ANSW. The general scope of the fifth Commandment, is, the
performance of those duties which we mutually owe in our several
relations, as inferiors, superiors, or equals.
QUEST. CXXVII. _What is the honour that inferiors owe to their
superiors?_
ANSW. The honour which inferiors owe to their superiors, is, all due
reverence, in heart, word, and behaviour; prayer, and thanksgiving
for them, imitation of their virtues and graces; willing obedience
to their lawful commands, and counsels, due submission to their
corrections, fidelity to, defence, and maintenance of their persons
and authority, according to their several ranks, and the nature of
their places; bearing with their infirmities, and covering them in
love, that so they may be an honour to them and their government.
QUEST. CXXVIII. _What are the sins of inferiors against their
superiors?_
ANSW. The sins of inferiors against their superiors, are, all
neglect of the duties required towards them, envying at, contempt
of, and rebellion against their persons, and places, in their lawful
counsels, commands, and corrections, cursing, mocking, and all such
refractory and scandalous carriage, as proves a shame and dishonour
to them and their government.
In the fifth Commandment, no other relations are mentioned, but father
and mother; yet it may be observed,
I. That, hereby, all superiors in general are intended; as many others
are called _fathers_ in scripture, besides our natural parents, _viz._
1. Superiors in age. Thus it is said, _Rebuke not an elder, but intreat
him as a father, and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as
mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity_, 1 Tim. v. 1, 2.
2. They, are also called _fathers_, who are superior in gifts; and
accordingly have been the first inventors of arts, which have been
useful to the world. Thus Jabal is said to be _the father of such as
dwell in tents, and have cattle_, Gen. iv. 20. that is, the first that
made considerable improvements in the art of husbandry; and Jubal is
said to be _the father_, that is, the instructor _of all such as handle
the harp and organ_, ver. 21. or the first that made improvements in the
art of music.
3. Persons to whom we owe, under God, our outward prosperity and
happiness. In this sense Joseph, though a subject, a young man, and a
little before, a prisoner, is called _a father to Pharaoh_, chap. xlv.
8. as he was an instrument to support his greatness, and preserve him
from the inconveniences of a seven years famine.
4. Princes, great men, and heads of families, are called _fathers_. Thus
Naaman was by his servants, 2 Kings v. 13.
5. Men of honour and usefulness in the church are so called. Thus when
Elisha saw Elijah ascend into heaven, he cries out, _My father, my
father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof_, chap. ii. 12.
And Joash, the king of Israel, used the same expression to Elisha, _when
fallen sick_, chap. xiii. 14. And this is implied in the apostle’s
styling those whom he had been of use to, for their conviction, and
enlightening in the doctrines of the gospel, _My little children_, Gal.
iv. 19.
6. Good kings and governors are called _fathers_. Thus it is said,
_Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers_,
Isa. xlix. 23.
II. We have an account, in one of the answers we are explaining, of the
reason why superiors are styled father and mother; namely, to denote,
that they should behave towards their inferiors, with that love and
tenderness, as though they were natural parents. Authority is not only
consistent herewith, but it ought to be exercised, by superiors towards
inferiors, in such a way. Thus Job, when in his prosperity, was, as it
were, a common father to all that were under him; accordingly he says,
_I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had
none to help him_, Job xxix. 12. upon which occasion he says, _I was a
father to the poor_, ver. 16. And ministers, who, in some respects, are
superior in office to others; when their reproofs are mixed with
tenderness and compassion towards the souls of men under their care, are
compared to the nurse that _cherished her children_; as _being
affectionately desirous_, and _willing to impart to them, not the gospel
of God only, but also their own souls, as being dear to them_, 1 Thess.
ii. 7, 8.
III. We have, in another of the answers under our consideration, an
account of the general scope of the fifth Commandment; and, as it
requires the duties to be performed by every one in their several
relations; these are considered either as superiors, inferiors, or
equals. There are several sorts of relations wherein persons are styled
superior or inferior to one another.