"rite an account, of the things which were cortainly believed amonz ff : %, ve Jews.) Some think that Luke nere 1nileteth its ſome, = ; of Abia, and his wite was of the daughters of Aaron, ©&02 10 carly had given falſe accounts of our Saviours Hiſtory ; for ; and her name ws Elizabeth. _ were ſeveral pretended Goſpels wrote, called, The Goſpel of j- The Holy Gholt tor i nhmtely wiſe Reaſons, givet't v7 nere N-2c- Wag ab, of Thom ss, Mathis, Nicodemus, and many others { count both of the time when ſobn the Baptit was 0, 0G a0 "1 the Church ſoon ſaw cauſe to reject. But others think that | ofhis Parentage. { It was in the tim? of Herd 17 {Ke1rg of JH -,] ihe doth not at all refle&t,and poſHiblv thoſe Figments were not fo ? th2t is, he who was the Son of Antipater (not 201 7 7 2 Fett anc. & early ; but Lube ovierving that many did Write this famous Hiſtory, j Galilee, of whom you read, Luke 3. 1. who put John Bapicit 0 Ln fc me potitoly for want of due information, not fo exaRly as 1 Death,that was thi-ty one,or thirty two + cars after 7.415) he 15 U-u* ig migit, Vet as they were delivered to them, fram {uch as from ! ally called Herod the Great, who tought his way to tic Govere- > oginng were Eye-witneſes, and Miniſters of the Word, but poſ- | ment of the Jews (under the Aom ins ) and
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X in * the davs of Herod the ting of «14 Evangeliſt here ſuggeſteth.ſ That many h ; 5 There was in - TS
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- l : ken in Hang,orderly to\ 14 a,A certain prieſt named Zacharias, * of the courſe, » ©b:.
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s © U WW tinguiihed 31 fiic Government, which tall his time Feld in the Trive| of Jazah, tho rot in a iinglc Perſon, (for that was deſtroyed in J>b1, foun witer the time of Frdas Haccaberss j yet 1na Selett Num- Mo on of that Royal Tribe. So that 1n this Herod's time the Pro- phecy of dying Jacob, Gen. 45 10, Was fulnlled. The Scepter,thar i. the Government departed from Juda, and the Lawgiver from his Foet wiich was a certain Sign (in order to the fulfilling of that Pr'- phetie ) that Sil%, that is, the Meſjtss was Coming. This tor the tune. | 4 cot. Prieſt, named Zacharias ] ſorae will have him to have bcen the &#i;h Priesf, or Ins Deputy 3 but that cannot be, for the Hich Prieit was but one,and fo not within the Courſes of the Pricſts, but of the Eldeft Family from: Aaron 3 and tho 1t be ſaid v. 0. that his Lit was to Burn Incenſe, vet it muſt not be underſtood of the Incerſe mentioned, Lev. 15. 12. to be Burned upon the early Day of Expiation, (which indced none but the High Pricft micht do. ur of the daily Incenſe mentioned in the Law, Exod. 20.67, 2. which any of the Pricſts did in their Courſcs. Tins Zucharias { wes of the Courle of Abj.. } The Eldeſt Son of Aaron was alwavs the Hizh Prieſt ; his other $0ns Were Priefts : in a long Courſe of time, their Deſcendents ſo Multiplyed, that they were too many 2!l at the ſame time to Miniſter in the Temple David therefore divided them intoCourſes;eachCourſle waited theirMonth, x Chron. 24. e, 6, there is an account of the Diſtribution of the Prieſts into tivency rour Courſes.In D.rwfds time the Eighth Courſe, was the Courſe of Abia, It appeareth by Nehemiah 12.4, 17. That after thc Captivity they kept the Denominations of theſeCourſes, but it is probable the order of them was altered, We Read of Abiah, in Never. 15, bot whether his was then, or at this time when Lake Wrote his Goſpe!, the Eighth Courſe, 1 cannot tell. It is cnough for vs, that Zachari.» was one of the Ordinary Prictts of the Courſe of Alia; whoſe Oftice it was to ſerve in the Temple 1n his Courſe (whnci was the Courſe of ſuch as deriva from tne Abia, mentio- ned 113; Chron. 24+ $4 6.)| And [21s Mije W 1. of ti1e Daughters of A4- ron, anther Name was Elizabeth ] Tis is added not to fignifte P24c:rrzy his obcdience to the F1vin: Law, which obliged the Friefts to inarry within their own Tribcs.tor the reaſon of thatLaw, heing omy to prevent the Confuſion ot the Inheritances, which foil by Lot t6 che feveral Trites, and by tie Will of Gcd were to b- fo kept diii.ndt 1 the Tribe of ze having no ſuch Inheritance, might 1ntermis. with any other Tri22, and did fo, the Hizh-Prieſt was uoly obliged to Marry ſforne of ts own people, Levit. 21.14 nd Tetnadu, 2 Kings 11. 2. Marricd one of the Tribe of Juda, but it is addcd to frew the Honcurableneſs of Elizabeths Stock. Moſes and Aion, were the two firt Governours of the Jraelites; Fliaveth was not ©:,1% of the Tribe of Levi, but deſcended from Aarmn, whom God mace thc : ;obleti-Famuy of the Levites. Her Name was E/iz.theth, It 15 an Hebrew Name, Exod. 6. 23. and (25 you may ſce there) was the very Name of Aarons Wife the Daughter of Aminadh, and Sifter of Naſhon. As it may be vari- yy Written 1t tgniaeth, The Rej?, or tne Oath, or the Rod of my UT".
6 And they were both righiteous before God,walk- ing in all the commandments and ordinances ot the LOR D, blameicls.