"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
Parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect which is due to
no other person. God Himself, who has placed upon them a
responsibility for the souls committed to their charge, has ordained
that during the earlier years of life, parents shall stand in the
place of God to their children. And he who rejects the rightful
authority of his parents is rejecting the authority of God. The fifth
commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission,
and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and
tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to
succor and comfort them in old age. It also enjoins respect for
ministers and rulers and for all others to whom God has delegated
authority.
This, says the apostle, "is the first commandment with promise."
Ephesians 6:2. To Israel, expecting soon to enter Canaan, it was a
pledge to the obedient, of long life in that good, land; but it has a
wider meaning, including all the Israel of God, and promising eternal
life upon the earth when it shall be freed from the curse of sin.