Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 1 · Commandment 2 · Exercitation 18
EXERCITAT. XVIII. Of the extent of Gods iuſtice and his merciemercy to thoſe who breake and keepe his Commandements. Commandement II.
Exod. 20.5. Viſiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and ſhew mercy unto thouſands of them that love me and keepe my Commandements.
THe Lord viſiteth the iniquitie of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation, in the originall it is, in tertianos & quartanos. So, 2. King. 10.30. Filij quartani ſedebunt ſuper ſolio: Thy children of the fourth generation ſhall fit on thy throne, that is, Iehoachaz, Iehoaſh, Ieroboam, and Zachariah; the father is the firſt, the ſon is the ſecond, the grandchild is the third, and the great grandchild is the fourth; and he ſetteth downe the third and fourth generation,Why the Lord puniſheth unto the third and fourth generation. becauſe men may live to ſee ſo many generations come of them. Gen. 50.23. And Ioſeph ſaw Ephraims children to the third generation, that is, he ſaw Ephraim, and his ſonnes, and his ſonnes ſonnes.
It pleaſeth God in mercy to breake off the courſe of ſinne, and to interrupt it for the Churches cauſe;God breaketh off the courſe of ſinne ſometimes, his Churches cauſe. Korah was a bad man, yet his ſonnes were men fearing God, who wrote ſome of the Pſalmes.
Where the courſe of ſinne is broken off,Where ſinne is broken off the puniſhment will be broken off. there the puniſhment is not inflicted; the grandfather is a wicked man, his ſonne followeth not his footſteps, the grandchild againe followeth the footſteps of his grandfather, here the ſinne which was broken off beginneth againe and continueth ſtill with the grandchild. Manaſſeh had his ſinne pardoned, but his ſonne Ammon walking in the former wayes of his father, became heire of his fathers wickednes; therefore God deferred not the puniſhment, for within two yeares after he was king, he was miſerably killed: Then Ioſias ſucceeded who brake off the courſe of his fathers ſinne; and therefore the puniſhment was deferred for the ſpace of thirty one yeares. Then his younger brother Ioahaz ſucceeded to him, and the puniſhment was continued in him, and likewiſe in his eldeſt ſonne Eliacim.
In lib. de ſera vindicta Numin…s.Plutarch ſheweth why the Gods deferre puniſhment for a time; becauſe the ſinne is not found in the childe, which was found in the father; and when the ſame ſinne buddeth fo…h againe in the grandchild, then the gods doe puniſh: and he uſeth this compariſon, for even, ſaith he, as the grandfather had a mole upon his face, which is not ſeene in his ſonne,Simile. but yet it is ſeene in the grandchild; paſſing by his ſonne, it commeth to the grandchild: So may ſinne paſſe by the ſonne and come to the grandchild: and hee telleth of a woman who brought forth a blackmore, when as neither of the parents were blackmores, and being condemned to die as an adultereſſe, an old man teſtified there, that the great grandfather of that childe was a blackemore, and that his blacknes had paſſed by two generations,Sinne may paſſe by two generations and come to the third. and come to the third: ſo ſinne may paſſe from one or two generations, and light upon the third; and where ſinne is continued there the puniſhment lighteth.
Sometimes ſinne continueth in a blood.Sometimes ye ſhall ſee ſinne continued, going on in a bloud without any interruption. Rebekah thought that Eſau would have forgotten that which Iacob did to him. Gen. 27.45. but he never forgot it, and that hatred continued in his poſterity the Edomites without interruption, and they cried; Pſal. 137.7. Downe with them, downe with them.
Hee viſiteth to the third and fourth generation for idolatrie,God ſometime continueth puniſhment longer than to the third and fourth generation. but he continueth the puniſhment ſome times longer than to the third and fourth generation. Ezek. 4.5. I have laid upon thee the yeares of their iniquitie, according to the number of the dayes, three hundreth and ninety dayes, ſo ſhalt thou beare the iniquitie of the houſe of Iſrael: three hundreth and ninety propheticall dayes are taken here for yeares; and he ſpeaketh here of the idolatrie which began in Salo…ns old age, and continued untill the ninth yeare of … captivity, juſt three hundreth and ninety yeares in all; and as all the bloud from Abel to Zachary might bee required at the hands of the Iewes in Chriſts time: So may the Lord lay upon the idolaters now, all the idolatrie from the firſt idolaters to this time, if hee would deale in juſtice with them; and hence it followeth, that the idolaters who lived three hundred yeares ſince, were not in ſo miſerable a caſe as the idolaters are in now;Idolaters in our times are in a worſe caſe then they of old. becauſe they had not ſo many ſinnes to be laid to their charge.
Of them that hate me:
How can God be hated, Quest. ſeeing no good thing can be hated?
The idolaters doe not hate God ſimply as he is good, Anſw. but becauſe he puniſheth them for their idolatrie;How a man is ſaid to hate God. ſo Ahab hated Micaiah becauſe he told him the truth, and Paul ſaid, am I become your enemy, becauſe I told you the truth. Gal. 4.16.
To hate God and to love idols, are directly contrary; but for a man to hate himſelfe,To hate God and love our ſelves are directly contrary. to the end hee may love God, are ſubcontrary; when a man loveth himſelfe leſſe, that he may love the Lord, this is but improperly called hatred, and ſo Iacob hated Leah, that is,To hate our ſelves, and love God are ſubcontraries. hee leſſe loved her than Rachel; but when a man loveth God leſſe then his idoll, that is properly called hatred.
Now to keepe our ſelves that wee fall not into this hatred of God by loving idols,Idolaters looke not ſtreight upon God. wee muſt lift up our eyes and looke ſtreight from the creatures to God, and from God to the creatures; and then we ſhall not fall to idolatrie. Quando linea currit aequaliter inter duo extrema, and wee looke ſtraight by the line to the two extreames, then wee ſee them perfectly; but when wee looke not equally upon them, but a ſquint; then wee have not a perfect view. Idolaters never looke aright upon God and his creatures, and therefore they give the honour to the creature which is due to the creator, but if they would compare God with the poore creatures, they would never give his glory unto them.
And ſhewing mercy unto thouſands of them that love me and keepe my commandements.
God enclineth more to merciemercy then juſtice.Gods juſtice reacheth unto the third and fourth generation, but his mercy to the thouſand generation; and hence we may gather, that God inclineth more to mercy than to juſtice, and therefore when hee puniſheth he is ſaid,Facere opus non ſuum, quid. facere opus non ſuum. Eſay. 28.21. That hee may doe his ſtrange worke, that is, to puniſh.
Queſt. Mercy and juſtice being Gods two armes, how is it that one of them is longer than the other?
Anſ. The one of them is not longer than the other, but hee maketh his Church to feele more his mercy than his juſtice.
The bleſſing of the fathers are conveyed to good children.Shewing mercy unto thouſands, this bleſſing of God is conveyed by good parents to the children, for the moe good predeceſſors that a man hath, hee may looke for a greater bleſſing. We have an example of this. Gen. 49.26. The bleſsings of thy fathers are ſtrong with the bleſsings of my progenitours, all the bleſſings of the good predeceſſours concurring together, are effectuall meanes to continue the bleſſing to the poſterity.
To thouſands, the Lord will not forget thee, although thou be many generations after thy good predeceſſors,God forgetteth not the children of good parents to many generations. David made inquirie for Ionathans poſterity that hee might doe good unto them. 2. Sam. 9.1. Is there any left of the houſe of Saul, that I may ſhew him kindeneſſe, for Ionathans ſake. The Lord bleſſed the poſterity of Ionadab, the Rehabits, for their godfathers cauſe.
Of them that love mee and keepe my commandements. Our beſt workes have need of merciemercy.Hence wee may learne, if mens beſt workes have need of mercy, then no man can bee juſtified by his workes, for mercy ſecludeth merit. Hoſ. 10.12. Sowe to your ſelves in righteouſneſſe, and reape in mercy; the Church muſt looke for mercy when ſhe is reaping her reward. So, 2. Tim. 1.16. The Lord give mercy unto the houſe of Oniſephorus, for he hath oft refreſhed me, and was not aſhamed of my chaines.
Shewing mercy. Exod. 23.19.God ſheweth merciemercy without merit. foreign Supplicationes eloquitur pauper. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, that is, I will have mercy without any merit. Prov. 18.23. The poore uſeth intreaties. Tahhannunim, that is, they begge only of favour, but nothing of merit. So when we have done all things that we can do, let us count our ſelves unprofitable ſervants. Luc. 17.10.
And keepe my commandements, God ſheweth mercy and then we keepe his Commandements.the Lord muſt firſt ſhew mercy before wee can keepe his commandements; wee keepe not his commandements firſt, and then he ſheweth mercy, all the good of the Church depends upon Chriſt, and if he ſhew not mercy, then ſhee is not a Church. The Church hath beene fitly compared to Heliotropion, or the marigold, ſo long as the ſunne ſhineth upon it, ſo long it ſpreadeth the leaves of it; but when the ſunne withdrawes it ſelfe, then it contracteth the leaves and ſpreadeth no more. So doth the Church flouriſh when the Lords mercy ſhineth upon her; but when he withdrawes his preſence from her, ſhe loſeth her beauty.
And keepe my commandements. The children of God keepe the commandements becauſe the Lord freeth them of the ſtraight obedience of the law, non foreign, it lieth not upon them, nor urgeth them, as it doth upon the wicked, Iuſtis non eſt lex poſita, the law is not made for the righteous man. God enableth his children to keepe his Commandements.1. Tim. 1.9. It lieth not like a burthen upon them, God accepteth of their endeavours, although they come ſhort in many things.
Secondly, in keeping the law the ſpirit of God both jubet & juvat, he commandeth his children, and giveth them the ſpirit of obedience to doe thoſe things, which he commandeth, willingly.
God taketh away the irritation of the Law from his children.Thirdly, he taketh away the irritation of the law; for the law to a naturall man is a provocation to ſin. Rom. 7. and ſo the law becommeth eaſie to them, and thus they are ſaid to keepe the commandements.Concluſion.
The concluſion of this is, Miſerable is the caſe of idolaters, who muſt both anſwer for their owne ſinnes, and likewiſe for the idolatrie of their predeceſſors.