rather than they will be holy, Isa. xliii. 10, 12, and xliv. 8. Woe, woe to them for ever, that had rather be Satan's bond-slaves than Christ's free-men, that had rather be * vessels of wrath' than vessels of honour and that had rather be firebrands of hell than glorious saints in heaven Eph. ii. 12; Rom. ix. 22.
And so I have done with those reasons that may satisfy the reader concerning my dedication of this Treatise to all sorts, ranks, and degrees of persons.
Having premised these things in the general, give me leave to say, that if this Treatise should fall into the hands of any of the learned judges of this land, or into the hands of any of the justices of this nation, I would then take the humble boldness to offer this to their most serious consideration — viz., that if they would discharge the duties of their places, so as to give up their accounts at last with joy and cheerfulness to the King of kings and Lord of lords, it highly concerns them to study this doctrine of holiness, yea, to fall in love with holiness, and highly to prize it, and earnestly to press after it, and to be restless in their own spirits, till they have experienced the powerful operations of holiness in their own souls ; for till then, they will never be able so to administer justice and judgment as be- comes those that have the name of God, and the name of profession upon them, and that judge themselves to be in a higher form than those heathens^ were, who were famous for justice and righteousness — and yet never heard of a Christ nor salvation by him — and as be- comes those that would not stand trembling and quaking in the great and terrible day, when Christ the Lord-Chief-Justice of heaven and earth shall pass a righteous and impartial judgment upon all the judges and justices that ever were on earth, Joel ii. 11, 31 ; Acts xvii. 31; 2 Tim. iv. 1,2.
My Lords and Gentlemen, — You know that the wisest prince that ever sat upon a throne hath told us that ' righteousness exalts a nation,' Prov. xiv. 34.2 It is not valour in war, but righteousness ; it is not policy in government, but righteousness ; it is not wittiness of in- vention, but righteousness ; it is not civility in behaviour, but right- eousness; it is not antiquity of forms, but righteousness; it is not largeness of dominion, but righteousness ; nor it is not greatness of command, but righteousness, that is the honour and the safety, that is the renown and the security of a nation. That nation that exalts righteousness, that nation shall be certainly exalted by righteousness, Amos V. 24. It is not Ahithophel's policy, it is not Jeroboam's calves in Dan and Bethel, it is not Jehu's pompous zeal, it is not Goliath's sword, it is not rich mines of gold and silver, nor maga- zines, nor armies, nor councils, nor fleets, nor forts, but justice and righteousness that exalts a nation, and that will make a mean people to become a great, a glorious, and a famous people in the world. The world is a ring, and righteousness is the diamond in that ring : the world is a body, and righteousness and justice is the soul of that
^ Cato, Fabricius, Scipio, Cambyses, &c.
" Where justice is, God is ; and where God is, there is no want of men or fortitude, said Herod at the head of his army, the better to encourage his soldiers. Justice is con- servatrix humane^ covjunclionis, quw ad beatitudinem via est, &c.
8 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
body. Ah! England, England! so long as judgment runs downl as waters in the midst of thee, and righteousness as a mighty stream, thou shalt not die, but live and bear up bravely against all gainsayers and opposers ; but if injustice shall grow rampant, and thou shalt brandish the sword of justice in the behalf of the friends of Baal, Balaam, and Bacchus, and turn the wheel upon the righteous ; if the sword of justice shall be a sword of protection to the desperate swearer, and to the cruel oppressor, and to the roaring drunkard, and to the cursing monster, and to the gospel despiser, and to the Christ con- temner, &c. , and shall be a devouring sword to the upright and peace- able in the land, divine vengeance will dig thy grave, and divine justice will tumble thee into it, though all the nations of the earth should labour to prevent it. It is a base and ignoble spirit, to pity Cataline more than to pity Kome ; to pity any particular sort of men, more than to pity the whole. It is cruelty to the good, to justify the bad : it is Avrong to the sheep, to animate the wolves : it is danger if not death to the lambs, not to restrain or chain up the lions. But from all these vanities the Lord deliver all your souls ! And oh that you would for ever remember this, that as the constitution of a man's body is best known by his pulse : if it stir not at all, then we know he is dead ; if it stir violently, then we know him to be in a fever ; if it keep an equal stroke, then we know he is sound, well, and whole : so the estate and constitution of a kingdom or commonweal is best known by the manner of executing justice therein; for justice is the pulse of a king- dom. If justice be violent, then the kingdom is in a fever, in a very bad estate ; if it stir not at all, then the kingdom is dead ; but if it have an equal stroke, if it be justly and duly administered, then the kingdom is in a good, a safe, and sound condition. When Vespasian asked Apollonius what was the cause of Nero's ruin, he answered, that Nero could tune the harps well, but in government he did always wind up the strings too high, or let them down too low.' The appli- cation is easy.
Now having premised thus much in the general, give me leave to tell you that there are eight special rules that you are carefully and faithfully to observe in the administration of justice and righteousness. And how you will be able to act suitable to those rules without a spirit of holiness, without principles of hoKness, and without an expe- rience of the powerful influences and operations of holiness in your own souls, I cannot for the present understand.
1. Now, my Lords and Grentlemen, the first rule that you are to ob- serve in your administering of judgment and justice, is this, you must do justice impay^tially. You are called gods,^ and in this you must be like to God, who is no accepter of persons. He accepts not the rich man because of his robes, neither doth he reject the poor man because of his rags. 3 Dent. i. 17, ' Ye shall not respect persons in judgment, but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be
^ The Hebrew word Ve.iiggalcliat as here rendered ' run down,' is from 77J Galal, that signifies to roll down freely, plentifully, plainly, vigorously, constantly: Where justice thus rolls down, all the world shall never make that nation miserable.
^ Ps. Ixxxii. 1, 6 ; Luke xx. 21 ; Mat. xxii. 16.
' 'Audi alteram partem,' said Lotharius, the second Duke of Saxony.
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 9