MARK vii. 9. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Ver. 10. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: Ver. 11. But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. Ver. 12. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Ver. 13. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. PROV. XXX. 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. 1 TIM. V. 8. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. PROV. xiv. 21. He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. I. This forbiddeth the neglect of the honour and duty which we owe to others in relation to us.-Superiors transgress when they are unconcerned in or inattentive to their inferiors. Inferiors are guilty when they do not respect superiors; children when they do not honour their parents, and servants their masters. Equals are guilty when they omit brotherly kindness and mutual respect. II. This forbiddeth doing any thing against the honour and duty which we owe to others.-This includes tyranny over inferiors, disobedience by inferiors, and envy or malice by equals. This likewise applies to the disobeying of parents by children, and of employers by servants, and to the strife of brethren. LESSONS. 1. The history of the world furnishes appalling instances of transgressing this commandment. 2. The happiness of many homes has been wrecked by the same evil. 3. None of us liveth unto himself. ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Civil and ecclesiastical government are alike ordained of God, and are to be obeyed in all things that are right, and which do not conflict with God's express will and claims of conscience. But modes of civil government are not prescribed, nor are they unchangeable. Ecclesiastical government may be and has been abused. Though obedience has therefore its limits, disobedience has grave results to those who transgress righteous law. The disobedience rendered to parents is a fruitful source of crime and ruin to character. A young man was sentenced to a penitentiary for four years. When he was about to be sentenced, he stated publicly that his downward course began in disobedience to his parents-that he thought he knew as much of the world as his father did, and needed not his aid or advice; but as soon as he turned his back upon his home, then temptations came round him like a drove of hyenas, and hurried him on to ruin. An undutiful son, who had given his father much trouble and uneasiness, and had almost brought down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, once called on his father on his birthday, to do him honour. "Ah, my son," said his father, "the best way to honour me is to turn from the error of your ways. If you really respect me, learn to respect yourself: till then I can have no faith in your professions; for how can I expect him to honour his father on earth who dishonours his Father who is in heaven?" "But if his children shall forsake My laws, and go astray, And in my judgments shall not walk, "If they my laws break, and do not I'll visit then their faults with rods, Their sins with chastisements."-Psalm lxxxix. 30-32. QUEST. 66. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment? ANS. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment, is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment. EPH. vi. 2. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3. That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. he hath commanded you: Ver. 19. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever. JER. XXXV. 18. And Jeremiah said unto PROV. xxiii. 24. The father of the rightthe house of the Rechabites, Thus saith eous shall greatly rejoice: and he that bethe Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Be-getteth a wise child shall have joy of him. cause ye have obeyed the commandment Ver. 25. Thy father and thy mother shall of Jonadab your father, and kept all his be glad, and she that bare thee shall reprecepts, and done according unto all that joice. I. Temporal blessings are promised to those who honour their parents.—These include long life and worldly prosperity. II. Temporal blessings are always in the hand of God. 1. For his glory, as the rule of distribution. 2. For our good, as subject to his wisdom. 3. Unless they promote these they are not for our real benefit. LESSONS. 1. There are many encouragements to honour and obey parents, and to treat all men in their several relations with proper respect. 2. Long life and temporal prosperity are limited to what is best for those who love and serve God. ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. "This commandment has a special promise attached to it. This promise has a theocratical form as it stands in the Decalogue: That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' The apostle, in Eph. vi. 3, by leaving out the last clause generalizes it, so that it applies to no one land in particular, but to obedient children everywhere. The promise announces the general purpose of God and a general principle of his providential government. 'The hand of the diligent maketh rich;' that is the general rule, which is not invalidated if here and there a diligent man remains poor. It is well with obedient children; they prosper in the world. Such is fact, and such is the divine promise. The family being the cornerstone of social order and prosperity, it follows that those families are blessed in which God's plan and purpose are most fully carried out and realized.”Dr. Hodge. The Duke de Choiseul observed a boy in the Military School living on bread and water, and asked the cause. The youth replied: "Sir, when I had the honour of being admitted to the protection of this royal foundation, my father conducted me hither. We came on foot on our journey; the demands of nature were relieved by bread and water. I was received; my father blessed me, and returned to the protection of a helpless wife and family. As long as I can remember, bread of the blackest description with water has been their subsistence. How can I enjoy the bounty of a gracious sovereign while they thus subsist?" The duke gave the boy three louis d'or, and promised his father a pension. The boy begged that the money might also be sent to his father; which was done. The duke patronized the boy, who afterwards rose to one of the best positions in the service of France. The first gilded statue that was erected in Rome was one by M. Acilius Glabrio, in memory of a triumph which his father had achieved over Antiochus at Thermopyla. He Epaminondas, the Theban general, was asked what was the happiest thing which had happened to him in the course of his whole life. answered, that "he remembered nothing more pleasant than that he had achieved the Leuctran victory while his father and mother were alive to be pleased with the glory of their son." The pious Æneas, in the epic poem of Virgil, obtained his honourable title from the care which he bestowed on his father at the siege of Troy, carrying him on his back till they were clear of danger. "O God of Bethel, by whose hand Thy people still are fed; Who through this weary pilgrimage Our vows, our prayers, we now present God of our fathers, be the God Of their succeeding race.”—Doddridge. QUEST. 67. Which is the sixth commandment? ANS. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. Ex. xx. 13. DEUT. v. 17. This command follows from the preceding, and insists upon the respect due to life. But it is given in the form of a prohibition, which was awanting in the previous commandment. Man is more likely to get moral strength by being forbidden certain acts than by being enjoined certain duties. But the duties are all implied. Human life is very precious, and ought to be regarded with great respect. It is written, "God created man in his own image:" Gen. i. 27. And again we read, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man :" Gen. ix. 6. "What is man, that he Remember'd is by thee? Or what the son of man, that thou For thou a little lower hast Him than the angels made; With glory and with dignity Thou crowned hast his head."—Psalm viii. 4, 5. QUEST. 68. What is required in the sixth commandment? ANS. The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others. MATT. iv. 5. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Ver. 6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Ver. 7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. MATT. X. 23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. JOB xxix. 13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. PROV. xxiv. 11. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; Ver. 12. If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? Life is considered precious in the sight of God. I. We are to use all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life. 1. The life of the body, by proper food, raiment, and residence; by self defence against injury; by self-defence against irregular appetites and passions. 2. The life of the soul, by seeking salvation from sin, and by doing the will of God. II. We are to use all lawful endeavours to preserve the life of others. 1. Their bodily life, by kindness, protection, and provision in time of need. 2. Their spiritual life, by prayer, instruction in the gospel, and Christian sympathy. III. Endeavours to preserve life must be lawful.-We are not to break one law to keep another, or to do evil that good may come. Sinful compliance to save life endangers the soul and dishonours God. Martyrs died rather than deny Christ. LESSONS. 1. God is to be glorified with our bodies and spirits, which are his. 2. Each man is his brother's keeper. 3. The science and practice of medicine are followed for the purpose of preserving life. 4. Philanthropic institutions have arisen for the same end. ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Sir Theodore Mayem on his death-bed gave this advice to a noble friend who asked counsel regarding the preservation of his health: "Be moderate in your diet, use much exercise and little physic." The old adage will not be out of place here, Early to bed, and early to rise, Will make a man healthy, and wealthy, and wise." The Lifeboat Institution has been a great means of saving life. Many thrilling stories have been told in connection with it. The preaching of the gospel has been the means of saving many souls, and of making life more precious both in this world and in the world to come. "A meek man escapes many of those perplexities, those woes, and sorrows, and wounds without cause, which he that is passionate, provoking, and revengeful brings upon his own head."-Matthew Henry. Once as Richard Baxter was going along the streets of London, a hectoring fellow jostled him. He went on his way and took no notice of it; but the same man affronting the next person he met in a similar way, he drew his sword and demanded satisfaction; on which mischief ensued. "Can we, whose souls are lighted With wisdom from on high, Can we to men benighted The lamp of life deny? Salvation! O salvation! The joyful sound proclaim, Till each remotest nation Has learned Messiah's name."--Heber. |