THERE needs no Preface to a Proverb. This is one of the Aphorisms of the Wise Man, which are therefore highly to be valued, and diligently to be observed, be­cause he had the Wisdom which is from above. God is the Master of these Sentences: And they are of ex­cellent Use for the Regulation of Mens Lives and Actions through all the various affairs of this Life.

In this Book we are furnished with Ethicks, Oeco­nomicks, and Politicks; by which every Man may know how to govern himself, every Master may know how to govern his Family, and every Magi­strate [Page 2]may know how to govern those that are un­der his Jurisdiction and Authority.

My Text hath relation to the last of these, and is fit for our Direction in the great Affair of this Day.

I cannot, in the first place, but take notice of So­lomons Supposition, which is the necessity of Autho­rity or Government. There needs no Interregnum to convince us of this: For by the dayly Irregula­rities and Outrages of Men under a strict Govern­ment and severe Laws, we may conclude, that if there were no Authority to punish Offenders, the World would be worse than a Forest of Wild Beasts: And all honest Men, like Job, would curse the day in which they came into it. Nay, it would, in one respect, be worse than Hell it self, where the Devils have Bel­zeebub for their Head, and are under a sort of Go­vernment, as we learn from our Blessed Saviour.

As therefore it is of absolute necessity that there should be Government, so it is one of the greatest Con­cerns of this Life, that there should be Righteous Go­vernours.

The due Administration of Justice in a City, is like the Fountains or Rivers which supply it, without which the Inhabitants could not subsist. And where there is Male-Administration, that City would be like to Jericho, of which 'tis said, 2 King. 2.19. that it is well scituated, but the Waters are naught. And where there hath been any such Miscarriage, a Righteous Magistrate may, like Elisha, make the Waters to be sweet again.

I come now to that which I chiefly intend, which is to shew,

• First, Who is a Righteous Magistrate. And,
• Secondly, That the People have cause to Rejoyce in him.

We may understand the Word Righteous in the largest sense, as taking in all necessary Qualifications for the Magistratioal Office. And these I shall rank under Six Heads.

I. The First is Wisdom. The Government of a great City, is of great Importance, and requires great Wisdom and Prudence for the management of it; for he must be a Wile Man both in the Government of himself and others.

First, In the Government of himself, and this must be over his Appetite, and over his Passion.

1. He must govern his Appotite, that by luxurious Eating and Drinking, he may not be unfit for the discharge of his great Undertaking. The Sin of Drunkenness is a shame to the meanest Beggar, but how inexpressibly shameful is it in him, who is to punish the Drunkard and the Beggar too. The Scrip­ture calls Magistrates, Gods; because they are in God's place on Earth, to execute Justice and Judgment: But they are very unfit to be called so, who are un­worthy to be called Men.

I have read of Two Laws amongst the Heathens, for the prevention of this Sin in Magistrates: One [Page 4]was, that they should drink no Wine: And the o­ther was, that they should be put to Death, if they drank too much. So necessary was Sobriety and Tem­perance accounted in them that govern, by those who had not the Laws of Heaven to oblige them to it, as Christians have.

Places of Authority are Places of Honour, in which Men must have a care that they be not guilty of any Vice, which will be a reproach to them whilst they live, and cause their Names to rot when they are dead.

History tells us of a great Magistrate, of whom it was said, that he lived, non ut vivat sed ut bibat, he lived only to gratifie his drunken Appetite. And when he was turned out of his Office, and for grief hanged himself, the people derided his dead Body, and said, There hangs up a Tankard. So odious was Intemperance in him, who should have been an Example of Sobriety, and a Punisher of that Vice of which he himself was guilty. Solomon saith, Eccl. 10.16. Wo unto thee O Land when thy Princes eat in the Morning. And v. 17. Blessed art thou O Land when thy Princes eat in due season, for strength and not for drunkenness. Where, by eating, we are to understand luxurious eating and drinking. Eating and drinking is far from being the end of our Beings, but appointed as a means to enable us for the duties of our several Places; the doing of which is a great end for which we live. This Tem­perance ought to be the care of all Men, and in an especial manner, of all those who are in Authority. Their Minds had need to be upon their business, and not upon their Bellies, upon whom the Wel-fare of a [Page 5]great City doth so much depend. They should imi­tate Moses, of whom we read, Exod 18.13. that he arose in the Morning to sit in Judgment. And David saith, Psal. 108.1. I will early destroy all the Wicked of the Land. By which Expesitors understand, that he made the Morning to be the time of Judicature. He was an early riser to do his Devotion to God, Psal. 5.3. My Voice shalt thou hear in the morning, in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up. And from that Duty, like a pious Magistrate, he went to the discharge of the other. It was Gods special Command to the House of David, Jer. 21.12. that they should execute Judgment in the morning, which was anciently the time of that Administration, because Magistrates were then more sit for that great Affair than after they had eaten and drank. Intem­perance makes a Man forget his business, and there­fore the Heathens were wont to call the God of Wine the Son of Forgetfulness. If Magistrates are guilty of this, it may cause them to pervert Justice. The Prince who was made sick with bottles of Wine, stretched out his hand with scorners, Hos. 7.5. when he should have stretched out his hand against them.

2. There must be wisdom in the government of his Passion, I mean that of anger, for when that pre­vails it is a second drunkenness. And truly he that is in the seat of judicature had need to have com­mand of himself, considering how many, and how great the provocations are which he dayly meets with. We read of wise Heathens, who were very averse to Magistratical engagements, because of the vexations that attended them. One said, that he could better endure banishment. Another, that he had rather go to his grave in quiet. Most certain [Page 6]it is, that the Office will try the Temper and Pa­tience of him that undertakes it. Moses was the meekest Man in the world, and yet not always meek enough to govern his passion when disturb'd by a disorderly and Murmuring people, who (as the Psalmist saith) provoked him so, that he spake unadvi­sedly with his lips, for which God was offended at him. Solomon saith, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruseth his Spirit, than he that taketh a City, Prov. 16.32. The meaning is, that he who overcomes himself is more to be valued than he who, by force and violence, overcometh others. Immoderate anger is called by the Latines Impotentia. It is the weakness and impotency of a man, which will give occasion to the Envious to Reproach them that are placed above them. Where passion prevailes in the chief Magistrate, the whole City may be discompos'd by his discomposure. And amongst other evils (which are too many for me to reckon up) this great one is to be expected from a passionate Magistrate, viz. passing hasty judgment, it being impossible for him with due attendance and sedateness, to weigh and consider all that is offered on both sides. Slanderous Ziba putting King Da­vid into a passion, caused a very undeserved severi­ty against Mephibosheth. It was a good saying con­cerning good Magistrates. Ad puniendum, non [...]racun­dia sed equitate, ducuntur. 'Tis not passion, but equi­ty, that is their guide.

2. He must have wisdom to govern others. By wisdom I chiefly mean, knowledge of the Laws which he is to execute, and of those rights and priviledges which he is to preserve. What Solomon saith of a [Page 7]Nation, I may say of a City (Prov. 28.) By a man of understanding, the state thereof is prolonged. It reflects upon the Wisdom of Electors when a man is cho­sen, who is only Honored to his Face, because of his High Station, and ridicul'd behind his back, in ma­ny Companies, for his great inability to perform the duty of it. And I may use the words of Selo­mon in another place, with little alteration, Eccl. 10. v. 16. Wo unto thee, O City when thy Governour is a Child; which is all one in reference to age and understanding. It was a great judgment which God threatned to the disobedient: That he would take away the mighty man, and the prudent man, and give them Children to be their Princes and Babes to Rule over them, Esa. 3. And on the contrary, it is a great blessing of God to have wise and good governours, which he promised by the prophet Esaiah as an en­couragement to reform the disobedient, (c. 1.25.) I will restore thy Judges at the first, and thy Coun­cellors as at the beginning: Such as Moses, and Joshua, and David were. The world never was without mischievous men who would destroy the welfare of it, nor any great City without those that seek to un­dermine its peace and prosperity: By which every one may understand how necessary it is that it should be govern'd by a wise Magistrate, according to that of Solomon, Prov. 29.8. Scornful men, or (as 'tis ren­dred) pestilent men bring a City into a snare, but Wise Men turn away wrath. They prevent the fury of those men. It was a good saying of a wise Hea­then. Ʋbi preses fuerit Philosophus, ibi civitas erit felix; where the President or Magistrate of a City is a wise man, that City is happy: And another saith, that, of all arts, the well-government of a City hath [Page 8]the preheminence. Wisdom is a necessary Qualifica­tion.. That's the first.

II. A Second is Justice and Uprightness. Which must appear by these two Negatives.

• First, He must not be byass'd by any personal favour.
• Secondly, He must not be byass'd by any sini­ster design of advantage to himself.

First, Not by any personal favour or affection. He must be an upright Man that doth not lean on one side. A Malefactor must not be spar'd for any former friendship, nor receive the greater punishment because of any former pique or prejudice. Solomon saith, Prov. 24, 25. To accept persons in judgment is not good, which (is a Meiosis, and) signifies that it is exceedingly bad and abominable.

We read of two Eminent Heathens who acted di­versly for this principle of uprightness and impar­tiality: One of them being chosen a Senator, and accepting of it, made a splendid Feast to which he invited all his friends, and entertained them with all imaginable respect and kindness: But at the end of it, he took a solemn leave of them, as if he had been going into another Countrey at that time when he was only going into another Station; intimating thereby, that no friend must expect the least favour or kindness from him in the discharge of that Office, in which the peace of his Conscience, and the wel­fare of the City were greatly concern'd. The other [Page 9]being Elected, utterly refus'd it, saying that he would never be placed at that post where he should be obliged to make no difference between his friends and his foes. We may, by these instances, see how just and upright these men were who had only the light of natural Principles, and not that revelati­on of the will of the Righteous Lord, who loveth Righteousness, and whose countenance doth behold the upright, Psal. 11.7. And who threatneth his Eter­nal wrath and displeasure to the unrighteous.

I may add farther, that Magistrates must not only turn their backs upon their friends, and acquaintance, that justice may take place, but upon their nearest and dearest Relations. A Magistrate must be like Melchizedeck, without Father and without Mother. He must imitare our Saviour, who, when he was told, That his Mother and his Brethren were without waiting for him, said, Who is my Mother and my Brethren? Intimating, that he had that business to do, to which Natural Affection must give place. Justice and Up­rightness must prevail above all Obligations what­soever. God and Conscience, and the Publick Good, must be preferr'd above all.

2. As Favour and Affection must not sway a Ma­gistrate; so much less must Covetousness and the Love of Riches. They must be Men of Truth, (that is, Men of Honesty and Sincerity) and hating Covetousness, Exod. 18.21. which is sordid and base in the esteem of all Men. A Magistrate may love his Friend, but he must hate Covetousness.

He that will prostitute Justice to any base merce­nary [Page 10]design, is one that sells his Reputation, and the Reputation of his Electors, and (which is more than all) he sells the Peace of his own Conscience: Or I may say of him as 'twas said of Ahab, He sells himself to work wickedness. This is a Sin so odious to God, and so provoking, that it were better for such a Magistrate, that a Mill stone (and not a Chain) were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the Sea. It were endless to give an Account of all that the Scriptures speak to this purpose. Solomon justly gives the Title of a wicked man to such a Magistrate, Prov. 17.23. A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosome, to per­vert the ways of Judgment; that is, he taketh it se­cretly out of the bosom of another man. But what­ever the Value of the Gift be, it connot compensate the Guilt that is, and the Terror that will be in his own bosome. Let it be never so secret, 'tis as open and manifest to God, as it would be to men, if that which is engraven in his Conscience, were set over his door, Here is Iustice to be Sold.

The Scripture tells us of Rulers, who instead of hating Covetousness, delighted in nothing more than Bribes. The Rulers, with shame, do love, Give ye, Hos. 4.18. The shame spoken of, doth not denote the Temper of the man, for he is past shame, but the Nature of the Crime; to which purpose some Ex­positors read it, O Dedecus! O Ignominia! The Rulers, O Shame! O Disgrace! do love, Give ye. And we find in the beginning of the next Chapter, the severe Judgment of God threatned against them. The like Complaint we find by the Prophet Micah, Chap. 7. ver. 3. They do evil with both hands earnestly. The Prince asheth, and the Judge asketh a Reward, and the [Page 11]great Man uttereth his mischievous desire, so they wrap it up. There were corrupt Magistrates, who for a Re­ward, would gratifio mischievous Designs, and let Justice and the prosecution of it, drop out of their hands. They had but two hands, and they were both wickedly employ'd, They did evil with both hands earnestly, and the mischievous desires were wrapt up. But God would not wrap them up, for he hastned their visitation and perplexity, in the next Verse. This is hateful to God and man. When the man that took a Reward was cursed, all the People were to say Amen, Deut. 27.25.

There is another Consideration which I am loath to omit. He that is guilty of this abominable sin, is a Reproach to this brave and generous City. All the three Kingdoms, and it may be, most of the Kingdoms in this part of the World, do ring of the Noble and Charitable Acts which have been done by the Magistrates and other Worthy Citizens of Lon­don, such as have not with shame lov'd, Give ye; but, with honour and renown, have lov'd, I will give.

They have been, and are at this day, Fathers of the Fatherless, by whose Bounty, Orphans, who might have perished, are so happily provided for when their Parents are dead and gone, that as 'tis said in Job, Their Children come to Honour and they know it not.

They are Husbands to the Widows, who are so comfortably relieved, that (as Job saith of himself) they make the Widows hearts to sing for joy.

They are good Samaritans, who have provided [Page 12]Houses for the Wounded, and Wine and Oyl to sup­ply them, to the end of the World.

They have provided Hospitals for the Lame and Impotent, who have been carryed in, with pale faces, and dejected countenances, but have come out again, like the man whom the Apostles cured, walking and leaping and praising God, for such Benefactors.

And a most excellent Structure is built for those who have lost themselves, their Reason I mean, (with­out which all the World signities nothing) who have had that Benefit by their Charity, which the Luna­ticks in the Gospel had by our Saviours Miracles, restoration to their right Minds.

'Tis Pity, that a Covetous man should ever be the Governour of a City, that hath been so libe­ral. And the Truth is, those that are Citizens in­deed, will account themselves obliged to do such worthy Acts, as a grateful Acknowledgment of the good which they have received in the City. We of­ten find in the Scriptures, that Cities are called Mo­thers, and the Citizens are called their Children; from which we may conclude, that there lies a kind of Natural Obligation upon them to do good to the City, in which they enjoy Prosperity, and which hath been as a tender Mother that hath swadled and brought them up, Lam. 2.22. And such Worthy Men are highly to be valued. We read in St. Lukes Gos­pel, Chap. 7. That when the Centurions Servant, who was dear to him, was taken sick, the Elders came to our Saviour to desire him to go to his House, and urged this prevailing Argument, He is worthy for whom thou shalt do this, for he loveth our Nation and [Page 13]hath built us a Synagogue. He who loveth the City, and hath a mind disposed to Acts of Piety and Cha­rity, is worthy of all the Respect and Honour that Citizens can shew to him.

III. A third Qualification is Diligence. A Ma­gistrate must be a Man that will bestir himself, to do God and the King and the City service, in his great Station. He who loves to have his hand in his bosom, ought not to have the sword put into it. He must be like Job who was diligent as well as just (and if he had not been diligent he could not have been just) who saith, Chap. 29, 16. The cause which I knew not I searched out. He did not con­sult his own ease, by hudling up the cause which came before him, but searched into the bottom of it: And in this he shewed himself to be a Righteous Magistrate, according to that of Solomon, Prov. 29.7. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor, but the wicked regardeth not to know it. Magistrates, as 'tis said in Deutronomy, Ch. 13. v. 14. must enquire and make search and ask diligently. The Office, though very Honourable, is very burthensom, (as Jethro told Moses) it had not need to be laid upon the shoul­der of him that loves his ease. Moses his diligence made him an excellent Magistrate who was from the Morning unto the Evening sitting in Judgment, Exod. 18, 13.

IV. A Magistrate must have Courage. He must not be afraid to do his Duty, whomsoever he dis­obliges. He cannot be a righteous Magistrate who is not a Couragious one, because he will be afraid to do his Duty, upon the appearance of any danger. [Page 14]He must not be like Ephraim, A Silly Dove without Heart, but one who will know his place, and make others know it too. He that saith, This man will be Angry, and the other will be disobliged, is more fit to have a Feather than a Sword born before him. Solomons Throne was supported by Lions, to signifie that those that are in Authority must be as bold as that Creature.

As Uprightness and Impartiality is necessary for doing right to the Poor; so is Courage and Magna­nimity, for the punishing of great and rich Offen­ders. Magistrates must fear God, but they must not fear men. The Electors should therefore resolve as Gideon did, that they will not have one who is fear­ful and afraid, but one that will do by the stoutest Offender, as David did by the Lyon and the Bear, when the Lamb was taken out of the Flock. He was not afraid to take the Lyon by the Beard and slay him, to rescue the poor innocent Creature, 1 Sam. 17.35. He must be as stout in the Execution of his Office, as Job was, who brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoyl out of their teeth, Job 29.17. He must not do by Men as Saul did by the Amalekites Cattle. God commanded him to slay all the Cattle, and he only slew the leanest, and spared the fattest, because he feared the People and obeyed their Voice. Achilles's Armour must not be on a Cowards back. The Punishment of a great Malefactor, is a fearing Example to the small ones, because it convinceth them, that the Magistrate is resolved that no evil­doer, brought before him, shall escape.

V. Loyalty to the Supream Magistrate, is another [Page 15]necessary Qualification. Qui Coesarem portat, He that bears the King's Authority in his hand, will be the fitter to govern if he bears true Affection to him in his Heart. And to chuse one that doth not, may prove very fatal.

The Loyalty of the Chief Magistrate of the Me­tropolis or Imperial City, is a great security to the Crown, because danger doth commonly arise there. What Alexander once said to one of his Chieftains, in whom he placed great considence, may the King and Queen say to the Lord Mayor of this City, if he be Loyal; If you be awake I may sleep. The King sees with the Eyes of his Magistrates, and with none more than with His Eyes, who sitteth in the Chair of this great City. This is probably the meaning of Solomon, Prov. 20.8. A King that sitteth upon the Throne scattereth away all evil with his eyes; that is, with the Eyes of his Magistrates. And if they be so blind that they will not see, the Kings and the Peoples Case must be very dangerous.

And there is a necessity of more than ordinary Loyalty at this Time, when the great Concerns, not only of this but of other neighbouring Nations, re­quire the Kings frequent and long absence. And when there are so many amongst us, who are so in­sensible of our wonderful Deliverance from the Ty­ranny o [...] Popery, that they would bring us back a­gain into that worse than Aegyptian Bondage: Men who desire nothing so much as to act the part of blind Sampson, by pulling down the House the they perish themselves by the fall of it. When the Dis­ciples would have fetch'd Fire from Heaven, to de­stroy [Page 16]the Samaritans, our Saviour rebuked them and said, Ye know not what Spirit ye are of. What Spirit then are these men of, who would fetch Fire from Hell, (I mean from France) to destroy their own Country-men and the men of their own Religion? But I hope there will be a Lord Mayor chosen again, who will use his utmost diligence to disappoint the Design of these blind Protestants. The Jesuits (Thanks be to God) are gone, but wherever they are, they cannot but be exceedingly pleased, that they have Protestant Agents who are carrying on that Design which will bring them all back again, to sit at the Helm as they did before. By this it may appear what a necessary Qualification Loyal­ty is.

VI. And Lastly, Piety, which is the best Quali­fication. He that ruleth men must be just, ruling in the fear of God, 2 Sam. 23.3. The Antient Romans would not endure that a Sentence should be pass'd by a vitious Magistrate. Good Magistrates make good Cities. When God would restore to his Peo­ple, Judges as at the first, and Counsellors as at the beginning, it presently follows, Thou shalt be called, The City of Righteousness, the faithful City, Esa. 1.26. And on the contrary, Cities are spoyled when they are governed by vitious Men. It the Magistrate be a Ruler of Sodom, 'tis the way for the Citizens to be the People of Gomorrha.

A Pious Magistrate is therefore highly to be va­lued, because he will have a special regard to Re­ligion, and the Church of God. He will remember the Lord and let Jerusalem, as well as London, come in­to [Page 17]his mind, Jer. 51.50. It hath pleased God to bless our Church with many pious and Learned Pre­lates. And if it pleaseth God to bless our State with Pious and wise Magistrates, we may hope that we shall be at unity in our selves, and that judg­ment will run down like waters, and righteousness with such a mighty stream, that vicious men will not be able to stemm the torrent of it. God guided his people through the wilderness by Moses and Aaron. When Magistrates and Ministers joyn in the promo­ting of Gods Honour, we may expect that piety should encrease, and wickedness be supprest. Mi­nisters cannot do it alone. We can only tell sin­ners of the wrath of God that is to come, and they either look upon it at a distance, which they may timely enough prevent: Or else they will not believe it till they irrecoverably fall under it. But the wrath of the Magistrate is like a Roaring Lion, to them in this world that is ready to tear them if they obey not. The sword of the Spirit will not reach them, but the Sword of the Magistrate may. They are too hard to be hewn by the Prophets, but they may be hewn by the Magistrates. We com­plain with sorrowful hearts, that we labour in vain, but the Magistrate shall not need to bear the sword in vain, but may be a terrour to evil doers: And he hath reason to expect that God will be a terror to him, if he be not. The Magistrate should consi­der that his Sword is the Sword of the Lord, as [Page 18]well as Gideons for the overcoming of those that are enemies to God and Goodness.

Cato exhorting Magistrates to punish offenders, said, That those who can suppress wickedness, and will not, deserve to be ston'd to death, Quod ad scelerum licentiam invitarent improbos. By not pun­ishing wickedness they invited men to the com­mission of it. The Councel therefore which Jethro gave to Moses, is fit to be observerd by the Citi­zens this day, viz. That they Chuse an able Man, and one that fears God, Exo. 18.21. And such a Man will do as Moses did, v. 16. Make the people to know the statutes of God and his Laws, by severely punishing the disobedient.

Thus I have given you the qualifications which make a Righteous Magistrate. And the nearer that any man comes to these, the Happier will the City be, and the greater cause will the Citizens have to rejoyce.

I Come now to the second thing in the Text. The people Rejoyce, of which I shall need to speak but little, because every considerate man knows that the due Administration of Justice by a Magistrate duly qualified, is the great preservative of his Hap­piness. David could call for no greater hurt to his enemies than that a wicked man should be set over [Page 19]them. And, by the Rule of Contraries, 'tis one of the greatest blessings of this life for any Nation or City to have a Righteous Man set over them. A Governour of Atheas thanked God, that he ne­ver made an Athenian weep. A Righteous Magi­strate will take such Care of the City, and of the Rights and priviledges of it, as never to grieve an Honest Citizen By such a one, good men will be greatly encouraged, and vicious men will be se­verely punished, which is a great cause of rejoy­cing. When the Righteous are exalted, the City re­joyceth; and when the wicked perish, there is shouting, Prov. 11.10.

We read of a Heathen who refused the Office of a Magistrate, saying, That if he govern'd ill, he should offend the Gods; And if he govern'd well, he should offend the Citizens. But (thanks be to God) as bad as the world is, it is not so bad but that those who take Care to Govern well, shall please the Citizens. A Righteous Magistrate will have that applause from all good and sober men, which Job had ch. 29.11. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me. He, being a Righteous Magistrate, all that saw him or heard him, rejoyced in him.

As therefore you expect such a Magistrate, be careful that you have a right Aim in your Choice, [Page 20]and that you be not misguided by favour or affection or any sinister end. Let me give my advice to you in these two concluding particulars.

First, Act like true Citizens, that value the good and wellsare of the City, and be not byass'd to Act contrary to your own judgment. Con­sider.

First. That personal Obligations must not sway you in such a great concern as the choice of a Ma­gistrate. You must not do the City an injury be­cause a particular man hath done you a kindness. If in this Case, my best friend and my greatest enemy should be in Competition, and I am satisfied that my Enemy is the fittest man to govern and would be most serviceable to the City; I cannot satisfie God, and my own Conscience, if I do not vote for my enemy, because tis the publique good from which I must take my measures.

2. The Relation and Obligations of a Society must not prevail. I must confess that it is a very pleasant sight to behold the brotherly love, which the members of particular Societies shew to each o­ther. And when a Brother of a Company proves in a Mans Judgment, to be the fittest man, 'tis great satisfaction to the mind: But otherwise a man shall deal Perfidiously and Treacherously by the Ci­ty. [Page 21]'Tis (according to what I mention'd before) as if a man should kill his Mother to do his Brother a kindness. Besides, every man desires to have a Magistrate that will Act impartially, without favour and affection, but how can you expect it if you are partial, and act only from personal favour and affection in the choice of him? It is a great concern; And though it be but for one year, yet it may prove a very Critical one, and may require great wisdom, as well as the other qualifications, in him whom you make the Chief Magistrate. Solomon tells us, Eccl. 9.14. A parable of a poor wise man, who delivered a City by his wisdom, when a great King came a­gainst it. We know that there is a Potent King who wages war against us, and if by Treachery or force he can overcome this City, he will look upon his work as more then half done. And what a great blessing then may a wise man be, who hath Authority as well as wisdom, to preserve the City?

2. Act like good Christians. Let me beseech you in the name of that God who is the God of peace, and by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace, that there be no Unchristian Jarrings and Contentions amongst you, which are a great dishonor to our Religion, and a great preju­dice to the Souls of Men. How can you expect that God should prosper your choice, if you offend him [Page 22]at the same time? Remember I beseech you, that if you are True Christians, you are fellow-Citizens with the Saints, and of the Houshold of God, which is the highest Obligation to Christian Love and U­nity. Every man may use his priviledge, though he doth not disparage the name of Christianity. He may Vote according to the best of his judgment without shewing any disrespect to him that Votes for other men. It is a very deplorable Case, if a Christian Magistrate cannot be Chosen by Christian Citizens without the breach of Christian Love.

I pray God of Heaven keep you from Ʋnchristian Heats and Animosities, and give you his direction and blessing in this great and important affair; that a Righteous man may be in Authority, and that you may all have cause to Rejoyce in him.