gistrate, who has not these things in his view, will have but a sad account to make to God, whose minister he is.

It is certain, all our laws were intended to secure these two ends; THE HONOUR OF GOD, by punishing the breach of his laws, by penalties suitable to the nature of the offence; and THE GOOD OF EVERY MAN, by securing every man in the possession of his rights, till a better right appeared.

I wish one could say the same of all our precedents; but the reason of the difference is very plain;-laws are generally made with good advice, and with a view to the public good; but precedents are too often made with a view to particular interests, and sometimes by men of weak judgments; so that the reproach cast upon the commonwealth of Athens may too fitly be applied to other nations; namely, that their great wisdom appeared in their excellent laws, and their folly in taking pains to pervert them.

To prevent this, the Kings and Lords of this Isle first instituted THIS COURT OF TINWALD, that all inferior magistrates might have an opportunity of justifying their conduct, if they had acted uprightly, and agreeably to law; and might receive a just rebuke, if complaint were made, and they had acted otherwise.

And this is exactly agreeable to an ordinance of the ancient Romans, which made that commonwealth so prosperous: for to prevent carelessness, corruption, or negligence, in the interpretation or execution of the laws, the Judges were obliged to lay their acts before the

Censors, that nothing might remain on record, but what the law should warrant.

A very excellent method, every body must own; and yet every Christian magistrate has much stronger obligations upon him, to be most exactly careful in the administration of justice: Ye judge not for man, neither for his approba tion, nor for fear of his censure, but for the Lord. The judgment is God's, saith the text; that is, it ought to be the very same judgment, if pos sible, that God himself would give. At least, a good magistrate must have this testimony of his integrity, that he honestly attend to give a judgment worthy of God, in whose place he stands; a judgment which he hopes God will approve of, and which his conscience will never reprove him for.

be so,

That it may it is necessary, that every magistrate should not only, as in Jehosaphat's charge, take heed what he does; that is, be very careful to inform himself what is the law, and what is the case concerning which he is to give judgment; but it is also necessary, that he let no worldly consideration take possession of his heart. The text saith, YE SHALL NOT BE AFRAID OF THE FACE OF MAN;-and the truth is, that magistrate who fears or hopes for any thing more than the approving himself to God, has a bias upon his judgment that will certainly

lead him to be unjust.

We have a remarkable instance of this sin and weakness in the person of Pilate. He was very desirous to release Jesus, finding no fault in him which could deserve death. The chief

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priests, perceiving this, and knowing his weak side, cried out, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend; that is, in other words, Though you find no fault in him, yet if do not condemn him, you shall be represented as an enemy to Cæsar. Well, what followed? Why, the most execrable piece of wickedness that ever judge was guilty of. The evangelist tells us, that when Pilate heard that saying, that is, that he was in danger of losing his master's: favour, by following his conscience, and doing justice, he gave sentence, that it should be as they desired; not as justice required, or as his: own conscience suggested.

And as all wickedness is folly, this was so in the highest degree: for, first, he owned by this act, that he was capable of being frightened out of his duty, than which there could not be fixed: upon him a greater reproach; and secondly, he most egregiously affronted that master whose displeasure he feared, by supposing that he could be pleased with a wicked action, the death of an innocent person. And the providence of God very soon convinced him of his sin and mistake; for notwithstanding all his care not to lose Cæsar's favour, he fell under his displeasure, was banished, and wanting the comfort of a good conscience, he made away with himself.

And thus it will ever be, when men forget that the judgment is God's, and that to God they are accountable. When they forget this, interest will prevail with them, friendship will gain upon them, passion will hurry them into

error, bribes will blind their eyes, or, what the world will say will influence them.

I set God always before me, was the maxim of the best of kings: and every man, and every magistrate especially, must do so too, who would never do any thing unworthy of God; and the neglect of doing so is the occasion of all the mischiefs committed and complained of.

How seasonable, therefore, is the advice of the wise man,* Seck not to be judge, being not able to take away iniquity, lest thou fear the person of the mighty, and lay a stumbling-block in the way of thy uprightness.

But that the magistrate's judgment be worthy of God, it is necessary that he do not only mean uprightly himself, but that he take especial care that he be not imposed upon by designing men.

The generality of those that take upon them to manage causes, have nothing so much in view as their own gain. Let a cause be never so unrighteous, they will undertake it. Let the law be never so plain, they will endeavour to pervert it. Let a jury be never so well disposed to follow the truth, they will endeavour to lead them astray.

A magistrate, therefore, has need to be very patient, and very resolute; patient in finding out the truth, which such managers endeavour to hide from him, and resolute in following it, in spite of all their clamours,

The complaints of those that suffer by these sort of people, both in their peace and in their

* Ecclus. vi. 6.

rights, should, one would hope, awaken the government to regulate at least, if not to silence them; and to bring us back to our old constitution, WHERE EVERY MAN PLEADED HIS OWN CAUSE; the simplest man being as able to tell his own story to a magistrate as to an attorney; and a magistrate will be better able to judge where the truth lies, when facts are laid nakedly before him without design of imposing upon him.

We have hitherto considered the magistrate's duty with respect to his fellow-creatures:But there is another branch of his duty, and a very important one, which regards the honour and the laws of God.

Every magistrate, whether ecclesiastical or civil, stands charged with this-to consult, to promote, to countenance, the cause of GoD and RELIGION; for this reason, because their authority is from God, and the obedience they claim is not from any right of their own, but as they are God's substitutes.

And the will of God is, That wickedness be punished, that sin be made uneasy to men, and that such as are not to be restrained by reason, or by the terrors of the world to come, should feel the pain, the shame, and the punishment, which their sins deserve, in this world.

And if magistrates shall be remiss in this, they will soon see their own authority undermined. For if men be once permitted to trample upon the laws of God, they will at last trample upon that authority which should have put a stop to their wickedness. It is their duty, therefore, and it is their interest, to execute