A manuel of the Bibles doctrine for law and Gospell, letter and spirit, signe and thing signified reduced to the first chapter of Leuiticus: Wherewith (occasionally) be plainely considered, and briefelie concluded, the most mayne questions wherewith the christian churches be combied. By H.C.

Section. 1.

THIS booke is tearmed of the christiā church * 1.1 LEVITICVS, for that it intreateth of the publique Leitourgy, or common form of ser∣uice, which the Lorde

imposed vpon the tribe of Leui, one of the twelue families deriued from old Iacob or Israel. wher∣upon also, these ceremo∣nies are ordinarilye ter∣med. Leuiticall ceremo∣nies.

The booke (in the ori∣ginall) beginneth thus: vai•…•…krá ael Móshe, vaieda∣bar Iehouah &c. word for word thus, And he cryed vnto Moses (euen) the lord spake &c, where the first letter V in proprietie signifieth AND, howso∣euer somtimes it couples not, but explaineth some∣what afore spokē: which

letter V (called Vah) did euen so begin Exodus, & likewise beginneth the following book of Nom∣bers, kniting so the books Genesis, Exodus, Leuiticus & Nombers togither. As for Deuteronomy, it is not so coopled, for that it is but a repetition of the things of Moses. The coo pling of the first fowre books of Moses togither, doth so teach vs one & the same faith, sealed by god the father in his son: as also, that the same Le∣ui discouered in Genesis, & taught the forme of a diuine house or taberna∣cle

in Exodus is the same to whō the publick form of worship is prescribed in Leuiticus, & whose pa∣rioch-peple (with certain their gests) is counted in Nombers. Som resēblāce may be between these 4 books & the 4 Euangel▪ Gen. begins with the word whereby all was made, S. Iohn with the same word made flesh, for ef∣fecting a better creation thē the natural. For how soere S. Iohns Euan. is pla ced last of mā, yet of the word incarnate, hee was most highly beloued, & writ of that word most

highlie. Exodus begin∣neth with the generati∣on of Israel, that went down into Egipt, and S. Mathew beginneth with Iesus (which came of that generation according to the flesh) who also of his Israelitish parentes, was had into Egipt; till out of Egipt God called his son. The book of Le∣uiticus beginneth with sacrifice imposed on Le∣ui, & S. Luke beginneth also with Zacharie a Le∣uite sacrificing, and in∣formed touching Him, that was the end of that ceremoniall lawe. The

booke of Nombers be∣ginns with a Catalogue of the Heades of Israell, with their naturall gene∣ration: and the Gospell according to S. Marke, beginneth with the spi∣rituall Heades of the Church, by whome was continued the spirituall Israel of God. As for Deuteronomy, contay∣uing the seuerall Gests of Israel, it may well bee matched with the Acts and Gests of the Apo∣stles, who with their spi∣rituall weapons didde more, then al the natural Israell could with theyr

carnall weapons & war∣fare. As for any doctrine in the olde Testament taught after the bookes of Moses, it was to haue his reference to, and his ground in Moses: & euen so, the doctrin, einsuing the former writings, of the 4 Euangelists, was in nothing thereto, to bee contradictorye. This booke of Leuiticus diui∣deth it selfe into cere∣moniall Persons, and ce∣remoniall things.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Leuiticus, What it in •…•…endeth.