Davids Harp, Part 2
¶ The seconde verse.
I sayde beynge as it ware in a traunse / eueryevery man is a lyare.
¶ The fourth strynge.
NO meruayle in dede thoughe our Mynstrell Dauid sayth, What the occasion was yt Dauid was so foretroubledthat he was sore troubled for speakynge. For he syngethe a verye homely songe lytle pleasaunte and swete to the eares of beastlyke, carnall & flesshely men. Who can abyde to be called a liare, yea & that wtout ony reuerēce taken? yet he shameth not to speake vniuersally, & to saye that eueryevery man is a lyer, withoute excepcion. Surely me thyncke that Dauid wanteth here ye chefe poynt The chefe poynte of a Mynstrel & of a syn gynge man is to lye & flatter.of a Mynstrell & of a syngyng mā, whiche is to lye & flatter, or at the leaste to fasshon his songe accordīg vntounto the audience, & wt his singing to please so many as heare hym. Is Dauid nowe become a man of so ly tle experience, that he thinketh the holy Pharisees, the wise Scribes, the learned Byshoppes, the deuout Prestes, the godly rulars of ye temple. &c. could be contented to be called liars, which would be noted tho rowe out all the world to be ye prīci pall teachers of all verite & trueth, & alone to hauehave ye key of knowledge Undoubtedly Dauid kept shepe to longe for to be a Mynstrell to such delycate & softe religious parsons. But Dauid was a good playne, sī ple, & homely man brought vp in y• countre, & endewed wt that spirite, wherwith S. Paule was, whan he Gala, i.sayde, If I dyd please mē, I should not be the seruaunt of Christ…. For euē as Iohn̄ Baptist, whan he saw many of ye Pharises & Saduces cō Math. iii. Luke. iii.myng vntounto his baptisme, called thē the generaciō of vipers for al theyr glysteryng hypocrysy & fayned holynes, & as Christ called y• Scribes Math. xxiii& Pharises blynd gydes, strayning oute a gnat but swalowing vp a ca mel, paynted sepulchres, outwarde ly in apperaunce righteous before mē, but īwardly ful of hypocrisy & iniquite, & as S. Paule called Ana Act. xxiii.nias ye hygh preste a paynted wall, bycause more lyke a bocher than a Bysshop, he cōmaunded them that stode aboute hym to smyte Paule on the mouth contrary to al equite & iustice, whan he should hauehave pour ged hymselfe before the councell of the Articles layd agaynst him, euē so Dauid can none otherwyse but call hym yt is a lyar, a lyare in dede. He can not beare fyre in one hande & water in the other. He canne not playe placebo. He is none of those, that saye all is well, when altogyther is starke nought. He is no dissembler, his harte & his tong goeth togither. He is as playne as a pack staffe. For as the trueth is, so speaketh he, hauyng respecte neither to the parson nor to the tyme. He seakethe the glory of God, & not to satisfy the vayne fantasy of man. He hadde rather suffer greate rebuke, moche trouble, extreme persecuciō, yea very death, than that Goddes glory should in ony parte be obscured thorow his faynynge flattery. God sende vsus fewer gnathos & mo AMEN. good LordeDauids. But lette vsus retourne to oure songe.
I sayde beynge as it were in a traunse, sayth he, eueryevery man is a ly are. Before Dauid confesseth that enery man is a lyare, it is to be noted that he sayth, he was in a traūs that is to say, in a dāpe, a stupour, abasshement, & soden preuacion of sence or fealyng, as whan a man is so rapte into another kynd or state that he forgetteth hīselfe, or semeth to be in another world, as they vse to saye. For all this doth the greke worde Ecstasis sound. A lyke thynge we read of S. Paule in the seconde Epistle to the Corinthians.ii. Cor. xii.
It is necessary in dede, y• Dauid What Dauids tra…s signyfye.shoulde be in this Ecstasy & traūce that is, that he should be transformed into another man, renewed by the holy ghoste, illumined wt diuine knowledge, lyfted vp to y• cōtēplac… on of heuēly thīges, & hauehave his mīd wholly rapte & plucked frō carnali te vntounto spirituall & ghostlye matters, or elles coulde he neuer hauehave cōfessed this infallible trueth, that eueryevery man is a lyare. For a naturall man dothe not perceaue those thynges that pertayne vntounto y• spirite of God. For they are folyshnes vntounto hym, neyther cā he vnderstād thē, because they be spiritually iud i. Cor. ii. Math. xii.ged. Howe can a man speake good thynges, whā he hym selfe is euell? Can blessyng & cursyng come both out of one mouth? Doth a foūtayn Lnke. vi. Iacob. iii.sende for the at one place swete water & bytter also? Can a fygge tree …eare Olyue berys, eyther a vyne beare figges? Of the aboundaunce of the hart, the mouth speaketh. He Ioan. iii..that is of the earth, is earthly, and speaketh of the earth, but he whom god hath sent, speaketh the wordes of God. EueryEvery man speaketh, as he is. The chyldren of truethe, speake trueth, & the sonnes of a lying seed speke lyes & falshode. Now is dauid no moresuch a manne, as of nature is a lyare, butte he is regenerate, & borne anewe of ye holy ghost, & is no moreof yt false & lying seed, which de ceyueth accordynge to the nature, Ioan. viii.ingeny & proper…e of Satā, which is a lyare, & the father of all lyinge, & therfore confessethe he nowe another tale, than he would hauehave done before his regeneraciō & new byrth He woulde before hauehave glorified in The nature of flesh.hymselfe, in his flesh, in his bloude, in his strēgth, wisdome, polecy, ritches, holynes, good workes, and all that euer he dyd, (for that is the na ture of al flesh) and hauehave fought mā fully agaynst them that condemne the Hypocrisy, fayned holynes, iniquite & vnrighteousnes of the flesh but nowe beynge nourtered in the discipline of Gods trueth, he freely grauntethe eueryevery man of his owne nature to be nothynge but a lyare which thynge S. Paule also affirmeth in his Epistle to the Romās.Rom. iii. What we are of ou… selues.
Hereof maye we learne what we are of our selues, howe blynde and vnapte of oure owne nature to aspire, breath, or come to ony poynte of true godlynes & godly trueth wt out the inspiraciō of Gods spirite. It is not wythout a cause sayde of Gen. vi.God, My spirite shall not dwell for euer in man, for he is flesh, If we be lefte vntounto oure selues, than are we nothynge but lyars, that is to saye Note.beastlyke, wicked, folyshe, vngodly, thynkynge all abhominacion, breathynge all noughtynes, speakynge all wickednes, doynge all mischefe, & euen suche without faynynge as we were leafte of oure fyrste father Adam after the trāsgressiō of Goddes Gene. iii.precepte, that is to saye, naked, voyd of all goodnes, replete with al euell. Therfore before we can sa Searche the Newes out of heauen.uour aright ony godlynes, & worke yt which is accceptable in the syght of God, & healthfull to oure soules, we must be in this traunce, into the which Dauid was cast, we must be trāsformed into another nature, & lyfted vp vntounto the contemplacion of diuine & celestiall thynges. But Psal. …xv. Rom. iii. ii. Cor. iiithis canne not come to passe of our owne strengthes, whiche are lyars of our selues, & not able to thyncke a good thought, but by the helpe of gods spirite, which workethe in vsus both the wyll & the dede. For Christ Phil. ii. Ioan. vi. Esay. …iii. iii Iere. xxxi.sayth, no mā can come vntounto me, excepte my father drawethe hym, & I shall reyse hym vp at the last daye. It is writtē in the Prophettes, Al shall be taught of God. EueryEvery one therfore that hath heard of the father, & hathe learned, cōmeth vntounto Ioan. xv.me. I gayne, withoute me ye can do no thynge. Whan Peter confessed Christ to be the sonne of the lyuyng God, he sayd vntounto him: Blyssed art Math. xvi.thou Simon the sonne of Ionas, for flesh & bloude hath not openned that vntounto the, but my father which is in heauen.
Here se we that flesshe & bloud, y• is, all that euer we hauehave of our selues, & of our forfather synful Adā, cā not: attayne vntounto the intelligēce of the diuine misteries, & vnderstā dynge of Gods truethe, excepte we Ioan. vi.be drawne of the father by his holy spirite. Nowe that we maye therfore come vntounto this true knowlege of God, & of his trueth, let vsus pray with that spouse. Drawe me after y• so shal we ron in ye swete sauourof Cant. i.thyne oyntmētes. So shal we be su re not only to becōe new mē, but al so wt a free & wylling hart graūt wt Dauid that eueryevery man is a lyare.
EueryEvery man is a lyare, saythe he. This is to be vnderstand before he Howe eueryevery man is a ly…e.be regenerate & borne anew by the seconde byrth, not in Adam, but in Christ. For so many as hauehave put of the olde man Adam, & put on y• new mā Christ, so many are no more mē if we hauehave respecte vntounto theyr spiri tuall regeneracion, but Gods, as y• holy scripture saithe ye are gods & all of you are the sonnes of y• moost Psal. …xxxi Ioan. xhygheste. But all that hauehave not on the Lorde Iesus Christe, remayne styll lyars, & all that euer they do or speake wtoute Christ & his moost holy word, is nothynge but a very lye, and mere fansy, a mad dotage, semeth it neuer so tru in ye iuge mēt of carnall reason. And this false & lyenge corrupcion commeth not of God (for God is not the Author of Psal. v. Iacob. i.sinne, nor one that wylony vnrigh teousnes, neyther tempteth he ony man vntounto euell, as s. Iames sayth) but of Satan the mortal enemy of mankynde, which lying full craftely Gen. iii.vntounto Eue, & sowyng this seed in her, & she in Adā, & Adam in all hys posterite, brought vsus into this dā nable & false lyinge state, so that by nature, as S. Paule sayth. We are all borne the sonnes of wrath, & all Ephe. ii.that euer we do of our selues wtout the spirite of God, is lyinge, false, Ioan. iii.wicked, vnfaythfull, & detestable be fore God, as Christ testifieth, That which is borne of flesh, is flesh. Also S. Paule, All that is not groūded on fayth, is synne.Rom. xiiii.
Of this salse and lying seed was Gen. iiii.Cain, which s…ewe his brother Ab… Lyars of ye old Te…tament.with innumerable mo of ye olde Te stament, euen so many as attēpted ony thynge at all contrary to God des moost holy wyll, as banyshyng Goddes worde, sheddyng innocent bloud, kyllynge the true Prophettes of God, setting vp straung wor shyppynges of newe Idols, proclamynge other gods, thā the one and alone God of Israel. &c. In the new Testament also ther ware many li Lyars of y• new Test.ars, as Bishoppes, head prestes, pre stes, masters of the Tēple, Lawers Scribes, Pharises, Saduces with an innumerable cōpany of Iewes, which all resisted Christ, condēned his preachynge, obscured the glory of his miracles, hyndred y• honoure of God, belied the verite of Goddes worde, slaundered the gospell, blasphemed Christe & his Apostles, neuer ceasyng vntyl they had broght both hym and his vntounto theyr finall destruccion as they thought. After Lyars after the apostles tyme.thē dyd ther aryse a great swarme of pestilente lyars, as Heretykes, Schismatykes, & false Christians. Of this nomber was Ebion, Marcion, and Cherinthus, which denyed Christ to be God frō euerlastyng agenst whome S. Iohn̄ dyd write his Gospell: Catarus & Nouatus, whiche affirmed, that they whiche dyd fall after Baptisme ought not to be receaued agayne, neither can they obtayne remission of theyr sinnes: Eutiches, which denied Christ to be both God & man: Montanus Marcion, & Manicheus which condemned bothe mariages & meates, as thynges vnpure: Arrius, Pelagius, Artemō, Sabellius, Paulus Samosetanus, with other īnumerable, which dyd sowe much diuisiō in the chyrche of Christ, & brought in many pestilent & detestable heresis. All theyse ware lyars, bycause they were wtout the spirite of god, and inuented sectes & opinions of theyr owne braynes without y• authorite of Goddes worde, so easye a thynge is it for men to erre, to deceaue & to be deceaued, whan they leane not to ye holy scriptures, but to theyr owne iudgemētes and fantasies.
And would God that all lyinge were onlye founde in them, whome I hauehave rehersed hytherto, thā were it well with Christes chyrche. But who that euer lyued, Christe alone excepte, hathe not shewed hymselfe in some poynte to be a man, that is to say, a lyer? Peter confessed christ to be the sonne of the lyuyng God, Mat. xvi.& therfore was he called blissed, and promised that agaynst that cōfession of his faythe, hell gates shoulde not preuaile, yet whē he afterward Math. xxvidenied Christ and forsware hym, he shewed hymselfe to be a man, that is, a very lyare, so feble and of no strength are we, if we be not endew ed with valeaunce, myght, & power from aboue. I here frely confesse, yt nexte vntounto the holye scriptures, I The myud of ye autho… concerning ye Doctorsowe the chefe & principall honoure to the writynges of the Catholyke Doctors, to whome I cleaue as vn to an holy Ancker, whom I follow as great lyghtes to shewe me howe I maye walke in ye waye of trueth, whome I reuerence as my mooste faythefull teachers, yet dare I not approue & allowe them in all thynges, The Doc tors also are lyars in sōe poyntesbycause in some poyntes they hauehave shewed thēselues men, & hauehave manifestly erred agaynst the open trueth of Gods worde, as it is not vnknowen to them, that be diligēt ly exercised in the readyng of theyr workes. And for an example I wyl here reherse. ii. or. iii. not to their re proche, but to admonysshe all men, what we are of our selues & that no man should be sworne & wholly addicte to the doctrine & teachynge of ony man, be he neuer so holy & learned, excepte it agreeth with the holy Scriptures.
Origē was vndoubted a famoꝰ Doctor, & dyd write very excellent Origen.ly of diuers matters concernyng ye purite of christen religion, yet shewed he hymselfe to be a man & very lyare, whan he fayned that the pay nes of the dyuels & of the damned should cease in time to come, & that they should be saued.
Tertullian was a man of great Tertullianlearnyng, & dyd wryte many thynges very godly, yet did he erre, whē he cōdēned the second mariages in a christen mā. He maketh his argu ment on this māner: Thou mayste not mary the wyfe of thy brother beyng dead. He that maryeth a wy dowe lefte of a christen man, maryeth the wyfe of his brother beynge dead. Ergo he doth not well. This & certayne other thynges he wryteth not very godly, shewynge him selfe to be a very mā, that is to say a lyare.
Cypriane was an excellent clar ke, and died for the faythe of Christ Cyprian.leauynge many godly worckes behynd hym, yet dyd the auncient fathers of Christes chyrch condemne this his opinion, that they, whiche were baptised of Heretykes, ought to be baptised agayne.
I passe ouer many other ecclesiasticall wryters, which wante not theyr errours, neyther hauehave they in all poyntes so circumspectely writ ten, but that theyr faultes may easly be perceaued of them, that hauehave whole, true, good & pure iudgemen tes in the holy scripture. For they hauehave declared thē selues not in few thinges to be men & lyars, therfore are they to be beleued no further, Marke.than the worde of God mayntayneth them. That whiche they hauehave written well, let vsus receaue & gyue God thankes for it, confessing that it came to passe by the instincte of his mooste holy Spirite, & not by theyr owne polecy, wyt, reason, eloquence & learnynge. But y• wherin they hauehave erred, let vsus charitably… enterpret, take it into y• best parte, & couer theyr faultes, consythering that they were men, & both myght and dede erre, as S. Austen withe other dydboth confesse, graunt and wryte of them selues.
And this I desyre all men that be ghostely learned, & walke after y• order of charite to vnderstond also The protestacion of the Author concernyng hys workesof all my workes, which I hauehave hy therto wrytten, or shall here after, if the wyll of God so be, & to beleue them no further thā the holy scripture testifye that they be true.
For I am a manne and a lyarre of my selfe, and therfore maye I erre so well as mannye learnedde and aunciēt Doctors hauehave done before me. Let God alone be true, & eueryevery Rom. iii.man a lyare. Let the spirite of charite and not of cōtencion reygne amonge vsus. If we erre, let vsus charitably monysshe one another, beare one with another, instruct one ano ther, & not streightwayes furiously condemne what so euer at the fyrst blushe lyketh not our carnal iudge mentes, no nor yet at eueryevery lytyll faulte be redy to caste the ignorant offenders into preson, chenes, stockes & fyre. If ony man doth not of …end wt his tonge, sayth S. Iames Iacob. iii.he is a perfecte man. Let vsus follow the long sufferaunce of God, which …aciētly abydeth our amendment. Act. viii.If God had takē away Paule out of this lyfe, whan so tyraūtlyke he …ersecuted the Chyrche of Christe, …aule had neuer be made of a wolfe a lambe, of a persecutoure an Apostle, of a blasphemer a true precher, of an Heretyke ketcher, a faythfull Euangelist. They that are stronge Rom. … …ia. vi.ought to beare the weaknes of thē that be infirme & weake and not to stonde in theyr owne conceates. They ought so to order thē selues, that they should please theyr neygh bour vntounto his wealthe & edifienge. For Christe pleased not hym selfe. Wherfore we ought to receaue one another, euen as Christ hath recea ued vsus vntounto the glory of God, and to beare one anothers burdē, seing that we be all mēbers of one body, & hauehave one heade, whiche is Iesus Christ.
Besydes these aforsayd, the vngodly Lyars of out tyme.Byshop of Rome & al his wic ked kygedome are lyars, & all theyr decrees, actes, lawes, constituciōs, councelles. &c. that syght with god des worde, are lyes, & very mad …an tafies, by no meanes to be beleued of ony faythfull harte.
Agayne all Hypocrites, Sacramentaries, Anabaptistes, & all authors of false sectes, are lyars. To conclude, so many as dissente from God & his moost blyssed worde, are lyars, whither it be in doctrine, tea chyng, lyuynge, manners, conuersacion or otherwyse.
Thus se we what we are of our selues, euē very lyars, & into what great captiuite we be throwen tho row Adā, & that we can not by our owne strengthes be deliuered from this bōdage, but only by the spirite of hym, which sayth. If ye sonne ma Ioan. viiiketh you free, thā are ye fre in dede. For where the spirite of the LORDE ii. …or. iii. Ioan. …iiii. and …vi. 1. Ioan. ii.is, there is liberte. Therfore that we maye hauehave that vnccion & an noyntyng in vsus, I meane the holy Ghost, y• maye teache vsus all trueth, we muste with continuall prayers resorte vntounto oure heauenly father: Luke. xi. Math. vii. Rom. x. Ioan. iiii.whiche vndoubtedlye wyll gyue a good spirite, to so many as aske it of hym. For he is a beneficiall Lord sufficiētly rytch for so many as call on him in spirite, and trueth, as it followeth.