Chapter 5—John Wycliffe
Before the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of
the Bible in existence; but God had not suffered his Word to be wholly
destroyed. Its truths were not to be forever hidden. He could as easily
unchain the words of life as he could open prison doors and unbolt
iron gates to set his servants free. In the different countries of Europe,
men were moved by the Spirit of God to search for the truth as for hid
treasures. Providentially guided to the Holy Scriptures, they studied
the sacred pages with intense interest. They were willing to accept
the light, at any cost to themselves. Though they did not see all things
clearly, they were enabled to perceive many long-buried truths. As
Heaven-sent messengers they went forth, rending asunder the chains
of error and superstition, and calling upon those who had been so long
enslaved to arise and assert their liberty.
Except among the Waldenses, the Word of God had for ages been
locked up in languages known only to the learned; but the time had
come for the Scriptures to be translated, and given to the people
of different lands in their native tongue. The world had passed its
midnight. The hours of darkness were wearing away, and in many
lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn.
In the fourteenth century arose in England the “morning-star of
the Reformation.” John Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for
England alone, but for all Christendom. The great protest against Rome
which it was permitted him to utter, was never to be silenced. That
protest opened the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of
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individuals, of churches, and of nations.
Wycliffe received a liberal education, and with him the fear of the
Lord was the beginning of wisdom. He was noted at college for his fer-
vent piety as well as for his remarkable talents and sound scholarship.
In his thirst for knowledge he sought to become acquainted with every
branch of learning. He was educated in the scholastic philosophy, in
the canons of the church, and in the civil law, especially that of his
own country. In his after-labors the value of this early training was
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