of those seeming differences betweene the texts of Scripture before mentioned let me intreat a while your best attention to that that shall be deliuered that I may not be in ought therein mistaken First therefore let it be considered that all men Father and Sonne as well the one as the other Considerati ∣ on 1 owe a death vnto God which hee may iustly require whensoeuer and wheresoeuer on what occasion and by what meanes soeuer he will God therefore for the sinne of Achan might command his whole houshold and his children among the rest though not priuie to or guiltie of that offence of his to be put to death and so punish him in them as well as in his owne person because they ought all of them a death to him which on that occasion he might require But Amazias may not put to death the sonnes of those traytors that slew the King his Father according to that Law which God had enacted betweene man and man to be obserued because they were no way obnoxious to him neither did they by any Law or Statute humane or diuine owe a death vnto him otherwise Yea the iustice and equitie of Gods dealing in this kinde may bee further cleered euen by such courses as men also may lawfully take For suppose we some great Noble-mans only sonne and sole heire condemned to die for some rape or robberie by him committed Howbeit his Soueraigne considering that the young man is one of good parts otherwise and may hereafter doe his King and Countrey good seruice though he were ouertaken in that act as also out of pitie to his Fathers house loth to see an ancient family vtterly extinguished in him and besides hauing earnest suit made in his behalfe by diners neere about him is inclining yea purposed to grant him his pardon But in the interim while the matter hangeth yet in suspence it commeth to be discouered that the Noble-man his Father hath his hand in some foule treason hath entred into conspiracie either with some forraine 〈◊〉 or some domesticall traitour against the person of his Prince Now hereupon his Soueraigne altring his minde and purpose concerning his Sonne causeth him instantly to bee brought out and executed in the sight of his Father whom after also hee disposeth of according to his desert In which case the Sonne you see is punished for his Fathers offence but for which hee might haue escaped and the Father is punished in the Sonne his Sonnes death no doubt being no lesse punishment to him than his owne and yet is there no wrong or iniustice done either to Father or Sonne because both had deserued death and death was therefore due to either And herein erred those wicked Iewes that charged God with iniustice that they complained that their Fathers had done amisse and that they themselues being no way faultie suffered onely for their Fathers faults Whereas indeed vile wretches they were euerie whit as bad or worse rather than they and bare the burden of their owne iniquities Secondly let it be considered that God layeth Consideration 2 no temporall iudgement at any time vpon any but hee is able to turne the same to the good of the partie vpon whom it is inflicted And that he doth so as here also hee did when hee layeth any outward euill on a godly person for the sinne of some wicked one and so punisheth as he doth oft also the bad in the good For the better cleering of this wee may well make vse of that distinction so rise in the Schooles that these outward temporall euills or penall sufferings are in the nature Sometime of a curse Sometime of a cure And accordingly there is a foure-fold course of Gods dealings in these cases Course 1 For sometime God punisheth a bad Father in a bad Sonne and then it is not a crosse onely but a curse to both So God punished wee may iustly deeme Pharao in his first-borne Course 2 Sometime hee punisheth a good Father in a good Sonne and then it is though a crosse yet a cure to both So punished he Dauid iâ—…e may well iudge in his young childe Course 3 Sometime hee punisheth a good Father in a bad Sonne and then it is a cure to the Father and a curse to the Sonne So punished he the same Dauid in his sonne Absolom Course 4 Sometime hee punisheth a bad Father in a good Sonne and then it is a curse to the Father and a cure to the Sonne So punished hee Ieroboam in his sonne here mentioned And that which was no doubt a great and grieuous crosse and plague to his Father yet proued through Gods goodnesse in mercie wisely so disposing it no lesse a benefit and blessing to the childe Thus then I hope that by this time you see how God without any the least blemish to his iustice may by death take away the Sonne for his Fathers Branch 1 offence Branch 2 Why man may not ordinarily doe therein as God doth and yet that in some cases men doe also and may well doe the same Branch 3 That the wicked Iewes had no iust cause to charge God with iniustice for his dealings with them albeit that he should so haue done And how God can turne to the good of a good child Branch 4 the euill that he suffers for his bad Fathers default though to his vngodly Parent the same be a fearefull iudgement and not a crosse only but a curse too Now a word or two of vse and so an end And first it may admonish Parents to be the Vse 1 more carefull to shun sinne if not for their owne for their childrens sake yet because their sinnes may bring iudgements vpon their children also euen as well as vpon themselues There is no Parent if he be not wholly stript of naturall affection but desires the welfare of his child Yea Parents are vsually wont to be more charie of their childrens welfare than of their own Art thou desirous then of thy childrens well-doing Doe not wilfully that that may any way impeach it And nothing may sooner doe it than thy sinne As thine obedience and vpright carriage of thy selfe in Gods sight may procure a blessing euen to thy posterity so thy sinne and transgression may bring euill also vpon it What a griefe would it be to any of vs that haue children if in playing with one of them wee should let it fall vnwittingly whereby the childe should get a knocke that it should lie long sicke and at length die of Take heed then how to satisfie some wanton lust or desire of thine thou doe wilfully that that may prouoke God to wrath cause him to lay the like on thy childe as thou seest that in the like cases sometime he hath done Yea consider with thy selfe if shortly after some such wilfull running out of thine and giuing
liue to see which would be farre heauier vnto them for such hanging vpon them than they would be for themselues otherwise Howsoeuer they may assure themselues that their children gone to God are safer and better with him than they either were or euer could haue beene with themselues here And thus much for the former speciall point to wit that The good goe oft before the bad We passe now to the latter of them which as before you heard is that The good goe oft times for the bad And if you please yet a little more generally one way though more specially another that Branch 1 The Child suffers oft for the Fathers offence Let them be whether you will either two distinct Branch 2 points or two seuerall branches of one and the same point since that both of them alike arise from my Text and there is in it a pregnant example of either For the former of them that The good goe for the bad Wee haue a precedent of it in that good King Iesus who was cut off and his life shortned for the sins of his people and the remainder of Manasses his sinnes rife still among them as also in this good Child taken away for the sinnes of Ieroboam Now the reason why the godly goe thus for the wicked is Reason 1 1. That they may not perish with and among them when some heauie iudgement is comming in vpon them As God sent his Angels to fetch Lot and his out of Sodome when Sodome was to be destroyed with fire and brimstone from Heauen that they might not be 〈◊〉 vp with the inhabitants of it He caused Noa to goe into the Arke as it were out of the world when hee was determined to drowne the world with a generall deluge that hee might not with the rest miscarry So tooke hee here Ieroboams sonne out of the way that hee might not be either eaten with dogs or deuoured with the fowles as the residue of that impious house and race were Reason 2 2. That they may not preserue those from perishing whom God is determined to destroy It is said of Moses that he stood in the gap to keepe out Gods wrath from breaking in vpon his people when God was minded to destroy them And of Phineaz that when the plague had made a breach in vpon them he was a meanes to stay it from further proceeding God therefore when hee is resâ—luâ—d to proceed in iudgement against a people hee taketh those away from them that may intercede for them that by their presence or prayers may stay his hand as Moses Let me alone saith God to him that I may destroy this people and as Lot I can doe nothing saith hee as long as thou art here that may turne away the storme as he did from Zoar that had else as well as Sodome Gomorrha Adamah Zeboim beene destroyed that may stand in the gap when it is breaking in or make the breach vp againe when it is broken in and preserue from perishing either in whole or in part God hee doth as men are wont to doe with those they desire to destroy Hee that would set vpon a strong man saith out Sauiour will first if he can disarme him They that would conquer a countrey if they can seize vpon their munition will not faile to make themselues first masters of that for they know then they shall haue no power to resist Now the godly they are the munition the strength of a state the chariots and horse of Israel saith Elizaeus of Elias and King Ioas of Elizaeus These therefore God taketh away and so disarmeth a state when he is bent to destroy it that so his wrath may finde no resistance And there bee but any one good in Ieroboams house goe he must Gods sentence against it cannot be executed till he be taken out of it The Vse whereof may be 1. To informe vs what we may iustly feare and Vse 1 expect when God picketh out the good and taketh many of them away It is a signe some fearefull euill is towards where he so doth It is a presage of warre towards either with or in a countrey when men on all hands such especially as are acquainted with state-affaires seeke to get home with all expedition whatsoeuer goods or wares they haue in those parts and much more their friends and children if they haue any resiant there And it is a forewarning of little good towards a place where God doth the like with those that be his deere ones his darlings Besides that The holy seed saith Esay vpholdeth the land And The innocent saith Eliphaz preserueth the Iland as some reade it or as others The Iland of the innocent shall hee deliuer that is God will saue it for his sake or as others againe whom I should chuse to goe with no lesse agreeably to our purpose He shall saue him that is not guiltlesse himselfe and euen such shall be deliuered for the puritie of thy hands that is some one good man such as Iob was may be a meanes to saue and deliuer a whole citie of men otherwise guilty and readie for their sin to be destroyed But to returne againe to that of Esai there seemes an allusion in it to a banke or a causey mentioned in the storie that went from the Kings house to the Temple was borne vp with trees planted on either side of it Which trees saith the Prophet as they kept vp the causey so the holy and godly in a land support and hold vp the state And as those trees if they were remoued the banke or causey would soone come downe so that holy seed if it be once taken away that whole land or state is likely to come shortly after to ruine As it was a signe therefore that Sampson meant to bring downe the house vpon the heads of the Philistines when he pulled downe the pillars that bare vp the roofe of it So it is a shrewd signe that God is about to ruine a state when he plucketh away those that are the shores and the props of it As it is an argument of destruction towards when he taketh away the mightie the man of warre the Iudge and the Prophet the prudent and the ancient the Captaine or Commander the honourable and the Counsellor the cunning Artificer and the eloquent Orator So it is no lesse if not much more an argument of the like when he taketh away the good and godly the righteous and religious Since the one are the temporall the other the spirituall staies of a state the one support it against the power and policie of man the other protect Vse 2 it against the wrath and iudgements of God 2. This considered may teach vs what cause we haue to pray earnestly for the life and continuance of good and godly
men among vs and how iust cause of griefe and sorrow is giuen vs when it seemeth good to God to take any such from vs. There goeth a prop or shore of our state away when any such goeth How would we be grieued if we should haue newes brought of some one of the Kings ships lost or cast away at sea and that not without cause for our shipping is the strength of our state they are as we terme them our woodden wals And no lesse cause haue we to mourne when we lose a good man such an one especially as is in eminent place with vs since that such are indeed as he said sometime of his warlike citizens the best wals and bulwarks of our state But leaue wee this and passe on to the last Branch which is that Children suffer oft for their Parents That Children I say as well good as bad suffer oft-times at Gods hand for their Parents offences God punisheth the one ofttimes in the other So punished he Pharao by the death of his first-borne for his obstinate refusall to dismisse his people So he punished Dauid by the decease of the childe begotten in adulterie for that enormious act of his And so Ieroboam here for his idolatrie by the losse of a sonne that no doubt to him was verie deere Yea it is that that God threatneth as well in the sanction of the second precept as oft also elsewhere that he will visit that is punish the iniquitie of parents vpon their posteritie and that not vnto one or two alone but euen to three or foure descents So not Canaan onely was cursed for his Father Chams offence and all Achans family destroyed for his fault but the leprosie of Naaman for Giezies falshood stucke by him and his posteritie so long as any of them lasted The reason of this course that God taketh oft-times in punishing of the transgressions of parents by paines inflicted vpon their children is Reason 1 1. Because Children are part of their parents possessions It is reported of a Persian Emperour Artaxerxes the Long-handed that for such faults of his Nobles and Chieftaines as their haire had wont to bee pulled their head-tire or turbants should bee openly so vsed and for such offences as their bodies had wont to be beaten their robes should publikely be scourged which was deemed to them no small disgrace And in like manner saith Theodoret speaking of the plague of leprosie in mens houses and garments doth God deale with men when they offend themselues God punisheth them not in their persons alwayes but ofttimes in their possessions in their goods and chattels in their worldly estate And if in their possessions no maruell if in their children to being part of their possessions as is euident by the commission giuen and granted to Satan concerning power ouer Iobs possessions which comprehended his children as well as his chattels as appeareth by the execution of it 2. Yea children are not part onely of their parents Reason 2 possessions but they are part in some sort of the parents themselues or of one and the same bodie at least with them As the Subiects and the Soueraigne make ioyntly one body politicke and the losse of the subiects therefore is a punishment to the Soueraigne and God doth sometime punish the Soueraigne so witnesse Dauid in the subiect So the Father and the whole family make both as one body and euill befalling any of them is a punishment to him especially befalling one so neere as a childe Haue mercie on mee Lord saith the mother My daughter is distracted her daughters paines were a punishment to her and God doth oft punish the father or master so witnesse Abimelech in his family and those that be of it He doth as the Physitian that openeth a veine in the arme or it may be in the foot either for some disease in the head For so he let Pharao bloud in the right arme when hee smote his first borne for his fault so he let Dauid bloud in the feet that is in his subiects for they are the feet that the Soueraigne standeth vpon for his offence But how may some say doth this stand with Gods iustice to punish one for another Or how can threatning to punish sinne so in posteritie stand with that which God himselfe enacteth elsewhere that the childe shall not suffer for his fathers offence or with his answer to the people that had gotten vp a bad prouerb The fathers haue eaten sowre grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge thereby meaning that Their fathers had sinned and they suffered that the soule that sinneth should it selfe die the death and not one suffer for another This question hath not a little troubled many both old and new Writers and that place in the Law hath verie much puzzled many yea the most of the Ancients beside others which in that regard they haue laboured Some of them to diuert by allegoricall interpretations Some to auoid by ouer-violent forced expositions Some to salue by strange and needlesse shifts Some of thē I say expound the words allegorically Euasion 1 Either of Satan and his sonnes all wicked ones Exposition 1 whom God punisheth here that they may not be damned with him hereafter reseruing the Deuill their Father to the last day of doome Or of degrees of sin in the soule making the first Exposition 2 motions of sin the Father the consent to sin the son the act of it the grand childe and obstinacy or glorying in it the great grand-childe that God spareth men oft for the first and second but striketh home when sinne is come to her height in the two last But to frame allegories thus without need or ground is but to wrong the Text to peruert the purpose of Gods spirit and to make God himselfe speak that that he neuer therein meant nor intended Others take the words literally but expound them either nothing agreeably or euen directly contrary Euasion 2 to the intent of Gods spirit in them Some not of punishing sinnes vpon such descents but of deferring and putting off the punishment of Exposition 3 sinne to such a descent as a matter not of wrath and iudgement but of mercy rather and patience which some of them also in particular apply to the Iewish people either in the first generation punished after their departure out of Egypt for all their idolatries during that whole time committed or else as some other captiued in the third and destroyed in the fourth age of the world Now howsoeuer it be true indeed that God in mercy sometime deferreth iudgement from the Fathers daies to the Sons as he did in Ahab yea and in Ieroboam too for his stocke was not so destroyed as