Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A67426
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The Wallons consistory and excommunication
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Le Clercq, Jacquemine.
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1646
(1646)
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Wing W621A; ESTC R25724
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12,592
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24
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The Wallons CONSISTORY AND EXCOMMUNICATION Printed in the Yeare of God 1646. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORIE IT will seeme all together monsterous and unheard of that a poore woman of a low condition shee being also a stranger should dare present a petition unto your worships the Illustrous and renowned Magistrats and Governours of this Citty but having understood the Pious and Charitable Answers which have beene given unto those that have addressed themselves unto your worships and how ready alwaies you are to administer Iustice with Iudgment have taken upon mee bouldnesse to do it also knowing that great Monnarchs among which wee reade of an Emperour being on Horsbacke ready to goe to warres allighted from his horse to heare the complaint of a poore woman the which wee reade of in a booke called Dorte of Marcus Aurelius Chapter 47. This Emperour although he were a Pagan being neere his death called his Sonne unto him admonishing him unto speedy Iustice towards all especially unto women recommending unto him the cause of a poore woman a widdow named Drusia which had a great suit against one of the senat by reason that at the last distrations her husband was banished I have great pitty of her said he unto his Sonne for there are three months past since she presented unto me her petition but by reason of my great affaires for warre I could not declare her Iustice and now right worshipfull seeing that by the will of God theise mournefull and unnaturall warres are neere to an end I hope your worships will be pleased to vouchsafe so much time as to consider my just cause for it is against a senat or consistory and this buissinesse is upon the cause of the banishment of my spouse I say spiritualli neverthelesse their power cannot reach further then the signe but in regard of the thing signified this spouse is entered by faith into my heart Ephesians Chapter 3 now my humble petition unto your worships is to desire your worships to grunt unto me that I may receive the communion among your people to the end I may not be deprived of that visible signe as by the grace of God I am not of the thing signified Shee most humbly prayeth that your worships would excuse her for her boldnes in presenting this her most humble and obedient petition where by shee Demonstrates the Sinister proceedings of her elders in their Consistory against her Jacquemine the wife of M. L. C. To the Right worshipfull the Magistrates of the Citty of Canterbury whoe are lovers of righteous Iudgement and dayly Carefull to execute true Iustice and to all reverend professors of Divinity and true Preachers of the word of God Jacquemine the wife of Michaell the Clercq wisheth all felicitie in this world and perpetuall happines in the world to come THe Complaint of a woman hapning unto her as it did unto him which was borne blind in the 9 Chapter of S. Iohn this man being inlightened by Jesus Christ would not blame him but spoke well of him for which cause he was cast out of the sinnagogue in the same maner this woman aknowledgeth to have beene blind a long time I meane of a spirituall blindnesse but after shee was Illuminated she could not endure to heare that Doctrine ill spoken of by the which shee was inlightened whereof shee advised many simple folkes fearing they should be deceiued by false and erronious Doctrine for this thing shee is thereatned to be cast out of the sinagogue which is to say excommunicated therefore shee sheweth the cause why they would do her this reproach and sets forth divers points which have beene preached falsely with hope that God will enable her to maintaine them unto her last drop of Blood Cantorbury Anno Dom 1645. The Wallons CONSISTORI AND EXCOMMUNICATION One Cannot write too much Read English French or Duth That to God's Lawes belong By learning to be able And understanding Stable To follow it in Faith strong THe Evangelist shewes us that a woman with great zeale and boldnesse came into the house of Simon where Christ was with his Disciples Ioh. 12. c. and powred out her box of pretions oyntment for the which the Disciples tooke occasion to murmure but our Lord Jesus although his sacred body had no need of such unction tooke his share there in and said unto his Disciples Mark 14. c why trouble yee the woman for shee hath wrought a good worke upon me for in that this woman cast this oyntment on my body shee did it to bury me Math 26. c 10. 12. v. now wee that know that our Lord God enlargeth his giâ—tes to whom he pleaseth Luk 10. c. v. 21. Mat 11. c. v. 25. it Lies in his power And liberty to be served by a womans meanes or els by a Childe if it be his blessed will buth not with that sort of oyntment but with a spirituall oyntment not serving for burialls but serving for new borne and renewing the poore Christian which is as yet ignorant among us one may say unto mee it is a ministers charge it is true but every one must know that he is bound to endeavour him selfe to advance the Glory of God without regard of sex age or condition Our Lord Jesus Christ doth give us that instruction at the 7. Chap. of the Gospell of St. John as is said in the last and great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried 37.38 v. saying if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink hee that beleeveth in me as the scripture saith out of his belly shall flow Rivers of living water but this spake he of the spirit which they that beleeve on him should receive Can any man excuse himselfe can we say I beleeve in Christ and it is enough no this Living water must drop from us or els we are not true beleevers in this wee may see the charge which our Lord gives unto those which have received gifts from him to share them unto others I speake not heere of those which have charge or governement over the Church but of the duty of those which are peculiar or private for touching the governement of the Church none ought to insinuate himselfe therein unlesse he be called there unto nor yet speake against it unlesse it be with a good and sound judgement to know if Gods word gives leave at the Galatians S. Paul 1. Chap 8. vers doth command us that if hee himselfe or an Angell from heaven preach any other Gospell then that which wee have preached unto you let him be accursed St. Paul speakes not heere of him selfe onely but of all the Apostles when he sayth which we have Preached unto you having Read or perused what the Apostles have written I finde that there is preached among us an other Doctrine by one of our Preachers or Ministers upon Divers points but before I come to prove my saying I will produce the example of a woman at
opression The Wallons CONSISTORIE AND EXCOMMUNICATION HAveing spoken untill now upon their threatnings and upon my condemnation now it shall onely be upon my Excommunication the first newes I heard of was uttered unto me with griefe and dolour but their desolation was not for the deed of my cause which they did know to be very just but upon him which hath pronounced that unjust condemnation never the lesse when I understood those words proceeding from a heart pierced with griefe saying it is done it is done and seeing their pale colur as persons strucken by death I was taken with an inward qualme but outwardly joyfull umwilling to adde more griefe unto their Infirmitie but I had alsoe great weaknesse withim me in somuch that I found my selfe like unto that woman which wee read of in the second booke of Kings the 4 Chapter This womans hunamite being in agony for the death of her Sonne shee said unto the Prophet did I desire a Sonne of my Lord did I not say doe not deceive me I was in that case at that time it seemed unto me that God had deceived me but the Lord by his mercy did not suffer me long thus for I recovered an other shee mate which is hope of an other woman at the 13 Chapter of the booke of Iudges it is Manoahs wife Mother of Samson her husband being frighted seeing the Angell to ascend with the flame he said we shall surely die because wee have seene God his wife said unto him if the Lord weare pleased to kill us he would not have received a burnt offring and a meat offring at our hands neither would he have shewed us all these things nor would he at this time have told us such things as these so having received new hope I have revoked my vicious thoughts and submitted my selfe unto the will of God assuring my selfe that he hath not deceived me but hath caused mee to see great things when he hath received the offrings of my soule this makes me remember an other woman The reason I shall speake of her is because chastety was soo much oppressed by the elders judges of the people This woman is Susanna as wee read it in her History altough it is not Cannonicall yet from thence may be drawne comparisons sit for my cause for they were elders and judges and the People was subject to obey them altough theise Elders weare very wicked touching this woman But this must be noted that her combate was upon her corporall chastety and my cause is for my spirituall chastety can one say where this woman was when shee was thus assaulted her History tels us shee was in her husbands garden a like place was I in according as the spouse of our soule had commanded me at the 5 Chapter of Salomons song come into my Garden my sister my spouse I have gathered my myrrhe with my spice it is most certaine that all the time I have bine persecuted by this kind of folke the which I have spoken of by my meditations I did enjoy the pleasure of that Garden we will leave now the wrongs done unto women by reason our perticulas hindrance is light unto us but the wrong done unto the disadvantage of the truth is in supportable unto us yet noe remedy heere we should have a miraculous work for the salt hath lost his savour how can wee shalt any body may see unlesse he be quite blind that there is heere a represensation of what our Lord Jesus Christ hath fore told us in the 24 Chapter of S. Mathew when he spake that before the great and terrible day of this second comming The Sunne shall be darkened and the Moone shall not give her light and the Starres shall fall from heaven now I pray you tell me if that Sunne of righteousnesse as Malachy calls him in his 4 Chapter with healing In his wings could it be more darkned when the truth is taken for an untruth and the untruth for the truth the Moone canne get light unlesse it be borrowed from that Sunne then must it be darkened and touching the Starres must wee not say to our great griefe that wee see them sall from heaven as wee have seene som yeares agoe when our Ministers with the elders have offered our children unto Baal without the consent of their Father and Mother and since occasion are carried worse and worse seeing they will offer the Fathers and Mothers and this they carry in forme and manner of Inquisition in forbidding them to maintaine the true Gospell by Excommunications and it is for that purpose that there are none of Christs Disciples among us and if there be any it is as Nicodemus by night or secretly for they thinke there is too much danger it was in the same manner of the crucifying of our Lord Jesus Christ the men were amazed and afrighted but theire were poore woman that followed him weeping and lamenting and also at the sepulchre Christ being risen directs his speech unto a woman for there weare no men to be found O what an honour is this for us that a woman should be the first messenger of the glorious resurrection of our Lord they are set by him in such an honorable degree that hee makes them to be has if it were the Apostle of the Apostles one may say unto me why should one speake at this time of the death of Christ and of his sepulchre for he is in his glory it is certaine but let us see if his truth is not in such a place O you conductours of this Church it is you which have placed a great stone at that sepulchres doore so that the truth cannot come out that stone is your Excommunication and the waight of it is your tyrannicall act teare out that Article and cause no more to lament for your poore gouvernment take againe your Discipline which you have put in oblivion and it doeth give you power enough it commands you to open heaven and to shut it againe by it alsoe may you cast out of your Church the evill livers and those also which continue in their vices but yet not those whom God hath given his feare do not cause the uncircumcised Philistines to rejoyce do not cause the beast to live againe for you must know that such sort of excommunications comes neere unto hers Remember what happened unto those elders in Susannas just cause which I have spoken of comparing the spirituall unto the corpotall I hope God will give you the grace to looke after these things Amen The woman hath written theise things chifely because the good English people those who have the feare of God should not take her to be Excommunicated but if they should happen to see her receive the holy Sacrament among them that they should not say unto her as Naomy sayd unto her Daughter in law according as wee read in the first Chapter of the booke of Ruth My Daughter returne unto thy people the woman would then answer humbly in in mildnesse as Ruth did my People is your People and my God is your God therefore send me not unto the People of my nation for they have forgotten the truth This hath bin done to the great griefe of the Wife of Michael le Clercq FINIS