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06 - Huss and Jerome - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: Chapter six, huss And Jerome. The Gospel had been planted
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Speaker 1: in Bohemia as early as the ninth century. The Bible
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Speaker 1: was translated and public worship was conducted in the language
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Speaker 1: of the people. But as the power of the pope increased,
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Speaker 1: so the word of God was obscured. Gregory the Seventh,
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Speaker 1: who had taken it upon him to humble the pride
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Speaker 1: of kings, was no less intent upon inslaving the people,
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Speaker 1: and accordingly a bull was issued forbidding public worship to
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Speaker 1: be conducted in the Bohemian tongue. The pope declared that
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Speaker 1: it was pleasing to the omnipotent that his worship should
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Speaker 1: be celebrated in an unknown language, and that many evils
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Speaker 1: and heresies had arisen from not observing this rule. Thus
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Speaker 1: Rome decreed that the light of God's words should be
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Speaker 1: extinguished and the people should be shut up in darkness.
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Speaker 1: But Heaven had provided other agencies for the preservation of
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Speaker 1: the church. Many of the Waldensees and Albigensies, driven by
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Speaker 1: persecution from their homes in France and Italy, came to Bohemia.
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Speaker 1: Though they dared not teach openly, they labored zealously in secret.
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Speaker 1: Thus the true faith was preserved from century to century.
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Speaker 1: Before the days of hus there were men in Bohemia
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Speaker 1: who rose up to condemn openly the corruption in the
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Speaker 1: church and the profligacy of the people. Their labors excited
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Speaker 1: widespread interest. The fears of the hierarchy were roused, and
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Speaker 1: persecution was opened against the disciples of the Gospel. Driven
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Speaker 1: to worship in the forests and the mountains, they were
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Speaker 1: hunted by soldiers, and many were put to death. After
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Speaker 1: a time, it was decreed that all who departed from
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Speaker 1: the Romish worship should be burned. But while the Christians
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Speaker 1: yielded up their lives, they looked forward to the triumph
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Speaker 1: of their cause. One of those who taught that salvation
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Speaker 1: was only to be found by faith in the crucified Savior, declared,
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Speaker 1: when dying, the rage of the enemies of the Truth
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Speaker 1: now prevails against us, but it will not be forever.
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Speaker 1: There shall arise one from among the common people, without
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Speaker 1: sword or authority, and against him they shall not be
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Speaker 1: able to prevail. Luther's time was yet far distant, but
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Speaker 1: already one was rising whose testimony against Rome would stir
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Speaker 1: the nations. John huss was of humble birth, and was
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Speaker 1: early left an orphan by the death of his father.
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Speaker 1: His pious mother, regarding education and the fear of God
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Speaker 1: as the most valuable of possessions, sought to secure this
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Speaker 1: heritage for her son. Huss studied at the provincial school
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Speaker 1: and then repaired to the university at Prague, receiving admission
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Speaker 1: as a charity scholar. He was accompanied on the journey
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Speaker 1: to Prague by his mother. Widowed and poor, she had
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Speaker 1: no gift of worldly wealth to bestow upon her son,
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Speaker 1: but as they drew near to the great city, she
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Speaker 1: kneeled down beside the fatherless youth and invoked for him
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Speaker 1: the blessing of their father in heaven. Little did that
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Speaker 1: mother realize how her prayer was to be answered. At
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Speaker 1: the university, Huss soon distinguished himself by his untiring application
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Speaker 1: and rapid progress, while his blameless life and gentle winning
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Speaker 1: to port gained him universal esteem. He was a sincere
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Speaker 1: adherent of the Roman Church and an earnest seeker for
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Speaker 1: the spiritual blessings which it professes to bestow. On the
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Speaker 1: occasion of a jubilee, he went to confession, paid the
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Speaker 1: last few coins in his scanty store, and joined in
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Speaker 1: the processions that he might share in the absolution promised.
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Speaker 1: After completing his college course, he entered the priesthood, and
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Speaker 1: rapidly attaining to eminence, he soon became attached to the
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Speaker 1: court of the King. He was also made professor and
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Speaker 1: afterward rector of the university where he had received his education.
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Speaker 1: In a few years, the humble charity scholar had become
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Speaker 1: the pride of his country, and his name was renowned
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Speaker 1: throughout Europe. But it was in another field that huss
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Speaker 1: began the work of reform. Several years after taking priests orders,
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Speaker 1: he was appointed preacher of the Chapel of Bethlehem. The
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Speaker 1: founder of this chapel had advocated, as a matter of
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Speaker 1: great importance, the preaching of the Scriptures in the language
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Speaker 1: of the people. Notwithstanding Rome's opposition to this practice, it
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Speaker 1: had not been wholly discontinued in Bohemia, but there was
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Speaker 1: great ignorance of the Bible, and the worst vices prevailed
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Speaker 1: among the people of all ranks. These evils. Hus unsparingly
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Speaker 1: denounced appealing to the Word of God to enforce the
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Speaker 1: principles of truth and purity which he inculcated. A citizen
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Speaker 1: of Prague. Jerome, who afterward became so closely associated with Hus, had,
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Speaker 1: on returning from England, brought with him the writings of Wickliffe.
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Speaker 1: The Queen of England, who had been a convert to
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Speaker 1: Wickliff's teachings, was a Bohemian princess, and through her influence
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Speaker 1: also the reformer's works, were widely circulated in her native country.
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Speaker 1: These works Hus read with interest. He believed their author
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Speaker 1: to be a sincere Christian, and was inclined to regard
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Speaker 1: with favor the reforms which he advocated. Already, though he
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Speaker 1: knew it not, Huss had entered upon a path which
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Speaker 1: was to lead him far away from Rome. About this
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Speaker 1: time there arrived in Prague two strangers from England, men
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Speaker 1: of learning who had received the light and had come
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Speaker 1: to spread it in this distant land. Beginning with an
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Speaker 1: open attack on the Pope's supremacy, they were soon silenced
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Speaker 1: by the authorities, but being unwilling to relinquish their purpose,
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Speaker 1: they had recourse to other measures. Being artists as well
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Speaker 1: as preachers, they proceeded to exercise their skill in a
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Speaker 1: place open to the public. They drew two pictures. One
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Speaker 1: represented the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, meek and sitting
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Speaker 1: upon an ass and followed by his disciples in travel
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Speaker 1: worn garments and with naked feet. The other picture portrayed
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Speaker 1: upon tifical procession the Pope arrayed in his rich robes
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Speaker 1: and triple crown, mounted upon a horse magnificently adorned, preceded
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Speaker 1: by trumpeters, and followed by cardinals and prelates in dazzling array.
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Speaker 1: Here was a sermon which arrested the attention of all classes.
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Speaker 1: Crowds came to gaze upon the drawings. None could fail
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Speaker 1: to read the moral, and many were deeply impressed by
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Speaker 1: the contrast between the meekness and humility of Christ the
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Speaker 1: Master and the pride and arrogance of the Pope his
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Speaker 1: professor servant. There was great commotion in Prague, and the strangers,
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Speaker 1: after a time found it necessary for their own safety
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Speaker 1: to depart, But the lesson they had taught was not forgotten.
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Speaker 1: The pictures made a deep impression on the mind of
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Speaker 1: huss and led him to a closer study of the
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Speaker 1: Bible and of Wickliff's writings. Though he was not prepared
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Speaker 1: even yet to accept all the reforms advocated by Wickliffe,
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Speaker 1: he saw more clearly the true character of the papacy,
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Speaker 1: and with greater zeal denounced the pride, the ambition, and
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Speaker 1: the corruption of the hierarchy from Bohemia. The light extended
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Speaker 1: to Germany for disturbances in the University of Prague caused
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Speaker 1: the withdrawal of hundreds of German students. Many of them
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Speaker 1: had received from Huss their first knowledge of the Bible,
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Speaker 1: and on their return they spread the Gospel in their fatherland.
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Speaker 1: Tidings of the work at Prague were carried to Rome,
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Speaker 1: and Huss was soon summoned to appear before the Pope.
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Speaker 1: To obey would be to expose himself to certain death.
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Speaker 1: The King and Queen of Bohemia, the university, members of
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Speaker 1: the nobility, and officers of the government united in an
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Speaker 1: appeal to the Pontiff that Hus be permitted to remain
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Speaker 1: at Prague and to answer at Rome by deputy. Instead
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Speaker 1: of granting this request, the Pope proceeded to the trial
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Speaker 1: and condemnation of Huss, and then declared the city of
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Speaker 1: Prague to be under interdict. In that age, this sentence,
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Speaker 1: whenever pronounced, created widespread alarm. The ceremonies by which it
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Speaker 1: was accompanied were well adapted to strike terror to a
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Speaker 1: people who looked upon the Pope as the representative of
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Speaker 1: God himself, holding the keys of heaven and hell, and
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Speaker 1: possessing power to invoke temporal as well as spiritual judgments.
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Speaker 1: It was believed that the gates of heaven were closed
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Speaker 1: against the regions smitten with interdict, that until it should
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Speaker 1: please the Pope to remove the ban, the dead were
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Speaker 1: shut out from the abodes of bliss. In token of
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Speaker 1: this terrible calamity, all the services of religion were suspended.
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Speaker 1: The churches were closed, marriages were solemnized in the churchyard,
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Speaker 1: the dead denied at burial and consecrated ground were interred
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Speaker 1: without the rights of suppulter, in the ditches or fields. Thus,
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Speaker 1: by measures which appealed to the imagination, Rome essayed to
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Speaker 1: control the consciences of men. The city of Prague was
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Speaker 1: filled with tumult. A large class denounced us as the
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Speaker 1: cause of all their calamities, and demanded that he be
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Speaker 1: given up to the vengeance of Rome. To quiet the storm,
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Speaker 1: the reformer withdrew for a time to his native village.
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Speaker 1: Writing to the friends whom he had left at Prague,
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Speaker 1: he said, if I have withdrawn from the midst of you.
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Speaker 1: It is to follow the precept and example of Jesus Christ,
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Speaker 1: in order not to give room to the ill minded
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Speaker 1: to draw on themselves eternal condemnation, and in order not
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Speaker 1: to be to the pious a cause of affliction and persecution.
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Speaker 1: I have retired also through an apprehension that impious priests
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Speaker 1: might continue for a longer time to prohibit the preaching
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Speaker 1: of the Word of God amongst you. But I have
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Speaker 1: not quitted you to deny the divine truth for which,
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Speaker 1: with God's hisstorance, I am willing to die. Has did
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Speaker 1: not cease his labors, but traveled through the surrounding country,
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Speaker 1: preaching to eager crowds. Thus, the measures to which the
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Speaker 1: Pope resorted to suppress the Gospel were causing it to
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Speaker 1: be the more widely extended. We can do nothing against
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Speaker 1: the truth, but for the truth. The mind of Us
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Speaker 1: at this stage of his career would seem to have
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Speaker 1: been the scene of a painful conflict. Although the Church
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Speaker 1: was seeking to overwhelm him by her thunderbolts, he had
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Speaker 1: not renounced her authority. The Roman Church was still to
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Speaker 1: him the spouse of Christ, and the pope was the
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Speaker 1: representative and vicar of God. What Haus was warring against
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Speaker 1: was the abuse of authority, not the principle itself. This
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Speaker 1: brought on a terrible conflict between the convictions of his
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Speaker 1: understanding and the claims of his conscience. If the authority
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Speaker 1: was just and infallible, as he believed it to be,
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Speaker 1: how came it that he felt compelled to disobey it.
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Speaker 1: To obey, he saw, was to sin. But why should
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Speaker 1: obedience to an infallible church which lead to such an issue.
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Speaker 1: This was the problem he could not solve. This was
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Speaker 1: the doubt that tortured him hour by hour. The nearest
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Speaker 1: approximation to a solution which he was able to make
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Speaker 1: was that it had happened again, as once before in
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Speaker 1: the days of the Savior, that the priests of the
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Speaker 1: Church had become wicked persons and were using their lawful
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Speaker 1: authority for unlawful ends. This led him to adopt for
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Speaker 1: his own guidance and to preach to others for theirs,
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Speaker 1: the maxim that the precepts of Scripture conveyed through the
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Speaker 1: understanding are to rule the conscience. In other words, that
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Speaker 1: God speaking in the Bible and not the Church speaking
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Speaker 1: through the priesthood is the one infallible guide. When after
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Speaker 1: a time the excitement in Prague subsided, Huss returned to
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Speaker 1: his chapel of Bethlehem to continue with greater zeal and
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Speaker 1: courage the preaching of the Word of God. His enemies
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Speaker 1: were active and powerful, but the Queen and many of
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Speaker 1: the nobles were his friends, and the people in great
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Speaker 1: numbers sided with him. Comparing his pure and elevating teachings
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Speaker 1: and holy life life with the degrading dogmas which the
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Speaker 1: Romanists preached and the avarice and debauchery which they practiced,
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Speaker 1: many regarded it an honor to be on his side. Hitherto,
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Speaker 1: Huss had stood alone in his labors. But now Jerome,
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Speaker 1: who while in England had accepted the teachings of Wickliffe,
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Speaker 1: joined in the work of reform. The two were hereafter
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Speaker 1: united in their lives, and in death they were not
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Speaker 1: to be divided. Brilliancy of genius, eloquence, and learning, gifts
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Speaker 1: that when popular favor, were possessed in a pre eminent
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Speaker 1: degree by Jerome. But in those qualities which constitute real
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Speaker 1: strength of character, Huss was the greater. His calm judgment
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Speaker 1: served as a restraint upon the impulsive spirit of Jerome,
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Speaker 1: who with true humility perceived his worth and yielded to
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Speaker 1: his counsels. Under their united labors, the reform was more
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Speaker 1: rapidly extended. God permitted great light to shine upon the
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Speaker 1: minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of
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Speaker 1: the errors of Rome. But they did not receive all
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Speaker 1: the light that was to be given to the world
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Speaker 1: through these his servants. God was leading the people out
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Speaker 1: of the darkness of Romanism, but there were many and
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Speaker 1: great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them
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Speaker 1: on step by step as they could bear it. They
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Speaker 1: were not prepared to receive all the light at once,
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Speaker 1: like the full glory of the noontide sun, to those
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Speaker 1: who have long dwelt in darkness. It would, if presented,
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Speaker 1: have caused them to turn away. Therefore He revealed it
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Speaker 1: to the leaders little by little, as it could be
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Speaker 1: received by the people. From century to century. Other faithful
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Speaker 1: workers were to follow to lead the people on. Still
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Speaker 1: farther in the path of reform, the schism in the
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Speaker 1: Church still continued. Three popes were now contending for the supremacy,
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Speaker 1: and their strife filled Christendom with crime and tumult, not
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Speaker 1: content with hurling anathemas they resorted to temporal weapons, each
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Speaker 1: cast about him to purchase arms and to obtain soldiers.
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Speaker 1: Of course, money must be had, and to procure this
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Speaker 1: the gifts, offices, and blessings of the church were offered
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Speaker 1: for sale. The priests, also imitating their superiors, resorted to
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Speaker 1: simony and war to humble their rivals and strengthen their
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Speaker 1: own power. With daily increasing boldness, huss thundered against the
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Speaker 1: abominations which were tolerated in the name of religion, and
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Speaker 1: the people openly accused the Romish leaders as the cause
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Speaker 1: of the miseries that overwhelmed Christendom. Again, the city of
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Speaker 1: Prague seemed on the verge of a bloody conflict. As
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Speaker 1: in former ages, God's servant was accused as he that
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Speaker 1: troubleth Israel. The city was again placed under interdict, and
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Speaker 1: huss withdrew to his native village. The testimony so faithfully
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Speaker 1: born from his loved chapel of Bethlehem was ended. He
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Speaker 1: was to speak from a wider stage to all Christendom
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Speaker 1: before laying down his life as a witness for the
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Speaker 1: truth to cure the evils that were distracting Europe. A
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Speaker 1: general Council was summoned to meet at Constance. The council
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Speaker 1: was called at the desire of the Emperor Sigismund by
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Speaker 1: one of the three rival popes, John twenty. The demand
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Speaker 1: for a council had been far from welcome to Pope John,
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Speaker 1: whose character and policy could ill bear investigation even by
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Speaker 1: prelates as lax and morals as were the churchmen of
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Speaker 1: those times. He dared, not, however, oppose the will of Sigismund.
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Speaker 1: The chief objects to be accomplished by the council were
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Speaker 1: to heal the schism in the church and to root
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Speaker 1: out heresy. Hence, the two anti popes were summoned to
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Speaker 1: appear before it, as well as the leading propagator of
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Speaker 1: the new opinions, John huss The former, having regard to
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Speaker 1: their own safety, did not attend in person, but were
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Speaker 1: represented by their delegates. Pope John, while ostensibly the convoker
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Speaker 1: of the council, came to it with many misgivings, suspecting
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Speaker 1: the Emperor's secret purpose to depose him, and fearing to
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Speaker 1: be brought to account for the vices which had disgraced
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Speaker 1: the Tiara, as well as for the crimes which had
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Speaker 1: secured it. Yet he made his entry into the city
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Speaker 1: of Constance with great pomp, attended by ecclesiastics of the
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Speaker 1: highest rank, and followed by a train of courtiers. All
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Speaker 1: the clergy and dignitaries of the city, with an immense
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Speaker 1: crowd of citizens, went out to welcome him. Above his
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Speaker 1: head was a golden canopy, borne by four of the
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Speaker 1: chief magistrates. The host was carried before him, and the
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Speaker 1: rich dresses of the cardinals and nobles made an imposing display. Meanwhile,
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Speaker 1: another traveler was approaching Constance. Hus was conscious of the
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Speaker 1: dangers which threatened him. He parted from his friends as
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Speaker 1: if he were never to meet them again, and went
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Speaker 1: on his journey, feeling that it was leading him to
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Speaker 1: the stake. Notwithstanding, he had obtained a safe conduct from
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Speaker 1: the King of Bohemia and received one also from the
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Speaker 1: Emperor Sigismund. While on his journey, he made all his
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Speaker 1: arrangements in view of the probability of his death. In
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Speaker 1: a letter addressed to his friends at Prague, he said,
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Speaker 1: my brethren, I am departing with a safe conduct from
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Speaker 1: the King to meet my numerous and mortal enemies. I
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Speaker 1: confide altogether in the all powerful God, in my savior.
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Speaker 1: I trust that he will listen to your ardent prayers,
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Speaker 1: that he will infuse his proof, send his wisdom into
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Speaker 1: my mouth in order that I may resist them, and
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Speaker 1: that he will accord me his holy spirit to fortify
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Speaker 1: me in His truth, so that I may face with courage, temptations, prison, and,
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Speaker 1: if necessary, a cruel death. Jesus Christ suffered for his
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Speaker 1: well beloved, and therefore ought we to be astonished that
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Speaker 1: he has left us his example in order that we
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Speaker 1: may ourselves endure with patience all things for our own salvation.
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Speaker 1: He is God and we are his creatures. He is
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Speaker 1: the Lord, and we are his servants. He is master
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Speaker 1: of the world, and we are contemptible mortals. Yet he suffered,
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Speaker 1: Why then should we not suffer also, particularly when suffering
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Speaker 1: is for us a purification. Therefore, Beloved, if my death
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Speaker 1: ought to contribute to his glory, pray that it may
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Speaker 1: come quickly and that He may enable me to support
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Speaker 1: all my calamities with constancy. But if it be better
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Speaker 1: that I return amongst you, let us pray to God
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Speaker 1: that I may return without staying. That is, that I
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Speaker 1: may not suppress one tittle of the truth of the Gospel,
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Speaker 1: in order to leave my brethren an excellent example to follow.
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Speaker 1: Probably therefore you will never more behold my face at Prague.
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Speaker 1: But should the will of the all powerful God deign
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Speaker 1: to restore me to you, let us then advance with
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Speaker 1: a firmer heart in the knowledge and the love of
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Speaker 1: His law. In another letter to a priest who had
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Speaker 1: become a disciple of the Gospel, has spoke with deep
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Speaker 1: humility of his own errors, accusing himself of having felt
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Speaker 1: pleasure in wearing rich apparel and of having wasted hours
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Speaker 1: in frivolous occupations. He then added these touching admonitions. May
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Speaker 1: the glory of God and the salvation of souls occupy
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Speaker 1: thy mind, and not the possession of benefices and estates.
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Speaker 1: Beware of adorning thy house more than thy soul, and
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Speaker 1: above all, give thy care to the spiritual edifice. Be
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Speaker 1: pious and humble with the poor, and consume not thy
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Speaker 1: substance in feasting. Shouldst thou not amend thy life and
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Speaker 1: refrain from superfluities. I fear that thou wilt be severely chastened,
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Speaker 1: as I am myself. Thou knowest my doctrine for thou
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Speaker 1: hast received my instructions from thy childhood. It is therefore
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Speaker 1: useless for me to write to THEE any further. But
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Speaker 1: I conjure THEE, by the mercy of our Lord, not
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Speaker 1: to imitate me in any of the vanities into which
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Speaker 1: thou hast seen me fall. On the cover of the letter,
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Speaker 1: he added, I conjure THEE, my friend, not to break
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Speaker 1: this seal until thou shalt have acquired the certitude that
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Speaker 1: I am dead. On his journey, Huss everywhere beheld indications
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Speaker 1: of the spread of his doctrines and the favor with
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Speaker 1: which his cause was regarded. The people thronged to meet him,
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Speaker 1: and in some towns the magistrates attended him through their streets.
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Speaker 1: Upon arriving at Constance, Huss was granted full liberty to
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Speaker 1: the Emperor's safe conduct. Was added a personal assurance of
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Speaker 1: protection by the Pope. But in violation of these solemn
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Speaker 1: and repeated declarations, the reformer was in a short time
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Speaker 1: arrested by order of the Pope and cardinals, and thrust
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Speaker 1: into a loathsome dungeon. Later, he was transferred to a
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Speaker 1: strong castle across the Rhine, and there kept a prisoner
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Speaker 1: the Pope, profiting little by his perfidy, was soon after
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Speaker 1: committed to the same prison. He had been proved before
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Speaker 1: the council to be guilty of the basest crimes besides murder,
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Speaker 1: simony and adultery, sins not fit to be named, so
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Speaker 1: the council itself declared, and he was finally deprived of
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Speaker 1: the tiara and thrown into prison. The anti popes also
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Speaker 1: were deposed, and a new pontiff was chosen. Though the
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Speaker 1: pope himself had been guilty of greater crimes than Hus
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Speaker 1: had ever charged upon the priests, and for which he
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Speaker 1: had demanded a reformation, Yet the same council which decraded
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Speaker 1: the pontiff proceeded to crush the reformer. The imprisonment of
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Speaker 1: Hus excited great indignation in Bohemia. Powerful noblemen addressed to
19:48
Speaker 1: the council earnest protests against this outrage. The Emperor, who
19:53
Speaker 1: was loath to permit the violation of a safe conduct,
19:55
Speaker 1: opposed the proceedings against him. But the enemies of the
19:59
Speaker 1: reform were malignant and determined. They appealed to the Emperor's prejudices,
20:04
Speaker 1: to his fears, to his zeal for the church, they
20:07
Speaker 1: brought forward arguments of great length to prove that faith
20:10
Speaker 1: ought not to be kept with heretics nor persons suspected
20:13
Speaker 1: of heresy, though they are furnished with safe conducts from
20:16
Speaker 1: the Emperor and kings. Thus they prevailed enfeebled by illness
20:21
Speaker 1: and imprisonment, for the damp, foul air of his dungeon
20:24
Speaker 1: had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life.
20:27
Speaker 1: Hous was at last brought before the Council, loaded with chains.
20:31
Speaker 1: He stood in the presence of the Emperor, whose honor
20:33
Speaker 1: and good faith had been pledged to protect him during
20:37
Speaker 1: his long trial, he firmly maintained the truth, and in
20:40
Speaker 1: the presence of the assembled dignitaries of Church and State,
20:43
Speaker 1: he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions
20:46
Speaker 1: of the hierarchy. When required to choose whether he would
20:50
Speaker 1: recant his doctrines or suffer death, he accepted the martyr's fate.
20:54
Speaker 1: The grace of God sustained him during the weeks of
20:57
Speaker 1: suffering that passed before his final sentence. Heaven's peace filled
21:01
Speaker 1: his soul. I write this letter, he said to a
21:04
Speaker 1: friend in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting
21:07
Speaker 1: my sentence of death. Tomorrow, when with the assistance of
21:11
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, we shall again meet in the delicious peace
21:14
Speaker 1: of the future life, you will learn how merciful God
21:16
Speaker 1: has shown himself toward me, how effectually he has supported
21:20
Speaker 1: me in the midst of my temptations and trials. In
21:24
Speaker 1: the gloom of his dungeon, he foresaw the triumph of
21:26
Speaker 1: the true faith. Returning in his dreams to the chapel
21:30
Speaker 1: at Prague, where he had preached the Gospel, he saw
21:32
Speaker 1: the Pope and his bishops effacing the pictures of Christ
21:35
Speaker 1: which he had painted on its walls. This vision distressed him,
21:39
Speaker 1: but on the next day he saw many painters occupied
21:42
Speaker 1: in restoring these figures in greater number and in brighter colors.
21:46
Speaker 1: As soon as their task was ended, the painters, who
21:48
Speaker 1: were surrounded by an immense crowd, exclaimed, Now let the
21:52
Speaker 1: popes and bishops come. They shall never efface them. More,
21:55
Speaker 1: said the reformer as he related his dream, I maintain
21:59
Speaker 1: this for certain, that the image of Christ will never
22:02
Speaker 1: be effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it
22:05
Speaker 1: shall be painted afresh in all hearts by much better
22:07
Speaker 1: preachers than myself. For the last time huss was brought
22:11
Speaker 1: before the council. It was a vast and brilliant assembly.
22:15
Speaker 1: The Emperor, the Princes of the Empire, the royal deputies,
22:18
Speaker 1: the cardinals, bishops and priests, and an immense crowd who
22:21
Speaker 1: had come as spectators of the events of the day
22:25
Speaker 1: from all parts of Christendom had been gathered the witnesses
22:27
Speaker 1: of this first great sacrifice in the long struggle by
22:31
Speaker 1: which liberty of conscience was to be secured. Being called
22:35
Speaker 1: upon for his final decision, hus declared his refusal to abjure, and,
22:39
Speaker 1: fixing his penetrating glance upon the monarch whose plighted word
22:42
Speaker 1: had been so shamelessly violated, he declared, I determined of
22:46
Speaker 1: my own free will to appear before this council under
22:49
Speaker 1: the public protection and faith of the Emperor. Here present
22:53
Speaker 1: A deep flush crimsoned the face of Sigismund, as the
22:56
Speaker 1: eyes of all in the assembly turned upon him. Having
23:00
Speaker 1: been pronounced, the ceremony of degradation began. The bishops clothed
23:05
Speaker 1: their prisoner in the Sacerdotal habit, and as he took
23:08
Speaker 1: the priestly robe, he said, our Lord Jesus Christ was
23:11
Speaker 1: covered with a white robe by way of insult. When
23:14
Speaker 1: Herod had him conducted before Pilot. Being again exhorted to retract,
23:18
Speaker 1: he replied, turning toward the people, with what face, then
23:22
Speaker 1: should I behold the heavens? How should I look on
23:25
Speaker 1: those multitudes of men to whom I have preached the
23:27
Speaker 1: pure gospel? No I esteemed their salvation more than this
23:31
Speaker 1: poor body, now appointed unto death. The vestments were removed
23:36
Speaker 1: one by one, each bishop pronouncing a curse as he
23:38
Speaker 1: performed his part of the ceremony. Finally, they put on
23:42
Speaker 1: his head a cap or pyramidal shaped miter of paper,
23:46
Speaker 1: on which were painted frightful figures of demons with the
23:49
Speaker 1: word archaretic conspicuous in front. Most joyfully said haswhile I
23:54
Speaker 1: wear this crown of shame for thy sake, O Jesus,
23:57
Speaker 1: who for me didstwear a crown of thorns. When he
24:01
Speaker 1: was thus arrayed, the prelates said, now we devote thy
24:04
Speaker 1: soul to the devil. And I said, John has, lifting
24:07
Speaker 1: up his eyes toward heaven, do commit my spirit into
24:10
Speaker 1: thy hands, O Lord Jesus, for thou hast redeemed me.
24:14
Speaker 1: He was now delivered up to the secular authorities and
24:17
Speaker 1: led away to the place of execution. An immense procession
24:21
Speaker 1: followed hundreds of men at arms, priests and bishops in
24:24
Speaker 1: their costly robes, and the inhabitants of Constance. When he
24:29
Speaker 1: had been fastened to the stake and all was ready
24:31
Speaker 1: for the fire to be lighted, the martyr was once
24:33
Speaker 1: more exhorted to save himself by renouncing his errors. What
24:37
Speaker 1: errors said, has shall I renounce? I know myself guilty
24:40
Speaker 1: of none. I call God to witness that all that
24:43
Speaker 1: I have written and preached has been with the view
24:45
Speaker 1: of rescuing souls from sin and perdition. And therefore, most
24:49
Speaker 1: joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which
24:52
Speaker 1: I have written and preached. When the flames kindled about him,
24:56
Speaker 1: he began to sing, Jesus, Thou, son of David, have
24:59
Speaker 1: me on me, and so continued till his voice was
25:02
Speaker 1: silenced forever. Even his enemies were struck with his heroic bearing.
25:08
Speaker 1: Azella's papist, describing the martyrdom of huss and of Jerome,
25:11
Speaker 1: who died soon after, said, both bore themselves with constant mind.
25:15
Speaker 1: When their last hour approached, they prepared for the fire
25:19
Speaker 1: as if they were going to a marriage feast. They
25:21
Speaker 1: uttered no cry of pain. When the flames rose, they
25:24
Speaker 1: began to sing hymns, and scarce could the vehemency of
25:27
Speaker 1: the fire stop their singing. When the body of huss
25:31
Speaker 1: had been wholly consumed, his ashes, with the soil upon
25:34
Speaker 1: which they rested, were gathered up and cast into the rhine,
25:37
Speaker 1: and thus borne onward to the ocean. His persecutors vainly
25:41
Speaker 1: imagined that they had rooted out the truths he preached.
25:45
Speaker 1: Little did they dream that the ashes that day borne
25:47
Speaker 1: away to the sea were to be a seed scattered
25:50
Speaker 1: in all the countries of the earth, that in lands
25:52
Speaker 1: yet unknown it would yield abundant fruit and witnesses for
25:55
Speaker 1: the truth. The voice which had spoken in the council
25:58
Speaker 1: Hall of Constance had waken, and echoes that would be
26:01
Speaker 1: heard through all coming ages. Haus was no more, But
26:05
Speaker 1: the truths for which he died could never perish. His
26:08
Speaker 1: example of faith and constancy would encourage multitudes to stand
26:11
Speaker 1: firm for the truth in the face of torture and death.
26:15
Speaker 1: His execution had exhibited to the whole world the perfidious
26:19
Speaker 1: cruelty of Rome. The enemies of truth, though they knew
26:22
Speaker 1: it not, had been furthering the cause which they vainly
26:25
Speaker 1: sought to destroy. Yet another stake was to be set
26:29
Speaker 1: up at Constance. The blood of another witness must testify
26:33
Speaker 1: for the truth. Jerome, upon bidding farewell to Has on
26:37
Speaker 1: his departure for the Council, had exhorted him to courage
26:40
Speaker 1: and firmness, declaring that if he should fall into any peril,
26:44
Speaker 1: he himself would fly to his assistance. Upon hearing of
26:48
Speaker 1: the reformer's imprisonment, the faithful Disciple immediately prepared to fulfill
26:52
Speaker 1: his promise. Without a safe conduct, he set out with
26:56
Speaker 1: a single companion for Constance. On arriving there, he was
27:01
Speaker 1: convinced that he had only exposed himself to peril without
27:04
Speaker 1: the possibility of doing anything for the deliverance of Has.
27:08
Speaker 1: He fled from the city, but was arrested on the
27:11
Speaker 1: homeward journey and brought back loaded with fetters and under
27:14
Speaker 1: the custody of a band of soldiers. At his first
27:17
Speaker 1: appearance before the Council, his attempts to reply to the
27:20
Speaker 1: accusations brought against him were met with shouts to the flames.
27:24
Speaker 1: With him to the flames, he was thrown into a dungeon,
27:29
Speaker 1: chained in a position which caused him great suffering, and
27:32
Speaker 1: fed on bread and water. After some months, the cruelties
27:35
Speaker 1: of his imprisonment brought upon Jerome an illness that threatened
27:38
Speaker 1: his life, and his enemies, fearing that he might escape them,
27:42
Speaker 1: treated him with less severity. Though he remained in prison
27:45
Speaker 1: for one year. The death of Haus had not resulted
27:49
Speaker 1: as the Papists had hoped. The violation of his safe
27:52
Speaker 1: conduct had roused a storm of indignation, and as the
27:55
Speaker 1: safer course, the Council determined, instead of burning Jerome, to
27:59
Speaker 1: force him, if possible, to retract. He was brought before
28:03
Speaker 1: the Assembly and offered the alternative to recant or to
28:06
Speaker 1: die at the stake. Death at the beginning of his
28:09
Speaker 1: imprisonment would have been a mercy in comparison with the
28:12
Speaker 1: terrible sufferings which he had undergone. But now weakened by illness,
28:16
Speaker 1: by the rigors of his prison house, and the torture
28:19
Speaker 1: of anxiety and suspense, separated from his friends, and disheartened
28:23
Speaker 1: by the death of huss Jerome's fortitude gave way, and
28:27
Speaker 1: he consented to submit to the council. He pledged himself
28:31
Speaker 1: to adhere to the Catholic faith and accepted the action
28:34
Speaker 1: of the Council in condemning the doctrines of Wickliffe and Huss, accepting, however,
28:39
Speaker 1: the holy truths which they had taught by this expedient.
28:43
Speaker 1: Jerome endeavored to silence the voice of conscience and escape
28:46
Speaker 1: his doom. But in the solitude of his dungeon, he
28:50
Speaker 1: saw more clearly what he had done. He thought of
28:53
Speaker 1: the courage and fidelity of Huss, and in contrast, pondered
28:57
Speaker 1: upon his own denial of the truth. He thought of
29:00
Speaker 1: the divine Master, whom he had pledged himself to serve,
29:03
Speaker 1: and who, for his sake endured the death of the Cross.
29:07
Speaker 1: Before his retraction, he had found comfort amid all his
29:10
Speaker 1: sufferings in the assurance of God's favor. But now remorse
29:14
Speaker 1: and doubt tortured his soul. He knew that still other
29:18
Speaker 1: retractions must be made before he could be at peace
29:21
Speaker 1: with Rome. The path upon which he was entering could
29:24
Speaker 1: end only in complete apostasy. His resolution was taken to
29:29
Speaker 1: escape a brief period of suffering. He would not deny
29:32
Speaker 1: his Lord. Soon he was again brought before the Council.
29:36
Speaker 1: His submission had not satisfied his judges. Their thirst for blood,
29:41
Speaker 1: quetted by the death of Husk clamored for fresh victims.
29:44
Speaker 1: Only by an unreserved surrender of the truth could Jerome
29:48
Speaker 1: preserve his life. But he had determined to avow his
29:51
Speaker 1: faith and follow his brother martyr to the flames. He
29:55
Speaker 1: renounced his former recantation, and, as a dying man, solemnly
29:59
Speaker 1: required an opportunity to make his defense. Fearing the effect
30:03
Speaker 1: of his words, the prelates insisted that he should merely
30:06
Speaker 1: affirm or deny the truth of the charges brought against him.
30:10
Speaker 1: Jerome protested against such cruelty and injustice. You have held
30:15
Speaker 1: me shut up three hundred and forty days in a
30:17
Speaker 1: frightful prison, he said, in the midst of filth, noisomeness, stench,
30:21
Speaker 1: and the utmost want of everything. You then bring me
30:24
Speaker 1: out before you, and lending an ear to my mortal enemies,
30:27
Speaker 1: you refuse to hear me. If you be really wise,
30:30
Speaker 1: men and the lights of the world, take care not
30:33
Speaker 1: to sin against justice. As to me, I am only
30:36
Speaker 1: a feeble mortal. My life is but of little importance.
30:40
Speaker 1: And when I exhort you not to deliver an unjust sentence,
30:43
Speaker 1: I speak less for myself than for you. His request
30:48
Speaker 1: was finally granted. In the presence of his judges. Jerome
30:51
Speaker 1: kneeled down and prayed that the divine Spirit might control
30:54
Speaker 1: his thoughts and words, that he might speak nothing contrary
30:58
Speaker 1: to the truth or unworthy of his master to him.
31:02
Speaker 1: That day was fulfilled the promise of God to the
31:05
Speaker 1: first disciples. Ye shall be brought before governors and kings
31:09
Speaker 1: for my sake. But when they deliver you up, take
31:12
Speaker 1: no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it
31:15
Speaker 1: shall be given you in that same hour what ye
31:17
Speaker 1: shall speak, for it is not ye that speak, but
31:20
Speaker 1: the Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you. The
31:23
Speaker 1: words of Jerome excited astonishment and admiration even in his enemies.
31:29
Speaker 1: For a whole year he had been inured in a dungeon,
31:32
Speaker 1: unable to read or even to see, in great physical
31:35
Speaker 1: suffering and mental anxiety. Yet his arguments were presented with
31:39
Speaker 1: as much clearness and power as if he had had
31:41
Speaker 1: undisturbed opportunity for study. He pointed his hearers to the
31:46
Speaker 1: long line of holy men who had been condemned by
31:49
Speaker 1: unjust judges. In almost every generation have been those who,
31:53
Speaker 1: while seeking to elevate the people of their time, have
31:56
Speaker 1: been reproached and cast out, but who in later time
32:00
Speaker 1: have been shown to be deserving of honor. Christ himself
32:04
Speaker 1: was condemned as a malefactor at an unrighteous tribunal. At
32:09
Speaker 1: his retraction, Jerome had assented to the justice of the
32:12
Speaker 1: sentence condemning huss He now declared his repentance and bore
32:15
Speaker 1: witness to the innocence and holiness of the martyr. I
32:19
Speaker 1: knew him from his childhood, he said, he was a
32:22
Speaker 1: most excellent man, just and holy. He was condemned notwithstanding
32:27
Speaker 1: his innocence. I also I am ready to die. I
32:30
Speaker 1: will not recoil before the torments that are prepared for
32:33
Speaker 1: me by my enemies and false witnesses, who will one
32:37
Speaker 1: day have to render an account of their impostures before
32:40
Speaker 1: the Great God, whom nothing can deceive in self reproach
32:44
Speaker 1: for his own denial of the truth, Jerome continued, Of
32:48
Speaker 1: all the sins that I have committed since my youth,
32:51
Speaker 1: none weighed so heavily on my mind and cause me
32:54
Speaker 1: such poignant remorse as that which I committed in this
32:57
Speaker 1: fatal place. When I approved of the iniquitous sentence rendered
33:01
Speaker 1: against Wickliffe and against the Holy Martyr John Huss, my
33:04
Speaker 1: master and my friend. Yes, I confess it from my
33:08
Speaker 1: heart and declare with horror that I disgracefully coiled when,
33:12
Speaker 1: through a dread of death I condemned their doctrines. I
33:15
Speaker 1: therefore supplicate Almighty God to deign to pardon me my sins,
33:18
Speaker 1: and this one in particular, the most heenous of all.
33:22
Speaker 1: Pointing to his judges, he said, firmly, you condemned Wickliffe
33:26
Speaker 1: and John Huss, not for having shaken the doctrine of
33:29
Speaker 1: the church, but simply because they branded with reprobation the
33:32
Speaker 1: scandals proceeding from the clergy, their pomp, their pride, and
33:36
Speaker 1: all the vices of the prelates and priests, the things
33:39
Speaker 1: which they have affirmed and which are irrefutable. I also
33:43
Speaker 1: think and declare like them. His words were interrupted. The prelates,
33:48
Speaker 1: trembling with rage, cried out, what need is there of
33:51
Speaker 1: further proof? We behold with our own eyes the most
33:54
Speaker 1: obstinate of heretics. Unmoved by the tempest, Jerome exclaimed, what
34:00
Speaker 1: do you suppose that I fear to die? You have
34:02
Speaker 1: held me for a whole year in a frightful dungeon.
34:05
Speaker 1: More horrible than death itself. You have treated me more
34:09
Speaker 1: cruelly than a turk, Jew or pagan, and my flesh
34:12
Speaker 1: has literally rotted off, my bones alive. And yet I
34:15
Speaker 1: make no complaint for lamentation. Ill becomes a man of
34:18
Speaker 1: heart and spirit. But I cannot but express my astonishment
34:22
Speaker 1: at such great barbarity toward a Christian. I gained. The
34:26
Speaker 1: storm of rage burst out, and Jerome was hurried away
34:28
Speaker 1: to prison. Yet there were some in the assembly upon
34:32
Speaker 1: whom his words had made a deep impression, and who
34:34
Speaker 1: desired to save his life. He was visited by dignitaries
34:38
Speaker 1: of the Church and urged to submit himself to the council.
34:42
Speaker 1: The most brilliant prospects were presented before him as the
34:45
Speaker 1: reward of renouncing his opposition to Rome. But like his master,
34:49
Speaker 1: when offered the glory of the world, Jerome remained steadfast.
34:53
Speaker 1: Prove to me from the Holy writings that I am
34:56
Speaker 1: in error, he said, and I will abjure it, the
34:59
Speaker 1: Holy exclaimed one of his tempters. Is everything to be
35:03
Speaker 1: judged by them who can understand them, till the churches
35:06
Speaker 1: interpreted them. Are the traditions of men more worthy of
35:10
Speaker 1: faith than the gospel of our Savior, replied Jerome. Paul
35:14
Speaker 1: did not exhort those to whom he wrote to listen
35:16
Speaker 1: to the traditions of men, but said, search the scriptures.
35:20
Speaker 1: Heretic was the response, I repent, having pleaded so long
35:23
Speaker 1: with you, I see that you are urged on by
35:25
Speaker 1: the devil. ERE long sentence of condemnation was passed upon him.
35:30
Speaker 1: He was led out to the same spot upon which
35:33
Speaker 1: huss had yielded up his life. He went singing on
35:36
Speaker 1: his way, his countenance lighted up with joy and peace.
35:40
Speaker 1: His gaze was fixed upon Christ and to him death
35:43
Speaker 1: had lost its terrors. When the executioner about to kindle
35:47
Speaker 1: the pile stepped behind him, the martyr exclaimed, come forward, boldly,
35:51
Speaker 1: apply the fire before my face. Had I been afraid
35:54
Speaker 1: I should not be here? His last words, uttered as
35:58
Speaker 1: the flames rose about him, were a prayer, Lord, Almighty Father.
36:02
Speaker 1: He cried, have pity on me, and pardon me my sins,
36:05
Speaker 1: for thou knowest that I have always loved Thy truth.
36:09
Speaker 1: His voice ceased, but his lips continued to move in prayer.
36:13
Speaker 1: When the fire had done its work, the ashes of
36:15
Speaker 1: the martyr with the earth upon which they rested were
36:18
Speaker 1: gathered up, and, like those of Hus, were thrown into
36:21
Speaker 1: the rhine. So perished God's faithful light bearers. But the
36:26
Speaker 1: light of the truths which they proclaimed, the light of
36:28
Speaker 1: their heroic example, could not be extinguished, as well might
36:33
Speaker 1: men attempt to turn back the sun in its course,
36:35
Speaker 1: as to prevent the dawning of that day, which was
36:38
Speaker 1: even then breaking upon the world. The execution of Hus
36:42
Speaker 1: had kindled a flame of indignation and horror in Bohemia.
36:45
Speaker 1: It was felt by the whole nation that he had
36:47
Speaker 1: fallen a prey to the malice of the priests and
36:50
Speaker 1: the treachery of the emperor. He was declared to have
36:53
Speaker 1: been a faithful teacher of the truth, and the council
36:56
Speaker 1: that decreed his death was charged with the guilt of murder.
37:00
Speaker 1: His doctrines now attracted greater attention than ever before. By
37:04
Speaker 1: the papal edicts, the writings of Wickliffe had been condemned
37:07
Speaker 1: to the flames, but those that had escaped destruction were
37:10
Speaker 1: now brought out from their hiding places and studied in
37:13
Speaker 1: connection with the Bible, or such parts of it as
37:16
Speaker 1: the people could obtain, and many were thus led to
37:19
Speaker 1: accept the reformed faith. The murderers of Hus did not
37:23
Speaker 1: stand quietly by and witness the triumph of his cause.
37:26
Speaker 1: The Pope and Emperor united to crush out the movement,
37:29
Speaker 1: and the armies of Sigismund were hurled upon Bohemia. But
37:33
Speaker 1: a deliverer was raised up, Siska, who soon after the
37:37
Speaker 1: opening of the war became totally blind, yet who was
37:40
Speaker 1: one of the ablest generals of his age, was the
37:43
Speaker 1: leader of the Bohemians. Trusting in the help of God
37:46
Speaker 1: and the righteousness of their cause, that people withstood the
37:49
Speaker 1: mightiest armies that could be brought against them. Again and again,
37:53
Speaker 1: the Emperor, raising fresh armies, invaded Bohemia, only to be
37:57
Speaker 1: ignominiously repulsed. The Hussites were raised above the fear of death,
38:02
Speaker 1: and nothing could stand against them. A few years after
38:05
Speaker 1: the opening of the war, the brave Ziska died, but
38:08
Speaker 1: his place was filled by Procopius, who was an equally
38:11
Speaker 1: brave and skillful general, and in some respects a more
38:15
Speaker 1: able leader. The enemies of the Bohemians, knowing that the
38:19
Speaker 1: blind warrior was dead, deemed the opportunity favorable for recovering
38:23
Speaker 1: all that they had lost. The Pope now proclaimed a
38:26
Speaker 1: crusade against the Hussites, and again an immense force was
38:30
Speaker 1: precipitated upon Bohemia, but only to suffer terrible defeat. Another
38:35
Speaker 1: crusade was proclaimed in all the papal countries of Europe. Men,
38:39
Speaker 1: money and munitions of war were raised. Multitudes flocked to
38:44
Speaker 1: the papal standard, assured that at last an end would
38:46
Speaker 1: be made of the Husside heretics. Confident of victory, the
38:50
Speaker 1: vast force entered Bohemia. The people rallied to repel them.
38:55
Speaker 1: The two armies approached each other until only a river
38:58
Speaker 1: lay between them. The crusas Satyrs were in greatly superior force,
39:02
Speaker 1: but instead of dashing across the stream and closing in
39:05
Speaker 1: battle with the Hussites, whom they had come so far
39:07
Speaker 1: to meet, they stood gazing in silence at those warriors.
39:12
Speaker 1: Then suddenly a mysterious terror fell upon the host. Without
39:16
Speaker 1: striking a blow, that mighty force broke and scattered, as
39:19
Speaker 1: if dispelled by an unseen power. Great numbers were slaughtered
39:24
Speaker 1: by the Hussite army, which pursued the fugitives, and an
39:27
Speaker 1: immense booty fell into the hands of the victors, so
39:30
Speaker 1: that the war instead of impoverishing enriched the Bohemians. A
39:36
Speaker 1: few years later, under a new pope, still another crusade
39:39
Speaker 1: was set on foot. As before, men and means were
39:42
Speaker 1: drawn from all the papal countries of Europe. Great were
39:46
Speaker 1: the inducements held out to those who should engage in
39:48
Speaker 1: this perilous enterprise. Full forgiveness of the most heenous crimes
39:52
Speaker 1: was insured to every crusader. All who died in the
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Speaker 1: war were promised a rich reward in heaven, and those
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Speaker 1: who survived were to rebonner and riches. On the field
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Speaker 1: of battle, again of vast army was collected, and crossing
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Speaker 1: the frontier they entered Bohemia. The Hussite forces fell back
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Speaker 1: before them, thus drawing the invaders farther and farther into
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Speaker 1: the country and leading them to count the victory already won.
40:18
Speaker 1: At last, the army of Procopius made a stand, and,
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Speaker 1: turning upon the foe, advanced to give them battle. The Crusaders,
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Speaker 1: now discovering their mistake, lay in their encampment, awaiting the onset.
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Speaker 1: As the sound of the approaching force was heard even
40:32
Speaker 1: before the Hussites were in sight, a panic again fell
40:35
Speaker 1: upon the Crusaders, princes, generals and common soldiers, casting away
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Speaker 1: their armour, fled in all directions in vain. The papal legate,
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Speaker 1: who was the leader of the invasion, endeavored to rally
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Speaker 1: his terrified and disorganized forces. Despite his utmost endeavors, he
40:53
Speaker 1: himself was swept along in the tide of fugitives. The
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Speaker 1: route was complete, and again an immense booty fell into
40:59
Speaker 1: the hands of the victors. Thus, the second time, a
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Speaker 1: vast army, sent forth by the most powerful nations of Europe,
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Speaker 1: a host of brave warlike men, trained and equipped for battle,
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Speaker 1: fled without a blow before the defenders of a small
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Speaker 1: and hitherto feeble nation. Here was a manifestation of divine power.
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Speaker 1: The invaders were smitten with a supernatural terror. He who
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Speaker 1: overthrew the hosts of Pharaoh and the Red Sea, who
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Speaker 1: put to flight the armies of Midian, before Gideon and
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Speaker 1: his three hundred, who in one night laid low the
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Speaker 1: forces of the proud Assyrian, had again stretched out his
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Speaker 1: hand to wither the power of the oppressor. There were
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Speaker 1: they in a great fear where no fear was, For
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Speaker 1: God has scattered the bones of him that in campeth
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Speaker 1: against thee thou hast put them to shame because God
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Speaker 1: had despised them. The papal leaders, despairing of conquering by force,
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Speaker 1: at last resorted to diplomacy. A compromise was entered into that,
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Speaker 1: while professing to grant the Bohemian's freedom of conscience, really
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Speaker 1: betrayed them into the power of Rome. The Bohemians had
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Speaker 1: specified four points as the condition of peace with Rome.
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Speaker 1: The free preaching of the Bible, the right of the
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Speaker 1: whole church to both the bread and wine in the
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Speaker 1: communion and the use of the mother tongue in divine worship.
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Speaker 1: The exclusion of the clergy from all secular offices and authority,
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Speaker 1: and in cases of crime, the jurisdiction of the civil
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Speaker 1: courts over clergy and laity alike. The papal authorities at
42:29
Speaker 1: last agreed that the four articles of the Hussites should
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Speaker 1: be accepted, but that the right of explaining them, that is,
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Speaker 1: of determining their precise import should belong to the Council,
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Speaker 1: in other words, to the Pope and the Emperor. On
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Speaker 1: this basis, a treaty was entered into, and Rome gained
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Speaker 1: by dissimulation and fraud what she had failed to gain
42:49
Speaker 1: by conflict. For placing her own interpretation upon the Hussite articles,
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Speaker 1: as upon the Bible, she could pervert their meaning to
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Speaker 1: suit her own purposes. A large class in Bohemia, seeing
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Speaker 1: that it betrayed their liberties, could not consent to the compact.
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Speaker 1: Dissensions and divisions arose, leading to strife and bloodshed among themselves.
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Speaker 1: In this strife, the noble Procopius fell, and the liberties
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Speaker 1: of Bohemia perished. Sigismund, the betrayer of Hassan Jerome, now
43:18
Speaker 1: became king of Bohemia, and regardless of his oath to
43:22
Speaker 1: support the rights of the Bohemians, he proceeded to establish popery.
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Speaker 1: But he had gained little by his subservience Jerome for
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Speaker 1: twenty years, his life had been filled with labours and perils,
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Speaker 1: His armies had been wasted and his treasuries drained by
43:37
Speaker 1: a long and fruitless struggle. And now, after reigning one year,
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Speaker 1: he died, leaving his kingdom on the brink of civil war,
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Speaker 1: and bequeathing to posterity a name branded with infamy. Tumults, strife,
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Speaker 1: and bloodshed were protracted again. Foreign armies invaded Bohemia, and
43:54
Speaker 1: internal dissension continued to distract the nation. Those who remained
43:58
Speaker 1: faithful to the Gospel were subjected to a bloody persecution
44:03
Speaker 1: as their former brethren, entering into compact with Rome, imbibed
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Speaker 1: her ears. Those who adhered to the ancient faith had
44:10
Speaker 1: formed themselves into a distinct church, taking the name of
44:13
Speaker 1: United Brethren. This act drew upon them maledictions from all classes.
44:19
Speaker 1: Yet their firmness was unshaken. Forced to find refuge in
44:23
Speaker 1: the woods and caves, they still assembled to read God's
44:25
Speaker 1: word and unite in his worship. Through messengers secretly sent
44:30
Speaker 1: out into different countries, they learned that here and there
44:32
Speaker 1: were isolated confessors of the truth, a few in this
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Speaker 1: city and a few in that the object, like themselves
44:39
Speaker 1: of persecution, and that amid the mountains of the Alps,
44:42
Speaker 1: was an ancient church, resting on the foundations of Scripture
44:46
Speaker 1: and protesting against the idolatrous corruptions of Rome. This intelligence
44:51
Speaker 1: was received with great joy, and a correspondence was opened
44:54
Speaker 1: with the Waldensian Christians. Steadfast to the Gospel, the Bohemians
45:00
Speaker 1: waited through the night of their persecution, in the darkest hour,
45:03
Speaker 1: still turning their eyes toward the horizon, like men who
45:06
Speaker 1: watch for the morning. Their lot was cast in evil days,
45:11
Speaker 1: but they remembered the words first uttered by huss and
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Speaker 1: repeated by Jerome, that a century must revolve before the
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Speaker 1: day should break. These were to the Taborites Hussites what
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Speaker 1: the words of Joseph were to the tribes in the
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Speaker 1: house of Bondage. I die, and God will surely visit
45:27
Speaker 1: you and bring you out. The closing period of the
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Speaker 1: fifteenth century witnessed the slow but sure increase of the
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Speaker 1: churches of the brethren. Although far from being unmolested, they
45:39
Speaker 1: yet enjoyed comparative rest. At the commencement of the sixteenth century,
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Speaker 1: their churches numbered two hundred in Bohemia and Moravia. So
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Speaker 1: goodly was the remnant, which, escaping the destructive fury of
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Speaker 1: fire and sword, was permitted to see the dawning of
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Speaker 1: that day which hus had foretold. End of Checks, chapter
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Speaker 1: six