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Show 22 The·High-'Pr~ljll, Pritfll, ~e1.!ite1~ 6•c. L I B.L : 1eil h the fw11il, a gefiure ufed ~~~ cravmg file nee; ~o Paul {l:retched forth the hand, and anfwered for htmfelf, J4{J s 'l 6. I • Dl!M•f" Kot- Ther~ were ( m) another fort of ~ol y p~rfo ns. ~erm-f•• ·f•Ln•· ed , 0VD •w.lN Anfcbe Magnamad, Ptreftattonartt; the " 1'4' .Law requiring, tha~ whofoever offered either gift ~r lacrifice, ·he {bould prefent it unto t~e Lord 'Ytth ht!il own hands, and flandhy during the tlme of h1s obla" tion. Now, becaufe all Ifrael could not fland by: for thenarrownefs of the Place, hence when an offering was made for all the p~ople, certain feletl:ed Perfons, chofen. for that purpofe, fupplied the fiead of all the People. They were divided, as the Prie.fts and Levites, into twenty four ran4_J and orderJ, weekly to minifier in thetemple )but the choice was not rt:firained to the Tribe of Levi~ but was indifferently made out of the people. Every ranft had one fore-man, cheif above the refr, termed ( n) Stationum Princep1, the Fore-nJan of the Statio1z. The Nethinims office was to be hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the houfe ofGod; they were not LeviteJ~no nor IjraeliteJ, but Gibconites, whom becaufe of their fraudul ent dealing~ ]ofhua made in this manner tributary, Jojh. 9· 23.1 hey were afterwatd caJledNethinims,Ezra 2·43· from ;n) Nathan, which fignifieth togive)becaufe they were given to the fervice of the Temple. Their Office ·was ,vile and bafe, as appeareth by that p·roverbial .fpeech; From the hewer of thy wood, ,unto the drawer of.tby water. D11et;2 9· 1 r t ~c H A P. - of the PropiJet1i C H A P. V I. , . Of the Prophets• T Here are dtvers names given unto the Expofito~ s of the Law; and although the Particular ye~r or ttme when each name began, be not clear I Y· ev1denced by M?numents ~f fntiquity; yet in gene· !al· we_ may conceive three dtfbntl: periods of time ; In· whtch the names altered. Firfi:-from Adam until · Mq{e1; Secondly, f~om Mofes, till the peoples return , from BabJlon. Thud I y, from their return until . thedayes of chrijt, and after. In the fir{t peri~d as A·dam was Prophet and Prieft in his family, fo after· . ward ev~ry firft-horn fuppl yed thefe two offices to· get her wtth the princely .office in their feveral familie~That they ruled th~ir families as Kings ,and infirueted t.he~ a~ · Prophets, ts clear to any acquainted with Scnpture ; • the gre~tefr doubt is , what fufficient .. ~roof there tS'forthetr Prieft hnod, AdamJ Prieft·h'Ooa; Atsb g al thnedre dc h· ence,(a) becaufe that GeM ... 3· and·4 . e a atn are 1~'.a 1" d to ha ve brought .,t. heir facri·• lair ',B1tutrda.nc,r' JP. o•. . . · fices: to have brought them, namely, unto ~dttm ,,,,. who offered them tlnto God in the'r name. Th~ Priefi ·hood of the fir{t-born is gatherable hence l:,ecaufe the f;evites were apppointed to the fervicf of the AI. tal> 1nfiead of the firft-born, and as the }I.UT~ov or prtce of redemption, Num.3 .41. In the fecond period thou-gh a private Catechetical exp.o/ition of the La~ he~o?ge~ to the M~ers ·of Families, yet the publick.. Mt.n
