Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici: Or, The Divine Right of Church-Government, Asserted and Evidenced by the Holy Scriptures: According to the Light Whereof (Besides Many Particulars Mentioned After the Preface) 1. The Nature of a Divine Right is Delineated. 2. The Church-Government Which is of Divine Right is Described. 3. This Description in the Several Branches of It is Explicated and Confirmed. 4. The Divine Right of Ecclesiasticall Censures, Officers, and Ruling Assemblies is Manifested. In All Which It is Apparent, That the Presbyteriall Government, by Preaching and Ruling Presbyters, in Congregationall, Classicall and Synodall Assemblies, May Lay the Truest Claime to a Divine Right, According to the Scriptures. London: Printed by J. Y. [James Young] for Joseph Hunscot and George Calvert, 1646.
THE EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION OF THIS IMPORTANT PRESBYTERIAN WORK PRINTED DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL AND POLITICAL CONFLICTS OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.
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This book seeks to establish and defend the concept of a divinely ordained church government, claiming scriptural support for Presbyterianism. It is a systematic theological argument designed to bolster Presbyterian claims and sway both Parliament and the broader public opinion. Published in 1646, this book was printed during the Westminster Assembly (1643–1653), convened to restructure the Church of England amidst the English Civil War (1642–1651).
It presents an argument in favour of Presbyterian polity, which emphasises governance by a collective body of presbyters (elders) rather than individual bishops or congregational independence. The book was written by a group of Presbyterian ministers, often referred to as the "London Provincial Assembly", though there remains great uncertainty about the members of this group and the names of who wrote this book. This book is one of the most historically significant early English expositions of Presbyterianism and also one of the rarest; this is the only copy of the first edition to come to the market that we can trace. There were three early editions published of this, in 1646, 1647, and 1654. This, the first, is the most rare, and is not well represented in institutional collections, with very few copies traceably extant. This is the only copy we can trace to exist which remains in private hands.
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Size: 160 x 210 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(2), t.p., 16pp., 1ff., 240pp., (2)]
Full brown calf with a red tooled label in a compartment to the spine between raised bands. Binding with minor rubbing and scuffing. Both boards securely attached with very minor wear to joints and hinges. Shelf and edge wear. Text block generally very clean with light toning and occasional foxing. Rebound with new pastedowns and blanks. Ownership stamp to front pastedown. Ownership inscription to front blank. Title page lacking the lower right fragment, rebacked onto a blank. Dulled ink inscriptions to the title page. Leaf edges unevenly trimmed with minor edge tears. Ink mark to the margin to pp.1 of the Advertisement. Very small ink stains to the white space on pp.238 and pp.240. Edge toning to endpapers as commensurate with the full leather binding. An excellent copy in spite of the repair to the title page.
[OCLC 1113576572, 80274626; Wing J1217; ].
