SERMON IV.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: NOT TO TAKE GOD'S NAME IN VAIN.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."—Exodus xx. 7.
"By taking God's name in vain," says the Doctrine of the New Church, "is meant, in the natural or literal sense, the abuse of the name itself, in common discourse, especially in the support of falsehoods and lies, also in oaths without cause, or with a view to exculpate one's self from the charge of evil designs, or in the practice of tricks and incantations. But to swear by God and his holiness, or by the Word and Gospel, in the case of admission to any office, as at the coronation of a king, at inaugurations into the priesthood, or inductions into places of trust, is not to take the name of God in vain, unless he who takes the oaths afterwards disregards his engagements. The name of God, which is holiness itself, is moreover constantly to be used in the holy services of the church, as in prayers, psalms, and in all worship, and also in preaching, and in writings on religious subjects. The reason is, that God is in all things of religion, and, when properly
