Graphautarkeia, or, The Scriptures sufficiency practically demonstrated wherein whatsoever is contain'd in Scripture, respecting doctrine, worship or manners is reduced to its proper head, weighty cases resolved, truths confirmed, difficult texts illustrated and explained by others more plain.

3dly, What are the Duties of Magistrates: and what they should be, negatively and affirmatively.

Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating covetousness, and place over them to be rulers, Exod. 18. 16, 20, 21.

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of the poor in his cause, &c. and thou shalt take no gift: for gifts blindeth the wise, &c. Exod. 23. 6, 8. Deut. 16. 19.

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the per∣son of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: in righteousness thou shalt judg thy neghbour, Levit. 19. 15.

Moses, when the people had sinned, prayed earnestly for them, &c. Numb. 14. 13, &c. Deut. 9. 25, 26, &c. Joshua 7. 7, 8, &c.

Take ye wise men and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you, &c. And I charged your Judges at that time, saying, Hear between your brethren, and judg righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger with him: ye shall not respect persons in judgment: you shall hear the small as well as the great: you shall not be a∣fraid of the face of a man, for the judgment is Gods: and the cause which is too hard for you, bring it unto me, &c. Deut. 1. 13, 15, 16, 17.

The Lord your God is a God of gods, &c. who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, Deut. 10. 17, 18.

Judges and officers, &c. and they shall judg the people with just judgment: thou shalt not wrest judgment: thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind, &c. that which is altogether just shalt thou follow, Deut. 16. 18, 19, 20.

Thou shalt in any wise set a king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall chuse: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou maist not set a stranger over thee who is not thy brother: but he shall not multiply horses to himself, &c. And it shall be, that when he shall sit upon the throne of the kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, &c. and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law, &c. that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren: and that he turn not aside

from the Commandment, Deut. 17. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

If there be a controversie between men, and they shall come unto judgment, that the Judges may judg them: then they shall justifie the righteous, and con∣demn the wicked, Deut. 25. 1.

Samuel, his sons walked not in his ways: but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment, 1 Sam. 8. 1, 3.

And David executed judgment and justice unto all his people, 2 Sam. 8. 15.

He who ruleth over men, must be (or, be thou ruler over men) just, ruling in the fear of God, 2 Sam. 23. 3.

When the plague was upon Israel for Davids sins, he said, Lo, I have sinned and done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand be against me, and against my fathers house, &c. 2 Sam. 24. 17.

Solomon said, Give therefore thy servant an understanding-heart to judg thy people, that I may discern between good and bad, &c. And the speech pleased the Lord, 1 Kings 3. 7, 8, 9, 10.

Rehoboam took the counsel of the young men, and rejected the old mens ad∣vice: and answered the people roughly, and said, He would add to their bur∣dens, and not ease them: whereupon many of the tribes revolt, and chuse them a King, 2 Chron. 10.

He was going to fight against Israel, but God forbid him, 2 Chron. 11. 1, 4.

Jehoshaphat, &c. sent to his Princes, to Benhail, and to Obadiah, &c. to teach in the Cities of Judah: and with them Levites, even Shemajah, &c. and they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them: and went about throughout all the Cities of Judah, and taught the people, 2 Chron. 17. 7, 8, 9.

Jehoshaphat said to the Judges, Take heed what you do: for ye judg not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment: wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you: take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts, 2 Chron. 19. 6, 7.

Jehoshaphat in a time of danger, stood in the congregation in the house of the Lord, and prayed himself with them, and for them there, 2 Chron. 20. 2, 3, to the 13.

Nehemiah saith, From the time that I was appointed to be their gover∣nour, &c. I and my brethren have eaten the bread of the governour: but the former governours, &c. were chargeable unto the people, &c. yea, even their servants bear rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God, &c. Nehem. 5. 14, 15, 16, 18.

I gave my brother Hanani and Hanania, &c. charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many, Nehem. 7. 2.

I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not, I searched out: and I brake the jaws of the wicked, and pluckt the spoil out of his teeth, Job 29. 16, 17.

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed ye Judges of the earth: serve the Lord with fear, and rejoyce with trembling, Psal. 2. 10, 11.

The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men (or, the vilest of the sons of men) are exalted, Psal. 12. 10.

Man in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beast who perisheth, Psal. 49. 20.

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods: How long will ye judg unjustly, and accept the persons of the wick∣ed? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy; deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hands of the wicked, Psal. 82. 1, 2, 3, 4.

David said, I will not know a wicked person: whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him who hath a high look and a proud heart, him will I not suffer: mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land that they may dwell with me: he who walketh in a perfect way, shall serve me, &c. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, &c. Psal. 101. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is establish∣ed by righteousness: righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him who speaketh right, Prov. 16. 12, 13.

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment, Prov. 18. 5.

A king who sitteth in the throne of judgment, scattereth away all evil with his eyes, &c. A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them, &c. Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne is upholden by mercy, Prov. 20. 8, 26, 28.

To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord, than sacrifice, Prov. 21. 3.

Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be esta∣blished in righteousness, Prov. 25. 5.

As a roaring lion, &c. so is a wicked ruler over the poor people: a Prince who wanteth understanding, &c. Prov. 28. 15, 16.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoyce: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn, &c. The king by judgment stablish∣eth the land: but he who receiveth gifts, overthroweth it, &c. The king who faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever, &c. Many seek the rulers favour, but every mans judgment is from the Lord, Prov. 29. 2, 3, 14, 26.

It is not for kings to drink wine: nor for Princes strong drink, lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted, Prov. 31. 4, 5.

Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king who will no more be admonished, Eccles. 4. 13.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice, &c. he who is higher than the highest regardeth, Eccles. 5. 8.

Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy Princes eat in a morning; blessed thou, O land, when thy king is the son of Nobles, and

thy Princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness, Eccles. 10. 16, 17.

The Princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judg not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them, &c. Ah, I will ease me, &c. Isa. 1. 22, 24.

I will give children to be their Princes, and babes shall rule over them: and the people shall be oppressed every one by another, Isa. 3. 4.

Wo unto them who decree unrighteous decrees, &c. to turn aside the needy from judgment, &c. what will ye do in the day of visitation, &c? Isa. 10. 1, 2, 3.

In that day shall the Lord of Hosts, &c. for a spirit of judgment to him who sits in judgment, Isa. 28. 5, 6.

He who despiseth the gain of oppressions, who shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, &c. he shall dwell on high, Isa. 33. 15, 16.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen, To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Isa. 58. 6.

Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth it is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter, Isa. 59. 14.

Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, &c. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment, and righteousness, and deliver ye the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, &c. nei∣ther shed innocent blood in this place, &c. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thy self in Cedar? Did not thy father eat, and drink, and do judgment and ju∣stice, and it was well with him? he judged the cause of the poor, then it was well with him, &c. but thine eyes, and thine heart are not but for thy cove∣tousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for vio∣lence, &c. Jer. 22. 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17. Ezek. 22. 27.

O Princes of Israel, remove violence and spoil, and execuue judgment and ju∣stice: Take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God, Ezek. 45. 9.

King Nebuchadnezzar for his great pride, was driven from men to eat grass as an ox, Dan. 4. 30, 31, 32, 33.

I hate, I despise your feasts, &c. let judgment run down as waters, &c. Amos 5. 21, 24.

Hear this, ye Princes, &c. who abhor judgment, &c. the heads thereof judg for reward, Micah 3. 9, 11. chap. 7. 3.

Judg not according to the appearance, but judg righteous judgment, John 7. 24.

Refrain your selves from these men, &c. for if this counsel, or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, Acts 5. 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39.

Ye ought to, &c. do nothing rashly, &c. the law is open, let them implead one another, Acts 19. 36, 38.

It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any to die, before he who is ac∣cused, have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself, &c. It

seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and withal not to signifie the crime laid against him, Act. 25. 16, 27.

Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil, &c. for he is the minister of God to thee for good, &c. a revenger, to execute wrath upon him who doth evil, &c. Theyare Gods ministers attending continually upon this very thing, Rom. 13. 3, 4, 16.

Governours, &c. for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them who do well, 1 Pet. 2. 14.