The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1880, Page 38

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Jaw and their daughters-in-law. You owe them,

‘The Lutheran Pioneer.

(For the ,, Lutheran Pioncer’’.)

The Fourth Commandment.

honor, respect, and obedience; therefore you
must ask and wait for their consent.

God shows us how earnestly he wants all
children, be they young or old, to honor their
parents by adding a special promise to this
commandment, while the other nine command-
ments have but the general promise that God
will show mercy unto thousands to them that
love Him and keep His commandments. It
shall be well with thee and thou shalt live long
on the earth, if thou dost honor thy father and
thy mother. It shall be well with thee in every
way and in such a measure, as is good for thee
and God sees fit. Thou shalt live as long, as is
good for thee, and no Jess. But who deserves
this reward? None! No, not one. God, how-
ever, in mercy rewards the efforts of Christian
children, both the young and the grown, as if
they had, in all respects, honored their parents.
Jesus, the obedient and dutiful son of Mary
and Joseph, makes up for all their shortcomings
by His holy obedience, and His Blood removes
the punishment. Therefore, the fourth com-
mandment also cannot condemn true Christians
before God and He gives them what He prom-
ised.—Let me tell you tkst you will never keep
a particle of this commandment unless you are
a true Christian. True Christians only truly
fear and love God and that is necessary to keep
the fourth commandment. Whosoever does
not honor his parents for God’s sake and be-
cause he loves God and loves to do His will,
fearing to do anything that would displease
God whom he truly loves, does not in the least
honor his parents. Outwardly he may appear
to do so, but what about his heart? If his
heart is not right, nothing is right. F. B.

“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

eem. ”
tre (Luther's Small Catechism.)

God does not care, whether you are but one
day old or sixty years old; whether you are of
age or a minor; whether you are married or
not; whether you are at home or living a
thousand miles away—He wants you to honor
your parents all the same. Nor does it make
any difference with God, if your parents are
wicked instead of pious, cruel instead of kind,
careless instead of attentive parents; if they
are poor and ignorant while you, perhaps, are
rich and educated. He wants you to honor
them notwithstanding. They always remain
your parents. You never cease to be their
children. And, as children are to honor their
parents, you cannot be mistaken as to what is
your duty. Let me show it.

Honor thy father and thy mother in thy heart.
Honor them by considering them to be such
persons whom, next God, you should honor,
respect and love most ofall men. Think highly
of them, whom God has given to rule over you
and care for you in the days of your youth.
Respect them and their wishes and commands.
Love them dearly and fear them; hate and
dread to do anything that might displease your
parents, whom you s0 dearly love.

Honor thy father and thy mother in all thy
words. In speaking to them, let none but
respectful words pass your lips. Be silent when
they speak. Answer their questions cheerfully
and kindly. Speak no cross, angry, insulting,
or mocking words to your parents. Never
speak ill of your parents to others or tell their
faults and sins. pai

Honor thy father and thy mother in all thy
actions. Willingly and quickly do what they
ask of you without waiting for coaxing, praise,
or reward. ‘Think, beforehand, of what will
please them, or what they want done, and do it
before they tell you. Never act against your
parents’ wishes, unless you know that their
wishes are against the will of God. Give them
no pains or trouble by your conduct. Do not
arouse their anger by your obstinate wicked-
ness. Do not make them ashamed of you by
disgracing yourself and your parents by your
pad bebaviour at home and abroad. And as
you grow older help to support them and your
younger brothers and sisters. ‘Try to repay
them in their old age what they did for you
when you were young. If you wish to marry,
remember that you are not to form an engage-

ment with any one unless the parents of both
of you, if still living, have consented. Parents
have a right to say who shall be their sons-in-

Aged Parents.

By some, aged parents are considered a bur-
den, of which they would gladly rid themselves.
We often see these persons treat their parents
unkindly, apparently forgetting the debt of love
and gratitude which they owe to their father
and mother. Ah, how ungrateful is the human
heart! How apt it is to become cold and
hardened towards those whom it once loved
with the tenderest affection! O heartless chil-
dren! Was it not your mother who watched
over you in the hours of infancy? Was it not
she who spent so many sleepless nights by your
side as you lay in your little bed, suffering from
disease which she feared might take the loved
one from hersight? And, when the danger
was past, knelt and offered a prayer of thanks-
giving to God for his great kindness in sparing
the life of her darling? She has prayed for you
all through bygone years, and she prays for
you still. It was she who taught you to say
your simple prayer each evening as you knelt
beside her knee. Oh, how you loved her then!
Every childish care and sorrow was poured into
her listening ear, and you ever found in her a
sympathizing friend and counselor.

And your father! Do you not remember
when you used to stand at the window and

.

watch him coming from the field, or the work-
shop, where he had labored hard all day long,
that you might not want? And, when the
evening meal was over, then he took you on
his knee, told you pretty stories and called you
his precious child? And that, when you came
to be of the proper age, he sent you to school
that you might obtain an education and pre-
pare yourself to become wise and useful, and be
an honor to yourself and to the world?» Have
you forgotten all this? It cannot be.

Stop and think what you do when you pro-
nounce your father and mother burdens, and
treat them as though they were not your parents.
Consider that the vigor of life is gone, that they
have become weak and dependent, and their
poor old hearts need cheering by kind words
and pleasant smiles. The shadows of their
lives are lenghtening—their sun is about to
set. Then be careful that you cause no cloud
to settle and obscure the glory of that sunset.

Your father’s growing old,
His sight is very dim;
He leans on his faithful staff,
For he’s weak in every limb.
His years are well-nigh told,
His earthly hopes are fled;
He soon will slumber cold
Among the silent dead.
Your mother’s old and weak,
Her locks are thin and gray;
Her aged form is bent,
She soon will pass away.
The one who loves you ever,
You soon shall see no more,
Until you cross the river,
_ And stand on the other shore.
Be kind to the old folks, then,
They’ve done enough for you;
They’ve braved the storms of life,
With spirits strong and true,
And now, when age has come,
And earthly hopes have fied,
Oh, share with them your home,

And cheer their dying bed.
T. C.

A Christian Son.

Richard Hurd, an eminent divine of England
at the close of the last century, was a man of
courtly manners, of great learning, who moved
with distinction in the best society in the king-
dom. King George III. pronounced him ‘“‘the
most naturally polite man he had ever known.’
He, however, never failed to show the utmost
respect for his mother, a farmer’s wife, of no
education, but of sterling character. When he
had large companies at his Palace he led her to
the head of the table, ard paid her the greatest
deference. The high born families who sat at
the table reverenced his conduct, so becoming
to a Christian son and gentleman. :

———+ o<am o >

Goopis done by degrees as opportunity offers.
Many who want to do a great deal of good at
once, at some future time, will never do any.

———_2 +o oo

THE opportunity to do good imposes the

obligation to do it. :