Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A58605
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A mirrour of truth, of the highest concern to all sorts of people, noble and ignoble, rich or poor, soveraigne or subject
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B. P. S.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing S12; ESTC R13638
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16,798
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48
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Church is and the Triumphant hath but One governor the Lord God himself So the Militant Church hath but one head and Chief God's Vicegerent and Deputy In the Old Law there was but one High Bishop Osee 2. Cangregabuntur Filii Judae filii Israel pariter ponent sibimet Caput unum The Children of Judah and the Children of Israel likewise shall be gathered together and they shall Place one head over them Even so in the New Law there must be but one Head and Chief fiet unum Ovile Vnus Pastor Joh. 10. And there shall be made one Sheepfold and One Pastor Neither can this be understood of Christ and this time only For Christ after his Ascension into Heaven would not leave the Church without a Guide Joh. 12. Pastor and Head His Flock without a Shepheard And therefore naming Peter his Vicar particularly charged him to Feed his Flock and would have him to Confirm his Brethren as Head Which Christ very plainly expressed saying Luke 21. Tu es Petrus super hanc Petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam portae inferi non prevalebunt adversus eam Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it For no power infernal either by Tyrants Hereticks or other instruments of Satan could ever extinguish or overthrow this Church built upon Peter and his Successors And to thee saith ovr Saviour will I give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven c. Neither may it be replyed this Power and Dignity was granted to Peter only and not to this successors For Christ instituted a Church to continue for ever always to be built and Augmented and must therefore have allways a Head or Foundation upon which it may be built Christ surely would not have his Church now in a worse Condition then at that time since the government is allwaies necessary And as Peter was then Christ's Vicar and Pastour of his whole Church So must his Successors necessarily have now the same Power and Authority over the true Church throughout the whole world from which we must receive the true Faith And whosoever dissents and breaks from the Union with this Church and declines the Doctrine thereof forsakes the Truth of Christ leaves the royal high way and runns astray i◠dangerous paths of his own Invention Hence ariseth the great disunion and Confusion amongst Hereticks and their division into sundry sects and Various Opinions by reason of their uncertain Rule of Faith which is their own Understanding and Privat Spirit Whereas the Rule amongst Catholicks and true Believers is most certain and solid to wi◠the Judgment of the Church they having nothing of their own in it And therefore daily experience shews and teaches us our adversaries being not able to deny it that those of the true Church thought of divers Countrys and Kinghoms spread through out the whole world in all times and places yet all agred in the same Doctrine necessary to Salvation as in One Sacrifice One Uniform number and Administration of Sacraments c. The Spouse of Christ the Holy Church hath but One and the same Faith over al◠the world in all times and Places It is worthy observation and the like can never be shewn out of the true Church to see the Unaminous concord and agreement betwixt the holy Doctors of the Church in Faith and Doctrin though they taught in divers Ages and Places St. Gregory S. Augustin St. Ambrose St. Jerom. St. Augustin only and St. Jerom saw each other and were Contemporary And on the Contrary side amongst those out of the Church what Discord and Babylonical Confusion every One following his own spirit Luther Calvin Beza Zuinglius so many heads so many Heresies They are carried on headlong with Giddyness they yield to nothing but Error St. Jude describing in his Epistle such misled People and Hereticks saith Jude 10. But these blaspheam the things they know not and whatsoever they naturally know as beasts without reason in those things they Corrupt themselves And no marvel for as there is but One way to Truth so there are many ways to runn into Error and deceit Let us therefore cleave close to this Rock of Vnity let us not forsake this One Church which hath no division It is like our Saviours garment it must not be divided Our dear Saviour prayed for his Church that it might be One saying Jo 17. Father I Pray not that thou wouldest take them out of this world but that thou keep them from Evil. They are not of the world as I am not of the world Sanctify them with the Truth Thy Word is Truth I sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify my self that these also may be sanctified through the Truth I pray not for these alone but for them also who shall believe in me through their word that they also may be One in Vs That the world may believe that thou hast sent me This Prayer of our Saviours was heard and granted and therefore we must be On◠in Faith if we will be of his Church And observe He prayed not only for his onely then present disciples but for them also who should believe through their preaching their successors even to the end of the world that they should continue still One without Division And consider well how our Saviour concluded his Prayer with this strong motive of Unity to belief Even saith he that they may be One in us that the world may beleive that Thou hast sent me You see our Saviours reason why they should be One is that he may be beleived to be sent This Vnity therefore is an unanswerable motive to the true Religion and an assured infallible mark thereof Where therefore Vnity is not there is no true Religion And where it is we may there surely trust our souls and rely on that Faith And as we are One in Faith so shall we be in Glory for such was our Savionrs Prayer in the same place saying Father such as thou hast given me my will is that where I am they may be also with me that the may see my Glory which thou hast given me God therefore grant that through this Vnity we may come to his Glory to which We cannot arrive but by Holiness And therefore 〈…〉 The true Church as it is One so must it also be holy ANd this is another Mark as evident Holyness infallible and certain as the former to wit Holiness which cannot be found out of the true Church For the holy Ghost hath no influence but upon the members of the true Church by their Fruits we shall know them I mean not but there are wicked men misdemeanors amongst the true Beleivers yet so that there are many also most holy and vertuous which is sufficient to shew the Holyness of the Church together with the Doctrin thereof