Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	king_n	law_n	people_n	8,247	5	5.1348	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06663	An allarum from Heaven, or, A memento to the great councell, and magistrates of England, now sitting on the seat of justice. By G.W. a cordiall lover of the peace of England.	Wither, George, 1588-1667.	1649 (1649)	Wing W3140; ESTC R206073	3,293	10

AN ALLARUM FROM HEAVEN OR A MEMENTO TO The great Councell and Magistrates of England now sitting on the Seat of Justice By G. W. a cordiall lover of the peace of England Deut. 12. You shall not do what seemeth good in your own eyes but what the LORD hath commanded you for the good of His People Psalm 2.12 Embrace the Son least He be angry and so you perish from the right way Imprinted at London for G. Wharton MDCXLIX AN ALLARUM FROM HEAVEN OR A Memento to the Magistrates of England concerning their proceedings in Justice and Government Endeared Country-men of England IT is the saying of the divine Psalmist and many other excellent Authors doe avouch it That no Power Potentate nor Councell who are elected as Representatives of the people for the Government of a Nation can rule or govern rightly that loveth not to judge which and that they betray their trust and usurpe a power which pealeth partially For we must remember that they measured Salomons worthinesse to reign by his well swaying of the Scepter the which Salomon could not have handled so well as he did if he had not been carryed away with an earnest desire to deal indiferently and to judge impartially as appeareth in the most excellent demonstration and prayer which transcended from him unto the Almighty Jehovah of Heaven when he saith Give vnto thy servant O Lord an understanding and a wise heart to judge thy people that I may discern betwixt good and evill 2 King 3. And when he had prayed for wisdome and understanding hee sheweth whereunto he would apply those good guifts of God even unto the glory of him that gave them To judge the people that I may discern betwixt good and evill saith he Prov. 8.15 for by him Kings reign and by him Magistrates decree Justice which that it may be duly executed within the Territories of our English Nation let the people make choise of such faithfull patriots as are here prescribed and set down in this ensuing parable of Jethro viz. When Jethro the Father in law of Moses came out of the Land Midian to see him being at the Mount of God which was Mount Sinai and beheld how the people cryed to Moses their Governour for Judgment and Justice by due consideration thereof Jethro found these three inconveniencies viz. First That Moses wearied himself with sitting in judgement from morning to night Secondly That he was too tedious unto the people which attended upon him in all that time And thirdly that notwithstanding his carefulnesse in judgment and their earnest expectation of Justice he was not able to dispatch so many matters as were brought before him but with a slight hearing and little regarding of many mens causes Wherefore Jethro being a man very desirous that Justice might proceed that no mens matters might be slightly slipt over counselled Moses to make more Magistrates and Rulers in Israel and to the end that this might with more facile be prosecuted Jethro prescribes a way and points at the disposition of those men which should bear Rule For saith he Thou shalt chuse out amongst all the people men of courage dealing truly serving God and hating covetousnesse and them shalt thou make Governours over the people Exod. 18 21. Even such Magistrates and Rulers doth the Common-wealth of England stand in need of whose Government desireth men of courage faithfulnesse and impartiality and seeing that her Governours are nominated and appointed and a Rule is set down for the people to walke by God grant that they may follow the example of Jethro to deale truly act justly execute impartially and redresse the grievances of the people and not to rule as the Councel of Macedonia did who upon the humble addresse and representation of a poor Widow purporting her sad and deplorable condition they rejected her and cast her off with this slender answer Go thy way for we have no leisure to heare thee now The woman being much grieved thereat replyed thus Thus why have you liesure to be Rulers and Magistrates And therefore if the Councel of England proceed and continue in their wayes of impartiallity acting justly and detesting all by ends and self-interests this Nation wil have cause to rejoyce if they desist from so doing her joy and tranquility will be frustrated and eclipsed O remember what God said unto Israel You shall not doe what seemeth good in your own eyes but what I command you to do saith the Lord. Then know that you do not that which he hath commanded if you deal not with mercy and truth by judging every mans cause aright It was a worthy commendation that David uttered in the praise of Ierusalem when he said There is the Seat for judgment the which appointing of that Seat for Judgment was an argument that they loved the true executing of Justice And first the place where it was set assureth us hereof for it was set in the Gate where through men might have passage to and from the Judgment Seat Secondly the manner of framing the Seat in the Gate namely that the Judges and Councell might sit with their faces towards the rising of the Sun in token that their judgment should be as pure from corruption as the Sun was cleer in his chiefest brightnesse and splendor O happy Common wealth of England art thou who can say with Jerusalem that thy Justice Seat is not putrified with corruption And whereas God standeth in the Parliaments of Princes so is he a Judge amongst Gods to give all Magistrates a Memento that God is present in all their assemblies and judgeth them that judge under him whereof they had need to be put in mind for oftentimes Micheas proveth too true a prophet in saying that the great man will seek what his heart desireth and the people must allow it well of the which sort of men the very best is but a thistle which a man can hardly touch unpricked and the most just like a bramble whereunto the silly sheep seeking to be shrowded from sharp showers is often forced to leave his fleece behind whose unworthy coming to their places Jon ham hath well described in the person of Abimelich when hee said The trees of the wood went to annoint a King over them and said unto the Olive tree raign thou over Us but the Olive tree answered shall I leave my fatnesse which both God and Men praise in me and go to be promoted over the trees Then they came to the Fig tree and said Come thou and reign over us the fig tree answered shall I leave my sweetnesse and good fruit and go to be promoted over the trees They said unto the Vane reigne thou over us but the Vine answered should I leave the Wine wherewith I chear the Sons of men to be promoted over the trees Then they said unto the Bramble wilt thou reign over us Then said the Bramble if it be true indeed that you will submit your selves to my authority and put your trust under my shadow or else fire proceed from the Bramble and consume you By this Parable we are taught generally that every man is to be content with that estate wherein God hath placed him and that for the most part the very best-worthy do refuse proffered promotion and on their part well deserved whereas on the contrary the most unfitly furnished with Justice and true Judgment and the least deserving in a common-wealth are of all other most ambitions And it is to be feared that many will rise through their wicked practises and subtil stratagems both in this Nation and parts adjacent to disturbe the peace of our Israell But God grant that they prove not like to those whom Zephaniah feared not to liken to Lyons and Wolves who finding their proy in the evening chop up all not leaving so much as the bones untill the morning Another Memento is That the civill Magistrate who beareth the sword is called the Minister of God as well as the spirituall Magistrate that teacheth the Word and that no doubt to the intent he might take care to maintain true Religion as to minister deserved Discipline For it standeth with all divine and humane reason that if all masters and fathers ought to have a more then ordinary care to instruct and help forward their families in Christian Religion so much as in them lieth much more ought the Magistrate to mediate by all meanes prossible to perform his duty therein who is a father over all families I cannot set this forth in any plainer demonstration than David hath done in this short saying Embrace the son least he be angry and so you perish from the right way By which speech the Prophet teacheth that God cannot be honoured by any other meanes than by that which Christ his Son hath taught and that if you worship not the Son as he hath commanded then you dishonour him if you dishonour him then you anger him if you anger him he casteth you off if he casteth you off then you are from the right way and if you are from the right way then you perish For the avoiding whereof all Godly Magitrates have had a speciall care to meditate in the Law of the Lord such were Moses Iosua David Salomon and others Of whose good example God grant that the Magistrates of England may make use thereof Vale G. W. Imprimatur Theo Jennings FINIS