LESSONS
in the
Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther.
For the Senior Department of Lutheran
Sunday-Schools and for General Use.
By
GEO. MEZGER,
Professor at Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, Mo.
St. Louis, Mo.
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE.
1923.
LESSON 1.
The Catechism and the Bible.
1. The little book we have before us is called the Small Catechism. The word "catechism" means instruction. This little book gives us instruction in a brief and simple form, such as even a child can understand. It teaches us what every Christian, as a child of God, should believe, and how every Christian, as a child of God, should live.—This book is called the Small Catechism not only because it is a small book, but mainly because we have also a Large Catechism for older people.
2. The Small Catechism was written by Dr. Martin Luther, the great Reformer of the Church. Luther was born at Eisleben, a small town in Germany, November 10, 1483, and died at the same place, February 18, 1546. He published his Small Catechism in the year 1529, for the benefit of the common people and the children, who are most in need of such instruction.
3. Our Catechism is a small book, indeed, but it is a most precious little book. It does not contain Luther's thoughts and doctrines or those of any other wise and learned man; it contains God's own words revealed to us for our salvation. It does not teach us all the doctrines of God's Word, but those that every Christian must know in order to believe rightly, to lead a godly life, and when his last hour is come to depart in peace. Our Catechism teaches these doctrines in a short form, in plain and simple words.
4. Our Catechism teaches God's Word. How do we prove this? Luther has taken the contents of his Catechism from the Bible, and the Bible is the
Word of God.—The Word "Bible" means book. We call our Bible "the book" because it really is the Book of books, the book in comparison with which no other book is worthy to be called by that name, the most important and valuable book.—The Bible is also called the Scriptures, or Scripture, which means something written, a written word. The Bible was written by holy men of God. These holy men did not write the Bible of their own will. "Holy men of God spake" (and wrote) "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1,21. God Himself moved His holy men to write the Bible.
5. The Bible contains many different books, written at different times. We divide the books of our Bible into two chief parts. The first we call the Old Testament. To it belong all the books written by the prophets of God, by Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, and others, before our Savior was born.—The second part we call the New Testament, which contains all the books written by the evangelists and apostles, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, and others, after our Savior came into this world. Both Testaments teach us the same things and doctrines. In what respect do they differ?
6. The Bible is the written Word of God. It is true, holy men have written the Bible, but they wrote being moved by the Holy Ghost, and moreover, they wrote what God told them to write, they wrote by inspiration of God. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 2 Tim. 3,16. God inspired His prophets and apostles, that is, He taught and told them what to write, He taught and gave them the very words which they were to use. When a teacher dictates to his pupils, the children, indeed, write the words; yet they do not write their own words, but the words of their teacher. In a similar manner, God, as it were, dictated His Word to the holy men; He told them what to write, and how to write it. So the whole Bible is God's Word. Therefore it is wholly free from every error, it is infallible. Everything it tells us is the truth. God will not and cannot tell us an untruth.
7. For what purpose did God give us His Word in the Bible? The Holy Scriptures "are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. 3,15. God's Word is to make us wise, not wise unto the things of this world, unto our daily life and work, but wise unto salvation. It teaches us how we who are sinners can be saved from damnation. Nobody can teach us this but God in His Word.—Our salvation is in Christ Jesus. We are saved solely by faith in Him who has taken away the sins of the world. The Scriptures testify of Christ.—The Word of God is able to make us wise unto salvation. In it we find all we must know, all that is necessary to save us, to give us eternal life. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Ps. 119,105.
8. How should we use the Scriptures? Our Savior says: "Search the Scriptures; for in them, ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me." 3 John 5,39. We should search the Scriptures, that is, we should read and study them diligently. We hear God's Word preached in our churches, we learn it in our schools, we should read it daily in our homes. We should not only read, but study it with earnest prayer to God that He would open our eyes that we may understand His Word.—We should read it so as to seek and to find in it Christ, our Lord and Savior, and through faith in Him have eternal life. "Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it," Luke 11,28.
9. From the Word of God our Catechism is taken. Luther took the most important doctrines from the Bible for his Catechism. It may be called a small Bible. Gladly should we study this little book. As new-born babes long and cry for their milk and grow thereby to become strong men or women, so children of God, newly born in Holy Baptism, should desire the pure milk of the Word set before them in their Catechism and grow thereby in knowledge and faith unto salvation. 1 Pet. 2,2.
REMEMBER:—
The Bible is the Word of God, written by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. God gave us His Word to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
We should diligently search the Scriptures to find in them Christ, our Savior, and in Him, everlasting life.
MEMORIZE:—
And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. 2 Tim. 3,15.16.
Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me. John 5,39.
Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it. Luke 11,28.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does the word "catechism" mean? 2. What does the Catechism teach us? 3. By whom was our Catechism written? 4. Who was Dr. Martin Luther? 5. When was our Catechism published? 6. From what other book are the doctrines of our Catechism taken? 7. What does the word "Bible" mean? 8. Why do we call this book the Bible? 9. How is the Bible also called? 10. By whom was the Bible, or Holy Scripture, written? Whose word is the Bible? 11. How is the Bible God's Word, though it was written by men? 12. What are the chief parts of the Scriptures? 13. Of whom do both parts testify? 14. In what respect do they differ? 15. For what purpose did God give us His Word? 16. Unto what does the Bible make wise? 17. How do we obtain salvation? 18. How should we use the Bible? 19. What does the Psalmist say about God's Word? 20. Why should we also diligently learn our Catechism?
LESSON 2.
The First Commandment.
Which is the First Commandment?
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
1. We all have been baptized. In Holy Baptism God has received us as His children. God is our heavenly Father. A father gives his children his commands. He tells them what they should do and not do, how they should live to please him. So our heavenly Father has given us, His children, His commandments. He tells us what, according to His will, we should do and not do, how we should live and walk in His sight. As His obedient children we will gladly hear and learn His will and try, with His gracious help, to lead such lives as will please Him. It should be our pleasure to fulfil His commandments, for they are the will of our Father, who loves us so dearly.—The Ten Commandments are our heavenly Father's will; they tell us what we should do and not do.
2. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," that is the first of the Ten Commandments. That is the will of God, our Lord and Father, that we are to have no other gods before or besides Him. He who is the only true God should be our God. Him alone, and nobody and nothing besides Him, we are to have and regard as our God. "I am, the Lord, that is My name; and My glory will I not give to another" Is. 42,8. When do we regard God as our God? When is He our God indeed? Our Catechism says: "We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things." When we fear God, and love Him, and trust in Him above all things, then He is truly our God.
3. "We should fear God." A dutiful child fears his father. He certainly is not afraid of him, but he honors and respects him. In the same manner we should fear God. He says: "I am the almighty God." Gen. 17,7. He has, through His mighty word, made heaven and earth. Because God is so great and mighty, we should fear Him. We should not be afraid of Him,—the almighty God is our Father,—but we should honor and respect Him above all things.
4. A child shows his fear and filial respect for his father by not doing anything wrong, because his dear father might see it or hear of it. He is afraid he might displease his father by disobeying him, yes, cause him grief. God is always with us. He sees and hears everything we do or say, yea, He knows the very thoughts of our hearts. We should always remember that He is present wherever we are, and therefore behave accordingly. We should be afraid to grieve our heavenly Father by doing wrong. The fear of God will keep us from doing anything against His holy will. "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." Prov. 16,6. Think of Joseph, in Egypt! When he was tempted by Potiphar's wife, he remembered that God was with him, therefore he told her: "How, then, can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Gen. 30,9. Remember always: God is with me! and you will not do such great wickedness and sin against your God. "I am the almighty God; walk before Me and be thou perfect." Gen. 17,1.
We fear God, when we honor and respect Him, when we walk before Him, and for His sake keep away from sin.
5. "We should love God," We all love our parents. We esteem them highly, our hearts cling to them, because we know how dearly they love us, and that they are doing all they can for us. God ought to be dearer to us than everything in this world, dearer even than our parents. He is our heavenly Father, our greatest Benefactor. From Him we receive all that we have and enjoy. He loves us first, He has so loved us that He gave His dear Son for us. So we should love Him and cling to Him with our whole heart.
6. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5,3. If we love God, we shall gladly do as He bids us do. Thus our Lord Jesus loved His heavenly Father. He says: "I will delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy Law is within My heart." Ps. 40,8. Abraham loved God, and therefore he was willing to sacrifice his only son for God's sake. Gen. 22,1-12.
We love God when we cling to Him with our whole heart and from love to Him fulfil His commandments.
7. "We should trust in God." To trust in God means to put our confidence in God and His promises, to be assured that He will give us what we need and what is good for us in this life and in the life to come. We trust in God when we believe that He will not forsake us in the day of trouble, that whatever He sends us, though it seem evil, will be for our good. Our Father can and will give us only good and perfect gifts. Thus David trusted in the Lord when he went forth to conquer Goliath. 1 Sam. 17. Thus, too those three men trusted in God who suffered themselves to be cast into the fiery furnace rather than deny their God. Dan. 3.
We trust in God when we put our confidence in Him and firmly believe that He will give us all we need, that He will never forsake us, and that everything which He sends us will be for our welfare.
8. "We should fear and love God and trust" in Him "above all things," that is, more than in all other men or things. We may, and we really do, fear and love many things besides God. We fear and love our parents, our teachers, our friends, and we trust in them. God Himself bids us do so. For God's sake we fear and love them. But we must fear and love God more than all other things, more than even our parents, or our dearest friends. He must be first in our heart and in our life. If our parents, or friends, or anything else would separate us from God, or prevent us from fearing and loving Him, or from trusting in Him above all things, we must cast them aside. If we fear and love and trust in anything more than in God, we make a creature our god; then we have other gods besides God; then we are worshiping idols (other gods that are no gods), as the heathen do. "Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4,10.
9. Fear, love, and trust God demands from us. Fear, love, and trust are to be found in the heart. God claims our hearts in this commandment. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." Prov. 3,5. Together with our hearts God wants our whole lives, all we are and have. The First Commandment is the greatest of them all. In this all the others are included. Let us daily pray God to grant us His grace to fear and love Him and trust in Him above all things, in order that we may have no other gods before Him.
REMEMBER:—
1. We should fear and love God and trust in Him above all things; then we shall have no other gods before Him; then He, the true God, will be our God indeed.
2. We should fear and love and trust in God above all things. God wants our whole heart and life, all that we are and have.
MEMORIZE:—
I am the almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. Gen. 17,1.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Prov. 3,5.
Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Matt. 4,10.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does God tell us in His commandments? 2. Why has God a right to give us these commandments? 3. Which is the First Commandment? 4. Who should be our God? 5. When is the only true God our God? 6. What does it mean to fear God? 7. How do we show that we fear God? 8. What does the Lord say Gen. 17,1? 9. What does it mean to love God? 10. What shall we fulfil if we love God? 11. What does it mean to trust in God? 12. What shall we firmly believe if we trust in God? 13. How should we fear and love God and trust in Him? 14. Why should we fear and love God above all things? 15. What sin do we commit if we fear and love any one more than God? 16. What does our Lord say Matt. 4,10? 17. What does God demand of us in the First Commandment? 18. Why is the First Commandment the greatest of all?
LESSON 3.
The Second Commandment.
Which is the Second Commandment?
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
1. We learned in the first Commandment that we should fear and love our God above all things. That is the will of our Father in heaven. If we fear and love God, we shall gladly fulfil His commandments and do His will. And it is only if we fear and love God that we shall do so. All our obedience to God and His commandments must come from a heart that fears and loves God. In every commandment our God demands again that we fear and love Him. Therefore our Catechism begins the explanation of every commandment with these words: "We should fear and love God."
2. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain." Because we fear and love God, we must not take His name in vain. God has a name, just as you and everybody has a name by which he is known and called; indeed, God has many names. You already learned several of His names. (God, Lord, Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost, the Almighty, Creator, Savior, etc.) These names God has given Himself in His Word. Through His names He shows us who and what He is, what He has done and still is doing for His children. God is called Savior, and He really is the Savior; He is called Creator because He has created heaven and earth; He is called the Almighty, for with Him nothing is impossible. God's name is God Himself as He has revealed Himself to us.
3. We are not to take God's name in vain. To take God's name in vain means to use His holy name thoughtlessly and without any need. Many persons, it is sad to say, very often use the name of God, and especially that of Jesus Christ, in their speech without thinking of their Savior, without even knowing that they do so. They use it even when they talk of vile things. They take God's name in vain and mock God. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked." Gal. 6,7.
4. Our Catechism shows us more plainly how God's name is taken in vain: "We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name." We should not curse. To curse by God's name means to call down upon oneself or another God's punishment. Peter cursed. Matt. 26,74. He said God should punish him if he knew "the man" Jesus. Christians should never curse. They bless and praise God, their Father; how, then, can they curse their fellow-men and wish them God's punishment? Blessing and cursing should not come out of the same mouth. Jas. 3,9.10.
5. We should not swear by God's name. We swear when we use God's name to affirm the truth of what we say, as we hear it done so often in daily life. Our Lord says to His disciples: "I say unto you, Swear not at all. ... But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." Matt. 5,34,37.
6. We should not use witchcraft by God's name. We use witchcraft when we try to perform things which by natural means we cannot do, such as fortune-telling, calling and asking the dead (as the Spiritualists claim to do), etc. Such works are in themselves grievous sins, works of the devil. But such sins are much greater when God's holy name is used in performing them. Christians should have nothing to do with these works of darkness, these works of the devil. (Read Deut. 18,10-12.)
7. We should not lie or deceive by God's name. Lying by God's name means telling a lie and using God's name and Word in order to make the lie seem to be the truth. So the false prophets use God's name and Word in order to hide their false doctrines and make them appear as God's truth. "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith." Jer. 23,31, The hypocrites deceive by God's name. They use God's name, they talk about God and His Word in order to hide their evil life. "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven." Matt. 7,21. Think of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5.
8. To take God's name in vain is a grievous sin. God is greatly displeased with it. How can we, who fear and love God, grieve Him by taking His holy name in vain? And God has threatened to punish all that misuse His name. "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain." Ex. 20,7.4
9. God has revealed His name to us in order to bless and save us. He wants us to use His holy name in the right way. "We should call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks." That is the right use of our Lord's name.—He wants us to call on Him, to beg for His help, especially in all our troubles; for He alone can help us in all our needs. God says: "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." Ps. 50,15.—We should pray in His name; for in every true prayer we use His name aright. He wants us to come to Him daily and speak with Him, as a child speaks to his father.—We should use His name in praising and thanking Him for His manifold goodness, for all His benefits, all the great things He does for us. If He has delivered or helped us, we should glorify Him. "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Ps. 103,1. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; because His mercy endureth forever." Ps. 118,1. If we rightly use the name of our God, we shall be blessed by it. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe." Prov. 18,10.
REMEMBER:—
1. God has given us His holy name that we may be blessed and saved by it.
2. He forbids us to take in vain and misuse His sacred name by cursing, swearing, using witchcraft, lying, or deceiving, or by thoughtlessly speaking it.
3. He commands us to use it aright by calling upon it in all our needs, by praying, praising, and giving of thanks. We should fear and love God and so use His blessed name.
MEMORIZE:—
I say unto you, Swear not at all, but let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." [tr. note: sic on quotation mark] Matt. 5,34.37.
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith. Jer. 23,31.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me. Ps. 50, 15.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name. Ps. 103,1.
QUESTIONS.
1. How does our Catechism begin the explanation of every commandment after the First Commandment? 2. When only can and will we fulfil all the commandments? 3. What, therefore, does God demand of us in every commandment? 4. Enumerate some of God's holy names. 5. For what purpose has God revealed His name to us? 6. What does it mean to take God's name in vain? 7. What does it mean to curse by God's name? 8. When do we swear by God's name? 9. Whose work is witchcraft? 10. What people lie by God's name? 11. What does God say about the false prophets? (Jer. 3,31.) 12. What does it mean to deceive by God's name? 13. What has God threatened those who take His name in vain? 14. What is the will of God with respect to His name? 15. How should we use God's name? 16. What does it mean to call upon God? 17. When especially should we do so? 18. Recite Ps. 50,15. 19. Why should we praise the Lord and give thanks unto His name? 20. Recite Ps. 103,1.
LESSON 4.
The Third Commandment.
Which is the Third Commandment?
Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
1. "Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day," that is the Third Commandment. We Christians have a holy-day. We celebrate as our holy-day the first day in week, Sunday. We do not do this because God has commanded us to keep this day or any other day holy, more sacred than the rest of the week. In the Old Testament, before Christ came into the world, God had given His people a certain day as a holy-day, the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. In the New Testament, after Christ was born, God has given no such commandment. The Church, the Christians themselves, has chosen a holy-day. The Church chose Sunday, because it was on a Sunday that our dear Lord, our Savior and our King, arose again from the dead. Every Sunday should remind us of the resurrection of our Savior, of His victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil.—We also keep other days holy, for instance, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, and other festival days. Can you name some other Christian festival?
2. Why do we Christians celebrate certain days as holy-days though God has not commanded us to do so? It is God's will that His children should come together for services of preaching and hearing His Word, that they should come together in their churches for public worship. In order to do this, it is necessary to set aside a certain day. That is the reason why the Church celebrates Sunday and other feasts. We celebrate them not by divine command, but in order to have time for public worship, for going to church, for services of preaching and hearing the Word of God. To the question, "What does this mean?" namely, to sanctify the holv-day, our Catechism rightly answers: "We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it."
3. We should not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, that is the will of God according to the Third Commandment. Remember, it is His Word, the holy Word of our heavenly Father, whom we should fear and love. It is God Himself who speaks to us in His Word, in the Bible, when we read it. It is God Himself who sends His messengers to us, our pastors and teachers, to preach His Word that we may the better understand it. Our Savior says concerning His messengers: "He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me." Luke 10, 16. In despising His Word, we despise our Lord, yea, our God and Father Himself. A child does not despise the words of his respected and beloved father. How deeply would we, then, offend our heavenly Father by despising His Word!—If we really fear and love God, we shall not despise His Word, but hold it sacred. We shall not forget that we are hearing our dear Father's voice when we are reading our Bible. When God's Word is preached to us in our churches, we shall hear and receive it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God. 1 Thess. 2,13.
4. When is this done? When do we not despise God's Word, but rather hold it sacred? God's Word is preached to to us in public worship. We despise the preaching of His Word when we do not go to church at all, or only now and then, at long intervals, because we prefer to stay at home to do our work or to amuse ourselves. We despise preaching when we go to church, but hear the sermon carelessly when we do not pay attention to the pastor. He that will not hear God's Word is not of God; such a one cannot remain God's child. John 8,47.—If we keep the preaching of God's Word sacred, we shall go to church regularly every Sunday, unless sickness, or something else that we cannot avoid, hinders us. We shall go to church in order to hear the sermon, to listen attentively to it. We shall hear the Word willingly and gladly and rejoice that we may again hear the dear Gospel of the love of God in Jesus Christ, our Lord. We shall rejoice and say: "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honor dwelleth." Ps. 26,8.—God's Word is also preached and taught us in our day- schools and Sunday-schools. Come to your school regularly, hear the lessons from the Word of God diligently and attentively and you will hold His Word sacred; you will do the will of your Father.
5. God's Word is not only preached, God has also given us the Bible, His written Word. He wants us to read His Word in our homes. "Search the Scriptures," John 5,39, our Savior says. We should not only read it, but read it carefully and often, read it with prayer to God that we may more thoroughly understand it. The Word of God should dwell among us richly, abundantly. Col. 3,16. If we do not read and study our Bible at home, we are despising the Word of God.
6. We should not only hear and read the Word of God, and hear and read it gladly; our Catechism also tells us that we should learn it. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, so we, too, should keep all these words and ponder them in our hearts. Luke 2,19. We should try with the help of our Lord to live more and more according to God's Word. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Ps. 119,105. If we do this, we are holding God's Word sacred and shall be blessed by it. "Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it." Luke 11,28. Remember Hannah, the mother of little Samuel, 1 Sam. 1,2; Mary sitting at Jesus feet and hearing His Word, Luke 10,39. Remember especially how our Lord loved His Father's house. Luke 2,41-52.
7. There is one thing we should not forget: to keep God's Word sacred. God sends His messengers to us, our pastors and preachers. We should honor and esteem and love them for their work's sake. We should obey them when they preach God's Word and pray for them. We should help that the blessed Word of God may be preached to all nations, to all men, that all may hear it and be saved by it.
8. In the First Commandment we learned that throughout our life we should fear and love God and trust in Him with our whole heart; in the Second, that we should not misuse His holy name, but use it to the praise of God and the salvation of our neighbors and ourselves; in the Third, that we should diligently hear and learn God's Word, so that a11 our actions, our entire life, may be ordered according to it. These three commandments relate to God. They teach us the love of God. Now follow the other seven, which relate to our neighbor, whom we should love as ourselves.
REMEMBER:—
1. We sanctify our holy-day when we fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred.
2. The fear and love of God will induce us to hear and read God's Word, not carelessly, but diligently and gladly, to learn it and to live according to it.
MEMORIZE:—
He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me. Luke 10,16.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honor dwelleth. Ps. 26,8.
Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Gal. 6,6.
QUESTIONS.
1. Which day did God institute in the Old Testament as the holy-day of His people? 2. Did God in the New Testament give us a certain day as our holy-day? 3. Why does the Christian Church choose a holy-day, though God did not command us to do so? 4. What is God's will concerning His Word? 5. What is necessary that Christians may come together to preach and hear God's Word? 6. How do we, therefore, sanctify our holy-days? 7. Why should we not despise God's Word, but keep it sacred? 8. How do we show that we do not despise the preaching of His Word? 9. Whose voice do we hear in the sermon? 10. As whose word should we, therefore, hear and accept the sermon? 11. Where do we also hear the Word of God? 12. In which book do we find the written Word of God? 13. How should we us our Bibles, the written Word of God? 14. What does it mean to learn God's Word? 15. How must we, finally, show our love of God's Word? 16. To whom do the first three commandments relate? 17. What does the First Commandment teach us? 18. The Second? 19. The Third? 20. What is the sum of these commandments? 21. To whom do the other commandments relate? 22. How should we love our neighbor?
LESSON 5.
The Fourth Commandment.
Which is the Fourth Commandment?
Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not despise our parents and masters, nor provoke them to anger, but give them honor, serve and obey them, and hold them in love and esteem.
1. "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother." Go has given us a commandment in regard to our father and mother, our parents. This is a very important commandment for all children. It is God's will that we not only love our parents, but also honor them. We honor those who occupy a higher position than we, who have been placed above us, who have a right to command us and demand our obedience. By commanding us to honor our parents, God places them above us. He wants children to regard their parents as being in God's stead, above them, as His representatives, whom for His sake they should honor. Never forget that your dear parents have been placed over you by God. Never forget to honor and respect them for God's sake.
2. What does it mean to honor father and mother? "We should, fear and love God that we may not despise our parents ... nor provoke them to anger." We should not despise our parents. We despise them when we do not respect the high station in which God has placed them over us, when in our hearts we do not esteem them as God's representatives, when we act as though we were their equals or even stood above them.—We should not provoke them to anger, that is, we should not by word or deed excite them to just anger or cause them pain and distress, by being unkind, stubborn, disobedient, even insolent towards them, or by wicked deeds and sins which dishonor them. Remember Absalom, who despised his father David and caused him bitter grief by rebelling against him and making himself king in his stead. 2 Sam. 15. Remember the wicked sons of Eli. 1 Sam. 2,12.—God is displeased with this sin. "The eye that mocketh at his father and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it," says the Word of God. Prov. 30,17. God will severely punish all bad and disobedient children, very often in this life, as He did with Absalom, and if they do not repent, in eternity.
3. We must not despise our parents, but should give them honor, that is, we should regard them in our hearts as God's representatives; we should respect their station, even if they are lowly, or poor, or even queer. They are still our parents, and therefore should not be deprived of their honor because of their failings. It is God's will that we honor them.
4. We should show in words and deeds that we honor our parents. We should serve them, we should do for them whatever we can, even if they do not ask for it, and do it gladly. When they become old or sick, we should do all in our power to help them, and so try to repay the love and care which they have shown us when we were young and weak and so much in need of their kindness. Your dear parents did and still do so much for you that you will hardly ever be able to repay them. "Let them [the children] learn . . . to requite their parents [to repay their love]; for that is good and acceptable before God." 1 Tim. 5,4.
5. We should, furthermore, show the respect we owe our parents by obeying them. We should do what they tell us, carry out their commands, and do it without a murmur, willingly, quickly, fully, and gladly. In this manner you, at your age, can best prove that you honor your parents. "Children, obey your parents in all, things; for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord." Col. 3,20. "Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old." Prov. 23,22.
6. "We should hold them in love and esteem." God has given us our parents as a most precious gift. Through them our heavenly Father bestows upon us numberless other gifts and blessings. Our parents provide for us; they give us all we need in this life; they shelter and protect us. They try to lead us to our Savior by teaching us the Word of God, by sending us to a Christian school. They bring us up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. 6,4. Should we not love and esteem them as a precious gift of God? Should we not thank Him with all our heart, thank Him by doing His will in regard to our parents? Do not forget: We honor our parents because we fear and love God, who has given us this most precious gift.
7. Our Catechism not only says that we should honor our parents, but it adds the word "masters." God has placed other persons besides our parents over us, in home, school, and state. Our parents are also those who take our parents place, who take care of us and protect us if our parents are dead or otherwise unable to take care of us. God has placed over us our teachers in our schools, who instruct us in our parents stead. There are many persons in our country, in our cities and towns, who have been placed above us, such as the President of the United States, the governor of our State, the mayor of our city, etc. It is God who has placed also these rulers over us. He commands us to hold all these in honor and esteem, to serve and obey them in all things in which He has placed them over us.
8. God has added to the Fourth Commandment a special promise: "Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise: That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Eph. 6,2.3. This shows how well-pleasing it is unto God if we keep this commandment, if we honor and love our parents and masters. Our gracious Lord will abundantly reward all children who honor their parents and masters, and do it in the fear and love of God. He will bless them here on earth in a way which is good for them, and He will bless and reward them more abundantly in heaven. The most beautiful example of the fulfilment of this commandment is our Lord Himself, of whom we read: "And He went down with them [His lowly parents], and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." Luke 2,51. He even remembered His mother when He was nailed to the cross. John 19,26.27.
REMEMBER:—
1. Parents are a most precious gift of God. God has placed them over us that through them He may provide for us, protect us, and lead us to Himself, our Savor, and to eternal life.
2. We should therefore highly honor and esteem our parents, serve and obey them in the fear and love of God, our heavenly Father.
3. This is well-pleasing to God, who will graciously reward us.
MEMORIZE:—
Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise: That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Eph. 6,2,3.
Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord. Col. 3,20.
Let them learn ... to requite their parents; for that is good and acceptable before God. 1 Tim. 5,4.
QUESTIONS.
1. What is God's holy will regarding our parents? 2. What place does God give our parents by commanding us to honor them? 3. Whose representatives are they? 4. When do we despise our parents? 5. When do we provoke them to anger? 6. Give examples of children who despised their parents. 7. How will God punish children who despise their parents? 8. What does it mean to hold our parents in honor? 9. How do we show in words and deeds that we honor our parents? 10. When do we serve them? 11. At what time especially can we repay their love? 12. What does it mean to obey our parents? 13. How should we carry out their commands? 14. Why should we love and highly esteem our parents? 15. Who are the "masters" whom God has placed over us? 16. What has God added to this commandment? 17. What does God teach us by adding this special promise? 18. Who is the most beautiful example of the fulfilment of this commandment?
LESSON 6.
The Fifth Commandment.
Which is the Fifth Commandment?
Thou shalt not kill.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God, that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.
1. You all know what it means to kill. It means to take our own life or the life of our neighbor, our fellow-man. This is what God forbids in this commandment. God is the Giver of all life. He alone, therefore, has the right to take it away. God made man in His image. How dare we destroy the image of God! Our neighbor's life should be sacred to us. God will punish him who takes his neighbor's life. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man." Gen. 9,6. Remember Cain and Judas.
2. God forbids still more in this commandment. Our Catechism explains it by saying: "We should fear and love God that we may not hurt ... our neighbor in his body." In the story of the good Samaritan we learn what this means. The man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves (robbers), who wounded him and, leaving him half dead, departed. Luke 10,30. These robbers hurt the Jew in his body, they brought his life into danger. But for the Samaritan he certainly would have died. The life of our neighbor may be hurt in other ways. Pharaoh of Egypt endangered the lives of the Israelites by compelling them to do labor that was too hard for them. We should not wound our neighbor in his body, or in any other way bring his life or health into danger and thus shorten his life.
3. We should not harm our neighbor in his body, that is we should not by spiteful words or wicked deeds embitter his life and in this way shorten it. Remember how Joseph's brothers embittered his life by selling him into slavery, how they embittered the life of their father by telling him that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal They made life a burden both to their brother and to their father.
4. We should fear and love God that we may ... help and befriend our neighbor in every bodily need. Our neighbor is in bodily need when he is in danger of losing his life and health. Look again at the story of the good Samaritan. There you will learn what it means to help and befriend our neighbor in his bodily need. The poor Jew fell among robbers, who stripped him of his raiment, wounded him and carelessly departed, though that poor man was nearly dead. The Jew certainly was in bodily need, being in great danger of losing his life. A Samaritan passed, and, seeing this poor man, he took compassion on him. He went up to him and helped him. He bound up his wounds, set him on his own beast brought him to an inn, and took care of him. He helped the poor Jew in his bodily need and saved his life.—But the good Samaritan did more. The next day, not being able to stay any longer with his afflicted brother, he gave money to the host of the inn, and asked him to take care of the wounded Jew in his stead after his departure; he even promised to give the innkeeper more money if it should be necessary. The good Samaritan befriended the Jew, he acted as a friend to him. Not only did he save him from death, he also assisted him until he was no longer in bodily need. "Go, and do thou likewise," our Lord says.—That Jew, like all the Jews at that time, most probably, was an enemy of the Samaritans. The Samaritan knew that, and still he helped and befriended him. We should help and befriend not only our relatives and friends, or those who are able and willing to repay us and help us when we are in need, but also our enemies, those who hate and despitefully use us, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink," Rom. 12,20. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." Matt. 5,44.
5. The Samaritan took compassion on the Jew, therefore he helped him. The compassion, or pity, was in his heart. All our good works and all our sins issue from the heart. We should watch over our hearts, over our thoughts. No anger and hate against our neighbor should be in our hearts. And even if our neighbor does us wrong, if he injures and insults us, we should not revenge ourselves, but love our brother. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." 1 John 3,15.—We should always be kind, merciful, and forgiving to our neighbor, even to our enemy. "Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." Matt. 5,7. And above all, we should fear and love God, then we shall help and befriend our neighbor, him whom God has made in His image.
REMEMBER:—
1. Life is God's gift. Only He who gave it has the right to take it. The life of our neighbor should be sacred to us.
2. Therefore we should not kill or hurt or harm our neighbor, our fellowman,in his body, nor hate him or be angry with him. God has made man in His image.
3. We should help and befriend our neighbor whenever he is in bodily need, always be kind and merciful to him and forgive him when he wrongs us.
MEMORIZE:—
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. Gen. 9,6.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3,15.
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Rom. 12,20.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matt. 5,7.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does it mean to kill? 2. Why should we not take our fellow-man's life? 3. In whose image did God make man? 4. What does God, furthermore, forbid in this commandment? 5. What does it mean to hurt our neighbor in his body? 6. What does it mean to harm him in his body? 7. From whom may we learn how to fulfil this commandment? 8. How did the good Samaritan help the Jew? 9. How did he befriend him? 10. When, even, should we help our neighbor? 11. What does our Lord say Matt. 5,44? 12. Where do all our good works and all our sins rise? 13. What kind of thoughts should not be in our hearts against our neighbor? 14. What does the Bible tell us of him who hates his brother? 15. How should we be disposed towards our neighbor if he wrongs us? 16. When will we fulfill this commandment? 17. What does our Lord say about the merciful?
LESSON 7.
The Sixth Commandment.
Which is the Sixth Commandment?
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in word and deed, and each love and honor his spouse.
1. We should lead a chaste and decent life, that is the demand of our God and heavenly Father according to the Sixth Commandment. Our hearts must be chaste to make our lives chaste and decent. Our hearts should be chaste, that is, free from evil lusts, free from unclean and lewd thoughts and desires. When our hearts are chaste and pure, our lives will be decent and modest and clean. The chastity of our hearts will show itself in all the acts of our life. "Keep thyself pure," says the Word of God. 1 Tim. 5,22. Keep your heart pure and chaste.
2. We should lead a chaste and decent life in word. We should refrain from all filthy words that prove our heart to be unclean, from all words, songs, jests, etc., of which we would be ashamed before God, or before parents if they would hear them. We should shun all those jests and verses which boy whispers to boy, or girl to girl, lest decent persons might overhear them. Only such words as are good and clean should pass our lips. Never use a word that you would be ashamed of in the presence of your parents and teachers! Always remember that God is with you, that He will hear every word you utter in secret. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good." Eph. 4,29.
3. We should lead a chaste and decent life in deed. We should shun all acts which are mostly done in secret, all deeds which we would be ashamed of in the presence of God, our parents, or other decent people. We should walk honestly as in the day. Rom. 13,13. We should keep all members of our body clean and pure. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6,19. How could a child of God use a member of his body for filthy purposes and so defile God's temple, make it impure! We should be modest and decent in our behavior, manners, dress, etc.
4. What must we do to lead such a chaste and decent life? Our hearts, by nature, are unclean and unchaste full of evil desires. We cannot hinder evil lusts from springing up in our hearts at times. But with the help of God we must try, and try earnestly, to quench them, to put them down, lest they gain a place in our hearts. We can do this only by means of God's Word and prayer. Think of God's holy commandment, of the will of our heavenly Father according to which we should be pure in heart. God says: "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." Matt. 5,8. Remember that God knows the secret thoughts of your heart, and you will say with Joseph: "How, then, can I do this great wickedness and, sin against God?" Gen. 39,9. The fear and love of God will put down all evil lusts and lewd thoughts. And whenever filthy desires arise and tempt you, pray to God for His help, pray earnestly and fervently: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. 51,10.
5. In order to lead a chaste and decent life, we should, as far as possible, shun all temptations and all places and occasions where such temptations will come upon us. The world is an unclean place, full of evil lusts. Temptations meet us everywhere. Therefore we must always watch over ourselves. "Flee youthful lusts," 2 Tim 2,22, as Joseph fled when Potiphar's wife tempted him. We should not go to places where such temptations may be met; we should shun bad company, impure books or pictures, theaters, etc. where indecent talk or pictures may excite evil lusts in us.
6. When we are alone and idle, the devil often comes to tempt us with impure thoughts and desires In order to lead a chaste and decent life, we should avoid idleness and work diligently and faithfully. Find something useful to do in work or innocent play, and Satan will find less time to tempt you with lustful thoughts. But above all, pray to your heavenly Father that He would guard you in all temptations, that you may overcome and obtain the victory.
7. We should fear and love God that each may love and honor his spouse. Spouse is man or wife, persons who live in holy matrimony, as your parents do. Matrimony is instituted by God, and it is His will that husband and wife should love and honor each other, that they should faithfully live together till death parts them. If one is unfaithful to the other, or leaves the other, he or she commits adultery.
REMEMBER:—
1. God alone can make your heart chaste and keep it clean from sinful lust. Pray to Him: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. 51,10.
2. When temptation comes near you, when you feel in your heart the sinful lust, remember: God is with me, He sees and hears everything I do, even the innermost thoughts of my heart. "How, them, can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Gen. 39,9.
3. Watch over yourself and keep away from all places where temptation is sure to come. "Flee youthful lusts." 2 Tim. 2,22.
MEMORIZE:—
Let us walk honestly as in the day. Rom. 13,13.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good. Eph. 4,29.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Ps. 51,10.
Keep thyself pure. 1 Tim. 5,22.
Flee youthful lusts. 2 Tim. 2,22.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does God command in the Sixth Commandment? 2. When will our hearts be chaste? 3. When will our lives be decent? 4. What does God demand 1 Tim. 5,22? 5. When will we be chaste and decent in words? 6. What kind of words should we never use? 7. How do we lead a chaste and decent life in deed? 8. What does God Himself call our bodies in His Word? 9. When do we defile this temple of God and make it impure? 10. How should our behavior, our manners, be? 11. How are our hearts by nature? 12. What feelings will therefore often arise in our hearts? 13. By what means can and should we put down these evil thoughts? 14. What should they not gain in our hearts? 15. What places should we avoid in order to lead a chaste life? 16. Name some such places and occasions. 17. What should we also avoid, in order that Satan may have less opportunity to tempt us? 18. What does God command those who live together in holy matrimony? 19. How long should husband and wife live together in this union? 20. What sin do they commit if they prove unfaithful to each other?
LESSON 8.
The Seventh Commandment.
Which is the Seventh Commandment?
Thou shalt not steal.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or goods, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
1. We should not steal; that means, we should not take our neighbor's money or goods. Our neighbor's, our fellow-man's, money and his goods do not belong to us, but to him They are his property. It is God's will that men should have property, money, and goods that belong to them. All the goods in the world come from Him, they are His gift. He gives to every one as much earthly goods as He pleases, as much or as little as is best for him. There always will be rich people and poor people among us. The property of our neighbor should be sacred to us because it is given him by God, our heavenly Father.
2. We should not take our neighbor's money or goods. It belongs to him according to God's will; therefore we should not steal, that is, not take his property away from him. He may give and present it to us, if he so chooses, but we should not take it. We may buy his goods at a fair price, if he is willing to sell, but we should not take it against his will. This may be done in various ways. Think of the thieves into whose hands the Jew fell who came down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Luke 10,30. They stripped him of his raiment; openly and by force they took his clothes and all that he had. We call such men robbers.— Others do not take their neighbor's property by force, they sneak into their neighbor's house and take his money and valuables secretly, without his knowledge, or they pick his pockets when there is a chance. Achan took some of the spoils of the city of Jericho secretly and hid the goods in the earth under his tent, in order that nobody might know what he had taken. Josh. 7,21. Such men are called thieves; their sin is called theft. Also to-day there are many robbers and thieves in the world.—Beware of taking your fellow-pupil's property, be it ever so small, a pen or a pencil, etc. That would be theft. Remember that your heavenly Father, whom you fear and love, will see you. Our Lord says: "Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good." Eph. 4,28.
3. We should not get our neighbor's money and goods by false ware or dealing. That is another way of taking our neighbor's property. Taking our neighbor's property in this manner is generally called fraud or cheating. "Let no man go beyond [what belongs to him according to the will of God], and defraud his brother in any matter [in his trade and business], because that the Lord is the avenger of all such" (the Lord will punish all that commit such frauds). 1 Thess. 4,6. We should not take our neighbor's money by false ware, that is, by selling bad, poor wares to him in place of good ones for which he pays. We should not take his money by false dealings, that is, by using short weights and measures, and in this way keeping back what belongs to our neighbor, by taking too much profit when buying or selling anything, and thus cheating our brother, by borrowing money or other goods and not returning them, etc. "The wicked borroweth and payeth not again." Ps. 37,21. There are many ways of taking our brother's money or goods. A child of God will shun them all, he will be honest in all his dealings with his neighbor.
4. We should help our neighbor to improve ... his property and business. We should help and assist our neighbor as much as we can, by word and deed, that his property and business, by means of which he earns his living, may be improved, become better. If our neighbor is poor and suffers want, we should help him by giving him of our money, or other goods which he may be in need of. "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again." Prov. 19,17 We should lend him our money if he is in need, until he may be able to repay it. "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." Matt. 5,42. Zacchaeus, after having joyfully received the Lord into his house, was ready to give half of his goods to the poor. Luke 19,8. How well- pleasing it is to our Lord when we help the poor and needy! "To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Heb. 13,16.
5. We should help our neighbor to ... protect his property and business. Our neighbor's property and business sometimes is in danger, in danger by water or fire, or by wicked men who try to harm our brother. We should warn him against these dangers, we should give him good advice how to overcome them. But we should not only warn and advise but also assist him as much as we can that his property may not be lost or come to harm. Our love to God should prompt us to serve our brethren. "This commandment have we from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also." 1 John 4,21.
REMEMBER:—
1. All our property has been given us by God. God bestows these goods as He pleases. Rich and poor will always be among us. The property of our neighbor should be sacred to us because God has given it to him.
2. We should, therefore, not take our neighbor's money and goods against his will, neither by robbery and theft, nor by defrauding him by poor wares or crooked dealings. Always be honest!
3. We should rather help him to improve his property and business and to preserve it from danger and harm.
MEMORIZE:—
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Matt. 5,42.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again. Prov. 19,17.
To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Heb. 13, 16.
QUESTIONS.
1. Stating it in one word, what do we call all the money and goods our neighbor has? 2. From whom did he receive his property? 3. How should the property of our neighbor be to us? 4. What does it mean to steal? 5. In what way do men take the property of their neighbor against his will? 6. What do we call robbery? 7. What is theft? 8. How should we also not take our neighbor's money or goods? 9. When do we take our neighbor's money by false wares? 10. When do we take it by false dealings? 11. How does the Bible call him who borrows money but does not repay it? (Ps. 37,21.) 12. What does God command us to do in behalf of our neighbor's property and business? 13. How should we help our neighbor when he is poor and suffering want? 14. What does our Lord say Matt. 5,42? 15. To whom does he lend who takes pity on the poor? 16. What do we learn from Heb. 13,16? 17. What should we do to protect our neighbor's property? 18. If we love God, whom shall we love also?
LESSON 9.
The Eighth Commandment.
Which is the Eighth Commandment?
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well, of him, and put the best construction on everything.
1. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," that is the command of our heavenly Father in the Eighth Commandment. False witness is any false statement against our neighbor, anything false and deceitful that we say against him. A false statement is saying something that is not true; it is a statement against our neighbor when it will harm him, or hurt his good name, or deprive him of it altogether.—False witness comes out of an evil heart, a heart that is false and insincere against our neighbor. We should not even think evil of him. "Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against your neighbor." Zech. 8,17. If we love God and for His sake our neighbor, we shall always think well of him, even if he is our enemy.
2. We can bear false witness against our neighbor in many ways. Our Catechism explains: "We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander nor defame our neighbor."—We should not belie our neighbor. Potiphar's wife belied Joseph. She told her husband a lie about Joseph, saying that he had tried to wrong her. She did so in order to harm Joseph, to bring him into prison.—We should not lie, we should never wilfully and knowingly tell an untruth, or withhold the truth from our neighbor to harm him. Be careful always to tell the truth. Our Lord tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of it. John 8,44. If you tell a lie, you do the work of the devil. Remember that you are a child of God and that a child of God fears and loves his heavenly Father. God hates all liars and will most certainly punish them. "He that telleth lies shall not tarry [remain] in My sight," says the Lord Ps. 101,7.
3. We should not betray our neighbor. We should not reveal his secrets, not tell others what our neighbor does not want other people to know. It shows a false and deceitful heart against our brother to reveal his secret sins. "A talebearer revealeth secrets; but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Prov. 11,13.
4. We should not slander nor defame our neighbor. We are not to speak evil against our brother behind his back, when he is not present and therefore not able to defend himself. Even if the evil which we tell of him be true, we should not tell others of it. Holy Scripture admonishes us: "Speak not evil one of another, brethren." Jas. 4,11. Because we are brethren, we should not speak evil, but well, of one another. If we slander and backbite our neighbor, speak evil of him when he is not present, we defame him, that is, we harm his good name; it is our fault if other people will think evil of him. We are all much inclined to these sins; therefore beware of backbiting and slandering your neighbor. Honor and a good name are easily taken away, but not easily restored.
5. We should never speak against our neighbor to harm and injure him, but we are to speak for him. We should defend him. When in our presence anybody speaks evil of our brother behind his back, so that this brother cannot speak for himself, we should not remain silent, but speak for him, defend him against all false statements and lies uttered against him. We should never allow our neighbor to be slandered in our presence.
6. We should speak well of our neighbor. We are to speak well of his good works and deeds, to praise them as far as it can be done in keeping with the truth. Especially when others speak evil of our brother, when they slander and defame him, we ought to take his part and speak well of him, so that he may keep his good name. We read of Jonathan, David's friend: "And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul, his father [who was David's enemy and wanted to kill him], and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward [towards you] very good." 1 Sam. 19,4. And in verse 6 we read that Saul listened to Jonathan and resolved not to kill David. Owing to Jonathan's good words, then, David was safe for a while. The Jews who asked Jesus to heal the servant of the centurion spoke highly of him. They besought the Lord instantly to hear the prayer of the centurion, saying, "That he was worthy for whom He should do this, for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagog." Luke 7,4.5. In the same way we should speak well of our neighbor and praise him.
7. We should put the best construction on everything that we hear of our neighbor, or that we see him doing. We should put the best construction on everything, that is, in love and charity we should cover his faults and not make too much of them. We should explain all his words and deeds in his favor as far as this can be done in keeping with the truth. "Charity shall cover the multitude of sins." 1 Pet 4,9. True love and charity always thinks the best of the neighbor, always hopes for the best, and will suffer wrong rather than do wrong. "Charity believeth all things, hopeth all things endureth all things." 1 Cor. 13,7. It is a noble virtue to explain as best you can all you may hear of your neighbor.
8. In this commandment God demands of us, His children, many good works which are well-pleasing to Him, if only we would recognize them. There is nothing which can do both greater good or harm in all matters than our tongue, though it is such a small and feeble member of our body.
REMEMBER:—
1. If we love God and, for His sake, our neighbor, we shall always think well of him, even though he is our enemy.
2. A child of God should never tell a lie. God hates a liar and will punish him.
3. Always speak well of your neighbor, defend him if he is falsely accused, and explain his deeds and words in his favor.
4. "There is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether." Ps. 139,4.
MEMORIZE:—
Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor. Zech. 8,17.
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor. Eph. 4,25.
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. Jas. 4,11.
Charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Pet. 4,8.
QUESTIONS.
1. Which is the Eighth Commandment? 2. What does it mean to bear false witness against our neighbor? 3. When is a statement a false statement? 4. When is it a statement against our neighbor? 5. When do we belie our brother? 6. What does it mean to lie? 7. Who was the first liar in the world? 8. How does God look upon a liar? 9. What does it mean to betray our neighbor? 10. When do we slander and defame him? 11. What ought we to do to protect the good name of our neighbor? 12. When should we defend him? 13. What does it mean to speak well of him? 14. Who, for example, spoke well of his friend? 15. Whom did the Jews praise in the presence of the Lord? 16. What does it mean to put the best construction on everything? 17. What do we read 1 Pet. 4,8? 18. Of what member of our body should we take especial care?
LESSON 10.
The Ninth and Tenth Commandments.
Which is the Ninth Commandment?
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance and house, nor obtain it by a show of right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.
Which is the Tenth Commandment?
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbors.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away from our neighbor his wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and do their duty.
1. In the Ninth and the Tenth Commandment God forbids the same. Both commandments begin with the words: "Thou shalt not covet." To covet means eagerly and sinfully to desire and want what does not belong to us, but to some one else, to our neighbor. We are covetous when we envy our neighbor because of what he has, and want it for ourselves, and will not be satisfied until we have obtained it for ourselves. Remember the story of King Ahab and Naboth. Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, had a strong desire for a certain vineyard which was the property of Naboth. He offered to buy the vineyard, but Naboth did not want to sell it because he had inherited it from his fathers. Ahab kept on longing for the property of his neighbor and was not satisfied until Naboth was stoned to death, and he was able to take possession of the vineyard. 1 Kings 21,1-16. Here we learn what it is to covet our neighbor's property.
2. We are all, by nature, covetous. We all envy our neighbor and desire to obtain what belongs to him. God forbids such evil desires. Already in the Seventh Commandment we learned that our neighbor's property ought to be sacred to us because God Himself gave it to him. God does not want us even to covet it, to desire to obtain it against the will of our neighbor. We should, therefore, not craftily, with cunning and fraud, seek to get our neighbor's inheritance, what he inherited from his parents, or his house, nor try to obtain it by a show of right, in such a way that it appears right before men while it is wrong in the sight of God. We should not force or entice away our neighbor's wife, or servants, or cattle, or whatever belongs to him.
3. The property of our neighbor should be sacred to us. Because we love him for God's sake, we should help him and be of service to him in keeping his property. We should urge our neighbor's wife or servants to remain with him and do their duty towards him whenever we see that they are seeking to leave him. God, our heavenly Father, tells us in His Word: "By love serve one another." Gal. 5,13. And furthermore He says: "Look not every man on his own things, but ever man also on the things of others." Phil. 2,4.
4. God forbids us to covet our neighbor's property, all that belongs to him. Covetousness is a sin of the heart. God teaches us a very important lesson in these last two commandments. He teaches us that not only our evil deeds nor only our evil words are sins against the holy God, but also our evil thoughts. In the sight of God every desire for anything that He has forbidden in His Word is evil, is a sin, even if this sinful thought does not break out in evil words or deeds. Every lust in itself is truly a sin which God has threatened to punish. "Thou shalt not covet," is His demand. Every sinful thought, every impure desire in our heart, proves that we do not fear and love our heavenly Father as we should, that we have broken not only these two commandments, but the first also, yea, all the commandments of our Lord.
5. God demands that our hearts be holy. There should be no evil lust, no desire for any sin in our hearts, but only a holy desire to serve our God and Father. "Ye shall be holy [without any sin], for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." Lev. 19,2. Our hearts should be so filled with fear and love of God and all that is good in His eyes that no evil thought, no sinful lust, can find room in them. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5,48.
6. These last two commandments, even as the First Commandment, especially teach us that we have not kept the commandments of our Lord, and that we cannot keep them perfectly. Our hearts are full of lust against the demands of God, full of evil thoughts. Our lust so often entices and tempts us to sin by word and deed. We must confess that we all are sinners in the sight of God. And "the wages of sin is death." We are poor and lost sinners. Therefore we daily pray for God's forgiveness, we beg our heavenly Father to be gracious unto us for Christ's sake, who has fulfilled the commandments of God in our stead and borne our sins.
REMEMBER:—
1. "Thou shalt not covet," is God's command. If you covet what belongs to your neighbor, you sin against God. Every desire in your heart to do what the Lord has forbidden is a sin in the sight of God.
2. God wants our hearts to be without sin, perfect and holy, as He Himself is holy.
3. My heart is sinful. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. 51,10.
MEMORIZE:—
By love serve one another. Gal. 5,13.
Ye shall be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. Lev. 19,2.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matt. 5,48.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does God forbid in the last two commandments? 2. What does it mean to covet? 3. Why should we not covet our neighbor's property? 4. How should we not seek to get our neighbor's inheritance and house? 5. What does it mean to obtain our neighbor's property by a show of right? 6. Whom should we not force and entice away from our neighbor? 7. What should we do concerning our neighbor's inheritance and house? 8. What does our Lord tell us Gal. 5,13? 9. What should we do concerning our neighbor's wife and servants? 10. What important lesson do these commandments teach us? 11. What does every impure desire in our heart prove? 12. How should our hearts be? 13. What does our Lord command Lev. 19,2? 14. With what ought our hearts to be filled? 15. What does our Savior say Matt. 5,48? 16. What must we confess when we consider the commandments of God? 17. What should therefore be our daily prayer?
LESSON 11.
The Close of the Commandments.
What does God say of all these Commandments?
He says thus: 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, and showing mercy unto thousands of them, that love Me and keep My commandments.
What does this mean?
God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments. Therefore we should fear His wrath, and not act contrary to them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all that keep these commandments. Therefore we should also love and trust in Him, and willingly do according to His commandments.
1. Thus says the Lord of all His commandments: "I, the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God." God reminds us that He who has given us His commandments is the Lord. He is our Lord, we are His servants. He, as our Lord, has the right to give us His commandments, and we are in duty bound to obey them.—He furthermore reminds us that He is our God. Through Christ, our Savior, God has become our God, our Father. A father will give only good gifts to His children. Our heavenly Father means well in giving His commandments. They are to be a blessing to us and will be a blessing, if we rightly use them. We should thank Him for His commandments.—God tells us that He is a jealous God. God is not like a weak father who gives his children commands, but does not see to it that his children obey. God is a strict, a very strict father. He watches over His children whether they fulfil His commandments or break them.—And do not forget: Our God is the almighty God. He has the power to do what He says, to carry out His threats and to fulfil His promises. "There is one Lawgiver [this lawgiver is God, who has given us His commandments], who is able to save and to destroy." Jas. 4,12.
2. God is a jealous God. This He shows by "visiting the iniquity [the wickedness] of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him." That means: "God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments." Those who break the commandments of God surely deserve punishment. By breaking the Law of God they sin against Him, they show that they hate God, who has created and preserved them, who gives them life and all they need, who wants to be their Father in Christ, that they may become His children. Instead of loving God, they hate Him, who is the Giver of all they have and enjoy.—What punishment does God threaten those who hate Him? This is what He threatens: "Cursed be he that confirmeth [keeps] not all the words of this Law to do them." God's displeasure, His curse, His anger and wrath, will be upon him that sins. How fearful is it to be cursed by the almighty God!—When God gave Adam the first command, He said: "In the day that thou eatest thereof [of the tree] thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2,17. God threatens death to every sinner. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek. 18,20. "The wages of sin is death," God tells us in His Word. Rom. 6,23. And after death eternal damnation awaits the sinner. Verily, we should fear God's wrath and terrible punishment and not act contrary to His commandments. We should daily pray our heavenly Father for grace to help us shun and flee all sins, even every evil thought that would bring God's wrath and punishment upon us. Daily we will go to Christ, our only Savior, who has redeemed us from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil.
3. Our God is a merciful God. This He proves "by showing mercy unto thousands that love Him and keep His commandments." God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments, but He also "promises grace and every blessing to all that keep these commandments." Our God is a gracious and loving God. He promises to reward those who keep His commandments. It is true, we do not deserve any reward, even if we fulfil His Law and live according to His will. It is our duty to do so. But so kind and loving is He to His children that He will reward them if they do what they owe Him.—What does our God promise us? He promises grace and every blessing. The grace of God will be upon us when in love of God we try to keep His commandments. He will be well pleased with us, His children. What a great thing it is to be assured of God's grace and good will! Who can harm us when the Lord is with us? He furthermore promises every blessing to those who keep His commandments. God will bless His obedient children here on earth, in this life, but far more will He bless them in the life to come with eternal salvation. In heaven we shall see Him, our Father and Savior. Therefore we should also love and trust in Him and willingly do according to His commandments.
4. The Ten Commandments teach us the holy will of our God, or, as we also call it, His Law. Here we learn what as God's children we should do and not do, in order to please Him. Gladly we should learn it. We desire to love Him who has loved us.—We learn also that we have not kept the Law, that we cannot keep it, that we daily transgress the commandments of our Lord. We learn that we are sinners who have deserved death and damnation. This also we should learn willingly, for it teaches us how much we need a savior. And then we go to our only Savior, to our Lord, who has fulfilled the Law in our stead.
REMEMBER:—
1. God is our Lord. He has a right to give us His commandments, and it is our duty to obey Him. He is a jealous God, who will see to it that His Law is fulfilled.
2. God threatens to punish all who hate Him and transgress His commandments. Fear His wrath and do not act contrary to His holy will.
3. God promises grace and every blessing to all who love Him and keep His commandments. Love and trust Him, and willingly do according to His will.
MEMORIZE:—
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Jas. 4,12.
Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law to do them. Deut. 27,26.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezek. 18,20.
The wages of sin is death. Rom. 6,23.
This do, and thou shalt live. Luke 10,28.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does God call Himself at the close of the Ten Commandments? 2. What right has God as our Lord? 3. What is our duty to Him? 4. Of what does God remind us when He calls Himself a jealous God? 5. What does God threaten to all that transgress His commandments? 6. What is the punishment that God threatens? 7. What is the wages of sin? 8. What punishment does God threaten the sinner after his death? 9. What does God promise those that love Him and keep His commandments? 10. Why do we not deserve any reward? 11. What is the reward which God promises us? 12. What should we do because God promises such rich reward? 13. What do the Ten Commandments teach us? 14. What do we furthermore learn from them? 15. Of whom are we in need because we are sinners? 16. Who is our true and only Savior?
LESSON 12.
Review.
1. We have studied the Ten Commandments. Who gave us these commandments? In all His commandments God tells us His holy will; He tells us what we should do and not do. Why should we gladly obey Him? What is our Father's will according to the First Commandment? When do we regard God as our God? When do we show that we fear and love Him? What does it mean to trust in God? What sin do we commit if we fear and love any one more than the true God?
2. Which is the Second Commandment? Our Catechism begins the explanation of every commandment after the First with these words: "We should fear and love God." What do we learn from this? In the Second Commandment God reveals His will concerning His holy name. Mention some of God's names. In all these names God shows us who and what He is. His name should therefore be sacred to us. When do we take His holy name in vain? What does it mean to curse by God's name? How should we use His holy name?
3. Which is the Third Commandment? We celebrate as our holy-day the first day of the week, Sunday. Who instituted this holy-day? How do we sanctify our holy-day? We should not despise preaching and His Word. When do we despise preaching and God's Word? How should we hold God's Word? How is this done?—To whom do the first three commandments relate? What is their sum? To whom do the other commandments relate? How should we love our neighbor?
4. We should love our neighbor as ourselves. Of all our fellow-men our dear parents are nearest to us. What is God's will concerning our parents? What place does God give them by commanding us to honor them? Whose representatives are they? We should honor our parents as God's representatives. God has placed them over us. What should we therefore not do with regard to our parents? When do we honor them?
5. In the Fifth Commandment God teaches us His will regarding the life, body, and health of our neighbor. Who is the Giver of all life? What right, therefore, belongs to God alone? God forbids us to kill, to take the life of our neighbor. But He forbids more. What does God furthermore forbid in this commandment? When do we hurt our neighbor in his body? When do we harm him in his body? When should we help and befriend our neighbor? What is "bodily need"? How should our hearts be disposed towards our neighbor according to the Fifth Commandment?
6. According to the Sixth Commandment we should lead a chaste and decent life. How should our hearts be in order that we may lead such a life? When are our hearts chaste? When do we lead a chaste and decent life in words? What acts must we shun to lead a chaste and decent life in deed? Our hearts, by nature, are unclean and full of evil lust; what should we do that our hearts may become clean? Do you know the prayer for a clean heart? Ps. 51,10. What kind of place is this world? What may meet us everywhere? What places should we therefore shun? What does God command of married people in this commandment?
7. In the Seventh Commandment God protects our neighbor's property. From whom do we receive all that belongs to us? The property of our neighbor should be sacred to us because it is given him by God. What does God therefore forbid in this commandment? When do we steal our neighbor's property? There are many ways of taking our neighbor's property. Name some of them. How do we take our neighbor's goods and money by false ware and dealing? In what way should we help our neighbor to keep and improve his property?
8. Which is the Eighth Commandment? What is false witness? When do we bear false witness against our neighbor? When do we tell a lie? Never tell a lie. God hates all liars. Who was the first liar? What does it mean to slander and defame our brother? How should we act toward our neighbor according to the Eighth Commandment? When do we put the best construction on everything we hear about him? Of which member of our body should we take special care?
9. The Ninth and the Tenth Commandment begin with these words: "Thou shalt not covet." Covetousness is in the heart. What important lesson do we therefore learn from these commandments? What should not be found in our hearts according to these commandments? How should our hearts be? Are they holy? What must we therefore confess? What should be our daily prayer?
10. What does God say of all these commandments? Why does He call Himself the Lord? What does He mean when He calls Himself a jealous God? What does He threaten in these words? Whom will He punish? What does He threaten those who hate Him and transgress His commandments? Therefore we should fear His wrath and not act contrary to His commandments. What does God promise those who love Him and keep His commandments? What is the reward which He promises them? Why does He give His children such rich rewards? What should this grace and kindness of God induce us to do? What do the Ten Commandments teach us? We do not perfectly fulfil the will of God; we are sinners. Whom are we in need of because we are sinners? Who is our true and only Savior?
Let us all diligently study the Ten Commandments and learn therefrom the will of our Father. Let us pray to God for His Spirit that we may live according to His will more and more.
LESSON 13.
Our Creed.
1. You have already learned by heart the Three Articles of the Creed. These articles, together with their explanation, form the Second Chief Part of our Small Catechism. The Three Articles are called the Creed, that is, the Christian faith. In these articles is contained all that we Christians believe in our hearts, and confess with our mouths, regarding God and His works, all that He has done and will do for us, His children. Through Baptism you have become God's children; you must therefore also believe and confess what our Church confesses in these Three Articles. Consequently it is necessary for us to study them, in order that we may understand them.
2. No man knows of himself who God is and what He has done for us. God alone can tell us about these things. And God has revealed Himself to us; He has told us in His holy Word who He is and what He has done for us. From Holy Scriptures alone do we learn what we, as Christians, are to know and believe regarding God and His works. And what God tells us in His Word we verily may believe. It must be true, since God cannot and will not lie.—All the doctrines in Holy Scriptures which teach us who God is and what He has done and will do for us to save us, we call the Gospel. The word Gospel means glad tidings, good news.
3. In the first part of our Small Catechism we also studied a word of God, and we have called it the holy will of God, or the Law. So you see that there are two chief doctrines in our Bible; one we call the Law; the other, the Gospel. Both are revealed to us by our heavenly Father, both are the Word of God. But they differ greatly from each other. The Law tells us how, according to the will of God, we ought to be and what we must do and not do to please our God. From it we learn that we all are sinners, having not kept His commandments, and that God threatens to punish all who hate Him and break His commandments; that, therefore, as transgressors of His Law, we deserve His punishment, death and damnation. The Law does not bring us glad tidings.—The Gospel has quite another message for us. It brings a message of joy to sinners, to those who have broken the commandments. It tells us that God loves even us sinners. "God so loved the world," that is, all sinful men, "that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3,16. It teaches us what and how much God, moved by His love and grace toward us sinners, has done and will do to save us from the deserved punishment of the Law, from sin, death, and hell. These are indeed good tidings, tidings of great joy for all men, to know that we have a Savior who can and will save us and give us eternal happiness in heaven. This Gospel of great joy we hear and learn in the Three Articles of our Christian faith.
4. We call the Three Articles the Creed, or the Apostles' Creed. This Creed contains what the apostles of the Lord believed and what they taught in all the world, as the Lord Himself had commanded them: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Mark 16,15. Let us give thanks to our dear Lord for having graciously sent His Gospel also to us that we may be saved thereby.
5. We have three articles of faith, because God has done three great saving works for us. We call these Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification. In our next lesson we shall begin our study of the first of the Three Articles, which treats of Creation.
REMEMBER:—
1. In the Three Articles is contained all that we believe and confess regarding God and His saving works for us. We call them also the Apostles' Creed. Our Creed is taken from Scripture.
2. There are two chief doctrines in the Bible, the Law and the Gospel. Both are God's Word. The Law tells us how, according to the will of God, we ought to be and what we must do and not do. It also tells us that God will punish us because we have not fulfilled, His commandments.
3. The Gospel brings to us the glad tidings of the grace and love of God. It tells us what God in His grace has done and will do to save us from the punishment of the Law, from sin and hell.
MEMORIZE:—
The Gospel is the glad tidings of the grace of God toward all men, proclaiming to them salvation from sin and death in Christ Jesus.
God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3,16.
Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Mark 16,15.
QUESTIONS.
1. Of what does the Second Chief Part of our Catechism treat? 2. How do we also call these Three Articles? 3. What does the word "creed" mean? 4. Where are the Three Articles of our Christian faith taken from? 5. How many chief doctrines are contained in the Scriptures? 6. How are these two doctrines called? 7. What does our Lord tell us in His Law? 8. With what does the Law threaten us because we have not fulfilled it? 9. What will our punishment be according to the Law? 10. What is the Gospel? 11. What does the word "Gospel" mean? 12. What does God reveal to us in His Gospel? 13. Recite the Gospel-message that we find John 3,16. 14. In what work especially has God shown His love toward mankind? 15. Who, according to the words of our Savior, shall not perish? 16. What will God give to him that believeth? 17. Why are the Three Articles called the Apostles' Creed? 18. Why do we confess our faith in three articles? 19. What are the three great works which God has done and will do for our salvation? 20. To whom is the Gospel to be preached? 21. Recite the command of our Lord to His disciples to preach the Gospel to all the world. 22. What does the word "creature" in this verse mean?
LESSON 14.
The First Article.
Of Creation.
Which is the First Article of the Creed?
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean?
I believe that God has made me and all creatures.
1. "I believe in God," thus the First Article begins. Every Christian should confess and every true Christian does confess: I, I myself, believe in God. It is of no avail to us that anybody else believes, we ourselves must believe in God. We believe in God the Father Almighty. We believe that God is the Father Almighty, or the almighty Father. And why do we believe that God is the almighty Father? Because He is the Maker of heaven and earth. That is God's first great, saving work for us. He has made heaven and earth. We call this work the creation.
2. God is the Maker of heaven and earth. Our Catechism explains these words thus: "I believe that God has made me and all creatures." God has made me; it is due to Him that I came into existence, that I am living. He gave me life and everything that I have. God, however, did not only make me, but me and all creatures. Creatures are all things that God has made. Heaven and earth, all the angels, the sun, the moon, the glittering stars, all things on earth, the mountain and the mighty oceans, all animals, large and small, all the plants on land and in the water, man himself; all things that we see, yes, even those we do not see, all things, visible and invisible, are His creatures. God has made them all, they are the work of His almighty power. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Gen. 1,1. "By Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible." Col. 1,16.
3. In Bible History you have already learned how God made or created heaven and earth. Before God began to create the world, nothing was there except God alone, the Creator. God always was, is, and in all eternity will be. "From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God." Ps. 90,2.—God did not have any material out of which to make this world. Out of nothing He created heaven and earth. God simply said, "Let there be light," and there was light. He simply said, Let there be the sun and the moon and the stars, and, behold, there they were, shining in all their splendor. In this manner, by speaking, by His word, God made all things, visible and invisible, heaven and earth. God has created everything without any means; God has made heaven and earth and all creatures out of nothing, by His word. We do not understand how this is possible; but we believe it because God Himself has revealed it to us in His Word. "Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." Heb. 11,3. God made all things by His word, with the exception of His foremost creature, man. It pleased Him to form the first man in a different manner. Do you know how God made Adam? Read Gen. 1,26-28 and 2,7.—God could have made heaven and earth, as we see them now, in one instant, but it has pleased Him to do it in six days. In six days "the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them." Gen. 2,1. And when all this was finished, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen. 1,31.
4. When we consider this great work of our Lord, consider that He has made the whole world, the heavens and all the host of them, the mighty sun, the countless stars, the earth with all its treasures, with its millions of living creatures, must we not say that God, who created all these things by His word alone, is a mighty and powerful God, more powerful and mighty than all other things which He has made? And it is true indeed, God is more powerful than His creatures. He is almighty. We believe in God, the Father Almighty. "With God nothing shall be impossible," Holy Scripture tells us. Luke 1,37. "He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." Ps. 115,3. God is an almighty Father. In Him we can trust. He can and will be our help. No one and nothing can resist His mighty power.
5. When we consider how wonderful this world is made, when we consider that everything that came from the hand of God was very good, that everything was made as it should be to serve its end, must we not say that God is a very wise God, being able to plan such a wonderful and good work? Yea, our God is the all-wise God. What He does is always good and wise, even if we do not understand it.—And remember, moreover, that God has created this beautiful world for us, His children. This great and wonderful earth is to be our dwelling-place; sun, moon, and the stars are to serve us. Is not our God a loving, a good, a merciful God? Truly, "the Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are ouer all His works." Ps. 145,9. "God is Love." 1 John 4,8. In Him, our loving, merciful God, will we trust; He will surely help us.
REMEMBER:—
1. I myself must believe in God the Father Almighty. The faith of another cannot save me.
2. In six days God created heaven and earth. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. He has created, that is, made, all things out of nothing, by His word. This we believe because God Himself has revealed it unto us in Holy Scriptures.
3. God, the Maker of heaven and earth, always has been and always will be. From everlasting to everlasting He is God. He is our almighty and all-wise Father, always loving, good, and merciful. In Him we can and will trust.
MEMORIZE:—
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. 1,1.