Corr. 9. Offall witneling injudgment. Chap'. á 5ßj and theother by an untrue defence,maybear falfe witnefs. And fo may the Judge, by a wrong determination : and the Notary or Regifter, by recording the fentence, otherwife then it is pronounced, or by leaving out, or infecting any thing into it And fo may the Advocate, by pleading for a bad caufe ; for in every judgment there are thefe fix. 1. The Judge. a. The Regifter. 3. The Plaintiff. 4. The Defendant. S, The Witnef . And 6. the Advocate, In every jags, 1. The Judge : it is not perilous on hisfide,if he give wrong Judgment. He meet are, had need be aman of wifdom ; for it is faid ,thatjudicium eft 7?omini,the judgment I.Th ic,ea is Gods ; and therefore whofoeverhe be, that being a Judge givetha wrong fen - tenee, facie Deans mendacem, he maketh God to (peak a lie : and whofoever in- ducetha Judge by -falfe witnefs, or otherwife, to give falte judgment, heper- verts the courfe of nature,and as much as in him lies, changes Gad into the Devil, 2 For the Notary or Regifter,he is guilty by making falferecords,or decrees. 2.The RegiJhv, Artaxerxes Notariescould find a decree upon fearch, that -erufalem had of old. Ezra4.1* time been a rebellious city,and had made infurre &ion againít Kings,which were falferecords ; for when Darius a good King came to reign,they could find in the Ezra 6 z. ' Palace, in thehoufe of the Rolls, where the treafures were laid. up in Babylon, , that theywere fo far frond rebelling againít thofe,to whom they were fubje&,that they would not attempt, fo much as to build the Temple, without Cyrus his de- cree. 3. For the Plaintiffor Acculer, there was order taken under the Law, that he 3.7S,Flaintif, mutt utter,what he bathfees or bkaosvz,not any thing falfe or uncertain,and if he do Levit. s.i. not utter it,he muft bear his iniquity. He mull not accule any falfly, as Potiphars ÉPih . wife did yofeph, that he would have layen with her ; or as Haman did the Jews, Sam.3.8.3 that they obferved not the Kings Laws ; or as Zába did Mephibo{leth,of afpiring Danie16.r3; to the Kingdom ; nor out ofmalice, though the thing be true, as they did Da- niel,.for praying thrice a day. 4. For the Defendant, he muff confefs what he hath done, being required in 4. The Defeo; due formof Law, before lawful Authority. Achan confeffed all to Jo/haa, giant. g.For the Advocates, They waft follow, as the Law faith, that which is altogether J,t7e:t9,zoá jut ; it is fpokennot only of Judges,but altoof Officers. Now thofe Officers 5ate. ae,o werecaufarum cognitores, knowers and followers of caufes, fuck as Attorneys, Deut.id.zo: Counfellers, &c. they muff not undertake the patronage of an evil caufe, nor encourage their Clyent, when his caufe is bad, they muft inform him aright what to do, not mS-inform theJudge, nor wrelt the Law,nor re(pe&perfons,nor pro- trade caufes, nor extort bribes, and draw from their Clyents, more then their u- foil and lawful Fee=. 6. Laftly for Witneffes, God tookorder,that if any did accule another,and 6. TheWitnef. did teftifie a falfe matter, look what penalty the other should have undergone, fie. if he had been guilty,the fame fñould be infli&ed upon him, if the thing proved Deut. i9. falfe. Thus ought the judgment feat to be eftablifhed on every fade. To go over theft more particularly. a. For the Judge. He may be guilty of the breach of this Commandement The yodge of, divers wayes. fendr, t.y 1. By cherifhingLaw fuits, whereby untruth is uttered in the judgment feat. `h°r' '"s Lam i The Apoftle Paid, that it is ñxîaNac, a faultfor brethren to go toLaw one with another, lrt'' 5 meaning it was a fault in thofe that begun, not in thofe that are imre1ae,conftrain- Cor, 6.y.. ed to anfwer, therefore it mutt neceffarily follow, that it is a fault in a Judge ,' to encouragemen to go to Law. There molt be untruth either in the Plaintiff or Defendant, for there cannot be truth on both fides ; and if the Judge lhall encourage men togo to law, there mull needs be much untruth fpoken at the judgment feat, which is highly derogatory to God, (as the confelfion of truth is for his glory.) Therefore S. Paula advice is, that Law fuits fhould be dims nified and leffeued, as much as maybe, and that there Ihould be no fuit, but when there isádiro¡.u, or eorípe¡.e, a defraudation, or hurt, or wrongdone that cannot be born. The cherifhing therefore ofLaw faits by a Prince or a Judge, is the way to open a wide window to breaking of this Commandement. And therefore to prevent this mifchief, which is a judgment upon this Land; nowliince the Reformation,itwere good that force order were takenherein: as, a, That
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