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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	apostle_n	church_n	see_v	1,644	5	3.8411	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51595	A remembrance for the living to pray for the dead made by a Father of the Soc. of Iesus.	Mumford, J. (James), 1606-1666.	1641 (1641)	Wing M3069; ESTC R26206	65,319	231

written with a propheticall spirit Ergo God shall take away his part from the booke of life So dangerous a thing it is to discard Scripture 4. Secondly I answer that no Protestāt can deny these books of the Machabees to be at least of farre greater authority thē be the writings of any profane Author in the world and that far more credit is to be giuen to the writer of them then ought to be giuen to any man that euer did or shal write history For you your selues giue these Books a place in your Bibles which honour you would deny to the faithfullest history-writers in the world Neither can you deny but that there may well be made a doubt whether these books be the word of God or no seing we haue brought so great proofes to proue that they are Gods Word Well then say I if credit be to be giuen to any history that euer was written much more is it to be giuen to this It is therfore true that Judas Machabaeus who was then high Priest and the chiefe man amongst Gods onely people did cause this great summe of money to be gathered and sent to Hierusalem that Sacrifice might be offered for the sins of the dead It is true that the people and the onely people of God did contribute money very liberally to this end It is also questionles true that the Priests of Hierusalem hauing receaued this money did offer Sacrifice for the sins of the dead And it is most true that the ancient and most graue writer of this history doth commend it as a thing Holy and Wholsome to pray for the dead that they may be freed frō their sins And all this by the Coūcell of Carthage by the whole Church of God in her purest age as S. Austin and S. Hierome do witnes was held so true that they belieued it to be Scripture Shall we thinke that both the Church of the Iewes which then was the only true Church in the world and of the primitiue Christians the purest Church that euer Christ had did so generally maintaine an Errour fond superstitious as Protestāts call Prayer for the dead 5. As for the new Testament I shal haue a necessary occasion in the next Chapter to cite many places therefore now I will content my selfe with this one S. Paul writing to the Corinthians brings this argument to prooue the Resurrection What will they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise at all to what end are they baptized for thē 1. Cor. 15. As if he would say to what end do men do pennance for the dead If there be no resurrection why do they do pennance for them This and no other can be the sense of these words For what other Baptisme but the Baptisme of pennance so S. Marke S. Luke do call it can with profit be taken for the dead And heere S. Paul taketh his argument frō that which is profitably done for the dead for els whē he presseth so hoatly those words To what end are they baptized for them one mighty easily answere to no end This much for Scripture 6. That the Apostles did ordaine Prayer to help the soules of the dead is taught in playne words by S. Chrysostome Jt was not rashly ordained by the Apostles that in the dreadfull mysteryes Commemoration should be made of the dead for they knew that from thence there commeth to the dead much gaine profit Hom. 69. ad pop 7. But if we would wish an euidēt proofe that the Apostles did ordaine Prayer for the dead to the end they might be freed frō their sins what proofe could we haue greater then to haue this written by some Disciple of the Apostles themselues This you shall see how abundantly it is performed The Scripture telleth vs that among the true Belieuers who did cleaue vnto S. Paul Denis the Areopagite was one Act. 17. The same S. Denis spendeth the whole seauēth Chapter of his booke de Ecclesiastica Hierarchia in telling vs such things Quae diuino instituto super sanctè quiescentibus fiunt as by diuine ordination are done ouer those who haue reposed holily And amōg others this is one that Venerabilis Praesul precem super eo sacratissimam peragit the venerable prelate doth say ouer the dead party a most holy prayer And afterwards he tels vs the contents of this most holy prayer Precatur oratio illa diuinam Clementiam vt cuncta dimittat per infirmitatem humanā admissa peccata defuncto That prayer doth beseech the diuine Clemency that he would pardon vnto the dead man his sins committed through humane frailty Thus writeth this great disciple of S. Paul Is it prudence to belieue him or no Did the prime disciples of the Apostles vse superstition 8. I come now to the authority of the whole Church in her purest age The Councell of Carthage of which I spake before not onely approueth the Books of the Machabees for true Scripture but by name imbraceth prayer for the dead In the first councell of Nice l. 3. c. 65. it was ordained That when a Bishop died notice should be giuen of his death to all Churches and Monasteryes in the parish that prayer might be made for him But who can tell vs better the vniuersall custome of the Church then the greatest doctour of the Church who did see with his eyes that which he wrote with his pen therfore although he were a man and might erre in other things yet of this which he did see shine before his eyes he could not be ignorant and it cannot but be imprudence not to belieue him for els whom may we prudently belieue S. Austin then writeth thus l. de cura pro mort c. 1. We read in the books of Machabees sacrifice offered for the dead but although it were no where at all read in the old Testament yet notwithstanding the authority of the vniuersall Church is not small which shineth with this custome where the remembrance of the dead hath place in the prayers of the Priest which are powred out to our Lord God at the Aultar Heere you see first the Machabees accoūted part of the old Testamēt Secondly that although sacrifice for the dead were not Scripture yet being practised by the whole Church we haue sufficient warrant to thinke it well done Thirdly that the vniuersall Church did shine with this custome of offering sacrifice for the dead Let vs graūt that S. Austin as a man might erre in the two first points yet in this third that the Church did shine in his dayes with this custome of sacrificing for the dead he could not be ignorāt no more then the greatest Doctor of Oxford or Cambridge can be ignorant that in England seruice is said in the English tōgue Wherfore I say it must needs be imprudence not to belieue him who ought in prudence as much to be belieued as any man ought to be in a thing which he