I. That, hereby, all superiors in general are intended; as many others are called fathers in scripture, besides our natural parents, viz.
1. Superiors in age. Thus it is said, Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity, 1 Tim. v. 1, 2.
2. They, are also called fathers, who are superior in gifts; and accordingly have been the first inventors of arts, which have been useful to the world. Thus Jabal is said to be the father of such as dwell in tents, and have cattle, Gen. iv. 20. that is, the first that made considerable improvements in the art of husbandry; and Jubal is said to be the father, that is, the instructor of all such as handle the harp and organ, ver. 21. or the first that made improvements in the art of music.
3. Persons to whom we owe, under God, our outward prosperity and happiness. In this sense Joseph, though a subject, a young man, and a little before, a prisoner, is called a father to Pharaoh, chap. xlv. 8. as he was an instrument to support his greatness, and preserve him from the inconveniences of a seven years famine.
4. Princes, great men, and heads of families, are called fathers. Thus Naaman was by his servants, 2 Kings v. 13.
5. Men of honour and usefulness in the church are so called. Thus when Elisha saw Elijah ascend into heaven, he cries out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof, chap. ii. 12. And Joash, the king of Israel, used the same expression to Elisha, when fallen sick, chap. xiii. 14. And this is implied in the apostle’s styling those whom he had been of use to, for their conviction, and enlightening in the doctrines of the gospel, My little children, Gal. iv. 19.
6. Good kings and governors are called fathers. Thus it is said, Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers, Isa. xlix. 23.
II. We have an account, in one of the answers we are explaining, of the reason why superiors are styled father and mother; namely, to denote, that they should behave towards their inferiors, with that love and tenderness, as though they were natural parents. Authority is not only consistent herewith, but it ought to be exercised, by superiors towards inferiors, in such a way. Thus Job, when in his prosperity, was, as it were, a common father to all that were under him; accordingly he says, I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him, Job xxix. 12. upon which occasion he says, I was a father to the poor, ver. 16. And ministers, who, in some respects, are superior in office to others; when their reproofs are mixed with tenderness and compassion towards the souls of men under their care, are compared to the nurse that cherished her children; as being affectionately desirous, and willing to impart to them, not the gospel of God only, but also their own souls, as being dear to them, 1 Thess. ii. 7, 8.
III. We have, in another of the answers under our consideration, an account of the general scope of the fifth Commandment; and, as it requires the duties to be performed by every one in their several relations; these are considered either as superiors, inferiors, or equals. There are several sorts of relations wherein persons are styled superior or inferior to one another.
1. Such as are founded in nature; as that of parents and children.