The Early Church

Then the Lord said to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feete: for the place where thou standest, is holy ground.

I haue seene, I haue seene the affliction of my people, which is in Egypt, and I haue heard their groning, and am come downe to deliuer them: and nowe come, and I will sende thee into Egypt.

This Moses whome they forsooke, saying, Who made thee a prince and a iudge? the same God sent for a prince, and a deliuerer by the hand of the Angel, which appeared to him in the bush.

Hee brought them out, doing wonders, and miracles in the land of Egypt, and in the red sea, and in the wildernes fourtie yeeres.

This is that Moses, which saide vnto the children of Israel, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise vp vnto you, euen of your brethren, like vnto me: him shall ye heare.

This is he that was in the Congregation, in the wildernes with the Angell, which spake to him in mount Sina, and with our fathers, who receiued the liuely oracles to giue vnto vs.

To whom our fathers would not obey, but refused, and in their hearts turned backe againe into Egypt:

Saying vnto Aaron, Make vs gods that may goe before vs: for we knowe not what is become of this Moses that brought vs out of the land of Egypt.

And they made a calfe in those dayes, and offered sacrifice vnto the idole, and reioyced in the workes of their owne handes.

Then God turned himselfe away, and gaue them vp to serue the host of heauen, as it is written in the booke of the Prophets, O house of Israel, haue ye offred to me slaine beasts and sacrifices by the space of fourtie yeres in the wildernes?

And ye tooke vp the tabernacle of Moloch, and the starre of your god Remphan, figures, which ye made to worship them: therefore I will carie you away beyond Babylon.

Our fathers had the tabernacle of witnes, in the wildernes, as hee had appointed, speaking vnto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seene.

Which tabernacle also our fathers receiued, and brought in with Iesus into the possession of the Gentiles, which God draue out before our fathers, vnto the dayes of Dauid:

Who found fauour before God, and desired that hee might finde a tabernacle for the God of Iacob.

But Salomon built him an house.

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with handes, as saith the Prophet,

Heauen is my throne, and earth is my footestoole: what house wil ye build for me, saith the Lord? or what place is it that I should rest in?

Hath not mine hand made all these things?

Ye stiffenecked and of vncircumcised heartes and eares, ye haue alwayes resisted the holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you.

Which of the Prophets haue not your fathers persecuted? and they haue slaine them, which shewed before of the comming of that Iust, of whome ye are now the betrayers and murtherers,

Which haue receiued the Lawe by the ordinance of Angels, and haue not kept it.

But when they heard these thinges, their heartes brast for anger, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

But he being full of the holy Ghost, looked stedfastly into heauen, and sawe the glory of God, and Iesus standing at the right hand of God,

And said, Beholde, I see the heauens open, and the Sonne of man standing at the right hand of God.

Then they gaue a shoute with a loude voyce, and stopped their eares, and ranne vpon him violently all at once,