A62049:123
Men are gods, or, The dignity of magistracy, and the duty of the magistrate…
Men are gods, or, The dignity of magistracy, and the duty of the magistrate as it was presented in a sermon at the assize holden at Hertford for that county on August 2, 1653 / by George Swinnocke ...
London: printed by R.W. for Nevil Simmons, 1660
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Sin must be discouraged; evil doers must be punished; humane Society must be preserved; the good must be protected; our liberties and properties must be defended; justice must be executed; the poor must be relieved; wholesome laws must be maintained; and how can either of these be done without Magistrates: Many fear not sin, nor the God of Heaven, and if it were not for suffering from the Gods on earth, their lusts should be their law, and they would deprive the innocent of their liberties, estates, and lives, and turn the places where they live into Aceldama's fields of blood; nay make the earth worse in some respects then hell; ⟨p. 214⟩for in hell there is no oppression, as no injustice; no guilty person freed, and no guiltless person punished; but had these men their wills, it should be so upon earth.
Sin must be discouraged; evil doers must be punished; humane Society must be preserved; the good must be protected; our liberties and properties must be defended; justice must be executed; the poor must be relieved; wholesome laws must be maintained; and how can either of these be done without Magistrates: Many fear not sin, nor the God of Heaven, and if it were not for suffering from the Gods on earth, their lusts should be their law, and they would deprive the innocent of their liberties, estates, and lives, and turn the places where they live into Acheldema's fields of blood; nay make the earth worse in some respects then hell; ⟨p. 214⟩for in hell there is no oppression, as no injustice; no guilty person freed, and no guiltless person punished; but had these men their wills, it should be so upon earth.
3. Again, Order or Magistracy is not only necessary to those that are in a state of nature, but to those also that are in a state of grace, Titus 3.1, 2.