A SERMON Preached in the Minster at YORK, At the ASSIZES there holden the thirtieth day of March, 1663.  
By Thomas Bradley, D. D. Praebendary of the Cathedral & Metropolitical Church there, and Chaplain to his late Majesty of blessed Memory; Oxon' Exon '  
YORK, Printed by Alice Broade, living in Stone-gate over against the Star, 1663.   

To the Honourable Sir THOMAS GOWER, Knight and Baronet, high-sheriff of the County of York, one of the Deputy-lieutenants for that County, and a Member of the Honourable House of Commons.  
Right worthy Sir,  
IT was your pleasure to lay this task upon me, to preach this Sermon; and that done, it begat another fare greater than it, that was to Print it; to whom then should I return it but to yourself who hath the best Right to it? I will not make my Epistle swell by trumpetting out your Fame and Praise, in the remembrance of your noble and prudent carriage and deportment in all the great Offices of Honour and Trust which you bear, (which renders you so worthy a Patriot) but only (with tender of this Paper present) Subscribe myself.  
Your very faithful and ready Servant. THO: BRADLEY.   
Job 29.14, 15, 16, 17. 
I put on righteousness and it clothed me: my judgement was as a Robe and a Diadem.  
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.  
I was a father to the poor: the cause which I knew not, I searched out.  
I broke the Jaws of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.  
HEre's a high testimony in this Text of some Honourable Person, but who that was, this text does not tell us; surely he was a person of great Authority and power, an eminent Magistrate, a Judge at the least, perhaps a King; nay without perhaps, the learned Expositors upon the Book of Job tell us that Job was a King, Non dubito quin Job Rex suerit in oriente; (saith Didacus) I nothing doubt, but Job was a King in the East: and if you read over the Inventory of his Goods and substance, Job 1. you will find that it was so great that it might well become the State of one of the Kings in those places, and parts of the world in those times; and as Moses was a King in Jeshurun, so himself tells us of himself, in the last verse of this Chapter, that he dwelled amongst them as a King in the Army; and to go no farther than the Text, we see him here clothed with his Regalia, his Royal Robes and his Diadem: And yet all this Greatness (& which is more his Goodness too, added to it, & joined with it) could not secure, nor protect him from the strangest change that ye have heard of, and from the state of high Majesty, to the lowest estate of Misery that man could be capable of; here you see him in the text, in State and Majesty, sitting upon the Throne, executing Judgement and Justice unto the people, and by and by look upon him in the first of Job, and you find him sitting upon the dunghill, stripped of all those Robes of royalty and of glory, and scraping his ulcerous body with a potsherd, to day the richest man in all the East, and to morrow the poorest man in all the world, Irus & est subitò qui modò Craesus erat.  
This is all the hold we have of the things of this world, all the assurance we have of our temporals, riches, honour, power, glory, all that this world can give, or lend, they take themselves to the wings and fly away, and leave us in worse case than they found us: you know the story of the rich man in the Gospel, Luke 15. in the abundance of these things he sings a Requiem to his soul, Soul take thy ease, thou hast goods laid up for many years; alas poor man he dreams of many years, and (God knows) he hath not many hours to live, this night (saith the Text) they shall fetch away thy soul; and than whose shall these things be? nay, whose shalt thou be?  
But howsoever this was Job's comfort in the day of his calamity that when things were better with him, and when he was in his prosperity and power, he carried himself as he should do, and laid them both forth to do good in his generation; the remembrance whereof now is a great comfort to him, and upon which he feeds with much joy, and content. A rare example for all great Ones, yea for the best of men in their best estate, when they are in prosperity, and power, and have time, and opportunity, and ability to do good, that they improve it, and take the advantage of it, to do all the good they can; to do good while they have time, as St. Paul admonisheth us Gal. 6.9, 10. to do something, the remembrance whereof may be a cordial and a comfort to them, in the day of their distress; this was Hezekiah's comfort in the day of his visitation: Isaiah 38.3. Remember now O Lord I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart; This was his food and his best Physic, very sovereign for the lightning of his Cross, and the sweetening of the bitterness of affliction; and so shall we find it to be too in such a day, Conscientia benè actae vitae, mul●orumque bene factorum recordatio jucundissima est; the conscience of a life well spent, and the remembrance of much good done by us in time of our prosperity, (when we had time to do it) is sweet and precious: Job found it so here in the Text, and his mind ran upon it with much satisfaction and content; I put on Justice and it clothed me: I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame etc.  
But admit all this, doth Job well to commend himself for it? Let another man praise thee, and not thyself, a stranger, and not thine own lips: Pro: 27.2. 'Tis true, the praise of a man sounds better out of another's mouth, then of his own; yet there are some cases wherein it is not expedient only, but necessary for a man to speak in his own praise; where silence against fowl and false accusations may be interpreted a confession, than it is but necessary that a man should stand upon his own justification: if another man do a man open wrong, 'tis but reason that he should do himself open right, by insisting upon his own just vindication; and whatsoever seeming vanity or ostentation there may appear to be in it, they are justly to be charged with it that compel us to it, not we that did it: I am become a fool in boasting myself, but ye have compelled me. 2 Cor: 12.11. This was Job's case at this time, (seeing God had turned his hand against him, and broken down his hedges that he had made about him) wicked and uncharitable men, begin to censure him and to charge him with many and fowl and false calumnies and aspersions, that all the fair shows that he had made of. Justice and piety, were but hypocrisy; and certainly he was all this while but a wicked man, and now God had found him out, and punished him for it; nay (to lay his accusation the more close and home) they fall to instances, and charge him with particulars, clean contrary to these virtues that here he mentions, Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing; thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast witholden bread from the hungry. Job 22.6, 7. In such a case of calumny, can any man blame the good man if he do insist more then ordinarily in his just vindication, by putting in his just defence against their unjust allegations, for the clearing of his uprightness, innocency and integrity, as in the Text; Where by the way let us take up this Observation,  
Obser. That there's not the wisest, the justest, nor the uprightest Magistrate that can with all his integrity, justice, or sincerity, free himself from the calumnies and obloquys of wicked, and unreasonable men.  
Was there ever a juster Magistrate than Moses was, that governed the people by immediate direction from God himself, yet how often do we hear that unthankful people murmuring against him and against Aaron, many times were ready to stone them? what do we think of Solomon the wisest of the sons of men, Jedidiah, the beloved of the Lord, who had the privilege to ask at the hand of God what he would, and had what he asked, a spirit of wisdom and understanding that he might wisely go in and out before the people; 1 Kings 3.5. yet what grumble, and murmur of the people were there under his government? in what a mutinous manner do they come to Rehoboam the young King, with their seditious petition, 1 Kings 12.4. Make our yoke easier, and our burden lighter, thy Father made our yoke grievous, and our burden heavy: belike the had charged them with some Carts and Carriages to fetch home some of the materials that were for the building of the Temple; or required some Contribution toward the charge of that great work; and oh what a grievance this was! make thou our yoke easier, and burden lighter. So when Kings, and Princes, and great Magistrates have done their best, and laid out themselves with their utmost endeavours for the good of their people, and made it their very study, and their business to preserve their peace, and to guide them with a faithful and a true heart, and to rule them prudently with all their power; This is the thanks they have from unworthy people, to be clamoured upon, to be charged with Tyranny, oppression, and cruelty; if any thing be amiss in a whole Kingdom, if all parties be not pleased (which is impossible) presently they fall upon the Rulers, and Governors, (not sparing the highest) when (God knows) the cause of those distempers are in themselves. 2 Sam: 24.1. we read, that God was angry with Israel and he moved David to number the people: here was a great judgement in the Land, it swept away in three days threescore and ten thousand of the Subjects: mark how this plague took its rise, it was in the people; God was angry with Israel, and he moved David to muster the people; his anger was not against David, but against Israel: 'twas the cold of the feet that struck up to the head, and caused that distemper. But let not Kings nor Magistrates be discouraged in the execution of their Offices, and performance of the duties of their High-calling for all this: let them not think the worse of themselves for the obloquys of those mutinous tongues that speak evil of them; but let them remember, they are under the care of him that is able to deliver them from the strive of the people, and under the protection of that mighty power which is able to still the raging of the Sea; and the madness of the people (as raging as it is when they set a madding) and will subdue the people that is under them: Psal: No man could have greater discouragements and affronts then this holy Ruler had; yet the more they opposed or resisted the greater courage did he take unto himself to suppress their insolences; for which purpose, He put on Justice and it clothed him: and his judgement was as a Robe and a Diadem, etc.  
In which words we have a perfect Character of a worthy Magistrate, a Prince, a King, any in high place and power, to execute judgement: and it consists of four Parts; 

1. His love to Justice, with his zeal, care, and conscience duly to execute it, in the 14 verse: I put on Justice and it clothed me, and my Judgement was a Robe and as a Diadem upon me.  
2. His inclination to mercy & compassion, where he found stir Objects for it, in the 15 verse: I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame; and a father to the poor.  
3. His pains and patience, his care and diligence, in examining of the Causes that came before him; for finding out of the truth, that so he might give judgement in them without error: in the later part of the 16 verse, The cause which I knew not I searched out.  
4. His courage in executing justice and judgement upon offenders, when he had by diligent search found them guilty, though they were never so great, or never so insolent, never so mighty; I broke the jaws of the wicked, and I plucked the preyout of his teeth. First, He plucked the prey out of their teeth, by causing them to make restitution and satisfaction for the wrong they had done: And secondly, he break their jaws that they should do so no more. Of these (something in the order proposed) as the time and business of the day will permit.    
And first, of the first part of his character, in his love, and care, and zeal to execute Justice and Judgement, expressed in the words of the 14 verse I put on Justice, and it clothed me, and my Judgement was as a Robe and as a Diadem upon me. In which words are expressed two things concerning the Magistrate; first, his Office; secondly his Honour: his Office, in these words, I put on Justice and it clothed me; his Honour in these words, my Judgement was as a Robe and as a Diadem: in the former we have his duty, and in the latter his dignity: the former is intimated to us by this expression of putting on Justice, and being clothed with it; a metaphor which the Scripture much delighteth in: Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ: Rom: 13.14. Put on bowels of mercy: Coloss: 3. Put on the whole armour of God. Ephes: 6. so in the Text here, I put on Justice and it clothed me; intimating thereby, that look what clothing is to the body, that was Justice unto him. Now we put on clothes for these three uses; first, to cover our nakedness, and so they are indumenta, for a covering; secondly, to protect us from the injury of the weather, and so they are munimenta, for defence: thirdly, for comeliness and decency, and so they are ornamenta, for ornaments: and as  are all this to the body, so are all virtues to the mind; and such was justice and judgement to Job, and is to every worthy Magistrate: from hence arise's this point or Observation.  
Obs: 1. That it is the great duty or office, of great Princes, Rulers, and Magistrates to execute Justice and Judgement unto the people.  
Our Lord Jesus Christ (the fountain of Honour and Power, from whom all Kings and Princes derive that power which they have) accounts it his great honour and office to execute Judgement and Justice; for of him doth the Father say, Faithfulness shall be the clothing of his reins, and righteousness the girdle of his loins: and when his titles of Honour are reckoned up, Isa, 9 this is not the least of them, that he shall sit upon the Throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order & to establish it; and to execute Justice & Judgement for ever; which (by these his Deputies, & Vice-gerents) he does to this day: and what greater Honour, Power, and Trust can be committed to them? or how can they better lay out themselves, then in the faithful discharge of it? it is the very object of their calling, the sum and substance of their duty; the end why God hath exalted them above other men, anointed them with the oil of honour above their Fellows, put a greater measure of his Spirit upon them, stamped a clearer impression of his Image upon them, that so they may rule with the greater Authority, and the people submit unto them with all that due reverence and obedience, that belongs unto them.  
And as it is their great duty to administer Justice, and to execute Judgement unto us; so it is our great benefit that God hath appointed such an Ordinance among us, and given such power unto men for the good of us all: without, it what would become of us? without it, what would become of our liberty, our property, our peace, our security? which of us could call any thing our own, or secure ourselves of our lives for one hour? it is by the execution of Justice and Judgement that we live; it is by the benefit of justice that we enjoy any thing we have, that we sit every man quiet under his own Vine, and his own Figtree, and eat the fruit of our labours. Oh therefore bless God for Government, for the administration of justice and judgement amongst us: Pray for them to whom the power is committed to execute it; give them all encouragement, that they may do it with cheerfulness; and show your thankfulness to them by yielding all due reverence and obedience to their just commands. And so I pass from the Office to the Honour, from the Duty to the Dignity of the Magistrate, intimated in those Ensigns of honour which he wore, the Robe, and the Diadem. — My judgement was as a Robe, and a Diadem.  
It aprears by this expression, that in those times, and those parts of the world, (scarce yet throughly civilised) yet they had Government, they had Magistrates among them: not only reason, but nature itself taught the necessity of them, inasmuch as in all Nations (though otherwise never so barbarous) the use of them was taken up.  
It appears further, that when they went forth to fit in the Gate, or upon the Bench, or the Throne to execute judgement, they were clothed with garments of honour, and wore such Ensigns of Authority and power, as might well become the dignity of their Office and Calling: so we read of King Priamus, Hoc Priami gest amea erat cum jura vocatis More dabat populis: 
Virgil, in the 8. of his Aehids. — These Robes did Priamus wear when he gave Laws and administered Justice to the people: and when Solomon gave judgement; we read that he sat upon a magnificent Throne, and was clothed with royal Robes and ornaments, answerable to his royal State, 1 King: And this is necessary; first, for State and Dignity, when God had called Aaron to the honour and office of the high priest, he commanded Moses to give direction, for the making of him rich garments, the richest that could be made, both for the materials, and the workmanship; for the materials, they were to be of Purple, and fine Linen, Gold, and Silver, and precious stones; and for the workmanship, it was of Embroidery, and that so curious, that the world did not afford men cunning enough to work it, but Almighty God did endue two chosen men, (Bezaleel and Aholiab) with a special and extraordinary spirit for that purpose; and when all was so done, the Lord tells us, that this was, the special use of them, they were to be made for Aaron, for Beauty and for Glory. Exod: 28.2.  
Secondly, They were for distinction; as for beauty and glory, so for distinction: God did not make the world level at the first, nor never meant it should be so, and although he made all men of one mettle, yet he did not cast them all in one mould; he hath made some high, and some low, some rich, and some poor; some to command, and some to obey; upon some he hath put a greater measure of his Spirit, then upon others; some he hath endued with extraordinary gifts above others, gists of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, whereby he hath fitted and enabled them for high Callings, Offices, and Employments above others; and as there is this internal difference between one man and another, so it is agreeable to reason, that there should be some visible ensigns of it, whereby it may outwardly appear to others: nature itself hath taught a difference and distinction of men, one from another; and even in this Kingdom before clothes were in use (any more than such as the Inhabitants clothed the nether parts of their bodies with, and they were the skins of wild beasts,) they did visibly declare a distinction among themselves, by the painting of the upper parts of their bodies: hence those that were acknowledged for Primes among them, and great men, bore in the painting of their bodies, one the Sun, another the Moon, another the picture of the Lion, another the Eagle, and so of other creatures; from whence our great English Antiquary conjectures that this Island took its name to be called Brittania, from the ancient Brittish-word Birth, which signifies Painted; and the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifieth a Region or Country: as if he should say Regio pictorum, the Region of painted men. Upon this account is it, that Kings have their Crowns, Bishops their Mitres, Nobles their Ermines, Judges their Robes, and we (of the University) our several Hoods and Habits, (according to our Degrees) for Dignity, and distinction.  
Thirdly, That their very presence may strike an awful reverence in those that are to be governed by them: Cultus magnificus addit hominibus authoritatem; says Quintilian, Institut: lib. 1. They speak Majesty, Power and Authority in them that wear them, and add (in the estimation of the people) glory and honour, to those that are clothed with them: And state, and magnificence to the actions that are done in them.  
Fourthly, They are documents to them that wear them, and put them in mind what they are, and what they have to do; and admonish them to carry in them that state and gravity that becomes them, and so to demean themselves that they may be a greater honour to their Robes, than their Robes are to them.  
Upon all these accounts, how unreasonable are the exceptions of vain and sordid men against them, who look upon them with an envious, and an evil eye, and charge them with vanity, and ostentation, and such as might well be spared? surely had these men been in Moses' time, they would have controlled the wisdom of God, in appointing such rich Garments to be made for Aaron with an ad quid haec perditio? what needs this waist? whereto is all this cost? they would have told us, that God is a spirit, and that Aaron should have worshipped him in spirit and in truth; and if he did so, it were all one whether he did Minister in a pair of linen, or of leathern Breeches an Ephod, or a Miller's jacket: and so I leave this first part of the Character, and come to the second, His inclination to mercy & compassion where he found fit objects for it, in that he was Eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and to the poor a Father.  
Under these three sorts of people are comprehended all such poor, impotent, helpless people of what sort or kind soever, which stand in need of our help and relief. And if I take the words literally, and so plead the cause of such, I shall therein do the Text no wrong; for how do the streets swarm with such? how are the highways and hedges lined with them? besides, how many Hospitals, and Almshouses are there full of such, founded by the piety and charity of merciful men for their relief, yet (what by the cruelty and covetuousness of some, what by the negligence and unfaithfulness of others entrusted for them, what through the inabilty of those that are in them to help themselves) shamefully wronged and defrauded, and the means belonging to them in a second, or third generation (well nigh) quite extinguished: now (in such cases) for the Magistrate to look upon them with a merciful eye, and provide for their relief, by reviving wholesome Laws made for that purpose, by setting on foot the Commissions for pious and charitable uses, and taking care to the due execution of them, is certainly a work not only of Justice but of mercy too, well worthy the care of a worthy Magistrate, by which he shall become as Job in the text, Eyes to the Blind, feet to the lame, and to the poor a father.  
But Job had a farther meaning in this Expression than this; he speaks Metaphorically; by the blind, doth Job understand the ignorant man, by the lame, the impotent man, and by the poor the indigent man: and they all equally stand in need of help. The blind man hath legs good enough to walk with, but he wants eyes to see his way; and so he must necessarily fall into one of these two mischiefs, or both, either to err out of the way, or to stumble and fall in it; the lame man hath eyes good enough to see his way, but he wants legs to go in it, and so is in as ill case as the other: the poor man may have both his eyes, and his limbs, and yet being poor, and wanting a purse to carry on his business, he is in as ill a condition as any of the other: the worthy Magistrate is a relief to them all, and supplies them with those helps that are most suitable to their several necessities; Ignorantem dirigendo, impotentem supportando, indigentem sublevando; by directing the ignorant, supporting the impotent, and relieving the indigent, and thus make good the Character here in the Text, and becomes Eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and to the poor a father. The ignorant man hath a good Cause, but wants skill to manage it, wants eyes to spy out all those niceties which (in his proceed, and carrying of it on) might destroy it; and indeed he had need of good eyes indeed, that can spy out all the wind and turn, the niceties, quirks, quillets, quiddities, that a good Cause may be subject to, and yet there's not the least of these, (suppose the misdateing a Declaration, mistaking a Name, or mis-spelling of it, vitium scriptoris, or some such slight matter) but it shall be pleaded to the destruction of the whole business; and the poor Client shall be forced either to lose his Cause, or to put his Cap to daying (as we use to say) or to fetch it about again, and again upon some such other light and slight Cause, till he become weary of his Suit, and his life too, and choose rather to sit down and to lose all, then to hazard the recovery of it, by a remedy worse than the disease: now in such a case for a Magistrate to lend an eye to the blind, is certainly on Act not only of Justice, but of Mercy too, and of pure charity. And here by the way, let me propose it to you nimble-Pleaders as a case of conscience, whether in such a case (when you see the Cause clearly against you, truth and equity on the other party,) for the love of a Fee, or to advantage a Client you may lawfully undertake in it, and set your wits upon the tenters to find out some such slight errors or mistakes to overthrow it, and to use your cunnings against your conscience to the perverting of judgement. And so I pass from the blind to the lame, another sort of impotent People here quartered in the next room of this Spittle in the Text; I was eyes to the blind, and limbs to the lame.  
The former sort of impotent people we spoke of, wanted eyes to see, these want limbs to walk; and so are in as ill a case as they: for though they see their way never so well, yet if they want legs and limbs to go, there may they sit still and perish, and without help must needs do so; look what the want of legs is to an impotent man for walking, such is the want of means to any man to carry on his business in any undertaking: for instance, In the military way Rabshakeh says truly 2. Kings 18.20. Wisdom and Counsel are for the war, they are the eyes; but let those be never so good to contrive, yet if they want men, munition and moneys (they are the legs or sinews of war, as we call them) they will make but slow marches or Progress in their undertake; even such as a man would do in a journey travelling without legs, or with legs without sinews: Hamniball in his war against the Romans found it so; and for this we may (if we please) multiply instances enough in any kind of undertaking: take one in that way which is proper for our discourse at this season; in carrying on of a Suit in Law: An honost man hath a Cause good enough, he hath eyes good enough to see it, and knows the way of the proceed, and how it should be managed, but he wants wherewithal; he wants legs: first, he wants a purse, that's one leg; and secondly, he wants power and friends to countenance his Cause, that's another leg, and that must needs go hard with him when he wants both legs; if he had but one of them, yet he would make some hard shift to hop, or halt along, or help himself with a Crutch, or a wooden-legge, or (rather than fail) a silver-legge (I have heard of such) but when a man wants both, that must needs go hard with him, and such were the impotent which Job relieved in the Text; I was limbs, or legs to the lame: he speaks in the plural number: Now in such a case for a compassionate Magistrate, to lend a Hand, a Crutch, a Leg, or any thing to a helpless lame man, is certainly an act of pure mercy, and charity: or if he will not lend a leg to the man, yet to lend a leg to his Cause, and to his proceed in it, that it may go on with expedition, and be brought to some issue, in some time, and not hang in suspense, and be delayed from time to time, by new motions, and orders, writs of error, devices to carry it out of one Court into another, till they tire out a man at a long running, for want of legs to maintain his course. You know the story of the impotent man in the 5. of John which lay at the Banks of the Bath or Poole of Bethesda, so many years; at certain times there came an Angel and moved the waters of the Bath, and then whosoever stepped in next, had certain cure of his infirmity whatsoever it was: this poor man had lain under his infirmity 38 years; how many of these he lay at those banks (expecting cure) we cannot tell; perhaps most of them; and yet for want of limbs to help him into the water when it was stirred, still he was carried bacl as he came without cure: perhaps you would be angry with me (some of you) if I should make an allegory of this and apply it by way of allusion to the method of your proceed in your course, for the relieving of such impotent creatures as come to you for cure in their several necessities; if I should compare that Bath to some of your Courts, soeveraigne enough for their cure if they could but seasonably get into them, or when they are in, get out again; the stirring of the waters to your active proceed in them; the impotent man lying on the banks to the poor Client; his long lying there, toyour long detaining of him without relief, without dispatch; it would suit but too well in all the parts of it, for there shall you have a poor Client attend from Term to Term, from year to year, and for well nigh as many years as this impotent man did; and yet (what for want of the Angels to stir the waters, or of limbs to help him in, when they are stirred, or out again when he is in) still he comes back again as he went, without the cure he hoped for: a great disparagement certainly, though not to the Law, yet to the proceed in it; and a great grievance to the subject, that the Sun shall travail twenty times between the Tropics too and fro; and he many times twenty as far (as will take in many of the parallels) for relief; and yet can bring his matters to no issue; where the tediousness of the journeyings adds no small aggravation to the tediousness of the delay and expectation: Certainly this one consideration is much for the justification of those worthy Patriotts in this Kingdom, that lay out themselves in their endeavours for the resurrection of that Ancient and Honourable Court of a Presidentship here once established in these Northern-parts; the reasons for which, are as strong and as many now as ever they were; and that with some additions.  
In the flourishing Kingdom of France, there are eight such Courts, they call them Parliaments, though from any of them there may be an Appeal to the grand-Parliament at Paris; yet these are eight standing Courts of great Honour and Authority erected (in so many several Provinces of the Kingdom) for the ease of the Subjects, that they may not be forced all (from the remoter parts of the Kingdom upon all occasions) to come up to Paris, and to travel so far for Justice, as to make it dear of fetching: for the same reason, have there been the like Courts of Justice erected here in England, (though not so many) one of which is yet in being in the West, and another was here in the North; and why it should not be continued or restored, I cannot imagine, except it be this, That as that great City of London (the very belly of the Kingdom) hath engrosed unto itself all the Trading, so that other (her sister of Westminster) would do the like by the Law, and so make of them both two great Monopolies. And so I pass from this sort of impotent people in the Text, (the lame) though it be long first: I had been more brief in this discourse, if those whom it concerned had been so in their dispatches.  
The next sort of helpless people in this Spittle in the Text, and quartered in the next room, are the poor; and to them (Job tells us) he was a Father. ver: 17.  
Here we are to consider, first, the object of his charity and compassion; they were the poor: secondly, his charity & compassion toward them, expressed under the notion and relation of a Father. As to the first, well did the Lord know that (what through the oppression, covetousness, and cruelty of some, what through the idleness, ill-husbandry, prodigality, and improvidence of others) there would be always some poor in the Land; as our Saviour tells us Math. 26, 11. The poor you shall have always with you; and therefore God hath mercifully provided for their relief. In the Law there was a Tithe provided for them, Deut. 14.29. that speaks home to us that receive Tithes; and tells us, that we are not to receive them all, and altogether for our own selves: we are not altogether Proprietaries; but rather, Usu-fructuaries of them in part: though we have the best title to them, and share in them, yet they were not originally set a part only for ourselves, but partly in trust; we receive them to have, but not to hold; we must distribute with one hand, aswell as receive with the other; by this very Law (the equity whereof remaineth to this day, and so far forth is Moral) there is a share due out of them to the poor. Secondly, for the possessors of Fields and Vineyards, the command was, that they should not reap their Corn clean, nor gather it all into their own Barns; but they must leave a portion of it in the corners, and in the furrows of the field, for the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger; Levit: 19 and so likewise, at the gathering in of their Vintage, they must not gather them clean; but leave a portion of the grapes, and of the olives, and of their other fruits upon the trees for the same use, a 40th. part, say some of the Hebrews; a 50th. say some others at the least; and in the times of the Gospel an Office was erected (chiefly for this purpose) to take care of the poor, Acts. 6. the Office of Deaconship, much like that of the Overseers of the poor amongst us: and in these our days, and in this Kingdom, the Laws of the Land (concorning the Poor) are so wisely made and contrived, as I think it is a hard thing to devise how to amend or better them; only as a divine Lawyer of our times (Sir Francis Bacon I mean) once said of the Laws of this Kingdom in general, That no Nation nor Kingdom under heaven had better, only there wanted one to enforce the due execution of all the rest: so may I say of these Laws concerning the Poor, They are as good as wisdom itself can devise, only they are not duly executed: Hence it is that both Towns and Country are so full of them, that we had need have in every Village an Hospital to put them in; and they do multiply so exceedingly upon us, that (as in Pharaoh's time) the lean Cows are ready to eat up the fat. And here, my Lord Mayor, with the rest of the Governors of this Honourable and Loyal City, give me leave to turn myself to you in a word of admonition: I see no place where they do more swarm, than here amongst you; so numerous, that a Gentleman cannot come to Town, nor alight at his Inn, or go into a Shop to lay out his money, but presently the house is besett with a multitude of these disorderly people; a great scandal to your Government: This is not for want of Laws to remedy it, but for want of due execution of them; for certainly if the Laws (that are in force concerning these) were well executed, not only here, but every where throughout the Kingdom, this disorder would be remedied; and there would be none found begging amongst us, but such, as it is either a shame for them to beg, or a shame for us to suffer them so to do.  
But there are two sorts of poor; as St. Paul writing of this subject, 1 Tim: 5.5. distinguisheth of widows, tells us there is a widow, and a widow indeed; so say I of the Poor, there are poor, and there are poor indeed: in the first lift of these, I rank all sturdy Rogues, wand'ring beggars, that are never out of the way, nor never in it; all drunken, and idle persons, that will not work; but finding an ease in idleness, go about from Town to Town, and take up begging for their Trade; these are all poor, but not poor indeed, they are poor, and they will be so, and it is a just judgement of Almighty God upon their lewd, lose, and profane courses, that they should be so: Solomon hath given them their doom, Pro: 23.21. The drunkard and the glutton shall be poor, & the sleeper shall be clothed with rags: these are the very scorn of the Nation, the reproach of our Government, the sink, the kennel of all lewdness, profaneness, and uncleanness; yet to these Job was, and the worthy Magistrate is a father; but how? not by relieving them, not by protecting them, not by maintaining and encouraging them in these their lewd courses, but by correcting them, by punishing them, by putting in execution those wholesome Laws, providing for the restraining of their lewdness, the setting of them on work, and reducing them into order: and herein shall he show himself a father unto these, as well as unto the other by his mercy and compassion.  
But these latter are the poor indeed, such as are not only indigent, but inevitably such; many sick & weak, and old, and blind, and lame, and either past their work, or, by reason of their infirmities disabled to work, especially if they be such as while they had ability were laborious and industrious, and either through unavoidable losses and crosses, or the greatness of their charge, where there were many more mouths to eat, than hands to work, have fallen into inevitable poverty; these are the poor indeed, these the true objects of our mercy and compassion; here, to give and to distribute, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased; here, cast thy bread upon the waters, it shall not be cast away, for after many days thou shalt find it; here, give to such, and lend to the Lord, and thou shalt certainly be no loser by it; put it upon his score, he will repay it sevenfold into thy bosom: if a cup of cold water so given to a Disciple shall not lose his reward, surely our charity expressed in more considerable proportions will not be forgotten; it is a strange argument to persuade to liberality, to pious and charitable uses, which St. Paul uses Philip: 4.17. when he says, that it shall redound to our account another day; and stronger is that which our Saviour uses, Luke 16.9. even to prevail with covetous men to make them liberal, when he says, that by laying out the Mammon of iniquity, they shall make themselves friends which may receive them into everlasting habitations: All this speaks to men as men, persuading them to works of piety & mercy, and so to become as fathers to the poor. But Job speaks in the person of a Magistrate, and so such a one in that capacity, though as a man he may be slack in these works of mercy, yet as a Magistrate he may so carry as to be a greater father to the poor than a hundred private men can be; a private man may look to private persons and families, and do good to the indigent people in the place where he dwells, but a Magistrate (as a more public person) stretcheth his arms o'er whole Countries, & Counties, and by his prudent care to make good orders for the relief of them, to see to the due execution of those that are so made, by restraining the covetousness and cruelty of those that oppress them, and make them poor, by reviving the commissions for pious and charitable uses: the like magistratical duties may become the preserver, protector, and reliever of many thousands as Job in that capacity was (besides his personal charity as a good man, and so he was) and every good Magistrate is, and aught to be unto the poor a Father.  
But more than this; Rulers & Governors, Princes and great Magistrates, are not only Fathers of the poor, but of the rich also; they are Patriots, and Fathers of the Country and Kingdom, and all the people under their Government; so amongst the Romans when any great Officer (civil or military) had done good service for the Commonwealth, he was honoured with the title of a good Patriot or a Father of his Country; and when men of the best rank amongst them (the Patricii) came to be listed among the Senators, they were styled Patres conscripti; listed Fathers: the Kings of the Philistines were styled Abimelech, which is as much as to say the King my Father; and nothing more frequent nor familiar with Solomon throughout the whole book of the Proverbs, than (speaking to his Subjects) to call them his sons: and why all this? but to show with what a Fatherly affection Princes and Rulers ought to govern their Subjects, and with what filial, and son-like duties of honour, reverence and obedience Subjects ought to carry towards them again. In the first commandment of the second Table (which St. Paul takes notice of to be the first Commandment with promise Ephes: 6.1.) the duty of Subjects to their King and Governors is called for under the notion of honour, and the motive persuading to the duty (that it may come sweetly and cheerfully) is the relation of a Father; Honour thy Father and thy Mother: thy Father the King, and thy Mother the Church; thy Father the Civil Magistrate, thy Mother the Ecclesiastical: for, that this command doth not only concern our natural Parents, nor chiefly them, but principally the Magistrate, our Civil Father, and the Church our Holy Mother, the reason in the commandment (which is the promise annexed to such obedience) doth clearly evince, That thy days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: which clearly declareth, that this command is not principally meant of a family command, but of a Nationall command; nor the promise, a personal promise, but a more general promise to the People; nor the duty, so much intended of a family duty, of piety of children toward their Parents; as of subjection and obedience of Subjects toward their Civil and Ecclesiastical Parents, the King, and the Church; the neglect of which duty toward them, and their undutiful murmur, mutining, seditions, conspiracies, treasons, and rebellions against them, is the ruin of Kingdoms, the destruction of Monarchies, great States, Cities, Commonwealths, and the ready way to shorten the period of them: for by these they expose themselves to the Rapine of all their enemies, or of any any Nation (that will take the advantage of their divisions and dissensions) to fall in upon them, and to make a prey of them, and so throw them (with their Kings and Princes) out of the Land which the Lord their God had given unto them, as it is now with this very People to whom this command was given; as you may read, 2 Kings 17. and 2 Chronicles 36.  
The only way for a people to live long in the Land which the Lord their God giveth them, to prolong their days in peace and happiness, is by honouring and being obedient to their father and their mother, their Rulers and Governors, both Civil and Ecclesiastical; yet it pleaseth the wisdom of God to commend these duties to us under this near and dear relation of Parents and children, that both the terms in it may from this expression learn their duty; that Princes and Rulers may govern with a gentle hand, much tenderness and affection; not as Tyrants, but as Fathers; not as over slaves, but as over sons: and on the other hand, that Subjects may know how to obey, not as by compulsion, but of a free & willing mind; not out of a slavish fear, but out of a filial affection. Thus while Rulers govern their People as Fathers, and the People honour and obey as sons, it is the only way to prolong our days in peace & plenty, happiness & security, and to live long in the Land which the Lord our God giveth unto us and all this is taught us under this sweet notion and relation in the Text, wherein Job professeth himself to be unto the poor a father. And this was the second Character of a worthy Magistrate; we now come to the third in the next words of the Text,  
The Cause that I knew not, I searched out.  
These words show the pains and patience, prudence & diligence which Job did, and all other worthy Judges and Magistrates do, and aught to use in examining Causes & Persons brought before them, for finding out of the truth, that so they may judge righteous judgement, all these are comprehended in the word [searched,] The cause, etc. I searched out. The righteous Judge of all the world when he came down from heaven to earth (as sometimes he did) to execute judgement, though he knew the cause before he came, yet before he past sentence, or executed judgement, he would examine the Cause and find out the truth by diligent enquiry; see this in the examination of Adam, Gen: 3. the arraignment of Cain; Gen: 4. the judgement of Sodom, Gen: 19 Adam where art thou? (to the first) and hast thou eaten of the fruits of the tree, of which I commanded thee thou shouldst not eat? as if he knew nothing of it: Cain, where is thy brother Abel? (to the second) thy father hath lost a son, the world a saint, and I a faithful servant and martyr; thou must not so carry it, thou shalt not so go away with the murder; ubi est Abelfrater tuus? where is thy brother Abel? I will go down & see; (to the third) he needed not to go down and see for his own information; the cry of the City was come up to him, and might save his labour for going down to them, as to his own information; but by this his judiciary proceed, the Judge of all the world would teach all earthly Judges to know, how warily and orderly they ought to proceed in hearing & determining causes that are brought before them, that so they may find out the truth, and give sentence without error: hence it is that Judges were anciently called Cognitores, and to hear a cause (in the Roman Orators language) was cognoscere causam, to know a cause; and this requires much pains and patience, prudence and diligence, not slightly to pass it over, but to search into it: It is the honour of a King to search out a matter: saith Solomon, Pro: 25.2. a rare example whereof, he was himself in the case between the two harlots, in discovering the true mother of the child in question; 1 Kings 3. and such is the command in all other cases; in the case case of Idolatry, Deut: 17.4. and in the case of false witness, Deut: 19.17. in the former (saith the Text) Thou shalt make diligent enquiry: in the latter, Thou shalt make diligent search: both made good here in my Text, by this worthy King, Judge, and Magistrate, the subject of our discourse; the cause which I knew not, I searched out: and great reason is there for all this care, pains, patience, diligence, and Prudence in searching out the truth; if you consider these four things.  
REASONS.  
1. That truth oftentimes lies deep, veritas in profundo; as Democritus: involuta latet & in alto, (as Seneca to the same purpose) it lies implicated, enveloped, and perplexed with many foldings, wind, and turn; clouded with many mists of error and falsehood; so that he had need of Lynceus' eyes to pierce into the bottom of it, or Ariadne's thread to lead him to the secret where it lies.  
2. Innocency is often charged by false and unjust accusations, with crimes which none is guilty of, but the accusers themselves, they laid to my charge things that I knew not; how hard a case was that of Naboth, that he did suffer? and of Susanna that she should have suffered upon such false and unjust suggestions, and accusations?  
3. And as innocency is often aspersed with false and foul accusations, so guilt is often painted with a fair face, and coloured with specious pretences of innocency; in either of which cases, for a man to justify the wicked, or to condemn the just, he renders himself equally abominable in the sight of God.  
4. Informations are various, for the most part, partial, sometimes false; that of Ziba, 2 Sam: 16.2. nay, (which is worse, and fearful to speak of) oaths themselves oftentimes not to be trusted to; how many such have sometimes been found to cross shinns, and point-blank to cross and thwart one another; insomuch as it were enough to puzzle the wisest men, and to make them at a stand, and not know which way to turn themselves in giving judgement; when from the evidences themselves they can take no certain light; in such cases, how exceedingly doth it stand them upon to use all diligence, not only by examining witnesses, but observing circumstances, comparing testimonies, casting in Queries upon the by, and by all the ways and means they can devise (in the cause that they know not) to search out the matter? but Euphormio was out, when reading Lectures of Philosophy, and seeing brave Hannibal coming into his School; diverted his discoutses, and fell upon reading a Lecture of Martial Discipline, and to show how to martial an Army, how to draw it up into a body, how to cast it into several forms for the better advantaging of it itself, and disadvantaging of the enemy, etc. and so should I, if I should take upon me to discourse of such a subject as this is in such a Presence. And therefore I pass from this part of the Character, to the next, and last part of the Character of a worthy Magistrate, and that is, His courage, in executing of Judgement upon the greatest & stoutest Offenders, in these words I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.  
And the words follow upon the last going before, in a very good method, thus; He saw the poor oppressed, wronged, and injured by those that were great, and mighty, and stronger than they; from whose violence they could no way defend themselves; and so neither save themselves from wrong, nor right themselves being wronged; here Joh. as a worthy Magistrate 〈…〉 on justice, & cloths himself with judgement as with a Robe and a Diadem; sits him down upon the Throne or Seat of justice; calls the Parties before him, hears their complaint, examines the business, and the cause that he knew not, he searches out; and having found the truth of it, and their complaints to be just; with great courage and magnanimity (well becoming his place) he falls upon Offenders, the stoutest of them, and executes judgement upon them: first, by plucking the prey out of their teeth, and causing them to make restitution and satisfaction for the wrong they had done; and secondly, by breaking their jaws that they should do so no more, and so he became a father to the poor; here take up this Observation.  
That 'tis execution of Justice and Judgement, that is the protection of the innocent, terror to the nocent and offenders, and that keeps the subjects in order and in peace: He shall sit upon the Throne of David, saith the Lord, Isa. 9.7. What to do? not to sit there in state and majesty for the subjects to look at him, and no more; but to execute justice and judgement, that's the end of his power and greatness: 'Tis not the making of good Laws, but the putting of them into execution, that must preserve the peace of the Lands without this, what are the Laws, though never so good? but dead Letters, Ink and Paper, inanes bullae, vain scarr-crowes which soon come to be despised and trodden under foot, and render the makers of them ridiculous; 'tis execution that is the life of the Law; without it the Magistrate bears the sword in vain.  
But we come to the Offenders, upon whom he executed this judgement, and the crimes for which: The offenders were great Ones, great Oppressors, men of power, which notwithstanding they did abuse to the crushing of those that were under them, and therefore compared to wild beasts, ravenous beasts, beasts of prey, Lions, Bears, Wolves, Tigers, which tear and devour the smaller Cattle that they seize upon; and such cruel devourers indeed there are amongst brutish and unreasonable creatures, the Fishes, the Fowls, and the wild beasts; but amongst men and reasonable creatures, 'tis strange that any should be found so unreasonable, so brutish; yet, as strange as it is, it is too true, and too common, Homo homini Lupus, Leo, Tigris, Daemon, one man is even a devil to another, more cruel than those favage creatures, biting and devouring one another, at St. Paul expresses it: Gal. 5.15. Eating up my people as they would eat bread: as God himself speaketh of them; and therefore in executing justice upon them, he is said to break their teeth, and to smite the jawbones of them: Psal: 3.7. Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the jawbone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly: just in the language of the Text here, I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of their teeth. Where, he maketh mention of two sorts of instruments of cruelty, and oppression, teeth & jaws; by the teeth, meaning those fore-teeh, with which they lay hold, by't, and tear off the flesh; and by the jaws, the double-teeths that are in the innermost part of the jawbone, with which they grind what they have gotten into them, that so they may devour it [called here molares, grinders:] by which Job seems to discover two sorts of Offenders, first Biters, secondly Grinders; by the teeth he intimates unto us the Biters; and by the molares in the jaws, the Grioders; and there are of both sorts but too many: to instance in some of each sort.  
First, The Usurer he is a Biter; from it he hath his very name, [Neshek] in the learned Language signifieth Usury, and it is derived from Nashak, which signifieth to by't: so he is most properly a Biter, where he lays hold, he bites fore.  
Secondly, Your Under-Excise-man, that farms the Excise at the second, third, or fourth hand; he is a Biter, a sorer Biter than the former; for, let it come through as many hands as it will, they will all gain, let it fall never so heavy upon the subject; and very heavy it must needs fall; for these two reasons, first, because there are so many Chapmen one under another, all which must and will make up their markets, make themselves gainers. Secondly, because there are so many under-Officers belonging to them; Informers, Gagers, Spies, Collectors, Clarks, and I know not how many more subservient to the Farmers; all which will have a living out of it, and some of them more than every man shall know off, or that any man can take account of them for: all which must be squeezed out of the poor subject; yet never comes home to the place, or use for which it was intended; whereas, if it were assessed as now it stands, and collected [Villatim] as some other of his Majesty's Revenues are, by Officers of Trust in every Parish; and so transmitted to other higher Officers, till it, were landed where it should be, the Revenue would be greater, and the Clamour less: but where there are so many Biters on work at once; and with such long teeth too, daily and hourly tearing of by such full bits as they do; no marvel, if the poor people shrink under their teeth, and complain so sore; no marvel, if they grow so fat, and the people so lean, upon whom they pray: these long teeth of theirs would be filled at least, if not broken off; they are both too sharp and to long: the Government of this Kingdom is in no particular Arbitrary, but in this Maladministration of the Excise: the Excise-man is a Biter.  
3. A third sort of biters, are your cunning and unconscionable Barterers in buying & selling, bargaining or exchanging, Thou shalt not defraud thy brother, nor go beyond him in bargaining; says the Apostle 1 Thes 4.6. and that with an intimation too, for the Lord is the avenger of all such things. (in the same text) there is a great deal of fraud in buying and selling; by which men go beyond their brethren; by lying and swearing, false weights, false measures, false gloss, upon counterfeit wares; to set them forth to the eye, to make them the more vendable; by ask so far above the worth, that if a man bid but to the half or sometimes to the fift part, he is sure to be catched; by recommending things by perswafive arguments above the worth, thus much it cost me, thus much it is worth, thus much I have been offered, and never a word true; by trusting at too great an advantage, and a hundred more such frandes, which it is no wisdom so much as to mention: ne magis admonere quam prohibere viderer; neither is the buyer free from his frauds too; It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone he boasteth: and therefore our Saviour takes them both in, when speaking of buyers & sellers even in the Temple, he calls them both thiefs Mat: 21.19. It is written, my house shall he called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thiefs. the cunning and unconscionable bargainer, whether it be in buying or selling, is a biter, & in the Scripture language a thief, though the Law do not call him so: under this head, I may rank all Engrossers, Forestallers, Regrators, Monopolizers, and a hundred more; but what need I go so far as to the shops and markets to look after them? I doubt they may be found nearer home.  
4. What think you of a driving Lawyer? that is not willing to bring his Clients Cause to an issue too soon; but, having discovered a good purse to follow it, makes it his study to spin it out with as long a thread as he can. I heard a soldier of fortune say in the beginning of these late unhappy wars (a great Officer he was) that if they did husband it well, he did not doubt but they might so manage their business as to make those wars last seven years: I wish he had had his wish, so he had had no more; and I the next, he should have been but little better for them: I doubt there are some other professions of his mind in these driving and protracting ways; and I should have told you something more of your proceed in this kind, but that you heard something of it already.  
5. For a small Officer to grope for a small Bribe, perhaps to excuse a Juryman; or, to help a friend or two to be put upon the taly; to help a verdict; is but a small matter: he is scarce worth the name of a biter, he doth but snap and away; let him pass.  
6. But what think you of a Marshal; he is an Officer (I think) that hath the ordering of Causes, to put them into rank and file, and to dispose of them in such a method, and order, as they are to be called on; which, being oft times numerous, are enough to make up a pretty Army: he had need be honest, for great is his power, and much to the advantage or dis-advantage of those, for, or against whom he will please to use it: he can alter his ranks and files as helisteth; cut off his files by the middle; and by a word of command and a motion (not of his pike, but of his pen) dispose of each of the divisions when he please; make the whole body of the Causes wheel to the right or to the left, and so alter the ground, or by a countermarch bring the front into the rear, and the rear into the front; he had need be honest, he shall have temptations enough to use this his power and skill for the speeding of Trials, and too often doth so, but he cannot herein gratify one but he must injure another as much; and that bites fore but, that's no matter; so he have a morsel from the one, he'll make no bones to snap at the others good; he may well go for a Biter.  
7. There is one sort of beasts amongst you, I know nor whether I may place him among the wild beasts or tame but a deadly biter he is; they call him a Barrater, a Common-barrater; he is made up of many ingredients, all stark naught; this is one that makes it his business to create suits of Law, and to foment them, vexatious suits, and then to employ himself in them with all treachery, falsehood and unfaithfulness that may be, that out of the troubled waters he may fish to himself advantage: is not this one of his tricks, to sue a Neighbour unto an outlawry: and he never hear of it, nor know who hurt him till he see it come out against him? is not this another? for some slight? respasse to sue a man that dwells the next door by him, a man that keeps Church and market, and which he sees and converses with every day, yet for vexationsake sends out his writs into Kent, or Cornwall, or some other the remotest Counties in the Kingdom to seek him; where God knows he never was: this writ in Latin you call a latitat; and yet the charge of this and all these indirect processes, and proceed, must come in the bill of charges against him; as if he were a man that hide his head. This other that I mention is but a poor one, but yet it is common, for a man that hath some slight matter against his neighbour to send for a process for him, in the same process to put in four several men, and all for trifles not worth the defending: the design is to call them all severally to composition, this is easily made; but then every one of them pays the whole charges of the writ & proceed; whereas the payment of one discharges all, and so the other three are put up for clear gain: this is a Biter too, a paltry cur, yet of an ill mouth, his teeth wrankle where they by't; 'twere good they were knocked out they snap at so many: these are not the tithe of tricks of this currish biter: but I am weary of pursuing him, and many more; and therefore turn me from them to those grand Oppressors in the text, the Grinders, whose jaws (Job tells us) he broke, that they might grind no more, I broke the jaws of the wicked.  
As there are Biters amongst men, so there are Grinders too; of these the Lord complains, Isa: 3.15. What mean you that you break my people in pieces and grind the faces of the poor? and in the Psalms they eat up my people as they would eat bread. our Saviour goes further in the reproof of some of them, and tells them they are such insatiable Helluo's; that they devour whole houses, as well as those that are in them; Mat: 23. Of these Grinders and Devourers, take notice of these four sorts.  
First, The cruel Extortioners; who (where he can lay hold and fasten his teeth) will never let go till he consume all that a man hath: Psal, 109.11. such are they that lay hold of men and their estates by Bills, Bonds, Mortgages, that take the advantages of all forfeitures; that deal upon men's necessities; and pursue them with all rigour and extremity, till they break their backs and their bones; these are the Grinders, which the Lord complains of, [Isa: 3.15.] which beat his people in pieces: and then the unmerciful Opressour, which withholds from the hireling his wages, or making him work for nought, lives by the sweat of the poor man's brows; such as Job speaks of, Job 22.6. which take the pledge from a man for nought, and strip the naked of their clothing; such as withhold bread from the hungry, and break the arms of the fatherless; that take away the widow's bed from under her; and sell the poor for shoes: (as the Prophet speaks) these are those which God complains of, in the latter part of that verse, which grind the face of the poor: all these are crying sins, they make the poor cry; but these sins of oppression and cruelty, make a greater cry against them, and such as entereth into the ears of the Lord Almighty, & will not be stilled till it brings down judgement and vengeance upon them: if the sentence of condemnation be pronuoneed against all those which when Christ in these was hungry, gave him no meat, and when he was thirsty gave him not to drink; what shall become of those that take from them the bread that they should eat, and the water that they should drink? if those be guilty that do not visit the members of Christ in prison; what shall become of those that cast them there? Mat: 25. these may well be ranked among the Grinders: but there is a millstone which our Saviour Christ speaks of in the Gospel; which though it be not hanged about their necks here, and they cast into the Sea with it; yet will one day be cast upon them and grind them to powder.  
2. The Second sort of Grinders are your great Depopulators, that lay whole Towns even with the ground; fair Churches wherein God had been worshipped; ancient houses wherein had been kept by their Ancestors good hospitality; all laid waste: ante ostia solitudo; they stand only as emblems of desolation places for Zim to lodge in, the houses full of Ohim; for Ostriches to dwell in, and the satyrs to dance: Isa: 34. these throw out whole families, and turn them out of doors by whole sale, by droves, without house and harbour, making them to wander up and down, scattered about the Country (as once the Israelites did) to gather stubble instead of straw) and forced to embrace the Rock for a shelter, and all this to make room for their Cattles, or wild beasts, dogs and horses; either for their pleasure, or personal profit; when to make room for them, so many hundred Christian souls are turned a grazing: these are the Nimrods' of the world; mighty hunters before the Lord: Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord; what did he hunt? not so much wild beasts, as men; he hunted them out of their habitations, & drove them up into corners, that he might enlarge his Territories and Dominions: such are these depopulators, mighty hunters, that drive men out of their harbours and habitations to make them room for them, and for their pleasures, profits, and disports; but let such remember the woe pronounced against the Assyrian for the like crime, Isa: 33.1. Woe unto thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; when thou hast done spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled thyself: the first great depopulator of this Kingdom was a terrible example of God's severe wrath & vengeance against such unreasonable, such unmerciful, and destroying Oppressors the depopulator is a grinder.  
3. A third sort of grinders are the insatiable purchasers: [Poor-chasers] you may call them, that join house to house, and land to land, till there be no more room, that they may dwell alone in the earth: to these I may say by way of allusion as Bildad to Job, (Job: 18.4.) Shall the earth be removed for thee? so, was the earth made for these alone, that they will not allow others a small room in it, or a corner of it to dwell in? and when they have done all they can do in this kind, what have they done? but loadened themselves with thick clay? and when they have purchased what they can, what have they purchased? but a lump of earth; and let that lump be never so big, still 'tis but earth? 'tis an inheritance in heaven that must enrich us, and make us happy: what profit is it for a man to have a share of the earth, and none of heaven? to have great store of lands and live, and not one foot in the land of the living? and when all is done, had one man the whole earth to himself, or that which now serves manythousads, to his own use; he can use no more of it while he is living, then will serve one man; and when he is dead, and boxed up in his Coffin, as little room in it shall serve his turn, as shall do the meanest of those whom he oppress't, and from whom he hath taken that which he had to augment his portion. The royal Prophet rightly apprehended this vain humour of earthlyminded men; Psal: 46.11. where he tells them their very thoughts thus, Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever. and their dwelling places to all generations; and therefore they call their lands after their own names: this is the way of them: (saith the Prophet) withal it is their folly too, for ver: 14. They lie in the grave like sheep, death gnoweth upon them; and more than so, the righteous shall have dominion over them in the morning: and this is the end of their purchase; but in the mean time, while their teeth are in their head, they by't sore, & devour whole multitudes; and therefore are rightly listed amongst the Grinders.  
4. A fourth sort of Grinders, I shall acquaint you with, and I shall mention no more; and that is the Rack-renting Landlord: which, though he cannot manage his lands himself, and hath as much need of the Tenant's labour, as the Tenant hath of his Land; yet is not willing that a poor Tenant should live upon his labour: he will have rend not only for his Land, but for his Tennant's labour too, and so live by the sweat of other men's brows; peeping into every corner, every Cottage, to see whether he can spy any advantage, out of which he may squeeze if it be but the other crown, to mend his Rencall; though it come so hard, that he is fain to press blood in stead of sweat to make it up. And among all your Rack-renters, take heed of your City-purchaser, that hath raised himself into an Estate out of small wares; as for your Nobility, and Gentry, whose Estates descend unto them from their Ancestors, they have some sense of honour in them, and a care to uphold the reputation of the Noble Families they springe from, by keeping up the Ancient hospitality of their houses, and by preserving the honour of their forefather's, which (among other things) consisted much in this, that they were good Masters to their servants, and good Landlords to their Tenants: but these new Upstarts, that have raised themselves out of pinns and points, or some such small matters, did so value a farthing when they were not worth it, that they think it now very ill husbandry in them, that any man should get penny under them; hence is it, that they do so exactly dispute the value of every Cottage, every corner, every foot of Land within their purchase, in which in short time (by the help of some officious Informers) they become as skilful and expert as ever they were in their trade: of all kind of Landlords, take heed of such, they by't sore, and there is no bit so little, but they will fasten their teeth in it, and never let go till they tear away their hold at the least.  
And thus I have given you an account of the Delinquents in the text both the biters and the grinders: there is nothing remains now, but the breaking of their jaws, and plucking the prey out of their teeth: herein Job shown both his justice and his courage; and in both of them declared himself a worthy Magistrate in breaking their jaws, andplucking the prey out of their teeth: and this will be the honour of all Judges and Magistrates even to the highest, seeing there are so many Lions and Bears, and Wolves and Tigers amongst men, aswell as among beasts; that tear and devour those smaller helpless creatures which they can overpower: what can be more just, or more honourable, then for the worthy Magistrates, the Rulers, and Governors of the Land, to clothe themselves with justice as with a Rohe and Diadem? to sit in judgement upon them? to reach the head of such insolent offenders? to pluck the prey out of their teeth, by causing them to make restitution and satisfaction for all the wrongs, injuries and oppressions, by which they have endamaged innocent and harmless men; and then to break their jaws by such severe and wholesome Laws, and paenall Statutes, that they shall not dare to do so any more. And this is an Act that will require courage & magnanimity, of all other virtues most necessary in a Magistrate, in these four respects;  
First, for preserving the Authority of the Laws which without due execution will become ridiculous, and render them so that made them; it is a reproach to Laws, when they shall be compared but to cobwebs which entangle the smaller Flies, but the great humming Bees break through them.  
Secondly, for the maintaining and upholding the honour of their persons and places, and the high Offices they bear, that they fall not into contempt.  
Thirdly, in respect of the Offenders themselves, especially such as the Text speaks of, Biters and Grinders of the people; they are the Lions, and Bears, and Wolves, and Tigers, among the smaller Cattles; strong, insolent, and stubborn, such as hate to be reform, and scorn to be reproved; here, it is necessary that a Magistrate clothe himself with zeal, courage, and magnanimity, to let the proudest of them know; that he bears not the sword in vain.  
Fourthly, in [terrorem] to terrify others, that they may see, and hear, and fear, and not dare to Act presumptuously: severe execution of Justice upon a few of those great, and insolent Offenders, shall be of more force to keep the Country in awe and in order, then upon a 100 petty delinquents of a lesser size.  
Fifthly, it declares the integrity of the Magistrate and that he doth justice without respect of persons. Upon all these accounts of all the magistratical virtues, there's none more necessary than courage, and magnanimity; to take down the insolency of great Offenders: we whip beggars when they go about the Country begging; we hang up sheep-stealers, and petty thiefs; but, what do we to those great Robbers we have spoken of? that rob by wholesale, rob whole Towns and Families in them? oh for the courage of Phineas, in such cases, or of Job in the Text, to break the jaws of such, and to pluck the prey out of their teeth! And so I have done with all the parts of the Character of a worthy Magistrate, set forth in the Text: there are three conclusions to be gathered out of them all (considered together) by good consequence; which I would have acquainted you with, if the time would have served for it, as well as the Text; I will only name them, and so I have done.  
1. The first is this, the great necessity of this great Ordinance of Magistracy and Government: it is the very stay of the world; the pillars and supporters, not only of the Kingdom, but of the Societies in it; the mother of our peace and joy. When there are so many poor, and blind, and lame amongst us; what would become of them, if there were none to be eyes to the one, limbs to the other, and to the third as Faethers? While there are so many Lions, and Bears, and Wolves, and Tigers amongst us, ready to by't, and to tear, and to devour those that are not able to resist them: what would become of us, if we had not amongst us, such men of wisdom and courage, power and authority, to break their jaws, and to pluck the prey out of their teeth?  
2. The second thing is this, the great happiness of this Nation, in the full fruition of this so blessed an Ordinance; where we have so many Courts of Justice of all sorts erected amongst us, and men of choice wisdom, courage, learning, uprightness, and integrity, sitting in them; unto which we may have resort at all times, for justice and judgement, upon all occasions; where, that promise made to the people of God upon their turning to him, is made good to us: Isa: 1.25.26. And I will turn my hand upon thee and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin. And I will restore thy Judges as at the first, and thy Counsellors as at the beginning, the Lord hath thus gracioussy dealt with us, and made this word good unto us; he hath turned his hand upon us, and purged away our dross, and taken away all our tin; and he hath restored our Judges as at the first, and our Counsellors as at the beginning: Blessed be God, this day is this Scripture fulfilled in our ears; this day, do we see it with our eyes. That of Amos, (whether precept, or promise, or prophecy, or what you will call it) [Amos 5: 24.] is this day the joy and rejoicing of our hearts; where Judgement doth run downlike water; and righteousness as a mighty stream; as water, for the plenty of it, and freedom to it; and as a mighty stream, for the conveyance of it through the land; 'tis true the fountain of it is at Westminster; there's the spring, the well head; but, here's the comfort of it, it is not stagrum, a standing pool: Justice doth not contain itself within those banks, but it runs down as a stream, as a mighty river like that of Nilus watering the whole Kingdom, branching itself into many streams, running East, West, North, and South through all the Counties, all the Countries, all the quarters of the Land in the several Circuits, allotted unto several learned Judges of the Land, in which they with their Counsellors, and Officers riding from County to County, from City to City, as so many streams convey justice unto us; bring home Justice to our houses, carry it to our very doors: That which Moses speaks in the in the honour of the Isralites, [Deut: 4.8.] may truly be said in the honour of our Nation, in the same respect, What Nation is there so great, which hath Statutes and Judgements so righteous, as is all the Law that I set before you this day? so, what Nation is there under Heaven, so happy as England, is this day, which hath Statutes, and Judgemenst, and Laws, so righteous as we have; and such choice men for wisdom, learning, uprightness, and integrity, to administer Justice and Judgement unto the people according to them? And this brings on the third Conclusion, and that follows, ex congrue.  
3. What thanks do we owe to God, to the King, to the Parliament, and to all our Rulers and Governors, for so great mercy, blessings, and benefits, which under their Government, and by the means of it, we do daily receive? we own to them our peace, our liberty, our security, our property, all the enjoyment of the good things we have here; yea, even our very lives: 'tis by Government, and by the due execucution of justice and judgement, that we live securely, that we enjoy our peace and plenty, that we sit every man quietly under his own vine, and figtree, and enjoy the fruit of our labours: without it, how soon would the Biters and the Grinders fall in upon us, tear us in pieces, and devour us when there was none to help. Oh, bless God for Government; cartainly of all the blessings that God hath sent down down from heaven to earth, (as to the things of this life) there is none so great as this of Government; therefore, blessed be God that hath eastblished Government amongst us; and blessed be the King, which (with good Jeh shaphat) hath taken care to send forth Judges and Officers to administer justice and judgement unto the people; and blessed be the Parliament, which hath made us Statutes, Judgements, and Laws, so just, so good, so righteous, to be governed by; and blessed be all the Ministers of true Justice amongst us, which lay out themselves in their utmost endeavours, to preserve our peace and protect us, from wrong and violence; from the fury of the Biters, and the Grinders, that would devour us: and now how shall we show our thankfulness to them all? but by praying for them, by paying tribute unto them, where tribute is due; by yielding all due honour and reverence to their persons, all Subjection and due obedience to their Orders, Injunctions, and Commands, which they lay upon us for our good this is the way to preserve our peace; this is the way to continue our happiness; and to make our days long in this good Land which the Lord our God hath given unto us; AMEN.  
FINIS.