Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 2 · Commandment 5 · Exercitation 6
EXERCITAT. V. That parents ſhould correct their children. Commandement IV.
Prov. 22.15. Fooliſhneſſe is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction ſhall drive it farre from him.
AS parents ought to inſtruct their children, ſo they are bound to correct them:Simile. and as it is not enough to plant a vine, unleſſe wee prune it and dreſſe it: ſo it is not enough to beget children, but we muſt alſo teach them and correct them. The beſt example that parents can ſet before them how to correct their children, is the example of God himſelfe;God the beſt patterne for correction. God correcteth all his children, and hee correcteth them in love, hee is angry with them when hee doth correct them, but hee doth not hate them; and his corrections are with moderation.
The Lord correcteth in love. foreign Virga filij mei.Firſt he correcteth his children, this rod hee calleth [ſhebhat beni] the rod of my ſonne, Ezek. 2.10. for as the father hath a rod which he keepes for his children to make them ſtand in feare of him: ſo hath the Lord a rod for his Church; and as a father chasteneth his ſonne, ſo doth the Lord thy God chaſten thee, Deut. 8.5. The Lord chaſteneth every ſonne whom hee loveth, Heb. 12.7. It is otherwiſe in the Church then it was amongſt the Romans;The Romans might not whip a free man, but it is not ſo in the Church. for none who was free borne might be whipt among the Romans, Act. 22.25. But the Lord thinketh them but baſtards whom hee doth not correct, Heb. 12.8. in the Church, Hee correcteth every child whom hee loveth; ſo ſhould fathers eſteeme thoſe children but baſtards whom they correct not. They ſend out their little ones like a flocke, and their children dance, Iob 21.21. this ſhoweth the little care they had to bring up their children, but ſuffered them to wander at their pleaſure; and never corrected them.
Secondly the Lord correcteth his children in love;God correcteth his children in love. hee is angry with their ſinnes, but loveth their perſons: he is not like doting fathers who thinke that every blemiſh in their children is a vertue, hee can both love them and be angry at their ſinne; fond parents are lukewarme at the offences of their children: it is ſaid of David, 1. King. 1.6. That hee never diſpleaſed Adonijah at any time; Elies fault in not correcting his children.and of Eli, 1. Sam. 3.13. When his ſonnes made themſelves vile, he reſtrained them not: in the original it is,foreign licet maledictionem inferrent ſibi liberi, non corrugavit tamen in eos frontem, although they brought a curſe upon them ſelves, or curſed themſelves, yet he never frowned upon them: there is a twofold curſe, as there is a twofold bleſſing, a verball curſe and a reall curſe, they really curſed themſelves by their lewd lives, and in the meane time, Eli non corrugavit frontem in eos, hee did not ſo much as frowne upon them for their ſins,Brutus executeth his owne ſonnes. but ſaid unto them, Why do ye ſuch things my ſonnes? Bernard ſaid well, Quia ira Eli tepuit in filios, ira Dei exarſit in illum. Brutus, when his ſonnes played the traytors hee executed them with his owne hands, being Conſull; therefore the hiſtory ſaid of him, Exuit patrem ut indueret conſulem: ſo ſhould a Chriſtian father lay aſide fond compaſſion, and as a Chriſtian, correct his child: he that will not beat a child with his rod at the commandement of God, will never take a knife to cut his throat, as Abraham would have done at the commandement of the Lord.
Thirdly,God moderateth his correction. when God correcteth his children he moderateth his correction; when he puniſheth the wicked, he puniſheth them in wrath, Nah. 1.9. Non ſurget bis afflictio, that is, the wicked ſhall totally & finally be conſumed at once; So Eſay 30.32. And in every place where the grounded ſtaffe ſhall paſſe; The Lords rod of correction paſſeth over his children,Gods rod paſſeth over his children, but it lyeth upon the wicked. and lieth not long upon them; but is a grounded ſtaffe upon the wicked, & overthroweth them.
When God correcteth his children, In the midſt of his anger hee remembreth mercy, Hab. 3.2. and Lament. 2.4. Hee ſtood with his right hand as an adverſary: God is but like an adverſary, hee is not an adverſary. When the Epha was carried to Shinar, Zach. 5.8, 9. it was carried by women having the wings of a ſtorke: why carried they it upon the wings of a ſtorke? becauſe the ſtorke is called chaſidah, benignitie; to teach them, that in the midſt of his anger he remembreth mercy.foreign benignitas. 2. Sam. 7.11. I will correct him with rods of men, but in the originall it is more ſignificative,foreign virga ſenum, vel hominum debilium. Beſhebhat anaſhim, with the rods of old or weake men; for even as a ſilly feeble old man layeth on but a weake blow: ſo doth the Lord correct his children but with a faint blow:The rods of men what. and hee correcteth them with the ſtripes of men, that is, which men are able to beare. Ier. 46.28. Caſtigabo te in Iudicio, & non evacuabo te, I will correct thee in meaſure, yet not utterly cut thee off; or, I will not leave the wholly unpuniſhed. So parents when they correct their children,Parents in correcting their children ſhould moderate their corrections. in the midſt of their anger they ſhould remember mercy; A bridle for the aſſe, a whip for the horſe, and a rod for the fooles back, Prov. 26.3. Scourge not thy ſonne upon the backe like the foole, there ſhould be neither liver, tumor, nor ſanguis, blewneſſe of the wound, ſwelling, nor blood, except the offence be very great, Prov. 20.30. it ſhould not be virga furoris, or virga exactoris, Eſay 9.4. and 10.5. as thoſe who were the task-maſters of Egypt, whipt the poore Iſraelites with many ſtripes; the fathers rod ſhould not be foreign,foreign ab foreign infuria. contumelioſa verberatio.
God corected his children in meaſure, Pſal. 78.50. jephalles natibh leappo, Hee weigheth a path for his wrath; foreign Libravit ſemitam irae ſuae.in correcting hee doth all things In pondere, numero & menſura, in weight, number, and meaſure; there is a threefold meaſure, the firſt is menſura menſurans, the ſecond is menſura menſurata, and the third is quantitas menſurae, as pondus. In that viſion of Zachariah, cap. 8.9. yee may ſee all theſe three, firſt menſura menſurans, Threefold meaſure.the ſinnes of the Iewes was the Epha, the puniſhment was menſura menſurata, which was meaſured, and the weight of their iniquity was the talent of lead.
This correction ſhould bee with inſtruction, and therefore the Hebrewes marke that muſar is called both inſtruction and correction;foreign Diſciplina. Caſtigatio. and correctio is called diſciplina pacis. Muſar ſhelomenu, The chaſtiſements of our peace was upon him, Eſay 53.5. that is,foreign Diſciplina pacis. the chaſtiſements which brought our peace; and ſo when wee are chaſtiſed, It bringeth forth the quiet fruit of righteouſneſſe, Heb. 12. this is the comfortable fruit of correction.