96 Chap. 30. An Expofttion upon the Booke of J o B. Verf.u, Magiftrates office ) be not good to him that Both evill, yet ( as poffibly it may prove a good to him fo) certainly it is for good toall others, as it is a wanes to dererre fome from doing evill, and the aft from fuffering evill. Therefore, as there are two things to be payd toMagifirates , tribute and honour, fo both are payable upon this account, becaufe they are the minifters of God for good,and many benefits redowne to mankind by them, arid thole fo great, that foure have coneluded, Tyranny better or morebene5ciall then Anarchy ; 'Cis not only an inconventence,but a ruine to be without government. when every one dotty what is good in his own eyes,( judg. 17. 6. ) then there is very little good done ; yeamuch eviil is done in the eyes both ofGod and righ. teous men. And it is obfervable, bothwhen it was fa d fo, and upon what occafion it is fo often fayd in that booke of judges ; As to the frit, The rime when it was fayd , every man did that which was right in his own eyes , was when there was no King in 'frael; That is, no Judge nor lupreame Magilir:are ; in which la- titude, not aridly (as the word King is taken (Gen.- 36. 3 t: Dent.33.5)fo)it muff be taken in all the places where'cis ufed in the Book of7adgeí;becaufe the people of Ifrael never had a king among them to that day, nor till the dayes ofSaul;fo that when he faith, in thofe dayes there was no King in I¡rael, his meaning . muff be this, that in thofe dayes theyhad no retied Judge among them, fuch as Mofes, 7ofbna;.&c. were beforeand Samuel was af- terthofedayes,to keep to order & obfervance ofthe Law,and to puniti the non- obfervers ofit.Thus we fee when it was fayd,thar every man did what was right in his own eyes, It was when there was no Judge in the Land. Now, Secondly, if we take noticeup. on what occafion that faying is fooften repeated, that will thew us (as in aglafîe) the fad complexion and blacke deformed face ofthofe times. The firft occafion upon which theSpirit ofGod breakes out into thefe words we have at the 5 rh verte of this 17thChapter ; And the manMicah hadan boufe of Gods, and made an Ephod and Teraphim, and confecrated one of h. isfins, who became his Prieff. Thus in this state ofAnarchy, when no man had anyother guide to lead him, but his own blind andcorrupt nature, which runsheadlong to all enormities, this man set up his deteftable Idolatry ; And fo thofe words , every man didwhat was right in his own-eyes,arebrought to thew, that Micahs Woe- fhip
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