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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	build_v	church_n	peter_n	2,152	5	7.8262	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78369	The Catholick mirrour. Or, a looking-glasse for Protestants Wherein they may plainly see the errours of their church, and the truth of the Roman Catholick. Which is divided into seventeen chapters, containing the principle points in dispute between Catholicks and Protestants, and all proved by their own Bible, for the satisfaction of those that desire to imbrace true religion.		1662 (1662)	Wing C1494A; ESTC R229524	59,266	156

in the same Church and I pray then where will your Errours remain but in your own bosoms But see further the truth of this our Saviour parting out of this world tells his Apostles That he would be with them even to the end of the world so that we have two Persons of the Blessed Trinity promised to assist the Church of God for ever Matth. 28. v. 20. besides God the Fathers Divine aid and if this Church Erre with their guiding then there can be no truth at all for us to be guided by for this is as clear as the Sun that if the Church of God be guided by an Infallible Spirit it cannot Erre And the Church of God is guided by an Infallible Spirit therefore the Church of God cannot Erre And though I have made this good already yet I will make it more plainly appear from Christs own words where he exhorting Brethren to be reconciled one to another which if they will not do by reasonable perswasions they should tell the Church Matth. 18. v. 17. and if they will not hear the Church let them be as Heathens and Publicans by which it is plain that if the Church were not Infallible Just and free from Errour our Saviour would never have tyed us to her Judgement in our Faith and Manners under so sad a penalty as being a Heathen if we do not hear and submit to her and therefore it is very necessary for every one to submit to Gods Church which is infallibly true lest they be Heathens in the esteem of God and Man and consequently out-lawes to the Kingdom of Heaven Again see what our Saviour saith to this purpose in the same Gospel And I say unto thee Matth. 16. v. 18. that thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall never prevail against it now if the Church could be erroneous then you must deny this Gospel to be true for no Errours can be in the Church but by the prevailing power of the Devil which is meant by Hell-Gates and which our Saviour saith shall never prevail against it so by this we are certain the Church cannot Erre and we may confidently confide in her in all matters of our Salvation But for your further assurance if our Saviour be not enough I will show you what St. Paul saith concerning this truth where he confirms all that hath been said of it speaking to holy Timothy 1 Tim. 3. v. 15. But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave they self in the house of God which is the Church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth Now here I might stop and say no more for Saint Paul hath said enough for if it be the piller or support of truth and the ground from whence truth is derived is it not monstrous to think of Errour and I would fain know in what place Christians should ever be free from errour in their Faith if not in the Church of God and for to say that there is no way to be free from it would be very strange for then all men would grope in dark uncertainties which is quite contrary to the Qualities and Excellencies of Gods Church as was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah speaking of the Church of Christ Chap. 35. v. 8. And an high way shall be there and it shall be called the way of holiness and fools shall not erre therein now if there be no possibility for fools to erre in it certainly wise men cannot But this is no small subtilty of our Adversaries to hold this opinion well knowing that their Church hath been and is full of errours and that the gates of Hell hath prevailed against it hath manifestly appeared and doth now appear when all that they can do cannot allay the furious spirits of one Kingdom nor reduce them to any Obedience to their Church so that if they did not hold this Opinion as an Article of their Church all the world would see theirs was not the Church of God because it hath errours by which they are forced to maintain it as well as they can though it be against both Scripture and Reason too Now that this Church of God is onely the Roman Catholick is plainly shown already by her conformity to and practice of Gods holy word in all her points of Faith which she teacheth Christians to believe and therefore all her enemies wrong her and themselves too in saying the contrary for wheres they cry out the Roman Church was once the true Church of God but she is fallen from it now as they never could prove the time when nor the occasion how so is it impossible it ever should because as I have already shown Gods Holy Spirit guides and directs it that the Gates of Hell can never prevail to overthrow it nor bring it to errour And now having sufficiently proved the Infallibility of Gods Church I cannot but advise every one that hath any care of their eternal welfare to imbrace and believe what she preacheth concerning the same and so conclude with that of St. Augustine Many things saith he with much reason kept me in obedience to the Catholick Church the consent of people and Nations holds me the Authority of the same Church which is risen up by Miracle nourished with Hope augmented by Charity established by its Antiquity the succession of Bishops holds me therein wh●ch beginning in the See and Authority of Saint Peter to whom God recommended the care of his Flock is maintained to this present time lastly the name of Catholick holds me in it and addeth he would not believe the Gospel it self if he were not assured of it by the Catholick Church Chap. 12. Proving the Doctrine of Remission of Sins as commanded by Christ and practised by his Apostles contrary to the Opinion of Protestants WEre not the mindes of many men corrupted with imperious principles they could not be so evil as to question yea deny the gifts both of Grace and Nature that God hath given both to Angels and Men when we have much reason to adore and praise him that he hath so much esteem of any of our Nature as to bestow such prerogatives upon them amongst which this is not the least that I am to treat of concerning remission of Sins by a Priest which though there be a grand mistake in this Point amongst Protestants and we are abused in it yet I shall by Gods assistance and by his holy word clear the mistake which may easily remedy the abuse for in all Mysteries of Christian Religion we are to consult with Gods word which if rightly understood cannot deceive us and not with our own shallow understandings which easily may neither are we to be led away with aiery fancies of our own nor with a giddy multitude nor ought the slanderous tongues of men to be trusted in but if you finde it plainly declared

in Scripture then are we bound to believe it for this is a general crime in this Age that men think nothing can be true if their narrow capacities cannot comprehend it as if all the mysteries of our Faith were so open for every ones understanding to enter the knowledge of them which if they were so then there were no need of Faith because Faith is onely required in those things our natures cannot comprehend and so might every Turk and Pagan be as good a Believer as a Christian therefore for the redress of this evil we are to understand whether Christ gave this power to his Apostles or no for if they had the power to pardon sins as being the Heads of his Church the same power must remain to their Successours in that Church because otherwise all succeeding Ages would receive no benefit by that gift which our Saviour gave for the good of us all that lay hold of it And to prove that they had this power is plain and easie enough first from Saint Matthews Gospel where our Saviour telling Saint Peter he would build his Church on him he saith Mat. 16. v. 18 19. And I will give thee the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt binde on earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven by which it is clear that he had a great power given him to pardon or not to pardon and that those which he did not pardon on earth should not be pardoned in heaven which is the same in Gods Church to this day and therefore let every one consider what reason they have to be members of it by which consists our eternal salvation Again our Saviour tells his Disciples in general saying Whatsoever ye shall binde on earth shall be bound in heaven Mat. 18. v. 18. and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven by which it is plain that they had this power of remission of sins and to deny the same power to their Successours in Gods Church would in my esteem be very unreasonable And as in all other points of Faith the contempt of them proceeds from a want of a right understanding of them as I have shown elsewhere so is it the same in this for it is buzzed in poor peoples ears Can man pardon sins or can Priests forgive us or the Pope absolve us without any consideration of the nature of it at all for if we rightly understood our selves or did but consult with reason we should soon be undeceived in this mystery For in the first place know that it is the gift of Christ himself and therefore not to be questioned by any man Secondly Priests cannot pardon sins by any natural power they have more then other men but by a supernatural grace from God we know and confess that it appertains to God onely by nature to pardon sins and so doth many other things as working of Miracles and casting out of Devils and healing the sick and the like which power we know God hath given unto men as well as the other proved by Christ himself where he speaking of all that truly believed in him saith he These signes shall follow Mark 16. v. 17 18. in my name shall they cast out Devils they shall speak with new tongues they shall take up Serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover now it is certain all these excellencies appertains to God by nature but if he is pleased to give this power to men what reason have we to question or be offended with it which power is equal to that of remission of sins and we see are both given to men by God Thirdly we are to consider that Priests do not pardon our sinnes immediately from themselves but Ministerially as when they apply the words of Absolution on us God hath promised to pardon us otherwayes he will not John 20. v. 23. as Christ saith Whose sins ye remit they are remitted and whose sins ye retain they are retained so that you see this is plainly true if you dare believe Christ himself Now that this may not seem strange to you do but consider that great vertue that is in Baptisme where by the application of water and a few words by the Priest or Minister the childe is pardoned of all its original sin now it is not the Minister nor Water nor words that pardons the Childe but God himself who is pleased by them and that means to do it and yet it is so far from dishonouring God that he is honoured by it because it is his holy will it should be so and this all Protestants believe which is as great a gift of God to mankinde as is the other and by all people thus plainly understood will not appear so strange and monstrous as they are made believe it is now we may plainly see how far those kinde of men are from being in Gods Church that do not onely not practise this truth but rail against and contemn it though it be published by our Blessed Saviour himself for the good of the whole world Again consider if God had not ordained this in his Church how should we know that our sins are pardoned by God at all or when they are so pardoned but that he hath promised when they do it on earth he will do it in heaven and this is our onely assurance and as it were a mark by which we know our sins are pardoned that we may thank his Divine Name for it which otherwise we should be very uncertain when to do I shall conclude this Chapter with that wholesome Counsel of St. Augustine who desireth That none make doubt of the Priests right in Remission of Sins Aug. No. Test q. 53 seeing the Holy Ghost is purposely given them to do the same in which case if any be yet contentious he must deny the Holy Ghost to be God and not to have power to pardon sins And onely adde that of St. Ambrose who saith St. Amb. lib. 1. c 7. de peuitent Why should it be more dishonour to God or more impossible or inconvenient for men to forgive sins by Pennance then by Baptisme seeing that it is the Holy Ghost that doth it by the Priests Office and Ministery in both Chap. 13. Proving the Churches Vniversality and that no Church is or can be Catholick but the Roman against the Opinion of Protestants OF all the great actions that God hath openly done for mankinde there is none that he hath declared more apparently then that his Church should be spread in all parts and corners of the whole world to the intent that all Nations hearing the sound of the Gospel there could be none that might plead any ignorance in the not hearing of it Now as this shall be proved by the words of Christ himself