A42757:171
Aaron's rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present…Aarons rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present…
Aaron's rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present Erastian controversy concerning the distinction of civill and ecclesiastical government, excommunication, and suspension, is fully debated and discussed, from the holy scripture, from the Jewish and Christian antiquities, from the consent of latter writers, from the true nature and rights of magistracy, and from the groundlessness of the chief objections made against the Presbyterial government in point of a domineering arbitrary unlimited power / by George Gillespie ...Aarons rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present Erastian controversie concerning the distinction of civill and ecclesiasticall government, excommunication, and suspension, is fully debated and discussed, from the holy scripture, from the Jewish and Christian antiquities, from the consent of latter writers, from the true nature and rights of magistracy, and from the groundlesnesse of the chief objections made against the Presbyteriall government in point of a domineering arbitrary unlimited power / by George Gillespie ...
London: printed by E.G. for Richard Whitaker, 1646
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
In the third place, we read that David did thus divide the Levites (at that time eight and thirty thousand) four and twenty thousand of them were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord, four thousand were porters, and four thousand praised the Lord with instruments, and six thousand of them were made some schoterim Officers, and some sch•phtim Judges, 1 Chro. 23. 4. Some understand by Schoterim Rulers, or those who were over the charge. To speak properly schophtim were those that gave sentence; schoterim those that looked to the execution of the sentence, and to the keeping of the law, like the [Greek or Hebrew] among the Craecians: (for [Greek or Hebrew] was one thing, [Greek or Hebrew] another.) So 1 Chro. 26. 29. Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, fo• Officers (or Rulers or over the charge) and Judges: that is, they were not tied to attendance and service in the Temple, as the Porters and singers, and those that did service about the Sacrifices, Lights, Washings, and such like things in the Temple: but they kwere to judge and give sentence concerning the law and the meaning thereof, when any such controversy should be brought before them from any of the Cities in the Land: They were not appointed to be Officers and Judges over the rest of the Levites to keep them in order (for which course was taken in another way) but to be Rulers and Judges over Israel, saith the Text, in the outward business which came from without to Jerusalem, in judging of which peradventure they were to attend by course, or as they should be called. If any say that all those Levites who were Judges did not sit in judgement at Jerusalem, but some of them in several Cities of the Land, that there might be the easier access to them; I can easily grant it, and I verily believe it was so, and it maketh the more for a Church government in particular Cities, which was subordinate to the Ecclesiastical Sanh din at Jerusalem. However the Levites had a ruling power, and Deut. 31. 28. those who are schoterim in the original, the Septuagints call [Greek or Hebrew], Hierome, Doctores, because their Teachers were Officers over the charge, and had a share in Government. Now no man can imagine that there were no other Officers over the charge not Judges