The covenant of nature made with Adam described and cleared from sundry great mistakes. And thereby proving, I. That the kind of death that was threatned in that covenant, in Gen. 2.17. ought not to be understood of any other kind of death but of a double spiritual death, 1. By depriving Adam of Gods concreated image: and 2. By corruption of nature that followed thereupon. II. Proving that the said covenant was totally extinguished and made utterly null, as soon as Adam had but tasted of the forbidden fruit, and received the said threatned punishment. III. Expounding Gal. 3.10. and proving that the curse therein threatned must not be understood of the curse of the said covenant of nature, but of that curse that is threatned in the covenant of grace to the fallen posterity of Adam, for their not doing of Moses law by faith in Christ, which was given to them for the covenant of grace and reconciliation only. ... VIII. Expounding Rom. 8.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8. in ch. 25. By William Pynchon.

Of Punishment properly so called.

6. Grotius saith thus in p. 310.

"Among things which nature it self di∣ctates to be lawfull and not unjust, this is one, That he who doth evill, should suffer evill: This (saith he) the Philosophers call, A most Ancient and Radamanthean Law. And, saith he, pertinent is that saying of Plu∣tarch, Justice accompanieth God to punish them that transgresse the Law Di∣vine, &c.

And (saith he) Plato said,

"That neither God nor man will say that an offender ought not to be punished.

And (saith he)

"Hierax by this (as the noblest part) defined justice to be an exacting of punishment from offenders.

"And (saith he) punishments properly so named, must be rendred to some offence, as it is also noted by Austin. All punishment (saith he) if it be just, is the punishment of sinne: which saith Grotius, is to be un∣derstood of those punishments also that God inflicteth: though in them sometimes (as the same Father speaketh) the sin is secret, where the punishment is not secret. [And Elihu said the same to Job, God (saith he) will not lay upon man more than right, least he should go unto judgement with God, Job 34. 23.] And see more in D^r Ames in Medul. par. 1. c. 12. N. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

6. Grotius sheweth in pag. 400.

"That none is justly punished (in propriety * 1.1 of speech) for anothers fault; none (saith he) that is free from fault, can be punished for the fault of another, because (saith he a little after) the obligation to punishment ariseth from merit, [and merit (saith he) is personal,] having its original from the will, than which no∣thing is more ours, whence it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

And 'tis also often af∣firmed by Peter Martyr,

"That this is properly the merit of punishment, in Com. Pl. p. 163, 165.

And saith Grotius, Jerom saith,

"Neither are the virtues, nor the vices of Parents imputed to their children, Epist. 3. in morte nepot.

And Austin saith,

"That God himself should be unjust, if he should condemn any one guiltlesse, Epist. 105.

But M^r Norton doth make God to condemn Christ, to the suffering of the essentiall torments of Hell, being altogether guiltlesse; namely, in not any having any personal guilt from his own will.

Dion Chrysostome saith,

"That Gods Law is not like the Athenian sancti∣on, that is added to Solons Laws, in punishing the posterity of trans∣gressors. Gods Law, (namely, his moral Law of nature) doth not pu∣nish the children and posterity of offenders, but every one is the Author of his own cal••mity.

Pertinent is the Proverb, Noxa caput sequitur: and that saying of the Emperours punishment, must remain there where the * 1.2 fault is; and let sinnes, (i.e. the punishment of sinnes) light onely upon their Authors, and the fear go no further than the offence. But D^r Bilson doth thus recite the Laws of the said Christian Emperours, (Arcadius and Honorius,)

"We appoint that punishment shall be where the fault is: let

offences bind their committers, and let no fear of punishment extend further than to such as are guilty of crime. Vide Codic. l. 9. Tit. 47. de poenis.

And saith Plato,

"It is just that the punishment should rest where the sinnes do, reprehending the customes of some Nations, that put to death the innocent children of Tyrants or Traitors.

which custome Dionysius Halicarnassensis reprehendeth also, and shews the iniquity of the preten∣ded reason, viz.

"That children will be like their Parents. And saith Seneca, Nothing is more unjust than that one should inherit his Fathers hatred.

7. Saith Grotius in p. 402.

"Though by an immature and violent death, * 1.3 God did cut off the children of Achan, of Saul, of Jeroboam and Ahab: he did it as using the right of Dominion, and not of punishment, and yet in the same act he punished the Parents in a more grievous manner.

But I have before shewed, that the sin of Achan was a national sin, by virtue of Gods supream and arbitrary Law.

But saith Grotius in p. 403.

"Men may not imit••te that vengeance of God, nor is the reason alike, because as we have said, God without any regard of the fault, hath right over the lives, men have not, but upon great crime, and such as is the persons own.

Wherefore that Divine Law, as is forbids Parents to be put to death for their children; so it forbids children to be put to death for the deeds of their Parents: which Law pious Kings have followed, even in the case of Treason, 2 King. 14. 5, 6.

And (saith he) Plato hath a saying which Callistratus the Lawyer ex∣presseth to this sence:

"The crime or punishment of the Father can inflict no blot upon the son, (he adds the cause,) namely, because every one bears that lot, which his own doings have drawn upon him: nor is he made successor of anothers crime.

And saith Cicero,

"Would any Common-wealth endure that Law-giver, by whose Ordinance the Sonne or Grandchild is condemned, if the Fa∣ther or Grandfather be a Delinquent.

And he speaks much more to this purpose in the place cited, to the which I refer the Reader.

8. Saith Grotius in p. 406.

"The cause why an heir being liable to others debts, is not liable to the punishment of the deceased, is, for that the heir beareth the person of the deceased, [not in respect of merits which are meerly personal,] but of goods which are ingaged.

And for this he cites three Authors; and in the beginning of this Chapter, I have cited the words of M^r Baxter to the same purpose. * 1.4

9. Grotius doth soundly convince both the Laws and the practice of some Nations, of great injustice, because they hold it lawfull to take away the life of Hostages, (though innocent in their own persons.) And there∣fore it seemed an atrocity or cruelty to Narses a good General, to take pu∣nishment of innoxious Hostages: And Scipio said,

"That he would not show his displeasure upon harmlesse Hostages, but upon those that had revolted, in pag. 602, 603. And saith he in pag. 542. A just Talion, and properly so called, is to be exercised upon the same person that offend∣eth:

(and not upon an innocent surety) as (saith he) may be under∣stood by what we have said above of Communication of punishment, in pag. 400.

Notes

• * 1.1

  A surety cannot in propriety of speech be justly punished for the fault of ano∣ther. If merit of pu∣nishment be per∣sonal, then the sufferings of Christ cannot in propriety be cal∣led punishments unlesse he were personally guilty of sinne.
• * 1.2

  Lege Sancimus ••. de poenis.
• * 1.3

  It is no good ju∣stice to punish innocent chil∣dren for their Fathers sin.
• * 1.4

  Surcties or Ho∣stages of Warre (if personally innocent, ought not to be put to death for the treachery of the delinquency of others.