Coercion.
To the Chief Magistrates, Rulers, etc.
And now I do in humility desire you to consider did ever Christ and His apostles force any to be of his true religion and worship, and if that they would not then to give forth orders to take away their goods and their very beds and their corn which should make them bread, their cattle which should help to maintain them and their cows which should give them milk, their clothes they should wear to keep them warm and their tools they should work withal to get their living? Did not Christ on the contrary exhort Christians to love one another and to love enemies?
(Works, VI., p. 272, 3.)
While there is prejudice in the officers, judges, justices or rulers, whilst he is passionate, out of the humbleness and humility, out of the mercy, out of the patience, in the wilfulness, in the stubbornness, sturdiness, highmindedness, minding the persons respecting that—under this doth the just groan and under this doth the just feel the weight which feels the want of the true measure and cries for the true measure and puts up petitions to the lord who hears and answers the cries of the oppressed and removes the oppressor and brings him to shame and contempt though for a time he hath a day of honour and glory, but such, the Lord of glory their day doth shorten, often in turning them out and cutting them off bringing his righteous judgments upon them who rightly hath not judged. Such, God measures their ways, God gives to them measure and just weight according to their works. Therefore, all the rulers of the earth be awakened with the measure of God, be awakened to righteousness and to the measure of God. All take heed to give your minds up to God whereby ye may stand all in God’s counsel, to receive that from God which shall never be shaken, whereby with it ye may answer that of God in every man and be to the Lord a praise and a terror to the nations about you; for true justice and judgment being set up and being in the hands of such as have the true measure to reach that of God in every man, then that of God in every man shall answer his measure and having the true weight to weigh things aright that of God in every man shall witness his weight to be just and his measure not too short, for he gives to every man his due....
I am moved to charge all to be meek, to be humble, to be patient and not to be rash nor to be heady nor to be fierce, but to be gentle and fear before the Lord God whereby you may receive his wisdom.
(C. J., I., To the Long Parliament, pp. 80, 81.)
Speedy Justice.
And I also wrote to the judges what a sore thing it was that prisoners should lie so long in goal, and how they learned badness one of another in talking of their bad things and therefore speedy justice should have been done. For I was a tender youth in the fear of God and I was grieved to hear their bad language and was made often to reprove them for their words and bad carriage each towards other.
(C. J., I., p. 14.)