Catechism for Children, Sermons on the ten commandments · Sermon 4
The fourth sermon.
¶A declaration of the fourth cōmaundement.
YOu hauehave hearde the thyrde commaundemente whereby we learne howe to vse our selues towardes God in oure deedes and woorkes, nowe foloweth the fourth commaundement which is this.
¶Honour thy father and thy mother that thou maist leade a longe lyfe in the land whiche the lorde God shall giuegive vntounto the.
Gene. lx.THis good children is ye first and chief commaundemente of the seconde table, whiche doethe teache vsus, how we oughte to behaue oure selfes towarde our neyghboure. And thys commaundemente speaketh of the most excellent and most deare personages vntounto vsus that lyue vponupon the yearth, as of our parentes and rulers of the commen wealth, and it teacheth howe we shoulde order our selues towardes theim, that is to saye, to honoure and dreade them. It entreateth of no small or trifelyng thinges, but contayneth matiers of verye greate importaunce, and it gyueth greate wysedome to all them that do rightlye vnderstande it. Wherefore good children lysten to it dylygentlye, that you maye knowe the trewe meanyng therof. And firste of all ye shall vnderstande, that God dyd gyue vsus these ten commaundementes for this cause that by them we might learne what dothe please him. For this is a doctryne most certayne, that we vponupon earth can interpryse or worke nothynge that maye better please him, than to kepe his commaundementes. And they be most foles of all, that go about to serue God and winne his fauour with suche workes as he himself hath not commaunded. For of suche Christe sayeth in the xv. chapter of Mathewe. They wourshippe me in vayne with the commaundementes of men.Mat. xv. But thys we maye be sure of, that it pleaseth God that we shoulde honour our father and mother and obey them. And for this cause, all the workes also whiche they commaunde vsus to do, do please God, yea the moste vyle workes yt they appoynt vsus vntounto, as to swepe the house, to poure water into the lauer and such like. Now this is a very great cōforte for vsus to know for a suertie yt these small & druggynge workes do highlye please god, bicause in doyng thē we obey our parentes. Contrarywise those kyndes of wourshyppynge God, those ceremonyes and wourkes which be donne to please God wt out his commaundement and besides his wourde, do nothynge at al please him, although the world do neuer so highly esteme & praise theim. For it is the commaundement of God, onelyonly and nothynge elles ye maketh our workes holy and precious in his sight. Nowe here god cōmaūdeth vsus to honor our father and mother, that is to saye, to stande in awe of them, wyllyngly to obey them, to louelove them and hauehave them in reuerence, and to helpe them with all the meanes we can. For these wourdes, honor thy father, and mother, do cōteine al these thinges. And we be boūde to yelde vntounto thē this honor, forasmuche as God hath gyuē them vntounto vsus as maisters, tutors, gouernors, and rulers, in his stede, and by thē hath powred vponupon vsus many hygh and great benefites, wherby we be most streyghtly bound to honor them & not to dyspise them. But when we do not feare them, whē we lightly regard them, when they be angrye wyth vsus, then we dispise them. And this is a verye haynous synne before God. For in no wyse we shoulde contemne them, but ought to take very great heede that we displease them not, no not in trifelyng thinges. Also when we do not obey thē wyllynglye, then also we dyspyse them, for he that doth not obei his father & mother, he is a presumptuous person, and thinketh hymselfe wiser or better then they, and this is a greate contempt and an heynous synne before god. Wherfore good childrē do not so dispise your fathers and mothers, but obey them with all your harte, and be subiect vntounto thē. Furthermore when we do not louelove oure fathers and mothers, then it is not possible that we should hartely honor them, wherfore we must beare an heartie and feruents louelove towardes theym, speciallye, seynge that God hath thorough them powred so manye benefites vponupon vsus, as we shal declare more at large herafter. Besides this it is our bownden dewtie to vse all kynd of gentlenes and lyberalytie towardes our fathers and mothers and in all thinges to shewe kindnes vntounto them before all other parsons. For when we do any pleasure to other men, we loke yt they shoulde thanke vsus for ye same. But of our fathers & mothers, we oughte to loke for no thākes but wt our benefites we must honor thē yt is to say, we must ordre ourselues towardes thē, no otherwise then we woulde do towarde kinges, princes, and lordes, to whom when we offer any presente, we thynke not that they be bound to render vntounto vsus any great thankes for the same, but we humblye fall on our knees before them, instantly desyryng them, that they wyl vouchesafe to take in good parte so smal a gyfte, wherein we declare oure good wyll farre to passe oure habilitie and wyth all reuerence we sue vntounto theym, that of theyr clemency they wyl accepte our good hartes and myndes. On this fashion we ought to behaue our selues towardes our fathers and mothers, and when so euer we be able to do them any pleasure, we must honour them after the sayde maner, and reuerently beseche thē, that they wyll take well in worth suche small tokens of our deutye and louelove towardes them. For we can not rendre vntounto oure fathers & mothers, any gyft or presente so weyghty, yt shal be able to coūterpoyse the kyndnes which they hauehave deserued at our handes, or can in any part recumpense the great goodnes & benefites which thei hauehave heaped vpō vsus without nūbre.
So good children note well I pray you what is ment by this worde, honor, whiche in this place comprehēdeth feare, dreade, reuerence, obedience, & louelove towardes our parentes, and that it is oure dewtie to lade theim with all kindes of gentlenes and lyberalitie. And when we hauehave donne all that we can do, yet not to loke for thankes againe at their handes, but rather to thanke them, that they wolde vouchesafe so gently to accept our small benefytes. For god hath appointed thē to be our maisters, tutors, and gouernors, ouer vsus, wherefore of dewtye we owe vntounto them this seruice and obedience. And onlesse we ordre our selues to oure parentes after suche maner as is before rehersed, God wil be greuously offēded with vsus, & sore punishe vsus. As it is plainly declared in Moses law in the .xxi. chapter of Deuteronomie where these wordes are writtē.Deut. xxi. If a man hauehave a frowarde and stubburne childe, whiche wil not heare his fathers & mothers cōmaundemēt & beyng corrected disdaines to obey them, they shall take him & bryng him before the iudges of the cytie, and shall saye thus. Thys oure sonne is stubburne & disobedyent, he wil not heare vsus, nor be ruled by vsus, he is a ryoter & lyueth vngodly. Then all the people shall stone him to death, that this myscheuous wede may be weded out of ye congregation, and al the people maye heare of his punishmēt, and feare to committe lyke offēce Hereby you may learne good children, how greatly thys synne dyspleaseth God, seyng that in hys lawe he hath appoynted so payneful a punishement for dysobedient children. Hitherto you hauehave herde what it is to honor your parētes, now heare also the cause why God hathe so diligētly cōmaunded this thinge. Our lorde God hath gyuen vsus so many benefites by our fathers and mothers yt no tongue can worthely expresse theim. For God vseth our parentes as his meanes by whome he gyueth vsus lyfe, breth, fode and al thinges necessarie to the maintenaūce of this lyfe. Therfore we oughte to wourshyp theym, as the chosen instrumentes of God. And forasmuche as God hymselfe is inuisible to vsus here in earth, whome we neyther se bodily nor heare hys voyce, therfore he hathe appoynted oure fathers and mothers in hys stede to talke wyth vsus, and to teache vsus what we ought to do, and what to eschewe. Euen as the scholemaster doth oftentymes commyt hys scholers to hys vscher, that he in the scholemasters absence maye teache and gouerne them, and hym they ought to reuerence and obey. And as the scholemaster doth sharpely correcte & chastiseth those schollers yt wyl not be ruled by his vscher, so God wil greuously punyshe those children, yt doeth not obey their fathers & mothers. For he hath appoynted them to be his deputies & vschers in ye educatiō & gouernāce of vsus his children. For God is the chefeste worker and maker of all thynges, he is the hyghest scholemaker, and our fathers & mothers are the instrumentes and toyles, wherby God doth worke vsus, make vsus and fashyoneth vsus. For God is the eternall and mooste maruelous creator, and he daylye doeth create. But when he entendeth to make mā, he maketh him not now of a glod of earth (as he did whē he first made Adam) but he vseth our parētes to this straunge & wondrefull worke & maketh vsus by theym. And this is the firste and greatest benefite, that God by oure parentes, doth gyue vsus bothe bodye and sowle. And after that yonge chylderne be borne into this world, we se how they lye certen yeres crying in their cradels, not able to helpe themselues. At what tyme excepte God did nouryshe vsus by oure fathers and mothers, ther wer no remedie but yt we muste neades peryshe. And when god doth entend to feade vsus in our cradels he doth not sende downe breade from heauen (as he did Māna) but he wonderfully fylleth our mothers dugges full of mylke, wherwyth she may gyue sucke to vsus, and also he sendeth to oure fathers sufficiente riches wherby they maye brynge vp their children. And this is the seconde benefite, that God, by our parentes doth nurse vsus, feade vsus, and bryng vsus vp, more tendrely then the henne doth her yong chekyns. Furthermore God sendeth vsus Christian parētes, which cause vsus to be baptised and grafted into Christ, and to be made the children of God. For yf our parentes were not christened we were lyke to be wrapped in cōtinuall blindnes and errours. (For you see no Iewes children come to be baptised) and if we should hauehave heathen parentes & dye without baptisme, we should be dāned euerlastingly And in case we died not in our infancie, yet we shoulde be vngodly brought vp in thouses of Heathē and vnchristened parentes, and should be taughte euen from oure tendre age, to hate and dispise the trew faith of Christ as we may see an example by Turkes & Iewes children, whiche vehemently hate the fayth of Christ, & among tenne thousād of them, scase one desireth to be baptised. And this is ye third great benefit, ye God by our parē tes doth brīg vsus to baptisme, & to Christ his church, & doth plant in our hertes an ernest louelove towards Christes religion, that wyllynglye and gladly we become Christians.
Besides this when we be growē to suche age, yt it is tyme for vsus to go to schole, then god teacheth vsus by our parentes his most excellent doctrine that is to saye, tharticles of our faythe, the ten commaundementes, & the Lordes prayer. Furthermore oure parentes do teache vsus the nourture and ciuilitie of good maners, that we maye proue gentle, quiet and faire cōditioned, and suche with whom, honest men wyll be gladde to kepe companye. From our parentes we hauehave oure countrey, (then whyche nothynge is more pleasant vntounto vsus) and the fredome fraunchesies and lyberties of ye citie in the whiche we wer borne. Our parentes also leaue vntounto vsus oftētimes great plentie of riches and landes for oure inherytāce. They also teache vsus dyuerse wayes of marchaundise, mani handycraftes and all kyndes of sciences, by the which we may honestly and in the waye of treuth get oure lyuyng here in this world. And although they be compelled of necessitie, oftentymes to vse the ayde and helpe of scholemasters, and other connyng men in dyuerse kyndes of faculties, yet because all these thinges be done at the commaundemente, costes and charges of our parētes, therfore we ought chiefely to thanke theym for all these benefites. And this is the fourth benefite, that God by oure parentes doth teache vsus the trewe knowledge of him and his worde.
Now these be the chiefest causes good children, why God hath commaunded vsus to honoure oure parentes. And suerly they be cruell children, yt do not this, seynge that they hauehave receyued of their parē tes so great an heape of benefites. And trewly they wer wourthye to be stoned to deathe as stubburne childrē wer wont to be in the olde testamente. Wherfore good childrē, obserue diligently this cōmaū dement that you be not disobedyent nor vnkynde, but honor your fathers and mothers. And here you muste not thynke that you owe this subiection onelyonly to your fathers and mothers, but the same obedience and honor is dewe also to all thē whose helpe and labour your parentes doeth oftentymes vse in gouernyng and teachynge you. Of the whiche sorte be youre tutors, scholemasters, preachers, pastors, & curates, youre masters that teache you your craftes, and also the magestrates, and commō officers. For ye holy scripture doth call all these fathers. And therefore when God sayth: honour thy father and mother, he comprehendeth within the boundes of thys commaundemente, all those parsons before rehersed. And this is done for these consideracions, For when the parentes do ley on theyr death bed then in theyr laste wil or testament they assigne and appoynt to theyr chyldren yt be of nonage tutors, gardians, or gouernours to whō they resigne all theyr iurisdiction, which they had of God gyuen vntounto theym ouer theyr children. To suche tutors or gouernours children ought to be obedient and honor them. For suche be lefte vntounto theym in the steade of theyr parentes and they nouryshed theyr pupylles or wardes and make much of them, & se that they be honestly brought vp in vertue and lernynge, and shall make a rekenyng for ye same both before God and the worlde. Furthermore when that oure parentes eyther be not able sufficientlye to teache vsus in their owne parsons, or hauehave not conuenient leysure to do the same, then they committe vsus to scholemaisters, preachers, pastors and curates, and make theym theyr deputies. Therfore it is the deutie of children, reuerently to obey theyr teachers and curates. For saynt Paule sayeth. The elders that rule well, are worthye of double honour, specialli they that labour in the worde and teaching.i. Tim. v. And saynt Peter sayeth. Obey them that are appoynted to gouerne you, for they do wake and watche for your soules as men that shall make an accompt for the same.
Also it happeneth oftentymes, that parētes do put theyr children to other, either because they themselues are not able to fynde them, or teache theym handye craftes, or the arte of marchaūdyse, and when this chaunseth, then it is the offyce of chyldren to obey in all thynges and to honour euen as theyr parentes, those to whō they be thus cōmitted & with whō they dwel. For vntounto such theyr fathers and mothers hauehave geuen theyr power and autoritie. Therfore saynte Paule sayeth. Seruauntes be obedient vntounto youre maysters as vntounto God, and so forth. But when children grow to mannes age,Ephe. vi. and then refuse to be ruled by their parētes, masters, teachers and curates, and begynne to waxe wyld and wanton & to hurte, other, thē the cōmē officers ought to chastise them. And the Magistrates & superiour powers ought to be honored and feared, euen as our fathers and mothers. For by theim we be defēded from our enemies, of theim we receaue lawes and statutes wherby we may liue in peace and quietnes, wherefore we ought to be glad and willynge to paye to thē tribute, taxes, tollages & subsidies, whereby they may be the better able to maintaine the tranquillitye of ye commen welth. Learne therfore good childerne. that they be not onelyonly called oure parentes, of whō we are begotten and borne, but they also be called to the honor & tytle of this name, whiche helpe them to bryng vsus vp in vertue and learning. Suche be they whom we cal our tutors or gardians, teachers, masters, curates, and officers. Also this worde, honor, doth not onelyonly containe the outwarde gesture of making cursey and puttyng of ye cap, but they do trewly honour their parentes, whiche do feare and louelove them, highly esteme them, gyue place to them, and rendre vntounto theim all kynde of gentilnes & liberalitie, & yet do not obbrayd them, or cast their gyftes in their teath, but do cōfesse ye stil thei be in their parentes dette, and as yet do owe them greater thinges. And this is a great poynt of wisedome, yea in worldly pollicie, to acknowlege yt of bounden deutie we owe to these persons aboue rehersed honor and reuerence, and that God is highly pleased with this kynde of sacryfice. And that he doth sende vntounto vsus by these mē innumerable benefites, wherefore yf you wil be coū ted good and godly childerne, and please God, then kepe this commaundement, obey your parentes and eueryevery commen officer, feare them, be obedient to their lawes and statutes, be subiecte vntounto thē in all thinges. Notwithstandyng yf the commen officer do byd you do any thinge expressely agaynst god, thē you may not obey hī, but say with ye Apostle Peter, we must obey god rather then men.Actes. v. And beware good children yt you dispise not your parentes, or vncurtesely entreat thē, because perchaūce thei be simple men, rude, vnlerned, poore, weake, feable and impotēt by ye reason of their olde age. For of what soeuer state condition or qualitie they be, yet by them God hath gyuē vsus our lyfe, he hath ordained them to be our gouernors, & (as I hauehave declared heretofore) by theym he hath sent vsus infinite benefites, wherfore we ought to honor them, obey them, to be willyng and redy both to learne and do that whiche they commaunde vsus, & to eschew those thīges which they forbid vsus. For this obedience pleaseth God and is a most acceptable honoring of him. Take hede also yt you refuse not nor grudge to do such thinges as thei shal cō maunde you, nether that you play the truantes or runne away from your teachers, maysters or other artificers into whose house tuition and custodie your fathers and mothers shall committe you. For this is a great synne before God, the which shal not escape vnpunished. But specially you must eschew this most detestable kynde of disobediēce (which now a daies is very cōmen) that you intangle not your selues wt mariage without the knowlege and consente of your parētes. For this is a pointe not only of notable dysobedience, but also of great folyshenes. For what is more myserable or can trouble a mā more in this world, then a mariage euel matched and vnmetly coupled. This is that grefe and punishement that dayly troubleth & scourgeth vsus all oure lyfe tyme, from the whiche there is no meanes to escape but by death onelyonly. And it is to be feared, when we go about to marie oureselues, not makynge our parentes priuie to suche contractes or bargaynes but contemnyng theyr authoritie, that God wil not prosper such mariages, nor giuegive therto his fauour and blessyng. But if you wil kepe gods cōmaūdementes, & honoure your parents, then God wyl louelove you, and powre hys gyftes vponupon you most aboūdantly. Now good childrē you hauehave herde what you ought to do, I praye you be willing to performe that thing, which your bounden dewtie requireth of you. For saincte Paul saieth, that this is the first or chiefe commaū demente hauynge a promyse annexed vntounto it.Ephes. v. For herin god doth promyse, that he whiche doeth honour his father and mother, shall lyue a long lyfe, and shal abyde in his natiue countrey. And he that doeth not honoure theym, shalbe dryuen out of his countrey, & shal shortely dye. And surely this we proue to be true by dayly experyence. For when childerne be wanton, wilde stiffenecked, stubburne, and refuse to be ruled by their parētes and scholemasters, or do not serue their maisters truelye, when thei wyl not hauehave in reuerēce their preachers and curates, or do not obey the common rulers, then God scourgeth theym, some wyth one punishment, some with an other. Some is maymed, some leaseth an eye, one hathe suche a fall from an horse yt he lyeth for starke deade, an other is drowned. And here I wyl not speake of those vnthrifty young men whiche be pickers of quarels and in their wylfulnes thone slayeth thother. But yf perchaunce these dysobedyente childerne escape punyshmente in theyr yought, yet when they come to mans state, and kepe howses of their awne, then commonly suche children do not auoide this threat and indignation of God. For then many times they runne into suche dette, that they be compelled to forsake their natiue countrey, and to flye into sanctuarie, or elles to wandre in straunge regions lyke banyshed menne, farre from their kynsfolkes acquaintaūce & frendes, where no man doth helpe thē, trust them, or hath pitie of theym.
And many of them, whilest they go aboute to auoyde extreme pouertie by lying, stelyng, robbyng, & other ill meanes are cast in pryson and afterward hanged. These and such lyke paynes men do worthely suffer in their age, whiche in theyr youth dysdayned to folowe the counsell of theyr parentes.
Wherfore good children, obey youre parentes and magistrates, then you shall proue wise men, able to helpe both your selues and other. Then God shall blesse you, that you may longe continewe in the contrey wherin you wer borne and bredde, and dwell amonge your parentes, brethren & sisters, frendes and acquayntaūce many yeares. Then extreme pouertie shall not oppresse you, whereby you should be compelled to leaue your countrey, neyther the rages or partels of warre shal driue you out from thense. So manye and so great benefites hath God promysed to obedyent chyldren. And there is no doubt, but that he will perfourme that thinge whiche he hath promised. As we feale by experiēce, yt as long as we obey oure parentes, and suffer our selues to be gouerned accordynge to Gods wyll, so long we be brought vp in the feare of God, to our great cō moditie and profit. And thys is the true meanynge of the fourthe precept, whiche I praye you depely to prynt into youre memories, that when you shall be asked how you vnderstand the fourth cōmaū demēt, you may answer, we ought to louelove & dreade our Lord God, & for his sake to honor our parētes, teachers masters & gouernours to obey thē & in no wise to dispise thē