The crown & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered…The crovvn & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered…

Secondly, As you must do justice impartially, so you must §2do justice speedily. Jer. 28.12. O house of David, thus saith the Lord, execute judgement in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand ⟨image 9⟩of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. ¹After examination, execution is to be done with expedition: When men cry out for justice, justice, you must not cry out Cras, Cras, to morrow, to morrow; you must do justice in the morning; Noon justice and evening justice is not so acceptable to God, nor so honourable to your selves, nor so advantageous to others, as morning justice is. You are called Gods: and as in other things,² so in this, you should be like to God, who is speedy and swift in the exercise of Justice, as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the margin together. To delay justice, is worse sometimes then to deny justice; it is an evil thing and a dangerous thing, when Magistrates, Judges and Justices, are as long a bringing forth their Verdicts, as the Elephant her young. Delays of justice makes many more irreconcilable: It makes the Client often go with an heavy heart, an empty purse, and a threadbare coat: It fetcheth heavy sighs and groans from the hearts, and a Sea of tears from the eyes of the delayed and oppressed. Magistrates, Judges, and Justices, should be always ready to do justice: they should be always at leisure to do justice. I have read of one of the Kings of Persia, how that he would many times alight off from his horse to do justice only to a poor body. It were well if all Judges and Justices would write after this Copy, to be ready to do justice and judgement at all times, and upon all occasions. O Sirs, you may have time to live, even when you have out-lived your seasons and opportunities of doing justice and judgement; and what a hell will then your lives be to you? To prevent this hell, it is good to do justice in the morning. I have read of a very poor woman, who was very earnest with King Philip of Macedon to ⟨image 9⟩