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DISCOURSE XIII.

EXOD. XX. 12.

Honour thy Father and thy Mother, that thy Days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

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E have feen the Affirmative Part of this Commandment, which requires all Inferiors to pay the feveral Offices of Duty and Obfervance to their refpective Superiors: I come now to the Negative Part of it, which forbids all unfuitable Behaviour and Deportment towards them ; for the Precept of honouring Father and Mother, muft neceffarily condemn the contrary Practice of difhonouring them. Who are meant by Father and Mother, has been already open'd, viz. all our Superiors, both Natural, Spiritual, and Political. What is the Honour due to them by this Law, has been likewise particularly defcrib'd.

Now the withholding of this Honour, and acting contrary thereto, is the difhonouring of them, and is the Fault forbidden in this Commandment. And therefore,

(1.) Childrens withholding the Honour and Obedience due to their natural Parents, is here plainly condemn'd. This is an unnatural Vice, attended with the highest Ingratitude, and is therefore condemn'd by the Voice of Nature; befide which, 'tis feverely cenfur'd and threaten'd in the Book of God: Curfed be he that fetteth light by Father or Mother, Deut. 27. 16. And he that curseth Father or Mother, let him die the Death, Exod. 21. 17. The rebellious Son, that would not obey the Voice of his Father, nor hearken to the Counsel of his Mother, was by the Law to be fton'd to Death by all the Men of the City. Solomon tells us, that the Eye that mocketh his Father, or despiseth to obey his Mother, the Ravens of the Valleys Shall pick it out, and the young Eagles fhall eat it; Prov. 30. 17. meaning, that God, in a dreadful and wonderful manner, will avenge that unnatural Wickedness. Whence we learn the heinous

Part II Nature and Guilt of this Sin, which is fo odious in the fight of God and Man, that both he that practifeth it, and he that would excufe it, muft incur the Cenfure and Punishment of both.

We read indeed of a corrupt Doctrine of the Scribes and Pharifees, which taught Children to evade their Duty to their Parents, and by a pretended Gift call'd Corban, of fer'd for them at the Altar, would excufe them from fuccouring and relieving them in their greatest Neceffities? Mat. 15. 5, 6. Whosoever shall fay to his Father and Mother, It is a Gift by whatsoever thou mayst be profited by me, and honour not his Father or Mother, Jhall be free. But this is condemn'd by our Saviour as a vile piece of Hypocrify, whereby they endeavour'd to evacuate the Law, and make the Commandments of God of none effect by their Traditions. For Nature itself, as well as Religion, will teach us to fuftain thofe in their Need, by whom we ourselves have been fuftain'd; and that our greatest Refpects and Services must be due to thofe, to whom we owe our Being. And therefore to withdraw that Love and Affiftance that is due to Parents, to turn the deaf Ear to their Counsel and Admonitions, to difclofe their Nakedness, and rather to mock at than hide their Infirmities; is a manifeft Violation of the Honour we are here requir'd to pay them, and a plain Breach of this Commandment.

(2.) All Difobedience to Political or Civil Parents, that is, to Magiftrates and Governors, is here forbidden; for thefe are the Fathers of our Country, that prefide over us for good, and provide for our Safety and Welfare: 'Tis by them that we enjoy great Quietness, and very worthy Deeds are done to the whole Nation by their Providence, as Tertullus the Orator told Felix the Governour, Acts 24. 2,3. And therefore 'tis fit that we accept it always and in all Places with all Thankfulness, rendring them all Honour for the great Care they take of us, and paying them Obedience for the many Bleffings we enjoy by their Vigilance. Contrary hereunto is all Contempt and Refiftance of lawful Authority, all Affronts offer'd to the Perfons, and all Difobedience to the Laws of Princes. The Apostle tells us, that to resist the higher Powers, is to refift the Ordinance of God, and they that refift shall receive to themselves Damnation: Rom. 13. 2, 3. They are God's Minifters as well as our Fathers, and therefore we are to fubmit to them both for God's fake and our own, obeying them that have the

Rule

Rule over us, without murmuring or refiftance.

We may not refift them even in our Hearts, by wishing or defiring any ill to them; for we are bid not to curse the King, no not in our Thoughts, for a Bird of the Air ball carry the Voice, and that which bath Wings Jhall tell the matter; Ecclef. 10. 20.

We may not refift them with the Head, by plotting or contriving against them; for to confpire against our Prince, is to be Confederate against God, and to take Counsel against the Lord, and against his Anointed. Again,

We may not refift them with the Tongue, by speaking evil of them, or flandering the Footsteps of God's Anointed; for we are ftrictly charg'd not to speak evil of the Ruler of the People.

Much lefs may we refift them with the Hand, by taking up Arms or fighting against them; for who can stretch forth his Hand against the Lord's Anointed, and be blameless? 2 Sam. 1. Against a King (faith Solomon) there is no rifing up. There is no doing it either lawfully or fafely, for we may not take upon us to refift, whom we are requir'd to obey; they that do fo, are threatned with Damnation, that is, not only with all the prefent Punishments of this Life, but with eternal Mifery and Destruction in the next.

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(3.) All Difobedience to our fpiritual Fathers, the Bishops and Paftors of the Church, is forbidden likewife in this Commandment: for we are ftrictly charg'd to obey them that rule over us in the Lord, for they watch for our Souls; to esteem them highly for their Work fake; to look upon them as the Minifters and Ambaffaders of Christ and fo to account them worthy of double Honour, viz. the inward Honour and Reverence of the Mind, and the outward Honour and Respect of the Body, both which are due to them for their Calling and Work fake: for these spiritual Fathers perform the fame or like Offices to our Souls, that our natural Parents do to our Bodies; they beget us again unto God thro' the Gospel; they travail in Birth with us, till Chrift be form'd in us; they feed us with Milk, whilst we are Infants in Christianity; and give us ftronger Meats, when we arrive at the Stature of Men in Chrift Jefus: For which good Offices we are to account of them as our Fathers in God, and to love, fear, and honour them, as thofe that are appointed to teach and rule over us. The Apoftle wills us to hearken and fubmit to them as our fpiritual Guides, Heb. 13. 17. that is, to receive their Inftruc

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tions,

Part II. tions, and not only to remember but to put in practice all their pious Exhortations. Whatfoever they deliver to us either in publick Preaching or in private Admonitions, agreeable to God's Word, is to be embrac'd and obey'd as coming from him; for he that heareth you (faith Chrift) beareth me. Accordingly, we find St. Paul commending the Romans, that they obey'd from the Heart that Form of Doctrine that was deliver'd to them, Rom. 6. 17. Now to prove refractory to that Spiritual Power which Chrift hath ordain'd in his Church, to turn the deaf Ear to the Call of his Minifters, to defpife their Cenfures, and to reject their Doctrine, is to defpife Chrift, and is a great piece of that difobedience to Superiors forbidden in this Commandment. This is what St. Jude styles, defpifing Dominions, and speaking evil of Dignities: which is one part of the Character of thofe that are referved for the Judgment of the last Day, Fude 6.

(4.) Here is forbidden likewife all Difobedience to Masters and Governors of Families. Thefe are in a fenfe Fathers to all that are plac'd under them, being entrusted with the Care and good Government of thofe leffer Societies; and as they are to rule with Diligence and Clemency, with out being imperious or tyrannical to any of their Dependents, fo ought thefe to obey with Chearfulness, and not to gainfay or neglect their lawful Injunctions: and therefore all Undutifulness of Wives to their Husbands, and Unfaithfulnefs of Servants to their Mafters, ftand condemn'd by this Law. The unjuft Steward that embezzled his Mafter's Goods, receiv'd the Doom of a wicked and faithlefs Servant, to be bound hand and foot, and caft into outer Darkness; and all careless, false, and unprofitable Servants will in the /end fare no better.

Laftly, here is forbidden all indecent and disrespectful Behaviour to all our Superiors in Age, Quality, or any other Gifts and Endowments of the Mind. Aged Men are in Scripture and common Ufe ftyl'd Fathers, and are to be honour'd and treated by us as fuch; their Gravity and Experience challenge the Refpect, and command the Veneration of younger Years: and therefore to defpife old Age, or withhold the Refpect due to grey Hairs, is a plain Violation of this Precept, which requires us to honour Father and Mother. For it is a Breach of good Manners, and a Contempt of Order and Decency, to deny them that Regard and Reverence which God and Nature have appointed for

them;

them; which is a matter fo difpleafing unto God, that we find many Instances of Divine Vengeance on fuch as practis'd it. A remarkable one we have in 2 Kings 2. 23, 24. where we read, that when Elisha was going to Bethel, there came forth Children out of the City, mocking him, and saying, Go up thou Bald pate! Go up thou Bald-pate! at which Elifha turn'd back, and looking on them, curs'd them in the Name of the Lord: and there came forth two She-Bears out of the Wood, and tore forty two Children in pieces: So highly was God Almighty offended at their mocking and deriding the old Prophet! Hence the Prophet Ifaiah reckons it a Curfe or Judgment upon any Nation, when the Children behave themselves proudly against the Antients, Ifa.3. 5. And this fhould teach all Children this piece of Education, to rife up to grey Hairs, and not to deride, but reverence Old Age. Again,

They that excel others in any of the Gifts and Endowments of the Mind, are often ftyl'd Fathers; their Learning and Wisdom giving them a fort of Pre-eminence and Superiority above others that have a fcantier Proportion. Now as thefe are to be thankful to God for the Gifts beftow'd on them, and likewise to use them to the Ends for which they were given, fo are others requir'd to reverence them upon the account of them, not leffening or detracting from their Abilities, but owning the Grace of God, and extolling his Goodness towards them; paying a Deference to their better Judgment, being willing to learn of them, and fubmitting to their greater Wisdom. This Leffon, Chriftian Modesty itself teaches us, to esteem others better than ourfelves, efpecially thofe that are fo, and in Honour to prefer one another, as the Apoftle directs Rom. 12. In a word,

All that are fuperior to us in Birth, Quality, Eftate, or in any Degree in the World, are in the Language of the Scripture call'd Fathers; whom we are therefore requir'd to honour fo that to envy or derogate from any one's Greatness, to deny the Place or Refpect due to their Degree or Quality, to fet up the Bafe above the Honourable, and to refufe to yield to the Wisdom and Authority of our Betters; is to break the Order of the World, and a manifest Breach of this Commandment.

Thus we see as well what is forbidden, as what is requir'd in this firft Precept of the fecond Table; which fettles the relative Duties of Superiors and Inferiors towards each other.

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