THE Lady of the Manor. BEING A SERIES OF CONVERSATIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF CONFIRMATION. BY MRS. SHERWOOD, Author of "LITTLE HENRY AND HIS BEARER," VOLUME III. Wellington, Salop: PRINTED BY AND FOR F. HOULSTON AND SON. And sold by Harrison and Stephens, Successors to Scatcherd and Co. Ave Maria - 1825. [Entered at Stationers' Hall.] THE LADY OF THE MANOR, &c. CHAPTER XIV. Second Commandment.-Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, nor the Likeness of any Thing that is in Heaven above, or in the Earth beneath, or in the Water under the Earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, and visit the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children, unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me, and shew Mercy unto Thousands in them that love me, and keep my Command ments. THE lady of the manor opened the conversation this evening, by requesting one of the young people to repeat the second commandment, which was accordingly done. "Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me, and keep my commandments." When the young lady had finished the repetition of this commandment, some person in company asked the lady of the manor to have the kindness to explain to her the precise distinction between the duties enforced by the first and the second commandment; adding, that it appeared to her that every obligation enjoined by the first commandment, seemed to be equally inculcated by the second; and those of the second in like manner inculcated by the first. The young lady apologized for making this request, and at the same time expressed her assurance that the Almighty would not have given two commandments where one was sufficient, although she could not satisfactorily discern the difference between them. The lady of the manor answered, that the commandments of God would always be found so to hang together, that each involved duties enforced by some or all of the others, insomuch that no one commandment could ever be singly and solely broken; and that hence might be found another solution besides that which is commonly received of the following expression-Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James ii. 10.) "There is a perfection and agreement," continued she, "in the commandments, which will appear more and more in proportion as we consider their several parts—a holy harmony which admits not of the slightest discord; from whence arises the absurdity of supposing that any thing like an imperfect obedience can be acceptable to God. However, to answer your question, my dear young friend, and to state my opinion to you on this subject as accurately as possible, I must inform you, that, with respect to the commandments in question, it appears to me that the second may be considered as the first commandment assuming a more express and palpable form. The first commandment has respect to the feelings of the heart and its affections, forbidding the undue estimation of any created object; whereas the second commandment especially refers to every external form of idolatrous worship. This latter commandment prohibits the worship which is offered to idols, or false gods, whether celestial or terrestrial, whether in heaven above or in the earth beneath. It also forbids the making or forming of any images, or likenesses, of the true God. It likewise forbids the introduction of all human inventions into the worship of the true God, requiring that we should keep ourselves free from all the |