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In thys example of the great commaundemēt of louyng of god / there can lacke no causes, but wythout any farre serche there offer them selfe I now at hande, except men wil fully wyll forget them.
But yet all be yt that in many thynges a man may peraduenture well and with frute enserche the cause of goddes cō maundementys / yet may the spyryte of a man that were as spirytuall as Tyndale is or Luther eyther, and take frere Huskyn to them / go some tyme to far in the serchyng of the depe secretys of god, and wade so farre therin / that he shall fynde these wordes of holy scripture true,1 He that is that the sercher of the maiestye shall be oppressyd of the glorye and he shall fynde the depe secretis of god so depe that ye secrete botome wyll not be founde oute for hym / and specyally in that thyng in which Tyndall and his felowes be as I shall hereafter shew you moste presumptuously besye / that is in goddys fynall electis & predestinatys wherof saynt Paule cryeth hymself,2 O altitudo diuitiarū sapientiae & sci[…]tiae dei[…] O y• he[…]th and depenes of the ryches of the wysedome & science of god.
And as for that that Tyndall sayth, that what so euer god commaūdeth the spyrytuall man to do, he neuer […] serchynge tyll he come at the botome, the pyth, the quycks, the lyffe, the spyryte, the mary[…] and the very cause why[…] and iudgeth all thynges: I say as I sayd byfore it may peraduē ture in some thynges do well to consyder the causes of goddes commaundement, so yt be done moderately and wyth reuerence. But many suche spyrituall persones as Tyndale is and Luther, and frere Huskyn / so be wonte to reason and serche the cause of goddes commaundementys wyth them selfe as kynge Saul dyd / or bytwene the dyuell and the[…]m selfe as our mother Eue dyd,3 that they fall vppon fallacyes and false causes / whereby lyke as Saul was deceyued in sauynge of the bestes for sacryfyce, whych bestes god hadde pr[…]cysely commaunded hym to destroy / and Eue was so by gyled that she thought she myght well ete the apple whyche god hadde precysely commaunded her to forbere: so doth I say to, these men that ar in this new fashyon spyrytuall, the dyuell theyr euyll spyryte and them selfe wyth theyr incessaunte serche fynde out salfe causes, wherof they take occasyon to breke the commaundementys of god / whyche commaundementys other good seely symple soules wythoute any serche obserue.
As for ensample, lo where as god hath in holy scrypture euydently commaūded,4 that who so make a vowe shall performe and kepe yt, as is wrytē by the holy Psalmiste, Uowe ye and pay your vowes to our lorde / and where as our blessyd lady thought her self bounde therto, & all ye holy sayntes synnys Cristes dayes vnto Tyndals tyme, haue without any varyance written & affyrmed ye same, & not onely they but also all crysten people both good & badde, haue this.xv.C. yer[…] abhorted as an abominabyle mōster, and accompted yt in comen talkynge for suche a prodigyouse cryme that euer monke or frere shold wedde an nūne, as they thought shold neuer happen in crystendome, & therfore haue alway iested that Antecryste sholde be borne betwene a frere and a nūne: these new spirytuall men haue now, Luther, Tyndall, and frere Huskyn and the dyuell to gyther, so longe enserched the cause of thys commaundement of god, by whych euery man is cōmaunded to kepe his vowe / that they haue with longe serche foūden oute at laste, that monkes, freres, and nunnes, be not bounden by that commaundement at all / but may for all theyr vowe lawfully runne out of relygyon and lye to gyther when they lyste, and call theyr fylthy lechery good and lawfull wedloke.
And thus lo good reder these newe spyrytuall men wyth theyr depe serche interprete and expowne holy scripture, and fynde oute therin suche godly vertues as this is whych the olde holy doctours coulde neuer fynde therin for lacke of grace by lykelyhod, for we se well they lacked no wyt & had as mych lernynge as these men haue and ten tymes more to, and dyd theyr dylygence to / but they were as yt semyth but naturall onely, not borne agayne nor created of newe wyth the spyryte of god as Luther is and Tyndale & frere Huskyn and hys felowes.
Take ensample sayth Tyndale in the great commaundement, loue god wyth all thyne harte, the spyrytuall serchyth the cause and loketh on the benefytes of god, and so conceyueth loue in his harte.
In these wordes I lay no fawte. But all be yt a man myghte assygne other causes of our loue towarde god then Tyndale doth / as for ensample his owne excellent nature and goodnes of yt selfe, worthy […]to be loued, lauded, and honored of vs, though we shold yf yt were possyble receyue to oure selfe no benefyte at his hande at all: yet I very well alow the cause that Tyndale allegeth, that is to wytte the consyderacyon of the great benefytys of god / & yt is a cause of loue in dede both resonable of y[…] selfe, and also by many a good and vertuouse man alleged and consydered byfore.
But yet me thynketh that this consyderacyon of loue affyrmed by Tyndale / dothe confounde both Tyndall & Luther & all theyr hole secte, in that they hold that yt is not laufull to loue and serue god neyther for auoydynge of payne, nor for obteynyng of rewarde / callyng this manner of loue and seruyce seruyle bonde and mercennary. This is theyre comen opynyon, and Tyndale hath yt often as well in this boke as in dyuerse other. But now remember good reder yt Tyndale sayth here the contrary whych I am glad to here hym say. For I am better content yt he say some tyme well then alway naught. And here he sayth ryght well that the respecte of goddes benefytys is a cause of oure loue towarde god, and surely so is yt in dede. For all though ye very good and great excellēt nature of god be worthy to be loued of vs and worshypped and serued to, for the souerayne and surmountynge goodnes of yt selfe, though we sholde our selfe take no manner of benefyte thereby: yet may we well haue mo causes of loue, honour, and seruyce ioyned therunto.
yet am I not sure whyther Tyndale wyll saye that I do hym wrong in that I ioyne seruyce wyth loue, where he s[…]eketh not of seruyce but of loue onely. But I haue bene bo[…]d to ioyne our loue and seruyce towarde god to gyther / bycause I veryly thynke that Tyndale wyll hym selfe graunt vs, that for what so euer cause yt is lawfull for vs to loue god / for the self same cause yt is lawfull for vs to serue god But Tyndale agreeth that we may loue hym for his benefytys / wherof yt foloweth excepte he say that we may loue for some cause, for whyche it is not laufull to serue hym: els I say muste Tyndale nedys graunte that for goddes benefytys yt is lawfull for vs to serue hym.
Now yf Tyndale graunte vs that conclusyon / we wyll then wade with hym a lytle forther, and ioyne therunto that yf yt be lawfull for vs to serue god for his benefytys, which we haue receyued: yt is also lawfull for vs to serue him for his benefytis which we longe & hope to receyue. And surely as the respecte of his benefytys whych we haue receyued is a good cause of loue: so is the belyef of hys ꝓmysys & hope of his benefitys to come, a good and a great cause of loue towarde hym.
Then yf we may seru[…] god for his benefytys to come / yt semeth no dowte but that we may serue hym for to get heuen, whyche is of all benefytys the greateste.
At thys poynte wyll Tyndale happely stykke wyth me / and he well say styfly that fayth we may vse and serue god therwyth, to thentent therewyth to gete heuen / for fayth his felowes and he affyrme to be the thynge whych onely doth iustyfye vs. But then they say playnly that yf we serue god wyth any other good worke, fastyng, prayer, or almose dede, to thentent that we may therwyth please god the better or the rather come to heuen: this seruyce is vnlawfull, dyspleasaunt to god, and playn vnfaythfulnes / for as mych as we shall as they say be saued onely by Crystes bloode & by oure belyffe in his promyses of the same / & therfore they call yt playne idolatrye to serue god wyth any good workes for heuen, or to thentent that we myght please god the better therby. For yt thynge they say were as mych as to make oure self Cryste, and to saye that we wolde be our owne sauyours by our owne workes / and not Cryste by the worke of hys passyon.
In this poynte they stycke styffely / and when they be answeryd that all though we serue god wyth good workes wrought with his gracyous helpe, to thentēt to please hym the better therby / as hymselfe hath in many places of holly scrypture cōmaundyd vs / & hope also that suche good workes shall the rather helpe vs to heuyn, and that we shall in heuyn be rewarded for theym and for the respecte of goddꝭ commaundement / and for thys entent also we do them as Cryste hath also gyuen vs good occasyon, where he saythe that who so gyue so mych as a draught of colde water shall not lese hys rewarde,5 and where he byddeth vs gyue vnto ye poore to thentent that they may receyue vs in to the eternal tabernacles,6 and where he sheweth that at the daye of dome men shall haue heuyn for theyr charytable almesse dedes done here in erthe: now when we tell them thus, and that we do neuer the lesse knowlege and confesse therwyth that we neyther do nor can do any good worke wythout the specyall grace & helpe of god, and that our deades be cōmenly so defectyue that though good deades well done be rewardable, yet euery man maye fynde in hymselfe great cause to mystruste hys owne, and that we tell them also that all the best yt the best man maye do, is yet not more than hys deutye for euery man is of his deutye […]ounden to labour for heuyn and to serue and please god aswell and asmych as he maye, and notwythstandynge that we also tell them that the best worke that any mā worketh wyth goddys helpe and grace, is not yet rewardable with heuyn of the nature or goodnes of the worke it selfe, all though he suffred euery daye in a longe lyfe a dowble martyrdome accordynge to the wordes of saynt Paule,7 the passyons of thys worlde be not worthy the glory that is to come that shall be reueled and shewed vppon vs / and notwythstandynge that we tell them to / that all the heuynly rewarde of mannes good workes cometh onely of goddys owne lyberall goodnes, in that it hath pleased hys hyghe bountye to gyue so great a ryche pryce for so poore and symple ware as are all mēnys workes / & all be it that we tell them also that god wolde not rewarde our workes in such wyse, were it not for the shedynge of hys sonnes blood / and so we fynally referre all the thanke and rewarde of our good workes, bothe the begynnynge, the progresse, and the ende, effectually to god and the merytes of Crystes passyon / when we tell Tyndale and Luther all this yet fare they as though they herde vs not, and styll they synge vs on theyr olde songe that it is ydolatrye to serue god wyth any good workes, to thentent the better to please god therewyth, and the rather to come to heuyn therfore[…]and that we may not wyth out synne for any helpe to heuynwarde serue god wyth any good worke sauynge onely fayth.
yet when we aske them whyther we may not laufully for the same entent serue god wyth hope to: to that thyng they care not to graunte / but then they confounde the termys of fayth and hope, so as I neyther wote howe nor themselfe neyther. Then yf we aske them farther whither it be not laufull to serue god wyth charyte to (whyche now they leue and fall all to lusty loue) wyth intent to get heuyn the rather: to that they let not to graūte also / but they say the cause is for that fayth they say hath alwaye charyte therwyth. But all be it that in that poynte theyr affyrmacyō is fals, as by reason and pleyne scrypture hath ben often proued vnto them:8 that is ynough to me that they graunte that a man maye laufully loue god and serue hym wyth charyte to thentent to be the rather saued and come to heuyn therby.
For now semeth me that yf we laufully maye (as Tyndale wyll graūt we maye) serue god with ye vertues of fayth and hope and charyte, or of any one of them wyth respecte vnto goddys benefytes receyued and also to come / and to thentent therby the rather to be saued & come to heuyn, we may then laufully with lyke respecte, purpose, & intēt, serue god wyth any other vertue that procedeth of fayth, hope, & charyte, or of any suche one of them wyth whyche it is laufull for vs for suche respecte, entent, & purpose to serue god: then wyll not Tyndale denye but that prayer, fastynge, almesse dede, and contynence and clennesse of body, penaūce, trouble of the mynde, wyth sufferauns of trybulacyon or afflyccyon of the flesshe wyllyngly taken, wyth many other outwarde and inwarde workes / may procede of fayth, hope and charyte. wherfore I can not se but that Tyndale as he graunteth here yt we maye serue god wyth loue, entendyng thereby to please hym and be sauyd the rather: so must he nedys graunte and agre that lykewyse may we wyth lyke entente and purpose serue wyth all other workes aboue remembryd, procedynge of a faythfull workynge charyte / wherof he and all hys fonde felowes in euery place holde hytherto the contrary.
And thus haue I now playnly deducyd vppon Tyndals owne wordes the full confusyon of hys owne comen conclusyon, so many tymes by hym and hys felowes obiected, and among them all neuer onys yet well prouyd nor neuer able to be proued, agaynst the profyte of good mennys chrysten workes / for chrysten be theyr prayers, theyr fastynge, and theyr almosse dedys, when they be done in fayth, hope and charyte, and in the state of grace.
Footnotes
Chapter 10 of 95