Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	king_n	people_n	word_n	7,428	5	4.2337	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77844	The magistrates commission from heaven. Declared in a sermon preached in Laurencejury, London, the 28. day of Sept. 1644. at the election of the Lord Major. / By Anthony Burgesse, sometimes fellow of Immanuel Colledge in Cambridge; now pastour of Sutton Coldfield in Warwick shire, and a member of the Assembly. Imprimatur Thomas Gataker.	Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1644 (1644)	Wing B5650; Thomason E14_18a	18,261	25

requisite in him that is to governe and who is thus a Minister of God for the good of the people is That he ought to be knowing of the will of God out of the word of God and that he ought to have the feare of God setled in his heart that that is necessary you may see how the King was commanded in Deuteronomy to write out the Law of God himselfe with his own hand notwithstanding all his publique imployments that so he might be understanding of the word of God and acquainted with it nay and not only to know it but if he doe erre that he be willing to be reprooved and informed dilexi virum qui magis arguentem quam laudantem probaret I love the man said Ambrose of Theodosius that does delight more in one that would reproove him then one that would flatter him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either nothing or that which is sweet is the rule given among the Heathens either we must speake sweet things unto Governours or else we must speake nothing at all but now sayes David Let the righteous smite me though it be a smiting yet notwithstanding for all that he shall count it better then oyle so that he ought to be understanding of the word of God that is willing to be informed and reprooved if he goe out of the way And then this knowledge is to have all the affections joyned with it feare and love c. to say as he said Pereat magis totum regnum quam ut semel contra Deum peccem Oh! let all this earthly Kingdome of mine perish yea totus orbis as he addes let the whole world rather then that I should once sinne knowingly against God this ought to be the resolution in every Governour and officer Let the whole Kingdome perish let all my estate let all my glory let all my pompe perish rather then I should once offend against God And as he is to have the feare of God in his heart and the knowledge of God out of his word so his delight is to be unto those that are godly and to those that are holy as David makes it his resolution My delight sayes he shall be on the faithfull of the Land So then this is the first thing necessary unto a Governour one that understands the word of God one that hath knowledge soundnesse of judgement out of the same In the second place another thing requisite is That he be of a publique spirit for beloved to be in a publike place and to have a private heart and to have private ends how incongruous is that Woe be to thee O Common-wealth where thy Governours have as many eyes as Argus to find out profit and matters of gaine and as many hands as Briarius to receive and take the same We told you they are for the Common-wealth and the Common-wealth is not for them and so they ought to labour for a publike heart and a publike spirit My parts they are the Common-wealths my power it is the Common-wealths my time it is the Common-wealths He ought to abhorre all inriching of himselfe on the losse of the publique oh what a woefull thing will it be at the day of iudgement to have a man crying as Judas said here take this silver and take the gold againe or take this estate againe that I have got by robbing of the Common-wealth And how necessary is this to our Governours to our Magistrates to our Commanders to our Souldiers all that have to doe in the publike that they would consider that they are for the publique and the publike is not for them Austin considers much that out of Tully respublica is res populi the Common-wealth it is the peoples good it is res populi and therefore now they are not to inrich themselves by it nor to looke at their own ends in the publike In the third place As they ought to be of a publique spirit so much in prayer unto God that they may be conducted in this way for certainely when you are put into an office into a government you doe as it were set to sea in the midst of a storme and of a tempest and therefore how much need have you to pray to God that the tempest and storme may be allayed Vlisses would not goe to sea till he had gotten all the winds in his vessell that so he need not care for a tempest and so thou that art to enter on an office or a government doe not doe it till thou hast prevailed with God by prayer and be much seeking of him that he might give thee wisedome You see Solomon did it he begged of God that God would give him wisedome to goe in and out before the people and certainely a great deale of reason there is why they that are Governours should beg wisedome of God if you consider but how hard a thing it is to judge of men that are of various dispositions and various judgements nullum animal est majori arte tractandum sayes he there is no creature in the world that is to be handled with more art then man is And Father Nazianzen he cries out ars artium est scientia scientiarum c. it is an art of all arts and a knowledge of all knowledges to be able to governe a man he is the most various and the most uncertainest of all things in the world and therefore he ought to be much in prayer to God And then besides the discouragements that are in the way the murmurings and repinings of people the losse of opportunities and not laying hold of advantages and then the miscarriages that they cannot fall but they fall like great trees that beate downe the lesser if thou beest a Governour and thou art damned thou damnest many with thee therefore thou hast the greater cause to pray to God In the fourth place Another is Wisedome and Prudence that is a maine and a necessary thing too in those that are to governe and in those that have to doe in the Common-wealth for as I told you it is like a man in a ship in the midst of a storme how unhappy and miserable is that ship that hath an unskilfull Pilot in the midst of a storme and therefore 't is said of Moses that he did leade them with the skilfulnesse of his hands there was a great deale of prudence and wisedome requisite in it to be able to thinke thoughts of good for the publique to be able to know which is the best way to doe good to the publique these are mighty things And therefore you see how David was afraid of an Achitophel he thought that a wise man would doe him more hurt then all the men in the world They must be men that can lay hold of all occasions that are able to overcome difficulties and able to compose them able to heale breaches it is true indeed it is many times the fate of wise men and those that are