God had not suffered His Word to be wholly destroyed. In different countries of Europe men were moved by the Spirit of God to search for truth as for hid treasures. Providentially guided to the Holy Scriptures, they were willing to accept light at any cost to themselves. Though they did not see all things clearly, they were enabled to perceive many long-buried truths.
(HF 51.1)
The time had come for the Scriptures to be given to the people in their native tongue. The world had passed its midnight. In many lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn.
(HF 51.2)
In the fourteenth century the “morning star of the Reformation” arose in England. John Wycliffe was noted at college for his fervent piety as well as his sound scholarship. Educated in scholastic philosophy, the canons of the church, and civil law, he was prepared to engage in the great struggle for civil and religious liberty. He had acquired the intellectual discipline of the schools, and he understood the tactics of the schoolmen. The extent and thoroughness of his knowledge commanded the respect of both friends and foes. His enemies were prevented from casting contempt upon the cause of reform by exposing the ignorance or weakness of its supporter.
(HF 51.3)
While Wycliffe was still at college, he entered upon the study of the Scriptures. Heretofore Wycliffe had felt a great want, which neither his scholastic studies nor the teaching of the church could satisfy. In the Word of God he found that which he had sought in vain. Here he saw Christ set forth as the only advocate for man. He determined to proclaim the truths he had discovered.
(HF 51.4)
Wycliffe did not, at the opening of his work, set himself in opposition to Rome. But the more clearly he discerned the errors of the papacy, the more earnestly he presented the teaching of the Bible. He saw that Rome had forsaken the Word of God for human tradition. He fearlessly accused the priesthood of having banished the Scriptures, and demanded that the Bible be restored to the people and that its authority be again established in the church. He was an able and eloquent preacher, and his daily life was a demonstration of the truths he preached. His knowledge of the Scriptures, the purity of his life, and his courage and integrity won general esteem. Many saw the iniquity in the Roman Church. They hailed with unconcealed joy the truths brought to view by Wycliffe. But the papal leaders were filled with rage; this Reformer was gaining an influence greater than their own.
(HF 52.1)
Wycliffe was a keen detector of error and struck fearlessly against abuses sanctioned by Rome. While chaplain for the king, he took a bold stand against payment of tribute claimed by the pope from the English monarch. Papal assumption of authority over secular rulers was contrary to both reason and revelation. The demands of the pope had excited indignation, and Wycliffe’s teachings influenced the leading minds of the nation. The king and the nobles united in refusing the payment of tribute.
(HF 52.2)
Mendicant friars swarmed in England, casting a blight upon the greatness and prosperity of the nation. The monks’ lives of idleness and beggary were not only a drain upon the resources of the people, they brought useful labor into contempt. Youth were demoralized and corrupted. Many were induced to devote themselves to a monastic life not only without the consent of their parents, but even without their knowledge and contrary to their commands. By this “monstrous inhumanity,” as Luther afterward styled it, “savoring more of the wolf and the tyrant than of the Christian and the man,” were the hearts of children steeled against their parents.
(HF 52.3)
Even students in the universities were deceived by the monks and induced to join their orders. Once fast in the snare it was impossible to obtain freedom. Many parents refused to send their sons to the universities. The schools languished, and ignorance prevailed.
(HF 53.1)
The pope had bestowed on these monks the power to hear confessions and grant pardon—a source of great evil. Bent on enhancing their gains, the friars were so ready to grant absolution that criminals resorted to them, and the worst vices rapidly increased. Gifts that should have relieved the sick and the poor went to the monks. The wealth of the friars was constantly increasing, and their magnificent edifices and luxurious tables made more apparent the growing poverty of the nation. Yet the friars continued to maintain their hold on the superstitious multitudes and led them to believe that all religious duty was comprised in acknowledging the supremacy of the pope, adoring the saints, and making gifts to the monks. This was sufficient to secure a place in heaven!
(HF 53.2)
Wycliffe, with clear insight, struck at the root of the evil, declaring that the system itself was false and should be abolished. Discussion and inquiry were awakening. Many were led to question whether they should not seek pardon from God rather than from the pontiff of Rome. (See Appendix)“The monks and priests of Rome,” said they, “are eating us away like a cancer. God must deliver us, or the people will perish.” Begging monks claimed they were following the Saviour’s example, declaring that Jesus and His disciples had been supported by the charities of the people. This claim led many to the Bible to learn the truth for themselves.
(HF 53.3)
Wycliffe began to write and publish tracts against the friars, to call the people to the teachings of the Bible and its Author. In no more effectual way could he have undertaken the overthrow of that mammoth fabric which the pope had erected, in which millions were held captive.
(HF 54.1)
Wycliffe, called to defend the rights of the English crown against the encroachments of Rome, was appointed a royal ambassador in the Netherlands. Here he was brought into communicaton with ecclesiastics from France, Italy, and Spain, and had opportunity to look behind the scenes hidden from him in England. In these representatives from the papal court he read the true character of the hierarchy. He returned to England to repeat his former teachings with greater zeal, declaring that pride and deception were the gods of Rome.
(HF 54.2)
After his return to England, Wycliffe received from the king the appointment to the rectory of Lutterworth. This was an assurance that the monarch had not been displeased by his plain speaking. Wycliffe’s influence was felt in molding the belief of the nation.
(HF 54.3)
Papal thunders were soon hurled against him. Three bulls were dispatched commanding immediate measures to silence the teacher of “heresy.”(See Appendix)
(HF 54.4)
The arrival of the papal bulls laid upon all England a command for the imprisonment of the heretic. (See Appendix) It appeared certain that Wycliffe must soon fall to the vengeance of Rome. But He who declared to one of old, “Fear not: ... I am thy shield” (Genesis 15:1), stretched out His hand to protect His servant. Death came, not to the Reformer, but to the pontiff who had decreed his destruction.
(HF 54.5)
The death of Gregory XI was followed by the election of two rival popes. (See Appendix.) Each called upon the faithful to make war on the other, enforcing his demands by terrible anathemas against his adversaries and promises of rewards in heaven to his supporters. The rival factions had all they could do to attack each other, and Wycliffe for a time had rest.
(HF 54.6)
The schism, with all the strife and corruption which it caused, prepared the way for the Reformation by enabling the people to see what the papacy really was. Wycliffe called upon the people to consider whether these two popes were not speaking the truth in condemning each other as the antichrist.
(HF 55.1)
Determined that the light should be carried to every part of England, Wycliffe organized a body of preachers, simple, devout men who loved the truth and desired to extend it. These men, teaching in market places, in the streets of the great cities, and in country lanes, sought out the aged, the sick, and the poor, and opened to them the glad tidings of the grace of God.
(HF 55.2)
At Oxford, Wycliffe preached the Word of God in the halls of the university. He received the title of “the Gospel Doctor.” But the greatest work of his life was to be the translation of the Scriptures into English, so that every man in England might read the wonderful works of God.
(HF 55.3)
But suddenly his labors were stopped. Though not yet sixty, unceasing toil, study, and the assaults of enemies had told upon his strength and made him prematurely old. He was attacked by a dangerous illness. The friars thought he would repent of the evil he had done the church, and they hurried to his chamber to listen to his confession. “You have death on your lips,” they said; “be touched by your faults, and retract in our presence all that you have said to our injury.”
(HF 55.4)
The Reformer listened in silence. Then he bade his attendant raise him in his bed. Gazing steadily upon them, he said in the firm, strong voice which had so often caused them to tremble, “I shall not die, but live; and again declare the evil deeds of the friars.” Astonished and abashed, the monks hurried from the room.
(HF 55.5)
Wycliffe lived to place in the hands of his countrymen the most powerful of all weapons against Rome—the Bible, the Heaven-appointed agent to liberate, enlighten, and evangelize the people. Wycliffe knew that only a few years for labor remained for him; he saw the opposition he must meet; but encouraged by the promises of God’s Word, he went forward. In the full vigor of his intellectual powers, rich in experience, he had been prepared by God’s providence for this, the greatest of his labors. The Reformer in his rectory at Lutterworth, unheeding the storm that raged without, applied himself to his chosen task.
(HF 55.6)
At last the work was completed—the first English translation of the Bible. The Reformer had placed in the hands of the English people a light which should never be extinguished. He had done more to break the fetters of ignorance and to liberate and elevate his country than was ever achieved by victories on fields of battle.
(HF 56.1)
Only by wearisome labor could copies of the Bible be multiplied. So great was the interest to obtain the book that it was with difficulty that copyists could supply the demand. Wealthy purchasers desired the whole Bible. Others bought only a portion. In many cases, families united to purchase a copy. Wycliffe’s Bible soon found its way to the homes of the people.
(HF 56.2)
Wycliffe now taught the distinctive doctrines of Protestantism—salvation through faith in Christ and the sole infallibility of the Scriptures. The new faith was accepted by nearly one half of the people of England.
(HF 56.3)
The appearance of the Scriptures brought dismay to the authorities of the church. There was at this time no law in England prohibiting the Bible, for it had never before been published in the language of the people. Such laws were afterward enacted and rigorously enforced.
(HF 56.4)
Again the papal leaders plotted to silence the Reformer’s voice. First, a synod of bishops declared his writings heretical. Winning the young king, Richard II, to their side, they obtained a royal decree consigning to prison all who should hold the condemned doctrines.
(HF 56.5)
Wycliffe appealed from the synod to Parliament. He fearlessly arraigned the hierarchy before the national council and demanded reform of the enormous abuses sanctioned by the church. His enemies were brought to confusion. It had been expected that the Reformer, in his old age, alone and friendless, would bow to the authority of the crown. But instead, Parliament, roused by the stirring appeals of Wycliffe, repealed the persecuting edict, and the Reformer was again at liberty.
(HF 57.1)
A third time he was brought to trial, and now before the highest ecclesiastical tribunal in the kingdom. Here at last the Reformer’s work would be stopped. So thought the papists. If they could accomplish their purpose, Wycliffe would leave the court only for the flames.
(HF 57.2)
But Wycliffe did not retract. He fearlessly maintained his teachings and repelled the accusations of his persecutors. He summoned his hearers before the divine tribunal and weighed their sophistries and deceptions in the balances of eternal truth. The power of the Holy Spirit was upon the hearers. As arrows from the Lord’s quiver, the Reformer’s words pierced their hearts. The charge of heresy, which they had brought against him, he threw back on them.
(HF 57.3)
“With whom, think you,” he said, “are ye contending? with an old man on the brink of the grave? No! with Truth—Truth which is stronger than you, and will overcome you.” So saying, he withdrew and not one of his adversaries attempted to prevent him.
(HF 57.4)
Wycliffe’s work was almost done, but once more he was to bear witness for the gospel. He was summoned for trial before the papal tribunal at Rome, which had so often shed the blood of the saints. A shock of palsy made it impossible for him to perform the journey. But though his voice was not to be heard at Rome, he could speak by letter. The Reformer wrote the pope a letter, which, while respectful and Christian in spirit, was a keen rebuke to the pomp and pride of the papal see.
(HF 57.5)
Wycliffe presented to the pope and his cardinals the meekness and humility of Christ, exhibiting not only to themselves but to all Christendom the contrast between them and the Master whose representatives they professed to be.
(HF 58.1)
Wycliffe fully expected that his life would be the price of his fidelity. The king, the pope, and the bishops were united to accomplish his ruin, and it seemed certain that a few months at most would bring him to the stake. But his courage was unshaken.
(HF 58.2)
The man who for a whole lifetime had stood boldly in defense of the truth was not to fall a victim of the hatred of its foes. The Lord had been his protector; and now, when his enemies felt sure of their prey, God’s hand removed him beyond their reach. In his church at Lutterworth, as he was about to dispense the communion, he fell stricken with palsy, and in a short time yielded up his life.
(HF 58.3)
God had put the word of truth in Wycliffe’s mouth. His life was protected and his labors prolonged until a foundation was laid for the Reformation. There was none who went before Wycliffe from whose work he could shape his system of reform. He was the herald of a new era. Yet in the truth which he presented there was a unity and completeness which reformers who followed did not exceed and which some did not reach. So firm and true was the framework, that it needed not to be reconstructed by those who came after him.
(HF 58.4)
The great movement that Wycliffe inaugurated to set free the nations so long bound to Rome had its spring in the Bible. Here was the source of that stream of blessing which has flowed down the ages since the fourteenth century. Educated to regard Rome as the infallible authority and to accept with unquestioning reverence the teachings and customs of a thousand years, Wycliffe turned away from all these to listen to God’s Holy Word. Instead of the church speaking through the pope, he declared the only true authority to be the voice of God speaking through His Word. And he taught that the Holy Spirit is its only interpreter.
(HF 58.5)
Wycliffe was one of the greatest of the Reformers. He was equaled by few who came after him. Purity of life, unwearying diligence in study and labor, incorruptible integrity, and Christlike love, characterized the first of the Reformers.
(HF 59.1)
It was the Bible that made him what he was. The study of the Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can. It gives stability of purpose, courage, and fortitude. An earnest, reverent study of the Scriptures would give the world men of stronger intellect, as well as of nobler principle, than has ever resulted from the ablest training that human philosophy affords.
(HF 59.2)
Wycliffe’s followers, known as Wycliffites and Lollards, scattered to other lands, carrying the gospel. Now that their leader was removed, the preachers labored with even greater zeal than before. Multitudes flocked to listen. Some of the nobility, and even the wife of the king, were among the converts. In many places the idolatrous symbols of Romanism were removed from the churches.
(HF 59.3)
But soon pitiless persecution burst upon those who had dared to accept the Bible as their guide. For the first time in the history of England the stake was decreed against the disciples of the gospel. Martyrdom succeeded martyrdom. Hunted as foes of the church and traitors to the realm, the advocates of truth continued to preach in secret places, finding shelter in the humble homes of the poor, and often hiding away even in dens and caves.
(HF 59.4)
A calm, patient protest against the corruption of religious faith continued to be uttered for centuries. The Christians of that early time had learned to love God’s Word and patiently suffered for its sake. Many sacrificed their worldly possessions for Christ. Those permitted to dwell in their homes gladly sheltered their banished brethren, and when they too were driven forth, they cheerfully accepted the lot of the outcast. The number was not small who bore fearless testimony to the truth in dungeon cells and in the midst of torture and flame, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to know “the fellowship of his sufferings.”
(HF 59.5)
The papists’ hatred could not be satisfied while Wycliffe’s body rested in the grave. More than forty years after his death his bones were exhumed and publicly burned, and the ashes thrown into a neighboring brook. “This brook,” says an old writer, “hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over.”
(HF 60.1)
Through the writings of Wycliffe, John Huss of Bohemia was led to renounce many of the errors of Romanism. From Bohemia the work extended to other lands. A divine hand was preparing the way for the Great Reformation.
(HF 60.2)