38 , e-p4atiòa ofthe Apocalypse. C . P. z. n are inAlia,F.phefir,snsyrnet,&c.And at theend ofeveryone,Let him Frik7411s. heere What thefpiritfaiih, not to thee 4gell only , but to the churches. Now they are fent by name to him, partlybecaufe he is the difpenfee and keeper of doctrine, exhortation, reprehenfion , &c. as the ne-." ceflity ofthe--churchBoth require, partly becaufe tiefafety of the whole congregation doth depend chiefly upon the foundnefs andho- neffy of the Paftours. Neither are they Pent to any oneAngel, but to the whole (olledcof `Taflours, (that I may fo fpeak) who all are comprehended under this common word. For there was not one Angell alone atEehejou, but many , neither yet any Prince among rhefe, as it is manifeftby 'Paul, Who to Mileturnfensfor the Elders or Tij7ops of Ephefsr, /0,20.17,28. He would havefpared the multi- tude, if therehad been one over and above.the reft inauthority ; or at leaf} among the ref} of his admonitions, he wouldhave fpoken force one word of their obedience to their chiefeBithop But fuch a Prince-hood was not born as yet , it began fìrít then after that the Apofi/es were takenfrom the world , fave only that Diotrephes gave ns force thewand tafte:of it..Therefore under the nameof oneAn- gell,the Fpiftle is written to the whole order of Taffours,for whole praife or difpraife the chiefe force of everyEpitle is bent. For fish is the condition of the particular congregations for the moil part, as is thefaithfulneffè and diligence of thefe men. Whence it is that at the end, theexhortation is made to the whole congregation, being applyed to the government of the Teachers., Neither is it to be thought,that there letters were Pent feverally and dividedly one from the other, but that all together werewritten in a common Bpifile, fuchas wehave faid this whole prophecy is, and that every Church fetched thence that which belonged feverally to it felfe. And thefe things are filch as are common toall the(even Angels, to beapplyed apart to every one ,of them. tf the('hurchof Ephefiu.- Of the Citie of E.phefio,we have fpo- ken in a fewwords at the eleventhver.of the fir chapter: to which we tauft now adde the reafonof theorder , the forceof the name, and the counterpaynthereof, that thepurpofe of the holy Ghoft may be the better underítood. The reafonof the order may be double; onebecaufe this 'chip fetteth beforeour eyed the churchof the Gen- riles moftdearly of all the reft, being moil: like to that prodigal' fon that Went ß t horirng,rind-Wafted,-iglu patrimony ri<toufly in afarrecorm- trey, Luc.i 5.x 3; &c. Whom, we know, Chrift propounded for a re- lemblanccofthe, convertionandcalling of the Gentiles. For thisci.- tie,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=