Sinclair Ferguson

And at the end of the day, that's where everyone who isn't a Christian is, isn't it?

And that's why the redemption of God is such a marvelous act of the Creator's mercy.

But the third commandment tells us not to take the name of the Lord in vain.

What God is forbidding here is using his name lightly or thoughtlessly.

as though neither God nor His name were of any importance to us.

What marks out the true believer is, as the fifth Psalm puts it, that he or she loves the Lord's name and exalts in Him.

Think about this in terms of the two testaments of the Bible, old and new.

You remember that in the days of the Old Testament, the high priest was to bless the people.

The specific blessing, sometimes called the Aaronic Benediction, is recorded in Numbers 6, verses 24 to 26.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

These are beautiful words, and they describe a wonderful privilege, God shining on his people.

Think about it, the face of God turning towards his people in love and smiling at them.

But do you remember the words that follow?

God says about the priests, so shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

When the people of God received this blessing, God was putting his name on them.

So, to take the name of the Lord your God in vain was to be someone who accepted the Lord's benediction and then went away and lived as if he or she had never received it.

seems almost impossible, doesn't it?

That someone would feel the smile of God in his benediction and then live as though it really didn't mean anything to him or to her.