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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	day_n	keep_v	sabbath_n	8,292	5	9.9626	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62049	Men are gods, or, The dignity of magistracy, and the duty of the magistrate as it was presented in a sermon at the assize holden at Hertford for that county on August 2, 1653 / by George Swinnocke ...	Swinnock, George, 1627-1673.; Hall, Thomas, 1610-1665. Beauty of magistracy.	1660 (1660)	Wing S6278A; ESTC R18061	67,270	101

Word of God is in a special manner commanded and committed to the Magistrate as his Directory Josh. 1.8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth saith God to the chief Governour of Israel but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou maist observe to do according to all that is written therein for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success And Deut. 17.18 19. The King that sitteth upon the Throne shall write him a copy of the Law And it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the dayes of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord and to keep all the words of this Law It is a Maxim of the Law of England that the Law it self ought to be the rule by which all Judges must be regulated all controversies tryed and all cases decided It is good to keep close to the laws of men that are warrantable by Scriture but it is best to keep close to the Word of God There are the best precepts for justice the best patterns of just men nay and of the Infinitely righteous God You have the example of God himself how just how holy he is in all his doings how he walketh how he worketh Caesars ambition was to imitate Alexander Themistocles endeavoured to resemble Miltiades Do you labour to be like God to hate sin to love holiness to discourage the prophane to countenance the pious to be active and zealous both by your patterns and precepts for the glory of God In all your difficulties make the Word of God your Counsellor in all your doubts let Scripture resolve you You may look too much to the light within you which is imperfect and 1 Tit. defiled as Quakers make a Christ of it but you can never look too much to this light without you which is perfect and pure without the least blemish or defect The Jews say that if Printing had been found out in the time of Moses yet was the King bound to write out two copies of the Law with his own hand one to keep in the Treasury and the other to carry about with him as his Vade Mecum Alphonsus King of Arragon as some say read over the Bible fourteen times with Lyra's Notes upon it And that renowned Maiden Queen Elizabeth when she passed in triumphal state through the City of London after her Coronation when the Bible was presented to her at the little Conduit in Cheapside she received it with both her hands and kissing it laid it to her breasts saying that it had ever been her cheifest delight and should be the rule whereby she would frame her Government This was the delight the joy the counsellor of that Magistrate that was after Gods own heart Psal. 119.70.111 24. And this made him wiser then his Teachers then his Elders Psal. 119.97 to 100. And indeed this Book of Books only can make a wise and good Christian Captain Counsellor and Ruler Let therefore the ballance of the Sanctuary weigh all the Oracles of God decide all the rule of the Word square all and then nothing will be amiss Let the Bible be to you as the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day to the Israelites directing you through the Wilderness of this world till ye come to the true Canaan It was a memorable saying of King Edward the sixth when he was crowned and had three Swords put into his hands signifying his power over three Nations England France and Ireland Deest adhuc unus gladius viz. Sacrorum Bibliorum volumen Ille liber gladius spiritus est gladiis his omnibus longe anteferendus There is one Sword wanting namely the Sword of the Spirit the Word of God which excelleth them all Thirdly let your end be divine as well as your rule if ye would walk and work as Gods among men The Moralists tell us that actions are much specified from their ends If your actions are materially good yet if finally evil they are denominated wicked If they are according to Gods Word for the matter yet if ye make not Gods glory your end they are evil Therefore if ye would have the arrows of your actions to flie right let your eyes take right aim at this mark Do all for God Quicquid agas propter Deum agas saith Luther As ye are men ye were created to serve him as Magistrates doubly bound to honour your great Master Gods free grace is the fountain of your power and therefore Gods glory must be the end It is reported of Tamerlane that warlike Scythian that having overcome Bajazet the great Turk he asked him Whether he had ever given God thanks for making him so great an Emperour The great Turk confessed ingenuously that he never thought of it to whom Tamerlane replyed That it was no wonder so ungrateful a wretch was made a spectacle of misery For you saith he being blind of one eye and I lame of one leg was there any worth in us why God should set us over two great Empires of Turks and Tartars So truly may you think It was meer mercy which advanced you more then others and therefore it is your duty to advance God more then others If ye love your souls take heed of self O how many millions by seeking themselves have lost themselves by seeking their own glory pleasure and profit for a time have brought themselves to shame pain and loss to all eternity O Beware of this root of bitterness Self Do not like Demetrius pretend to be zealous for the Goddess when in truth it was for his gain Or like watermen row one way towards God and Christ and Heaven and look another way towards the world and the flesh but give up thy self wholly to him Lay out thy talents altogether for him esteem it thy felicity and priviledge that thou hast more advantages then others whereby thou mayst exceed others in serviceableness to thy Maker Preserver and Redeemer Let that Peerless Prince be thy pattern even the Lord Jesus Christ I seek not my own glory John 8.50 And when he came to die Father saith he I have glorified thee on earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do John 17. This was the Fathers end in your creation Prov. 16.4 Revel. 4. ult. The Sons end in your Redemption Luke 1.71 1 Cor. 6.20 The Spirits end in your Sanctification Ephes. 2.10 John 17.10 Therefore let this be your end Pray and read and hear and watch over your own souls walk inoffensively before God work industriously for God and do all that God may be glorified 1 Cor. 10.31 We call not those Kings happy saith Austin who raigned long but those who have raigned most for God Qui potestatem suam divinae Majestati famulam faciunt That have made their authority serviceable to the divine Majesty God can easily throw those Crowns from mens heads

and him that hath none to help They are eyes to the blind and feet to the lame Fathers to the poor and helpers to the needy Job 29.11 15. They are born not for themselves but for the good of many as Bucers Physitian told him And they govern not seeking their own wealth but the Common-wealth as Aelius Adrianus Emperour of Rome would say They are as Trees whose leaves are fair whose fruit much and in them is meat for all in their shadow the beasts of the field dwell and in them the fowls of the heaven have their habitation Dan. 4.12.21 They are the keepers of our liberties the preservers of our lives the safety of our persons the security of our possessions the terrors of sinners the defence of Saints the Nerves and Sinews yea the Vital spirits of the body Politick without whom all things would run to ruine and quickly fall to confusion How much then do they for us and how much then should we be subject to them Surely as little as many value them they will find much cause to celebrate the funerals of these civil Fathers with many tears Our comforts as well as our consciences call upon us to be subject To wish them harm that watch to be our helps is horrid ingratitude Cicero saith he that killeth his Father committeth many sins in one because he sinneth against many obligations His Father begat him nourished him brought him up Magistrates are the Fathers of their Countrey he that resisteth them or doth violence to them committeth several sins in one because he sinneth against so many engagements to subjection We owe all the comforts we enjoy for this world nay somewhat of them that relate to a better world under God to the Magistrate We could not sleep quietly in our beds one night we could not eat one meal peaceably in the day without them we could not call either children or estates or lives our own without them we could not enjoy such liberties for our souls such frequent communion of Saints without them How great then is our obligation and how great should our subjection be to them These many cords of kindness should bind us to them He was possessed with a Devil whom no cords would hold Mark 5.3 and surely they are little better that against the Law of God and this protecting love of the Gods will not learn to be loyall Trees receive moisture from the earth and within a while pay it back in those leaves that fall to the earth again the Rivers receive their waters from the Ocean and they acknowledge it in emptying themselves into it Sheep that are fed by us acknowledge it in serving us with their flesh and fleeces And shall man be more brutish then the beast I shall end this exhortation with the words of the Holy Ghost a little varied Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your bodies as Ministers for your soul as they that must give an account Heb. 13.17 My second Exhortation will be to the Gods If the God of heaven have appointed you to be Gods on earth then it may exhort you to walk as Gods and to work as Gods amongst men First Walk as Gods among men your calling is high and therefore your carriage should be holy Every calling hath a peculiar comliness belonging to it A Courtier hath another manner of behaviour then a Countrey man a Scholler then a Scullion a Prince then a Peasant The greater your priviledges are the more gratious your practices should be Remember whose livery your wear whose image you hear whose person you represent whose place you stand in and walk worthy of that calling whereunto you are called Eph. 4.1 Some would have us give no names to children but such as should mind them of their duty The spirit of God hath given you a divine name which should mind you of the divine nature Since your compellations are according to God surely your conversations should be according to the Gospel The several Titles given to you call for sanctity and strictness from you The spirit of God calleth you Kings 1 Sam. 8.9 and Princes Josh. 8.33 Now is it seemly or sutable to see Kings or Princes padling in the mire or playing in the dirt with every beggars brat Doth not every one expect that their Linen should be in print their cloaths clean without the least spot of dirt And is it comely or consonant to see Magistrates honoured with a commission from heaven wallowing in the mire of sin and pollution with every heir of hell Do not all expect that as your places are god-like and honourable so your practice should be godly and answerable that your linen should be white your garments undefiled and your persons higher then others not only in place but piety When King Porus was taken prisoner and demanded by the Conquerour how he would be used he answered Like a King and being three times asked the same question he as often returned the same answer And if you ask me how you should demean your selves I would answer Like Kings Every one resembling the behaviour of a King Prov. 31 3 4. It is not for Kings O Lemuel it is not for Kings to drink wine nor Princes strong drink least they drink and forget the Law Give not thy strength unto women nor thy wayes to that which destroyeth Kings Drunkenness and Uncleanness are sinfull and unwarrantable in subjects but they are most sordid and abominable in a Soveraign They are so much worse then others by how much they ought to be better then others A disease that surprizeth the head or heart is more dangerous then those that infect the exteriour members A spot in silk is far worse then one in sackcloth A Flie in a barrel of pitch doth not the harm which it doth in a box of Ointments When Scipio was offered an Harlot he said Vellem si non essem Imperator I would if I were not a General an Emperour Should such a man as I flie said Nehemiah So should a Ruler consider Should such a man as I be unclean I that punish such sin in others should I commit it my self Should such a man as I swear be lascivious in my language or unsavoury in my speeches A divine sentence is in the mouth of a King Prov. 16 10. I whose words are Laws and Oracles should speak as the Oracles of God 1 Pet. 4.11 Should such a man as I prophane the Sabboth associate with sinners be prayerless in my family or venture upon any iniquity It is an abomination for Kings to commit wickedness Prov. 16.12 Peter Martyr told Queen Elizabeth that Princes were doubly bound to God as Men and as Princes or chief men Their sins are sins against more obligations and therefore are sins of more aggravations then others A great man cannot commit a small sin yet a great man is seldom a good man Godliness in a

things that are now dark and secret shall be then as clear and apparent as at noon day the fire of that day will make things legible which are written with the juyce of Lemons In that Spring time both wholsome roots and poysonous will be discovered which all the winter of this life were hid The books of Gods Omniscience and mans Conscience saith one shall be then opened and secret sins shall be then as legible as if it were written with the brightest star or the most glittering Sun-beams upon a wall of Chrystal Eccles. 12. ult. And it is said to be at night propter improvisionem c. because of most mens unpreparedness for it The destruction of this new world by fire will find men generally in the same careless carnal secure sensual condition as did the destruction of the old world by water Luke 21.35 as the snare on a sudden catcheth the bird so will that day of the Lord seise on such beasts Observe 3. the dreadfulness of it The Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent hear and the earth and the works thereof shall be burnt up Well may it be called the great and terrible day of the Lord when the Judge will be a consuming fire Heb. 12.29 and shall come in flaming fire 1 Thes. 1.6 7. try them by a fiery law Deut. 33.2 before a tribunal of fire Ezek. 1.27 plead with them in flames of fire Isa. 60.15 and condemn ungodly ones to eternal fire O how dreadful is the voyce and noise of Fire Fire in the night how fearful and frightful then will such fires at the day of Judgement be As often as I think of that day my whole body trembleth saith Hierom. Observe 4. the Apostles inference from it What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness as if he had said We had need to have grace in truth that must undergo such a trial We that must meet with so strict and dreadful an examination had need to be holy to admiration What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness Surely if any argument imaginable can perswade to purity this terrible day can do it The sound of the last Trump may well cause a retreat and call us off from an eager persuit of the flesh and world Eccles. 11.9 and it may also stir you up to purity if ye would meet Christ at that day in peace The Throne of Christ is a white Throne Rev. 20.11 and O with what trembling heart wilt thou O black sinner stand before this white Throne 1 Pet. 4.18 If the righteous be scarcely saved not in regard of the uncertainty but difficulty where shall the sinner and ungodly appear Surely the drunkards cup then will be Wormwood not Wine The sentence on the swearer then will be of cursing not blessing as he loved cursing now so then will it come to him the Adulterers pleasure now will then prove poyson and the prayerless man now will then pray hard work in prayer for some ease some end if not a pardon yet a reprieve for one hour at least one drop of water to cool his tongue but he shall work at the Labour in vain and be eternally denyed O look therefore and make sure of true holiness of the power of godliness for the fire of that day will discover whether you are dross or gold look that the rule by which you walk be right even the Word of God for by that you shall be judged for your eternal life or death John 12.36 Ah how exactly shouldst thou live that must be tryed for thine endless estate by so strict a law How diligently shouldst thou keep thy heart knowing that God will judge the secrets of thy heart Rom. 2.16 How carefully shouldst thou keep the door of thy lips considering that of every not only swearing or cursing but idle word which thou shalt speak thou shalt give an account at the day of Christ Matth. 12.35 How wary shouldst thou be in all thy deeds believing that thou shalt appear at the Judgement Seat of Christ to give an account of every thing done in the body of flesh whether it be good or whether it be evil 2 Cor. 5.10 So think so speak so act as one that must be judged for all at the great day of Christ This may likewise incite you to work as Gods amongst men because at that day Christ will come and his reward will be with him to give to every one according to his works Rev. 22.12 Your actions now are seed if ye would reap liberally on that great harvest day ye must sow liberally in this seed-time Christ will then demand how ye improved the many advantages and opportunities which he put into your hands for the magnifying his Name countenancing his people propagating his Gospel punishing his enemies and discouraging the workers of iniquitie He will ask you why at such a time when you knew his Name was blasphemed his Day was prophaned his Ministers and Ordinances were trampled upon you never stirred or were zealous for their vindication you thought it was good sleeping in a whole skin you were loth to offend your neighbours or you were unwilling to get the ill will of great ones that under pretence of love to all the people of God would have his blasphemous adversaries spared nay encouraged See whether that Jesuitical tenent That Magistrates must only be second-table men that they have nothing do in matters of Religion will hold water at that day O how exceedingly will such be ashamed of it then who now own it in their principles and practices possibly thou art one of that Heathen Gallio's Disciples that would meddle in matters of wrong but sit still in matters of Religion Acts 18.14 17. Gallio cared for none of those things I must tell thee thou art like then to find Hell hot for thy being so cold in the cause of the blessed and glorious God O think of that day and let it move thee to a faithful zealous discharge of thy duty Zaleucus Locrensis in his proeme to his laws hath these words Let this be often pressed upon men that there are Gods and that an account must be given to them of mens actions Consider the day of the Lord is coming and who may abide it In a word Hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil Eccles. 12.13 14. FINIS Hiero. in proae ad Obad. * Hosanna signifieth Save I pray thee or preserve I beseech thee † Allelujah Praise ye the Lord Ego Dixi Concessio est qua tamen oftendit Propheta nihil perversis Judicibus praesidii fore in facta persona quam illis Deus imposuit Calv. in loc. The