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12 - The French Reformation - The Great Controversy · Sacred Texts Archive

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Chapter twelve. The French Reformation, the protest of Spires, and the Confession
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at Augsburg, which marked the triumph of the Reformation in Germany, were followed
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by years of conflict and darkness. Weakened by divisions among its supporters and assailed
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by powerful foes, Protestantism seemed destined to be utterly destroyed. Thousands sealed their
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testimony with their blood. Civil war broke out, the Protestant cause was betrayed
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by one of its leading adherents. The noblest of the Reformed princes fell into
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the hands of the Emperor and were dragged as captives from town to town.
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But in the moment of his apparent triumph, the Emperor was smitten with defeat.
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He saw the prey wrested from his grasp, and he was forced at
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last to grant toleration to the doctrines which it had been the ambition of his
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life to destroy. He had staked his kingdom, his treasures, and life
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itself upon the crushing out of the heresy. Now he saw his armies wasted
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by battle, his treasuries drained, his many kingdoms threatened by revolt, while
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everywhere the faith which he had vainly endeavored to suppress was extending. Charles the
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Fifth had been battling against omnipotent power. God had said, let there be
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light, But the Emperor had sought to keep the darkness unbroken. His purposes
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had failed, and in premature old age, worn out with the long struggle,
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he abdicated the throne and buried himself in a cloister. In Switzerland,
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as in Germany, there came dark days for the Reformation Hoile. Many cantons
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accepted the reformed faith, others clung with blind persistence to the creed of Rome.
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The persecution of those who desired to receive the truth finally gave rise to
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civil war. Spingley and many who had united with him in reform fell on
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the bloody field of capel Ego. Lumpadius, overcome by these terrible disasters,
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soon after died, Rome was triumphant and in many places seemed about to recover
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all that she had lost. But he whose counsels are from everlasting, had
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not forsaken his cause or his people. His hand would bring deliverance for them.
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In other lands. He had raised up laborers to carry forward the reform.
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In France, before the name of Luther had been heard as a reformer.
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The day had already begun to break. One of the first to catch
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the light was the aged Lefevre, a man of extensive learning, a professor
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in the University of Paris, and a sincere and zealous papist. In his
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researches into ancient literature, his attention was directed to the Bible, and he
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introduced its study among his students. Lefevre was an enthusiastic adorer of the Saints,
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and he had undertaken to prepare a history of the saints and martyrs as
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given in the Legends of the Church. This was a work which involved great
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labor, but he had already made considerable progress in it. When thinking that
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he might obtain useful assistance from the Bible, he began at study with this
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object. Here, indeed, he found saints brought to view, but not
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such as figured in the Roman calendar. A flood of divine light broke in
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upon his mind. In amazement and disgust, he turned away from his self
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appointed task and devoted himself to the Word of God. The precious truths which
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he there discovered. He soon began to teach in fifteen twelve, before either
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Luther or Spingley had begun the work of reform, Lefevre wrote, it is
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God who gives us by faith that righteousness, which, by grace alone justifies
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to eternal life. Dwelling upon the mysteries of redemption, he exclaimed, Oh,
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the unspeakable greatness of that exchange. The sinless one is condemned, and
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he who is guilty goes free. The blessing bears the curse, and the
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curse it is brought into blessing. The life dies and the dead live.
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The glory is whelmed in darkness, and he who knew nothing but confusion of
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face is clothed with glory. And while teaching that the glory of salvation belongs
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solely to God, he also declared that the duty of obedience belongs to man.
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If thou art a member of Christ's church, he said, thou art
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a member of his body. If thou art of his body, then thou
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art full of the divine nature. Oh, if men could but enter into
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the understanding of this privilege, how purely, chastely and holy would they live?
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And how contemptible when compared with the glory within them? That glory which
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the eye of flesh cannot see. Would they deem all the glory of this
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world. There were some among Lefevra's students who listened eagerly to his words,
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and who, long after the teacher's voice should be silent, and were to
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continue to declare the truth. Such was William Ferrell, the son of pious
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parents, and educated to accept with implicit faith the teachings of the Church.
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He might, with the Apostle Paul, have declared concerning himself, after the
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most straightest sect of our religion. I lived a Pharisee, a devoted Romanist.
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He burned with zeal to destroy all who should dare to oppose the Church.
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I would gnash my teeth like a furious wolf, he afterwards said,
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referring to this period of his life, when I heard any one speaking against
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the Pope. He had been untiring in his adoration of the saints, in
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company with Lefevre, making the round of the churches of Paris, worshiping at
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the altars and adorning with gifts the holy shrines. But these observances could not
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bring peace of soul. Conviction of sin fastened upon him, which all the
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acts of penance that he practiced failed to banish, as to a voice from
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heavens, and to the reformer's words, salvation is of grace. The innocent
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one is condemned, and the criminal is acquitted. It is the cross of
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Christ alone that openeth the gates of heaven and shutteth the gates of hell.
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Ferrel joyfully accepted the truth by a conversion like that of Paul. He turned
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from the bondage of tradition to the liberty of the sons of God. Instead
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of the murderous heart of a ravening wolf. He came back, he says,
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quietly, like a meek and harmless lamb, having his heart entirely withdrawn
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from the pope and given to Jesus Christ. While le Fevre continued to spread
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the light among his students, Pharrel, as zealous in the cause of Christ
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as he had been in that of the Pope, went forth to declare the
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truth in public. A dignitary of the church. The Bishop of Moe soon
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after united with them. Other teachers, who ranked high for their ability and
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learning, joined in proclaiming the Gospel, and it was one adherents among all
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classes from the homes of artisans and peasants to the palace of the King.
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The sister of Francis the first, then the reigning monarch accepted the Reformed faith.
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The King himself and the Queen Mother appeared for a time to regard it
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with favor and with high hopes. The reformers looked forward to the time when
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France should be won to the Gospel, but their hopes were not to be
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realized. Trial and persecution awaited the disciples of Christ. This, however,
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was mercifully veiled from their eyes. A time of peace intervened that they might
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gain strength to meet the tempest, and the Reformation made rapid progress. The
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Bishop of Moe labored zealously in his own diocese to instruct both the clergy and
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the people. Ignorant and immoral priests were removed and so far as possible,
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replaced by men of learning and piety. The bishop greatly desired that his people
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might have access to the Word of God God for themselves, and this was
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soon accomplished. Lefevre undertook the translation of the New Testament, and at the
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very time when Luther's German Bible was issuing from the press in Wittenberg, the
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French New Testament was published at me. The bishop spared no labor or expense
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to circulate it in his parishes, and soon the peasants of Mo were in
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possession of the Holy scriptures. As travelers perishing from thirst welcome with joy a
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living water spring. So did these souls receive the message of heaven. The
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laborers in the field, the artisans in the workshop cheered their daily toil by
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talking of the precious truths of the Bible. At evening, instead of resorting
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to the wine shops, they assembled in one another's homes to read God's word
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and join in prayer and praise. A great change was soon manifest in these
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communities. Though belonging to the humblest class, an unlearned and hard working peasantry,
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the reforming, uplifting power of divine grace was seen in their lives.
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Humble, loving and holy, they stood as witnesses to what the Gospel will
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accomplish for those who receive it in sincerity. The light kindled at Mo shed
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its beams afar every day. The number of converts was increasing. The rage
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of the hierarchy was for a time held in check by the king, who
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despised the narrow bigotry of the monks, but the papal leaders finally prevailed.
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Now the stake was set up, the Bishop of Mo, forced to choose
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between the fire and recantation, accepted the easier path. But notwithstanding the leader's
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fall, his flock remained steadfast. Many witnessed for the truth amid the flames.
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By their courage and fidelity of the stake. These humble Christians spoke to
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thousands who, in days of peace, had never heard their testimony. It
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was not alone the humble and the poor, that, amid suffering and scorn,
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dared to bear witness for Christ. In the lordly halls of the castle
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and the palace, there were kingly souls by whom truth was valued above wealth,
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or rank, or even life. Kingly armour concealed a loftier and more
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steadfast spirit than did the bishop's robe and miter. Louis de Berquin was of
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noble birth, a brave and courtly knight. He was devoted to study,
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polished in manners and of blameless morals. He was s as a writer,
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a great follower of the papistocal constitutions, and a great hearer of masses and
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sermons. And he crowned all his other virtues by holding Lutheranism in special abhorrence.
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But like so many others, providentially guided to the Bible, he was
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amazed to find there not the doctrines of Rome, but the doctrines of Luther.
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Henceforth he gave himself with entire devotion to the cause of the Gospel.
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The most learned of the nobles of France. His genius and eloquence, his
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indomitable courage and heroic zeal, and his influence court, for he was a
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favorite with the king, caused him to be regarded by many as one destined
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to be the reformer of his country. Said Beza Bercin would have been a
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second Luther had he found in Francis the first a second elector. He is
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worse than Luther, cried the Papists, more dreaded he was. Indeed by
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the Romanists of France, they thrust him into prison as a heretic, but
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he was set at liberty by the king. For years, the struggle continued,
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Francis, wavering between Rome and the Reformation, alternately tolerated and restrained the
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fierce zeal of the monks. Bercin was three times in prison by the papal
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authorities, only to be released by the monarch, who, in admiration of
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his genius and his nobility of character, refused to sacrifice him to the malice
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of the hierarchy. Bercin was repeatedly warned of the danger that threatened him in
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France, and urged to follow the steps of those who had found safety in
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voluntary exile. The timid and time serving Erasmus, who with all the splendor
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of his scholarship, failed of that moral greatness which holds life and honor subservient
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to truth, wrote to Berkin, asked to be sent as ambassador to some
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foreign country. Go and travel in Germany. Youno Beta, and such as
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he he is a thousand headed monster, darting venom on every side. Your
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enemies are named Legion. Were your cause better than that of Jesus Christ,
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they will not let you go till they have miserably destroyed you. Do not
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trust too much to the King's protection at all events. Do not compromise me
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with the faculty of theology. But as dangers thickened, Bercan's zeal only waxed
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the stronger. So far from adopting the politic and self serving counsel of Erasmus.
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He determined, upon still bolder measures, he would not only stand in
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defense of the truth, but he would attack error. The charge of heresy
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which the Romanists were seeking to fasten upon him. He would rivet upon them.
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The most active and bitter of his opponents were the learned doctors and monks
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of the Theological Department in the Great University of Paris, one of the highest
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ecclesiastical authorities, both in the city and the nation. From the writings of
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these doctors, Barkin drew twelve propositions which he publicly declared to be opposed to
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the Bible and heretical, and he appealed to the King to act as judge
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in the controversy. The Monarch, not loath to bring into contrast the power
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and acuteness of the opposing champions, and glad of an opportunity of humbling the
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pride of these haughty monks, bade the Romanists defend their cause by the Bible.
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This weapon, they well knew, would avail them little imprisonment, torture,
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and the stake were arms which they better understood how to wield. Now
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the tables were turned, and they saw themselves about to fall into the pit
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into which they had hoped to plunge Barkin. In amazement, they looked about
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them for some way of escape. Just at that time, an image of
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the Virgin at the corner of one of the streets was mutilated. There was
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great excitement in the city. Crowds of people flocked to the place with expressions
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of mourning and indignation. The king also was deeply moved. Here was an
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advantage which the monks could turn to good account, and they were quick to
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improve it. These are the fruits of the doctrines of Berkin, they cried.
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All is about to be overthrown, religion, the laws, the throne
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itself by this Lutheran conspiracy. Again, Berkin was apprehended, The king withdrew
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from Paris, and the monks were thus left free to work their will.
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The reformer was tried and condemned to die, and lest Francis should even yet
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interpose to save him, the sentence was executed on the very day it was
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pronounced. At noon, Berkain was conducted to the place of death. An
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immense throng gathered to witness the event, and there were many who saw with
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astonishment and misgiving that the victim had been chosen from the best and bravest of
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the noble families of France. Amazement, indignation, scorn, and bitter hatred
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darkened the faces of that surging crowd, But upon one face no shadow rested.
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The Martyr's thoughts were far from that scene of tumult. He was conscious
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only of the presence of his lord, the wretched tumbrel upon which he rode,
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the frowning faces of his persecutors, the dreadful death to which he was
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going. These he heeded not he who liveth and was dead, and is
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alive forevermore, and half the keys of death and of hell was beside him.
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Barkin's countenance was radiant with the light and peace of heaven. He had
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attired himself in goodly raiment, wearing a cloak of velvet, a doublet of
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satin and damask, and golden hose. He was about to testify to his
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faith in presence of the King of Kings and the witnessing universe, and no
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token of mourning should belie his joy. As the procession moved slowly through the
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crowded streets, the people marked with wonder the unclouded peace. The joyous triumph
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of his look and bearing. He is, they said, like one who
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sits in a temple and meditates on holy things. At the stake, Barkin
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endeavored to address a few words to the people, but the monks, fearing
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the result, began to shout, and the soldiers to clash their arms,
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and their clamor drowned the martyr's voice. Thus, in fifteen twenty nine,
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the highest literary and ecclesiastical authority of cultured Paris set the populace of seventeen ninety
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three, the base example of stifling on the scaffold the sacred words of the
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dying Bearcin was strangled and his body was consumed in the flames. The tidings
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of his death caused sorrow to the friends of the Reformation throughout France, but
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his example was not lost. We too are ready, said the witnesses,
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for the truth to meet death, cheerfully, setting our eyes on the life
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that is to come. During the persecution at moh the teachers of the Reformed
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faith were deprived of their license to preach, and they departed to other fields.
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Lefevre, after a time, made his way to Germany. Ferrell returned
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to his native town in eastern France to spread the light in the home of
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his childhood. All Ready tidings had been received of what was going on at
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Moe, and the truth, which he taught with fearless zeal, found listeners.
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Soon the authorities were roused to silence him, and he was banished from
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the city. Though he could no longer labor publicly, he traversed the plains
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and villages, teaching in private dwellings and in secluded meadows, and finding shelter
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in the forests and among the rocky caverns which had been his haunts and boyhood.
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God was preparing him for greater trials. The crosses, persecutions, and
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machinations of Satan of which I was forewarned, have not been wanting, he
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said. They are even much severer than I could have borne of myself.
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But God is my father. He has provided and always will provide me the
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strength which I require. As an apostolic days persecution had fallen out rather unto
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the furtherance of the Gospel. Driven from Paris and mo they that were scattered
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abroad went everywhere preaching the Word, and thus the light found its way into
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many of the remote provinces of France. God was still preparing workers to extend
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his cause. In one of the schools of Paris was a thoughtful, quiet
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youth, already giving evidence of a powerful and penetrating mind, and no less
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marked for the blamelessness of his life than for intellectual ardor and religious devotion.
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His genius and application soon made him the pride of the college, and it
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was confidently anticipated that John Calvin would become one of them, aiblest and most
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honored defenders of the Church. But a ray of divine light penetrated even within
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the walls of scholasticism and superstition by which Calvin was in. He heard of
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the new doctrines as a shudder, nothing doubting that the heretics deserved the fire
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to which they were given. Yet all unwittingly he was brought face to face
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with the heresy, and forced to test the power of Romish theology to combat
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the Protestant teaching. A cousin of Calvin's, who had joined the Reformers,
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was in Paris. The two kinsmen often met and discussed together the matters that
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were disturbing Christendom. There are but two religions in the world, said Oliveton
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the Protestant. The one class of religions are those which men have invented,
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in all of which man saves himself by ceremonies and good works. The other
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is that one religion which is revealed in the Bible, and which teaches man
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to look for salvation solely from the free grace of God. I will have
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none of your new doctrines, exclaimed Calvin. Think you that I have lived
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in error all my days. But thoughts had been awakened in his mind which
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he could not banish at will. Alone in his chamber, he pondered upon
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his cousin's words. Conviction of sin fastened upon him. He saw himself without
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an intercessor, in the presence of a holy and just judge, the mediation
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of saints, good works, the ceremonies of the church, all were powerless
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to atone for sin. He could see before him nothing but the blackness of
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eternal despair in vain. The doctors of the church, endeavored to relieve his
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woe. Confession penance were resorted to in vain. They could not reconcile the
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soul with God. While still engaged in these fruitless struggles. Calvin, chancing
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one day to visit one of the public squares, witnessed there the burning of
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a heretic. He was filled with wonder at the expression of peace which rested
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upon the martyrs countenance amid the tortures of that dreadful death, and under the
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more terrible condemnation of the church. He manifested a faith and courage which the
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young student painfully contrasted with his own despair and darkness while living in strictest obedience
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to the Church. Upon the Bible, he knew the heretics rested their faith.
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He determined to study it and discover, if he could, the secret
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of their joy. In the Bible, he found Christ, Oh Father.
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He cried, His sacrifice has appeased thy wrath. His blood has washed away
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my impurities, His cross has borne my curse. His death has atoned for
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me. We had devised for ourselves many useless follies. But thou hast placed
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thy word before me like a torch, and thou hast touched my heart in
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order that I may hold an abomination all other merits save those of Jesus.
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Calvin had been educated for the priesthood when only twelve years of age, he
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had been appointed to the chaplaincy of a small church, and his head had
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been shorn by the bishop in accordance with the canon of the church. He
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did not receive consecration, nor did he fulfill the duties of a priest,
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but he became a member of the clergy, holding the title of his office,
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and receiving an allowance in consideration thereof Now, feeling that he could never
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become a priest, he turned for a time to the study of law,
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but finally abandoned this purpose and determined to devote his life to the Gospel.
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But he hesitated to become a public teacher. He was naturally timid and was
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burdened with a sense of the weighty responsibility of the position, and he desired
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still to devote himself to study. The earnest entreaties of his friends. However,
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at last won his consent. Wonderful it is, he said that one
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of so lowly an origin should be exalted to so great a dignity. Quietly
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did Calvin enter upon his work, and his words were as the jew falling
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to refresh the earth. He had left Paris and was now in a provincial
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town under the protection of the Princess Margaret, who, loving the Gospel,
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extended her protection to its disciples. Lalvin was still a youth of gentle unpretentious
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bearing. His work began with the people at their homes, surrounded by the
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members of the household. He read the Bible and opened the truths of salvation.
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Those who heard the message carried the good news to others, and soon
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the teacher passed beyond the city, to the outlying towns and hamlets. To
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both the castle and the cabin he found entrance, and he went forward,
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laying the foundation of churches that were to yield fearless witnesses for the truth.
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A few months and he was again in Paris. There was unwonted agitation in
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the circle of learned men and scholars. The study of the ancient languages had
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led men to the Bible, and many whose hearts were untouched by its truths
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were eagerly discussing them and even giving battle to the champions of Romanism. Calvin,
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though an able combatant in the fields of theological controversy, had a higher
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mission to accomplish than that of these noisy schoolmen. The minds of men were
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stirred, and now was the time to open to them the truth. While
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the halls of the universities were filled with the clamor of theological disputation, Calvin
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was making his way from house to house, opening the Bible to the people
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and speaking to them of Christ and him crucified. In God's providence, Paris
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was to receive another invitation to accept the Gospel. The call of le Fevre
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and Ferrell had been rejected, but again the message was to be heard by
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all classes in that great capital. The king, influenced by political considerations,
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had not yet fully sided with Rome against the Reformation. Margaret still clung to
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the hope that Protestantism was to triumph in France. She resolved that the Reformed
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faith should be preached in Paris during the absence of the king. She ordered
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a Protestant minister to preach in the churches of the city. This being forbidden
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by the papal dignitaries, the princess threw open the palace. An apartment was
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fitted up as a chapel, and it was announced that every day, at
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a specified hour, a sermon would be preached, and people of every rank
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and station were invited to attend, crowds flocked to the service. Not only
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the chapel, but the ante chambers and halls were thronged. Thousands every day,
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assembled nobles, statesmen, lawyers, merchants, and artisans. The King,
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instead of forbidding the assemblies, ordered that two of the churches of Paris
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should be opened. Never before had the city been so moved by the word
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of God. The spirit of life from heaven seemed to be breathed upon the
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people. Temperance, purity, order, and industry were taking the place of
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drunkenness, licentiousness, strife and idleness. But the hierarchy were not idle.
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The king still refused to interfere to stop the preaching, and they turned to
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the populace. No means were spared to excite the fears, the prejudices,
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and the fanaticism of the ignorant and superstition multitudes, yielding blindly to her false
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teachers, Paris, like Jerusalem of old, knew not the time of her
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visitation nor the things which belonged unto her peace. For two years, the
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Word of God was preached in the capital. But while there were many who
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accepted the gospel, the majority of the people rejected it. Francis had made
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a show of toleration merely to serve his own purposes, and the Papists succeeded
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in regaining the ascendancy again. The churches were closed and the stake was set
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up. Calvin was still in Paris, preparing himself by study, meditation and
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prayer for his future labors, and continuing to spread the light. At last,
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however, suspicion fastened upon him. The authorities determined to bring him to
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the flames. Regarding himself as secure in his seclusion, he had no thought
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of danger. When friends came hurrying to his room with the news that officers
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were on their way to arrest him. At the instant knocking was heard at
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the outer entrance, there was not a moment to be lost. Some of
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his friends detained the officers at the door, while others assisted the reformer to
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let himself down from a window, and he rapidly made his way to the
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outskirts of the city, finding shelter in the cottage of a laborer who was
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a friend to the reform, he disguised himself in the garments of his host,
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and, shouldering a hoe, started on his journey. Traveling southward,
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he again found refuge in the dominions of Margaret. Here for a few months
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he remained save under the protection of powerful friends, and engaged as before in
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study. But his heart was set upon the evangelization of France, and he
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could not long remain inactive. As soon as the storm had somewhat abated,
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he sought a new field of labor and poitiers, where there was a university,
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and where already the new opinions had found favor. Persons of all classes
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gladly listened to the gospel. There was no public preaching, but in the
28:00
home of the Chief magistrate, in his own lodgings, and sometimes in a
28:04
public garden, Calvin opened the words of Eternal Life to those who desired to
28:08
listen. After a time, as the number of hearers increased, it was
28:15
sought safer to assemble outside the city. A cave in the side of a
28:18
deep and narrow gorge, where trees and overhanging rocks made the seclusion still more
28:22
complete, was chosen as the place of meeting. Little companies leaving the city
28:29
by different routes found their way hither. In this retired spot, the Bible
28:33
was read and explained. Here the Lord's Supper was celebrated for the first time
28:37
by the Protestants of France. From this little church, several faithful evangelists were
28:44
sent out. Once more, Calvin returned to Paris. He could not even
28:49
yet relinquish the hope that France as a nation would accept the Reformation, but
28:55
he found almost every door of labor closed. To teach the gospel was to
28:59
take the direct road to the stake, and he at last determined to depart
29:03
to Germany. Scarcely had he left France when a storm burst over the Protestants.
29:07
That had he remained, must surely have involved him in the general ruin.
29:14
The French reformers, eager to see their country keeping pace with Germany and
29:18
Switzerland, determined to strike a bold blow against the superstitions of Rome that should
29:22
arouse the whole nation. Accordingly, placards attacking the mass were in one night
29:29
posted all over France. Instead of advancing the reform, this zealous but ill
29:33
judged movement brought ruin not only upon its propagators, but upon the friends of
29:37
the Reformed faith throughout France. It gave the Romanists what they had long desired
29:44
a pretext for demanding the utter destruction of the heretics as agitators dangerous to the
29:48
stability of the throne and the peace of the nation, by some secret hand,
29:53
whether of indiscreet friend or wily foe, was never known. One of
29:57
the placards was attached to the door the King's private chamber. The monarch was
30:03
filled with horror. In this paper. Superstitions that had received the veneration of
30:07
ages were attacked with an unsparing hand, and the unexampled boldness of obtruding these
30:14
plain and startling utterances into the royal presence aroused the wrath of the king.
30:18
In his amazement, he stood for a little time, trembling and speechless.
30:23
Then his rage found utterance in the terrible words, let all be seized without
30:27
distinction, who are suspected of lutherracy. I will exterminate them all. The
30:33
die was cast. The King had determined to throw himself fully on the side
30:38
of Rome. Measures were at once taken for the arrest of every Lutheran in
30:44
Paris. A poor artisan, an adherent of the Reformed faith, who had
30:48
been accustomed to summon the believers to their secret assemblies, was seized, and,
30:52
with the threat of instant death at the stake, was commanded to conduct
30:56
the papal emissary to the home of every Protestant in the city. He shrunk
31:00
in horror from the base proposal, but at last fear of the flames prevailed,
31:04
and he consented to become the betrayer of his brethren. Preceded by the
31:11
host, and surrounded by a train of priests, incense bearers, monks and
31:15
soldiers, Morin, the Royal Detective, with the traitor, slowly and silently,
31:18
passed through the streets of the city. The demonstration was ostensibly in honor
31:23
of the Holy Sacrament, an act of expiation for the insult put upon the
31:27
mass by the protesters, But beneath this pageant a deadly purpose was concealed.
31:33
On arriving opposite the house of a Lutheran, the betrayer made a sign,
31:37
but no word was uttered. The procession halted, the house was entered,
31:41
the family were dragged forth and chained, and the terrible company went forward in
31:45
search of fresh victims. They spared no house great or small, not even
31:51
the colleges of the University of Paris. Morin made all the city quake.
31:56
It was a reign of terror. The vicarvictims were put to death with cruel
32:00
torture, it being specially ordered that the fire should be lowered in order to
32:05
prolong their agony. But they died as conquerors. Their constancy was unshaken,
32:10
their peace unclouded, their persecutors powerless to move, their inflexible firmness, felt
32:16
themselves defeated. The scaffolds were distributed over all the quarters of Paris, and
32:22
the burnings followed on successive days, the design being to spread the terror of
32:27
heresy by spreading the executions. The advantage, however, in the end,
32:31
remained with the Gospel. All Paris was enabled to see what kind of men
32:37
the new opinions could produce. There was no pulpit like the martyrs pile.
32:42
The serene joy that lighted up the faces of these men as they passed along
32:45
to the place of execution. Their heroism as they stood amid the bitter flames,
32:51
their meek forgiveness of injuries, transformed in instances not a few anger into
32:55
pity and hate into love, and pleaded with resistless eloquence in behalf of the
33:00
gospel. The priests bent upon keeping the popular fury at its height, circulated
33:07
the most terrible accusations against the Protestants. They were charged with plotting to massacre
33:13
the Catholics, to overthrow the government, and to murder the king. Not
33:16
a shadow of evidence could be produced in support of the allegations. Yet these
33:22
prophecies of evil were to have a fulfillment under far different circumstances. However,
33:27
and from causes of an opposite character, the cruelties that were inflicted upon the
33:31
innocent Protestants by the Catholics accumulated in a weight of retribution, and in after
33:37
centuries wrought the very doom they had predicted to be impending upon the King,
33:42
his government, and his subjects. But it was brought about by infidels and
33:46
by the Papists themselves. It was not the establishment, but the suppression of
33:52
Protestantism, that three hundred years later was to bring upon France. These dire
33:57
calamities, suspicion, distrust, and terror now pervaded all classes of society.
34:05
Amid the general alarm, it was seen how deep behold the Lutheran teaching had
34:08
gained upon the minds of men who stood highest for education, influence and excellence.
34:14
Of character, positions of trust and honor were suddenly found vacant. Artisans,
34:20
printers, scholars, professors in the universities, authors and even courtiers disappeared.
34:25
Hundreds fled from Paris, self constituted exiles from their native land, in
34:30
many cases thus giving the first intimation that they favored the Reformed faith. The
34:36
papists looked about them in amazement at thought of the unsuspected heretics that had been
34:40
tolerated among them. Their rage spent itself upon the multitudes of humbler victims who
34:46
were within their power. The prisons were crowded, and the very air seemed
34:51
darkened with the smoke of burning piles kindled for the confessors of the Gospel.
34:57
Francis the First had gloried in being a leader in the great movement for the
35:00
revival of learning which marked the opening of the sixteenth century. He had delighted
35:06
to gather at his court men of letters from every country. To His love
35:09
of learning, and his contempt for the ignorance and superstition of the monks was
35:14
due in part at least the degree of toleration that had been granted to the
35:17
reform but inspired with zeal to stamp out heresy. This patron of learning issued
35:23
an edict declaring printing abolished all over France. Francis the first presents one among
35:30
the many examples on record showing that intellectual culture is not a safeguard against religious
35:36
intolerance and persecution. France, by a solemn and public ceremony, was to
35:42
commit herself fully to the destruction of Protestantism. The priests demanded that the affront
35:46
offered to high Heaven in the condemnation of the mass be expiated in blood,
35:52
and that the King in behalf of his people publicly give his sanction to the
35:55
dreadful work. The twenty first of January fifth, eighteen thirty five was fixed
36:00
upon for the awful ceremonial. The superstitious fears and bigoted hatred of the whole
36:06
nation had been roused. Paris was thronged with the multitudes that from all the
36:12
surrounding country crowded her streets. The day was to be ushered in by a
36:15
vast and imposing procession. The houses along the line of march were hung with
36:22
morning drapery, and altars rose at intervals. Before every door was a lighted
36:27
torch in honor of the Holy Sacrament before daybreak. The procession formed at the
36:32
palace of the King. First came the banners and crosses of the several parishes.
36:37
Next appeared the citizens, walking two and two and bearing torches. The
36:43
four orders of Friars followed, each in its own peculiar dress. Then came
36:46
a vast collection of famous relics. Following these rode lordly ecclesiastics in their purple
36:53
and scarlet robes and jeweled adornings, a gorgeous and glittering array. The ghost
37:00
was carried by the Bishop of Paris under a magnificent canopy, supported by four
37:05
princes of the Blood. After the host walked the King, Francis, the
37:09
first on that day, wore no crown nor robe of state, with head
37:14
uncovered, his eyes cast on the ground, and in his hand a lighted
37:16
taper. The King of France appeared in the character of a penitent. At
37:22
every altar, he bowed down in humiliation, not for the vices that defiled
37:27
his soul, nor the innocent blood that stained his hands, but for the
37:30
deadly sin of his subjects, who had dared to condemn the mass. Following
37:36
him came the Queen and the dignitaries of state, also walking two and two
37:39
each with a lighted torch. As part of the services of the day.
37:45
The Monarch himself addressed the high officials of the kingdom in the Great Hall of
37:49
the Bishop's Palace. With a sorrowful countenance, he appeared before them, and
37:53
in words of moving eloquence, bewailed the crime, the blasphemy, the day
37:58
of sorrow and disgrace at a upon the nation, and he called upon every
38:02
loyal subject to aid in the extirpation of the pestilent heresy that threatened France with
38:07
ruin. As true, monsieur, as I am your king, he said,
38:10
if I knew one of my own limbs spotted or infected with this detestable
38:15
rottenness, I would give it you to cut off. And further, if
38:20
I saw one of my children defiled by it, I would not spare him.
38:22
I would deliver him up myself and would sacrifice him to God. Tears
38:28
choked his utterance, and the whole assembly wept with one accord, exclaiming we
38:31
will live and die for the Catholic religion. Terrible had become the darkness of
38:37
the nation that had rejected the light of truth, the grace that bringeth salvation,
38:42
had appeared. But France, after beholding its power and holiness, after
38:46
thousands had been drawn by its divine beauty, after cities and hamlets had been
38:51
illuminated by its radiance, had turned away, choosing darkness rather than light.
38:57
They had put from them the heavenly gift when it was offered them. They
39:00
had called evil good and good evil till they had fallen victims to their wilful
39:06
self deception. Now though they might actually believe that they were doing God's service
39:10
in persecuting as people, yet their sincerity did not render them guiltless. The
39:15
light that would have saved them from deception, from staining their souls with blood,
39:20
guiltiness they had wilfully rejected. A solemn oath to extirpate heresy was taken
39:27
in the Great Cathedral, where, nearly three centuries later, the Goddess of
39:30
Reason was to be enthroned by a nation that had forgotten the Living God.
39:35
Again, the procession formed, and the representatives of France set out to begin
39:38
the work which they had sworn to do. At short distances, scaffolds had
39:44
been erected on which certain Protestant Christians were to be burned alive, and it
39:49
was arranged that the fagots should be lighted at the moment the king approached,
39:52
and that the procession should halt to witness the execution. The details of the
39:57
tortures endured by these witnesses for christ a too harrowing for recital, but there
40:01
was no wavering on the part of the victims. On being urged to recant,
40:07
one answered, I only believe in what the prophets and the apostles formerly
40:10
preached, and what all the company of Saints believed. My faith has a
40:15
confidence in God which will resist all the powers of Hell. Again and again,
40:21
the procession halted at the places of torture. Upon reaching their starting point
40:25
at the Royal Palace, the crowd dispersed, and the King and the prelates
40:30
withdrew well, satisfied with the day's proceedings, and congratulating themselves that the work
40:35
now begun would be continued to the complete destruction of heresy. The Gospel of
40:39
Peace, which France had rejected, was to be only too surely rooted out,
40:44
and terrible would be the results. On the twenty first of January seventeen
40:49
ninety three, two hundred and fifty eight years from the very day that fully
40:52
committed France to the persecution of the Reformers, another procession with a far different
40:58
purpose, passed through the streets of pairs. Again the king was the chief
41:01
figure. Again there were tumult and shouting. Again there was heard the cry
41:07
for more victims. Again there were black scaffolds, and again the scenes of
41:10
the day were closed by horrid executions. Louis the sixteenth, struggling hand to
41:15
hand with his jailers and executioners, was dragged forward to the block and there
41:20
held down by main force till the axe had fallen and his dissevered head rolled
41:23
on the scaffold. Nor was the king the only victim near the same spot.
41:29
Two thousand and eight hundred human beings perished by the guillotine during the bloody
41:34
days of the Reign of Terror. The Reformation had presented to the world an
41:38
open Bible, unsealing the precepts of the law of God and urging its claims
41:44
upon the consciences of the people. Infinite love had unfolded to men the statutes
41:49
and principles of Heaven. God had said, keep therefore and do them.
41:53
For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations,
41:58
which shall hear all these days statutes, and say, surely this great nation
42:02
is a wise and understanding people. When France rejected the gift of Heaven,
42:07
she sowed the seeds of anarchy and ruin, and the inevitable outworking of cause
42:13
and effect resulted in the Revolution and the reign of terror. Long before the
42:17
persecution excited by the Placards, the bold and ardent Ferrell had been forced to
42:22
flee from the land of his birth. He repaired to Switzerland, and by
42:28
his labors, seconding the work of Spingley, he helped to turn the scale
42:31
in favor of the Reformation. His later years were to be spent here,
42:37
yet he continued to exert a decided influence upon the Reform in France. During
42:42
the first years of his exile, his efforts were especially directed to spreading the
42:46
Gospel in his native country. He spent considerable time in preaching among his countrymen
42:52
near the frontier, where, with tireless vigilance, he watched the conflict,
42:57
and, aided by his words of encouragement and with the assistance of other exiles,
43:02
the writings of the German reformers were translated into the French language, and
43:07
together with the French Bible, were printed in large quantities by coalporters. These
43:13
works were sold extensively in France. They were furnished to the coalporters at a
43:17
low price, and thus the prophets of the work enabled them to continue it.
43:22
Ferrell entered upon his work in Switzerland in the humble guise of a schoolmaster.
43:28
Repairing to a secluded parish, he devoted himself to the instruction of children.
43:34
Besides the usual branches of learning, he cautiously introduced the truths of the
43:37
Bible, hoping through the children to reach their parents. There were some who
43:43
believed, but the priests came forward to stop the work, and the superstitious
43:46
country people were roused to oppose it. That cannot be the Gospel of Christ,
43:52
urged the priests, seeing the preaching of it does not bring peace but
43:55
war. Like the first Disciples, when secuted in one city, he fled
44:00
to another, from village to village, from city to city. He went,
44:06
traveling on foot, enduring hunger, cold and weariness, and everywhere in
44:10
peril of his life. He preached in the market places in the churches,
44:15
sometimes in the pulpits of the cathedrals. Sometimes he found the church empty of
44:21
hearers. At times his preaching was interrupted by shouts and jeers. Again he
44:25
was pulled violently out of the pulpit. More than once he was set upon
44:30
by the rabble and beaten almost to death. Yet he pressed forward, though
44:35
often repulsed, with unwearying persistence, he returned to the attack, and one
44:39
after another he saw towns and cities which had been strongholds of popery opening their
44:45
gates to the Gospel. The little parish where he had first labored soon accepted
44:50
the Reformed faith. The cities of Morat and New Chatel also renounced the Romish
44:55
rites and removed the idolatrous images from their churches. Farrell had long desired to
45:01
plant the Protestant standard in Geneva. If this city could be won, it
45:06
would be a center for the Reformation in France, in Switzerland and in Italy.
45:12
With this object before him, he had continued his labours until many of
45:15
the surrounding towns and hamlets had been gained. Then, with a single companion,
45:21
he entered Geneva, but only two sermons was he permitted to preach.
45:25
The priests, having vainly endeavored to secure his condemnation by the civil authorities,
45:30
summoned him before an ecclesiastical council, to which they came with arms concealed under
45:36
their robes, Determined to take his life. Outside the hall, a furious
45:40
mob with clubs and swords was gathered to make sure of his death if he
45:45
should succeed in escaping the council. The presence of magistrates and an armed force,
45:51
however, saved him. Early next morning, he was conducted with his
45:54
companion across the lake to a place of safety. Thus ended his first effort
45:59
to evangelized Geneva. For the next trial, a lowlier instrument was chosen,
46:06
a young man, so humble an appearance that he was coldly treated even by
46:08
the professed friends of reform. But what could such a one do where Farrell
46:14
had been rejected, How could one of little courage and experience withstand the tempest
46:19
before which the strongest and bravest had been forced to flee? Not by might
46:23
nor by power, but by my spirit saith. The Lord God hath chosen
46:29
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Because
46:32
the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
46:37
stronger than men. Fromont began his work as a schoolmaster. The truths which
46:44
he taught the children at school, they repeated at their homes. Soon the
46:47
parents came to hear the Bible explained, until the schoolroom was filled with attentive
46:52
listeners. New testaments and tracts are freely distributed, and they reached many who
46:58
dared not come openly to listen to the new doctrines. After a time,
47:02
this laborer also was forced to flee, but the truths he taught had taken
47:07
hold upon the minds of the people. The Reformation had been planted, and
47:12
it continued to strengthen and extend. The preachers returned, and through their labours,
47:16
the Protestant worship was finally established in Geneva. The city had already declared
47:22
for the Reformation when Calvin, after various wanderings and vicissitudes, entered its gates.
47:29
Returning from the last visit to his birthplace, he was on his way
47:31
to Basel, when finding the direct road occupied by the armies of Charles the
47:37
Fifth, he was forced to take the circuitous route by Geneva. In this
47:42
visit, Farrell recognized the hand of God. Though Geneva had accepted the Reformed
47:46
faith, yet a great work remained to be accomplished. Here. It is
47:52
not as communities, but as individuals that men are converted to God. The
47:55
work of regeneration must be wrought in the heart and conscience by the power of
48:00
the Holy Spirit, not by the decrees of counsels. While the people of
48:06
Geneva had cast off the authority of Rome, they were not so ready to
48:09
renounce the vices that had flourished under her rule. To establish here the pure
48:14
principles of the Gospel, and to prepare this people to feel worthily the position
48:19
to which Providence seemed calling them, was no like task. Thehareau was confident
48:23
that he had found in Calvin, one whom he could unite with himself in
48:27
this work. In the name of God. He solemnly adjured the young evangelist
48:31
to remain and labor here. Calvin drew back an alarm. Timid and peace
48:37
loving, he shrank from contact with the bold, independent, and even violent
48:40
spirit of the Genoese. The feebleness of his health, together with his studious
48:45
habits, led him to seek retirement, believing that by his pen he could
48:51
best serve the cause of reform. He desired to find a quiet retreat for
48:54
study, and there through the press, instruct and build up the churches.
49:00
But Pharell's solemn admonition came to him as a call from heaven, and he
49:04
dared not refuse. It seemed to him he said that the hand of God
49:08
was stretched down from heaven, that it lay hold of him, and fixed
49:12
him irrevocably to the place he was so impatient to leave. At this time,
49:16
great perils surrounded the Protestant cause. The anathemas of the Pope thundered against
49:22
Geneva, and mighty nations threatened it with destruction. How was this little city
49:28
to resist the powerful hierarchy that had so often forced kings and emperors to submission.
49:34
How could it stand against the armies of the world's great conquerors. Throughout
49:38
Christendom, Protestantism was menaced by formidable foes. The first triumphs of the Reformation
49:45
passed, Rome summoned new forces, hoping to accomplish its destruction. At this
49:51
time, the Order of the Jesuits was created. The most cruel, unscrupulous
49:55
and powerful of all the champions of popery. Cut off from earthly ties and
50:00
human interests, dead to the claims of natural affection, reason and conscience,
50:06
wholly silenced, they knew no rule, no tie but that of their order,
50:09
and no duty but to extend its power. The Gospel of Christ had
50:14
enabled its adherents to meet danger and endure suffering, undismayed by cold, hunger,
50:20
toil, and poverty, to uphold the banner of truth in the face
50:23
of the rack, the dungeon, and the stake. To combat these forces,
50:28
Jesuitism inspired its followers with a fanaticism that enabled them to endure like dangers
50:34
and to oppose to the power of truth all the weapons of deception. There
50:38
was no crime too great for them to commit, no deception too base for
50:43
them to practice, no disguise too difficult for them to assume. Vowed to
50:49
perpetual poverty and humility, it was their studied aim to secure wealth and power,
50:53
to be devoted to the overthrow of Protestantism and the re establishment of the
50:58
papal supremacy. When appearing as members of their order, they wore a garb
51:04
of sanctity. Visiting prisons and hospitals, ministering to the sick and the poor,
51:08
professing to have renounced the world, and bearing the sacred name of Jesus,
51:12
who went about doing good. But under this blameless exterior the most criminal
51:17
and deadly purposes were often concealed. It was a fundamental principle of the order
51:22
that the end justifies the means. By this code, lying, theft,
51:28
perjury, assassination were not only pardonable but commendable when they served the interests of
51:32
the Church. Under various disguises, the Jesuits worked their way into offices of
51:37
state, climbing up to be the councilors of kings and shaping the policy of
51:43
nations. They became servants to act as spies upon their masters. They established
51:49
colleges for the sons of princes and nobles, and schools for the common people,
51:53
and the children of Protestant parents were drawn into an observance of Popish rites,
51:59
all the eyes outward. Pomp and display of the Romish worship was brought
52:01
to bear to confuse the mind and dazzle and captivate the imagination, and thus
52:07
the liberty for which the fathers had toiled and blood was betrayed. By the
52:10
Sons. The Jesuits rapidly spread themselves over Europe, and wherever they went there
52:16
followed a revival of popery. To give them greater power. A bull was
52:22
issued re establishing the Inquisition, notwithstanding the general abhorrence with which it was regarded
52:28
even in Catholic countries. This terrible tribunal was again set up by popish rulers,
52:32
and atrocities too terrible to bear the light of day were repeated in its
52:37
secret dungeons in many countries. Thousands upon thousands of the very flower of the
52:42
nation, the purest and noblest, the most intellectual and highly educated, pious
52:46
and devoted pastors, industrious and patriotic citizens, brilliant scholars, talented artists,
52:53
skillful artisans were slain or forced to flee to other lands. Such were the
53:00
means which Rome had invoked to quench the light of the Reformation, to withdraw
53:04
from men the Bible, and to restore the ignorance and superstition of the dark
53:07
ages. But under God's blessing and the labors of those noble men whom he
53:13
had raised up to succeed Luther, Protestantism was not overthrown, not to the
53:17
favor or arms of princes. Was it to oa it's strength. The smallest
53:22
countries, the humblest and least powerful nations, became its strongholds. It was
53:29
little Geneva in the midst of mighty foes plotting her destruction. It was Holland
53:32
on her sand banks by the Northern Sea, wrestling against the tyranny of Spain,
53:37
then the greatest and most opulent of kingdoms. It was bleak, sterile
53:42
Sweden that gained victories for the Reformation. For nearly thirty years, Calvin labored
53:46
at Geneva, first to establish there a church adhering to the morality of the
53:52
Bible, and then for the advancement of the Reformation throughout Europe. His course
53:58
as a public leader was not faultless, nor were his doctrines free from error.
54:02
But he was instrumental in promulgating truths that were of special importance in his
54:07
time, in maintaining the principles of Protestantism against the fast returning tide of popery,
54:13
and in promoting in the Reformed churches simplicity and purity of life in place
54:16
of the pride and corruption fostered under the Romish teaching from Geneva, publications and
54:23
teachers went out to spread the reformed doctrines. To this point, the persecuted
54:29
of all lands looked for instruction, counsel, and encouragement. The city of
54:32
Calvin became a refuge for the hunted reformers of all Western Europe. Fleeing from
54:37
the awful tempests that continued for centuries, the fugitives came to the gates of
54:43
Geneva, starving, wounded, bereffed of home and kindred. They were warmly
54:47
welcomed and tenderly cared for, and finding a home here, they blessed the
54:52
city of their adoption by their skill, their learning, and their piety.
54:58
Many who sought here a refuge return to their own countries to resist the tyranny
55:01
of Rome. John Knox, the brave Scot reformer, not a few of
55:06
the English Puritans, the Protestants of Holland and of Spain, and the Huguenots
55:10
of France, carried from Geneva the torch of truth to lighten the darkness of
55:15
their native lands. End of Chapter twelve