CHAPTER VI.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.
GOD'S NAME.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
What is meant by this Commandment?
We should so fear and love God as not to curse, swear, conjure, lie or deceive by His name, but call upon Him in every time of need, and worship Him with prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
THE NAME OF GOD. [Ps. 111:9, Mal. 2:2, Rev. 15:4] A name is that by which we know a person. God's name means all by which He is known to us; hence not only the words God, Lord, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, the Almighty, the Eternal, the Omniscient One, etc., but the Word of God and the Sacraments, and all holy things.
This Commandment forbids the wrong use, and commands the right use of God's holy name.