Lesson Thirty-Second of the Baltimore Catechism No. 2 is the fourth of six lessons on the Ten Commandments.
The Second Commandment follows from the First. The honor and reverence we owe to God (and, by extension, to His saints) requires us to treat all that is holy with respect in our speech. To take the name of the Lord in vain does not mean merely cursing but to make oaths or vows that we do not intend to fulfill.
The Third Commandment is the basis of our Sunday Duty.
The questions are numbered consecutively with Lesson Thirty-First. For more information and links to other resources, click on each question below.
A. The second Commandment is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
A. We are commanded by the second Commandment to speak with reverence of God and of the saints, and of all holy things, and to keep our lawful oaths and vows.
A. An oath is the calling upon God to witness the truth of what we say.
A. We may take an oath when it is ordered by lawful authority or required for God's honor or for our own or our neighbor's good.
A. To make an oath lawful it is necessary that what we swear to, be true, and that there be a sufficient cause for taking an oath.
A. A vow is a deliberate promise made to God to do something that is pleasing to Him.
A. Not to fulfill our vows is a sin, mortal or venial, according to the nature of the vow and the intention we had in making it.
A. The second Commandment forbids all false, rash, unjust, and unnecessary oaths, blasphemy, cursing, and profane words.
A. The third Commandment is: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
A. By the third Commandment we are commanded to keep holy the Lord's day and the holydays of obligation, on which we are to give our time to the service and worship of God.
