Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	key_n	kingdom_n	loose_v	2,949	5	9.6101	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31245	The truth and excellence of the Christian religion, with the corruptions and additions of the Romish Church a discourse, wherein the pre-eminence of Christianity is demonstrated above the religion of Jews or heathens, and the contradiction of popery to its main articles : and that religion prov'd in many instances to be a mixture of heathenish superstitions, and Jewish ceremonies : with a short vindication of Christian loyalty, and a brief historical account of Romish treasons and usurpations, since the Reformation / by a hearty professor of Reformed Catholick Christianity.	S. C.	1685 (1685)	Wing C126; ESTC R22983	60,383	154

Strifes might not be endless or such as are restrain'd to the Apostles themselves Such is that Mat. 16. 19. I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou bindest on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou loosest on earth shall be loosed in heaven The plain meaning of which words seems to be only this I will give thee the the priviledg of first opening Vide Lightfoot in locum the Gospel frequently call'd the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever parts of Moses's Law thou bindest to the Observation of or takest off the Obligation for so the Phrases of binding and loosing are generally us'd in the Jewish Writers shall be observ'd and forborn God will ratifie and confirm what thou establishest Accordingly we know St. Peter did first Preach the Gospel to the Jews in Acts 2. and to the Gentiles Acts 10. And this priviledg of binding and loosing was peculiar to him and the other Apostles Lastly Their proofs are such as agree to every particular Church and faithful Christian Thus that of Matt. 18. 17. Speaks only of a Jurisdiction in every Church for quieting differences among the Members of it And that other of Matt. 16. 18. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church For by the Gates of Hell may be either understood the crafts and policies of Hell Councils using to sit in the Gates of Cities shall not totally prevail There shall be a body of Christians in the World or the Translation should be mended and the words read the Gates of the Grave or the invisible State Death which is frequently call'd among the Greeks by that name shall not gain Victory over the Church over the particular Persons of which it consists tho they dye yet Christ will rescue them by a glorious Resurrection Death shall not have Dominion over them nor over the Church notwithstanding it s many Enemies it shall not perish totally or irrecoverably These are the best proofs of their Infallibility I can find in the Scripture and while they are so easily and naturally applicable to a different sense I cannot think a Doctrine so obscurely deliver'd in the Christian Rule to be any Articles of the Christian Faith Besides what use do they make of this gift they pretend to Have they oblig'd the World by an infallible Comment on all the difficult places in Scripture and put a final end to all controversies among themselves On the contrary have not some Popes profess'd their no skill in Divinity and infallible Councils contradicted each other Are not there violent disputes between the Franscicans and Dominicans Jansenists and Jesuits French and Italian Clergy Surely the Pope must be very regardless of the Peace of the Church who will not give an infallible discovery of the truth And if ever God did give this gift since the Apostles days he may have long since justly taken it away because they have hid their Talent and made no use of it And now I have weaken'd this pretence the other of the Scriptures dependance on the Authority of their Church falls of it self for if their Church be not infallible why should I believe the Scriptures to be Gods Word meerly because they say so any more than Mahomets Alchoran 'T is true the Testimony of their Church jointly with all other Christians in the World and the Confession of Jews and Heathens handed down to us by the most unquestionable historical Tradition is a great Confirmation that these were the Books indicted by the Apostles that they were confirm'd by various Miracles and are not corrupted in any material Articles but we believe their Divine Authority not because the Church says so but because of those Seals which God hath affix'd to them We have convincing Arguments enough of the Scriptures Divinity and need not go to Rome to know what they mean Christ hath fully prov'd that his Message is from God by the excellence of his Doctrines the accomplishment of Prophecies and numerous miraculous Works and we will not forsake these firm foundations of our Faith and be so unreasonably credulous as to believe the same things meerly upon the Affirmation of a company of the worst sorts of Christians in the World Thus have they dangerously invaded the Offices of Christ I proceed to 3. They have corrupted the excellent Rules of an holy Life contain'd in the Gospel The great design of the Christian Religion is to purifie and amend the World and reduce it to its primitive Innocence And I wish there were less occasion to think that the design of these men is to Debauch the World and show that it is possible to be more corrupt than the very Heathens themselves for have not they by their nice distictions render'd a holy Life a very needless thing and overturn'd the very foundations of Virtue and Morality Repentance that first Introduction to an holy Life consisting in such a hearty Sorrow for every Sin as influences the practice and disposes us to forsake them they have made utterly unnecessary For while they distinguish Sins into Mortal and Venial and impose very easie Penances for those of the most purple dye Is not this the way to tempt their Proselytes to a continuance in their Sins and keep them from that severe hatred of them and those firm Resolutions of forsaking them they ought to take up Besides they maintain that a slight Attrition and imperfect Sorrow for Sin meerly from the consideration of some temporal inconvenience if join'd with the Sacrament of Penance is sufficient to fit a man for Heaven so that it is a very needless thing to hate or forsake our evil ways This is desin'd by their Council of Trent and generally maintain'd by their most famous Casuists And Morinus tells us as I find him quoted by Dr. Stillingfleet * Preface to Answer to several Treatises That the excellence of the Evangelical Precepts above the Legal chiefly consists in this That by them we are freed from the heavy yoke of Contrition and Love to God A Speech that would better become a Turk or Heathen than a Christian Thus we see they have hinder'd the first entrance into an holy Life and made the Gate to Heaven wider and the passage much more easie than our Saviour or his Apostles And if we run over all the parts of our Duty we may find too plain a Contradiction among their Casuists If we examine the Duties of Piety towards God How necessarily must they have low and irreverent thoughts of his imcomprehensible Majesty who behold such scandalous Pictures of him in their Churches and see the same Devotions and Gestures of Adoration us'd to those who were once perhaps equally sinful Creatures with themselves How have they incourag'd an abuse of his sacred Name by their Doctrine of Equivocation and prophan'd his Holy Day by allowing the remains of that time that is not spent at Mass to be imploy'd in idle Sports and foolish Mirth How

in the Flesh All the Declarations of Divine Perfections that ever were vouchsaf'd to the World come infinitely short of these gracious discoveries in the Gospel Besides the manner whereby the Jews Worship'd God tho he in that Infant state of the Church for wise reasons was pleas'd to institute it yet was it too gross and carnal and not enough suted to his spiritual nature it consisted in gay Shows and pompous Solemnities in the Circumcision of the Flesh Smoke of Sacrifices Steams of Incense Purgations from ceremonial Uncleanness Distinctions of Days and Habits and Meats things that had no Intrinsick Goodness or worth to commend them They had indeed a spiritual signification but the veil of Ceremonies was so thick and their Affections so carnal that very few div'd into their Typical meaning but Christianity teaches a Worship more admirably adapted to the Nature of God and reason of man The law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1. 17. Grace in opposition to the legal severities and Truth in opposition to their Types and Shadows God is a spirit and will be worshipped in spirit and truth Joh. 4. 24. not with carnal Ceremonies but spiritual Affections not with typical Shadows but true and sincere Devotions The Rites of this Religion are but few in number and therefore far less painful and laborious Eucharistical and Commemorative of what is past and therefore more apt for the instilling Piety than those typical Ordinances whose signification was more dark and obscure In this sense 't is acknowledg'd the Apostles did disturb the World 2. The Apostles taught the only satisfying method of mans Reconciliation with his Maker This was a thing that very much puzled the considering part of mankind and their Opinions were very different concerning it the light of Nature taught them that they were Gods subjects and that an entire subjection to him was their Duty they knew that Sin was an affront to his Majesty and injury to all his Attributes and the stings of Conscience forcd thom to confess that they ●liad been very foulty in their Obedience and incur'd the just Displeasure of Heaven and yet by Gods forbearance they discern'd his readiness to be reconcil'd His continuing forfeited Benefits discoveu'd that he was not willing to punish them according to their Demerits But how this Clemency and Mildness could be consistent with his Holiness this very much perplex'd them How he could preserve the rights of his Justice and yet give such large Demonstrations of his Goodness this they could not apprehend Some therefore fashion'd a God altogether like themselves and made the Poetick Fables the Rule of their Faith the Tales of the Rapes Adulteries and secret amours of their reputed Deities confirm'd them in their Sins and thought that to Sacrifice their Lives to Bacchus or dye the Martyrs of Venus would be anv least no way displeasing to Heaven Others conceiv'd that God took no notice of smaller faults and was not much incens'd at any crimes that brought no notable detriment to the Common-wealth Others invented numerous expiatory Sacrifices and multipli'd superstitious Inventions hoping by these little things to appease the anger of God For tho perhaps the way of Sacrificing was instituted by God and convey'd throughout the World by Tradition from Noah yet they unreasonably rested in the Sacrifice it self never imagin'd it meerly typical but vainly presum'd the Blood of Lambs would wash away their crimes tho they were utterly destitute of their Innocence In cases of extream distress and to secure them from publick threatned Judgments they presented their Gods with humane burnt Offerings as if one Sin might be expiated by another of a deeper dye but some were dissatisfi'd with this method also and agreed that the Supreme God delights rather in the Oblations of a pure mind than in costly Incense or burnt Offerings Others therefore especially the proud Philosophers were so little sensible of their Obligation to God that they thought their good works would recompence for the sins they committed and their shadows of virtue overballance their offences Others had some apprehensions of the necessity of a Mediator and therefore to Angels and Deifi'd men who had been publick Benefactors to their Country while they liv'd they address'd themselves and brib'd them with Divine honours to intercede with God on their behalf This was a Doctrine generally entertain'd at Athens in the Apostles time In this Chapter we find that when Saint Paul preach'd Jesus and the Resurrection they say he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange Gods or Demons this was the title they gave to their Mediators These several methods were contriv'd by the Heathens to reconcile God to man but still they were very fluctuating and dubious in their Opinions and their guilty fears made them tremble lest after all their thoughtful pains they should have mistaken the right method and God should be still unreconcil'd The Jews indeed had many Sacrifices that were Originally design'd to typifie and prefigure the Death of our Lord Redeemer and the high Priests entring into the Holy of Holies once a year represented his Intercession but these shadows were so obscure and their eyes so dim that very few understood their spiritual signification They generally look'd for a glorious Messiah that should Translate the Empire from Rome to Jerusalem tread upon the Necks of their Enemies and reign over the whole Earth with an outward magnificence greater than that of Solomon The Disciples themselves laboured under the same mistake and never dream'd of the necessity of such an Ignominious Death as our Saviour suffer'd Hence when he was telling them what Sufferings he must undergo St. Peter How of thoughtfulness Page 64. very gravely rebukes him saying Master favour thy self this shall not be unto thee it was not meerly his concern for his Master but what would become of his own designs and hopes that drew forth those Expressions Christ had promis'd him the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven which he knowing to be the insignia of great Authority in Princes Courts interpreted it of some secular Greatness in the Kingdom of the Messiah And this made him so solicitous when our Lord spake of Suffering and Death and for this reason our Saviour calls him Satan the name of the Usurping God of this World who had yet too much Power over him Matth. 16. 22 23. So also Zebedees Children desired one to sit at his right hand and the other at his left as Persons next in Dignity to him in that earthly Kingdom they expected and when his Death came they then began to despair saying we hop'd that this had been he which should have redeemed Israel Lu. 24. 21. Thus we see the Disciples themselves little expecting this way of Redemption reveald in the Gospel The ' Jews indeed especially the Pharisees had generally very high thoughts of their own worth and external Priviledges as being Abrahams Seed and Gods peculiar inheritance