The scripture reading this morning is Ezekiel 36. Verses 16 through 32. Ezekiel 36. Verses 16 through 32, we read this in connection with the Catechism's treatment of the third commandment in Lord's days, 36 and 37. Ezekiel 36, beginning at verse 16, and notice the concern the Lord has with His own name as we read through this passage. Ezekiel 36, 16. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, Whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen. Whither they went, Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will call for the corn and will increase it and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that you shall receive no more reproach from famine among the heathen." Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel." So far we read God's holy word. On the basis of this passage of Scripture, on the basis of many passages of Scripture, we have the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism as it's found in LDS 36, and we also treat LDS 37 this morning as part of our examination of the Third Commandment. LDS 36, what is required in the Third Commandment that we, not only by cursing or perjury, but also by rash swearing, must not profane or abuse the name of God, nor by silence or connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others. and briefly, that we use the holy name of God no otherwise than with fear and reverence, so that he may be rightly confessed and worshipped by us and be glorified in all our words and works. Is then the profaning of God's name by swearing and cursing so heinous a sin that His wrath is kindled against those who do not endeavor as much as in them lies to prevent and forbid such cursing and swearing? It undoubtedly is, for there is no sin greater or more provoking to God than the profaning of His name. And therefore He has commanded this sin to be punished with death. May we then swear religiously by the name of God? Yes, either when the magistrates demand it of the subjects, or when necessity requires us thereby to confirm fidelity and truth to the glory of God and the safety of our neighbor. For such an oath is founded on God's word, and therefore was justly used by the saints both in the Old and New Testament. May we also swear by saints or any other creatures? No, for a lawful oath is calling upon God as the only one who knows the heart, that he will bear witness to the truth and punish me if I swear falsely, which honor is due to no creature. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this morning we come to the Catechism's treatment of the third commandment. The third commandment is, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. The usual way, the good way to interpret or to introduce this third commandment, and the usual way to distinguish this third commandment from the first two commandments, is by saying something like this. The first commandment emphasizes whom we must worship. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Worship Me alone. The second commandment emphasizes How we worship God. We must not worship God by using images, nor must we worship God in any other way than He has commanded in His Word. How we worship Him. And now in this third commandment, God teaches us with what attitude we must worship Him. We must not worship God flippantly. We must not simply go through the motions when we are worshiping him. But we must worship God from the heart with reverence and honor and awe. That's a good way to understand the third commandment. The first commandment tells us whom we must worship. The second commandment, how we must worship. And the third commandment, especially now from the heart, with what attitude we must worship him. This morning, however, as we look at this third commandment, using Ezekiel 36, in the light of that chapter, we see that this third commandment goes very deep. Because the reality is, God's name is not just something out there. As if God's name is simply a word that we use on our lips, or an object that we need to treat with reverence and care. But the reality goes deeper. Because God's name is also something which God has written upon His own covenant people. God has placed His name upon you, personally, and upon this congregation, so that we bear His name. And so the result is, everything we do and everything we say, we do it and we say it as those who are bearing the name of God. And so the result is, even in all the normal or the mundane moments of life, what we say and what we do has everything to do with the third commandment. Because everything we say and do reflects back. on the name of God, either to the honor of His name or the reproach of His name. That makes this third commandment very deep. And yet, let me say it also right away at the beginning of this sermon, that's also what makes this third commandment part of the perfect law of liberty. Because in the end, what is God requiring of us here in the third commandment? What He is simply requiring of us in this third commandment is that we live out of the new man. In this third commandment, God is once again simply showing us what living out of the new man looks like. Showing us what Living out our salvation in Jesus Christ looks like. Don't live anymore as slaves of sin. You don't have Satan's name written on your forehead. You have My name. You are Mine. So honor My name by living as My people, walking in My ways. Lord willing, we will see that as we go through the sermon this morning. We take as our theme the third commandment honoring God's name. And we look at that theme under three points. First, bearing God's name. Second, profaning God's name. And third, honoring God's name. What is in a name? When I think about names, I cannot help but think that names are something rather strange, kind of a strange thing, at least for us as people. Because from one point of view, our names are just a label for us. A baby is born, and the parents give that child a name. You have to call a child something, so you give that child a name. That's who the child now is going to be. It's kind of strange when you think about it that way. But at the same time, a name is not just a name. We know that too. Because that name stands for who you are. That name you have stands for your person. And that's exactly why when parents are trying to decide what they're going to name their baby, they can debate for days or months on what they should name their baby. Because although in one sense, a name is just a name, in another sense, that name is going to stand for who that baby is. That name is going to represent you. In a strange way, that baby is going to know itself by the name that that baby's parents give that baby. In one sense, there's nothing closer to you than your own name. If someone mentions your name, Your ears perk up and maybe you try to listen in on the conversation because you know they're not just talking about your name, they're talking about you. If someone mentions your name, that person touches you and touches who you are. When you mention my name, you're touching my person. Just imagine, congregation, if I were to speak your name right now off this pulpit. Your first name and your last name. I think it would make you rather uncomfortable. I'm almost tempted to do it just so that you would feel it. As soon as I say your name, you understand I'm not just talking about a name, I'm talking about you. And that gets our attention. We are jealous for our own names. We are very concerned to guard our own names. Maybe part of that is our pride, but maybe also part of that is because we understand what the Bible says when the Bible says a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. We don't like it when our names are forgotten. Or misspelled. Or when people attribute bad things to our names. Or when someone gives us a nickname that hurts us. Exactly because our name stands for who we are. Just think about it this way, too. We don't like it when maybe the name of our spouse is being used inappropriately. Or when the name of our child is being used inappropriately. Again, because to use someone's name is to touch upon that person. Now, congregation, that reality we experience with our own names is but a dim reflection of how God interacts with His names. Just as we experience that our names represent who we are, and we are therefore very jealous about how people use our names, that's how it is with God. In a perfect and deep sense. Even Much more truer than with us. Because the reality is, to a certain degree, our names are just a label for us. To a certain degree. But for God, there is no degree in which His names are simply a label for Him. God's names are not labels which other people have attached to God. But God's names are what God has given Himself in order to show us who He really is. as to what's in His heart, as to His person and His being. In the same way that when a person uses your name, that person is touching you, so in the perfect sense, when anybody uses God's name, that person is touching God. In the deepest sense, and truest sense, God is His names. So that it is impossible to use God's name without touching upon God Himself. So that when you hear someone in the grocery store saying Jesus Christ in anger, they're not just using a name or a label. Jesus is saying, hey, that's got my attention. Because that person is talking about Jesus Christ. The reason God has given us His names is exactly so that we might know Him. That we might know Him personally, and we might speak with Him, and worship Him, and exalt Him, exalt His name, and speak well of Him to others. In a very real way, then, when we use God's name, we touch God. We come into contact with God through his names. He reveals his character. He reveals his attributes. He reveals who he is through his name. That's exactly why God's name is holy. All his names are holy. His name is holy because he is holy. So what is God's name? Well, God's name is not merely a word such as God or Jesus. But God's name includes everything that reveals to us who God is. This earthly creation bears God's name in the sense that this creation bears God's power, or shows God's power, and shows His wisdom and glory. The Bible bears God's name in the sense that the Bible reveals who God is. You touch the Bible, you touch God. That's why we may not add anything to it or subtract anything from it. The Bible reveals God's purposes. The Bible reveals God's heart in a perfect way, in a special way. The personal names God uses in the Bible reveal or bear God's name. The name Jehovah, for example, is not just a label, but the name Jehovah is God's own self-revelation of who He is as the eternal, unchanging, covenant-keeping, faithful God. You say the name Jehovah, you say the name God, you say the name Jesus Christ, and you're touching God. And when Scripture wants to refer to the fullness of who God is, Scripture simply makes reference to the name of God. The name of God stands for God in His fullness. For example, in Proverbs 18, verse 10, where it says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, what it's simply saying is that God is a strong tower. In all of who He is, in all His wisdom and justice and love and righteousness, He is a strong tower for His people. The one place where God has especially revealed His name and given us His name is in Jesus Christ. Not just in the name Jesus Christ, but in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In revealing Christ to us and showing us Christ, God has given us a clear revelation of Himself, of His love, of His mercy, of His justice, and of all of who He is as the God of our salvation. What does John 1 verse 18 say? John 1 verse 18 says, No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Exactly because He has come in the flesh and shown us who God is. This is God's name. Truly, because the natural man does not receive the things of God, we cannot truly know God except if God gives us His name in and through Jesus Christ and reveals Himself to us by His Spirit and Word. Through giving us God's name, we are brought into a relationship with God. That's why he gives us his name, so that we can know him and call him by name and fellowship with him. That's how we worship him. That's how we enjoy him and live as his friend's servants through his name. The great reality I want to draw your attention to this morning is that not only does Jesus bear God's name, not only does the Bible bear God's name, not only does creation bear God's name, but you and I also, in a special sense, bear God's name. That comes out in a very striking way in the Scripture reading this morning. Ezekiel 36, especially in the first few verses that we read. To help give you a little bit of context to Ezekiel 36, the prophet Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the Babylonian captivity. He lived during the days of Jeremiah and during the days of Daniel. And he was taken into captivity. So he is in Babylon and he is prophesying, he is speaking God's Word to the people in Babylonian captivity. So Ezekiel has seen how wicked God's people had become. He saw all their idolatry and how they were worthy of God's judgment. And the first part of Ezekiel does contain many words of judgment for God's people. But here near the end of the prophecy, Ezekiel speaks words of comfort, telling God's people that he will gather his people again, bring them out of captivity, and bring them to their own land. So let me read a few verses again from Ezekiel 36, starting with verse 17. Son of man, Ezekiel 36 verse 17. God is speaking to Ezekiel. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. They were unclean. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them, for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned My holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of His land. And then in verse 21, What I want to draw your attention to here in this first point of the sermon is simply this, God's people are those who bear His name. Why do they bear His name? Exactly because of this reality. God has established a covenant relationship with them. He has given them His promises. He has said, I will be your God. You will be My people. And the result of that covenant relationship is this. All the world, all the countries can see who God is. And they can learn who God is by the people who are called by God's name. The world can see who God is by how God deals with His people and interacts with them, and by how His people conduct themselves before the world. God understands that. That's why God gives us the Ten Commandments. He gives Israel the Ten Commandments right after they leave Egypt, because He says, you are my people, for the honor of my name, for my name's sake, you must walk in this way. That's also why God, though He sends judgment upon Israel, faithful to His own name, faithful to His Word, He said He would bring judgment upon them and lead them into captivity. Nevertheless, God is also jealous for His name, and so that's why He's also going to show mercy to Israel and bring them back from captivity, not because they deserve it, not because they are so holy, or because of anything in themselves, but simply because God is faithful to His own name. These people bear His name, and therefore for His name's sake, for the honor and reputation of His name, He brings them back from captivity. This is the same kind of idea that's expressed in Psalm 23, verse 3, where the psalmist says, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. Why does God lead His people in the good and right paths? Because His people are so worthy of it? Because His people deserve it? No, but because He is a good shepherd. For His own namesake, He does it. He is a shepherd who is jealous of His reputation as a shepherd. And His reputation is inseparably connected to the well-being and how His sheep are doing. How healthy they are. And so not because they are so smart and so good, but in spite of their stubbornness and their dumbness as sheep, for His own namesake, He leads them in good and right ways. This same kind of idea is expressed in the book of Exodus. When the Israelites are at Mount Sinai, and Moses is on the mountain with God, the people below, or ask Aaron to make a golden calf. And they worship it together. And God is so angry that He says, this is a stiff-necked people. And God says to Moses in the mountain, let Me alone that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation. So let Me destroy them all and raise a new nation from you, Moses. And you children, remember how Moses responded to God? Moses said, God, what will the Egyptians say? What will the Egyptians say about you when they hear that you have brought Israel out of Egypt only to destroy them in the wilderness? They will only say bad things about you. And so God, because of the sake of His own name, for the sake of His own honor, shows mercy to His people exactly because His people are known by His name. So God's name is his self-revelation. And one very clear way in which God reveals himself is through his relationship with his people. He has written his name upon them. He reveals his power and his grace and all his attributes through his relationship with them. And God is jealous of his name. And therefore he sees to it that his relationship with his people is a relationship in which his greatness is put on display. That's why He gives the Ten Commandments. That we, in a holy life, might show the world the greatness and the power of God's grace in our own hearts and lives. We bear His name. In everything we do, therefore, in our worship as a congregation, in how we raise our children, in how we are talking to our co-worker, in how we prioritize our schedules, we are reflecting God. We are revealing God. Or at least we should be. Our reputation as Christians bears upon God's own reputation. That's exactly where it's also possible to profane God's name. The third commandment says, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. More literally, the idea is, Thou shalt not take up the name of the Lord for nothingness. When you use God's name and you lift it up, you may not do so carelessly. It's like the same way that you might use a loaded gun. You don't lift up a loaded gun in the air and start waving it around carelessly. You know that. But you treat it carefully. You put on the safety. You want to treat that gun carefully. So it is, when you lift up God's name, you don't use it carelessly, but you use it carefully. To profane God's name means then to treat it as nothing. To treat it lightly. Because to use His name lightly then also means to treat God Himself lightly. Well, what are some different ways in which we can profane God's name? Well, there are some obvious ways, first, in which we can violate the third commandment and profane God's name. Let's look at these obvious ways, first of all. First, we can take God's name in vain when we use God's name for our own personal advantage, out of our own self-interest. In the Old Testament, the most common ways in which this was done was through sorcery, and through false prophecy, and through taking a false oath. Think of sorcery. Sorcery has to do with the occult, with black magic and witchcraft. In the ancient world, and more and more today it seems, people believed that they could gain access to supernatural power by using divine names in magical incantations. So they called upon their gods to heal their bodies, to tell the future, to give them victory over battle, to give them what they wanted. That's how Baal worship was carried out. They tried to manipulate their gods to bring forth crops or whatever. God's people were prone to do the same thing in the Old Testament. We might not call it sorcery as such, but think of what Israel did in 1 Samuel 4. where under King Saul, the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines. And they thought that simply by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines, bringing God with them into battle, the battle was guaranteed to be a victory. They were manipulating God, trying to manipulate God for their own purposes. That's taking God's name in vain. False prophecy was another obvious way in which God's name was taken in vain. When a prophet said, like the prophets during the days of Jeremiah, Thus saith the Lord, your time in captivity will be short. It will only be a few days or a few years. When God did not say those words, that was taking God's name in vain. When a person took a false oath, when a person said, I swear, and then they did not speak the truth, they were taking God's name in vain. Because, as the catechism teaches, every time you say, I swear, you're making an appeal to God Himself. That He is your witness. That what you are saying is true. And then to lie, to break that oath, is to make of God a liar Himself. That He will stand behind these lies that you say are truth. In all these examples, it's really the same thing though. People trying to use God's name, not for God's glory, but for their own personal advantage. We do that same thing today. Maybe I use God's name in order to advance my own agenda. So I say, you can't tell me what to do because the Lord told me to do this. So I don't have to listen to what the Bible says because the Lord told me to do this. And I use the Lord's name to excuse my sin. That's taking God's name in vain. I say, God is love. And I use that to walk in sin. To excuse my sin. That's taking God's name in vain. Or maybe I misinterpret the Scriptures so that I can use them for my own purposes. how easy it is to take a verse out of its context and then use it to serve my own personal purposes and my lifestyle. I think that's a very real danger with some of the devotional material that's out there today. Some of the devotional material seems to be nothing but taking God's name in vain because the whole purpose is not to honor God's name, or bring glory to God, or to help you walk a godly life, but simply to make you feel good about yourself and how you're living today. In politics, God's name can easily be taken in vain to promote one's political agenda. When a government leader has no relationship with God at all, and then in a public speech he uses God's name, kind of name-dropping the name of God, he's taking God's name in vain. Then there are those more obvious forms of profaning God's name. Using the name of God or the name of Jesus Christ as a curse word is taking God's name in vain. Then there are those times when other people are taking God's name in vain and we don't say anything. I should ask myself, what if someone were using my name that way? Or using my wife's name that way? The way that people use God's name so flippantly. Would I speak up then? If I would speak up then, why shouldn't I speak up when it's my own Savior's name that's being used in vain? And yet I hear my Savior's name being used in vain on TV, and I keep listening, I keep watching, and maybe I even call it entertainment. The Catechism says in answer 99 that we must not by silence or connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others. The word connivance means to give our secret approval. It means to purposely avoid noticing something. Kind of turn your head the other way so that you can say you didn't really notice it, even though you did notice it. to purposely turn the other way so that you don't have to say anything about it. That's connivance. That's taking God's name in vain. Because we're not standing up for it. Then there are those times when we use God's name without holding God's name in awe and reverence like we should. Think of when we're careless in the worship service. When I'm singing and I'm not even paying attention to the words that I'm using. Maybe for those who are in a choir, or those who are in a special program, that's something to be on guard against. When you're singing and when you're only focused on how your voice sounds in the ears of others, and you're not actually focused on worshipping God through song. I think that's a real struggle. That's a real distraction. I'm focused on what others are thinking about me, rather than about how God's name is being honored in this song. Those who are in choir must learn not only to sing beautifully, but to sing spiritually, to learn to get into the meaning of the songs that they are singing and to understand what they are singing. That's why we also must never just be going through the motions. That itself is taking God's name in vain. As soon as my singing is concentrated on what man thinks and not on God's glory, maybe so that I'm trying to sing beautifully, or maybe so that I don't really sing at all because I'm worried about how other people might hear me, I must stop. In my heart, at least, I need to stop and I need to ask God, Father, let Thy Glory be my focus as I'm using thy name in song. There are more examples. Just think of acting. When there's acting, and some people might say, well, it's a very godly movie. A person is acting just like a Christian and he's praying and he's quoting scripture. That person is taking God's name in vain because he's acting. That's what that actor is doing. He's simply acting. He's using God's holy name. He's using holy religious activities for the entertainment of those who are watching. Think of a movie where a person is acting like a minister in a worship service. That's taking God's name in vain. That person is acting. He's using God's name not focused on actually honoring God, but making sure he looks good in front of the camera so that he makes a good presentation. There are so many examples. So many examples for a minister's own life. Do I preach my best for the glory of God or for my own reputation as a minister? Am I acting behind the pulpit? That's real. If my motivation in preaching is so that people can hear how nicely I can put things instead of having people hear the Word of Christ, and they might see Christ more clearly, that's taking God's name in vain. I could put it this way, whenever my fear of man is bigger than my fear of God, that's when I'm taking God's name in vain. That's hard. That's hard. But one example of profaning God's name that we haven't mentioned yet, and which is emphasized in Ezekiel 36, is the profaning of God's name when we call ourselves Christians, and yet we tolerate sin in our lives, and we act like a hypocrite. That's what God records for us in Ezekiel 36. These people were worshipping idols. They had shed much blood during the days of Manasseh. They were even shedding the blood of their own covenant children. They were taking God's name in vain. Exactly because they were God's people, they did bear God's name. And yet they were living wickedly. And the way they were living, they were bringing a reproach on the name of God Himself. And in Ezekiel 36, what happened to God's people? Well, He brought them into captivity, just like He said He would. He was faithful to His word. But that too was an occasion for the wicked to take God's name in vain. That's what we read in verse 20. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned My holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of Jehovah, and are gone forth out of His land. God's name was being taken in vain because God's own people, as they were being chastened and judged by God, were given an occasion for the wicked to speak badly of God. For the wicked to say, what a weak and pathetic God you serve. He can't even defeat King Nebuchadnezzar and keep you in your own land. But you're scattered abroad. God had to chasten His people. Their sins were so great and so many, but even now in the way God had to chasten His people, His people were giving the wicked an occasion to take God's name in vain. And we have that too. Whenever the church gives place to Satan, And the church allows Satan to have his way with the church. And the church is giving up the truth of God's Word. Or she makes herself spiritually weak by watering down the preaching. Or there is infighting. Or sin is being openly tolerated. And the church becomes weaker and weaker. Not only is the church in that moment failing to honor God's name like she should, but she's also setting up a further occasion for the world to mock her when God has to come and visit her and chasten her and purify her and correct her. This is also why in Ezekiel 36, God says He's going to make sure to bring back His people to Jerusalem. He's going to bless them and He will make them happy once again. He's going to make them happy. Why? Simply to make them happy? No. But to make it clear that He is God. To make His name great in the earth. And in the end, that's great comfort for God's people. That's practical comfort for you and me too. Because God has written His name in our hearts. We are His people. And therefore, though we are grievous sinners, God will perfect His work in us. Not because we are worthy. That's not where our confidence is. Not because we are so good, but because God is jealous of His own name. And I know that He has written His name upon my heart. Well, if that is what profaning God's name is, how then do we honor God's name? Well, we honor God's name first by making sure we know His name. by making sure we're thinking about God properly as the glorious and gracious and righteous God that He is. We honor God's name by taking time to search out the scriptures and read them that we may constantly be growing in our knowledge. We are honoring God as we have the preaching of His word central in the worship service. But we're honoring God in all the elements of the worship service. Then we honour God's name by trusting His Word and believing it. We honour God's name by clinging to His promises. When we cry out in our desperation or in our anxiety, we cry out, Lord, help me! And maybe that's all we can say. Help me! We're honouring God's name. That's why He has given us His name. To call out to Him. We honor God's name by making His commandments our chief delight. We honor God's name by looking for our salvation and our perfect righteousness only in the name of Jesus Christ. Then we honor God's name by confessing His name. We confess His name before men. We confess His name before each other. When a young man or a young woman confesses his or her faith in front of church. That's using God's name in a very beautiful and God-honoring way. And that confession is rooted in the heart. We honor God's name simply in our daily activity of keeping our marriage vows, keeping our baptism vows, or any other vow we make, or the oaths that we maybe need to make before the government. Then we honor God's name by using God's name in our worship, praying to Him, giving Him thanks, making corporate worship a priority in our life, insisting on family devotions and personal devotions. And we honor God's name when in all of life we strive to live faithfully as the Christians that we are and the prophets, priests, and kings that we are in Jesus Christ. We bear His name faithfully. In a word, we honor God's name by living out of Jesus Christ. He is the One who has redeemed and delivered us from all our sin. He is the One who has raised us unto new life. He is the One who has made us partakers of Him. He is the One who honored God's name perfectly in all His life and in all His death. The fear of God was always before His eyes. He bore God's name perfectly. And He lives in us. And our calling is to live out of Him, living out of that new man, living before the face of God. How do we honor God's name? By letting our hearts be captured by the thought that God has seen fit to establish a covenant relationship with us and write His name on our hearts. This is a serious commandment. God says, He will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. The Catechism says that there is no sin more provoking, no sin greater to God than the profaning of His name. We honour God's name by thanking Him for giving us Jesus Christ as our perfect and complete righteousness, as our Saviour from sin, and as the power to walk according to His ways. We honor God's name by finding our fullness of joy in Him. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, lead us and guide us so that Thy name might be where we find our fullness of joy. Lead us and guide us so that our happiness might be in living with Thee and for Thee. Honor Thy name, Father, by making Thy Word our chief delight. Honor Thy name, we pray, through this preaching, We honor Thy name in the way of applying this preaching to our hearts, that we might live according to it in the week that lies ahead. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.