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	open_v	shut_v	4,249	5	9.3501	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35021	The legacy of the Right Reverend Father in God, Herbert, Lord Bishop of Hereford, to his diocess, or, A short determination of all controversies we have with the papists, by Gods holy word	Croft, Herbert, 1603-1691.	1679 (1679)	Wing C6966; ESTC R1143	85,065	144

Loosing the same that is said here to Peter is said to all the Apostles Matt. xviii 18. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven And again Ioh. xx 23. Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained And what a silly childish noise do they make with those words said to Peter unto thee will I give the keys of heaven for the whole sence of those words is fully contained in those Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained For 't is sin that shuts us out of Heaven and when sin is remitted Heaven-Gate is again opened Whoever then hath power to remit and retain sin he hath the keys of Heaven to all intents and purposes Where is then I pray you S. Peter's preheminence over any other Apostle for the Church was built on all the Apostles as well as on Peter and they all had the keys of Heaven given unto them But now mark what goes before in Iohn xx 21. As my Father hath sent me even so send I you This cuts off all manner of pretence to the least precedency of power given to Peter before the rest of the Apostles for our Saviour here saith unto them all As my Father sent me even so send I you Even so in the self same manner And sure the Papists are not so desperate as to say St. Peter had a higher and more powerful Commission than Christ himself and as you see Christ here gives all the Apostles Commission equal with himself As my Father sent me even so send I you So that 't is impossible Peter could have a greater Is it not then a strange presumption for the Papists to boast of such a transcendent power and preheminence given to Peter above the rest of the Apostles as to make him Lord and Master over them which doubtless would have raised no small indignation in the rest of the Apostles We see when Iames and Iohn desired only the precedency before the rest no Lordship but only to sit the one on his right hand the other on his left they were greatly offended at it Wherefore to make Peter their Lord and Master must needs offend them far more yet we find not the least murmuring at it because they found no precedency at all given him And do not we see how St. Paul though a late born Apostle out of time took the boldness to resist him to the face when he walked not uprightly which you may be sure St. Paul would not have done had he taken St. Peter for Christ's High Priest Lord over all for St. Paul repented for having too severely reproved the High Priest of the Iews though he did it unwittingly and for his cruel injustice Certainly whoever reads the two first Chapters of S. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians if he be not much possest with S. Peter's preheminence before hand must needs see that S. Paul gives him no such thing but rather the contrary mark I pray you S. Paul's design there 't is to shew that he received not the knowledg of the Gospel nor the Commission to preach it from man but from Christ only And therefore as soon as Christ had revealed himself to him and sent him to preach Immediately I conferred not says he with flesh and blood neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were Apostles before me but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him fifteen days But other of the Apostles saw I none As if the seeing the other Apostles Iames and Iohn whom in the next Chapter he calls Pillars had carried more appearance of his receiving Commission from man than his seeing Peter and tarrying with him fifteen days Now had Peter been as the Papists would have it Head of the Church Lord over all the seeing of Peter Head of the Church and tarrying with him so long had signified far more towards his receiving Commission from man than had he seen all the other Apostles and tarried with them fifteen months for Peter being Head he and not the other Apostles was to give him Commission And then again when he names the great Pillars of the Church who seemed to be somewhat more than the rest he puts Iames in the first place But though they seemed to be somewhat yet whatever they were S. Paul tells us it maketh no matter to him he gave them not any subjection how not any subjection no not for an hour for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to him but contrariwise mark I pray you contrary to all subjection they gave unto him yea and unto Barnabas also the right hand of fellowship far from any Lordship over Paul or over Barnabas either though he were none of the twelve for he and they were all fellows in preaching the Gospel dividing the work betwixt them Paul and Barnabas to preach unto the Heathen and they unto the Circumcision Is it not then most evident by all this that S. Peter was no Lord nor Head over the rest of the Apostles nor did he outlive all the rest and so become Head of the Church by survivancy S. Iohn that great and beloved Apostle outlived him long and 't is thought all the rest and then by survivancy he should be Head and consequently his Successor Head of the Church not S. Peter's Successor for S. Peter himself was not Head And then I pray you tell me when S. Peter was dead and S. Iohn remained Who was then Head of the Church Was S. Peter's Successor whoever he was Linus or Clemens was he Head and Lord over S. Iohn or S. Iohn over him Speak I beseech you No your modesty will not suffer you to say that your Pope Linus was Head and Lord over S. Iohn the beloved of our Lord. I dare venture my life on it Linus never assumed any such Lordship to himself for Eusebius tells us that when Polycarpus a Successor of S. Iohn came to Rome to treat with Anicetus a Successor of S. Peter about the time of celebrating the Feast of Easter which was then much disputed the Church of Asia holding it at one time and the Church of Rome at another Anicetus S. Peter's Successor did not assume any Lordship over Polycarpus nor require him to submit unto the Roman Custome No he was so far from it that he gave the honour to Polycarpus and the precedency to celebrate the blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper in his own Church at Rome This was a mark of great honour and precedency for in those days the Chief did always celebrate If then your Church had no Headship over the Asian Church in the time of S. Iohn nor in the time of Polycarpus many years after I

passages which otherwise we could not well understand Thirdly Where a passage of Scripture may have several significations and thereby make it doubtful what is the more proper meaning of it there those Primitive Fathers can best tell us in what sence it was received in the Primitive Church And surely in doubtful places every modest man will think it fit to incline to those Primitive Godly men whose nearness to the Apostles gave them great opportunities of knowing the true sence and whose godly lives give us great assurance of their fidelity in delivering unto us what they received from their godly Fore-fathers some the very Disciples of the Apostles Several other reasons might be added for our regard and reverence to these Primitive Fathers in their Expositions of the dark or doubtful places of Scripture Yet I humbly conceive nothing of all this is necessary to understand those matters of faith which are necessary to Salvation as that God created and governs the world or the incarnation death and resurrection of Christ. These and such necessary things are so plainly set down in Scripture as that men of ordinary capacity may understand them without any Comment of the Fathers But what if any one or more very learned and very godly Fathers even such as laid down their lives for the faith what if they teach me a Doctrine in which the Scripture is wholly silent Ought I not to believe in them To this I small give you an answer from Tertullian one of the first Christian Writers who lived in the second Century about a hundred and fifty years after Christs Ascension He tells us in his Prescriptions against Heresies that this was the rule among Christians That they were not to believe any thing but that which Christ and his Apostles had delivered unto them in the Scripture Hoc priùs credimus non ess● quod ultra credere debemus And a little after sets down a Creed which very little varies from that which we have amongst us called the Apostles Creed This saith he is our rule of faith and we believe Nihil esse ultra quod credere debemus That there is nothing more for us to believe for this rule here set down is a compendium of all I do not cite this out of Tertullian as if I would prescribe unto you from him what you are to believe by his Authority for he doth not tell us this as his own opinion but only relates what was the belief and practice of the Church in his Primitive days who was so near after Christ. And this Tertullian is generally believed by the Learned to be as faithful a relater as any antient Writer whatsoever And he was of so great a credit with that learned and godly Father and Martyr of the Church St. Cyprian who lived not many years after Tertullian that he always called him Master and daily read his Works calling to his Servant Da Magistrum Give me my Masters Book to read Which shews he was of great credit But Tertullian after the discourse I now mentioned out of him confirms what he had said by Scripture Authority which is of far more weight than Tertullian and St. Cyprian both citing that place of St. Paul to the Galatians Chap. i. vers 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached let him be accursed Now you must know that the Original Greek from whence our Gospel is translated hath this more effectual to our purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which more exactly in English is rendred thus If any man preach unto you any thing besides what we have preached he doth not say contrary to what we have preached but besides which is the same in effect as to say any thing more And Arius Montanus a learned Papist in the University of Sevil in Spain who translated the Greek new Testament word for word sets it down just as I have done unto you Praeter quod evangelizavimus Besides what we have preached St. Paul means If they shall preach any more as necessary to Salvation for this is to make the Word of God of no effect he having in his Holy Word given us a rule of Faith for our Salvation and then for any one to say you must believe more is in effect to say Gods Word is not sufficient This is an accursed saying according to St. Paul Now if neither St. Paul nor an Angel from Heaven had any Commission to preach any thing besides what is already set down in the Scripture certainly we may shut up our ears to any one or to all the Doctors of the Church preaching unto us any thing more than what is there contained As for Example If they shall preach 't is necessary to obey the Pope to believe Purgatory or the like things which are not expressed in Scriptures let them be accursed as St. Paul saith A second Question may be what you are to do when any Father or Fathers expound a place of Scripture contrary to what you believe is the plain meaning of that place Must you quit your own judgment and believe in them This is just like the Prophet whom God sent to Bethel with an express command not to eat bread there he hearkened afterward to the old lying Prophet who pretending to have received a contrary message from God dissuaded him from what God had commanded for which he was slain by a Lion in his return And surely all men have great reason to expect the like recompence for their disobedience who forsake that which they verily believe is Gods Command and hearken to the Doctrins of men To this my Answer I shall give you another from a person of great Authority St. Austin a most eminent Doctor of the Church In one of his Epistles to St. Ierome he gives a clear judgment in this case First He tells us that when he reads the Holy Scriptures he entirely submits his own judgment to them and absolutely believes every thing there to be true meerly because it is contained there Gods Word is truth it cannot be otherwise therefore whether he understands it or no yet still he believes it truth But as for all other Writers he saith Alios autem ita lego ut quantalibet sanctitate doctrináque praepolleant non ideo verum putem quia ita ipsi senserint sed quia mihi vel per illos autores canonicos vel probabili ratione quod à vero non abhorreant persuadere potuerint Other Writers I so read as that be they ever so Holy ever so Learned I do not therefore believe their opinion to be true because they thought so but so far only as they prove it true by Canonical Scripture or by such reasons as seem not to be contrary to the truth And then tells St. Ierome that he doubts not but he is of the same mind And as for my part I am fully of Saint Austins mind and farther think it

as the Iews people and Priests also erred and so grosly erred as to become Idolaters yet the Oracles they bare never erred so we may too truly say to the proud boasting Papists their whole Church Pope Princes People have and do all err and so grosly err as to be guilty of great Idolatry worshipping and praying and thereby giving Gods glory to Saints and Angels to Pictures and Images This is most rationally and learnedly proved by Dr. Stillingfleet now the Reverend Dean of St. Pauls and most practically and palpably shewed in a small Book Intitled A Letter to a Friend concerning Popish Idolatry which in one hours reading fully declares it Of which Letter I will say only this That I am sure all there set down is truth for with my own eyes I have seen all having lived many years abroad amongst them But I grant they are not all practised here in England for two reasons First They would be ashamed to set up Pictures and Images here publickly to worship in the face of the Gospel-Sunshine where very Children would deride them And Secondly the Laws and Government would not suffer them Wherefore to conclude this point whoever reads the Gospel and by that examines the Doctrines of the Romish Church shall see that she is not the infallible Church she is pretended to be as plainly as you see the Moon is not the Sun you will discover such foul black spots in her face as may assure you she is not that beautiful beloved Spouse set forth in the Canticles for she hath so foully erred against the truth of the Gospel in several things which I have formerly laid before you as makes it most evident that she is neither truth nor so much as the pillar of truth but the pillar of error stifly mainteining several errors and doth not so much as hold forth the Gospel of truth to teach the people the way to Heaven but shuts it up from the people that she may lead them blindfold into error And so much be spoken concerning this Text The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth If any man can give a better exposition of this Text I shall be glad to learn it of him but I am sure the Papists have not yet by all that ever I saw or heard of They bring us another Text much like this Matth. the last Chapter where Christ sends forth his Disciples to teach all Nations promising to be with them in teaching unto the end of the world This Text I fully answered in my last Sermon Moreover these words being spoken by our Saviour to all the Apostles in general and their Successors of necessity gives equal Commission to them all and therefore makes more against the superiority of the Romish Church than for it for by this all Churches planted by other Apostles have the same promise The Papists therefore have one Scripture more which they urge particularly for their Church but it hath been so oft disputed and so fully confuted by whole Volumes of our Writers as a man would wonder to see them like Cats knockt down and quite dead in all appearance yet rise up again with this Text in their mouths It is this Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Matt. xvi 18. As to this I shall give you the heads only of several answers as plainly and briefly as may be for your more easie remembrance But I pray you still remember what we are searching Scripture for and that is a plain easie rule to determine all doubts that may arise in matters of faith And certainly this Text is not such but as far or farther from that than the former for 't is a figurative speech all along it speaks of building on a rock and the gates of Hell of binding and loosing almost every word a figure and the greatest Doctors and Fathers of the Church have disputed very variously about it the Papists cannot deny it and therefore this cannot be a plain easie rule to clear doubtful matters it being so doubtful in it self Let us now hear what the Text it self saith Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Is here any one word that the Church shall be infallible and cannot err The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church therefore say they she cannot err The veriest dunce in the University would be ashamed to make such ridiculous consequences Put the case God had promised the King of England that the French King should not prevail against him must it therefore follow that 't is impossible the French King should set foot upon English ground or kill any one of our Kings Subjects or take any of his Ships Rare nonsence Many Princes after several battels lost much of their Country invaded yet have prevailed and driven out the Enemy many a man after several wounds received hath prevailed and killed his Adversary Let then the Papists go and learn what that means The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel Gen. iii. 15. The seed of the Woman crushed the Head of Satan and prevailed against the gates of Hell though the Prince thereof bruised and wounded him in the heel Many errors and Heresies have bruised and wounded the Church yet have not prevailed to destroy it the vitals the fundamentals have still been preserved That profession of Peter whereon Christ built his Church was Thou art Christ the Son of the living God This saith hath still been preserved in the Church the gates of Hell never could prevail against it This is all our Saviour here promised and this he hath ever to this day made good and will assuredly make good to the end of the world But put the case these words The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church did imply some infallibility promised to the Church in general yet how come the Papists to challenge this insallibility to the Church of Rome and deprive all other Churches of it Why say they Christ here promises to build his Church on St. Peter 'T is false the Text doth not say Thou art Peter and upon thee will I build my Church but Upon this rock will I build my Church and that rock was Christ 1 Cor. x. 4. Christ the Son of the Living God whom Peter professed on this rock was the Church built But suppose yet farther that our Saviour had promised he would build his Church on Peter what then Yet not on him alone for St. Paul tells us Eph. ii 19 20. That the House of God which is the Church of God is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Iesus himself being the chief corner stone built upon other Apostles and Prophets also as well as on Peter but chiefly on Christ himself And then for those words Binding and