Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Edward Farr, ed. Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. 1845.

The Author’s Beliefe

XXIV. Thomas Tusser

THIS is my stedfast creede,

My faith and al my trust,

That in the heauens ther is a God,

Most mighty, mild, and just;

A God aboue all gods,

A King aboue all Kinges,

The Lord of lords, chief Gouernour

Of heauen and earthly things:

That power hath of life,

Of death, of heauen, and hell;

That al thing made as pleaseth him,

So wonderfull to tell:

That made the hanging skies,

So deckt with diuers lights;

Of darkenes made the chereful daies,

And al our restfull nights:

That clad this earth with herbe,

With trees of sundry fruits,

With beast, with bird, both wild and tame,

Of strange and sundry suits;

That intermixt the same

With mynes like veines of ore,

Of siluer, gold, of precious stones,

And treasures many more:

That joined brookes to dales,

To hils fresh water-springes,

With riuers sweete along the meedes,

To profit many thinges:

That made the hoary frostes,

The flaky snowes so trim,

The hony deaws, the blustring windes,

To serue as pleaseth him:

That made the surging seas

In course to ebbe and flowe,

That skilful man with sailing ship

Mought trauell to and fro;

And stored so the same

For man’s vnthankfull sake,

That euery nation vnder heauen

Mought thereby profit take:

That gaue to man a soule,

With reason how to liue,

That doth to him and al things els

His blessing daily giue:

That is not seen, yet seeth

How man doth run his race;

Whose daily works, both good and bad,

Stand knowne before his face:

That sendeth thundering claps

Like terrors out of hell,

That man may know a God ther is,

That in the heauens doth dwel:

That sendeth threatning plagues

To keep our liues in awe,

His benefites if we forget,

Or do contempne his lawe:

That dayly hateth sinne,

That loueth vertue well,

And is the God of Abraham,

Isaac and Israel:

That doth his pleasure take,

When we his laws offend;

And yet amids his heauy wrath

His mercy doth extend.

This is that Lord of hosts,

The Father of vs all,

The maker of whatere was made,

My God on whom I call;

Which for the loue of man

Sent downe his onely Sonne,

Begot of him before the worldes

Were any whit begonne.

This entred Marie’s womb,

As fayth affirmeth sure;

Conceyued by the Holy Ghost,

Borne of that virgin pure.

This was both God and man,

Of Jewes the hoped King;

And liued here, saue only sinne,

Like man in euery thing.

This is that virgin’s Child,

That same most Holy Priest,

The Lamb of God, the Prophet great,

Whom Scripture calleth Christ:

This that Messias was

Of whom the prophet spake,

That should tread down the serpent’s head,

And our atonement make.

This Judas did betray

To false dissembling Jewes,

Which vnto Pilat, being iudge,

Did falsly him accuse;

Who through that wicked judge,

And of those Jewes’ despight,

Condemned and tormented was

With all the force they might.

To liuing, with more euill

What could such wretches do?

More pearcing wounds, more bitter pains,

Than they did put him to?

They crowned him with thorne,

That was the King of kings,

That sought to saue the soule of man

Aboue all worldly things.

This was the Pascall Lamb,

Whose loue for vs so stoode,

That on the mount of Caluerine

Did shed for vs his bloud:

Where hanging on the crosse,

No shame he did forsake,

Till death giuen him by pearcing speare

An end of life did make.

This Joseph seeing dead,

The body thence did craue,

And took it forthwith from the crosse,

And layd it in his graue.

Downe thence he went to hell,

In vsing there his will—

His soule I meane,—his flayed corps

In tombe remaining still.

From death to life againe

The third day this did rise,

And seene on earth to his elect

Times oft in sundry wise;

And after into heauen

Ascende he did in sight,

And sitteth on the right hand there

Of God, the Father of might:

Where for vs wretches all

His Father he doth pray

To haue respect vnto his death,

And put our sinnes away.

From thence with sounded trump,

Which noyse all flesh shall dread,

He shal returne with glory againe,

To judg the quicke and dead.

In God the Holy Ghost

I firmely do beleue,

Which from the Father and the Sonne

Proceeding, life doth giue:

Which by the prophets spake;

Which doth all comfort send;

Which I do trust shal be my guide,

When this my life shal end.

A holy catholyke church

On earth I graunt there is,

And those which frame their liues by that

Shall neuer spede amisse:

The head whereof is Christ,

His woord the chiefes post;

Preseruer of this Temple great

Is God the Holy Ghost.

I do not doubt there is

A multitude of saintes:

More good is done resembling them

Then showing them our plaints.

Their faith and workes in Christ

That glory them did giue;

Which glory we shal likewise haue,

If lykewise we so liue.

At God of heauen there is

Forgiueness of our sinnes

Through Christe’s death, through faith in it,

And through none other ginnes:

If we repentant here

His mercy daily craue,

Through stedfast hope and faith in Christ

Forgiueness we shal haue.

I hope and trust vppon

The rising of the flesh:

This corps of mine, that first must dye,

Shall rise againe afresh.

The body and soule euen then

In one shall ioined bee:

As Christ did rise from death to life,

Euen so through Christ shal we.

As Christ is glorified,

And neuer more shal dye;

As Christ ascended is to heauen,

Through Christ euen so shall I:

As Christ I compt my head,

And I am member of his,

So God, I trust, for Christe’s sake,

Shall settle me in blisse.