Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A00397
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A declaration and catholick exhortation to all Christian princes to succour the Church of God and realme of France. Written by Peter Erondelle, natife of Normandie. Faithfully translated out of the French
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Erondelle, Pierre, fl. 1586-1609.
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1586
(1586)
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STC 10512; ESTC S112258
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9,822
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26
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A Declaration and Catholick exhortation to all Christian Princes to succour the Church of God and Realme of France Written by Peter Erondelle natife of Normandie Faithfully translated out of the French ¶ To all true louers of the pure Gospell and holy doctrine of Iesus Christ and to all those that desire the preseruation of the Realme of France Peter Erondelle wisheth health in the Lord. I Doubt not but doe stedfastly perceiue that whosoeuer shall consider of my calling wil disdain to looke vpon this briefe Treatise as proceeding froÌ„ a person vnworthie such a worke yea and will maruaile from whence J should gather such boldnesse sith I am not adorned or furnished with any humaine wisedome wherewith to beautifie or rather paint out the same But what aunswer shall J make them For it is not I that haue wrought this woorke but euen GOD himselfe through the vertue and power of the holy Ghost working in mee who word by word hath shewed and enstructed me in all that is herein set downe as vsing mee a poore and miserable sinner to indure and perswade or rather commaund all those that haue the feare of God and doctrine of Iesus Christ before their eyes to succour his afflicted people who are on euery side oppressed but principally in our France by some tyrants vnto whoÌ„ J present not this briefe discourse for I am sufficiently perswaded that this kinde of people do but seeke occasion to subuert set at vaâ—â—â—…nce such a Commonwealth as before remayned in peace and vnitie But vnto you my brethren doe J direct the same desiring you not to disdaine the sight therof but in equitie and without al passion other theÌ„ reason to reade it notwithstanding therein you finde some fault Neither would I herein seeke to flatter or conceale the aucthors of these present troubles namely the house of Guyze who are the chiefe Captaines and conductors thereof as also I should get nothing by concealing them as being a matter which euery man knoweth better then J can tell them how it standeth Besides I will not delay the time in beautifying this discourse with any painted speech to adorne it withall as some doe when they seeke and goe about to perswade lyes in stead of trueth vnder the colour of a pleasant phrase and painted speech which is sufficient to leade the Readers thereunto and lulling them on sleepe procureth them as afore is sayde to admit lyes in liew of truth euen as the Mermaide who by her pleasant song ouercommeth the Saylers and when they be at rest deuoureth them all J would not therefore imitate them but onely speake plainly according to all the wordes that haue fallen into my mouth whereby God hath holpen me to bring the same to passe To him therfore are we to yeeld thankes and withal to pray him to direct al our workes to the glory of his name and excellencie of his iustice as also that through the blood of his welbeloued sonne Iesus Christ he will vouchsafe vs remission of all our sinnes Amen A Prayer O Lord God almightie who knowest the hearts and thoughtes of al men so as we doe not so sonâ— imagine what to say but thou knowest better then our selues what our tongue should pronounce that there is nothing vpon the earth or vnder the same how secrete soeuer but is manifest vnto thee Wee beseech thee O Lorde in the name of thy welbeloued sonne Iesus Christ that it may please thee to open and reueale whatsoeuer the wicked purposes of the peruerse whereby they may haue no meanes left to persecute thy faithful Neuerthelesse if it please thee O Lord yet to continue the afflictions of thy Church like as we know thee to be a iust and true Iudge we do notwithstanding beseech thee not to punish vs in thy wrath or according to our deserts who deserue onely euerlasting damnation but thy will be done for so it is most expedient We confesse that we haue grieuously prouoked thee against vs and are greatly endaungered to thy most iust iudgement howbeit we beseech thee O Lorde enter not thereinto with vs for our sinnes in thy sight are innumerable euen as the sand of the Sea or droppes of water of the same it may please thee therefore O Lord not to call theÌ„ to thy remembrance but through the death and passion of thy welbeloued sonne Iesus Christ to wipe theÌ„ away We beseech thee also that it may please thee to preserue those Kings Princes that are endued with the knowledge of thy Gospell and doe dayly fight for the same thereby vnder the shadow of their wings preseruing many faithfull poore persons vouchsafe them the encrease of thy grace Touch also the mindes of such Kings and Princes as doe vexe thy poore seruants and suffer not their hearts to be hardened like as was the heart of Pharao King of Egipt against thy people of Israell and especially O Lord vouchsafe to bring them into the bosome of thy Church so to enioye the cleare light thereof which is to see and knowe the trueth And this do we most humbly beseech thee in the name and fauour of thy dearely beloued sonne our Lorde Iesus Christ as himselfe hath taught vs saying Our Father which art in heauen c. FINIS ¶ A Declaration and exhortation to Princes c. LOng time haue we seene our France thus tormented afflicted with wars miseries and calamities vnder colour of religion and yet euen to this day do we behold how it doth daily waste and decay more and more which causeth mee to thincke that vnlesse God doe speedely set to his hand we shall in short time behold the destruction and dissipation of the most florishing Realme in Christendome at the appetite of certaine perticuler parsons who vppon a desire and vnsatiable thirst to raigne doe seeke no other but the losse or rather vsurpation thereof as seeming to them that God is blind and seeth not the torments which they inflict vppon his people in banishing some and defrauding them of their goods and in putting other some most cruelly to death They might surely thincke that if the Religion which they tearme new were not good it would soone waste and be in a moment swalowed vp but that contrariwise if it be according to God and Christ Iesus al the weapons and power of the world are not able to destroy it no not so much as any whit to diminish the same and therefore they ought rather to followe the counsayle of the Pharisaicall Doctor of the Iewish law Gamaliel who being in the Counsaile house when they sought to put the Apostles to death said that if their Religion were of Man the remembrance thereof would soone perish but if it were of God they should neuer be able to destroy it How many bloody battailes haue we seen Howe much Innocent blood shed not onely in our France but euen throughout all Christian-dome for this onely point and yet doe we see this holy
of the trespasse If I demaund of you who is the better or who is most worthy punishment the thiefe or the receiuer you wil answere they are alike guiltie the one one as the other who then is the better he that committeth the tyranny or he that being by goeth not about to let it In this case you will say he is not guiltie of the deede because hee furdereth it not neither helpeth to doe it whereto I may well reply that no more doth the receiuer steale and yet is he not free from punishment for if there were no receiuer there would be no thiefe euen so if euery one would endeuour to withstand the perturbers of common peace we should not haue so many cruell warres and tyrannyes as at this day are in force Wee may therefore well thinke that those that looke vpon the executing of such tyrannies and doe not oppose them selues against them are in as great or rather greater fault then those that commit them A man disposed to doe euill if he finde any lâ—t will not goe forward therein and so shal not his offence be so heynous in the sight of men as if he had done it notwithstanding I will not quite excuse him or say that hee ought to be exempt of punishment sith God saith that will is reputed for the deede but he that seeth the wickednesse committed and to his power letteth it not is worthy double punishment for both him selfe offendeth and his winking is cause that the other proceedeth in his bad purpose which hee would not haue done if hee had bene letted Hee therefore is guiltie both of his owne fault y t others also and so such persons can not eschue the iust vengeance of God either in this worlde or in the worlde to come vnlesse his great mercie deliuer them For God saith loue God aboue all things and thy neighbour as thy selfe if then we loue our neighbour as our selfe wee can not before our faces see hym oppressed with tyranny but we must needes afford him some helpe and comfort and therefore we are herein guiltie both to God and our neighbor But was there euer greater tyranny practized then the same that the Guizards do now vse in France They be theeues murderers and perturbers of publicke peace For can there be any greater thieuery then to banish an infinite number of poore peoplee and to vsurpe their goods Landes Lordships and enheritances But nowe we see some that are willing to withstand them but doe feare to be ouer weake Let vs not feare my frends but consider for what we fight Wee fight for our peace our country our liues and the restitution of our goods for the deliuery of our brethren for the obteining of peace and quietnesse and to be briefe for al most iust and lawfull causes Contrariwise our ennemies fight onely for the maintenance of their tyrannies and ransoming of the poore people yea onely of a gready desire to raigne aud vsurpe If we would consider al these things we should conceine a greater courage to defend our selues then the others haue to assaile besides that we see our great capteine Iesus Christ who taketh our cause in hand as being most iust and righteous Let vs not quaile though we see our ennemies to bee three times moe then our selues For if they fortefie themselues it is onely for feare of vs as also the force of man is nothing in respect of the power of God who nameth him selfe the God of Armes and battailes who graunteth victorie to whom he please who also wil reueale his might in vs in breaking the greatest Army that may be leuied through eueÌ„ one smale handfull of men Let vs couragionsly goe to the Combat and stedfastly beleene that our good God and Lord Iesus Christ will grasse vs the victorie so as we craue it at his-hands in faith for of him we obteine whatsoeuer we faithfully doe craue But first let vs also see that our army consist not of wicked parsons but let euery one enter into his owne conscience for God neither is called neither wilbe leader of peruerse and wicked people so no doubt we shall obteine a perfect and full victory Let vs so march as the boulder may be an example of vertue to the rest Again I beseech all Kinges Princes and Lordes both strangers and others that haue any meanes to succour vs or that doe beare any goodwill or fauour to France not to suffer so florishing a realme to be lost for want thereof at the appetite of a famely which seeketh no other but the vsurping of the same vnder shadow of religion so shall yee accomplish the workes of charitie and fulfill the Commaundement of GOD which is loue thy neighbour as thy selfe And in as much as we all are brethren and neighbours let vs one helpe another in our necessitie for so shal the noble hearts and vertuous parsons be knowen I knowe some may reply and say that forreine Kings and Princes are not to enterprize vpon the Dominions of other Princes their neighbours for sometimes vnder such a cloke of Godlinesse they do extend their owne limites with the losse of their neighbours and therefore it is not their parts to set foote into other mens Lordships For answere I would faine aske them whether we doe not all agree that there is one onely vniuersall Church whereof Iesus Christ is the head and the members are so vnited and confoyned that the least of them can not bee greeued but the rest must feele some smart according as we see that the holy Scripture doth testifie See wee not many times the whole body perish through some wound not onely in the Arme or Thigh but also some times through some smale inconuenience happened to the litle finger Marke the Serpent or any other venemous beast when it stingeth any body it seeketh not the head or any other principall member of the body but onely or for the most part the foot and yet ye see the parson so hurt dye of such a stinging And what would you make any accompt of such a Phisition as hath respect onely to some one part of his patient no no he must looke vpon visite al the whole body euen from the foot to the head to see whether any other meâ—â—â—â—… bee infected Euen so doe wee compare the Church to this body which hath diuers meÌ„bers some in one place some in another Now as this Church is only and vniuersall so is it not coÌ„mitted to the chardge of one onely King but generally to all christian Princes and perticulerly to euery one because it were danngerous to leaue the custodie to one onely and yet the vnitie thereof is such as can by no meanes bee seperated notwitstanding it be vniuersally dispersed ouer the whole fate of the earth The Church of England and the Church of Fraunce are not two Churches but all are meÌ„bers of one God hath committed it wholy to euery one perticulerly and all the