Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	bind_v	key_n	loose_v	3,794	5	10.2737	5	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 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