THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.
OUR PARENTS AND SUPERIORS.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
EXPLANATION.
_What is meant by this Commandment?_
We should so fear and love God as not to despise nor displease our
parents and superiors, but honor, serve, obey, love and esteem them.
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PARENTS are God's representatives in the family for the maintenance of
law and order in it. They are charged by God with the care and training
of their children, and are clothed by Him with authority over them.
Their will is law for their children, so long as it does not conflict
with the law of God.
SUPERIORS are those who are placed over us in a position of authority in
the Family, Church, School, or State; e. g., guardians, step-parents,
grand-parents, pastors, teachers, rulers, etc. They also are God's
representatives to maintain order, and are to be honored and obeyed as
such. In every case of a conflict of authority, we must "obey God rather
than men." [Acts 5:29]
This commandment _forbids_ us to despise or displease our parents and
superiors, and _commands_ us to honor, serve, obey, love, and esteem
them.
OUR DUTY TO OUR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, GUARDIANS, ETC.
I. WHAT IS FORBIDDEN.
We must not
DESPISE them, mock at them, [Prov. 39:17+] make light of them, think
ourselves wiser or above their authority, nor speak disrespectfully of
them or to them. [Deut 27:16+]
We must not
DISPLEASE them by lack of affection, grumbling, disobedience,
stubbornness, rebelliousness, or wickedness. [Exod. 21:15+]
II. WHAT IS COMMANDED.
We should
HONOR them as those who are placed over us by God's appointment, look up
to them, and always treat them with proper respect [Lev. 19:3, Eph 6:2,
3+] and consideration.
SERVE them, be helpful to them, lighten their burdens, and anticipate
their wishes. [I Tim. 5:4]
OBEY them by cheerfully and promptly doing their will, even when it is
not to our liking. [Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20+, Prov. 1:8]
LOVE them, and show our love by a constant desire and effort to please
them. We should call to mind what they have done and still do for us,
that our love for them may grow deep and tender. [John 19:26, 27]
ESTEEM them. We should regard and appreciate them as a precious gift of
God. Children who have lost father or mother have met with a great loss.
IN LATER YEARS. We should honor, love and _obey_ our parents while we
are young; and we should still _love_ and _honor_ them when we are
older. We must not despise or be ashamed of them if we happen to rise to
a higher position in life than they. When they have grown old and
feeble, we should care tenderly for them; and after they are dead, we
should treasure their memory.
OUR DUTY TO OUR SUPERIORS. [Rom. 13:7+]
The Pastor is to be honored for the sake of the office which he holds.
He is the ambassador of Christ; [II Cor. 5:20] and when he preaches the
Gospel, or speaks words of admonition and counsel in private, the
Saviour speaks through him. Those who hear him hear Christ; those who
despise him despise Christ. [Luke 10:16] We should heed his admonitions,
[Heb. 13:17+, I Thess. 5:12, 13] and, as far as we are able, help and
encourage him in his work.
Our Teachers in Sunday-school and in other schools are placed over us in
a position of authority, and must therefore be respected and honored.
Rulers and the Government. The State is God's servant to regulate
temporal affairs and to maintain law and order in the land. Rulers and
officials of the government must be respected and honored. [Matt.
22:21+, Rom. 13:1-4+] Christians must be good citizens. They must always
obey the law, so long as it does not conflict with the law of God. [I
Pet. 2:13, Acts 5:29] They should be patriotic, pray for their country,
be ready to defend it, pay their taxes, and be concerned that it shall
be a Christian land. Every voter shares in the responsibility of
securing righteous government, and should cast his vote conscientiously.
OLD PERSONS in general are to be treated with respect and honor. [Lev.
19:32+]
A special blessing is promised to those who keep this commandment.
QUESTIONS.--1. What does the Second Table of the Law teach? 2. What is
meant by "our neighbor"? 3. What is the position of parents in the
family? 4. What is meant by "superiors"? 5. To whom is our highest
obedience due? 6. What does this commandment forbid, and what does it
command? 7. In order to avoid despising or displeasing our parents, what
should we not do? 8. Why and how should we honor them? 9. How should we
serve them? 10. How should we obey them? 11. How should we show our love
to them? 12. What should we always remember concerning our parents? 13.
What is meant by esteeming them? 14. How should we regard and treat them
when we have grown older? 15. What is our duty to our pastor? 16. What
is our duty to our teachers? 17. Why should we honor our rulers? 18.
What are a Christian's duties to his country? 19. How must we treat old
persons in general? 20. What special blessing is promised to those who
keep this commandment?
SCRIPTURE VERSES.--Prov. 30:17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it
out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
Deut. 27:16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his
mother: and all the people shall say, Amen.
Exod. 21:15. And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be
surely put to death.
Eph. 6:2, 3. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first
commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest
live long on the earth.
Col. 3:20. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well
pleasing unto the Lord.
Rom. 13:7. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute
is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Heb. 13:17. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit
yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give
account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is
unprofitable for you.
Matt. 22:21. Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's;
and unto God the things that are God's.
Rom. 13:1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there
is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Lev. 19:32. Thou shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face
of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
READING.--Joseph and his Father, Gen. 47:1-12.
ILLUSTRATIONS.--_Despising and displeasing parents_: Jacob's sons, Gen.
37; Eli's sons, I Sam. 2:22-25; Absalom, II Sam. 25. _Honoring them_:
Jesus, Luke 2:51.
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