Chapter II: Part 2

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.