Read the Westminster Standards in a year.

Shorter Catechism

Q 46. What is required in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly.1

Larger Catechism

Q 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?

A. The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God;2 and to worship and glorify him accordingly,3 by thinking,4 meditating,5 remembering,6 highly esteeming,7 honoring,8 adoring,9 choosing,10 loving,11 desiring,12 fearing of him;13 believing him;14 trusting,15 hoping,16 delighting,17 rejoicing in him;18 being zealous for him;19 calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks,20 and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man;21 being careful in all things to please him,22 and sorrowful when in anything he is offended;23 and walking humbly with him.24


  1. 1 Chronicles 28:9

    “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

    Isaiah 45:20-25

    “Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
    They have no knowledge
    who carry about their wooden idols,
    and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
    Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
    Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
    Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
    a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.

    “Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
    By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
    ‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

    “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and strength;
    to him shall come and be ashamed
    all who were incensed against him.
    In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall be justified and shall glory.”

    Matthew 4:10

    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

    “‘You shall worship the Lord your God
    and him only shall you serve.’”
    (ESV)

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  2. 1 Chronicles 28:9

    “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

    Deuteronomy 26:7

    Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

    Isaiah 43:10

    “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
    that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
    Before me no god was formed,
    nor shall there be any after me.

    Jeremiah 14:22

    Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
    Or can the heavens give showers?
    Are you not he, O Lord our God?
    We set our hope on you,
    for you do all these things. (ESV)

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  3. Psalm 95:6-7

    Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
    For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
    Today, if you hear his voice,

    Matthew 4:10

    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

    “‘You shall worship the Lord your God
    and him only shall you serve.’”

    Psalm 29:2

    Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (ESV)

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  4. Malachi 3:16

    Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. (ESV)

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  5. Psalm 63:6

    when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night; (ESV)

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  6. Ecclesiastes 12:1

    12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; (ESV)

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  7. Psalm 71:19

    Your righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
    You who have done great things,
    O God, who is like you? (ESV)

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  8. Malachi 1:6

    “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ (ESV)

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  9. Isaiah 45:23

    By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
    ‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

    Psalm 96

    96:1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
    Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
    Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
    For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
    For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
    Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

    Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
    Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts!
    Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth!

    Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.”

    Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    let the field exult, and everything in it!
    Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
    before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
    He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness. (ESV)

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  10. Joshua 24:15

    And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

    Joshua 24:22

    Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” (ESV)

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  11. Deuteronomy 6:5

    You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (ESV)

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  12. Psalm 73:25

    Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. (ESV)

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  13. Isaiah 8:13

    But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (ESV)

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  14. Exodus 14:31

    Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. (ESV)

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  15. Isaiah 26:4

    Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (ESV)

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  16. Psalm 130:7

    O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption. (ESV)

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  17. Psalm 37:4

    Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart. (ESV)

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  18. Psalm 32:11

    Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (ESV)

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  19. Romans 12:11

    Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

    Numbers 25:11

    “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. (ESV)

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  20. Philippians 4:6

    do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (ESV)

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  21. Jeremiah 7:23

    But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

    James 4:7

    Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (ESV)

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  22. 1 John 3:22

    and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (ESV)

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  23. Psalm 119:136

    My eyes shed streams of tears,
    because people do not keep your law.

    Jeremiah 31:18

    I have heard Ephraim grieving,
    ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
    bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God. (ESV)

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  24. Micah 6:8

    He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
    but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God? (ESV)

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Copyright © Tim Hopper. Based on Calendar of Readings in the Westminster Standards by Dr. Joey Pipa. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.