Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A67426
|
The Wallons consistory and excommunication
|
Le Clercq, Jacquemine.
|
1646
(1646)
|
Wing W621A; ESTC R25724
|
12,592
|
24
|
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
the second booke of Samuel when the Citty Abel was besieged by Ioab a woman of the sayd Citty demanded of him if he would destroy a Mother in Israel som will wonder that a woman speaketh heere Chap 20.19 vers but seeing that it concerneth not onely a mother but a daughter and a mother together I call faith and charity soe for the faith is the mother and charity is the Daughter but the daughter is oblidged and bound to keepe and entertaine the mother and this entertainment cannot be done but by forgetting ones selfe following as St. John speaketh in his first epistle hereby perceive wee the Charity or Love of the sonne who layd downe his life for us Chap 3.16 v. and wee ought to lay downe our Lives for the bretheren hereby we see that it stould be distroying the mother and the daughter to cause Charity to begin at ones selfe as one will make us beleeve this is the first point yet hath he others that are very dangerous and strange as when he doth preach that wee must beare with the wicked untill such time that God gives him repentance wholly contrary unto the Doctrine of St. Paul who commandeth expresty to put away from among you the wicked person Corrintians first epistle Chap 5.13 verse is it not a lamentable thing when he doth preach unto us that God was anger'd against his Sonne altogether against the section of the 10 Sunday al 's Sabbath of our Catechisme if Father had beene anger'd against the Sonne it must follow that the Sonne must have bin a sinner Isaih 53. c. v. 4. a doctrine contrary and Erronious against the stay of our faith our God was anger'd against the charge that his Sonne hath taken upon him to witt our sinnes I speake now of the 4 point upon the Natures of our saviour Jesus Christ he hath preached unto us two natures but not three and being assembled with the people to examine those which were to answer touching their faith they were warned to keepe them selves from them which attribute 3 natures unto the Sonne of God as if it had beene an execrable thing this happened by reason Another Minister through his greate prudence and knowledge for the safegard and salvation of the people had made a distinction and difference touching the nature of the soule and that of the body I speake not touching the divinity for I beleeve there is not such an Athiest among us which would deny it but I speake of the nature of the dying body and of the nature of the soule scuffleing and striving without Dying those that will either deny th' one or th' other put them selves in great danger of their salvation for wee must have had the one and the other to be fully redeemed he doth preach unto us alsoe that one must confesse all kind of truth altough it should be against ones owne honour upon paine of eternall damnation yet Gods word doth give us knowledge what kinde of truth wee must confesse a truth for the advancement of his Glory and the good of our neighbour alsoe when charity doeth require it but there is such truth that would be hurtfull if it weare knowne and also the word of God doth forbid it this commeth neere the Oricullar confession we have understood in one of his prayers that our sinnes do offend God but they do not endanger the king Chap 12.25 verse against which wee read in the first booke of Samuel the Prophet warneth the people saying but if ye shall still doe wickedly yee shall be consumed both ye and your king I will yet set downe a thing which unto my thinking is blasphemy in saying that God is a Robber Chap 1.21 verse Job useth an other manner of speaking in saying the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord in the Proverbes the wise doth shew us that he that robbeth the poore afflicted the Lord wil pleade their cause and will spoile the soule of those that spoile them Chap. 22.23 verse by which words he doth give us to understand that the wicked shall not remaine unpunished and as such measure with he measureth he shall be like as wise measured with but shall our God be called a Robber therefore hath hee not at his command both the Robber and their Robberry without being called by that name a fearefull thing to understand these are the points which I have put forth to the end one should not mistake ownes selfe soe I will end and returne to my beginning which is unto the good deed of the woman because it derived from thence that Judas tooke occasion to commit his abominable deed if on these dayes a woman should commit or doe a good deed it should not be the cause that Christ should be betrayed Mark 14. c. v. 10. for he is no more subject unto such treason neither could that miserable Judas do it for hee is in his place it should be the woman then that should beare the punishment but what should be that punishment even the privation of the Sacrament and afterward excommunication but all this is not hurtfull unto the faithfull soule the corporall hand will find som hindrance therein but I will say with an Auncient Father wherefore makest thou thy teeth and mouth ready beleeve onely and thou shalt eat Christ it shall be the faith then which shall benifite her selfe therein I say that poore faith although weake and feeble being sustained by the spirit of fortification will be ready for this action shee wil keepe her 2 hands cleane the one to receive Christ unto her and the other to give her selfe unto him those two hands will have as much freedome as that which did write upon the wall I have heere written what I have said if one doeth say more they are false accusations but one must have patience to these things is the faithfull Christian bound these things have bin done unto the greene wood what will be done unto the dry those that doe Read this I intreate them to excuse mee untill the time of my Excommunication of the which I am threatned and then I wil write more if my God doth permit What I have written is not to dishnour the holly Ministeri to whom I am bound in dutyfull respect and obedience but I say that the word of God doeth command us not to hearken unto the Embassadour that publisheth not the message that his King hath enioyned him By me the Wife of MICHAEL le CLERCQ The Wallons CONSISTORIE and their SUSPENTION COnsidering that my opressions and greevances do increase from day to day by the furie of those that have taken me in hatred without a cause I would not faile of my promise because a while agoe I had given to understand the occasion of my troubles with promise to write more at the continuation of them but it seemeth unto som that what is written by a