Dr MJ du Plessis Gereformeerde Kerk Bellville Date: 8 February 2004 (evening)

Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Psalm of praise 8:1, 8

Prayer

Psalm 20:1, 5

Scripture reading: Proverbs 27
Scripture text: Proverbs 27:12; Catechism Sunday 36

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. (NIV)

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (ESV)

The prudent person who is mentioned in this passage is not necessarily a person with a high IQ.

It is a person who knows God.
Somebody with wisdom, seeking the best ways in which he can live to the honour of the Lord.

It means that such a person will recognise evil in time and make sure it doesn’t get to him. He has understanding of the will of the Lord and understands how to apply it.

In contrast with these prudent people are the inexperienced (ESV: the simple).

They are people who are indifferent to the Lord.
They do not know Him.
They are very careless and in their planning and thoughts they are only concerned with the earthly and temporary matters.
They are not focused on eternity, and therefore there is a vast difference between the purpose of life and end of life of the faithful and of the unfaithful.

These differences in lifestyle between devout and indifferent people are clearly visible in the way they deal with the third commandment. In this sermon we are going to focus on the following:
1. The correct use of the Lord’s Name in faith
2. The prudent use of the Lord’s Name
3. The use of the Lord’s Name for our salvation

1. The correct use of the Lord’s Name in faith
The Name of the Lord should be used most prudently, because the Lord is angry with people who defame his Name. The truly faithful see and hear the glory of God in his Name. They also understand the wrath of God that He reveals in his Name.

A wise person “sees” more than the indifferent person.

He also has the ability to notice the glory and majesty of God.
Therefore in faith he can use the name of the Lord correctly.

The unfaithful abuse the Name of the Lord when they curse because they do not believe in Him and because they do not realise that there is eternal life after this life which they will spend with or without Him.

For the faithful certain principles apply here.

He knows and understands that the evil he does now has consequences not only for now.

It also has consequences for later when he has to face the Lord God.
Therefore he uses the Name of the Lord only to glorify Him in faith and not to curse or to commit perjury.

The relationship of the truly faithful with the Lord is of such a nature that the law of the Lord warns him in time.

He recognises evil when it approaches as lightning tells us that a thunderstorm is on its way.
He can get out of sin’s way on time.

Whoever is a child of God will learn wisdom through knowing the Word of God (his law) and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

It happens that people whose faith is not strong estrange themselves from the Lord and his Name in difficult times. The truly faithful respond differently:

Even under stress the faith of God’s child still grows,
and he still worships the Name of the Lord in truth.
He still knows his calling,
and reverently respects the Name of the Lord.
He still believes in the Name of the Lord through the power of Jesus Christ.

Just consider people who went exactly the opposite way, for example Ahab, who was influenced by his vicious wife Jezebel. And Lot’s sons-in-law. They had all known the Lord, but in their own human wisdom and arrogance they denied the Name of the Lord and eventually died eternal death.

2. The prudent use of the Lord’s Name
In essence the Lord and his Name are one, because the Bible sometimes refers to the Lord as “the Name”.

Therefore, when we use the Name of the Lord, we confess who He is.

To us the Lord is a God of mercy who in his mercy has compassion upon us.
He gives us eternal joy in the hereafter.

A wise person uses the Name of the Lord prudently, because Proverbs 18:10 says that the Name of the Lord is a strong tower – a refuge for us.

Our prudence should be clearly visible, because we must use the Name of the Lord respectfully and fearfully.

A person who does not use the Name of the Lord prudently, can easily find himself in trouble with the Lord because he could seriously sin against the Lord.
The Lord so seriously punishes abuse of his Name that the Jews of the Old Testament did not even want to use his Name. They were afraid that The Lord would kill them.

Therefore, professing the Name of the Lord correctly should be a serious issue for us.

This profession should be accompanied by the correct conduct in, among others, our public worship.
We cannot lay claim to the Lord hearing us if we go against his will in the way we use his Name.

The Lord’s Name should not only be praised in our public worship; it should be praised in our daily lives.

Therefore our prudent use of the Lord’s Name should also be clear in our daily lives
We should, for example, take care not to partake in cursing and blasphemy.
But we should also take care that we do not ignore the Name of the Lord when it is our duty to testify about Him.

3. The use of the Lord’s Name for our salvation
When king Josiah saw the terrible sins of the people he went to the Lord for help.

He had all the vessels made for Baal, Asherah and all the host of heaven removed from the temple and burnt.
He reinstated the Name of the Lord in the temple.

The question is: Why did he do it? Because he knew the salvation of his people relies on their return to the Lord. The Name of the Lord had to be reinstated among his people.

Similarly, our safety and salvation lie in worshipping the Name of the Lord.

With the Lord is salvation against sin, because the Lord forgives.
With the Lord is protection against the devil, because the devil was defeated.
With the Lord is acquittal from punishment, because Christ bore the punishment.
With the Lord is resurrection from the dead, because Jesus conquered death, and worshipping the Name of the Lord exempts us from death and gives us eternal life.

The Name of the Lord is indeed a refuge where we can hide against powers so much greater than we are, and where we can be protected against things that threaten to destroy is forever.

We daily deal with people who seriously abuse the Name of the Lord. We may not get used to it and also not become part of it.

The Lord Jesus renews us who believe.

He made propitiation for what we confess wrongly.
His propitiation especially has a bearing on us to confess his Name with full understanding of the Name.
When we pray we must call the Lord by his Name. Led by the Holy Spirit we must confess and preach his Name to all people.

Transgression against the Name of the Lord is like poison intoxicating your whole body and killing your relationship with the Lord.

It makes you lose respect for the Lord.
It makes you lose your fear of the Lord.
It makes you use the name of the Lord contemptuously when you curse or swear falsely.
It makes you go to eternal hell – with all the people who held the Lord in contempt in their use of language and their confession.

Let’s read together Catechism Sunday 36.

99. Q. What is required in the third commandment?
A. We are not to blaspheme or to abuse the Name of God by cursing,[1] perjury,[2] or unnecessary oaths,[3] nor to share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders.[4] In short, we must use the holy Name of God only with fear and reverence,[5] so that we may rightly confess Him,[6] call upon Him,[7] and praise Him in all our words and works.[8]
[1] Lev. 24:10-17. [2] Lev. 19:12 [3] Matt. 5:37; James 5:12. [4] Lev. 5:1; Prov. 29:24. [5] Ps. 99:1-5; Is. 45:23; Jer. 4:2. [6] Matt. 10:32, 33; Rom. 10:9, 10. [7] Ps. 50:14, 15; I Tim. 2:8. [8] Rom. 2:24; Col. 3:17; I Tim. 6:1.

100. Q. Is the blaspheming of God's Name by swearing and cursing such a grievous sin that God is angry also with those who do not prevent and forbid it as much as they can?
A. Certainly,[1] for no sin is greater or provokes God's wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name. That is why He commanded it to be punished with death.[2]
[1] Lev. 5:1. [2] Lev. 24:16.

Amen.

Closing prayer

Closing hymn: Psalm 32:3

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen..

Dr MJ du Plessis
Gereformeerde Kerk Bellville
Date: 8 February 2004 (evening)