Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	foundation_n	pillar_n	3,741	5	10.6899	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51595	A remembrance for the living to pray for the dead made by a Father of the Soc. of Iesus.	Mumford, J. (James), 1606-1666.	1641 (1641)	Wing M3069; ESTC R26206	65,319	231

cannot but know Now if I belieue that the vniuersall Church did shine with this custome of offering sacrifice for the dead as in prudēce I must how can I in prudence thinke that the vniuersall Church euen in that her golden age was stained with such a profane Errour as Protestants hold this to be It is saith the same S. Austin Ep. 118. ad Januar insolent madnes to dispute against that which is practised by the whole Church all the world ouer And why so Because he that will not heare the Church let him be vnto thee as a Heathen or Publican Matth. 18. Because the gates of hell cannot preuaile against her Matth. 16. Because the is the pillar foundation of truth 1. Tim. 3. The Church then being the foundation of truth may we not well cry out with S. Paul O mad-men who hath be witched you not to obey the truth Gal. 3. For was not Iohn Caluin thinke you bewitched when he spake these words Before a thousand and three hundred yeares saith Caluin aboue an hundred yeares ago it was by custome receiued that prayers should be made for the dead but they all I confesse were ingulfed in an errour lib. 3. Iustit c. 5 Thus Caluin as boldly as if it were cleere that for thirteene hundred yeares togeather none of thē all vnderstood the Scripture so well as he But by his leaue I think I may be of the contrary opinion I am very confident that S. Austin had as good a wit studied as much was assisted as much by the holy Ghost and consequently vnderstood the Scripture as rightly as M. John Caluin yet this profound Doctour and great Saint writeth these very words which I do most faithfully trāslate out of him By the prayers of the holy Church and the wholsome sacrifice and by the almes which are giuen for their soules it is not to be doubted but the dead are holpen that they may be dealt withall more mercyfully by our Lord then their sins haue deserued for this deliuered from our Fathers the vniuersall Church doth obserue that for those who are dead in the Communion of the body bloud of Christ Prayer should be made when in the Sacrifice it selfe they in their place are remembred and that that Sacrifice should be remembred to be offered vp for them But when works of mercy are offered vp for their sakes who can doubt but that they auaile them for whom prayers are not in vaine offered vp to God It is not to be doubted in any case but that these things do profit the dead Serm. 32. de verb. Apost Thus writeth S. Austin repeating ouer ouer againe in so few lines It is not to be doubted who can doubt It is not to be doubted in any case that these things do profit the Dead This being so cleare all other authorityes may seeme superfluous He who desireth more testimonyes may read in Bellarmine de Purgatorio the words of S. Athanasius Basil Nazianzen Cyril Chrysostome Tertulliā Cyprian Ambrose Hierome others we also shall haue frequent occasions to cite many other places CHAP. II. Purgatory proued by Reason grounded in Scripture 1. AS it is a great Argument against Atheists who deny a God rewarder of good punisher of euil that all the world but they acknowledge such a God so it cānot but be a strong argument against Protestants who deny Purgatory that all Heathens Iewes Turkes and all ciuill nations do vse Prayer for the dead The reason why all agree so vniuersally in this point must needs be groūded in the light of naturall Reason which as it teacheth that there be some men very good who deserue nothing but reward others very bad who deserue nothing but punishment so it teacheth that there is a third kind of men who with the good they do worthy of reward do also some ill worthy of some though not eternall punishment consequently it will belong to higher Powers to giue these men due chastisment which as we see they escape often in this life it must therfore be giuen them in the next S. Austin thought this to be so manifest that he saith in Euchir c. 109. Jt is not to be denyed but that the soules of those who are departed are much relieued by the pitty of their liuing friends when either the Sacrifice of our Mediator is offered for them or Almes are giuen in the Church in their behalf because there is a certain state of life neither so good but that they may haue need of these helps after death nor yet so euill but that these offices may profit them And on the contrary there is another state of men so good that they need not this help and of others so euill that they cannot be helped by it when they are dead Wherfore heere in this life all merit is gottē wherby after this life a man may be relieued or not 2. The answer which Protestants vse to make is very weake for they say that although some men liue so that they do not deserue Hell and yet liue not so well but they deserue some punishment yet these men say they shall not go to Purgatory but by the onely vndergoing of the paines of death they shall be sufficiently punished for their sinnes This answere for two reasons is apparently false First for that the vndergoing of death is a punishment due vnto all men for originall sinne For saith S. Paul Rom. 5. by one man sinne entred into the world and by sinne death and so vnto all men death did passe euen vnto sucking babes who for no other cause vndergoe this punishment Secondly we see the paines of death equally shared among the good and bad and in the floud of Noë all mē suffered the same death of being drowned yet the sinnes of many were most vnequall 3. This proofe drawne from naturall Reason is exceedingly illustrated and confirmed by three principles certaine in holy Scripture The first is that there are some sins only veniall and not lyable to eternall torments and yet lyable to some torments That seruant saith S. Luke cap. 22. who knoweth the will of his Lord and doth not according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knoweth it not and doth things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes Hence it is euident that there be some men who do things worthy of stripes which they shall not escape but yet they shall be beaten with few stripes But if these stripes be to be layd on for all Eternity as all stripes be which are payd in hell they will not be few because being euerlasting the number of thē will be without number will any one call these stripes few Or can any man perswade himself that a God who is all mercy will in this vnmercifull manner punish the speaking of one idle word yet Christ himselfe saith that we shall be accountable for euery idle word we speake Matth. 12.