Tricoenivm Christi in nocte proditionis suæ The threefold svpper of Christ in the night that he vvas betrayed / explained by Edvvard Kellett.

PAR. 2.

THat the people might not presume, themselves to sacrifice, but that they were to bring their offerings unto the Priests, and they to offer and slay them, is confessed by all; and apparent in many places, both of Exodus, and Leviticus, Heb. 7.27. The High Priest did offer up sacrifice, first for his owne sinnes, and then for the peoples: Heb. 10.11. Every Priest standeth ministring, and offering many times the same sacrifice. It was the sinne of Corah, that being but a Levite, he would usurpe the office of Aaron and his sonnes. much lesse might the people dare, to slay their Sa∣crifices. The Levites might not come nigh the vessels of the Sanctuary, and the Altar, that neither they nor you also dye, Num. 18.3. Aaron and his Sonnes shall keepe the Priests Office, for every thing of the Altar, ver. 7. Yet either Priest or Levite, or any Lay-man, the head of a family, might officiate the slaying of the Passe-over. As the former is true, for the generall; so for this their Jewish Sacra∣ment, for the Passeover in especiall; no Israelite (caeteris paribus) who had compe∣tencie of meanes, and company, and other requisites, was excluded, but might slay it. Every master of the houshold, either slayed, or appointed others to slay the Passeover, Iubente Lege, by the letter of the Law, saith Iosephus (Antiq. 2.6.) Om∣ne vulgus filiorum Israel, all the whole assembly of the Congregation of Israel, as before I cited out of Tertullian, against the Jewes. Philo (in vitâ Mosis) Ʋniverso populo celebrante laetas epulas, quisque se gerit pro Sacerdote; when the whole assembly doth celebrate the Passeover, every one doth execute the Priests Office: againe, (lib. 3. de vitâ Mosis) Non (ut alias) plebeii homines victimas adducunt ad Altare, ma∣ctandas â Sacerdotibus, sed Tota gens sacrificat; the Laicks doe not (as at other times) bring their Sacrifices, to the Altar, to be slaine by the Priests, but the whole Nati∣on doth offer sacrifice. Idem, (in lib. de Decalogo) popularitèr singuli sacrificant, non expectatis sacerdotibus; ipsipermissu legis fungentes sacerdotio, quotannis, per unum diem. The same Philo, in his booke of the Decalogue saith, every one doe offer Sacrifice not expecting their Priests; but they themselves, by the permission of the Law, doe

execute the Priests office, one day, every yeare. By which, or the like words, nei∣ther Iosephus, nor Philo, doe meane, that universally all, and every Iew killed the passeover. But every Master of a Family, sufficiently compleate in number for the eating of the Paschall-Lambe, he was the Priests in that businesse, unlesse sicknesse, or some other casualty of moment, caused him to depute another to that office; Ag∣nus Paschalis non â Sacerdotibus, sed â multitudine immolabatur; the Paschall-Lambe was slaine, not by the Priests, but by the multitude, saith Kemnitius. He might have expressed the matter, handsomer: for, there is a double apparent untruth in his words, as they present themselves, to the first apprehension. No doubt, some Priests killed some Paschall Lambes, namely, such as were to serve their owne houses, and the Master of each house, was selectus è multitudine, Chosen out of the multitude; and represented the Priest, on the one side; and the multitude, under him, on the other side. Indeed the Scripture phrase doth afford him some Patrocinie; for, Exod. 12.6. Its said, The whole assembly of the Congregation shall kill it; where, the whole assemly, & Congregation, hath reference to the particular assemblies, in eve∣ry private house, where the Lambe was to be slaine; where, one man stood, Idaealiter, by way of representation, for the rest; for, it is most incredible, that all, & every one, of the assembly of the Congregation, could actually slay the Lambe. Shall we thinke there were ten slayers to every Lambe? Ten or more, even as many, as were to be eaters of it? Was every Lambe, a Iulius Caesar, stabbed by multitudes? no, no; one in each family, sufficed for that businesse. Now as wee have avoyded the one ex∣treame of such as doe thinke, that every one indeede, of the whole Nation, did actually sacrifice (though I will readily confesse, that every of that Nation might sacrifice, and not one was excluded; but any one, who had a covenient house, and company under him, might then act the Priest) for himselfe, and perhaps; any man deputed, might doe it for his Master, or, at his appointment. So, we must avoyd the other extreame of Maymonides, who avoucheth, that the Priests killed the Lambes, and flayed them; and the provider of the Lambe brought it dead to his house, and rosted it, and are it. But this is a grosse errour of the Iewish Doctor. The Priests might kill for their own families, who will deny it? and they only might kill other Sacrifices (for that is our of question) but he wanteth proofe to conclude, that the Priests onely did slay the Passeover, for all the people; and if some few Priests, at some extraordinary time, or occasions, had perchance done so: yet the Priests did in trude, and usurpe the more common right, and did ill, to monopolize, that office. Bellarmin (de missâ, 1.7.) Pascha non offerebatur â solis sacerdotibus, sed â multis, non sacerdotibus; many that were not Priests (I say, nor Levites neither) slew the Paschall Lambe; and he giveth an excellent reason; Hoc sacrificium institutum fuit, antequàm familia Aaron determinabatur ad sacerdotum; & ideò quantùm ad hoc sa∣crificium, mansit antiquum privilegium, ut omnes patres familiâs sacerdotio fungerentur; Before the Aronicall Priesthood was appointed, and chosen, after the Aegyptian passeover, and before the Priesthood of Aaron, the chiefe of the family, the first-borne, the fathers of the housholds had the right, and exercise of the Priesthood annexed unto the priviledges of their Primogeniture; which ancient Custome they observed in this poynt, not onely at the first Passeover, but ever after; even when the Priesthood was setled on Aaron, and his sonnes, or families, unlesse they were defiled, as 2 Chro. 30.17. or else, some other great occasion interceded.