The Fourth Commandment.
Which is the Fourth Commandment?
_Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with
thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth._
What does this mean?
_We should fear and love God that we may not despise our parents and
masters, nor provoke them to anger, but give them honor, serve and obey
them, and hold them in love and esteem._
1. _"Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother."_ Go has given us a
commandment in regard to our _father_ and _mother,_ our _parents._ This
is a very important commandment for all children. It is God's will that
we not only _love_ our parents, but also _honor_ them. We honor those
who occupy a higher position than we, who have been placed above us, who
have a right to command us and demand our obedience. By commanding us to
honor our parents, God places them above us. He wants children to regard
their parents as being in God's stead, above them, as His
representatives, whom for His sake they should honor. Never forget that
your dear parents have been placed over you by God. Never forget to
honor and respect them for God's sake.
2. What does it mean to honor father and mother? _"We should, fear and
love God that we may not despise our parents ... nor provoke them to
anger."_ We should not _despise_ our parents. We despise them when we do
not respect the high station in which God has placed them over us, when
in our hearts we do not esteem them as God's representatives, when we
act as though we were their equals or even stood above them.--We
should not _provoke them to anger,_ that is, we should not by word or
deed excite them to just anger or cause them pain and distress, by being
unkind, stubborn, disobedient, even insolent towards them, or by wicked
deeds and sins which dishonor them. Remember _Absalom,_ who despised his
father David and caused him bitter grief by rebelling against him and
making himself king in his stead. 2 Sam. 15. Remember the wicked sons of
Eli. 1 Sam. 2,12.--God is displeased with this sin. _"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,"_ says
the Word of God. Prov. 30,17. God will severely punish all bad and
disobedient children, very often in this life, as He did with Absalom,
and if they do not repent, in eternity.
3. We must not despise our parents, but should _give them honor,_ that
is, we should regard them in our hearts as God's representatives; we
should respect their station, even if they are lowly, or poor, or even
queer. They are still our parents, and therefore should not be deprived
of their honor because of their failings. It is _God's will_ that we
honor them.
4. We should show in words and deeds that we honor our parents. We
should _serve_ them, we should do for them whatever we can, even if they
do not ask for it, and do it gladly. When they become old or sick, we
should do all in our power to help them, and so try to repay the love
and care which they have shown us when we were young and weak and so
much in need of their kindness. Your dear parents did and still do so
much for you that you will hardly ever be able to repay them. _"Let
them_ [the children] _learn . . . to requite their parents_ [to repay
their love]; _for that is good and acceptable before God."_ 1 Tim. 5,4.
5. We should, furthermore, show the respect we owe our parents by
_obeying them._ We should do what they tell us, carry out their
commands, and do it without a murmur, willingly, quickly, fully, and
gladly. In this manner you, at your age, can best prove that you honor
your parents. _"Children, obey your parents in all, things; for this is
well-pleasing unto the Lord."_ Col. 3,20. _"Hearken unto thy father that
begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old."_ Prov. 23,22.
6. _"We should hold them in love and esteem."_ God has given us our
parents as a most precious gift. Through them our heavenly Father
bestows upon us numberless other gifts and blessings. Our parents
provide for us; they give us all we need in this life; they shelter and
protect us. They try to lead us to our Savior by teaching us the Word of
God, by sending us to a Christian school. They bring us up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. 6,4. Should we not love and
esteem them as a precious gift of God? Should we not thank Him with all
our heart, thank Him by doing His will in regard to our parents? Do not
forget: _We honor our parents because we fear and love God, who has
given us this most precious gift._
7. Our Catechism not only says that we should honor our parents, but it
adds the word _"masters."_ God has placed other persons besides our
parents over us, in _home, school, and state._ Our parents are also
those who take our parents place, _who take care of us and protect us_
if our parents are dead or otherwise unable to take care of us. God has
placed over us our _teachers_ in our schools, who instruct us in our
parents stead. There are many persons in our country, in our cities and
towns, who have been placed above us, such as the President of the
United States, the governor of our State, the mayor of our city, etc. It
is God who has placed also these rulers over us. He commands us to hold
all these in honor and esteem, to serve and obey them in all things in
which He has placed them over us.
8. God has added to the Fourth Commandment a _special promise: "Honor
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."_ Eph.
6,2.3. This shows how well-pleasing it is unto God if we keep this
commandment, if we honor and love our parents and masters. Our gracious
Lord will abundantly reward all children who honor their parents and
masters, and do it in the fear and love of God. He will bless them here
on earth in a way which is good for them, and He will bless and reward
them more abundantly in heaven. The most beautiful example of the
fulfilment of this commandment is our _Lord Himself,_ of whom we read:
_"And He went down with them_ [His lowly parents], _and came to
Nazareth, and was subject unto them."_ Luke 2,51. He even remembered His
mother when He was nailed to the cross. John 19,26.27.