Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	apostle_n	death_n	sin_n	987	5	4.8284	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56600	An answer to a book, spread abroad by the Romish priests, intituled, The touchstone of the reformed Gospel wherein the true doctrine of the Church of England, and many texts of the Holy Scripture are faithfully explained / by the Right Reverend Father in God, Symon, Lord Bishop of Ely.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing P745; ESTC R10288	116,883	290

himself would not have practised had he not been disigned to an austere sort of Life after the manner of the Ancient Nazarites as Menochius expounds this place It is a wonder when there are so many Texts that speak of Fasting this man should pick out such as these which have no respect unto it The next indeed hath XIII Acts 3. and accordingly we have our Fasts before every Ordination in the Ember weeks XVII Matth. 27. proves nothing but that upon extraordinary occasions there must be extraordinary Prayer and Fasting which we also both affirm and practice The rest of his Scriptures and his Fathers I assure the Reader say nothing that we deny but he had a mind to slander us as if we were Enemies to Fasting when we Fast truly by total Abstinence from Meat and Drink on our Fasting-days they Fast only nominally eating all sorts of Fish and drinking Wine on their Fasting-days Whereby they hope also to satisfy for their Sins and to merit a Coelestial Reward as Bellarmine speaks in his Second Book of Good Works Why did he not prove this end of Fasting and not spend his time about that which is not questioned for we acknowledg that Fasting is good if rightly designed XLVI That Jesus Christ descended not into Hell nor del●vered thence the Souls of the Fathers Answer WHat an impudent Lyar is this to say we deny that which is an Article of our Creed professed by us every day That Christ did descend into Hell Not indeed to deliver the Souls of the Fathers in Limbo because we read of no such thing in any of the Scriptures which he mentions Ephes IV. 8. The Apostle in IV. Ephes 8. says nothing either of their Limbus or of the Souls of the Fathers but of leading captivity captive Which hath no relation to the Souls either of the glorified or of the damned but of such men and women as we are Whom Christ did not captivate when we were free saith Theodoret upon the place but being under the power of the Devil he rescued us and making us his captives bestowed liberty upon us To the same purpose Theophylact but a little larger comprehending all our enemies What captivity doth the Apostle mean That of the Devil For he took the Devil captive and Death and the Curse and Sin and us who were under the Devils Power and obnoxious to the forenamed enemies The next place II. Acts 27. II. Acts 27. only proves our Saviour descended into Hell but saith nothing of the Fathers being there What St. Austin saith is not the business but what the Scripture saith expressly Yet the words which he quotes out of him touch not us who believe Christ's Descent into Hell as much or more than himself And it is worth the noting how in this very place where he calls it Infidelity to deny Christ's going into Hell he overthrows this end of it to fetch the Fathers from then●e for he professes he could find the name of H●ll no where given unto that place where the souls of righteous men did rest There is no mention in 1 Pet. 3.18 19. 1 Pet. III. 18 19. of so much as Christ's descending into Hell but only of his Preaching to the spirits in prison and that not in person but by that Spirit which raised him from the dead St. Austin wishes us to consider in that very Epistle which he just now named XCIX ad Euod lest perhaps all that which the Apostle speaks of the spirits shut up in prison who did not believe in the days of Noah do not at all belong to hell but rather unto those times of Noah whose pattern be applies to our times And this St. Hierom relates as the opinion of a most prudent man and is followed by Bede Walfridus Strabo and others And if this place should not be thus interpreted of his Preaching by his Spirit in the Ministry of Noah unto the old world but of his own Preaching unto the spirits in hell it must be to the damned spirits for we read of no others there as a great many Ancient Writers through mistake of this place conceived And this is as much against his opinion as against ours The XI Heb. 39 40. proves no more but that they had not their compleat happiness yet were not in Hell as that signifies any thing of torment but in Heaven tho not in the highest felicity of it Thus Theodoret and others of the Ancients understand it Tho the combats of these men were so many and so great yet they received not their Crowns For the God of the Vniverse saith he expects till others have finished their race that then he may solemnly declare them all together to be Conquerors Which Theophylact thus farther enlargeth Is not God unjust then unto them if they who have got the start in labours must expect us in Crowns No such matter for this is very acceptable unto them to be perfected with their brethren we are one body and the pleasure is greater to the body if all its members be crowned together c. but God gave to those who preceded us in labours a certain foretaste bidding them wait for the compleat banquet till their brethren come to them And they being lovers of mankind joyfully expect note that that they may be all merry together This plainly shows such men as these did not look upon the Fathers as in Hell but in Heaven in a state of joy tho not consummate but in expectation of its completion I could show this to be the sense which men in his own Church put upon this place but I am afraid of being tedious and therefore shall make shorter work of the rest Jonas mentioned XII Matth. 40. XII Mat. 40. was a Type of Christ's Death Burial and Resurrection and the Whale's belly represented his Grave and nothing else So Menochius acknowledges That tho many by the heart of the earth understand the Limbus of the Fathers yet others take it for the Grave As Ignatius doth in that very Epistle which he quotes presently and St. Chrysostome to name no more St. Matthew XXVII 52. speaks of the Resurrection of many out of their Graves but whence their Souls came neither he nor Ignatius say a word IX Zach. 11. There is no reason to think that IX Zach. 11. speaks of fetching souls out of the infernal prison but Theodoret saith expressly That if by the Pit or Lake we shall understand either Eternal Death or Idolatry we shall not miss the mark For when men were bound in this lake our Lord Christ loosed them and brought them out and bestowed liberty upon them by his Precious Blood and sent them forth into the way of life when he gave them the New Testament And so St. Austin * LXVIII de Civit. Dei c. 25. thinks it is best understood of the profundity of human misery And I assure the Reader that both St. Hierom and St. Cyril to the

but the restoring him again to Christian Communion who had been thrown out of the Church But is this the Indulgence they contend for in the Church of Rome Will this serve their turn Then every Church hath as much power as this comes to and the whole body of the Church will have a share in this power of Indulgences For St. Paul speaks to all the Corinthian Christians in general that they should forgive him And so he doth also in the next place here alledged v. 6 7. Ibid. v. 6.7 of the same Chapter which speak of a Punishment inflicted ed by many which he tells them ought not to be continued but contrarywise Ye ought to forgive him and comfort him c. Upon which words hear what your Menochius says This Punishment was publick Separation from the Church out of which he was ejected by MANY i. e. by you all with detestation of his Wickedness c. The forgiveness of which was taking him into the Church again as Theodoret expounds the next words v. 8. Vnite the member to the body joyn the sheep together with the flock and thereby show your ardent affection to him He bids us see more in two other places of Scripture which we have examined before for other purposes but he would have serve for all A sign they have great scarcity of Scripture-proofs and therefore he gives us a larger Catalogue of Fathers which he packs together after such a fashion as no Scholar ever did For after Tertullian and Cyprian who speak only of the forenamed Relaxation of Canonical Censures he mentions the Council of Lateran but doth not tell us which though if he had it would have been to no end For the first Lateran Council was above Eleven hundred years after Christ And Innocent III. who is his next Father lived an hundred year later holding the IVth Lateran Council 1215. After these he brings St. Ambrose Austin Chrysostome who lived 800 years before and knew of no Indulgences but such as I have mentioned Lastly He tells us Urban the second granted a Plenary Indulgence and when lived this holy Father do you think Almost eleven hundred years after Christ Anno 1086. A most excellent proof that the Romish Indulgences were in use in the Apostles times Can one think that such men as this expect to be read by any but fools who perhaps may imagine this Vrban was contemporary with the Apostles It is some wonder he did not quote that holy Father Hildebrand Greg. VII who something before this granted Pardon of Sins to all those who would take up Arms against his Enemies Poor man he did not know this else he would have mentioned him rather than Vrban who was but his Ape The Protestants hold if you will believe him XVII That the Actions and Passions of the Saints do serve for nothing to the Church Answer A Most wicked Slander for we look upon what they did and suffered as glorious Testimonies to the Truth they believed and preached as strong incitements to us to follow their Examples and as eminent Instances of the Power of God's Grace in them for which we bless and praise him and thankfully commemorate them But all this serves for nothing to the Church that is to the Church of Rome unless men believe there is a Treasury which contains all the superfluous Satisfactions of the Saints who suffered more than they were bound to endure Of which vast Revenue that Church having possessed it self it serves to bring abundance of Money into their Coffers which must be paid by those who desire to be relieved out of these superabundant Satisfactions of the Saints by having them applied to them for the supply of their defects This is the meaning of this very man it appears by the Scriptures he quotes for their belief I. Col. 24. The first is I. Col. 24. which speaks of the Persecutions St. Paul endured in Preaching the Gospel to the Colossians which tho grievous to him was so beneficial to them that he rejoiced in his Sufferings and resolved to endure more for the confirmation of their Faith and for the edification of the Church of Christ This he calls filling up what was behind of the afflictions of Christ Because Christ began to testifie to the Truth by shedding of his Blood and thence is called the Faithful Witness But it remained still that the Apostles should give their Testimony by the like Sufferings because the Gospel was to be carried to the Gentile World which could not be effected without their enduring such hardships as Christ had endured in Preaching to the Jews Thus Theodoret expounds That which was behind or which remained of the Affliction of Christ But here is not a word of Satisfaction no not by Christ's Sufferings which were of such value that there was nothing of this nature left to be done by others This better Men than this of their own Church ingenuously confess Particularly Justinianus a Jesuit whose words are these upon this very place He saith he filled up what was wanting of the Passion of Christ not to merit indeed or make Satisfaction for what can be wanting to that which is Infinite but as to the Power and Efficacy of bringing Men to the Faith that his Mystical Body which is the Church may be perfected c. For he signifies in the latter end of the Verse That he suffered for the enlarging or propagating of the Church to confirm and establish its faith that he might provoke others to his imitation I could add many more to shew the Folly of this Man who saith From hence Ground hath always been taken for Indulgences A notorious falshood not always for Indulgences are late things not by all Men in their Church since it used them For Estius in his Notes upon this place absolutely disclaims it and saith Tho some Divines hence argue that the Passions of the Saints are profitable for the remission of sins which is called Indulgence yet he doth not think this to be solidly enough concluded from this place Which I have been the longer about because they are wont to make a great noise with it The next place they curtail'd heretofore in this manner Philip. II. 30. He was nigh unto Death not regarding his Life to supply your lack leaving out what follows of service towards me which made it sound something like as if their lack of Goodness had been supplied by his Merits or rather Satisfaction for Merit will do no service in this case But Bishop Montague bang'd them so terribly for this foul play that now they have printed it right tho alas nothing to the purpose And therefore this Man doth not venture to say so much as one word upon this Text but barely recites the words and leaves the Reader to make what he can of them And all that Menochius a truly Learned Expositor of their own could make of them is this That St. Paul being in Prison Epaphroditus