Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	law_n	moses_n	read_v	2,745	5	6.8006	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90265	The duty of pastors and people distingushed [sic]. Or A briefe discourse, touching the administration of things commanded in religion. Especially concerning the means to be used by the people of God (distinct from church-officers) for the increasing of divine knowledge in themselves and others. Wherein bounds are prescribed to their peformances, their liberty is enlarged to the utmost extent of the dictates of nature and rules of charity: their duty laid downe in directions, drawn from Scripture-precepts, and the practise of Gods people in all ages. Together with the severall wayes of extraordinary calling to the office of publike teaching, with what assurance such teachers may have of their calling, and what evidence they can give of it, unto others. / By John Ovven, M.A. of Q. Col. O.	Owen, John, 1616-1683.	1644 (1644)	Wing O741; Thomason E49_6; ESTC R2375	45,909	59

darke space of time under the law and the greater light of the new Testament to rule the glorious day of the Gospel and these two lights do sufficiently enlighten every man that commeth into this new world There is no neede of the false fire of tradition where God sets up such glorious lights This be premised for the pronass of men to deflect from the golden rule and heavenly polestarre in the investigation of the truth especially in things of this nature concerning which we treat wherein ordinary indeavours are farre greater in searching after what men have done then what they ought to have done and when the fact is once evidenced from the pen of a Rabbi or a Father presently conclude the right amongst many we may take a late treatise for instance intituled of Religious Assemblies and the publike service of God whose author would prescribe the manner of Gods worship among Christians from the custome of the Jewes and their observations he would prove from the Rabbines not at all taking notice that from such observances they were long agon recalled to the law and to the testamony And afterwards for them sharply rebuked by truth it selfe doubtlesse it is a worthy knowledge to be able and a commendable deligence to search into those coyners of curiosities but to imbrace the fancy 's of those wild-heads which have nothing but noveltie to commend them and to seeke their imposition on others is but an abasing of their owne ceisure and others industry The issue of such a temper seemes to bee the greatest part of that treatise which because I wait onely for some spare houres to demonstrate in a perticular tract I shall for the present omit the handling of divers things there spoken of though otherwise they might very opportunately here be mentioned As the Office and Duty of Prophets the manner of gods worship in their Synagogues the originall and institution of their latter teachers Scribes and Pharises And briefly onely observe those things which are most immediatly conducing to my proposed subject The worship of God among them was either Morall or Ceremoniall and Typicall the performances belonging unto the latter with all things thereunto conducing were appropriated to them whom God had peculiarly set a part for that purpose By Ceromoniall worship I understand all Sacrifices and Offerings the whole service of the Tabernacle and afterwards of the Temple all which were Typicall and established merely for the present dispensation not without purpose of their Abrogation when that which was to be more perfect should appear Now the severall Officers with their distinct employments in and about this Service were so punctually prescribed and limited by Almighty God that as none of them might {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} without presumptious impiety intrude into the function of others not allotted to them as Numb. 16. 7 8 9 10. So none of their Bretheren might presume to intrude into the least part of their Office without manifest sacriledge Josh. 22. 11 12. True it is that there is mention of divers in the Scripture that offered Sacrifices or vowed so to do who were Strangers from the Priests Office yea from the Tribe of Levi as Jepha Judges 11. Manoah Jud. 13. David 2. Sam. 6. And again 2. Sam. 24. Solomon Kings 3. and again 1. Kings 9. But following our former rule of Interpreting the practise by the precept we may finde and that truely that all the expresions of their Offerings signifie no more but they brought those things to be offered and caused the Priests to do what in their owne persons they ought not to performe Now hence by the way we may observe that the people of God under the new Testament contrary distinct from their Teachers have a greater interest in the performance of spirituall duties belonging to the worship of God and more in that regard is granted unto them and required of them then was of the ancient people of the Jewes considered as distinguished from their Priests because their duty is prescribed unto them under the notion of those things which then were appropriate onely to the Priests as of offering incense sacrifice oblations and the like which in their originall institution were never permitted to the people of the Jewes but yet tralatitiously and by Analogie are injoyned to all Christians but of these afterwards the main question is about the duty of the people of God in performances for their owne edification and the extent of their lawfull undertakings for others instruction for the first which is of nearest concernment unto themselves The summe of their duty in this kind may bee reduced to these two heads First to heare the Word and Law of God read attentively especially when it was expounded Secondly to meditate therein themselves to study it day and night and to get their senses exercised in that rule of their duty Concerning each of which we have both the precept and the practise Gods command and their performance The one in that injunction given unto the Priest Daut 31. 11 12 13. When all Israel is come to appeare before the Lord thy God in the place that hee shall choose thou shalt reade this Law before all Israel in their hearing Gather the people together men and women and children and thy stranger that is within thy gates that they may heare and that they may learne and feare the Lord your God and that their children which have not knowne may heare and learne All which we find punctually performed on both sides Nehem. 8. 2 3 4 5. Ezra the Priest standing on a Pulpit of wood read the Law and gave the meaning of it and the eares of all the people were attentive to the Booke of the Law Which course continued untill there was an end put to the observances of that Law as Act. 15. 21. Moses of old time hath in every Citie them that preach him being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day On which ground not receding from their ancient observations the people assembled to heare our Saviour teaching with authority Luk. 21. 38. And S. Paul divers times tooke advantage of their ordinary assemblies to preach the Gospel unto them For the other which concernes their own searching into the Law and studying of the Word wee have a strict command Deut. 6. 6 7 8 9. And these words which I command thee this day shall bee in thy heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talke of them when thou sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou lyest down and when thou risest up and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand they shal be as front lets between thine eyes thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house upon thy gates which strict charge is again repeated cap. 11. 18. summarily comprehending all wayes whereby they might become exercised in the Law Now because this

familyes I have purposely omitted to speake of Melchisedocke as I said before having spoken all that I can or dare concerning him on another occasion Onely this I will adde they who so confidently affirme him to be Shem the sonne of Noah and to have his Priesthood in an ordinary way by vertue of his Primogeniture might have done well to aske leave of the Holy Ghost for the revealing of that which he purposely concealed to setforth no small mystery by them quite overthrowne And he who of late makes him looke upon Abraham and the four Kings all of his Posterity fighting for the Inheritance of Canaan of which cause of their quarrell the Scripture is silent robs him at least of one of his titles a King of peace making him neither King nor peaceable but a bloody Grandsire that either could not or would not part his fighting children contending for that whose right was in him to bestow on whom he would And thus was it with them in the administration of sacred things There was no divine determination of the Priestly office on any order of men when things appertaining unto God were to be performed in the name of a whole family as afterwards 1 Sam. 20. 6. Perhaps the honour of the performance was by consent given to the first borne Further the way of teaching others was by petarnall admonition so Gen. 18. 19 motives thereunto and rules of their proceeding therein being the law of nature and speciall revelation Prescription of positive law ordained for the good of community could have no place when all society was domesticall To instruct others upon occasion wanting instruction for their good is an undeniable dictate of the first principles of nature obedience to which was all the ordinary warrant they had for preaching to any beyond their owne families observed by Lot Gen. 19. 7. though his sermon contained a little false doctrine ver. 81. Againe speciall revelation leaves as a great impression on the minde of him to whom it is made so an effectuall obligation for the performance of what it directeth unto the Lyon hath roared who will not fear the Lord God hath spoken who can but prophes●e Amos 3. 8. And this was Noahs warrant for those performances from whence he was called a preacher of righteousnes 2 Pet. 2. 5. Thus although I doe not finde any determinate order of Priesthood by divine institution yet do I not thence conclude with Aquin. 12. ae quest 3. a 1 if I noted right at the reading of it that all the worship of God I meane for the manner of it was of humane invention yea sacrifices themselves for this Will worship as I shewed before God alwayes rejected no doubt but sacrifices and the manner of them were of divine institution albeit their particular originall in regard of precept though not of practice be to us unknowne for what in all this concernes us we may observe that a superinstitution of a new ordinance doth not overthrow any thing that went before in the same kinde universally morrall or extraordinary nor at all change it unlesse by expresse exception as by the introduction of the ceremoniall law the offering of sacrafices which before was common to all was restrained to the posterity of Levi looke then what performances in the service of God that primitive houshold of faith was in the generall directed unto by the law of nature the same regulated by Gospel light not particularly excepted ought the generallity of christians to performe which what they were may be collected from what was fore spoken CHAP. II. Of the same among the Jewes and of the duty of that people distinct from their church officers 2. COncerning the Jews after the giving of Moses law the people of God were then gathered in one and a standard was set up for all his to repaire unto and the Church of God became like a City upon a hill conspicuous to all and a certaine rule set downe for every one to observe that would approach unto him as then before the law we sought for the manner of Gods worship from the practise of men so now since the change of the externall administration of the covenant from the prescription of God then we ghessed at what was commanded by what was done now at what was done by what was commanded and this is all the certainety we can have in either kinde though the consequence from the precept to the performance and on the contrary in this corrupted state of nature be not of absolute necessity onely the difference is where things are obscured it is a safer way to prove the practise of men by Gods precept charitably supposing them to have been obedient then to wrest the divine rule to their observation knowing how prone men are to deifie themselves by mixing their inventions with the worship of God The Administration of Gods providence towards his Church hath been various and the communication of himselfe unto it at sundry times hath been in divers manners especially it pleased him not to bring it to perfection but by degrees as the earth bringeth forth fruit first the blade then the eare then the full corne in the eare thus the Church before the giving of Moses law seems to have had two maine defects which the Lord at that time supplyed one in discipline or government in that every family exercised the publique worship of God within it self or a part though some do otherwise conclude from Gen. 4. 26. which was first removed by establishing a consistory of Elders the other in the Doctrine wanting the rule of the written word being directed by tradition the manifold defects whereof were made up by speciall revelatition to neither of these defects was the Church since exposed whether there was any thing written before the giving of the law is not worth contending about Austine thought Enochs prophesie was written by him prophesie was written by him and Josephus afirmes that there were two pillars erected one of stone the other of brick before the stoode wherein divers things were ingraven and Sixtus Senensis that the booke of the wars of the Lord was a volume ancienter then the bookes of Moses but the contrary opinion is most received so Chrysost. Hom. 1. in Mali after its giving none ever doubted of the perfection of the written word for the end to which it was ordained untill the Jewes had broached their Talmud to oppose Christ and the Papists their Traditions to advance Antichrist doubtlesse the sole aime of the work what ever were the intentions of the workmen The Lights which God maketh are sufficient to rule the seasons for which they are ordained as in creating of the world God made two great lights the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night so in the erection of the new world of his Church he set up two great lights the lesser light of the old Testament to guide the night the