THE KING’S BUSINESS
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is no room to doubt—the Scripture means us to understand no less than that (Exod. 24-12; 31:18, 34:2, 4; Deut. 10:1, 2). The Hand that wrote on the palace wall (Dan. 5:5), and on the temple pavement (John 8:6), wrote on the granite tablets (Exod. 31:18). 3. In Two Main and Ten Minor Divi sions. There were two tables, on one the duties relating directly to God; on the other those relating to man. As summed by Jesus, one contained by inference: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” etc., the other: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor,” etc. (Luke 10:27). There were ten com mands. Ten is a symbol of perfection, and this “law is perfect” (Ps. 19:7), examina tion shows that it contains in essence all known human duties. It is agreed that the Godward duties were on 'one and the manward on the other, but some include the former in the first four, and the latter five and five, and consider the fifth com mandment a link between the two aspects of duty, since parents are God’s appointed guardians and duty to them is therefore rendered, as well, to Him. This is a true thought, if not a true division. LESSON X I—September 14. —T he T en C ommandments ( P art I I ) .— Exod. 20:1-21. G olden T ext .— Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself .— Luke 10:27. I. I ntroduction .
aginary (objective or subjective), as god. This second forbids making any visible rep resentation, and giving it Divine honors. God made man, so then, a man made god is both an absurdity and a blasphemy, for in making God man makes himself greater than God. All besides God in heaven, earth or sea are creatures of God, yet sun, moon and stars, angels and saints, man, birds, four-footed beasts and creeping things, fish, stocks, stones, rivers and mountains, all have been and are worshipped in na ture and picture, and more than the Cre ator (Rom. 1:22-25). Man bows, down to what God has put under his feet, and serves what God made to serve him (Ps. 8:59). So he discrowns both God and him self. The' justice, wisdom and grace of this law can be appreciated only when we consider what its violation has done to debase and destroy mankind. The “jeal ous God” is righteously so; jealous of His own honor, and of human welfare. His tory proves that the sanction of this com mand is in fact attached to them all, for all sins are entailed on posterity, and God “visits” (punishes) to the third and fourth generations and on,—for men give no opportunity for that blessed heredity—
Who the Speaker Is: (1) The “I AM,” the Eternal Self-existent One; “Jehovah,” the Changeless Covenant Keeper; “thy God,” in distinction from the false gods of other peoples. (2) The Benefactor “Which brought thee out,” etc. These were rea sons for obedience. Luther said that he had often begun the exposition of the Ten Commandments but could never get be yond the words, “I am the Lord thy God.” II. T he F irst T able : T he G odward A s pect . 1. “Thou shalt have no other gods.”— There is but one God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44: 6; 1 Cor. 8:6; Jas. 2:19); but there are that are called “gods” (1 Cor. 8:5); they are demons (1 Cor. 10:20) ; they are idols, i. e., nothings, worthless, helpless (1 Cor. 8:4). “Before (besides) me,”—(1) all man’s acts are open before God (Heb. 4: 13) ; (2) disobedience is an insult to His face; (3) “besides”—He demands, and just ly man’s first and whole religious devotion. Jesus claimed this due (Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26). 2. The first commandment was against acknowledging any other being, real or im
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