Why is the patient bearing of the hand of God considered, by our Westminster fathers, to be a duty required of us by the Sixth Commandment? Impatience with, and complaining against, God’s providence can bring down on our lives His judgment. Furthermore, impatience with God’s hand, rooted in unbelief and self-love, produces bitterness, anxiety, and worry which, in turn, lead to stress-related illnesses and the shortening or diminishing of health and life, hence, a transgression of the Sixth Commandment. Patient submission to, and contentment with, God’s will strengthens the heart and brings peace and joy to the believer, thus enhancing his life.
From: Authentic Christianity: An Exposition of the Theology and Ethics of the Westminster Larger Catechism by Joseph C. Morecraft III; 5 volumes (Powder Springs: Minkoff Family Publishing & American Vision Press, 2008-2010), 4:642. From his exposition of the Sixth Commandment.
Joseph C. Morecraft III (born in 1944) is the founding pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church (RPCUS), located in Cumming, Georgia, where he has ministered since 1974. He is a native of Madison, West Virginia.
