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Progress of the Reformation
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zeal to greater intensity. With the tyrant’s ax held menacingly over
his head, he stood his ground, striking sturdy blows on the right hand
and on the left, to demolish idolatry. Thus he kept to his purpose,
praying and fighting the battles of the Lord, until Scotland was free.
In England, Latimer maintained from the pulpit that the Bible
ought to be read in the language of the people. The Author of Holy
Scripture, said he, “is God Himself;” and this Scripture partakes of
the might and eternity of its Author. “There is no king, emperor,
magistrate, and ruler ... but are bound to obey ... His holy word.”
“Let us not take any by-walks, but let God’s word direct us: let us
not walk after ... our forefathers, nor seek not what they did, but
what they should have done.”
Barnes and Frith, the faithful friends of Tyndale, arose to defend
the truth. The Ridleys and Cranmer followed. These leaders in the
English Reformation were men of learning, and most of them had
been highly esteemed for zeal or piety in the Romish communion.
Their opposition to the Papacy was the result of their knowledge of
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the errors of the Holy See. Their acquaintance with the mysteries of
Babylon gave greater power to their testimonies against her.
The grand principle maintained by Tyndale, Frith, Latimer, and
the Ridleys was the divine authority and sufficiency of the sacred
Scriptures. They rejected the assumed authority of popes, councils,
fathers, and kings to rule the conscience in matters of religious faith.
The Bible was their standard, and to this they brought all doctrines
and all claims. Faith in God and His Word sustained these holy men
as they yielded up their lives at the stake.
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