The example of Iosua is farre from prouyng thys phrase, to bée suche, sor you affirme, that Iosua is sayde to make sharpe knyues, and to Circumcic〈1 line〉〈1 line〉, onelye bycause hcc procured sharpe knyues to bee made, and commaunded the people to bee cir∣cumcided, and not bycause hee hym selfe bydde sharpen the knyues, or circumcyde in hys owne person: But it is certaine that Paule and Barnabas had to doe in this action, and didde themselues in theyr owne persons, ordeyne ministers, and not com∣maunde others to ordeyne them. Wherefore the manner of speache can not bée lyke, excepte you will expounde thys place thus: Paule and Barnabas or∣deyned them Elders, that is, commaunded the people to choose them Elders, whyche interpretation were straunge for thys place, and vnhearde of bee∣fore.
That in the syrste of Deuteronomie dothe not directely proue, that Moyses alone didde not appoynte those Magistrates, for althoughe he wylled the people to bryng vnto him menne of wysedome, and of vnderstandyng. &c. yet it follo∣weth not that they didde so, but it rather appeareth, that they commytted the choyse of them wholly to hym, for after in the fyftéenth verse of the same Chap∣ter he sayeth, So I tooke the chiefe of youre tribes, wyse and knowne men, and made them rulers. &c. Manyfest it is (that whether the people named any vnto hym or no) he appoynted them, and gaue them theyr authoritie, so that the maner of speache is proper, and without any trope or figure.
But doe you not still secretly pushe at the authoritie of the Ciuill Magistrate, vnder the pretence of speakyng agaynst the state Ecclesiasticall? For howesoeuer you woulde séeme to bryng in the place in the eightéenth of Exodus, to proue the phrase and manner of speaking, yet maye you bée thoughte secretely to insinuate that Princes maye not appoynte vnder-officers, without the Election of the peo∣ple. And surely if your dealing in this place bée well marked, it may easily be séene, that in reasonyng agaynst the gouernemente of the Churche, you laye the groun∣des of confoundyng, or at the leaste, of chaungyng the state of the Common wealth.
In the fiftéenth of the Actes ver. 22. and. 23. there appeareth, that the whole Churche together wyth the Apostles and Elders, didde sende certayne chosen menne of theyr owne companye to Antiochia, wyth Paule and Barnabas. &c. and wrote Letters by them conteynyng these Decrées: wherevnto though the people subscribed, and gaue theyr consente, yet it followeth not, but that the Apo∣stles and Elders made them: As it also appeareth verse. 2. and. 6. of the same chapter. Euery one that consenteth to Orders, and subscribeth vnto them, dothe not therefore make them: Wherefore they maye properly be sayde to be made by the Apostles and Elders onely, thoughe the people allowed well of them, and consented to them. And therefore sayth M. Caluine: the modestie of the peo∣ple herein dothe appeare, that after they had committed the decidyng of the controuer∣sies to the Apostles, and other Doctours, they were also contente to subscribe to their decree. Whether there be any suche manner of speache or no in the Romayne stories, it is not materiall: neyther is there any thing here spoken, whyche proueth that thys is suche a manner of speache: wherefore it muste remayne as proper and literally true, vntill there be stronger reasons brought to proue as playnely, that the people ordeyned ministers, as it is here written, that Paule and Barnabas did.