The first lecture works through the third commandment, “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.” It treats God’s name as bound up with His own character, so that misusing it in false swearing, empty religious talk, or a hypocritical life is itself a serious sin against Him.
The second lecture turns to the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” setting out a biblical view of sex and marriage as instituted by God for the preservation and propagation of a divinely-ordered marriage. Adultery is described as a violation of God’s law for the sexual relationship, a criminal act and an assault on that foundational order, illustrated with Proverbs’ warning that a man who commits adultery is like one who carries fire in his lap and cannot escape being burned.