3. It is a gift and a blessing dispensed as a reward and heritage, with respect to the obedience or disobedience of their parents. God would by all ways and means engage us to godliness. Now because our temporal happiness or misery much dependeth upon our relations and children, he would make this one motive to invite us to walk in his ways. This is one way or means to let in happiness or trouble upon us. Sometimes he promiseth children, and flourishing children, as a reward of piety ; and threateneth no children, or unhappy children, as a punishment of disobedience. See Job v. 4, compared with 25. Of the wicked it is said, ver. 4, ' His children are far from safety ; they are crushed in the gate, and there is none to deliver them.' It is promised to the godly, ver. 25, ' Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring shall be as the grass of the earth.' So the second commandment : Exod. xx. 5, 6, 'I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments ; ' and many other places. Though not all the godly, and only they, have the gift of prosperity, and a successful posterity, yet God is pleased in express terms to adopt this blessing into the covenant. Wicked parents are ordinarily great snares and plagues to their children, and the godly prove great blessings. Because this is an argument often pressed in scripture, I shall a little state it, how far wicked parents may procure a judgment, and godly parents a blessing, to their children.
[1.] How far wicked parents may procure a judgment to their children. Ans. Punishments are either temporal or eternal. For eternal, no man is punished with eternal punishment for another's sins properly and directly ; there we stand upon our own personal account : occasionally a child may be punished eternally for his father's sin, as being deprived of the means of grace by the parent's revolt from the true religion. As for external means, the parents, who are a kind of
90 SERMON UPON PSALM GXXVII. 3.
tiiistees, may put away the means of grace from their families. When God cometh to tender grace to them, he tendereth it to them in the name of their whole house : Luke xix. 9, ' This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch also as he is the son of Abraham.' As a believer, he had an interest in Abraham's promises : Gen. xvii. 7, ' I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee.' So Acts xvi. 31, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house ; ' that is, put in a way of salvation. If a family reject the strictness of profession, and give up themselves to cursing, swearing, uncleanness, gaming, hatred of reformation and of a lively ministry, the children born in the family may be justly left to be wicked by these examples, and prejudiced against the ways of God.
For temporal punishments. These may be supposed to come both on those that continue in their wicked parents' paths and courses, or on those who do break them oif by repentance.
(1.) If they continue in them, then both parents and children are considered as one body and society . Isa. Ixv. 6,7, 'I will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together.' There is a cup still filling ; and when we add more water, then it runneth over. As by a figure added to a number already set, the value is increased to a much greater sum than the single figure would bear if it stood alone, so the personal sins of the child are made much more heinous by th^ foregoing offences of the parents ; or, as a fire that is already kindled, when it meeteth with more combustible matter, the flame is the more increased, so by the addition of the children's sins to their ancestors', the judgment is made more exemplary and remarkable ; nay, it may be the judgment may begin with the children, when the parents in this world do escape and go unpunished. The parents kindle the fire, and the children come and cast in more fuel ; and then no wonder if the burning be the greater.
(2.) If they be godly. The judgments may continue, though they be sanctified, to their holy posterity. Thus God's quarrel for the sins of Manasseh continued in the days of good Josiah : 2 Kings xxiii. 26, ' The Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, where- with his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provoca- tions wherewith Manasseh had provoked him.' Thus godly children may bear in their bodies the fruits of their parents' uncleanness and intemperance ; and their estates, which they had from their parents, may moulder away in their hands. And this may teach parents, as they love their children, to beware Of leaving such sad debts upon the heads of their posterity. Their children shall smart for the fruits of their sin. We often see that the godly children of wicked parents are ruined for the sins of their families, both in their persons and estates. IE you ask, For what sins ? Perversion of God's worship, as in the second commandment ; persecution of God's children ; so Ahab's pos- terity was rooted out: 1 Kings xxi. 29, ' I will bring the evil in his son's days.' Ill getting an estate : hceredilates transeunt cum onere — the inheritance passeth with its burden. There is a curse goeth along with it. Parents sell their own souls to make their children great, and