear you should take warning from this solemn threatening of God.

What is the reason that you swear ? Answer this question faithfully and you may see some little of the greatness of your sin, may confess that God is right in His estimate of it. You gain nothing by it, but lose much. Swearing is not regarded by men as a mark of intellect, or learning, or truthfulness, or refinement, or honor, but very generally the reverse. Xor are you seeking future good. You are preparing yourself for some place and for some companionship in the future. But you are not preparing yourself for heaven, for that is the place of adoration of God. Swearing, so far as it can, is preparing you for hell, the place of blasphemy. There must be some strong reason which leads you to swear in spite of such loss, present and future. You know right well that swearing demoralizes the com- munity. It directly opposes religion, which is honoring God, for it dishonors him. It directly opposes respect for law, faithfulness in office, the administration of jus- tice, undermining respect for God and the sanctity of an oath. And though it is so demoralizing to the best interests of the community, you still swear. There must be some strong reason controlling you. There is noth- ing noble about it. On the contrary, it is mean and cowardly to say behind one's back what we dare not say to his face. Would you swear if you were conscious of God's presence and holiness, swear to his face ? You know also that it is a vulgar practice. A gentleman is always considerate of the feelings of others. But you

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 47

despise the feelings of those who honor God when you use His name in vain. There must be some strong rea- son leading you to this vulgar, cowardly practice. You know also that the wickedness of an act depends largely upon the character of the person against whom it is committed. You contemn God's authority and insult his person. The name which all heaven adores, which all the universe praises, which all hell fears, you despise. Now, my dear friend, faithfully bring forth and examine the cause of this wicked act. Is it any other than this, " The wickedness of my heart is so great that it flows over my lips." God, the Holy One — your Creator, Pre- server and Judge— you hold in contempt, and out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh. Jesus Christ, the loving Savior, suffered and died for sinners, and offers you forgiveness and his gracious help and love. You reject him not only— that were bad enough — but you despise him so much that your lips tell the feel- ing of your heart. We cannot sufficiently estimate the extreme wickedness of profanity. Let me solemnly charge all profane persons to consider this guilt in God's sight according to this commandment, and to repent and seek forgiveness in Christ, the forgiveness you so greatly need, and without which you must be forever lost.

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.

" Remember the Sabbalh day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath" of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor th}- cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."— Ex. 20: 8—11.

Three things at once arouse our attention. The open- ing word, k- Remember," suggests that we are specially liable to forget this commandment. The descending into particulars intimates the possibility of some trying to keep the law themselves, while they allow their work in the hands of others to go on. The giving a reason for the law, found in this instance alone, foretells a ten- dency to set aside this commandment and provides against it. Modern times were evidently within the vision of the Law-giver on Sinai.

We can easily see what this commandment, if obeyed, would do for our busy lives. It would give us needed rest and spiritual uplift. The world is toiling for daily bread, on farm and in factory, in shop and store and office, day after day, from early morn until the shades of night close over the scene. Then comes the dawn of the Sabbath. Rest and quiet cover the country and the town. Soon the church bells fill the air with their solemn tones. Parents and children go together to the house of God for praise and meditation and prayer. The home is filled with hallowed joy as the hours roll 48

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 49

on, and the still evening crowns the day with peace. Look ! the outstretched hands of Christ are bestowing a benediction on the nations. Listen ! through the blessed stillness come his words : " The Sabbath was made for man."

That man in our day and land is in danger of losing the Sabbath which God made for him, has already lost much of the spiritual uplift and is fast losing much of the needed rest of the day, is due entirely to his dis- obedience of this commandment. Very important it is for him to return to first principles and base his observ- ance of the day upon the right foundation, the authority of God. Some confusion of mind exists regarding this commandment, since there were also enactments in the civil and ceremonial laws of the Jews concerning the observance of the Sabbath, and from this condition also arose many traditional laws which made the day a burden. These civil and ceremonial laws have no bind- ing power upon us, and the traditional laws never had any rightful power upon any one. Our Savior swept the traditional away by his word and the others by his life and death, only to bring into greater clearness the commandment of the moral law by his saying, " The Sabbath was made for man."

This we see in the commandment itself as we reflect upon the reason God gives for the law. This shows that the commandment is not local and temporary, is not ceremonial, but is universal and perpetual ; that the holy rest day is God's gift to man. It manifests the nature of the Giver. It meets the needs of the nature of man and defines his nature. God rested—therefore man should rest. The Sabbath is a

50 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

memorial of creation, and of much more. It is a memorial of God's resting from the work of creation, and it in that fact shows a principle which is in God's nature not only, but also in man's. Whether we regard the days of creation as of twenty-four hours each, or rather as vast periods of time — the rest day of God as extending over the present reign of life upon the earth — the reason is the same. God rested and therein blessed and hallowed the Sabbath day for man.

Meditate as we may, we will not be able to exhaust the grand truth carried in the bosom of this command- ment— God is a Spirit. He manifested his character, his wisdom, power and goodness in the work of creation. These attributes belong to him before, during, and after his work. As He rests from His work the truth is made prominent — God the spirit is separate from and above His work. So with man. Work is not sinful, but noble. The commandment calls him to labor. Man's character should manifest itself in his work, his truthfulness and goodness. His spiritual nature should be noble and enter into his work. He, too, is a spirit, separate from and above his work.

This is a truth man greatly needs to keep in mind. We have to work so much for our daily bread, and sometimes our work becomes so fascinating and profit- able, and sometimes so burdensome and discouraging, that it absorbs us. Then God's voice comes to us with authority. We are beings capable of hearing and un- derstanding His commands. He addresses us as spirits separate from and above our work, calls us to lay our work aside and hold communion with Him. The Hebrew sitting with crossed hands in the door of his

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 51

tent, looking over the camp at rest and the desert beyond, was forced to think of his relation to the Holy One who had freed him from Egypt and was leading him through the desert to the promised land. In the rush of our modern life the need is not less that man should at times stop his work lest he come to think that the work is part, even the whole of himself. He strains every nerve to improve his farm, to pay off the mort- gage, to increase his income, to accumulate wealth. God calls him to stop and think, " What am I ? Where am I going ? What am I to be when this is all over?" What mole hills are mortgage, and farm, and wealth ! You are a spirit, separate from and above your work. Rest awhile and commune with me and you will be ennobled for the work that remains for you on the earth. This reason for the law takes hold of the nature of God and of the nature of man and binds them together with the golden clasp of the Sabbath.

We see also that this commandment not merely follows but carries on the requirement of the Third Commandment. Man is to reverence God with his speech, as a social being, among his fellows. The highest reverence to be given in this way must be in the public worship of God. In order to this men must agree to assemble at certain times, which should occur with suitable frequency. Without such an arrangement the public worship of God must necessarily cease hi any community, and upon the whole earth. God meets this need of man and sets apart a suitable portion of time both for individual spiritual culture, and for the social public worship of Himself. If we ask why He should have set apart one seventh rather than

" - :e: : . : : :.:.'" :::.■:::■:::: :.. :: i? :. ? :^i ::er.: ....— er '■ .: - — r _ :::::.:- i:::^:-. ^_.i G . .1 > :Lr ".. 7-: .-,:: .1 rightful judge of what portion is best. Those who observe it do not Ml behind in the world's work, rather in it. In heathen lands toil is unin- terrupted: the rest day prevails among the most enlightened, energetic and wealthy nations.

Our Savior, whom we recognize as Lord of the Sab-

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:- :•-: .e :c^cr-ei fr:zi :'- 1;«: z:,j ;: :ie week

:he ire: -.....- if '.:_. .: :•: iz'l :he L: :■.'/? Ie This he did by rising from the dead on that day,

_/t.:__- :: Hi= ii?.::.Tle= ::i "1:.: :.i;r.vf:i.O .wi :--::.:^\. lis Ares.le? in :ieir ■.:-,. -e :: :h: 1: :".. ■- When :he Aies.lf rVil r_ :e he- ^liih-rhiz"-" :: :he 5-h; :i:L he - - :- : v.- Se f.i:h .. " "h: :h :he Jew-V_ :">.: .es z'zz :he~ : zh: :: £-\ in ;. .'..h:::_ :•: :_: 1 : : .' i Diiv. and to keep it with all the restri etaons monial law. The day comes to us therefore on the ii:h:ri; ■ :: >:;h hi= ..:: :■: .:- wi:h i_T ihheh. v;iee as a memorial of the victory of our Savior over sin and death.

The observance of the day is to be based therefore upon the authority of God in this commandment. To :he :er:her :-.ie-:::~. K;— h."-,h " e :h— :vr :he '.at : the commandment gives clear general directions, while :: ih:~s zre:-: li.errj :: ;.:.e..:::.: *!_■:! :<:_-:ie:::e :n : :.::::e. .: 2: ;■".::: .:: :?.

We are very plainly directed to observe it as a rest day. The word - Sabbath *' is simply the Hebrew word ziri:.::: " :es: : ?:e::e.I :•: '.:: i.^z"*Zr. We e:e : :-z.-zz.-z :ne R— : 1.-; ~'T<~- :.:-:: .1. hi ; er " ;:k

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 53

in six days. We are not to do any work in the Rest Day. Whatever more the day may be grows out of the primal element of rest. Natural science stands by Revelation in bearing witness to the beneficence of this provision. It affirms from the observation of facts that man needs one day's rest in seven, that physical deteri- oration, and mental as well, and shortening of life, result from the disobedience of this law. The employ- ers of labor are specially commanded not only to rest themselves, but to have those they employ rest also. It is quite obvious that this applies not only to individuals but also to companies and corporations. It is quite obvious also that it not only gives the employed the right to rest if they choose, a priceless right, but it commands them to exercise it — to rest.

We all recognize that State laws have neither right nor power to force men to be religious — a truth men have been slow to learn — but clearly taught by God in his word, and in the experience of the race. For other reasons it is clearly within the province of State laws to command the observance of the Rest Day. For in the first place, a wide observation proves that such a day is necessary for the welfare of all the people. The God- given right of the Rest Day is written in the nature of man as well as in the commandments, and the State should recognize and secure it. In the next place, a large proportion of the citizens of the State, and the larger the better for the State, deem it wrong to work on the Rest Day. Their right of conscience should be protected. In the last place, those devoting the day to a religious use should not be hindered therefrom, nor disturbed therein. The State should to that extent

54 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

encourage the religious observance of the day. Rut whatever the State laws may enact or fail to enact our obligation to God is not affected by them, they cannot excuse us from our duty to Him. The State allows railroad corporations to force their large companies of men to work on the Rest Day, but that does not make it right for us to begin or continue our journey on that day. and the directors of these railways are not excused by the State laws from their responsibility to God.

But we are not only directed to remember the Rest Day, but to remember to keep it holy. God not only rested, but he hallowed the day, and commands us to keep it holy, a day set apart for his worship. Here also is a very clear general direction, while great liberty is allowed in particular application. For obseiwe, God does not say in the commandment how we shall keep the day holy. He leaves that to the judgment and con- science of each one. Each one is to have the design to keep the day holy, and to make such rules for himself as seem best adapted to that end. But he is to be care- ful that he does not try to force these rules upon others or to judge them thereby. That was the spirit of the Pharisee in the traditions which Christ rebuked and set aside, and we should guard against cherishing the same spirit.

There are several questions prominent with us which should be solved by this principle. What shall I read on the Holy Day and commend to my children? That which tends to keep the day holy, to lift up your spirit and the spirits of your children into fellowship with God, and only that. The question of Sunday news- papers as it concerns us is not the question of printing

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 55

and distributing the papers, (it is easy to condemn others,) but of our reading them. Our sin is not in the supply but in the demand, and in the fact that the demand is the cause of the supply and regulates it. Shall I visit my friends on the Holy Day and invite them to visit me ? Will such visiting tend to keep the day holy in your family, and in theirs, and in the com- munity as your example has influence ? Will it tend to lift up your spirit and the spirits of others into fellow- ship with God? The observance of the Holy Day in private and in the family is the difficult part of the duty, but a very important part. Whatever freedom there may be from strict rules, however large the appeal to the individual conscience, even of young children, if the design of the day is kept clearly in view with earn- est purpose of attaining it, the spirit of obedience to the commandment will fill heart and home with the deep and purifying j >y of the Lord's Day.

We have already seen that the day is set apart and hallowed to the social public worship of God. The maintaining of such worship by our personal attendance upon it is obviously required in the commandment to keep the day holy. The public prayer and praise and meditation upon the noblest truths will bring our spirits into fellowship with God. The Sabbath was made for man, and the highest possible benefit we can receive from it is to have our spirits brought into a shape worthy of God.

There are many perplexing features of the observ- ance of the Lord's Day in our modern civilization which God's people who lived before the age of steam and iron never dreamed of. Our Savior's teaching that

56 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

works of necessity and of mercy are not violations of the holy rest day should be applied to these perplexities ; and should be applied in the spirit he inculcated of judging ourselves rather than others. Keeping Tip the fires of an ocean steamship and of an iron furnace are plain cases of necessity. Perhaps there are other cases in your homes which are not so plain, of which you must be the judges. The running of a milk train to New York and your shipping milk by that train comes under the head of works of mercy if you do it to min- ister to the well-being of men, women and little chil- dren in the crowded city ; but it is a violation of the law if done simply to make money. What is your intention, a holy or a sordid one ? Judge yourselves faithfully, but do not judge your neighbor.

There is a growing tendency to make the day one of mere amusement, and a strong plea is made for those who toil through the week on such poor wages that their only home is a crowded room or two in a tene- ment house, to give them a chance to see the ocean and the green fields. Perhaps a more Christian solution of the grave problem would be better wages and better homes, rather than facilities for pleasures which diminish already scant earnings and give but a poor return — - obedience to the eighth commandment rather than vio- lation of the fourth. The amusement of pleasure resorts does not give the rest from labor nor does it yield the spiritual uplift which God designs. It is generally accompanied by fatigue and in many cases by dissipation. . It is safe to say that God is a truer and wiser friend of laboring men than are the proprietors of railways and pleasure resorts, and his gift of a holy

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 57

rest day they will find a rich blessing if they use it as he directs. But surely if the pleasure-seeking of the poor on God's holy day cannot be justified, the pleasure- seeking of the rich must be utterly condemned.

In order that we may have clear views on this com- mandment let us not fail to call things by their right names. This commandment is more than the setting forth of a need of our nature, more than advice for our own good. It is a command of God. Breaking the Sabbath is therefore more than an error, more than a mistake. It is a sin. It is a sin because it contemns the authority of God, and that is the essence of all sin. God commands us to remember his rest day, to keep it holy. If we have no design to keep it holy, or make no effort to do so, we set aside the authority of God as of no account to us. It is a sin further against the love of God shining in this commandment. As a father invites his children home to a family gathering because he loves to have them in his presence, so God would have us, His children, come to Him on the Sabbath day because He loves us. If we have no desire to come or make no effort to do so we set aside the love of God as of no account to us. It is a sin further against our .higher nature. God calls us to remember our spiritual nature and to guard against degrading ourselves to mere sensual beings. He places the Sabbath as a fence upon the edge of a precipice. We deliberately break down the fence in order that we may throw ourselves down into the sensualism of constant work or unhal- lowed pleasure. Call Sabbath-breaking by the right name — it is a sin.

We are to keep the rest day holy because God com-

58 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

mantis it, out of our deep regard for the authority of God. Our design is to keep it holy and we are to make every earnest effort our judgment and conscience commend to the accomplishment of that design. Here, as everywhere, in keeping God's commandments there is great reward. There is great blessedness that comes from keeping the rest day holy to the one keeping it so, and to his fellow men.

Consider the blessings to our fellow men. The holy or religious observance of the day bestows the rest day upon mankind. The civil rest day is but the shadow of God's holy day, a grateful shadow, as of a tree in a sultry land. Take the tree away and the shadow departs. The cupidity of employers, if unrestrained by the law of God, would soon grasp the rest day. The license of pleasure, if unrestrained by the law of God, would soon yield the rest day to cupidity, is fast doing so now. Multitudes have to work on the rest day that other multitudes may have pleasure ; and further, such unrestrained pleasure-seeking one day in seven would become such a nuisance that society in self defense would be compelled to abolish the day. The unbeliev- ing world may rail against God and His Church, but while it does so it is receiving from Him through the Church the rich gift of the only rest day it has from grinding labor.

The religious observance of the day also preaches a powerful though silent sermon to the non-church-goer, telling him he is a man, not a beast of burden ; that there is a God whom he should worship ; that there is an eternal life beyond this fleeting one for which he should prepare. The assembling of God's people for His wor-

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 59

ship on His Holy Day preaches the Gospel to those who never enter the church doors.

The religious observance of the day does much also to educate the conscience of a community. Only two kinds of government are possible, the strong arm of a king or the moral power of a people governing them- selves. The cultivation of this moral power is needed for the maintenance of our free institutions. It is safe to say that no existing agency can compare in efficiency in this direction with the public worship of God, and we may well call His Holy Day the bulwark of cur liberties.

The religious observance of the day further secures the continuance and progress of Christianity in the' world. The day is a memorial of creation and redemp- tion. Its memories, its hallowed associations, its influ- ences, its teachings, its worship, all speak eloquently of God, his love for us and our relation to him, and strongly bind our sinful world to His Holy Throne. It is difficult to conceive how Christianity would remain after His Holy Day had departed. The procession of secular days bears rich material gifts to man. The Holy Day spreads heaven's glories over the earth.

The religious observance of the day brings also rich blessing to the one so observing it. However crushing may be the burden of toil and care we carry during all the week, when the Holy Day dawns God himself takes it from our spirits that we may have free and full com- munion with him. In such communion our spirits are refreshed and strengthened. As the river Nile flows over Egypt at certain times bringing therein the bless- ing of fruitful seasons, so this river from the Throne of

60 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

God flows regularly over our parched lives, bringing therein to our souls fruitfulness in heavenly graces. Our week is like the school-boy's writing page. On the first day our Savior sets before us his holy example. We try to copy it in our busy lives, but how imperfect is our work ! Too often the page is straggling and blotted. We have cause to weep bitter tears of disap- pointment and sorrow. Then comes the Lord's Day, and our Savior gently cheering us to new courage turns over the leaf and gives us again his clear example. One day for teaching, six days for practice, and our patient loving teacher always with us helping and inspiring. Surely as the weeks roll on we should con- stantly improve until at length when the book of life is finished He may say to each one of us: " Well done." The Holy Day also gives us a clear view of our heavenly home, the eternal holy rest from all this world's t:>il and care. A nobleman in England showing a friend through his palace, when they reached the highest win- dow in the tower, said : " From this window on a Sun- day we can see the cathedral spires of Durham.'' " Why on Sunday? " the friend asked. "Because on that day the factories do not pour forth their smoke, and through the clear air the spires are seen." So the fumes and smoke of earth often cloud our vision of heaven. Then comes the Holy Day witli its rest from worldly toil and its heavenly breeze, and as the smoke clears away we see the far off spires of our eternal home. How the sight thrills our hearts with bright hopes and firm courage for the remaining journey till we shall reach the Rest at last !

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.

" Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." — Ex. 20 : 12.

A human law-giver, in enacting an important code, might consider it beneath his dignity to take notice of children, but God manifests his divine wisdom and love in directly addressing them in this commandment. We recognize at once that the early training of children is considered by God of the greatest importance to their own welfare, to the welfare of the race, and to the honor of Himself. We see also that the command is expressed in such a way that the duty remains long after the child- hood stage of our existence is passed, as long as the parental relation exists ; even longer, for some of us can only honor father and mother now in our memory. We may well notice also that however low an estimate may have been placed upon woman in the far east and in that ancient day, or may be placed upon her now any- where, God commands that the mother shall be held in equal honor with the father. He who learns truly to honor his mother at home learns to honor womanhood everywhere.

The position of this commandment among the others has important teachings. It is the center, the heart of the whole law. Our Savior gives us this summary of the law : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the

61

62 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS,

second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Not only has God given us the power to love, but he has placed us in relationships which call this power into exercise and give it right direction, espec- ially the relationship of parents and children. The deep, strong, pure parental love — Others may hear about it, may have the power to love, but cannot expe- rience it. Only parents feel it, and only a child, their child, can awaken it into powerful life. Xot only do they love their child, they soon find a yearning for the child's love. They rejoice in the first signs of intelli- gence. How unspeakably precious are the first signs of recognition and responsive love — the brightening of the eye as father enters the room, the crowing laugh as mother takes the child in her arms ! Growing from this is the parent's desire for the child's obedience, an obedience not of fear but of love. How much the parents will saciifice, not regarding it as sacrifice, to secure the child from evil ! How great is their love and their yearning for the child's love ! These are beyond esti- mate. This continues not for a few days or months only, but for years, even for life ; for although man is the most finely organized of the animal creation his off- spring is the most helpless, requiring the most tender and constant care for years, and his love for his children never dies. God surely in this relationship cultivates love. In the child's heart also a deep true love for the parents is implanted by the Creator, to grow and strengthen as the years roll on. The commandments we have seen reveal both the nature of God and the nature of man, and this commandment in the center of the law enters the relationship God has established

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 63

among men and gives the natural affection He there cultivates its noblest possible exercise and meaning. God says in it to parents, " As you love your children, so I love you. As you yearn for their responsive love, so I yearn for yours. I am your Father." God says in it to children, " Love }^our parents, and therein learn to love me, your Father." The supreme love for God required in the first and great commandment is to find in this relationship its cultivation. So also the love for our neighbor required in the second command of our Savior is like the love of children for each other. God, my Father ; man, my brother.

The position 01 this commandment among the others has a further teaching of great importance. The place of division into the two Tables of the Law is somewhat indistinct. It is in this commandment : bat whether it belongs to the First Table, or to the Second, is not quite clear. It certainly treats of duties to man, and so must belong to the Second Table. But hold ! May not the parents be regarded as the representatives of God ? Then it belongs to the First Table. There is certainly a strong analogy in the relationships. The parents are the nearest cause to the child of its being, its continued existence and its welfare, and this through that wonder- ful thing God has given them, parental love, which allies them so closely to Himself. We need not try to determine what God seems to have purposely left indis- tinct. In the indistinctness is the lesson. We are apt to consider duties to man separately, but God joins them indissolubly with duties to Himself. The two tables are not parts of the same law, separate and distinct from each other, but parts God has so joined together that no

64 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

man can tell where the one ends and the other begins. The morality required in this law must have religion in it. and the religion required is indissolubly joined with morality.

The position of the commandment in this indistinct- ness also shows its great importance. Consider. ng it as the last of the First Table, we see that in order that children shall become men and women worshiping God in spirit and in truth, they are to be taught and trained by honoring their parents. Considering it as the first of the Second Table, we see that in order that children shall become men and women fulfilling their duties in the various relations of life, they are to be taught and trained by honoring their parents. Both religion and morality have their foundations laid in the home life of children.

The charge of cruelty to and neglect of children, may- be brought against the religion and morality of pagan Home. Christianity has taught the world tlie interest God has in children. She can never forget that her Lord was once a babe, that lie commended to his disciples the childlike spirit, and that He took little children in His arms and blessed them, welcoming them into the king- dom of heaven. In this Christian land and age great attention is being paid to children, in our homes and in our schools. Great advance has been made in this direction within less than a century, and is still being made. We are beginning to follow the divine wisdom and love of the Supreme Law-giver who in joining the two Tables of His Law speaks especially to the chil- dren.

In this interest of God in them there is a strong

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 6$

appeal to children. As soon as this commandment comes to their attention they should respond to this love of God for them and at once strive to keep His law. Here as in the first commandment no outward act is com- manded, but our inward spirit or disposition, from which ■ will flow acts of its own character. We are not to allow the natural affection in our hearts for our parents to become cooled or displaced, but we are to cultivate it in obedience to God. We are also to have in our love for our parents a large element of reverence due to them to whom we owe so much and whom God has placed in authority over us.

There are some plain duties embraced in this com- mandment which we, children of all ages, may profitably consider. We are to honor our parents in our thoughts. Bo3^s and girls, when they begin to go to school and to find associates beyond the home circle and to catch their first view of the great world, are quite apt to indulge the conclusion that they know more and have rather better judgment than their fathers and mothers. It is because you know so little that you think you know so much. When }^ou have passed through this stage of your being, when you have lived a little longer and learned a little more, you will conclude that your parents' views of your studies and the conduct proper for you were much better than your own. To adopt their views now, cheerfully and firmly, will be more modest and wise and certainly more in harmony with this commandment.

We are to honor our parents in our speech. When we speak to them we are to cultivate the respectful tone of voice and use such words as shall give them honor. 5

66 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

The sullen tone and the cross word are absolutely for- bidden. When we speak of them, in their presence or in their absence, we are to use terms of honor and love. It is certainly far from right for a young man to speak of his father as " the old man," or " the governor." The bad taste is, here as generally, bad morals. We are to honor our parents in our conduct. A young man will tip his hat to a young lady, and to an aged honorable man, and on the street and in company will be very attentive to their wants. Excellent conduct, provided the young man gives at least equal attention and honor to his father and his mother.

Of course children are to obey their parents. Dis- obedience breaks the command of God at the same time it breaks the command of the parents. Obedience should flow from the honor in which the parents are held. It should be prompt, cheerful and loving; not full of excuses, not coaxing off, not delaying until a stern command is required, not seeing how little honor it can give — which is giving no honor at all — but loyally consulting the slightest wish of the parents and promptly and lovingly fulfilling it. Obedience should also be faithful, just as complete in the absence of the parents as in their presence. The boy has taken a dangerous position who will do in his father's absence what he knows his father would not approve, and the girl is not safe who has anything to hide from her mother. We are to honor our parents also in working for them, and in need supporting them. Not only is this the prompt- ing of natural affection, not only is it our honor and privilege often to care for those who have so greatly

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 6?

cared for us, but it is a part of the duty we owe to God in obedience to His commandment.

Much of this, some may say, implies that our parents are perfect. It is easier to fulfill these duties when the parents are worthy, still when we cannot help seeing great defects in them the duties remain. The honor we should give them will lead us to bear with their infirmi- ties, and to conceal their defects as far as possible from others, while we place a high estimate upon their vir- tues. There is one case which may possibly arise— the parent commands what God forbids. We are then to obey God. He is above all. All the authority the parent possesses is from God, and therefore can never be used against Him.

We may now consider a few reasons why we should honor our parents. The first and greatest is because God commands. His command is written in our own natures and in this holy law. This reason is above all others and embraces all.

Such conduct gives the greatest pleasure to our parents, as the reverse conduct brings to their hearts the keenest suffering. We can never fully appreciate all the care and love father and mother have bestowed upon us in infancy and youth, in sickness and in health, and the yearning of their hearts for our love. Surely we should respond to their love — we should seek their happiness.

Such conduct is itself excellent. There is something within us that approves it, and condemns the reverse. When we see children honoring their parents we can not help feeling, " that is good." When we see them disobedient and disrespectful we can not help feeling,

6S THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

k' that is wrong." Many noble examples appeal to this feeling and incite ns to a like excellency. When you, boys and girls, go to High School and College you will read Latin and Greek. The greatest poet in each of these languages, each in his greatest poem, gives a glowing account of a man who was a hero. One of the noblest things written of this hero is this : He was one of the warriors of Troy, and when the Greeks captured and destroyed that city he made his escape from the ruins. He fled through the burning streets bearing a heavy burden upon his bended back which greatly hindered his flight, but he never offered to lay it down, it was so valuable to him. It was not money or jewels or any valuable property. He would not have en- dangered his life for that. The heavy load he carried was his aged and infirm father, and he bore him safely through. His name is and ever will be held -in highest honor, and the noblest thing that can be said of him is this : " iEneas saved his father from burning Troy." You remember a decisive point in the life of Washing- ton. He wanted to be a sailor, and his mother gave a reluctant consent. All things were ready. The ship lay off in the river. His trunk was in the little boat which waited to take him to the ship, and he went to bid good-bye to his mother. He found her in tears. He at once ordered his trunk to be returned to the house and sent word to the ship that he would not go. " I will not break my mother's heart to gratify myself," he said, and his mother replied : " George, God has promised to bless those who honor their parents. He will bless }Tou." We all remember that one of the recent presidents of the United States, when he had

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 69

taken the oath of office in the presence of the assembled multitude, in that proud and solemn moment, the supreme moment of his life, turned from the people and kissed his aged mother. But why mention lesser examples? The greatest of all beings, the glorious Son of God, our Savior, when he was on earth, honored his parents. It is said " he was subject to them." For many years he labored for them, and when he endured the shame and agony of the cross he honored his mother and made provision for her welfare. When you find it difficult to obey your parents it will help you to remember that our Lord Jesus Christ obeyed his. When you find it hard to labor for and sup- port them it will nerve you with new courage to think that He even on the cross provided for His mother. Copy the great example here as always, and honor your father and mother.

The commandment itself contains a reason for obedience in that it gives a promise, an assurance that in the providence of God obedience to this com- mandment will result in long life and prosperity. This sets forth a general rule in the divine government of the race, promoting stability in social welfare. The child honoring his parents learns self control, obedience to law, submission hearty and prompt to rightly consti- tuted authority as a principle of action. Such a child will in all probability become a man of like character. He will obey the laws of health. Entering business he will obey the laws of success, industry, perseverance, economy, enterprise. His powers under full control, he will be also a law-abiding citizen in society. Such character tends to long life and the enjo}rment of the

;o THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

gifts of God. A good citizen enjoys the protection of the State not only, bnt helps to form a condition of social well-beino'. The child on the other hand who is disobedient and disrespectful to his parents, who sets aside their authority and God's authority, is cultivating a law-breaking character. He will in all probability become a self-willed man, setting at defiance the laws of God and man. Such a life tends to the undermining of health by excesses, to the waste of property by abuse, to the running into dangers recklessly, and to the over- throw of social well-being. Such a character fends to shorten life and to forfeit the gifts of God. A bad citizen throws away the protection of the State and is an element threatening the stability of social welfare. Honoring parents tends to long life and prosperity in the individual, and as this becomes general, it tends to the long life and prosperity of the nation. There is a wide and rich blessing visibly bestowed in this life on obedience to this commandment.

Of course parents have correspondingly great duties resting upon them, since God places them in such an honorable position and clothes them with such great authority. They are to remember whence the authority comes and why it is given to them. They are to use it in the fear of God and for the welfare of their children and of the community. They should neither lay it aside nor abuse it. They are to govern their children if they would have their children learn to govern themselves. They should also endeavor to be worthy of the honor God commands their children to give them. The in- fluence of their teaching and example upon their children will of necessity be great. It is within their power that it

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. yi

should also be good. If they are worthy of the honor their children give them, if they rightly estimate and are faithful to the great trust God places in them, their children honoring them and together with them will give God the worship which is His due and will faith- fully discharge their duties to men as they arise in the varied relations of life. Blessed indeed are those homes where family worship is established and cherished. Their practice has caught the spirit of this command- ment. Parents and children may well meditate together upon the word of God, their rule of living ; may well praise Him for the blessed relationship He has established, for that sweetest, dearest place on earth, a Christian home ; and may well seek from Him the guidance and grace they need in their duties that the home may be the center and source of pure religion and true morality.

It is quite evident that this commandment covers all those relationships which naturally grow out of the relationship of parents and children. Children are to honor their teachers who stand in the place of their parents to them for certain well defined purposes. The young are to honor the aged. The advancing genera- tion is to honor the departing one, inheriting its achievements, with due appreciation of its worth. The family naturally widens into the tribe and the nation. In the on-flowing stream of human life governments arise and become established. God is the author, in the social nature of man and in the course of his provi- dence, of order, not of confusion ; of government, not of anarchy. " The powers that be are ordained of God." Men are born into national inheritances. Few

~2 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

generations are called upon to create a government : it is generally a growth according to the condition and needs of society, a slow growth extending through ages, changes being wrought gradually by the develop- ing of principles and forces beyond the plan or life of any single man or generation of men. The form of government and its character will be the outgrowth of the intellectual and moral development of the people. Christianity does not propose to make the people better by revolutionizing the government, but to make the government better by revolutionizing the people. With this design she entered the Koman Empire. It was far from being a perfect government, but it was the expres- sion of the moral condition of the existing social life. It was far better than anarchy, and it was her noble and fruitful mission to maintain order in society while she lifted society to a higher moral plane, which would gradually secure a better order of government.

Our noble form of self government is our rich inher- itance from the generations past who have lived in this land and in the father-lands, as Christianity has fos- tered the love of liberty and the power of self control and the principles of righteousness in their social life. Whatever of fruitful struggle there has been, has been for a better government within the reach of the better social condition. To confess that our government to- day is not perfect is simply to confess that the moral condition of society is not perfect. Christianity does not therefore call up the red flames of anarchy and bid them hasten to destroy, but she sets up her school houses and her churches and conserves the present order while she prepares for all needed advance.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 73

We may regard government therefore as a human institution, but of divine appointment. Since the authority of government is from God, rulers should have a high sense of the dignity of their position as His representatives, and should rule in His fear for the wel- fare of the people. " Public office is a public trust," is not a new truth or even a whole truth. Though prom- inent now, it is part of a higher truth. Public office is a divine trust. Rulers should excel in the likeness of Him they represent in true righteousness and in unselfish devotion to the highest interest of man.

Hence also citizens should give their rulers the honor due their high office, and due obedience to the laws of the land. This is a religious duty. The authority of God gives stability to the nation. None but a law- abiding people can be free.

Hence also it is evident that since the authority of the State comes from God it can never be used against Him, can never make it our duty to disobey God. True freedom is obedience to God. Honoring rulers and submission to human laws are enjoined in this command- ment. These duties and their limitation by our obliga- tion to God are the foundation of social stability and of all civil and religious liberty.

Citizens in this self-governing nation should give great attention to the affairs of government, from the smallest town office up through the several grades to the highest office in the land. We should elect only such rulers as we will be able to honor, and who will enact only righteous laws. It is certainly very difficult often to respect all the officers of city, state and nation. It is our own fault that it is so. We should

74 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

be more careful to elect men worthy of respect. But, whoever is elected, we should give him the respect due the office. It is our right and duty to freely and fully investigate the private character and record of a candi- date for office. But the truth should alone be sought. To slander one is base always, specially base when done for political effect. When the election is over the duty of investigating gives place to the duty of honoring the elected ruler, and this rests upon those who have opposed his election as well as upon those who have favored it. He is no longer a private citizen but ele- vated to office. The honor due the office belongs to him.

Children, honor your parents — citizens, honor your rulers — all men, honor God.

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT.

"Thou shalt not ki!l.'?— Ex. 20:13.

The most mysterious and valuable of all God's crea- tions is life. Man cannot imitate even its lowest forms. He may paint the rose, showing its form and color, but cannot imitate its life. God seems to have carefully guarded this creation so that it may always be recog- nized that He is its direct source, the Life-giver. Scien- tific research and discussion seem to have reached the firm conclusion that life never springs of itself from dead matter, that it only comes into being from the touch of pre-existing life. It is also one of God's most bountiful creations. The earth teems with myriad forms, rising grade upon grade until the highest life on earth, that of man, is reached. These myriad forms are closely related, the great variety being produced by slight deviations from a few general plans. Through this whole realm of life we see the working of a strange law. Life is sustained by death. In its ceaseless round it largely lives upon itself. Vegetable lives upon vege- table. The trees of the forest enrich the soil they grow in by falling leaves and decaying branches. Vegetables give food to animals, the cattle browse upon the grass of the meadows and man lives upon the wheat of the field, animals feed upon animals, fishes upon fishes, birds upon insects, while the lion roams the forest for its pre}^. All vegetable and animal life alike minister to the higher life of man. If this commandment applied

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to all killing, man would soon starve, for his life is sustained by the death of vegetable and animal.

But we are not therefore to conclude that man has an unlimited right to destroy the lower grades of life. God has written in the constitution of man and in his revealed word that man may kill the lower animals when necessary to defend or sustain his higher life. Beyond these exceptions which God himself makes He guards in this commandment his great creation, life, from the hand of man. The prohibition is expressed in the most absolute and general way possible, and should be so considered. God commands us to have a high regard for life, even in its lower forms. Hunting, while it develops manhood, strength, quickness, courage, cannot be justified by the mere pleasure of the hunt, only by seeking food. So with fishing. We have no. right to take the life of bird or fish merely for our own sport. We should give our domestic animals kind treatment, sufficient food and but moderate labor. We are to take good care of the life God entrusts to us, and are not to abuse or waste it. All cruelty to animals is forbidden. Children should not be permitted to torment pet animals, certainly not to torture and kill flies. What right have we to take away the life even of a worm ? or to cause it the slightest suffering? Man's abuse of his power over lower forms of life in this earth is cruel. Let us recognize that all cruelty is in violation of this commandment, and call it sin.

While the commandment in its absoluteness includes all life, it evidentl}^ specially applies to human life. Man is not only the highest of the animals, allied with them in his creation from "the dust of the ground,"

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 77

but he is distinct from them in that he was created in the image of God, so possessing a spiritual nature, and as such God places him in dominion over the earth. We are to hold all life in high regard, and hence this human life, higher than all other with which it is related, and differing from all other in possessing the likeness of God, and also clothed with His delegated authority over the earth, is to be held by us as sacred.

Our Savior in his exposition of this commandment teaches us that it forbids not only the act of killing, but as well all those feelings which, have a tendency to lead to that act. He also teaches us in his summary of the Second Table of the law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," that this commandment directs us to cherish the lives both of our neighbors and of our- selves. It is certainly an intimation of the deep de- pravity into which man has fallen that God finds it necessary to command us not to kill ourselves or our fellow men. The prohibitory form here as elsewhere indicates tendencies that need restraint.

The commandment is addressed to each man and applies to his own life and to the life of his neighbor.

To his own life. He is forbidden to take it. He is commanded to care for it. Man does not own himself, lias no title in his own life as before God, lias no right to destroy it, but should take good care of it, for it belongs to God. However great troubles may come upon us we are to bear them, not fly from them ; how- ever great the consequences of our mistakes and sins we are to endure them, not rebel against them. Man is never to come before God, the Judge of his life, un- called of him and with the guilt of his own blood on his

-S THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

soul. We are in this commandment forbidden to brood over our troubles. It is wrong to cultivate a melan- choly spirit, or a rebellious one. We should strive against these natural tendencies which threaten life and dishonor God.

God requires us further to have that high regard for our lives which shall lead us to guard and maintain them in the best possible condition. We are to become familiar with the laws of health and obedient to them. All practices shortening life are forbidden, and practices tending to good health and long life are commanded. This commandment enters our homes with the pure air of heaven, with plenty of sunlight, and with all health- ful surroundings. The law of God sits down with us at our tables. Appetites are means to an end, not ends in themselves. They are to sustain the system, not to seek simply their own gratification. When a food is unwholesome it is to be refused, no matter how the appetite craves it ; nor must appetite ever lead us to eat too much of wholesome food; and the law of God should govern our drinking as well as our eating. It applies also to the manners of the table, to eating fast or slow, in sullen mood or cheerful.

The commandment tells us how we shall dress. Clothing has two purposes, adornment and comfort. These need never conflict. Certainly, adornment should be subordinate to comfort. Fashion often says: "Thin slippers and a small waist." The law of God says: " Follow nature and care for good health." Students of the subject say that in an average well dressed audi- ence not one lady in ten can take a full breath. The lungs, the heart and other vital organs are compressed

. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 79

in unhealthy ways by tight dressing, often leading to debility and suffering in themselves and in their chil- dren. It is to be presumed that our ladies who excel in piety have not seriously considered the subject of their dress as being covered by this commandment. Thin shoes and bare arms venture out to a late party on a winter's night, a severe cold sometimes follows and a speedy death. We say, What a mysterious prov- idence to take one so young! Do we not know that the laws of providence are in favor of good health and long life, and that sickness and death often come directly from our disobedience of these laws.

This commandment directs us in the conduct of our business. In gaining our living we are not needlessly to risk our lives. We are to be masters of our business, not mastered by it. There is a reckless pursuit of busi- ness as well as of pleasure. Both are forbidden. Many a business man breaks down under the strain he had no right to assume. The feverish excitement and danger- ous rush of our American life may build up fortunes and advance the general material prosperity, but do not have the highest regard for human life. " Better wear out than rust out," is probably true, but neither is good. God commands us to cherish our lives.

The question of health and life is not one of mere expediency and choice but of duty. We are not to make light of this life, but to value it properly. We are not to take care of it for mere enjoyment, but for the earnest service of God to whom it belongs, and of our fellow men who also belong to God. We are to keep the life inigpodicondition by use and for use. The time may come when the life God calls us to guard so care-

80 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

fully ho will call us to give as freely, to lay it down upon the altar of our country, or in the care of other lives committed to our charge, or as His witnesses at the martyr's stake. Such calls make heroes. The three hundred who defended Greece were heroes. He was a hero as well who a few days ago on Long Island Sound stood in the pilot house, with the flames around him blistering his hands and face and endangering his life, and firmly guided the vessel till it struck the shore. Such calls may never come to us. But the call of duty is now upon us to take the best care of the life God has given us and use it in His service.

God requires further in this commandment that each one shall hold the life of others sacred as well as his own. He is forbidden to take it. He is commanded to care for it. In our law-abiding land where the State enforces this commandment, the need of self-defense seldom arises, though the right clearlj* remains. In en- forcing this commandment the State inflicts the death- penalty for murder not because she has any inherent light over the lives of her citizens, but since God has made this her duty in the law given to Noah, which con- firms the instinct of justice in our natures. The growing sentiment in Christian lands that nations should live together peacefully, that they have no more right to fight and kill than individuals have, and consequently that war generally is a stupendous crime, is in clear harmony with this commandment. The right to defend the national existence clearly exists, as does the right of individual self-defense, but international law in our Christian civilization should prevent all call for the exer- cise of this right.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 8 1

We are to have such high regard for human life, our own and our neighbors', as belonging to God that we will neither neglect, injure nor destroy it, nor harbor any feel- ings leading that way, but will guard and cherish it and will cultivate those views and feelings which recognize its sacredness. All malice and hatred are clearlv for- bidden. We are to guard our hearts against their entrance. If they are already there they must be expelled at once, they must not be harbored or in any way gratified. Not only by blow or weapon is it pos- sible to mar or shorten life. Hateful treatment and malicious words may give sensitive spirits deep and deadly wounds. While we arenot to cherish malicious feelings in any degree, we are to carefully guard against awakening such feelings in others. The contentious spirit is to be checked in its small beginnings, for its natural tendency is to hard feelings and deadly hatred. Our pride is not to be cultivated, for an over-estimate of our own importance is sure to be cut to the quick by the slights of others, and arousing into anger will cherish the desire for revenge. High temper quickly flies into anger when provoked and often acts and speaks in the heat of passion, adding fuel to its own flame and striking fire into other hearts. It is said that Julius Caesar won many victories over his own spirit by the simple rule never to speak or act when provoked until he had repeated slowly the Roman alphabet. As we have that alphabet in use now-a-days we can all be like great Csesar in that respect, and the more fiery our tem- per the greater our need to follow his example. It is a question which is worse, " Quick to anger and quick 6

82 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

to cool," or " Slow to anger and slow to cool." Cher- ished enmity and quick hatred are alike forbidden.

Not all anger is wrong. When a sense of justice exists with any strength anger will be aroused by the sight of wrong. Our Lord Jesus Christ was angry with the Pharisees who murmured against his cures on the Sabbath day, and was filled with moral indignation when he drove the money-changers from the Temple. Bat our anger must be of a judicial nature to be justi- fied. Selfishness, which blinds a judge, should not enter into it, and it should never be immoderate in degree or continuance, taking on the hue of hatred. Neither is it possible that we should be insulted and not feel it. Christian manhood may feel the insult and keenly make known its feeling without flaming into resentment. So our Savior felt the insult when smitten on the face and made known his feelings in the keen rebuke, "If I have spoken evil bear witness of the evil ; but if well why smitest thou me?"

We are to beware of having any prejudice against our neighbor. We are to think of him kindly and speak of him and to him kindly, no matter what he thinks of us, or how he speaks of us or to us, cr even if he will not speak to us at all. We are to cherish no enmity in our hearts though he may have enmity in his, but are to cultivate a loving and forgiving spiiit, and to seek in wise and loving ways to win his respect and good will. All private grudges and neighborhood feuds •if they stand at all must stand under the frowning face of this commandment. Neither can cool indifference to our neighbors' welfare find any place in our hearts under this law of God. The rich, the learned and the

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 83

socially distinguished, while they must have special enjoyment with their own class, are never to forget that man is man wherever found, that human life is sacred, however unadorned it may be, and that they are to cher- ish the lives of their neighbors as their own, seeking their highest well-being, since all alike belong to God.

In the social arrangements of the day lives are often placed in the charge of others. Those having this charge should pay special attention to this commands ment. Those who have the management of the great forces of civilization, steam power and electricity, are responsible to God for the use of the power with which He has clothed them. Lives are under their care in crowded factory, stately vessel or rushing train. If in caring for and serving these lives they can earn a fair money reward, who can question their right to enjoy it ? But if, seeking simply money, they are carelessly indif- ferent to their charge, and lives are lost, the largest dividends will be powerless to cleanse their souls from the guilt of blood. The owner of a tenement house, if he regards this commandment at all, will seek the health, comfort and welfare of his tenants. Builders of roads, bridges and houses, if they regard this com- mandment at all, will seek not only good wages but mainly to do good work, that men's lives may be safe. Employers of labor, if they regard this commandment at all, will not mar and shorten the lives under their care by excessive work and insufficient wages. They will remember that they are employing men, and they are to cherish the lives of all men, especially of those under their care.

Our personal responsibility to God is not lost in our

84 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

being members of a community. This commandment directs us to be good citizens and to seek the health and welfare of all the members of the community where we dwell. The sanitary arrangements of city, towu and village are commended to our attention. We may not neglect them without guilt. One is not to be so absorbed in his own comforts and the guards he has placed about his own life, and his family's, that he neglects the general health and welfare. The com- mandment enjoins upon us that public spirit which seeks the best drainage, the purest water supply, and all those arrangements which tend to make the community- life both pleasant and safe. The sanitary condition of a country home is also to be considered by the owner, not only for its inmates but for its neighbors also.

We have lived together in this community for now nearly a dozen years, and you and I can think on the instant of several men who have beyond question died from the effects of intoxicating drinks during that time. It was their own fault, you say. True, but not the whole truth. The liquor seller is to blame, you say. He ought not to have sold to drunkards, or to those intoxicated. True. I have not one w^ord to say in his excuse; but again, not the whole truth. These men who died, when they were boys saw respectable men go into bar-rooms and drink. When they became young men they began to drink, treated often by these respect- able men, and treating one another ; and so they con- tinued drinking. The sale of liquor was open, almost free, and patronized by men they respected. Evidently tbe system in which they lived had something to do with their deaths. Now the laws of the State in which

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 85

we live give us in this community full power to stop this system, if we so choose, and will take the trouble to do it. It exists to-day, and has existed all these years because we do not choose and will not take the trouble to stop it. And these ten or a dozen men who have died are to blame for their deaths. Yes. The liquor seller is also to blame. Yes — and something more. We are to blame/ Our garments are not free from their blood. That which has been will be. Within the next few years a few more men will come to untimely deaths,, Some who are near and dear to us and who would in a different social system live noble and useful lives. You and I know it will be so, and that it will be so because we do.not choose and will not take the trouble to stop the almost free and somewhat respectable and attract- ive sale of liquor on our streets. Our indifference to the matter is in direct violation of this commandment. We ought to face our responsibility now rather than put it off into eternity, for face it some time we must.

The sacredness of life enjoined in the commandment covers not merely the bodily life, it lies specially in our spiritual life, in the image of God. Is life worth living? asks the worldly philosopher, as if there was some doubt about it. Worth living ? Surely it is, since our spiritual life though fallen may be brought into a shape worthy of God, our Father. Herein we see the highest realm of this commandment, the true sacredness of life. We are carefully to avoid in ourselves and in our influence all those things which would have any tendency to destroy the soul. We are to diligently cultivate in our- selves and in our influence all those things which have any tendency to ennoble the soul. The value of the

$6 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

soul, the sacred ness of life, who can estimate it aright ! "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." He died upon the cross giving u His life a ransom for many." The mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, His life and death, show the estimate God places upon our lives, the love of God for us. The more clear and controlling our faith in the Savior, the more fully we live a Chris- tian life and put forth a Christian influence over our fellowmen, the more in harmony we will be with the requirement of this commandment. Praise God, that he created us in his image ! Praise God, for the glorious salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ I

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.1' — Ex. 20 : 14.

Morality is an essential part of religion. God can- not be truly honored without it. Neither can there be true morality without honoring God. This character- istic of the law elevates duty to man to the highest pos- sible plane, makes it a part of duty to God — hence there is a sacredness in it. We found in the sixth command- ment a sacredness of human life. We are forbidden to destroy it. We are commanded to cherish it. In the seventh commandment we see the sacredness of mar- riage. Now marriage is the crown of the relationship between the sexes, hence there is a sacredness in that whole relationship. We are forbidden to destroy it. We are commanded to cherish it.

We see at once that this precept, as in the former instances, is joined to and advances from the preceding one. The life guarded in the sixth commandment exists in sexes, and so exists for the purpose of perpetuat- ing itself in successive generations. Hence the marriage relation has that main end in view. There are other important ends, but they are subordinate to this main one. That therefore is a healthful and holy way of looking at maniage, of entering it and of living in it, which desires and cherishes children as the gift of God, his rich blessing upon it. Any other view must fall far short of being either healthful or holy. It is said that American families are becoming very small, and

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that many exist without a single child. Where this is the case from human desire and purpose, rejecting God's offered gifts, it must be clearly seen as contrary to the divine law of marriage. I can only touch upon the subject at this time and in this place, but I wish to make the point in such a way that it cannot be mis- understood.

This commandment, as it covers the whole relation- ship between men and women, brings before us a most important and delicate subject which beyond question ought to receive proper attention from the Christian pulpit. Happily our Savior has thrown the delicacy and sanctity of his teachings upon the subject, and we will now select two passages from these to direct our further study. The first directs how men and women should regard each other outside of the marriage rela- tionship, and the second speaks of the marriage relation itself.

The first passage is found in Matt. 5 : 27, 28. The tradition taught ^that the commandment forbade simply the act of adultery. More, says Christ, it forbids all impure thoughts and desires. Our Savior here teaches us very plainly that impure thoughts and desires are forbidden not merely as leading to sin, but as sin in themselves.

Let us be as practical as possible about guarding against the beginnings of this sin. We who are parents should guard against its beginning in our children. We are prone to neglect them at a particular point in their lives when they most need our guidance, the point when a boy becomes a man, when a girl becomes a woman. We all agree that ignorance is not the mother of devo-

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 89

tion, and yet act as if ignorance was the mother of purity. Knowledge is the basis of true religion and the safe-guard of virture. Our children will learn concern- ing the new-born passions which fire their imagination, either from impure companions or from you, the pure teachers God appoints: and it is a matter of tremendous importance whether they learn purely or impurely. If a father will take his boy aside and give him full in- struction concerning his new life, it may save the father many a heart-ache and the boy untold woe and wretch- edness. If a mother will in like manner instruct her daughter, it will win her confidence and prove a safe- guard of purity of inestimable value. These new-born passions have a wise purpose in the will of God, and governed by his law they become the source of the purest and richest blessings. They are as God's gift of fire to us. Controlled, it makes our firesides places of comfort and cheer ; uncontrolled, it consumes our homes and leaves us miserable wanderers over a wintry waste. They are, like fire, excellent servants but terrible masters. It is well to know their nature and God's law for their control.

We will all do well, and especially the young, to cul- tivate a taste for purity, so keen and sensitive that it will instinctively turn from the suggestion of impurity with loathing. We can do this in selecting our read- ing, and there is much need of it. We are in little danger from the boldly and openly impure, from vile pictures and books. Such are for the already vile, and plainly marked " poison " to all others. But men of great genius are not always men of pure morals, and their works often throw the fascinating glamour of

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genius around impurity. There are many novels and p( ems of insinuating vice and suggestive impurity. It is wise to let our novel reading be a very small propor- tion of the whole, simply for needed recreation, and then only the very best, of noble characters and heroic deeds ; and our poetry, of fair ideals and beautiful scenes. The nude in art, the immoral in the drama, the lewd in literature, however true to nature, though the highest specimens of the realistic school — the spirit looking out from these is the hideous spirit of lust. A bright imagination under the control of conscience is an en- nobling possession. .An impure imagination is an ever present curse. Soar among the stars, dwell among the flowers if you will, but when so many beautiful and grand subjects invite you, do not degrade your noble powers by diving into filthy pools. The selection of a newspaper is not always an easy matter from this point of view. However ably conducted, and however cheap, that paper is a dangerous visitor to our homes which slurs virtue and revels in vice. Let it go to its own company, while we welcome the one which tells of vice with shame and of virtue with delight.

We should cultivate the taste for purity in the choice of our companionship. Associate with those who tol- erate sensual manners, undue familiarity, broad speech, unclean stories, and wTe wTill speedil}T lower our ideas of propriety, and dangerously wound our faith in the honor of woman and in the virtue of man. Let our acquaint- anceship even, as far as it is a matter of our choice, be of those whose delight is in pure thinking and feeling, in clean speaking and living, and let our friendship, which is altogether a matter of choice, be only with the

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 9 1

pure. There are men, and, alas ! some women, who deliberately prefer vice to virtue, the excitement of animal passions to the testimony of a good conscience and a pure heart, who sneer at chastity and modesty and purity, who have none of these in themselves, but the reverse, the devil's look in the eye, and the devil's lust in the heart. Such should awaken our thorough contempt, and oftentimes the most faithful and kindly treatment Ave can give them is to let them see very plainly how much we despise them. Christian public opinion should always seek to awaken repentance and restoration, but this it can never do by appearing to approve in the slightest degree of the bold and impeni- tent slayer of virtue.

Good books and pure friends delight the mind and cultivate the heart. We cannot over-estimate their importance. We strive to have in our gardens the most beautiful flowers and the finest flavored fruit, but we are careful to have no poison vine however brilliant its colors trail over the flowers, no poison berries how- ever tempting to the sight hang side by side with the fruit. Let us take at least as good care of our minds and hearts as we do of our gardens.

Now we may approach the subject of marriage. A high ideal of marriage is a great incentive to purity of heart. If young people anticipate a pure marriage every step towards it must be in the way of virtue. If you wish to win a pure white soul for your life-long companion you will be unwilling to give less than you wish to receive. You will keep your own soul sweet and clean.

Supreme affection adequately tested, and an oppor-

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t unity to marry, you may regard as the call of God to the pure state of marriage ; not a passing fancy, but a well tried affection ; not mere admiration for beaut}?- of person, but deep regard for beauty of character. This may arise suddenly, "love at first sight/' or it may be the growth of a long and intimate friendship, only be sure it is a supreme and worthy affection. Not mar- riage from heedless impulse without thought, not mar- riage from convenience without heart, not marriage simply to be married because one has a chance and it may be now or never. Such motives may seem angelic beings beckoning on to a happy life, but may prove to be demons leading to wretchedness. Better wait until God calls you to enter marriage by giving you a deep true love to lead the way. And the opportunity to many should be not merely responsive love, but a clear intimation in His providence as seen in bodily health and surrounding conditions, that you will be able to form that sweetest of all places on earth, a Christian home. Now in your courtship and engagement cherish pure thoughts and noble purposes. Let no thought, word or action undermine your own high self-respect or the pure regard you should hold for the one you love. These you should have now, and when in after married life you look back in memory to your courtship days.

Let us now consider the second passage selected from the teachings of our Savior which sets forth the nature of the marriage relation. This is found in the 10th chapter of Mark, from the second to the twelfth verse. He clearly teaches that since God hath made them male and female a man will leave all other ties and cleave to

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 93

his wife, and that these twain are no more twain but one flesh, for God hath joined them together.

Marriage is therefore a divine institution founded in the nature of man as created by God. There is no higher mode of living for man and woman than to be husband and wife. It is the most intimate and sacred union that can exist on earth, to which all other rela- tions are to give place. It is the union of one man and one woman for life, whose duties are not only to each other and to society, but to God. The legitimate power of the State is simply to enforce the law of God. If the State attempts to separate those whom God hath joined together, or to unite those whom God forbids to unite, her laws are nullities at the bar of conscience. The polygamy and divorce among the Jews did not arise from God's will, but from the hardness of men's hearts. They were contrary to God's law and were restrained and" almost eradicated by it. Here as every- where the teaching of nature is in harmony with the Ten Commandments. Men and women are existing to-day, and always have been, the wide world over, in nearly equal numbers, making provision for such mar- riages and for such alone. Besides, the supreme affec- tion, which we have seen is the only natural basis of marriage, can exist only between two, and is life-long.

We have an organized system of polygamy within the bounds of our land, and the nation is not much dis- turbed in conscience by the corrupting abomination. Neither of the political parties in the present presiden- tial campaign are demanding with any earnestness that the laws of God and of the United States against polygamy should be enforced in the Territories. They

0| THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

evidently do not believe that the presentation of such a moral issue would secure many votes. The abomina- tion goes on, and we, the people, do not much care.

But there is a worse feature still in our national life. The law of God recognizes but one ground of divorce, adultery. -This is emphatically taught by our Savior. The divorce laws of many States are in open conflict with this law of God. Cruelty, desertion, drunkenness and lesser causes are grounds of divorce, and in a few States the power to grant divorce is left largely to the discretion of the courts who frequently can hear but one side of the case. So incompatibility of temper is deemed a sufficient cause for man to put asunder what God has joined together. Our own State keeps close to the Christian standard, but she is beginning to feel the corrupting influence of bad neighbors. These lax divorce laws lower the estimate of marriage : they cul- tivate heedlessness in entering marriage : they foster a spirit of restlessness in marriage, for many frivolous quarrels would be quenched by the permanency of the relation which are inflamed by the prospect of an easy separation : and they encourage and make light of ii fi- delity in marriage. Their whole tendency is to disin- tegrate the home and degrade womanhood.

God's institution of marriage is the foundation of the family, and the family is the foundation of Society, the State, and the Church. Rome rose by the sanctity of her family life, and fell when it was undermined, as any fabric however stately will fall when the foundation is removed. Her rise was through the courage of her men and the virtue of her women. The perpetual fire on the altar of the Temple of Vesta tended by a chosen

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band . of white-robed virgins was a true symbol of her strength. But the days of degeneration came and the fire flickered and went out. There were no divorces in the early years of her history. There were many easily obtained divorces in the years of her luxury. Mutual consent was all that was needed to break the tie. Now the Roman laws in their later laxness are at the basis of much of our divorce legislation, and have displaced the law of God. We should be aroused from indiffer- ence by her experience. Like cause will produce like effect. Beyond love of our country Christian sentiment should arouse in its strength and impress God's law of marriage upon the statute books of our States.

It is enough to enshrine marriage in our regard that it is ordained by God and governed by his law. Now all God's laws are for the highest good of man, and hence we find many inestimable blessings flowing from marriage.

It confers happiness upon the married. True, there are unhappy marriages. Those who marry for property will be very apt to find the husband or wife an incum- brance. Those who marry heedlessly will find here as everywhere that heedlessness brings disaster. But the great majority of married people are happier for the marriage, as happy as their circumstances and character will allow. Poverty can never have the pleasures cf wealth, but can have more pleasure in a loving marriage than in single loneliness. Love makes many a cottage happy. Covetousness can never have the pleasure of generosity, but in a loving marriage it finds dwarfing influences, and so becomes a smaller barrier to happi- ness. Selfishness in whatever form can never have real

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happiness; but true love in marriage tends to destroy selfishness.

Marriage is God's grand institution for cultivating love in human hearts. What would this sin-stricken world be without the affections of the family circle, the love of husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters ? What refining influences come into this world with a little child ! What delightful and elevat- ing feelings are awakened by a babe ! Oh, mothers ! rocking the cradle, you may well look up to God with eyes filled with happy tears. He has bestowed upon you a most precious gift. You may well look down upon your babe with unspeakable love. You may well look out into the future picturing for }rour child a noble life on earth, and an eternal blessedness in heaven. Happiest of women ! you have an immortal soul akin to yours in your loving care. How selfish and narrow and hard our hearts and lives would become were it not for God's gift of children, awakening gratitude to him, self-sacrificing love for them and all the sweet sym- pathies and tender patient ministries of the home ! What more helpless lhan a babe ? God in marriage secures the might of love for its helplessness. What more ignorant? God secures teachers whose patience is well nigh inexhaustible. Is there danger the child may become rough and selfish? In the required yielding to one another of brothers and sisters of different ages is found an antidote of selfishness and the cultivation of gentle manners. Certainly the child will need government. The family is God's place for cultivating obedience to law from the earlest hours of childhood.

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Submission to right authority is the spirit of a good child, of a good citizen, of a good Christian.

Is there any wonder then that God guards this blessed institution of marriage against all that would pollute and destroy it ? If the frequency and earnestness of the warnings of the Hoty Scripture against any sin measure the tendency of man to commit that sin, then impurity is one of the most fearfully prevalent and dreadful sins of'the race ; and so the history of the past and of to-day plainly teaches. The lurking places of this sin exist in every large city. " Dead Seas," some one has called them, whose vapors even are deadly, and these seas have their bays and inlets in every town and village of our land. The Proverbs speak in warning of the strange woman. She uses all her charms to corrupt and destroy men, especially young men. As she passes along the streets she awakens the laugh of bad men, the pity of good men, and the horror of the pure. She sinks down into the hell of misery and despair. But she sinks not alone ; she drags down with her many whom she has corrupted. Well may her house be called the gate-way of hell ! Once she was a babe in her mother's arms. Once she was a beautiful maiden, the pride of her brother's heart. But thoughts of evil entered her heart, " she forsook the guide of her youth," her footsteps took the pathway to hell, and she soon became the tempter of others.

And surely there must be in hell a place still lower than hers which belongs to him who first instilled those thoughts of evil into her heart, and who led her by the hand when her footsteps were first directed in the path- way of vice. How will he quail when he stands before 7

gS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

the pure white throne of the Judge of all ! And if there is a still lower place in hell it must belong to the viper, who, crawling into the family, fastens his glitter- ing eyes upon the cherished wife and fascinates her to her ruin. The lightning of God's wrath will flash its hot cuttings of remorse through his heart, and though hers, forevermore. And surely there must be a still lower place in hell for the married man who leaves a confiding wife, betraying her trust and love, proves false to his most solemn vows, and in his sensual lust revels with the impure only to make them more impure, damning both himself and them.

Our laws are lax here too. They do not regard adultery and its hideous kindred as crimes. To steal ten dollars sends a man to prison. To steal happiness and honor only gives a right to sue for damages. And has Society, the State, no interest in such things ? Surely adultery is a crime. It should be so pronounced by the State — a crime next in penalty to murder. Public opinion has some healthfulness in it, but is unjust in giving its severest condemnation to the woman. Even when she is the tempter, the man should be at least equally condemned ; and it is too weak to demand laws making the offense criminal. The more of delicacy and sanctity there is thrown around the relation of the' sexes, and the more of personal honor there is secured to woman, the more elevated and strong will be the character of the State ; and her laws should be framed like to God's law, to secure these ends. If Tacitus is to be believed our forefathers, when they lived under the German forests, were comparatively free from the

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common leprosy of barbarism. They considered there was something divine in woman. They reverenced a pure family life. They taught the young the spirit of purity. It was their custom to bury the adulterer alive in the mud. The Anglo-Saxons are the most powerful race on earth to-day. One secret of their power is that from the first the}7 have reverenced virtue. Our hold on power depends largely upon our hold on purity. May it not be, with us, as it was with the ancient Romans, that our virtue becomes corrupted by the power and luxury it has gained. However silent our laws may be, let us never forget that God is not silent. The Bible does not whisper, it thunders peal on peal the hot denunciations of divine wrath against the adulterer.

Marriage is further ennobled in our thought since God has chosen this most intimate and sacred union to illustrate the union between Christ and His Church. The union illustrated throws its clear light back upon the illustration, and shows married people the spirit which should rule their lives. Whatever motives have led the way, and however well or poorly suited to each other they may be, they have entered the relationship, they have assumed its duties, and now let them cultivate that spirit which alone can secure blessing in marriage and honor God. u Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Love and honor him. Cherish this spirit, for God hath made him head of the family. " He is the head of the wife even as Christ is head of the Church." " Husbands, love yonr wives, even as Christ also loved the Church." Cherish

IO0 THE TEX COMMAXDMEXTS.

that self-sacrificing, peculiar, ever-faithful love for her which shall more and more resemble the love Christ bears His Church. Know you not that of yuu twain God hath made one flesh ? that you are joined to each other by his holy and blessed institution of marriage ? Whatever mistakes you may have made, do not try to correct them by making still others, but cultivate the spirit God directs and you will rind the blessedness he gives.

Turn our thoughts now to the union between God and His people. On the plains of Northern Italy there stands an ancient and beautiful city. Near its center rises a building of pure white marble, wonderful for its grandeur and beauty, seeming more like a dream from heaven than a creation of the earth. As one stands upon the roof of this cathedral of Milan, surrounded by the multitude of its dazzling pinnacles and spires, he may look far off to the north, over the plains and hills, until his eye rests upon the snow-clad summits of the Alps, those other pinnacles and spires which God himself created, and clothed with the ever pure white garments of the skies. So, from this purest of earth's relation- ship we lift o « thoughts to the mystical union of life and love, between the heaven and the earth, the marriage of the Church to her Divine Lord. Who shall speak of the love and faithfulness of this Divine Bridegroom, the love which knows no changing, which led Him to lay down His life for His Church ? How steadily and warmly should her love go out to Him ! Let her never listen to the whispers of the false world. Let coldness never chill her heart, but may she be

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always heavenly minded and clothed in the spotless robe of His righteousness, adorned as a Bride for her Husband. Let us all remember we are living in the pres- ence of God, under the pure eyes of our Savior. Let us have our thoughts consciously open to His inspec- tion and our lives pure in His sight.

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT.

"Thou shalt not steal."— Ex. 20: 15.

This globe upon which we live belongs to God. He made it. His creative power brought it through various stages to its present condition. He clothed it with beauty over mountain and plain and sea, and He has endowed it with all its fruitfulness. It is His. He has given a life interest in it to man, made it his home during the first, the material stage of his existence. With regard to the earth itself and all it contains man is simply God's tenant. He owes homage and obedience to the owner. The money we give to sustain the public worship of God and to advance His cause is not charity in the usual sense of that word, but justice, His due. That we are left judges of the amount and the direction of our contributions, only increases our obligation ; as if a landlord should say to his tenant, " Make all you can from the farm and give me what you think is a just rent." And the appeal to our honor is greater than it could be in any such case, since all we are as well as all we have comes from God.

As with our general right in the earth, so with our particular property among each other. The right of individual property comes from God. This important truth should be clearly seen and firmly held, especially in our land and day. It does not arise from the useful- ness of the arrangement to the well-being of society. The expediency of any arrangement is a matter of 102

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 103

opinion, and the opinion of even the great majority has no control over the conscience of those who think differently. But God has written on the conscience, " Thou shalt not steal," and reason as he may, man cannot entirely destroy the writing. It does not arise from any social agreement or compact, expressed or implied. Common consent does not create the right of property. It can neither give it, nor take it away. All it can do is simply to recognize the fact that man has a right to the results of his enterprise and labor. A man takes a cup of water from a flowing river. It is his. If all men should combine to take it away from him, they would have to disobey the still small voice of quiet authority speaking in their souls, " Thou shalt not steal." Neither does the right of individual property arise from the law of the State or Nation. It exists prior to such law and entirely independent of it. The law cannot ignore the right, cannot deprive a man of his right. Neither can an unjust law give a moral title to property. It cannot justify a conscientious man in entering upon its possession. The saying, " I will take all the law gives me," is either immoral or thoughtless. It amounts to saying, "I will make the law of the land rather than the law of God my rule of conduct in matters of property." The province of the State is simply to define and enforce the law of God, to guard the right, provide for its transfer and for its descent through the generations.

.The only possible source of the individual right of property is the will of God, and he has written his will very clearly in the nature of property itself, and upon the conscience of man. This commandment guards a

104 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

God-given right. As we have seen a sacredness in human life, and in the relationship of the sexes, so here we see there is a sacredness in the right of individual propert}^. We are commanded to cherish it. We are forbidden to destroy it.

What is property? Look again at the globe, and there are some things upon it now which did not exist when it was prepared for man's home. There are ships upon the sea, opulent cities upon the coasts and rivers, towns, villages and country homes widely scattered over many lands, cultivated farms where forests waved, great highways, crossing plains and piercing mountains, and waving over all the plume of factory smoke. Not a single one of these things or a single element of them has been brought to the earth from any other realm. All these things have come from the earth itself, and they have all come forth at the bidding of a single agency, the labor of man. Property is the creature of man's toil. It is the material of the earth changed in form or position by man's labor. The cup of water taken from the river, the apple picked or cultivated, the stone cut from the mountain, whether builded into a wall or carved into a statue, wherever the material of the earth is changed by human labor there is the right of property. A recent writer claims that he owns the pen with which he writes, for labor has brought the material of the earth into the shape of the pen, and he has purchased this result of labor with the result of his labors in other directions; and undoubtedly he is right. Then he denies man's right to individual property in land, saj's he has no more right to the land than he has to the air or the sky. But man cannot change the air

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 105

or slry by his labor, while he does change the land as radically as the material of the pen. The main thing in land values with us to-day is not the land, strange as it may seem, but the labor that has been expended upon the land and its surroundings, the nearness and high- ways to markets, the generous tillage of generations and the accumulation of improvements, and these are inseparable from the land.

God's will written upon the nature of property and upon the conscience of man is simply this — that every man has the individual right to the results of his own labor. Social compacts and State laws have but one legitimate province, to guard this divinely given right. They should protect every man in the production and holding of property, the result of his own labor. In proportion as they do this they cultivate in man high and noble qualities, industry, energy, enterprise, fore- sight, economy, integrity, honesty — qualities of great value to the individual and society — while they check qualities injurious to both, as idleness, prodigality, avarice and dishonesty. They foster comfort and true culture, while they check luxury and guard against the want of the necessities of life. That State laws have not always had this aim, is a matter of history. In some lands they have assuredly fostered an aristocracy of wealth. That State laws do not fully secure these results, is a matter of fact, seen in our own land and in all lands to-day- Even if they were perfect it would require complete and universal obedience to them to secure their full results; and that they are human laws, con- fesses their imperfection. Wherever intense selfishness exists, wedded in some cases to energy and enterprise,

Io6 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

and in other cases to idleness and prodigality, there immense fortunes will exist by the side of abject poverty. It is possible also that State laws and social conditions may give opportunities and approval to unscrupulous selfish energy, while they also encourage selfish idleness, and so help bnild the palace on the avenue where luxury revels, and the tenement house on the back street where men, women and children are crowded in misery and starvation.

But while social institutions may be unjust and in effect foster stealing, the law of God forbids stealing and is always just. This precept sends forth justice to solve the great problem of poverty. It gives every man a right to the results of his labor. Individual obedience and the uplift of social conditions and State laws to this standard will secure a just distribution of the accumu- lated property of the world. There are loud cries of grasping unrest in the world to-day. " Monopoly and Trusts," cries Wealth. "Combination and strikes," shouts Labor. Competition is the pass-word of political economy. Amid the warring sounds our Christian civilization is beginning to hear the quiet voice of this commandment commending just arbitration and hearty co-operation to solve her difficult problems.

Beneath these loud cries are the deep mutterings of social unrest. In Europe there have arisen societies whose common object is social revolution, and we do well to have more than a general far-off interest in the matter, since there is a large immigration of these societies into our nation, embracing many of their ablest and most radical leaders, who make this land their refuge when they dare no longer remain in their own.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 107

There are many grades of Socialists and Communists, and comparatively few probably deserve the name of Anarchists, but certainly this name may be given to many of their most radical leaders. Their base demand is that marriage and private property shall be abolished. They cast off the authority of God. " There is no God," " There is no right nor wrong," " There is no future life," "Man is an animal, though of a high order — let him live as an animal." Shall we say that these are the hot outbreathings of a sinful nature? Yes, but the sin is not all on their side. It is sinful nature ground down into a mass of suffering and degradation by the heel of oppression, until, aroused by the consciousness of bitter wrong and rank injustice, it flames up in wrath and clamors to destroy and to enjoy. Shall we shut them out from our land ? What ! shut out the oppressed because they are not angels ! Let them find a refuge, but let it be a refuge in a religion and an education which live justly, in obedience to this commandment. Their wild and angry opinions can never even touch the secure foundation upon which our Christian society is builded. Marriage and the right of private property are not civil institutions, to be changed or abolished by the caprice of the people, but divine institutions based upon the authority of God.

Let us now direct our attention to some particulars in which this commandment guards the right of private property. Of course outright robbery and theft are for- bidden. These vices like all others are not fully formed at once. They grow from small beginnings. A boy may begin to steal at his mother's cake basket or sugar bowl when he takes what he knows is not his, what his

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mother would not give him if he asked, and because his mother does not see him. That course of action carried out a little further may bring him to the state- prison. Sometimes a boy at school stronger than his fellow takes from him something he wants, and laughs in his face when he complains. Such a boy is called a bully, and there is hardly a more contemptible charac- ter on the face of the earth than a grown up bully. He uses his strength to oppress when he ought to protect the weak. He is a robber, and whether he gets there or not he ought to go to state-prison. Boys and girls, never take anything that does not belong to you, not even a pin. Be honest.

But this commandment, like all the others, in for- bidding the greatest offense forbids all lesser ones of kindred character, and the spirit which prompts to such, and it commands the reverse spirit and action. A very little study will probably show that if we were to be judged simply by this commandment, leaving all the others out of view, the very best of us would have to plead "guilty" before the throne of God. There are many ways of breaking the law which are so common that even good people practice them without suspecting themselves of transgressing. They have not thought carefully of the matter. I have heard these expositions called " eye-openers." I intend that they shall deserve the name, for only in this way can they be of any profit to us. Let me speak plainly, since I am speaking to myself as well as to you, and since we are trying to- gether simply to find out the important truth, how the law of God in all its precepts applies to our hearts and lives.

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Where a transfer of property is made we are com- manded to make an honest bargain, to see that an equivalent is given and received. Instead of each think- ing and planning only for himself, he is to think and plan for the other man as well. Each is to secure the other in his rights. Yet there are several maxims familiar in a Christian community which indicate a pre- vailing opinion and practice opposed to this law. " It is better to cheat than to be cheated." " Let the buyer take care of himself," " The buyer is at the mercy of the seller." The seller generally has the weights and measures in his care, in store and on farm. If you have any suspicion your's are just a little short, rest not until they are known to be absolutely correct. Think not this is a little thing. God calls it by a very strong name, saying that a false balance is an abomination to him. The seller also has the best means of knowing of the quality of the article sold. A lady buys a piece of silk in the city and at home finds a flaw in the middle. We all condemn the merchant in New York. But if he comes to us to buy a horse, that is a different matter. Let him keep his eyes open. In selling horses as in selling silks all flaws should be revealed.

There is a large class of offenses committed against the general public which would not be committed be- tween individuals, but it is evident that a large number on one side makes no difference in the rule of right. This applies to all adulterations. Probably there is great adulteration of liquors, there ma}* be some adulteration of sugars, but we are not engaged in these lines and the matter though interesting does not concern our

HO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

honesty. But we are quite generally engaged in the milk business. There is a certain kind of feed used for cows which produces large quantities of milk. It is claimed also that the quality of this milk is good. Still the fact remains that those who raise milk for butter-making never use this kind of feed, only those who raise milk for sale. The only way the milk busi- ness can be defended from the charge of Sabbath desecration is that it affords a needed article of diet to multitudes, especially the children, in the great city. That this is so should lead a conscientious man to be ver}^ careful that this important article of diet is pure and wholesome. Feed the children of others as you would feed your own. A certain chemical preparation is sold in large quanties in this community whose sole use is to give butter a fine yellow appearance, increas- ing its value for sale. It is not the rich yellow butter it sells for, but poor white butter colored, and the in- creased price must be called the wages of fraud. It is frequently said and perhaps it is sometimes true, but it can never be honest, that the best apples and potatoes are in the top of the barrel.

The buyer too should regard the rights of the other man. The seller surely has a right to the value of the article and to a proper return for his enterprise in bring- ing it to the hand of the buyer, and also to be considered honest. What means then this almost universal custom of beating down the price ? Is it to give the seller his just dues, to get the article at its just price ; or is it to get it at its lowest possible price, taking advantage of the weaker will or ignorance or necessity of the seller?

The labor problem is one of the perplexing questions

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 1 1 1

of the day, made so largely by the vast corporations and combinations engaged in it. We have the simple ele- ments of it in our experience in hiring labor on our farms, and the principles of this commandment easily applied to these would, if faithfully applied to the larger and. more complex problem, fully solve it. Some of us sell our labor. We should be very care- ful to give what we sell in quality and in quantity. Whether the buyer is present or absent we should take care of his interest in our labor, and see that it is fully satisfied. To get all the wages we can and give as little labor as possible is not being in harmony with this law. On the other hand the buyer of labor has a very clear duty. It is often all a poor man has to sell. He is often so situated that he must have work or starve, and he is often almost entirely dependent upon us for work, and we need his labor. Now we are to give him a just price for his labor, that is of course what it is worth to us. We are not to take advantage of his situation and hire him at starvation wages. We are not to withhold his wages a moment after they are due. We are to so deal with others that they have no cause to complain of us to God. And if Labor and Capital, whether on a small or large scale, would each think of its obligation to the other under God's law, the problem would be solved. The supply and demand theory of political economy is not so wise as the " Thou shalt not steal " of God.

The commandment covers that large field of business where property is not transferred, but intrusted. Some- times men are paid for caring for money or other property, and rules for its care are expressed or implied,

112 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

as in the ease of a public officer or treasurer, the cashier o( a bank, the trustee or executor of an estate. In all such cases the right is not to use, the duty is to care for and guard. When such a one uses the property in his own business or in speculation, he steals. He prob- ably intends to return it, nevertheless the act is stealing. He takes that which does not belong to him without the consent of the owner and uses it for himself. If he returns it, he returns stolen property, and is not dis- covered. If he does not return it he is discovered. That is all the difference. He keeps that which he had no right to have. His having it in his own use was steal- ing. Keeping it is only continued stealing. Embezzle- ment, defalcation, breach of trust, are fine words we have invented to make light of a serious offense. Even with these words it needs to be said, that it is not the discovery that deserves them so much, as the thing that is discovered. It is not the failure to return that is the embezzlement. It is the taking, in the first stage of it.

The borrower of an}~thing does not own it. He only has the right to use. He should be sure he has the power to keep before he borrows, should take the best possible care of it while he has it, and should be careful to return it at the proper time. This certainly applies to an umbrella, and it applies also to money. The borrower of mone}^, while he has the right to use it for himself, has no right to unduly risk it. He should take extra care of it, that he may make a full return. It is not his. The lender of money has a right to seek security and a proper interest for the use of his money, but he has no right to take advantage of the necessity

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 1 1 3

of the borrower. The rule, " Think of the other man — do not steal from him," applies here too, and to the lender as much as to the borrower. Fair Credit is the inspiring spirit of much of the business activity in Christian lands. She can only remain fair as she stands radiant in the light of this commandment. The pay- ment of a debt is a religious obligation.

There are cases where a transfer of property is made but nothing is returned. This is a very clear case, you will say at once. It is stealing. By some standard or other the parties maybe in agreement, yet it is stealing. Then all betting is stealing, whether it be about a horse race or a presidential election, whether for a pair of gloves or for a thousand dollars. The subject and amount have no effect upon the nature of the transaction. So also with lottery and gambling — the place and object do not change the nature of the act. It is just as much stealing at a church-fair for some trifling thing as it is in a low bar-room for drinks, or in a gambling palace for large amounts of money: True, all are agreed who bet or gamble ; each would win if he could, and feels in honor bound to give when the other wins. But that only puts this color on it; One steals from those who would steal from him, if they could, that is, one is not only a thief, but is associating with thieves.

There are certain transactions in the Stock and Produce Exchanges of our great cities which it would be hard to find more proper names for than betting and gambling. The advance in material prosperity so marvelous in our civilization is largely due to those energetic and courageous men who risk their fortunes in great enterprises. These exchanges give a wide field 8

114 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

of legitimate business to such men in whom often splendid honesty is combined with great business ability. Large fortunes are frequently and quickly and honorably made by giving a just equivalent in management and enterprise. •

But, on the other hand, that is a very significant word heard sometimes in exchanges, " a corner." One man or set of men quietly buys nearly all the stock of a certain railroad that is in the market. Intimations are now thrown out and offers to sell made in such a way that the stock is depressed, and other dealers and their clients, thinking it is going still lower, sell stock they do not possess, promising to deliver it at a certain time, believing that they Avill be able to buy before that time at a still lower figure, and so make money. Those who already hold nearly all the stock purchase these prom- ises to deliver stock, well knowing that such stock can- not be obtained except from themselves. They have the sellers now in a corner and begin to squeeze them to deliver the promised stock. This they can only do by buying it of the men who have them in the corner, at their own prices, and this they must do, or fail in busi- ness. So they pay double or thribble the price for which they promised to sell, and fhe holder of the stock both keeps it and pockets the money. In the recent wheat " corner" in Chicago in the last two days of September the price of wheat rose from less than a dollar to over two dollars a bushel, because one man held nearly all the wheat in the city and also many promises to deliver wheat on those days, which the promisors could only fulfill by buying of him on his own terms. Thus he made a large fortune in a few days, while others lost a

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 115

like amount, and he made it without giving an equiva- lent.

Suppose now the "corner" was one of force instead of deceit, and one man had a dozen men in a corner of a room and at the point of a revolver threatened their lives unless they bought their way out at his price. That would be robbery, and it would make no differ- ence in principle if all those men had just been engaged in a desperate struggle each to get all the others in the corner. One man has succeeded, that is all, but it is success in robbery. Yet our sympathies do not go out very warmly to the robbed, since they were trying to rob, though their families perhaps are brought down from luxury to need in an instant. But our sympathies must go out to the poor who must feel sooner or later the effects of the growth of immense fortunes by specu- lative robbery. The following week in Chicago the bakers put up the price of bread one cent a loaf. That means suffering to many poor. This was done, not because wheat was scarce in the country — there is plenty ; not because there are no facilities to bring it to the centers of population — there are the best ; but* because a fictitious value is given to it by " cornering " it. Now, it is quite evident that not only are the men engaged in such robbery at fault, but the laws are at fault that provide for and permit it, and the social con- dition is at fault that applauds and welcomes such a robber to its highest ranks. Large " corners " occur but seldom, but much of the buying and selling stocks and produce is not dealing in the articles themselves, in either present or future values, but simply amounts to betting on the rise or fall of prices. Some system

1 16 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

ought to be devised to prevent this, and at the same time provide for the legitimate trade on a large scale and the fostering of large and daring enterprises. Until this is devised and carried out some of the best places in the land on which to write this commandment of God, k> Thou shalt not steal," are the doors of the Stock and Produce Exchanges.

This commandment applies of course to corporations and communities and to individual relations to these, ill membership or in dealings. It is quite obvious that when individuals combine in companies, they neither lose their rights nor lay aside their duties. Corpora- tions have no right to take advantage of the necessity of men, no right to crush the poor, no right to make slaves of their employees. Each member, though he tries to shield himself in the crowd,, is seen by the Great Judge. Churches should be examples of honor- able dealing. On the other hand, the prevalent opinion that one may take advantage of a corporation without sin, is wrong. A jury sometimes gives a heavy verdict against a corporation, not so much from the justice of the case as because it is a corporation. They in effect steal from the corporation, for, though they do not put the money in their own pockets, giving stolen property away does not lessen guilt. There are some who do not seem to think it wrong to steal from the nation or the community. They try to evade their taxes, or seek not a just assessment but the lowest possible assessment of their property. So men working for a corporation or community often fail to give the full time and labor they would give if their employer was looking on. Many are conscientious, but some are not. It is hardly

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worth while to go to Albany or Washington for instanceSo Working out the road tax is a sufficient example.

Our consciences should be sensitive on this whole subject. Honesty to one another is a duty we owe to God.

There is one feature of this commandment which does not belong to the others so fully and clearly, that is the possibility and duty of restitution. If any are con- scious that you have wronged others in this matter there is but one thing for you to do, if it is in your power. Make full restitution. No matter how much it may be to your shame, no matter how much it may cost you. There can be no true repentance while you remain in possession of the fruits of wrong doing. That is not leaving sin, but continuing in it. You cannot hope to have forgiveness in Christ or any interest in him until full restitution is made.

The heart of honesty to our fellowmen is honesty to God. It is because we have withheld from Him his due, the consecration of our hearts and lives ; because we have been dishonest to Him, that we are prone to be dishonest with each other. God in Christ is providing for and calling for the restitution of our hearts and lives to him.

THE NINTH COMMANDMENT.

" Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor." — Ex.

2,): 16.

We at once think of a court of justice and of bear- ing witness there. The great Law-giver and Judge comes by this commandment into these courts, His rep- resentatives on earth, and directs that all their rules and practices shall be administered in the interest of truth, and that judges and lawyers shall devote all their energies to this end. Lawyers, in managing the causes of their clients and in the examination and cross exam- ination of witnesses, are here commanded to seek only the truth and to seek the whole truth, and judges on the bench are to see that the truth is discovered and prevails.

To bear false witness before such courts, to take away the property, reputation, libert}^ or life of our neighbor, is the highest offense against this commandment. As the less is included in the greater, all lesser offenses of kindred nature and all feelings and dispositions natu- rally leading to them are included in the prohibition, and the reverse feelings and acts are commanded.

Among the dispositions forbidden, a very important and controlling one is want of loyalty to truth. The commandment therefore checks all propensities to lying, and commands truthfulness of speech to and about our neighbor. It is very difficult to over-estimate the value of truth or the importance of being truthful in char- 118

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acter and speech. There is a reality to the things and the laws which surround us and are within us which we call truth. When our thoughts exactly correspond with this reality we have apprehended truth. When we conform ourselves to this we are true. The knowl- edge of truth is of great value to us if it leads us to be true, to be in harmony with nature and to obey her laws. If our thought does not exactly correspond with this reality we are in error, and error is a mischief to us. We disobey the laws, we abuse the things about us, we are like blind men striking against obstacles, falling into pits. The nature of things remains unchanged, the laws are immutable, but we are false to them. Truth is not merely to be known, it is to be transmuted into life. Man is to be so hearty in his allegiance to the truth he knows that he lives it and speaks it. The man who knows the truth and disobeys it is false in his nature. He may not deceive his neigh- bors as to himself. Every one may know he is a false man, but his whole life is bearing false witness as to the truth, and as to it may deceive many. The greater part of the truth we possess we have derived from others. A man deprived of all communication with his fellows would gain but little knowledge by his own unaided observation. There is an exchange of truth. Men who search in one realm give the truth they find to their fellows who are searching in other realms, and receive truth from them in return, and each generation leaves its rich legacy of inherited and acquired truth to the following, and thus the race advances in the knowledge of truth.

Wide is the realm of truth, in earth and sky, in matter

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and spirit, in time and eternity. Man should himself or his fellow out from any portion of it. Dp u the truth in nature and her Lai xistence depends.

We reap what we sow. Bread is food. E iiows

cause. We know upon what to depend. Truth is

--ential to man's intellectual, moral and sphitual well-being. We a: e to search for it. we are to yield selves to it in loyal obedience, and we are to faithfully communicate it. If any one bears false witness to any part of the wide realm of truth it is always against his neighbor, depriving him wrongful!}' of that which is of the greatest importance to his well-being.

Great is the difference between truth and falsehood. Infinity and eternity cannot measure it. Of God it is said: -He is light. He is the truth." Of the Devil it is said: "There is no truth in him. He is a liar and the father of it." Hell is the home of universal false- hood and distrust, Each one there is alone in the i of others, deceiving and being deceived, distrusting and being distrusted. Heaven is the home of universal truth and confidence. Each one there is a member of a blessed society, trusting and being trusted, a society of clear eyes and bright faces, of true tongues and loving hearts. Oh, radiant Truth ! we yield thee our alle- giance. Lead thou us on to ever higher and more shining heights, even up to heaven and God! The more worthy we become of confidence and the more confidence we have in each other the more will the society on earth resemble that of heaven. The influence of falsehood is to disorganize society. It brings suspicion and distrust into the community, even in: family, and, alas ! makes one deserving only of distrust.

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False witness is always against our neighbor, against society.

The more we follow truth the nearer we advance to God. The truths in nature are His thoughts, written on the heavens in light, on the earth in beauty, on our souls in virtue. As we express truth we help others advance to him, by small steps or large, according to the importance of the truths we speak. But false wit- ness is always against our neighbor, since it leads him to wander away from God.

Other commandments have taught us the sacredness of human life, of the relation between the sexes, of property. This teaches us the sacredness of truth. The world itself is a great court. God is the ever-pres- ent Judge. Whenever we speak Ave speak as witnesses about some person or thing. The third commandment directs that speech, the crowning glory of man, shall be used in the praise of God. This commandment further directs us to use this noble gift of intelligent speech in conveying truth to our fellow man. We are to speak truth to our neighbor in all matters of common concern ; and we are to speak truth of our neighbor whenever we speak of him.

The commandment requires truth in ordinary conver- sation. Loyalty to truth will put us on our guard against certain tendencies in describing things or nar- rating events which would leave a false impression. Conjecture and partial information will be spoken of as such, not made to pass for complete knowledge. We will strive to know fully that we may speak clearly. Vividness, sprightliness and color will be employed to interest in and set forth the truth, not to gain applause^

IJ2 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

and all exaggeration will be avoided. Our aim will not be selfish, to be considered as having had a wonderful experience, or as having fine descriptive powers, or as being well informed, but will be simply to convey truth to our neighbor. Some subjects are pleasant, others are unpleasant. Christian courtesy and gentleness will always have due consideration for the tastes and feel- ings of others. This commandment commends the choice of pleasing and wholesome subjects of conversa- tion, and also the truthful expression of personal approval and commendation, but it frowns upon flattery, insin- cerit}^ and deceit.

In all those cases in which we speak to our neighbor with intent to lead him to a desired line of conduct, our self-interest may be aroused against our loyalty to truth. It is in such cases that much of the casuistry upon this subject has arisen. The mind of man has been active in devising ways of avoiding this rule of truth-telling when it stood in the way of his selfish interests, and has often succeeded in deceiving his own conscience. The subtleties of casuistry, instead of clearing, are apt to cloud our views of right and wrong. When a man allows himself to consider whether it is ever right for him to do wrong, he has already become so confused in mind and conscience that he is quite apt to decide that his self-interest is more important than God's eternal laws, or at least that he may exercise his ingenuity in evading them. Mental reservation, double meaning, significant silence, the end justifies the means, and all kindred evasions, may quiet a confused conscience, but will never do to plead before a truth-loving God.

But, says the business man, must I reveal the defects

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 1 23

in the property I am trying to sell ? Must I reveal the fact I have skillfully acquired, that prices in the market will be much lower to-morrow ? Certainly you must, or you will both lie and steal in one act. But, says the Jesuit, is not a lie justified if thereby I greatly advance the cause of the Church ? Ask the business man what he thinks about it. His conscience will probably have clear and strong views where his interests are not so strong. The plea of the detective is that he may lie to the criminal since he has no right to the truth. But the criminal's right is not the only right involved. That advance of justice which causes justice herself to blush, and at the same time undermines the truthful character of the people, is an advance in the wrong direction. Political managers, speakers and papers are not exempt from this commandment, though many of them seem to act as if they were. The conscience of some politicians must be a very queer kind of thing, or else they have never heard of this commandment. The fair discussion of great issues, and a deliberate and careful decision upon them, afford a training of national intellect and charac- ter of great value. But in proportion as pretense and sophistry, false declarations and false promises, deceit and fraud enter political campaigns, they destroy the truthfulness of the national character. In the whole realm of influencing the conduct of others we will do better to go directly to the commandment for our rule of life than to the teachings of the Jesuits. Truth is sacred. A lie is abominable in God's sight. Better far be defeated by adherence to the right than triumph by the practice of wrong. There is a success that is not worth what it costs.

124 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

Ill the training of children both at home and in school we should constantly recognize that truthfulness is absolutely essential to their intellectual and moral well- being. It is an honor to have it said of man or child, " He always speaks the truth. You can depend upon him. There is no deceit in him." Truthfulness of character enables a man to pass with uplifted head among his fellows, frankly looking them in the face. A false character has either a downcast, sneaking look, or a brazen boldness which repels. A true man walks uprightly before God, having His approval. A false man skulks away from God, conscious of His condem- nation.

We are to speak truth not only to our neighbor but about him. This commandment guards a man's repu- tation.

" Good name in man or woman Is the immediate jewel of their souls."

Reputation is one of our most valuable possessions, but it is unlike all the others in a striking respect. Man has his other precious possessions largely in his own keeping, his life, his wife, his property, his character, but his reputation is entirely in the keeping of his neighbors. A man's character no one can touch but himself. A man's reputation any one can touch except himself. To wound a reputation is to betray a sacred trust God has placed in our hands. We are our brother's keeper in all respects to some extent. We are the keeper of his reputation to the fall extent. We should guard it as we have a right to desire him to guard ours.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. \2$

This commandment gives each man a right to have his reputation the exact expression of his character. It is evident it does not guard hypocrisy. It upholds truth, not falsehood. It is for the interest of all to have hypocrisy unmasked, even of the hypocrite him- self, and it may become our solemn duty to unmask it. In detecting a hypocrite we should be very sure of the detection. We should not allow the confidence a life should win to be undermined by a single action, or even by several separate actions, but be sure that the whole course of life is wilfully in the opposite direction from the appearance. Having made the detection we should reveal it only from a sense of duty, for the interest of our neighbors when concealing it would be false to them, never from revenge or any evil feeling to the hypocrite, but trying to win him to a true life. Christ unmasked the Pharisees, but it was to awaken them to a sense of their sin and especially to defend the multi- tude against their false influence.

The invention of evil reports about our neighbor is of course the highest offense against his reputation, but it is of infrequent occurrence. Such a slanderer is a foul compound of falsehood and malice, and is odious in God's sight and contemptible in man's. Some men's minds are quickened in controversy to remember all the evil things they have ever heard about their neighbors, even years ago, and without any restraint or regard for truth their angry tongues pour forth the bitter tale. But such offenses also are rare — the culmination of anger and malice with reckless indifference to truth. It is for us to guard against the small beginnings of propensities whose culmination is so hideous.

126 THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

It is certainly not wrong to speak about our neigh- bors. Ordinary conversation may and should be about persons as well as things. Men and women, their lives, their affairs, their characters, are the most interesting and often the most profitable subjects of conversation. But we should be so true to them and to ourselves that we only speak of them in their absence as wre would in their presence, and as we have a right to desire them to speak of us. It may often be our duty to warn against the evil propensities of others, but the duty should be clear and the warning truthful and kindly, and should be accompanied with a full acknowledgment of good qualities when possible. We should guard against secret prejudice against our neighbor, or envy of him, and should cultivate such love for him that we will rejoice in his good qualities and in his good name, that we will sorrow over the faults in him we cannot help seeing, and throw over them the garment of Christian charity, rather than exulting to proclaim them to the world. We should have the " charity that thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoicethin the truth." If we cannot speak truthfully in favor of our neighbor, and no need of warning others exists, it is generally our duty not to speak at all.

Some try to ease their conscience in repeating a bad stoiy by saying they "do not believe it." This is abominable. Refute it, then, when it comes to your ears, but do not let your tongue spread it. To say that "they are sorry for it," is very little better. We can not justify our speaking of another's fall by our allegiance to the particular virtue from which he fell. Our hearty J.ove for honesty and purity will lead us to be pure and

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 127

honest, not to talk about it, certainly not to speak of the impurity and dishonesty of others. We will cherish the virtue in the holy of holies of our hearts and not gloat over the one who has fallen — telling it with smooth tongue as good news — but look upon him with tear- dimmed eyes, and speak of him only when needed to warn the purity and honesty of others.

This commandment should govern not only our tongues but our hearts and ears as well. It forbids an appetite for gossip, a desire to hear detraction and a tendency to form unfavorable opinions of others. By holding our peace when we have it in our power to defend, by failing to mention the good when the evil is spoken of, by encouraging the telling of evil by eager listening, we assault the reputation of our neighbor by the assent of our silence.

There is a modern statue of Truth, instinct with the fire of genius, which strongly incites an opposite spirit and action. A stately woman in pure white . marble, with beautiful and firm face, wears on her head a helmet and carries a sword in her hand. At her feet lies a mask touched by the point of her sword. She has just smitten it from the face of Slander, and now she proudly draws her robe away from its polluting touch.

It is wonderful but true that some men seem to place their whole religion in detraction. They strive to dis- cover the evil in professing Christians and are blind to the good. They think and say the worst possible of the evil they find. They judge the whole class by the few they have so unjustly treated, and they place great value upon their own comparative goodness. The re- ligious hope that is based upon the failure of others,

128 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

and the holiness that is keen eyed to see only it, can neither of them be regarded as of the very finest quality, nor can a practice in direct violation of this command- ment be regarded as commending one to God.

In Spencer's Fairy Queen the Red Cross hero, Holi- ness, defends fair Una, Truth, against all the assaults of the evil knights, Error and Falsehood. So the Chris- tian knight should be devoted in his allegiance to Truth and should chivalrously defend it against all assailants however mighty, and only in this way can he ever hope to merit the name of Holiness. Our Lord Jesus Christ is himself the Truth. In His teaching and life and death he fulfills the law and the promises of God, and fully reveals the Father to us. Yielding ourselves to Him in loyal devotion, He will lead us in the true and living way to heaven and God, and as we pass along our lives and lips will speak the truth of greatest value to our neighbor.

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.

" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, uor his man-servant, nor his maid-ssrvant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." — Ex. 20 : 17.

The first commandment directs the spirit in its rela- tion to God, without mentioning a single outward act. In the following commands the spirit is directed in its outward acts, of worship of God, reverence for His name, observance of His Sabbath, and honoring His represent- atives. With the fifth command duty to man beginso The spirit is still the subject of the law and is directed in its outward manifestations of honoring superiors, giving due regard to the sacredness of human life, of the right of property, of the relationship between man and woman, of truth to and about our neighbor, until in this last commandment the spirit emerges from all out- ward actions and, as in the first commandment, is itself purely and simply the subject of the law, only now specially in its duty to its neighbor. " Thou shalt not covet! " The positive command under the prohibitory form of the first precept, as our Savior teaches, is, " Love God supremely." This love is required by all the com- mandments of outward duty to God and man until in this last precept, as Christ again teaches, its positive form is like unto the first, " Love thy neighbor as thy- self." Thus the whole law is seen to be spiritual. If any have thought that I have made too much of some of these commandments, if they will reflect carefully upon 9 129

THE TEX COMMANDMENTS.

iritual nature of the law they will soon share with me the conviction that I have not made and cannot make one half enough of a single one of them. There is a depth and comprehensiveness about the law be fully measured. There is no virtue within the range of human duty but is comprehended here. There is no vice within the reach of human action but is directly forbidden here.

This commandment, - Thou shalt not covet." is fol- lowed by seveial specificaticr.- g with an all-em bracing one. This striking feature indicates a tendency in our nature needing restraint which is so strong that it would evade a general prohibition, and so the Law- i specifies objects in such a way that it is absolutely impossible for the most in genie us man to discover any- thing belonging to his neighbor that he is permitted, to covet.

While the emphasis is upon the coveting, not upon the objects, the nature of the objects specified, further indicates that the domestic mode of life of man is pleas- ing to God and is specially guarded by him. The house as the seat of the home-life, the wife — the soul of that life — and all the surroundings of that life are specially mentioned. What protects our hemes ? The bolts and bars as we lock them up at night, the precautions we take against intrusion ? Certainly these have their proper effect. More than this, the State lifts its shield over every home, places the invisible watchman of its law before each door. In this the State is simply endeavor- ing to enforce the outward observance of God's law. Back of all these agencies the real protection of our

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 13 1

homes is the voice of supreme authority speaking to the conscience of every man — "Thou shaltnot covet."

In the fact that the property of our neighbor is guarded from our coveting, we are further instructed that those qualities of character which are needed to the acquisition of property are not forbidden but are commended in this commandment. How can one have a home at all or any thing rightfully unless it be by the exercise of industry, economy, good, management, thrift and perseverance, of carefulness and energy ? The re- sults of these economic virtues in their proper exercise are guarded in the commandment; but we are to be watchful against making the virtues vicious in their action by degrading them into the slaves of covetous- ness. A fair exchange of property is also needed to a proper enjoyment of it, and is therefore commended, not prohibited, in this precept. When our neighbor desires us to have what he has a right to convey upon one giving him a fair equivalent for it, our desire to have what he desires to give does not injure but benefits him. But if our desire to have what he is willing to give is such that it will take advantage of his ignor- ance or necessity, or make such use of our superior skill that we fail to give a just equivalent, such desire is clearly forbidden. Many a good bargain, as we call it, and many a fine fortune, have been made by the ex- ercise of such desires, by failure to give just equiva- lents, and what we call good and fine are pronounced by this precept covetousness, abhored by God. Our desire to have must respect our neighbor's interests as much as our own, must recognize his equal right and

152 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

the equal right of all men to have and to hold their own. All other desire is forbidden.

If we consider the commandment as simply forbid- ding the coveting of a particular thing belonging to a particular neighbor, each one of us will probabty plead "not guilty." We consider it mean to entice a man's servant from him by the offer of better wages or easier work, and a man's claim upon his servant is less now-a- days than of old, and we do not cast covetous eyes upon any of his possessions. But even here we may possibly deceive ourselves. This is an insidious vice and it has many degrees and related emotions. We sometimes hear the expression, " I wish I had that," spoken of some particular thing belonging to our neighbor, often corrected at once by, " I mean I wish I had something just like it." The first expression shows often the nature of the desire, and gives us reason to fear that the incipient vice forbidden may be lurking in our hearts, while the second is the rebuke of conscience which such desire deserves.

Besides, coveting is closely related to envy, a regret that others have what we do not ; and akin to this is secret satisfaction at the misfortunes of others. Per- haps there may be more of these feelings in our hearts than we are willing to acknowledge. It sometimes happens that when we are in trouble we find ourselves taking a kind of comfort from the thought that others are in such trouble too, and perhaps worse off than we are, when this reflection should rather increase our dis- comfort. Besides, pride is generally a satisfaction that we are better than our neighbors, or have something they have not ; and anger is often awakened by our

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neighbor's rights standing in the way opposing our desires, and discontentment with God's dealings is fre- quently a matter of comparison, a feeling against God because He made our neighbor's lot better than ours. All these, and many others, are vices closely related to covetousness — the tie seems to be that of parent- age, and if the children are in our hearts we may infer that the hideous mother is not far off.

Turning now to the positive feature of this com- mandment, we are to delight in our neighbor's good, to rejoice in his prosperity, and we are to strive to pro- mote it. In advancing our own interests we are not to neglect his, but are to seek them as we seek our own. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is the direct opposite of seeking the whole world for ourselves and letting our neighbor take care of himself as best he can, forcing him to spend a large amount of his energy in guarding against our encroachments.

The commandment is generally regarded as inculca- ting a spirit of contentment with our lot in God's provi- dence. We are to remember that not all contentment is commended to us. There is a contentment which is the most miserable selfishness, a satisfaction with our good fortune wedded with careless indifference to the lot of others. There is a contentment which is un- manly, arising from laziness. Alas ! also a content- ment that is akin to despair, a listless spirit crushed by adversity. " Godliness with, contentment is great gain." This commandment commends this kind of content- ment, that which arises from godliness, from obeying His commandments, loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. The servants of Mammon are

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ever filled with a restless discontent, ever striving to grasp each for himself the greatest possible amount of earthly goods. The servants of God have all their powers in highest exercise in honoring Him and in pro- moting the general welfare, and are filled with cheerful contentment in the powers God has given them, in the held of their exercise, the lot in life He has assigned them, and in the result of their labors, the care the Father takes of them. This kind of contentment the commandment enjoins upon us.

But you may say, " Is not the spirit of discontent, the restless seeking to acquire, the moving power of our high civilization, of the material advancement of the nation and the world? To make money moves the rushing train, flashes its commands over the electric wire, drives the machinery of the factory, fills the store- houses of the busy city, and spreads the sails of ships on every sea. Would not the world settle down into stagnation, would not man's fine powers rust in idleness, if it were not for selfish ambition? " There may be lurk- ing in our minds the thought that the spirit of love is very fine in theory but is impracticable, that our plan of life is better than God's plan, at any rate that striv- ing to acquire for one's self has produced the present material prosperity in our nation and in the world.

Human activity may be aroused by wrong motives and conducted by wrong rules ; the activity itself, of brain and hand, will produce much good, but so aroused and conducted will likewise produce much evil. Look again at the world's great prosperity. There are dark places in it as well as bright. Here are palaces in the fair and noble city, filled with luxury and happiness.

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Alas! here also are tenement houses filled with squalor and misery. There is the great factory turning out beautiful goods in rich profusion, and, alas ! also turn- ing out stunted manhood, men, women and children, who have slaved themselves to death through long hours on small pay. Here is a great railroad corpora- tion stretching its lines in all directions and bringing inestimable blessings wherever it goes, Alas ! also, it is gorging itself with the hard earnings of those who are dependent upon it to carry their goods to market and with the ill requited service of those who endanger their lives in its employ in order that it may pay large dividends upon watered stock. There is a tendency in the world's activity to place immense wealth in the hands of a few to the detriment of the many, a ten- dency upon which we may well look with apprehension for the welfare of our free institutions. The civiliza- tion of the age brings material prosperity to the race, great blessings to all classes of society, even to the very poor. Far better is it than the stagnation of barbar- ism. Bat is it the highest conceivable civilization? Is it God's ideal of man's welfare on earth ? Are w*e dwelling in the millennium ? Is there no possible ad- vance, no good to aspire to, no evil to destroy ?

Man's great powers may be aroused to a fuller activity than any yet reached. Material prosperity may be gained in richer amounts than any yet dreamed of, and better still, may be made the hand-maid of spiritual welfare ; and evils now raging may be checked and destroyed by bringing a new motive to bear on man's activities, love of God and man, by guiding them by a new rule, the law of God. Which is nobler — to have a

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great factory governed by the principle, " Make all the money I can," or by the reverse principle, " The wel- fare of my employees and the good of my customers " ? Which is nobler — the Statesman whose motto is, " The nation must honor and serve my great abilities," or one whose rule is to devote all his energies to the welfare of the nation ? Which is nobler — Napoleon or Washing- ton ? There is much already in our high civilization of enthusiastic love for humanity, and of supreme love for God, and it is the very best part of it. And a far higher and richer civilization will be brought about when the spirit of love shall hold universal sway. The more our lives are taken from the selfish grasping principle and become ruled by the spirit of love, the nobler they will be and the more useful in hastening on the higher civilization.

It is evident, therefore, that the commandment not merely forbids the coveting of a particular thing from a particular neighbor, but that general coveting of material things which ignores our neighbor's interests, and which leads one to be absorbed in grasping little or much for himself. No wonder God pronounces such a covetous man an idolater and declares that he cannot enter heaven. His heart is empty of God, is empty of his brother man, and is filled with self. As well try to satisfy a fire with dry wood as a covetous man with gold. The more you pile on the fiercer will burn the flaming passion. We look with condescending amuse- ment upon our children intently engaged with their toys, real to them they are so young and ignorant, and our amusement changes to reproof when they begin to quarrel over them and fight for them. How must a

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higher order of beings look upon us in tensely interested in the things of time and sense, so foolish are we and ignorant with our toys, even struggling and fighting for them, while as spiritual beings we are capable of serving God and loving one another ! There is a fable of a covetous man who found his way one moonlight night into a fairy's palace. There was a rich profusion of rare beauty on every side, and many bars of solid gold were scattered freely about. The beauty he did not see, so intent was he in gathering up the bars of gold, and he took away a heavy load, all he could carry. In the morning he found the golden bars were only worthless sticks, and the air was filled with the scorn- ful laughter of the invisible fairies. When we awake upon the realities of eternity we will find much we value highly now as golden bars worthless as useless sticks, and the angels will be too sorrowful to laugh at us.

This commandment, as the first and all the others, is addressed to the race of man by being addressed to each member of the race. It singles each one of us out from the multitude and speaks to us personally, u Thou shalt not covet." When we examine our hearts alone with God, does not conscience compel each one to say, " I think more of myself than I do of my neighbor"? Or even force us to say, with bowed head, "I think more of myself than I do of my God " ?

This commandment seeks to control the nature back of the thought and desire — that which thinks and desires. It seeks to control the involuntary movement of this nature, when an object presents itself and desire is awakened without the consent of the will. Though

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these desires never result in action, though they are not only held in check but are driven back, they are sin. They are not forbidden lest they may result in action, but because the}r are in themselves sinful in God's sight. They do not injure our neighbor, but they show our own corrupt nature. The Apostle Paul knew that cherished desire was sin, but thought he was free from sin when he held desire in check. But this com- mandment taught him that lust itself was sin, that involuntary coveting could spring only from a corrupt nature, sinful in God's sight.

Meditation upon the spiritual nature of the-command- ments and a faithful application of them to our hearts and lives will convince us that we can never be justified under the law. No man can believe that God, the just Judge, will ever say of him, " The law has nothing against him. He is entitled to all the rewards of obedience." No man's conscience can say this of him- self now, but must say of his record, " I am guilty," and of his nature, "I am sinful." We recognize that the law is right, but are compelled to confess that we have net kept it, that we do not keep it, and that we are so corrupt that we are unable to keep it perfectly.

This must be said of even7 man who has ever lived, of whom we have any knowledge, with a single exception. Judged by this law we cannot find a single defect in the life of Jesus Christ. He kept it in its letter and in its spirit, in its First Table and in its Second ; kept it per- fectly from the beginning of his life until its close. The perfectness of this law, among all other laws, shows that it is divine. The perfectness of this life, among all other lives, shows that He is divine. This is also the

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claim of the perfect man, Jesus Christ, that he is the 8011 of God. He claims there is no sin in him, the Bible states there is no sin in him, we can find no trace of sin in him ; yet this sinless one dies upon the cross, an accursed death under the law. This glorious Son of God, the perfect man, who has kept the law and has borne its curse, promises that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved from sin. All the promises of God, promises of grace and glory, are in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, accomplished and proclaimed.

Now the Christian differs from all other men in three respects. All are alike guilty under the law, but the Christian acknowledges his guilt, and seeks forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ. All are alike sinful, but the Christian acknowledges his sinfulness and seeks the complete renewal of his nature from God, through Jesus Christ. All are alike unable to keep the law of God perfectly, but the Christian acknowledges his weak- ness and relies upon God through Jesus Christ for needed daily grace. So relying, his earnest purpose and con- stant endeavor are to keep all the commandments of God. The law is the rule of his life. Thus he serves the Savior whom he loves. Thus he constantly advances toward perfection. His present attainment is the measure of his Christ-likeness. It should constantly become more clear and full, until he shall see Him as He is and be like Him.

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