The apostle applies the fifth commandment promise to earthly life, Eph. 6:3. He also notes elsewhere that godliness has promise for this life as well as the life to come, 1 Tim. 4:8. It is important to remember God's promises for this life lest one faints and gives up before they have finished their course, Phil. 1:22; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. The Psalmist often prayed to be delivered from death in order to continue declaring God's truth to the world, Ps. 6:4, 5; 30:9.

The Shorter Catechism wisely notes that the promise annexed to the fifth commandment is conditional on whether prolonged life and prosperity serves for God's glory and our good. When a believing soul passes before the allotted seventy years it can truly be said that it is for their benefit. At the very least an early death safeguards them from evil to come, Isa. 57:1. It also marks the completion of their labours and that it is their time to rest, v. 2a, as a labouring man goes to his bed after a hard day's work, v. 2b. But, best of all, it means they can now walk in perfection and no longer groan under a sense of their shortcomings in God's service, v. 2c.

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Yours sincerely,


"Illum oportet crescere me autem minui."