to the E P H E S l A N S. 4,73 ( of whic:1you ihall read from the fecond Chapter of the ./lfls to the eight,) it~ may tor the bignefs ot 1t and number feem a Mon(\er, _yet m one place Utll, and Sermo11 it certainly being the firft Churchthat ever was under the New Teftament, (It XXXV. con( 1 (\in<> of fome of all the Tnbes, as appeareth ./lfls z, )> g, to, I I · &c. they~ were me';, of J(rael out of all Nations,} it was to be tile Mother Ch~rch, and fo t he Epitome of the Catholick Church; It had all the Apofiles as Mmt!lers ot It m it, therefore it was Max1mum quodjic; as wefay m 'PhJiofoplqy, we fay of the Natural Body,there is a !lature, a b1gnefs, whtch the Body may be ftrotehed to beyond which it cannot go, fo certainly that was a Church that was firetched to the urmoft widenefs that the fides of_aC~urch could be firetched to. There was the greate!l reafon in the World for It, It was the lirfi Church, to be the Mother Church from thence to go out into the whole World, they had all the Apo!lles to be their Min.fters, and it was the Epitome of the Cathollck Church, therefore it was !!retched I fay to the utmofi Wtdenefs that a parucular Church could be (\retched to ; yet the Holy Gho!l doth carefully put in this, and di!lindly and often that however their number feem to be great, yet they met In one place, he exp'retl<th it fo !i·om the firft to the Iaft, do but walk the Scripture around with me and you lhall fee it. · In the begmning of that Church their numbe_r was but I 1 0. fo ./lfls r, 1). They were in one place, verfe 13. They wmt up mto a11 upptr roomt, a11d thty abodtthrre (or continued there,) witho11eaccord; fo he ~aith v~rfe 14They were in one place and With one accord, for thefe are fttll th10gs dtft10d. · Go on to ./lfls ~. 1, They wert all with 011e accordin o11e plact. What their Houfes and their places were we know not, the Holy Ghott doth not record it, but certain it was fo big as he faith verfe 6. It was 11oyjed a/,road r111d the multi– tude came together; namely where the Apoftles were : And the place was fo big that verfe '4· Peterjla1Jding up lift up hu voyce to [peak to them all, that they might all hear, and there was nolefs than about ~oco. converted at that Serm11n and added to that Church, verfe 41. and many thoufands elfe did furely come,ancJ when they were encreafed to this number of 3000. yet fiill in one place, for verfe '14· all that 6ttie'!ltd were together, it is the fame word in the Gretk that i.s tran, Jlated elfewhere m one place. Well, Chapter 4· there is this number of 1000. encreafcd to sooo. fo verfe 4· yet fiill in one place, the Holy Ghof\ diligently noteth out this. He telleth the ftory there how that Pettr and Joh11 wtrt apprehmded 6y tht Priejls a11d 6y the Rultrs a11dElders, and then at the 13. verfe he faith, that thry being letgo, thty wmt to their ow 11 Ctmpany, whert tht,y prayedtogether with oil! accord,and verfe p. he faith, whm they hadprayedthtplace was {bakm whtre •they affi'm6/edtogether andthey wert aft filled with the Holy Ghofl, Here fiill ihis Church is in one place, Here is a mighty Church you fee now, as full one would think as the feat• could hold. Read Chapter)· vcrfe ll, 12, and you ihall fee how diligent the Holy Ghoft is to note this plainly that they were in one place. Saith he, Fear came11p011all the Ch11rch, t:!ic. and they wtre altogtther in Solomo1/ s P orch; here is !till rhis great Church in one place. Well, let them be multiplied to what they will, (for we know not what they were multiplied unto,) but this is the uplhotof the i'lory, .Ac1s 6. 1 , w hm the '!".mbtr of the 'Difcljles were multiplied, (make them as many as you will,)yet It IS fa1d, ~he twelvualted the multJtude of tht 'Difcip!er tmto them; they called them not 10 parts but the whole together. How prove you that? Plainly verfe )• The jaJ•mgpltafed the wholt multttude. Here was the whole multitude ga– thered 10 one place, you fee how dthgent the Holy Gho!l is in this great Church to put in !till that they were in one place. And my Brethren, let what exceptions be made that can be, I will believe the Holy Ghoft. Let men fay how could pof– fibly fo many be in one place, What one place could contain fuch a multitude ? I could fend you to Charmto11 in France, where you may fee many Thoufand~ come together at onco.I could fend you to the Books of Ejlher andNehemiah,whe~:e all !1~~·: ~et together, but certain it is that here they all met together in ooe place, tm ~ .:ttl'1ti• And
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=