Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bind_v	heaven_n	key_n	4,060	5	10.1685	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89003	The difference about church government ended: by taking away the distinction of government into ecclesiasticall and civill: and proving the government of the civill magistrate onely sufficient in a Christian kingdom. / Written by one that by making peace, prefers to be called a blessed childe of God, before preeminence in this world. J.M. D. D. Published according to order.	Mayne, Jasper, 1604-1672.	1646 (1646)	Wing M1470; Thomason E339_8; ESTC R200855	12,314	20

from time to time very severe as it is necessary they should And against Witches Idolaters Drunkards Theives common Swearers and Sabbath-breakers the sword is sharpned in this land against Cheators Forgeries and all other notoriotyes yea and against Blasphemers Sorcerers to Lyers and those that believing them make disturbance of the peace of the Kingdom and where the Laws are not sufficiently penall the penalties may be aggravated Our Laws also have provided that persons scandalous in their lives living in variance and hatred rayling and cursing and not reconciled should be kept from the holy Communion and now by Ordinance of Parliament it is provided that ignorant persons shal be likewise hereby suspended here from And what then remayns for which there is need for any other power to come in for the well governing of the Church of Christ amongst us but only to authorize Ministers to whom it properly belongeth to try and find out and suspend the ignorant some short Catechisme being first compiled of the Principles necessary by every Christian to be know● beyond the bounds whereof no Minister may go in his examinations or having tryed admit of any through partiality that shall come short of this knowledge and in his tryall putting difference betwixt the ancient and the yonger as Saint Paul directeth 1 Tim. 5. 1. dealing with them as fathers with these as brethren And if the Minister through envy pride or enmity shall proceed otherwise with any then is prescribed hee may be made lyable to give account thereof to the Magistrate and if he be found guilty to punishment therefore but if not the party complayning to be soundly punisht for his false accusation As for scandalous livers let such officers as the Magistrate shall thinke fit be appointed in every Parish but let them be of the most religious and conscionable who may be tyed by 〈◊〉 to present them unto him and as he shall find cause let him direct his precept to the Minister to suspend him till he be reformed If Officers so appointed be negligent let it be commended to the care of any in the Congregotion who have the spirit of 〈◊〉 in them to complain of them to the Magistrate that upon proof he may be soundly 〈◊〉 for his negligence in a matter 〈◊〉 to his 〈◊〉 of so great importance If none Arg. 3. but Magistrates be capable of rule and dominion in respect of censures and punishments then they only ought to have the rule but none else are capable hereof Ergo none else ought to have this rule The Minor which only can be doubted of is thus proved The Minister of the Gospell is not capable of it Ergo none else That he is not appears because Christ opposeth the order of Preachers to Rulers saying The Princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them but it shall not be so with you Matth. 20. 25. that is ye shal not rule over your brethren and the most faithfull Apostle Peter exhorting Presbyters to feed the flocke of Christ committed to them when hee comes to speake of ruling doth it with this negative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not ruling over them 1 Pet. 5. 1. If it be here objected Ob. Elders are described by ruling 1 Tim. 5. 17. The Elders that rule well are worthy of double honour Heb. 13. 7. 17 24. they are three times likewise described and such other additions made as that it cannot be understood of any other Elders but Preachers as namely Verse 7. that have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the Word of God Verse 17. that rule over you for they watch for your souls Therefore any Presbyter quatenus a Presbyter preaching the Word of God and a Watchman over souls is and ought to be a Ruler and have power to censure I answer that the words rendred by ruling are in two of these places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sol. signifieth not Rulers but leaders but because leaders as Captains are Rulers it is rendred Rulers though all leaders or guides in a way be not Rulers in the sense here spoken of In the third place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth also such as goe before not properly Rulers or Governours therefore from hence nothing can be evinced to the purpose If it be further objected Ob. the Keys are given to Peter and by Keys according to the Scripture phrase government is always understood as Esay 22. 22. The key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder and he shall open and none shall shut compared with Chap. 9. 6. The government shall be upon his shoulder Revel 3. 7. He that hath the key of David Here by the key of David is plainly set forth sovereigne power in all things therefore are the keys of the Kingdome of Heaven given to Peter Matth. 16. the power of governing in things partayning to the Kingdom of Heaven that is the Church and what power was here given to Peter is showed to be given to all the Apostles Matth. 18. 18. Whatsoever ye bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven c because herein the power of the keys is shewed to lye by the words noted in the place before named Whatsoever thou bindest upon earth shall be bound in heaven and John 20. 23. the same power is given to all the Apostles in words to the same effect Whose sins you remit they are remitted c and Saint Paul accordingly exercised this power 1 Tim. 1. 20. by delivering Hymenens and Alexander to Satan touching the incestuous person as Corinth saith he I have judged to deliver him to Satan 1 Cor. 5. 3. but this he could not have done unlesse he had had such power And as having power to commit the like to other Preachers hee gave Timothy a charge over the Church at Ephesus 1 Tim. 1. 1. 18. and by vertue hereof he was to charge some not to preach any other doctrine Implying a ruling power committed unto him and to Titus to order things in Creet Titus 1. 5. and Timothy is bidden to receive none accusation against an Elder under two or three witnesses Chap. 5 19. And what is he that orders things in the Church but a Ruler or he before whom accusations are brought To all this I answer that Peter Sol. and the rest of the Apostles forgave sins and loosed by preaching salvation to the faithfull and repentant and retained sins and damn'd by preaching damnation to the impenitent and Paul accurseth those that teach any other Doctrine Gal. 1. Yea and I doubt not but by vertue of that donation they and other Preachers their successors during the time that the Christian Religion was imbraced but by some and those of the meane sort the greatest as Emperours Kings and Princes withstanding it had a ruling power by excommunications and other censures spirituall to deter the wicked amongst them and Hereticks and Schismaticks and to make them ashamed that they might be

By the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred Church Sol. is not always understood the Congregation of Christians but sometime any assembly as Acts 19. 41. Here therefore may well be understood the judicatory that then was amongst the Jews before spoken of which yet continued and amongst them when any should afterwards be set up of what persons soever it consisted and not any whole congregation that were such a government as was never heard of in those times or the times preceding neither is it necessary that they should be Officers properly Ecclesiasticall but any of the more honourable amongst people who have also power in the Common-wealth may constitute this judicatory but for the power of binding and losing spoken of Verse 18. it belongs not to them but to Preachers for which he changeth the person saying What yee bind upon earth shall be bound in Heaven hereby giving them power pro tempore that the inordinate might be awed till that Magistrates being converted they might be otherwise curbed To cleere which the more take this for a paraphrase If thy brother sin against thee by doing thee any trespasse or traducing thee or detracting from thee or offering thee any violence and neyther by private telling him of it nor by mediation of friends hee will be brought to acknowledge his fault and ask thee forgivenesse tell the Judges of it who have authority to proceed against offenders that they may if it be possible by threatning him with punishment cause him to repent but if not so give him over for an heathen incorrigible and no true Christian and let the Ministers of the Church exclude him from the Sacrament or Communion of Christians consequently from life neyther let him contemne because they that exclude him are but two or three d●spicable Ministers of the Gospel who have none authority or power in this world For whatsoever yee thus proceeding binde shall be bound c. Yea if there be not two but only one in that Church for as it is here sayd Whatsoever yee bind in the plurall number so Matth. 16. It is sayd Whatsoever thou bindest And by vertue of this Commission Paul alone delivered Hymeneus and Alexander to Satan 1 Tim. 1. 20. If it be demanded shall he not be bound from comming to the Congregation also Ans By no means because even Heathens came into the Congregations as may be gathered Jam. 2. and if not how should they be converted wherefore 〈◊〉 excommunicating wholly our of the Church for any sin is lawfull 1 Cor. Object 5. Paul requires the Corinth Church to put the incestuous man from amongst them which argues authority to censure in the Church I deny not Sol. but in those times there being yet no Christian Magistracy it was necessary that there should be some authority in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who preached the word to sentence grosse offenders who would other wise have 〈…〉 to the greater blemishing of Christianity But this 〈◊〉 that it ought still 〈…〉 be in a Christian Kingdom 〈…〉 can be suffered although there be no Church Government to animadvert against him Having this proved that the Government in all things in a Christian Kingdom is and ought to be in the Civill Magistrate let us now consider the other part of my generall Proposition concerning the Ministers of the Gospell That to them it is committed to Preach and Baptize and administer the Supper of the Lord is plain from the last words of Christ Go teach all Nations baptizing them c. Matth. 28. and from the charge at the Institution of the Lords Supper Do this in remembrance of me And they only may do these things in any other it is pride and presumption highly displeasing to God to do thē as in Saul to sacrifice in Uzziak to burn Incense 2 That to them also it belongs to put up the Petitions of the Congregation of particular persons in distresse we may gather from Gods Ordinance that the Priests should offer Sacrifice for the Congregation and for any person having trespassed but now troubled for it of the Prophets praying also in the Congregation c. 1 Cor. 14. and for the sick Jam. 5. 16. Kings have sometimes prayed publikely also though they might not Sacrifice as Solomon at the Dedication of the Temple and Hezekiah when many kept the Passover who were not cl●nsed piety putting them on to it and no prohibition lying against it But these were rare and extraordinary acts and not be ordinarily drawn into imitation as neyther that of Phineas a Priest killing Cosby and Zimri and afterward going as a Captain against the Midianites For not Moses but Aaron must blesse or pray publikly for the Congregation Numb 6. 23. And when the plague was in the Host he not Moses must go up with his Censor by offering incense to stay it 3 For ordayning Elders or Bishops it is committed to Titus and Timothy not to others who were not Preachers or Elders themselves and Acts 14. 23. Paul and Barnabas ordained Elders in every Church 4 For joyning man and wise together because it ought not to be without prayer blessing and instructing and that in publike who is so fit to doe it as a Minister 5 For obedience and submission unto them though they have no power by censure in judiciary proceeding to compell yet considerig the command obey them that go before you in doctrine and life and are your Leaders and submit your selves to them as to them that watch for your sonis Heb. 13. 17. There is no good Christian of what estate or degree soever but for conscience towards him that commands this will readily do it For when Zedekiah and the Princes of Judah would not obey Jeremiah speaking to them in the name and word of the Lord what grievous things did they suffer by the Caldees 6 For the Ministers or Presbyters power in Councel to manage controversies in point of Religion to determine that which was done in the first famous Councel at Jerusalem Act. 15. speaks plainly therefore it hath been followed as a president in the purest times by all the Christian World and that not without good successe in many ages to the suppressing of monstrous errors and to the keeping up of the unity of faith Thus I have by Gods assistance made good my whole proposition which if it might in all parts be subscribed to Oh! what great good would ensue to us all thereby The great controversie touching Church Government so greatly troubling and disturbing the whole Kingdom would be sopi●ed the difference betwixt Presbyterians and Independants ended the many strange and mons●●ous errours lately sprung up extirpated clashing and enterfeeing betwixt two sorts of Governments removed wicked men and Hereticks who feare not the word nor regard Church censures terrified and peace throughout the whole Kingdom setled Now that I may yet more effectually move the mindes of all my brethren who shall read