AS the Jews were a carnal and fleshly People, so were they chiefly intent on, and mindful of those Duties, that were most consistent with their earthly Lusts and Inclinations; and because God had se­parated them from the rest of the World, and taken them into his immediate Care and [Page 2] Government, and had given them particu­lar Laws and Rules for the celebration of his publick Worship, they fondly imagin'd, that God would be indulgent to them, in an ex­traordinary manner: and that if they did but rigorously observe the outward Rites and Ceremonies of Religion, they should by that means attone for all their other Guilts, and render God propitious and favourable to them. And this conceit took such deep Roots in their hearts, and prevail'd so gene­rally amongst them, that though never any people was more regardless of the essential and fundamental Duties of Religion, nor less concern'd for inward Purity and Holi­ness of mind, yet never was any more strict­ly observant of the external and formal parts of Devotion. Thus they would fast often, and pray much, and think no sacrifices too chargeable or expensive for them; and yet at the same time they would gripe and oppress their Neighbours, offer all kinds of injustice and fraud to one another, cherish in their hearts evil Lusts and foul desires, and offend God by plain, open, and direct Immoralities. This God often complains of by his Pro­phets, [Page 3] and tells them, that for this reason he abhorr'd and detested all their religious For­malities and costly Sacrifices; and if they would not reform and repent, he would withdraw his favour and protection from them, and pour down the fiercest instances of his Wrath and Indignation upon them: for that which he delighted most in, was the Purity and Holiness of their minds, and the observance of such Duties, as tended most to the interest and preservation of Societies, and the mutual benefits and advantages of one another. And for this very Reason Solo­mon tells them, To do Justice and Judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice.

The Text is one entire Sentence or Propo­sition, and hath within it self a compleat sense (as the rest of the Proverbs of this Book for the most part have) without either any ne­cessary dependence upon any thing going before, or reference to any thing coming after. And the words are plain, obvious, and accommodated to the most ordinary under­standings. So that as I need not spend any time in searching into the Contexture of the [Page 4] words, so neither in examining the explica­tion of several Commentators and Exposi­tors upon them. And therefore I shall onely further endeavour to confirm the Proposition deduced from the Text,

• 1. From other places of Holy Scripture.
• 2. From the different nature of these two Duties.
• 3. From the different ends of them.
• 4. From the different effects of them.

I. From other places of Holy Scripture, wherein we find God rejecting and abhorring their Sacrifices, if they were not accompani­ed with a real Repentance, and inward sin­cerity of mind, and the outward works of Mercy and Justice. For though God did solemnly enjoyn the Jewes the use of Sacrifi­ces, adopted them by his express Command into their Religion and publick Worship, and gave them particular Rules and Canons for their performance and observation; yet he was so far from intending that they should be either their only Righteousness, or the principal part of it, that he never accepted [Page 5] of them, when they were not in conjunction with other Duties. And for this reason, the Sacrifices of the wicked are said to be an abo­mination to the Lord, especially when he brings it with a wicked mind, Prov. 21. 27. and such are all the sacrifices of unjust and unrighteous men, who have no regard to the known Laws of Equity, and make no dif­ference betwixt what is profitable, and what is just; but having rooted out of their minds all sense of moral Honesty, make use of all the Arts of Cunning, and the force of Power to defraud and oppress, to undermine and lay hold on the Rights and Properties of o­thers. And accordingly Micah 6. 6, 7. we have the Prophet putting this Question, Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow my self before the most High? shall I come before him with burnt Offerings, with Calves of a year old? will the Lord be pleased with thou­sands of Rams, and with ten thousand Rivers of Oyl? Shall I give my first-born for my trans­gression, the fruit of my Body for the sin of my Soul? The Answer to all this is in the Verse following, Viz. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require [Page 6] of thee, but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God? From whence it is plain, that though God had commanded sa­crifices as the principal part of his external Worship, yet he had all along the chiefest re­gard to the Duties of Justice, Mercy and Hu­mility. These were the most especial Ob­jects of his Delight and Pleasure; and with­out the Union and Combination of these Ver­tues Sacrifice was an Abomination to him. Sacrifice without Justice was as ungrateful as Robbery; Sacrifice without Mercy, as pro­voking as Murder; and Sacrifice without Humility, as affronting as Hypocrisie. The wickedness of the man shed a guilt into the Offering; and a Sacrifice of Atonement, when it was brought by an unjust hand, was so o­dious and offensive to God, that it stood in need of another for its expiation. And therefore God speaks to all unjust and un­righteous men, To what purpose is the multi­tude of your Sacrifices? Bring no more vain Oblations to me; Incense is an Abomination to me, Isa. I. 11. From all which places, and several others which I forbear to mention, it is evident, that God rejected Sacrifices, [Page 7] though they were Duties of his own appoint­ment, though they were established parts of his publick worship, if they were not ac­companied with Justice and other moral Du­ties, and consequently that to do Justice is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice.

II. To do Justice and Judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice is evi­dent from the different Nature of these two Du­ties, and the different Grounds, from whence ariseth our Obligation to them. For Sacrifice was grounded upon a positive Precept and Institution: It had its rise from the meer will and good pleasure of God Almighty; so that if Mankind had not received some express Revelation concerning the necessity of this Duty, in all likelihood they would never of themselves have found out any reason for its Observation: But Justice has its foundation in the Nature of God; and if God had never delivered to Mankind any promulgate Law concerning Justice, yet the very natural Noti­on we have of God and his Essential Justice would have sufficiently instructed us in our indispensable Obligations to its practide: [Page 8] and both these I shall endeavour to make appear.

1. Sacrifices were grounded upon a po­sitive Precept, and the Reason of their Ob­ligation was deriv'd from the Express and Revealed Will of God. It's true indeed, that all Nations that have had any sense of God, and own'd his Being by any publick Wor­ship and solemn Acknowledgement, have made use of Sacrifices for this very end and purpose; and from this universal con­sent in practice some have inferr'd Sacrifi­ces to be a Natural Duty, and that it was founded in some common principle in Rea­son. So Paulus Burgensis: In qualibet aetate, & apud quaslibet hominum Nationes, semper fuit aliqua Sacrificiorum Oblatio; Quod au­tem est apud omnes, naturale est. In all Ages (saith he) and among all Nations, there was always some kind of Sacrifices. Now that which was so universal, must of necessity spring from some common principle in Nature. Thus far indeed I confess sacri­ficing Natural, as it was a solemn and sen­sible Ri [...]e of Worship, because Nature which [Page 9] teacheth us to worship God in publick, doth also instruct us to express this publick Wor­ship by some external Rites and sensible In­stances: But that Nature doth so point out and determine the kind, as to teach us to do this by Sacrifices, which consists in the destruction of living and the consumption of useful things, none I presume will ever be able to make out any tolerable proof or evidence to confirm it. For to use the words of a late Learned Prelate, in his excellent Discourse concerning Natural Religion: When it is well consider'd (saith he) what little ground there is to perswade a man, left to his own free Reason, that God should be pleased with the killing and burning of Beasts, or with the destroying of such things by fire, of which better use might be made, if they were dispos'd of some other way; I say when it is well consi­dered what little reason there is to induce such a man to believe, that the killing or burning of Beasts or Birds, or any other thing useful to mankind, should of it self be a proper and na­tural means to testifie our subjection to God, or to be used by way of expiation from sin; it will rather appear probable, that the original of this [Page 10] practice was from Institution, and that our first Parents were by particular Revelation instru­cted in this way of Worship, from whom it was deliver'd down to their successive Generations by verbal Tradition; and by this means was continu'd in those Families who departed from the Church, and proved Heathen in the first Ages of the World; amongst whom this Tra­dition was in course of time, for want of care and frequent renewals, corrupted with many humane superinducements, according to the genius or interests of several Times or Nations.

And indeed if we consult meerly natural Light, we shall discover no necessary Foun­dations in that for Sacrifices; for that does not at all teach us, that the slaying of living Creatures, or the consumption of any useful thing by Fire should be any way pleasing or grateful to God; or that he should ac­cept of it as an acknowledgement of our de­pendence and subjection, or as a satisfaction for sin and disobedience. For what are Blood & Smoak to the God of Spirits? or what com­pensation can the slaying of my Beasts make to Divine Justice for not mortifying my lusts? Can the Blood of a Bull, which is a cor­poreal [Page 11] thing, cleanse the guilt of my Soul, which is a moral defect? Or does the Im­mortal God stand in need of Meat and Drink? Some of the Heathens indeed fan­cied, that their Gods were delighted and re­freshed with the steams and vapours, that ascended from the Sacrifices; and therefore they used to call their Sacrifices, [...], the Food of God; but the reason of this mistake, might be, as I humbly conceive, ei­ther First, the malice and cunning of the Devil, who because he could not wholly root out of mens minds the belief of a God, did therefore endeavour to adulterate the true Notion of Him; that so men having their Souls possess'd with false conceptions and representations of the Deity, they might the more easily mistake both the right man­ner and the true Object of their Worship; and by that means be more readily drawn to give and appropriate it to the Devil. Or Secondly, men finding that Sacrifice had been the constant and general way of Wor­shipping God; and understanding neither the Original nor the true Reason of its Pra­ctice; [Page 12] they might fondly imagine (since they knew no better) their Lusts having darken­ed their understandings) that God might some way or other be pleased and recreated with the Fumes that rise from the Altar. But this was a ridiculous mistake and folly, altogether repugnant to the perfections of the Divine Nature, and the Sentiments of sober Reason, and is sufficient to convince us, that Sacrifice was a Duty not directed by the light of Nature, but that it must be deriv'd from some Positive Precept and In­stitution.

But now Justice is a Vertue, that has its foundation in the Nature of God: For as the Notion of God does include in it all pos­sible and conceivable perfection, so from thence do we discern Justice to be one of his most Essential Attributes. For it would be unreasonable to imagine, that he who is immutably good and perfect, could fall un­der any Temptation of doing any thing, that would not suit with the strictest Rules of Justice and Equity. And therefore the [Page 13] Heathens, who had no knowledge of God, but what was conveyed unto them by the Light of natural Reason, reckoned Justice amongst the fundamental Properties of the Divine Nature; and Plato affirmed, [...], That cannot be said in any kind or respect whatsoever to be unjust, but so far as is possible to be most just. And that this was the general belief amongst them may appear by that universal Custom of Attesting God by solemn Oaths, where­by amongst other of his Attributes, they particularly own'd that of his Justice, and that he would certainly avenge all fraud and unrighteousness. And what was thus di­ctated by the Light of Nature, is fully con­firmed unto us by Gods Revelations in his own Word; wherein he has made such ample discoveries of his own Nature, and of his Dealings with men, that we must needs conclude, that Justice is one of the moral perfections of the Divine Nature, and that God may as soon cease to be, as fail to be just. Shall not the Judge of all the world Gen. 16. [...]5. do right? sayes Abraham. Which Question [Page 14] is an emphatical Affirmation that he will do so. And the Apostle St. Paul rejecteth all suspicions to the contrary, with an Absit. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteous­ness Rom. 9. 14. with God? God forbid! And for this Reason Princes and Governours, Magistrates and Judges, who are Gods Vicegerents and Representatives, and to whom he has intru­sted the care and government of the People committed to their charge, are said toPsal. 82. 6. be Gods. And Gods they are not so much in respect of the sacredness of their Chara­cter, and greatness of their Power, as in the due exercise of their Authority and regular Administration of Justice. For when con­science is their Councellor, and the Law their Rule, and the publick Good their End; when they defend the Innocent and punish the Criminal, and distribute Justice without the mixtures of Passion, and the corruptions of Partiality, then do they shine with Divinity indeed, and they resemble God not only in the participations of his Greatness, but also in the likeness of his Integrity, which adorns their Office, and [Page 15] justifies their Titles more than all their Furrs and Robes and Ensigns of Honour. Zeale for Justice and orderly execution of it, is that which Deifie; Magistrates, exalts their Stations, raiseth them above the com­mon level of Mankind, sets a glory and a lustre upon their persons, makes them sit Objects of our Homage and Reverence; and we may justly affirm of such, that Gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

But then on the other side, when Magi­strates imploy their Power to ends contrary to those for which it was given them, and make use of Gods Authority in a way repu­gnant to his Will (i. e.) when they neglect the Works of Mercy and Justice, they are no more Gods but Idols, nay, the worst sort of Idols, which being made to represent, do yet foully reproach the divine Power. Idols did I say? perhaps you'll think them worse, when I tell you, that the Devil is said [...], to invert the Or­der of things, to change their natural re­spects and Relations, to disgrace Vertue and [Page 16] countenance Vice, to put shame upon Inte­grity and security upon Sin, to punish the Innocent and favour the Guilty. And then whom such Magistrates are like, that are se­duc'd by his Temptations, and corrupted by his Example, you'll find no great diffi­culty in making a conjecture; for it is im­possible they should any way resemble God, because Justice is essential to his Nature, and can no more be separated from him, than he can be divided from himself.

And must it not hence follow, that Ju­stice which is so essential to Gods Nature, must be more acceptable to him than Sacri­fice which depended meerly upon his Will? Is not God best pleas'd with himself, having all possible and conceivable Perfections and Excellencies within himself? And must not he then in an especial manner be delighted with those Duties, that are most like and agreeable to himself? that bear the Impress of his own Nature, the Character and Signa­ture of his own Being? and is not Justice of this sort? does it not make us like God, [Page 17] and partakers of the Divine Nature? and doe not Magistrates, who rule by his Au­thority, acquire by it a more exalted kind of Divinity, become Gods to the Publick Weale, and subordinate Saviours to the whole Kingdom? And this is sufficient to prove, that to do Justice and Judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice.

III. To do Justice and Judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice is evi­dent from the different ends of these two Duties. For Sacrifice was not enjoyn'd for its own sake; but Justice always was, and is, and ever will be.

First, Sacrifice was not enjoyn'd for its own sake; For,

1. Sacrifices were ordained to be Types of the Sacrifice of Christ, who was to be of­fered up in the Fulness of Time upon the Cross; they were instituted to be Figures and Shadows (silent Prophesies) of the death of the Messiah; and the vertue they had of expiating legal Guilt, was a suitable Type [Page 18] of the infinite efficacy and meritoriousness of the Blood of the Son of God, which was a sufficient Expiation of the Moral and Eter­nal Guilt of the Sins of all Mankind. This is clear from several places of the New Testa­ment, and more especially from St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews.

2. Sacrifices were enjoyned to be as a Guard and Security for other Duties, to be as a Hedge and a Fence for the Moral Pre­cepts, and especially to defend the Jewes against Idolatry: for the Jewes were an ex­treamly vain and carnal people, and very prone to be in love with, and to follow the superstitions and idolatrous practices of the Gentiles; and therefore rather than God would suffer them to be enticed, and drawn away with the Vanities of the Heathens, he gratifies their childish humour by institu­ting a pompous way of Worship that was a­greeable to their Infant-State and present weakness, and commands them to offer Sa­crifice to himself the true God, lest other­wise through the example of the Gentiles [Page 19] they should have been tempted to have done it to Idols. And accordingly Justin Martyr saith particularly of the Sacrifices, That the end of them was to keep the Jewes from Idola­try: and this also Trypho acknowledgeth, though he was a Jew, and one that vigo­rously asserted the Law, and mightily glo­ried in it. And Tertullian is of the same opi­nion concerning the end of their Institution, for he saith, Populum pronum Idololatriae Adv. Marcion. l. 2. ejusmodi officiis Religioni suae voluit astrin­gere.

And this shews that Sacrifices were not commanded for themselves, and that the goodness of this Duty was not Natural and Intrinsecal, but Relative and External, and depended meerly upon the success that it had in promoting Duties of a higher Na­ture, and especially in securing the Jewes against Idolatry.

But now Justice always was, and is, and ever will be enjoined for its own sake: It has a natural Goodness and Beauty in it, which [Page 20] at all Times, and in all Ages recommends it to the practice of Mankind. Justice is one of those Duties, that is to be beloved [...] (as Aristotle speaks) for its own self: It does not stand in need of any borrowed lustre to make us enamoured with it; but its own proper goodness and intrinsique worth suf­ficiently bespeaks our Obligations to it, and shews that we cannot be unjust without cea­sing in some degree to be men: For Justice is a Duty that ariseth from the Moral frame and constitution of our Souls, and we must offer violence to our selves, if we be not just to others. He that does to another, what he would not have done to himself, affronts the Principles of his own Nature, and un­settles his own Peace by doing wrong to his Neighbour: for Conscience will recoile, when it finds its indisputable Maxime con­tradicted by a contrary practice; and a man creates a mighty uneasiness and disorder in his own mind, when he suffers the Flesh to resist the inbred Laws of his Spirit, and the Obligations to Justice to be run down by the Temptations of Revenge or Malice, Par­tiality [Page 21] or Passion, Covetousness or Cowardise. Nay, by this means a man does not only di­sturb the peace and tranquillity of his own mind, but he does more or less unhinge the publick Quiet: for the security of Govern­ment, with the interest of all its members, doth so much depend upon the practice and distribution of Justice, that all contrary Acts do naturally tend to its dissolution. For wherein lies the difference betwixt a state of absolute Liberty, and a state of Go­vernment? but that in the one men live ac­cording to their boundless Lusts and Passi­ons, but in the other they are directed by Laws, and restrain'd by Penalties: In the one unbridled Will and Appetite is the Prin­ciple by which they Act; in the other equi­table Laws and prudent Institutions are the Measures and Rules of their conversations: The one is a state of Violence and Fraud, because all things are expos'd to an Arbitrary Force and Power; the other a state of Peace and Settlement, because mens Rights are fix­ed and Properties determin'd and secur'd a­gainst all unjust attempts and invasions. So [Page 22] that Injustice, which introduceth a licen­tiousness and wildness of living, weakens the Pillars and saps the Foundations of Go­vernment; and because it contradicts the ends of Civil Society, and hinders all the blessed effects of it, men thereby become enemies to one another, exert all the ho­stilities of corrupt Nature and enraged Pas­sions, and ingage in a state of War either to defend or retrieve their Rights.

And all this happens most certainly, when Magistrates and Judges, who by their Offi­ces are designed to be Ministers of publick Justice, become violaters of it; for though private injustice does but weaken the Sinews of Government, yet publick Injustice does wholly unbind them; though private inju­stice is but as the removing a Pin out of a Building, yet publick injustice is as the sub­version of the Foundation it self. And as that mans case is desperate, and his reco­very (without a miracle) impossible, whose Disease is grown to that height, that it masters all its Remedies, and converts the [Page 23] very Medicine into its own nourishment by assimilating it to its own Nature; so too it is a sad but sure Prognostick of the ruine and death of a State, when Magistrates, who ought to be Remedies of publick Evils, be­come patterns of Corruption; when the Tribunal, which ought to be a Sanctuary for Innocency, is made a retreat for Villany, and a shelter for Oppression; when the Sword of Justice, which is design'd to heale the Wounds of the Commonwealth, has a keener edge set upon it only to make them wider. And therefore God, who well knew the fatal mischiefs of such a corrupt Mini­stry, when he form'd a Republick among the Jewes, and gather'd them into an holy Commonwealth (over which he himself did immediately preside) he appointed such Ru­lers under him, as were fill'd with a Spirit of Wisdom and Courage, and inflamed with a Zeale for Justice; such as Moses and Jo­shuah, men that were furnished with all the excellent Graces and Qualities that are ne­cessary for executing the best Laws, or for being eminent Examples of them.

And as this may teach Magistrates how to behave themselves in their publick Offices and Employments, so it may instruct all Corporations and lesser Societies, by what measures they ought to be governed in the choice of their Magistrates and Re­presentatives; for though your Votes are your own, yet you ought not to dispose of them meerly as you please, not as your pri­vate piques and aversations, or particular Friendships and Interests shall suggest unto you; but with a serious regard had to the common Good and publick Welfare: for the Obligation that every man ows to the Publick, and the Relation that every pri­vate person stands in to the whole Commu­nity, makes it his Duty to promote, as far as in him lies; its settlement and security; and consequently that he give his Voice for such to be Magistrates and Represen­tatives, as he believes to be endued with Wisdom and Courage, and acted by Prin­ciples of Loyalty, Justice, and Religion: For as Religion in general is the best Rea­son [Page 25] of State, so Justice in particular does in a most effectual manner contribute to its growth and preservation; and the univer­sal practice of it in the private members, and the impartial distribution of it in the publick Ministers is the strength and orna­ment, the support and beauty of Govern­ment, nay, so essential is Justice to the Establishment and Interests of Society, that it is but to repeat an old Remarque, to tell you, that Thieves and Robbers think themselves oblig'd to preserve it among themselves. Those wicked Confederacies and Combinations (that are the Pests of publick Weale) could not subsist without some seeming exercise of it among them­selves; nor would they be able to carry on their unjust Designs upon the Publick, except they were faithful to their unlawful Trusts, and just in the division of their un­just Spoiles and Acquisitions. So that all Societies in this respect have the same com­mon means of preservation, and what Cement is to a Building, that is Justice to a State; it binds and knits all the [Page 26] parts together, maintains the intireness of the Body, and keeps all its Members in a fixt condition and an established Peace.

And this is sufficient to prove, that whereas Sacrifices were commanded with a respect to other Duties, Justice alwayes was, and is, and ever will be enjoyned for its own sake. And must not Justice then, which has its end in it self, be far more grateful and acceptable to God, than Sacrifice, whose goodness was meerly rela­tive, and depended upon its subservien­cy to other Duties? And though it be true, that among the Jewes Sacrifice was a Duty as well as Justice, and though all Duties, that have the Authority of God's will for their practice, are pleasing to him; yet we must necessarily conclude, that those Duties are most acceptable to God, that are founded upon the strongest Rea­sons, and that carry their Obligations not in their accidental respects and mutable Relations, but in their own natural good­ness, [Page 27] and unalterable Equity; and such is Justice and not Sacrifice.

IV. That Justice is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice is evident from the different effects of these two Duties. Now the effect of Sacrifices was the expiation of legal Guilt; for God who by his Positive Will had made Natural Pollutions, acci­dental Diseases, the touching of a dead Body, &c. criminal and penal; ordain'd that the Guilt contracted by those wayes should be abolished by a Sacrifice, and the Offerer thereby restor'd to his legal Inno­cency and Priviledges: And though the Sacrifice both argued and expiated Guilt, yet had it no efficacy to Atone God's an­ger for sins of a deeper Guilt and a pro­founder Malice; such as were Idolatry, Murder, Adultery, &c. for, for these no Sacri­fices were appointed. But we find it other­wise in the distribution of Justice. An im­partial Execution of that in Magistrates and Judges does not only put a stop to the growth and increase of sin, which pro­vokes [Page 28] Gods anger against a Nation, but it also appeaseth the Wrath, and disarms the Severity of God; and prevents the coming down of his dreadful Judgements upon a people for the most famous sins already commited. A famous instance of this Truth we have among the Israelites, whom God had smitten with a most grievous Plague, because they were guilty of two most grievous Sins, viz. Whoredome and Idolatry; and the Plague continued to devour till Justice was executed; but as soon as Phinehes acted by an extraordina­ry Spirit, and an extraordinary Zeal, nail'd the Adulterous Couple to the Ground, and made them publick Examples of Ju­stice, because they had been so of sin, GodPsal. 106. 30. withdrew his hand, and the Plague was stayed.

And as this shews that Justice is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifices; so it may teach all Princes and Magi­strates (if they have any regard to the Publick Weale and Prosperity of the Nati­on) [Page 29] to put on Justice as a Robe, and Righ­teousness as a Diadem, and to let all Of­fenders (of what Rank or Quality soever they are, either in respect of their Crimes or Persons) feel the deserved smart of their Rods, and the just severity of their Laws. For as this is the End of their Commis­sion, and the Reason of their Institution, so they shall not only do good to their own Souls by such a faithful discharge of their Duty, but they shall also prove excellent Instruments of Happiness to the whole Kingdom, by delivering it from those Judgements that either are already come, or that are approaching. St. Austin tells us, that the mighty Success, and long Pro­sperity of the Romans was a Reward gi­ven them by God for their eminent Ju­stice, Temperance, and other Vertues: and if we examine the Sacred Scriptures, we shall find no such sure Foundations of publick Peace and Prosperity, as the due administration of Justice and Judgement. Solomon the wisest of Kings tells us, That if the wicked be taken from before the Prov. 25. 5. [Page 30] King, his Throne shall be established in Righ­teousness; Prov. 29. 4. That the King by Judgement e­stablisheth 29. 2. the Land; That all the people re­joyce, when the Righteous are in Authority; 28. 2. And by a man of Understanding the State of a Land is prolonged. And all this is true, not only upon the account of the natural tendency of the thing, but also of the Divine Favour and Benediction: it being the ordinary and usual method of God's Providence, to bless and pro­sper those Nations, that have pious and upright Governours, and to curse and punish those, that have vitious and cor­rupt Rulers.

What Reason have we then to bless God, that live under so Excellent a Government, and so Just a Prince, that rather than Ju­stice should not be administred, sends his Judges to our own homes, that so Justice (like the Sun, the great Minister in Na­ture) may visit all places, and influence all parts of the Nation with Light, Heat and Vigour? It was Darius's complaint, [Page 31] that his Empire was like a raw Bull-hide, Tread it down in one place, and it would rise up in another; But God be praised, this Kingdom is subject to no such incon­venience, because Justice is sent into all parts of the Land at the same time, and Judgement is alike administred in eve­ry County, and by the Equality of the Distribution all is kept in an even frame, order and composure.

And now what remains? but as we ought to be thankful for so great a Mer­cy, so we ought to pray to God to con­tinue it to us, and to beseech him, who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and the only Ruler of Princes, that all those, who bear any part in the Rule and Go­vernment of these Nations, may have their Hearts warm'd with Zeal for Justice, and be ready upon all Occasions, in de­spight of all Temptations to the contra­ry, to use their Power and Authority for the punishment of Evil Doers, and for the praise of them that Do Well. [Page 32] Which God grant for Christ Jesus sake To whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be ascribed all Might, Majesty, Dominion, Praise and Thanksgiving now and for ever.

Amen.