Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 4 · Section 5
SECT. 5. Of the horrible crueltie of the Jewes in killing the Lord of Life.
THe Prophet Amos, cap. 1. before hee comes to denounce the Iudgements of God againſt Iſrael for their ſinnes, hee ſets downe firſt foure horrible ſinnes of the countries about, for the which the Lord denyes that he will pardon them, and he ſayes, for three ſinnes, and for foure, I will not pardon, which is like unto that of Salomon, Praeſcriptum numerum corigit & auget ſcriptura.Pro. 30.18. There be three things hid from me, yea foure things which I knew not, ſo v. 21. for three things the earth is moved, yea for foure it cannot ſuſtaine it ſelfe, ſo Pro. 6.16. Sixe things doth the Lord hate, yea his ſoule abhorreth ſeven; that is, hee moſt deteſts the ſeventh, ſo Pſal. 18.1. The Lord delivered him out of the hands of Saul, and the hard of all his enemies, that is eſpecialie out of the hands of Saul. So ſearch the land and Iericho, Ioſ. 2.1. that is eſpecially Iericho, ſo tell the Diſciples and Peter, Mar. 16.10. that is eſpecially Peter, becauſe hee had fallen from the Lord, this is called foreign. So for three tranſgreſsions and for foure, that is eſpecially for the fourth when many tranſgreſſions concurre together, and the laſt is the greateſt; then he will not ſpare.
The ſinne of Damaſcus was this,The cruelty of Damaſcus againſt Gilead. That they threſhed Gilead with inſtruments of Iron, Amos 1.3. and this they did when Hazael ſmote the land of Gilead; 2 King. 10.33. and they threſhed them with inſtruments of Iron, as they had beene beating out the corne, and cutting the ſtraw with their wheeles made with teeth of Iron. This was the cruelty of Damaſcus to Gilead their neighbours; Then he comes to the ſinne of Gaza, The cruelty of Gaza.which was one of the five Cantones of the Philiſtines, v. 6. Their ſinne was that they carried away the whole captivitie; that is, they left none uncaptivated; whether this be underſtood of Iſrael or of Iudah, it is not expreſſed, but they ſold them to their barbarous enemies the Edomites: It was a cruel thing to carry away people captive; and to carry them all captive; but moſt of all to ſell them to their enemies the Edomites. The third was the ſinne of Tyrus, verſ. 9. becauſe they delivered the whole captivitie to Edom, The ſinne of Tyrus.and remembred not the brotherly covenant; There was no brotherly covenant betwixt them of the captivitie and Gaza, when they led them captive, but there was a covenant betwixt them and Tyrus, for Salomon and Hiram made a covenant together, 1 Kings 9.13: So the ſinne of Tyrus exceeded the ſinne of Gaza. The fourth is the ſinne of Edom, The ſinne of Edom ſurpaſſed the ſinne of Tyrus.his ſin ſurpaſſed the ſinne of Tyrus; for he purſued his brother with the ſword, and caſt off all pitty, and his anger did teare perpetually, and he did keepe his wrath for ever. v. 11. Edom was Iſrael his brother, becauſe their predeceſſors were one, yet hee caſt off all naturall affection, as Eſau hated Iacob, ſo did Edom his poſterity hate the Iſraelites, Eſau hated Iacob and thought to have killed him, returning out of Meſopotamia. So when he deſired liberty to goe through Edom his Countrie; hee withſtood him. So 2 Chron. 28.27. And his anger did teare perpetually: Then he comes to the cruelty of the ſinnes of Ammon verſe 13. Who did rippe up the women with child of Gilead, The cruelty of Ammon exceeded the cruelty of Edom.that they might inlarge their borders, that they might poſſeſſe a land voyde of people, that they might revenge that cruelty: This cruelty of the children of Ammon exceeded the cruelty of Edom, for they killed the women, and they killed their poſterity; The Lord forbiddes to kill the dame ſitting upon the egges, to take both the young and the old.
It was a cruelty in Rechab who killed Iſhboſheth in his owne houſe, lying upon his bed, 2 Sam. 4.6. To kill a man in his owne houſe, which ſhould be a place of refuge to him, is a great ſinne, but to kill him in his bed, that is a greater cruelty; but to kill the children in their Mothers belly, being in their firſt Manſion and at reſt there, that is the greateſt crueltie of all; and then to kill them that they might poſſeſſe and inlarge their inheritance, then occiderunt & poſſiderunt: So that their ſinne was greater than the ſinne of Edom: Then he comes to the ſinne of Moah chap. 2. verſe 1. becauſe he burnt the bones of the King of Edomes ſonne into lime;The ſinne of Moab exceeded the ſinne of Ammon. this was a greater cruelty than the cruelty of the ſonnes of Ammon: firſt hee burnt the bones, then the bones of a Kings ſonne, and then burnt them into Lime, while they were turned into aſhes, and as the Hebrewes ſay they ſparged the walls with them: Then he comes to the ſinne of Iudah, The ſinne of Iudah is greater than the ſinne of Moab.ver. 4. Becauſe they kept not the Commandements of the Lord, and their lyes cauſed them to erre, after the which their fathers have walked. They kept not the Commandement, he ſeemes to ſay leſſe here than he ſpake before, but it is not ſo; for the Hebrewes uſe by denying a thing, to affirme the contrary the more ſtrongly, as they ſay Exod. 20. He will not hold him guilt leſſe that taketh his name in vaine, that is, he will puniſh them ſeverely. So riches not well gotten profit not, that is, they hurt very much. So Prov. 28.21. It is not good to accept perſons in Iudgement, that is, it is very bad. So here they kept not his lawes, that is, they deſpiſed them, and contemned them.The ſinne of Iſrael greater than the ſinne of Iudah. The laſt is the ſinne of Iſrael, verſe 6. They ſold the just for ſilver, and the poore for old ſhooes, here hee points at the Iudges who corrupted Iudgement for money, and ſold the poore at a low price; But if we ſhall compare their cruelty with that which they uſed againſt Chriſt,All their cruelty was nothing being compared with the murthering of our Lorſt Ieſus Chriſt. all their cruelty will ſeeme nothing in reſpect of this, they ſold the juſt, our righteouſneſſe the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, for thirty peeces of ſilver; They ſold not onelyonly a brother who was in the covenant with them, as Tyrus and Iſrael, but alſo a brother in blood to them, as Edom was to Iſrael; And their wrath was an inveterate wrath as Edomes was, and they caſt off all naturall affection: and not onelyonly doe they as Edom did, who was onelyonly a brother in blood, but doe as Moab did, kill the Kings ſonne, his onelyonly ſonne, and put him to a moſt execrable death: they doe not threſh him with Inſtruments of Iron as Damaſcus did, neither ript him up as Ammon did, neither did they burne him as Moab did, but they nailed him to the croſſe, and put him to a moſt execrable death.
They adjudged him to the death of the croſſe,The death of the croſſe is a painefull, ſhamefull, and execrable death. to a death that was a painefull death, a ſhamefull death, and a curſed death: and firſt to a painefull death. The croſſe by the heathen was termed cruciabile lignum, a tree of torture; Therefore ye ſhall ſee in the ſcripture that in reſpect of the intollerable paine, it is called ſanguis crucis the blood of the croſſe, Col. 1.20. and dolores crucis Act. 22. Secondly, it was a ſhamefull death, therefore it was called ſcandalum crucis; Gal. 5.11. and by the heathen the croſſe was called arbor infoelix, ſtipes infamis, and lignum geminum. Lucian mocked us chriſtians, becauſe we rejected the gods of the Grecians and worſhipped Chriſt crucified, and he ſaid foreign, quod cruci ſuffixum ſophiſtam adoramus, that is, that we worſhip a ſophiſter who was nailed unto the croſſe. And laſtly for the curſe of it, it is called Gal. 3.13. foreign, maledictum crucis, the curſe of the croſſe. This death of the croſſe is a paenall death, not as that which is ſtipendium peccati, the wages of ſinne, but as that which is vindicta ſceleris, inflicted for ſome capitall crime. The death of the croſſe is an untimely death, a violent death, a paenall death, and that in the higheſt degree. Paine, ſhame, and the curſe, are the three Iaylers that attend ſinne, and ſinners continually; and every one of thoſe is worſe then another; for ſhame is worſe than paine, and therefore many have made choiſe to ſuffer rather the paine than the ſhame, 1 Sam. 31.4. Saul deſired his armour bearer rather to thruſt him through, than the Philiſtimes ſhould come and mocke him, and then kill him, which would have beene a double death to him: So Abimelech willed his armour bearer to kill him, that men might not ſay that a woman had killed him, Iudg. 9.54. But the curſe is moſt deteſtable of all; If a man be free of the curſe, and have the favour of God in the midſt of all his ſufferings, he cares neither for paine nor ſhame; this made the Martyres to rejoyce, in the middeſt of their paine & ſhame, that they were free of the curſe of God, what a fearefull puniſhment was this to Chriſt under this croſſe.
The death of the croſſe a painefull ſhamefull and a curſed death in Iudae.He that was hanged upon a tree, out of Iudaea, his death was painefull and ſhamefull unto him, but it was not a curſed death, for they knew not out of Indea that he who was hanged upon a tree was accurſed; Haman when he was hanged upon a tree, it was a painefull and a ſhamefull death, but it was not a curſed death to him, as it was in Iſrael, therefore they ſuffered not the dead man to hang upon the tree till night,Nemo ſuſpenditur in arboreus ſolo innatam ſed avulſam. Maimone Hall. Sanhe, dr. cap. 15. medio. The crucifying was a more painefull death than the hanging upon a tree. Deut. 21.23. and Ioſh. 9.29. and they buried him before night, and the tree which he was hanged upon; therefore it was that they would not hang a man upon a fruitfull tree in Iſrael. The Romans changed this hanging into crucifying, and made it a more lingering and painfull death, Pſa. 22.14. All my bones are out of joynt. They were rackt, and their bones put out of joynt, who were hanged upon the croſſe. The croſſe added nothing to the curſe; for they were accurſed who were hanged upon any tree, but it added to the paine in reſpect of the indurance and ſhame of it; it was but a typical death to all other malefactors, but to Chriſt it was a real curſe, who hath taken away that curſe now; So that the forme of death makes not a man accurſed now, but when he dies in his ſins without repentance.
Queſt. How could a malefactor be a type of Ieſus Chriſt when he hung upon a tree?
Anſw. Not as they were malefactors, but onelyonly in their puniſhments, they were types of Chriſt, Who was made an exercration for us, Gal. 3.13. & they foreſhedowed his death who was hung upon a tree for us, 1 Pet. 2.24. even as the Paſchal Lambe, whoſe bones were not broken was a type of Chriſt, whoſe bones ſhold not be broken: and if the holy Ghoſts compare Chriſts comming to judgement to a thiefe comming in the night; and compares the Lord (when hee ariſeth to be avenged upon his enemies) to a Gyant awake from his wine, Eſa. 34.8. (the compariſon is only in the ſtrength, as the former only in the ſecrecie of his comming to judgement) why may not the malefactor be a type of Chriſt in his puniſhment, but not in his ſinne? And as we are delighted when wee heare a man gruntling like a hogge, yet cannot indure the gruntling of the hog it ſelf, but it is the imitation which we are delighted with here: So in theſe compariſons the ſecrecie of the thiefe only, the ſtrength of the Gyant, and the puniſhment of the malefactor is only to be marked: That rule of the Schoolemen is true, In illis quae metaphorice dicuntur, non oportet accipere ſimilitudinem ſecundum omnia.