o/ Calling A $S R M: ~ l:..r JtS• And agaioe, whentbeoffimoftheTmplewereto bee fet in order: things meerely i cbtoa.l . ~e"rtainingtoReligioRf Ancl-ashecAileth them, I chn•. 15• .ot· fo hedifmijfeththem, - ., 1,~, J chru~t. r6. 43• . . . .. The like didSalomon, when theTemplewas tobededl(attd ; Caffedtlie A{/tt11hly; S•li•••·. :) chmT.5ol.dijfolved the A/fembly in t~lC X. ver{e oftheVII.ch.pter following. •Cbr•.•P4 The like did r...4fa : When Rel•g•on was to beerefiored, anda folemne·oatbof .Jf<. :Aj{o&iAti~n to be taken for the maintaining ofit ; with the found of thefe TrNmpeti did be it. · . . leh6{~phitt uled theni; ' when apublik.e F 41 to be proclaimed. Iehil ufcd them, ie!i.fb•p~.,; & when a folemne Sacrifice to be performed. loAI, c ia a cafe of Dilapidationsofthe os<.:hro.•o.f ·: Temple, amatter meerely Ecclefiafiica.ll. I~jilt4, d when theTemple tg 6epurified, and b R•:·:~:~o. :t maife of fuperfiitions to be removed. . t•<~· . . In all thefe cafes, did ~ll the~e Kings raUall thefe Converlti?ns,oflriq'ls andLe- ' 1 c1~}i:r~·f· 'rlstes, for matters ofJJ.tltgt~». I 10fifi ondy on thefad ofEzdctM. He was a Kmg; d 1 Ch··on.;4. be gave forth his precept forthe PYiefls andaUtheir bmhrtn to a/femMe : Wherefore~ f 1 9• Jo. · ..t.ires J(huv.c, forthe affalres oftheferviceof Go o, yea, Go o fiimfdfe. There ;-g:,~1 . .r. arcf1urtee11e chiefe men of the Priefts fer downethere, by name, that by verrue of . that precept ofthe King, came together themfelves, they and their brethren, all,ex pr.cctpt'Q Regil, •d rti Iehov.c, by the Kings. authority, for matters meerely ofthe Chur&h. J know nor what can be more plame: theMatters,fpiritna/1: the Perforis •J!embled',{piritua/1: and yet tillled6y the Kings Trumpet. . ~aus, till the Cip~ivity. In.th~Captivity,there have we M ard~.chei (when hee :f:F/".b:~; camemplace ofauthonty) appomnngthedayes of Purtm; and<AIItngall the tewes 9 7 in the Provincetogether, to thecelebrating ofthem. . . After the Captivitie, NehemiAI kept theTrumpet frill: :ind by it, firft called the ::~~':'r~'q; i'riq'li, to!hew their right tO their places,by theirgenealogies,andafcei: reduced chem Nchcm.• i" ~ alfo to their places ~gaine, when they were all fhrunkc: away in time ofliis abfence. Thefe lead the pi:atticetill you come tothe lMacchabees : and there it is but too The Mtecthtr; !evident: they profelfe thercexprelly tO"Simeon, made thentheir ruler, Thac it iliould not be lawfull for ~nyP.r.wr 1o'..j.a. ..,.e-,lul mJ, to call any alfembly in the Land, ;;,. «:vii • M.c, •i ·H :. withoyt himl Aplaine evidence, that fo had euer gone the courfe oftheir governc ment: Elfe, how fhould ir come to paife, that the altering ofReligion, is frill termed thedeedo£theKing? chat his difpofiriori, godly; oi'otherwife, did alwayes accor. dingly change the publike faceof.Re/igim ~ which thing thePriq'ls by themfdves never did) neither .could at any rime hin<;ler from being done• Had rhe P;ieflswithOut ~~m, beene P?ifeifed ofthis power 'of 1-J!tmhting, how had anyA~concerning Rehgton paffed w1thout th~m ~ In them 1t had beene to ll:op 1t ac any ttme, ifthey had (of themfdves) had dils ponmof Aj{emblmgtlicm[dves,ro fet order inmatters ofReligi~n.. . . . • • Thus,frqm 'Mofes totlkMa"h4bees;we fee in whofe hands thispowtr w:~s. And what lhould Ifaymore~ Tbere was in all Go o s people no one religious Kif!g, but thisPower he pradifcd :Andthere was ofall Go ti s Prophets no one, that ever iri, terpofed anyprohibitionagainfiir. • WouldE.fay (/hall we once imagine) have enduredEt:.ekias, him to c4U, or the Friq'lstoeometogether, onely by his precept,ad m Iehov',r; ; and not lift up huvoice Efay i 8.1] like a trumpetagain!l it, ifithadnotbeehe (in his knowledge) theKingsrighr; to command; and their duty to obey ?Never;certainly. What /hall we fay then ~ were all ihefe wrong ~ fl1a!l we condemhe them all ~ Take heed. Inall that government, Go i> hathno other child, bucrhefe :if wee PW..1i:xr: condertme thefe, we condemnet~e whole generation of His children.Yet,cothi~ we are come now: that either we mull: condehtne them all,one after another; the Ki»gr, as ufurpers, for taking (lO them, to ufe more PO\ver, than ever orderly they received; and theProphets, for foorhers ofthem, in thattheir unjufi daime: Or elfe confeife, they did no more, than they might ; and exceeded Donherein, the bounds oftheir ft!llog. Andindeed, that we mull: confelfe; for that is the truth. Kk.kkk a. 1bi!! /
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