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Show 'the High·Prieft)i Prie.ft s, Levit.es, .& c. L.l B.l.. The Singers in time of finging were cia? in linnen;: Robes or Surpleifes, l chron. s .I 2. The Stngers \Vere divided into twenty four orders or courfes, IChron.25,. , 8. And the Porters i?to as rna ny, I C hron.2 6 .. that both might fupply the!r turns wee~ly by lot,. as the P.riefl1 did. In Mofes tlrne alfo~ their c~nfecratton be .. gao at the five an~ twentieth y_ear ofth~tr age: . In Da· "lJ.idJ at the twentteth, I chron.·'1. ~· 2 4. Ezra· 3 .8. He~e we may note the li~erty granted nuto trhe Chu:ch ~n changing Ceremonies: the Office _of the Levttes In Davids time, was not the fame a~ tn 11.-to[eJ: and ~gain, Mofes and Da.vi~.agreed n?t.tn the urrte oftheu confecration.. Ag_atn tn t_he Chn(ban Church we P..lall find in M11tthias hts eletl:ton, the ufe of Lots ; no~ fo in Pauls, or any other of the Apojiles: In their meetings, ufe of an holy·kif.r; and at the L~rds Suppet; u[e of their Love·feafts : both.now.anttquated thoroughout Chriftendom. Moreover, there are certain degrees obtervable among the Levile1: ·Firfi:, their ~n~tiation. when they ,vere a month old, they were Inttzated and pr.efented unto God, Numb.3.1 ). Secondly their confecrati£»n, they were confecr4ted by im pofition of hands, when they were five and twenty years old, Numb. 8. 24. From thence for five yean following, they learned their Office. Thofe that impofed hands on them are · .. !aid in the Text, Numf,. 8. I o" to be the jo.1u of I[ra·el, Ghazkuni interpreteth that place,_ the Firft born of Ifrael. They. ~ere the lleprefentiv~ C~urch; and in allufion to this, the Church of Chnft 1s called the ChNrc h lJf the £1irft· born, He b. 12. 23. At the fame f A "' time the Levite.r were wave4 by the.Prieft.t, that is, as ~ !oe.ta the Greek reads it, (/) separllte,rJ, which word is ~~;odQ'GL1• .. ufed fotthe Minifiers rJf~hrift~(g) sepa~ate me ~arnaoas L.l B. I. T!Je Hi;g/J.Prieft, Priejt1; LeviteJ ~&c•· 21 bas a11d Paul, AU. r 3. 2. Thirdly, their Alinifirati tJn;: to carry up and down the T:,ahern4cle, and this was at the thirtieth year o~ their age, until the fiftieth, Numh. 4· 3. Lafil y, their vact~tion, or difcharge from t~at J~boriou.s ferviee of carrying the Tahe'rnacle; ootwahftandtng even then th~y were to ferve in their charge,. to encamp round about the Tent, t.o. ling, and to beware that no firanger came into the Temple, (h) and likewife to over-fee and infhufr hFra"cifr.Jo. younger LeviteJ in the manner of Bijhops. Unto ~"~~J~r.iExp~Ji thefe degrees the ApoflJe feerneth to have refpect.: Mm ' • The~' that· have rniniftred well, get thernfelves a. . . go? d d egree, t ~.1·. tm. 3. Ij. Th e l'1k e 1t ~•J nd. o f ( 1' ) d e- cl ~tVrnloa.nffy~fl.i·b H..2z•l J• .gree.r ar-e obfervab]e among' the Peflal VirginJ : they remained in their Nunnery thirty years. Ten 1ears. they learned the Myf'reries of their Profefflon ; Ten y,e!(rs they exercifed them ; and Ten 1e~trs they taught them others.. From this cuitorne of lmpojing hands. on the Le.viteJ hath· ftow'd the like cu fiom, ufed by the Apoftles in conferring O.rders, AllJ 6.6. I Tint .• S· 2 2. Obferve the difference of thefe three phrafes, XtteJ3-eG"[tt;tbe impojition ojhand1 .XHe;1ov[tt,the holding up ofh:~nds Jn token ofelivation or ordination-,AtJ. 14 0 2 z And ~!t'1cti'H XHf;v, Ajlretchingforth of the hands. Both the firlt ge!lures were ufed inordination,or t.'o1iferring Order J. The firfi of all,namel y ,impolition of ha11ds, was borrowed from the Hebrew!. The fecond; namely, the h~J/ding· up ()f handt, was taken from the (I{) Athe11i·· k~jchinu con.it anJ, who had two forts of.Magifl:rates, Ki\u~(c)?""' 114agi- tra c_rtfiphont. flrates chofen hy lots: and Xuro1cn0a.I,JI;fagiflrateJ chofen by holding up of handJ. Tbe third gefiure of the bands,called '6x.?tt.1"1~ "X!i~;v,Ajiretchingforth ()fthe handt; (l) fometimes is termed ,;;f XHC~ ntf"' the beckni~gh 1HeroJian,p.4s.· Wit ... ;i<'•. • • |