The Third Commandment

The third commandment states, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for He shalt not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” In reading this command­ment, there are two things which are striking. First, the personal aspect of the command when the Lord is called “Thy God.” And second, the antithetical nature of this command in the way in which God presents the command to us. The reason why God presents this third com­mandment to us antithetically lies in the very...