An assertion of the government of the Church of Scotland in the points of…

IN the third place we take an Argument from the example of the Jewish Church; for as in their Common-wealth there was a subordination of civill Courts, every City having its proper Court, which did consist of seven Magistrates, if we believe Josephus: the Talmudical tradition maketh two Courts to have been in each City, the lesser of the Triumvirate, and the greater of twenty three Judges. Beside these, they had their supreme Consistory, the civill Sanhedrin, which governed the whole Nation, and had ⟨p. 165⟩authority over the inferior Courts. So was there also a subordination of Ecclesiastical Courts among them: they had a Consistory in every Synagogue, for their Synagogues were appointed not only for prayer and praising of God, and for the reading and expounding of the Scriptures, but also for public correction of offences, Acts 26.11. They had besides, a supreme Ecclesiastical Court, whereunto the whole nation, and all the Synagogical Consistories were subject. This Court having decayed, was restored by Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. 19.8. and it had the name of Sanhedrin, common to it with the supreme civill Court. From this Court did the reformation of that National Church proceed, Nehem. 6.13. On the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the Priests and the Levites, unto Ezra the Scribe, even to understand the words of the Law. And they found written in the Law, &c. Whether there was yet another Ecclesiastical Court, in the middle betwixt the Synagogue and the Sanhedrin, called [Greek or Hebrew], a Presbytery, Luke 22.66. Acts 22.5. and made up possibly out of the particular Synagogues within the Cities, I leave it to learned men to judge: howsoever, it is plain from Scripture, that there was at least a twofold ⟨p. 166⟩Ecclesiastical Court among the Jews the Synagogue and the Sanhedrin, the latter having authority above the former.