How to do good to many, or, The public good is the Christians life…How to do good to many, or, The publick good is the Christians life…

Therefore pray hard for Kings and Magistrates. For if they be good they are exceeding great blessings to the world. They will remember that their power is for God and the Common Good, and that to God they must give a strict account: They will take Gods Law for the only Universal Law to the world, and conform their own as By-Laws to it. They will take their own interest to consist in pleasing God and promoting the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ; and the piety and saving of Mens Souls. They will be Examples of serious Godliness, of Justice and sobriety, trustiness and temperance and Chastity to their subjects; in their eyes a vile person will be contemned, but they will honour those that fear the Lord, Psal. 15. 4. They will Love those most that Love Christ best, and most diligently obey him, and tenderly fear to sin against him: Those please them best that please God best, and are most useful to the common good: They will set their hearts on the peoples welfare, and are watching for all, while all securely live under their vigilancy. They will cherish all that Christ cherisheth, and specially the faithful Pastors of the Churches, that seek not the world, ⟨p. 28⟩but the welfare of the flocks: When some are saying, In this Mountain we must worship God, and some at Jerusalem, they will teach them all to worship God in Spirit and truth: When Pastors and people grow peevish and quarrelsome for their several interests, opinions and wills, a Constantine will cast all their Libels into the fire, and rebuke the unpeaceable, and restrain the violent, and teach them to forgive and love each other, and will be the great Justice of Peace to all the Churches in the Land, and pare their nails that would tear and scratch their Brethren: He will Countenance the sound and peaceable, and tolerate all the tolerable; but will tie the hands of strikers, and the tongues of revilers: He will contrive the healing of exasperated minds, and take away the occasions of division, and rebuke them that call for fire from Heaven, or for the Sword to do that which belongeth to the word, or to execute their pride and wrath: Godliness will have all the encouragement they can give it, and innocency a full defence: Malignity and Persecution and Perjury, and unpeaceable revenge, will be hateful where they rule; and they had rather men feared sin too much than too little;

Therefore pray hard for Kings and Magistrates. For if they be good they are exceeding great blessings to the world. They will remember that their power is for God and the Common Good, and that to God they must give a strict account: They will take Gods Law for the only Universal Law to the world, and conform their own as By-Laws to it. They will take their own interest to consist in pleasing God and promoting the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ; and the piety and saving of Mens Souls. They will be Examples of serious Godliness, of Justice and sobriety, trustiness and temperance and Chastity to their subjects; in their eyes a vile person will be contemned, but they will honour those that fear the Lord,