Shorter Catechism Q. 49. Which is the second commandment? A. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Q. 50. What is required in the second commandment? A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his word.
Commentary: All ten commandments are tied together so that if you break one, there is a sense in which you break them all (James 2:10). However, there is an especially close relationship between the first two commandments because they both address the issue of worship. The first commandment deals with the object of worship whereas the second commandment deals with manner of worship. In other words, the first addresses who we worship and the second with how we worship.
This commandment requires that we worship in the way that God “hath appointed in his word.” This means that we will receive and observe the biblical “ordinances” that pertain to religious worship. According to the Larger Catechism, these ordinances include: “prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ; the reading, preaching, and hearing of the word; the administration and receiving of the sacraments; church government and discipline; the ministry and maintenance thereof; religious fasting; swearing by the name of God, and vowing unto him.” Moreover, these ordinances are to be kept “pure and entire.” They are not to be altered, either through addition or subtraction.