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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	bind_v	heaven_n	loose_v	3,336	5	10.8622	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16643	A plaine confutation of a treatise of Brovvnisme, published by some of that faction, entituled: A description of the visible Church In the confutation wherof, is shewed, that the author hath neither described a true gouerment of the Church, nor yet proued, that outward discipline is the life of the Church. Whereunto is annexed an ansvvere vnto two other pamphlets, by the said factioners latelie dispersed, of certaine conferences had with some of them in prison. Wherein is made knowen the inconstancie of this sect, what the articles are which they still maintaine: as also a short confutation of them. There is also added a short ansvvere vnto such argumentes as they haue vsed to proue the Church of England not to be the Church of God.	Alison, Richard, controversialist.	1590 (1590)	STC 355; ESTC S100153	67,007	148

lambe and that worde of their testimonie they are more then conquerours brusing the head of the serpent yea thorough the power of his word they haue power to cast downe sathan like lightning to tread vpon serpents and scorpions to cast downe strong holdes and euerie thing that exalteth it selfe against God The gates of hell and all the principalities powers of the world shall not preuaile against it Brownist The muster maister hath viewed the world chosen his soldiers appointed the victuallers selected out the sergeants of the bands hath brought them to their captaine and they are readie to march on vnder his conduct in the face of their enemies bodily and ghostly to the confusion of sathan sinne hell and all VVhat wages he exspected for this his peece of seruice is best knowne vnto him selfe but what faithfulnes he hath vsed in his dealing it is apparant vnto all for in these three things his packing is notorious First that the victory of the church which she is assured of in and through the power of Christ is here restrained limited for our author doeth acknowledge it so farre only as it enioyeth this foresaid gouernement of Pastors Doctors Elders c. Secondly that the power of the word of God the ministerie thereof which is the sanctified meanes for sathans ouerthrow and the building vp of Christ his church is here granted no otherwise then this word is preached vnder this outward gouernement Lastly that the certainetie of victorie which is by faith is heere applied to the whole visible church as if all the members thereof were truly faithful By this his practise he woulde conclude that which as yet remaineth vnproued viz. that the necessitie of this gouernmēt is such that the enioyning of it is sufficient to make the church without spot or wrinckle and that where this is wanting there is no fight against fathan no strife against sinne no victorie no church apparant The testimonies of Scripture that should helpe him herein and are for the same cause noted in the margent do cut the throat of these his follies For thogh he telleth vs that this armie of Sainctes is martialled here on earth by these officers yet the holy ghost describeth the warrior and his traine to be the warriors which were in heauen Though this man saith that triumph is made by vertue of this gouernment yet the holy ghost saith it is in pacience and constancie of faith and obedience And in a word though he affirmeth that discipline is all in all yet the places noted by him speaking of the power of Christ in his sernants ouercomming satan doe not once mention anie outward gouernment much lesse this discipline here prescribed Brownist Further he hath giuen them the keies of the kingdome of heauen that whatsoeuer they binde on the earth by his word shall bee bound in heauen and whatsoeuer they loose on earth shall be loosed in heauen Now this power which Christ hath giuen vnto his Church and to euerie member of his church to keepe it in order he hath not lefte it to their discretions and lustes to bee vsed or neglected as they will but in his last will and testament he hath set downe both an order of proceeding and an end to which it is vsed Answere God hath in deede committed authoritie vnto his church of binding and loosing and hath also shewed an order of proceeding which assertions are to be collected out of these three places of Scriptures which are twice noted in the margent that the number of testimonies which they vsed might seeme greater then it is But here we haue to marke that Christ is said to haue giuen this power aforesaid to euery member of the church so that heere is no difference made betwene the people the gouernors or at the lest i● he supposeth a difference to be betweene them he hath not set downe how farre the authoritie of the people is extended Againe if the people be granted so greate an interest in the matters of the church we must thinke that the officers themselues I meane the Deacons releeuers were not to be secluded which being graunted and seemeth here to be concluded not only women haue to dele in the censures of the Church but also the description of euerie office the Elder onely excepted hath ben vnperfect seeing no such matter hath beene mentioned in any of them Secondly we are to note that he saith that this order is not left to the descretion of the church for if his meaning bee that the censures of the church ought to bee vsed with all fidelitie wee doe not gainesaie him but if hee meane that when they are not duely executed there the church doeth cease to be the church apparant according to that doctrine which in another place they haue set downe then do they agree with the Anabaptists Donatists herein who being sufficientlie answered the one by Bullinger the other by Augustine I maruell that these men shoulde not be satisfied and contented to reuoke this error The summe of whose answers tend to this that the end of excommunication for the question is not of the officers but of the church censures in this place is that the partie punished might bee amended that the credite of the church might bee furthered that others be not offended and made worse and that the church might be preserued in peace Therefore edification and the welfare of the Church are especially to be regarded for better it were that wicked men should goe vnpunished if the punishing of them shoulde damnify the Church Againe the church of Corinth was the church of God when they neglected to proceede against the incestuous person Also the last supper of the Lord was rightly administred yet Iudas was not excommunicate the Prophets complained of the sinnes of the church in their times yet contemned they not the sacrifices sacraments and worship of God Christ and his Apostles blamed the Church for grosse corruptions yet was he circumcised therein c. By which reasons as by others by thē produced we are vrged to acknowledge that it may be the Church of God which doth not alwaies proceede against the wicked according to their deserts Thirdly we are to marke that hee ascribeth the keies of the kingdom of heauen to the officers before named whereas Christ committed this power not to the Elders for none were established but vnto the ministers of the word for in Peter they all are represented as by considering the places alleged out of Mathew and Iohn will plainly appeare Brownist And if the fault be priuate priuat holy louing admonition and reproofe with an inward desire and earnest care to win their brother but if he wil not heare thee yet to take two or three other brethren with him whome hee knoweth most meet to that purpose that by the mouth of two or three witnesses euerie worde

the corruptiō of their harts Thirdly that our ministery is antichristian a matter handled pag. 125. the scurrilitie in calling them hirelings mercenary preachers c. deserueth no answer the names of parson vicar c. doth not make a difference in the ministery but in their maintenance Fourthly we are subiect to the popish courtes as high commission c. wherunto I answer that al these courts haue their authority from her maiesty though some of thē more directly then the other In consideration wherof to call the lest antichristian is arrogant but to ioine thē all in one sentence to disswade her maiesties subiects frō yeelding obedience vnto any of thē it will be found an act of no good subiect yet for mine owne parte I purpose not to giue iudgement in the matter I leaue it to such as are acquainted with the law onely I will propound the case which is this The high court of Parlement hath agreed that the queene her hignes successors kings queenes of this realme shall haue full power by letters pattents vnder the great seale to name and authorise when as often and for so long time as her highnes her heires or successors shall thinke meete such person or persons as she or they shal thinke meet to execute vnder her c. all manner iurisdictions priuileges and preheminences in any wise concerning any spirituall iurisdiction within England and Ireland c. 1. Eliz. 1. Now her maiestie by the authoritie aforesaid hath graunted her letters pattentes vnder the great seale for the two courts of high commission and delegates And by the said authority first from the Parlement and then from her maiestie these two courtes doe stande and not by any other right or authoritie whatsoeuer yet these two courts of high commission and of delegates are here tearmed popishe and antichristian courts and the people are condemned to be antichristian which yeelde obedience vnto them This therefore is the case Whether it toucheth her maiesty or not that libels railing vpon and calling her highnes authority which is warranted by her broad seale popish antichristian c. Brownist These assemblies are not ruled by the old and new testament but by the canons iniunctions and decrees of those antichristian and popish courts therefore c. Ansvvere The Argument is this The true church is ruled by the old and new testament but the church of Englande is not c. Therefore c. If Christ hath in his last will set down a perfect gouernment for his church as they say he hath there is little vse of the olde Testament for direction of discipline vnder the Gospell But this Argument being in effect the same with the former needeth no other answere then it had Brownist These people stand not in for their Christian libertie but all of them remaine in bondage to these Aegyptian and Babylonishe yoakes yeelding obedience vnto these courts and their canons Therefore c. Ansvvere The Argument is this All and euerie of the true Church stand in and for their christian libertie to practise whatsoeuer God hath commanded them c. But in the church of England they stande not for their christian libertie Therefore c. Ansvvere We haue seene pag. 49. 50. that the priuate man doth passe the bondes of his calling in presuming to deale with publike reformation Againe it was sayde pag. 45. that in the visible church it doth not alwaies fall out that euerie member hath that freedom which is requisite in the performance of their christian dueties of his calling The proposition therefore is false As for the assumption in differing nothing from the three former it doth commend the greate facilitie of the author who in resoning in so smal varietie of matter is able to frame so greate a change of argumentes which yet being considered of doe appeare all one in effect Brownist These assemblies haue not the povver vvhich Christ hath giuen vnto his church vnto the vvorlds end al the povvers of earth and hell cannot take from them viz. to binde and loose and to reforme things that are amisse but are driuen to the Commissarie courtes Therefore c. Ansvvere The Argument is this The true church hath power to execute the censures of the church but the church of Englande hath not Therefore c. The proposition faileth for the true church is sometimes without outward gouernement whereof read pag. 25. and so consequently without the power which this man speaketh off for I know he will not restraine this power of binding and loosing though he might vnto the ministerie of the word whereof notwithstanding Christ speaketh Ioh. 20. 23. saying Whose sinnes soeuer ye remit they are remitted and whose sinnes ye retaine they are retained As for the assumption it is most vntrue for we haue not onely the power of Gods word which he hath giuen vnto his ministerie to bind and to loose therby but also the censures of the church in respect of outward gouernement I grant that euerie seuerall congregation hath not this power and I dare affirme that in no age it can be proued that euery seuerall congregation had this authoritie but euen in those churches which had an Eldership the same was not in euery assemblie but diuerse congregations were ordered by one senyorie therefore to say that because euerie priuate congregation hath not this power therefore it is not at all in the church is a childish kind of reasoning Brownist These assemblies cast out sathan by the power of sathan namely by these Imps of Antichrist the Bishops commissaries and priests Therfore they are not and for all their reasons seuerall and ioyned cannot be held in any Christian iudgement the true church of Christ. Answere In this last Argument is granted vnto vs that which before was denied viz. that our church hath power of casting out but it faileth in the manner for if they say true this power is not from Christ but from the imps of Antichrist c. vnto which accusation I answere the end wherefore men are cast out from amongst vs by the doctrine of our church should be that the offender by being depriued of the seales of the couenant might be brought vnto repentance Now for the ordering hereof the people are not in the weightie matters of the church to haue their voice pag. 47. c. And a presbyterie in euery congregation cannot be had pag. ●8 therfore neither election ordination excommunication nor other censures of the Church are to be committed to euerie particular congregation As for this vnchristian dealing in condemning for Antichristian whatsoeuer is not according to their humour it hath bene often answered Some defectes there are in our gouernment we challenge no perfection some corruption there is oftentimes in such as haue the ordering of it I defend not all But in this I would be resolued if wee by the power of Satan cast out Satan by what power do they cast out