Sermons on the Ten Commandments

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Sermon 1

SERMON I.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: GENERAL VIEW.

"And God spake all these words."—Exodus xx. 1.

"The Ten Commandments," says the Doctrine of the New Church, "were the first of the Word; for they were promulgated from Mount Sinai before the Word was written by Moses and the Prophets."

And with what solemnity and sublimity were they uttered—and by the very voice of Jehovah Himself! How grand is the description of the scene! "And the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.—And it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood on the lower part of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof went up as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice."

And why were these Commandments proclaimed amidst such awful solemnities? The Doctrine of the New Church states the reason, in the following words: "There is not a nation in the whole world, which does not know that it is evil to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, to testify falsely, and also that unless these evils were guarded against by laws, no kingdom, republic, or any established society whatever, could exist. Who, then, can suppose that the Israelitish nation was so much more stupid than others, as not to know that those things were evils. It may, then, be wondered at, that these laws, so universally known, should be promulgated in so miraculous a manner from Mount Sinai by Jehovah himself. But this was the reason that they were thus miraculously promulgated, namely, that it might be known, that those laws were not only civil and moral laws, but also Divine laws; and that to act contrary to them, was not only to do evil to the neighbor, that is, to one's fellow-citizens and to society, but that it was also to sin against God. "Wherefore, those laws, by promulgation from Mount Sinai by Jehovah, were made also laws of religion. For whatever Jehovah commands, he commands in order that it may be a part of religion, and thus that it may be done for the sake of salvation."

This point is a very important one, and needs to be somewhat more fully explained. It is to be understood, that the end in view gives character to all the thoughts and acts, because the end which man has before his mind, is the inmost principle with him. Now, when a man does anything merely for the purpose of advancing himself in the world, then, as to that action, self and the world are his inmost principles and ends, and consequently such act is a merely selfish one, however good it may appear. So, when, in refraining from any evil action, his end is merely to avoid civil and social penalties, such as punishment for violation of law, or the loss of character and standing in society, then, his ends being merely natural and worldly, such refraining does not make the man spiritual, nor is he any better at heart; he only appears better before the world. The stream cannot rise higher than the fountain: his end being merely natural and external, the good which he does is merely natural, not spiritual; and in such case, either doing good or refraining from evil has no effect on the interiors of his spirit,—and contributes nothing to his salvation. But when, in doing good or in refraining from evil, a man thinks of God and heaven,—when he refrains from an evil act because it is a sin against God, when he strives to do what is right because God commands it, and because that is the path that leads to heaven, then, by every such act, his spirit is brought into communication with heaven, and is conjoined with the Lord; and thus he becomes inwardly purified from evil, and filled with good, and so is regenerated and saved.

Under the light of this view, we can now see why the Commandments were proclaimed with so much solemnity by God himself from Mount Sinai. It was in order to make them laws of religion, and not merely moral and civil laws. It was, that not only the Israelites, but all mankind after them, who should read these commandments, might, when they kept them, think of God and heaven, and not merely of the world;—that, when they refrained from killing or stealing, or bearing false witness, or committing adultery, they might do so, not merely because it was opposed to the laws of the land or of civil society, but because it was forbidden by the law of God: and that, refraining with this end in view, their spirits might be conjoined with the Lord and heaven. This was the great reason for that sublime enunciation of those Commandments from Mount Sinai.

It was for a similar reason that the law of the Ten Commandments was called a Covenant. Covenant, in the spiritual sense, signifies conjunction; for when it is said that two persons make a covenant together, it means that they make an agreement in regard to some act or thing, and so far as both parties are faithful to the agreement, their minds are in a kind of conjunction. Now, the law of the Divine commandments is a covenant between God and man; a covenant, in which God promises, expressly or impliedly, that if man will do what is there commanded, and refrain from doing what is there forbidden, he shall be gifted with eternal life and its blessedness. And if man keep his part of the Covenant, the Lord will assuredly keep His: for, in fact, by a law of the mind, this result will certainly follow. "When man, in keeping the commandments of the Decalogue, thinks of the Lord and heaven,—by such thought and act, his mind (as before explained) becomes conjoined to the Lord and brought into communication with heaven; and then heavenly life flows down from the Lord into his mind; and such life is heaven in the soul, and after death it will expand into all the beauties and glories of heaven itself. Thus keeping the commandments effects conjunction with the Lord, and conjunction with the Lord is heaven and salvation.

We may now see why the two tables on which the commandments were inscribed were called the "tables of the covenant," why the ark in which they were deposited was called the "ark of the covenant," and why, indeed, the whole Word of the Lord is called "the Old and New Covenant," namely, because the Ten Commandments and, indeed, the whole Word, when obeyed, becomes the means of conjunction with the Lord.

The next point to be considered, is the holiness of the Ten Commandments. On this point, the Doctrine of the New Church thus speaks:—"The Commandments of the Decalogue, because they were the first-fruits of the Word, and thence the first-fruits of the Church about to be instituted with the Israelitish nation, and because they were, in a summary, a collection of all things of religion, by which conjunction of God with man and of man with God is effected, therefore they were so holy, that nothing is holier. That they were most holy, is evident from the following considerations: That the Lord Jehovah himself descended upon Mount Sinai in fire, and with angels, and thence promulgated them with a living voice, and that the mountain was hedged around, lest any should draw near and die: that those commandments were written upon two tables of stone by the finger of God: that when Moses brought down those tables the second time, his face shone: that the tables were afterwards laid up in the ark, and this in the inmost part of the tabernacle, and over it was set the propitiatory, and upon this were placed cherubs of gold; and that this inmost sanctuary of the tabernacle was called the holy of holies.—On account of the holiness of the tabernacle (which holiness was all derived from the law in the ark), all the Israelitish people by command encamped around it in order, according to their tribes, and marched in order after it; and then a cloud was over it by day, and a fire by night. On account of the holiness of that law, and the presence of Jehovah in it, Jehovah spoke with Moses over the propitiatory between the cherubs, and the ark was called Jehovah there. On 'account of the presence of Jehovah in that law and around it, miracles, also, were done by the ark in which the law was; as that the waters of the Jordan were divided; and while it rested in the midst, the people passed over on dry ground; that by its being carried round Jericho, the walls of that city fell down; that Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fell on his face before it; that, on account of its presence, the Bethshemites were smitten, to the number of several thousands; that Uzzah died because he touched it: that this ark, moreover, was introduced by David into Zion, with sacrifices and rejoicings, and afterwards by Solomon into the temple at Jerusalem, where it was deposited in its sacred recess. From all which things it is manifest that the Decalogue, in the Israelitish church, was holiness itself." "So great holiness and so great power were in that law, because it was a summary of all things of religion. For it was written on two tables, one of which contains, in a summary, all things which relate to God, and the other all that relate to man. Hence the Commandments of that law are called the Ten Words. They were so called, because the number ten signifies all, and words signify truths."

"The Decalogue," continues the Doctrine of the New Church, "contains, in its literal sense, the general precepts of doctrine and life; but in its spiritual and celestial senses it contains all precepts universally. The Decalogue is called, by way of eminence, the Law, because it contains all things of doctrine and life, for it contains not only all things that refer to God, but also all that refer to man; wherefore, as before said, that law was written upon two tables, one of which treats of God, the other of man. It is known that all things of doctrine and life have reference to love to God and love towards the neighbor. That the whole Word teaches nothing else, is plain from these words of the Lord: 'Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself: on these two commandments hang the law and the prophets.' The 'law and the prophets' signify the whole Word. Now, since love to God and love towards the neighbor are all things of the Word, and since the Decalogue, in the first table, contains in a summary all things of love to God, and in the second table all things of love towards the neighbor, it follows that it contains all things that pertain to doctrine and life."

So extensive is the meaning of the Ten Commandments, when viewed in their whole scope, and in all their three senses, the natural, the spiritual, and the celestial. "The Word," says the New Church Doctrine, "contains, in every Part, besides the literal sense, two interior senses, one of which is called spiritual, and the other celestial: in these senses, Divine truth is in its light, and Divine goodness is in its heat. No one, unless he knows what the Word is, can conceive that there is infinity in every part of it; that is, that it contains innumerable things, which not even the angels can exhaust. Every thing there may be likened to a seed, which may grow up from the ground into a great tree, and then may produce innumerable seeds, from which again may proceed similar trees, and from these a garden; and from the seeds of this, other gardens; and so on, to infinity. Such is the Word of the Lord in every part, and especially in the Decalogue; for this, because it teaches love to God and love towards the neighbor, is a short summary of the whole Word. That there is such an infinity of spiritual seeds or truths in the Word, is evident from the wisdom of the angels, which is all from the Word. This increases with them to eternity; and the wiser they become, the more clearly do they see that wisdom is without end, and that they themselves are only in the entrance to it, and that they cannot, in the least degree, attain to the Divine wisdom of the Lord, which they call an abyss. And, since the Word is from this abyss, because from the Lord, it is manifest that in all parts of it there is a kind of infinity."

These passages give us a new and most exalted view of the Divine Word in general, and of the Decalogue in particular. And such a view is greatly needed at this day, when so many, in their ignorance, are doubting or even denying the holiness of the Bible, and its Divine inspiration. But from the view thus presented by the Doctrines of the New Church, we perceive how vast, how deep, how inexhaustible is the truth contained in the Word of the Lord; and with this thought in our minds, we shall repair to its pages with new trust, and new interest and delight.

But now, in conclusion, let us note one striking feature in these Commandments. It will be observed that they are nearly all expressed in the negative form, thus:—"Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery." It is not said what we are to do, but only what we are not to do. This peculiarity is founded on a great law of Divine order, which is, that in proportion as man shuns evils as sins, good flows in from the Lord, and takes the place of the evil, and thus man is inwardly purified. "It is known," says the New Church Doctrine, "that man's interiors must be purified, before the good which he does can be truly good; for says the Lord, 'Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and platter, that the outside may be clean also.' The interior of man is not otherwise purified than as he desists from evils according to the precepts of the Decalogue. Those evils, so long as he does not desist from them, and flee from, and become averse to them, as sins, constitute his interior man, and are as an interposed veil or covering, appearing in heaven as an eclipse, whereby the sun of heaven is obscured and its light intercepted; and are also as a fountain of black and pitchy waters, from which nothing but what is impure can possibly flow. What flows from it, though it may appear before the world as good, still is not good, because defiled by evils from within. Now, since evils must be removed before good works can be truly good, therefore the Ten Commandments were given as the first of the Word, for they were promulgated from Mount Sinai before the Word was written by Moses and the prophets; and in those Commandments were not declared good works which are to be done, but rather evils which are to be shunned. Hence, also, those Commandments are taught in the churches as the first religious instructions; for they are taught to boys and girls, in order that man may commence his Christian life from them, and by no means forget them as he grows up."

We here learn the great spiritual law, on account of which the Commandments are expressed for the most part in the negative form, namely, that the first thing of religion is for man to shun evils as sins. Till he does this, all the good he may do, is inwardly not good, for he does it only for the sake of himself and the world. No man can do good which is truly spiritual and heavenly, except from the Lord; and such good cannot flow in from the Lord, so long as the interior mind is full of evils, as every man's is by nature. The first thing, then, to be done is to have those evils removed; and this is effected in proportion as man refrains from doing them; that is, in proportion as he resists and struggles against those evils, when they strive to come forth into act. "So far," says the New Church Doctrine, "as evils are removed as sins, so far good affections flow in, and man afterwards does good not for himself, but for the Lord. As,

"First: So far as he does not worship other gods, that is, so far as he does not love himself and the world above all things, so far the acknowledgment of God flows in.

"Secondly: So far as he does not profane the name of God, that is, so far as he shuns the cupidities arising from the love of self and the world, so far he loves the holy things of the Word and the Church, for these are the name of God.

"Thirdly: So far as he avoids thefts, thus also frauds and unlawful gains, so far sincerity and justice enter, and he acts sincerely and justly, not for himself, but for the Lord.

"Fourthly: So far as he shuns adulteries, thus also unchaste and filthy thoughts, so far conjugial love enters, which is the inmost love of heaven, in which chastity itself resides.

"Fifthly: So far as he shuns murders, thus also deadly hatred and revenge, which breathe murder, so far the Lord flows in with mercy and love.

"Sixthly: So far as he shuns false witness, thus also lies and blasphemies, so far the spirit of truthfulness or veracity flows in from the Lord.

"Seventhly: So far as he shuns the concupiscence of possessing the houses of others, thus also the love and cupidities thence derived of possessing the goods of others, so far charity towards the neighbor flows in from the Lord.

"Eighthly: So far as he shuns the concupiscence of possessing the wife, servant, &c, of others, that is, the love of ruling over others, so far love to the Lord flows in.

"In these eight commandments are contained evils which are to be shunned; in the other two, the third and fourth, are contained some things which are to be done, namely, that the Sabbath is to be kept holy, and that parents are to be honored."

From the summary view here presented of the substance of the Ten Commandments, we may derive much instruction; which knowledge will be made more full and clear, as we learn the meaning of each of those Commandments separately, in all their senses, the natural, spiritual, and celestial. This meaning we shall endeavor to set forth in the following discourses.

Sermon 2

SERMON II.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: THOU SHALT NOT HAVE OTHER GODS.

"I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants. Thou shalt not have other gods before my face."—Exodus xx. 2, 3.

The general meaning of this Commandment in its literal sense, is obvious: it forbids the worship of idols. It is to be remembered that at the time this Commandment was given to the Israelites, the whole known world was filled with idolatry. Every nation had its gods, to which it bowed down in worship. That the Israelites themselves were inclined to such worship, is evident from the fact that, within a month after this Commandment had been proclaimed from Mount Sinai, they made to themselves a golden calf and worshiped it. This custom they had learned in Egypt, where calves were worshiped. And at various other periods of their history, afterwards, there were introduced, under their kings, the idols of the nations around them, and these were made objects of worship.

The effect of idolatry was, to separate the mind from conjunction with the Divine Being, and to bind it down to merely natural and material things. Whether the idol was an image, the work of men's hands, or any created thing, as the sun, moon, and stars, or a human being (for men, both dead and living, were made objects of worship), the effect was to draw away the spirit from conjunction with God and heaven, and thus to extinguish all spiritual light in the mind, and to render it grossly natural.

All spirituality in the mind is attained by conjunction with God; for when the mind is in such conjunction, it is open towards God and towards heaven, and thence spiritual light flows in and enlightens the understanding, and spiritual heat, or love, flows in and warms and elevates the will. Now, conjunction is effected by means of thought and love. When the thought is fixed upon the Divine Being in reverence and worship, the understanding is thereby opened to his influx; and when, moreover, the heart is filled with love towards him, not only evinced by feelings of gratitude and trust, but, still more, by the endeavor to please him and do his commandments; then the heart or will is opened to the influx of love—the love of what is good and true and heavenly. And thus man is regenerated and prepared for heaven.

But now, if instead, of thus worshiping the true God, the one Divine Creator, the only Source of love, and light, and happiness,—there is worshiped a lifeless image, or the dead sun and moon, or a mere man like ourselves, then the thought rises no higher than these things: the mind cannot rise higher than the object at which it looks; and as this, in such case, is merely natural and material, the mind remains in merely natural light, and consequently, instead of becoming spiritual, continues gross, earthly, and sensual. Such may be supposed to be the effect of the worship of idols. Nay more:—when, as in ancient times, deceased men were worshiped,—men who, many of them, when on earth, were proud and wicked, such as conquerors and others, and who consequently, after death, became infernal spirits,—then, the worship of them, that is the fixing of the thought and heart upon them, would have the effect of producing a kind of conjunction with them, and thus open an influx from hell instead of heaven. Hence, idolatry of this kind is called in Scripture "worship of devils," and sacrifice offered to such beings is called "sacrificing to devils." Thus, speaking of the Israelites, when gone astray into idolatry, it is said, "They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God." And again, it is written in Leviticus: "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, and bringeth it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, blood shall be imputed to that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people. To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices unto the Lord. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils." So, the Apostle Paul, in addressing the early Christians, who being surrounded by idolaters, were in a danger similar to that of the Israelites, says: "What say I then? that the idol is anything? or that that which is sacrificed to idols is anything? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils."

"We may now perceive why Jehovah, in frequent appeals to the Israelites, as well as in the proclamation of this first Commandment from Mount Sinai, insisted so strenuously on their refraining from idolatry. But there was still another and a more interior reason. The Jewish Church, by means of its representative worship, had communication with heaven. For even though they did not understand the signification of the representative ceremonies enjoined upon them, yet while they performed those ceremonies in a spirit of obedience, and from an externally holy principle, good spirits could thereby be present with them, and thus was maintained a certain degree of conjunction with heaven. And on this conjunction the preservation of the human race depended; for should communication with heaven cease, mankind would perish. Influx comes to man from the Lord through heaven: as the Scripture declares, "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." This, then, was the chief reason why the Israelites were so earnestly commanded and warned to keep the laws and ordinances laid down for them, all of which were representative of holy and heavenly things. And first of all, and above all, they were warned to abstain from the worship of idols; for such worship was representative of everything evil and false: idols made of gold, silver, wood, and stone, representing, in a bad sense, the direst evils and falses; and the worship of such idols represented the love of evils and falses—and such love is hell, and not heaven; and consequently the angels could not be present where such worship existed. A similar representation had the worship of the sun and moon; for the sun, in a bad or perverted sense, signifies self-love; and the moon signifies a false faith: hence such worship, also, represented what was infernal. And in general, the worship of anything except the one Jehovah, represented the loving of self and the world more than of God; which is a principle the very opposite to that of heaven, where love to God is the supreme affection of the soul. Consequently, the tendency of idolatry in any form was to cut off communication with heaven, the effect of which, as before said, would have been to cause the human race to perish. Says the Doctrine of the New Church, "Idolatry was so severely forbidden to the Israelitish nation, because the adoration of other gods, of graven things and images, destroyed everything representative of the church amongst them. For in heaven, Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the universal reigning principle; his Divine fills all things therein, and constitutes the life of all; so that if anything had been worshiped instead of the Divine, everything representative would have perished, and thus, also, communication with heaven."

We may now understand why Jehovah terms himself a "jealous God," that is, one who could not brook the worship of any other being than himself. It was not for his own sake that he required worship, but for man's, for only thereby could man have conjunction with heaven and with the Lord, and be saved.

Such, then, is the first and most obvious meaning of this Commandment: it forbids the worship of idols. But now, having heard this explanation, we may feel that in this sense, at least, the Commandment has little reference to us; for we are in no danger of any such worship. True: we are in little danger of breaking the commandment in this its most external sense; but there is a sense, closely allied to this, considered in which, we are in the greatest danger of breaking the Commandment. There are idols of the heart, the worship of which is more deadly than that of wood and stone. And such idols the whole Christian world is in the daily worship of; and it may be that some of us are sharing in such worship. Let us examine these idols, and see what they are.

Oovetousness, says the Apostle, is idolatry: the love of the world, the love of pleasure, the love of any earthly thing, when it is made a supreme object of regard, is idolatry. For 'worship does not consist merely in bowing down on the knees, or in uttering prayers: these are acts of the body: the essence of worship is to be sought in the heart. Worship means essentially a supreme love for a thing; that, therefore, which man supremely loves, he in fact and in heart worships, though he may not pay it any formal adoration: hence, such a thing is truly an idol. To the miser, for instance, gold is an idol; he in heart worships it; for it is the object of his strongest love, and it occupies the first place in his thoughts. "He who, or that which, is loved above all things," says the doctrine of the New Church, "is to him that thus loves, a god and divine. As, for instance, whoever loves himself above all things, or the world above all things, to such a person himself or the world is his god. Hence, such persons do not in heart acknowledge any God: they therefore are conjoined with their like in hell, where are collected all who have loved themselves and the world above all things."