Contents
Introduction
Wycliffe
Tyndale
Edward VI
Good Queen Bess
Safeguards

Wycliffe - The Morning Star

The story I am about to tell you is one of the most thrilling and fascinating in the entire history of our Islands, and indeed of the World. You may think it thrilling to read a detective story, but that is only fiction or unreal, whereas this story is true, or as a little boy asked me: "Did it really happen?" - Yes! It really happened.

I wonder if you have ever been, as I have, in a train when it has suddenly plunged into a long dark tunnel and the compartment which a moment before was bright and sunny becomes submerged in inky darkness. There is not a suspicion of light anywhere and the darkness adds to the length of the tunnel and one begins to wonder if there is an end to it after all; but suddenly your straining eyes catch a glint of light - a reflection, or, as it were, a promise of that greater light shining ahead, when with a great sigh of relief you emerge into the daylight. Now I want you to remember this little illustration as we go on. It is really a picture of the state of things in this country about 600 years ago. Throughout the land there was great mental darkness which today we call ignorance, and there was spiritual darkness which we call sin and unbelief, and the vast majority of the people, rich and poor, were bound by superstition.

Now of course there was a reason for this, or shall I say a number of reasons, and briefly they were these. First of all there was no English Bible. It is really difficult now for us to try to imagine a world without Bibles - but so it was; and because of the absence of that Word which " is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" (Ps. 119:105) the world was a very dark place indeed.

The system of religion at this time derived its influence and power from the bondage of the people. The Bible was a banned book. The Pope, the head of this dark and pagan religion, did not permit priest or people to read the Scriptures because he knew that the evil things which he did were condemned by GOD in His Word, and in the event of the people reading the Bible they would see the hypocrisy of this false teaching.

There is no doubt about it that the Priests and Begging Friars of this Papal System were themselves wicked men who exploited the poor by imposing on them. Many of the peasants and others thought that GOD would be pleased if they gave food and goods to them, and so these evil men collected wealth and riches and impoverished the land. You remember of course that it was said of the Lord Jesus that He went about doing good. How different were these priests in those days!

Then there was the darkness of superstition over the land: idols and images were set up at street corners which in response to a petition were supposed to work all kinds of miracles. I noticed one of these images in a London Street only recently, and across the top were the words: "Plenary daily indulgence", which I suppose means that full absolution is granted the one who worships the image. If there were people in London in the twentieth century bound by superstition, you can easily imagine that 550 years it was yet more so. It was of course always necessary to pay a priest; otherwise the supposedly miraculous "cure" was not granted by the image. If no cure was effected, the sufferer was told to come again and again with more money, and so these wicked men preyed upon the superstitious people of that day.

We have until now been going through the tunnel with the blackness of ignorance, sin and superstition all around us, but a little ahead we see a glimmer of light, and in the midst of all this darkness arises to our view the figure of John Wycliffe (1320-1384).

Wycliffe was the promise of the greater light which was soon to burst over the land. It is interesting to note that Wycliffe is not heard of in public life till 1365. He became a Doctor of Theology in 1372 and in 1377 first came under the notice of the Church authorities through his theological "heresies."

In this connection we recall that for 80 years Moses was in obscurity until GOD brought him forth to bring the Children of Israel out of bondage. For thirty years our Lord Jesus was little seen or heard in public, and the Gospel narrative is almost entirely to do with the last three-and-a-half years of His life.

So it was with John Wycliffe, who in the Will of GOD Was sent "at such a time as this" to our beloved land. He was born "a good myle from Richemont", in Yorkshire, a great scholar, being eventually for some time Master of Balliol College, Oxford.

You will recall that I said there was no English Bible in existence at this time. There were, however, a few copies of the Bible in Latin, and it was while Wycliffe was at Oxford that he came across a copy of a Latin Bible. Of course, being a scholar he could read Latin, and so he spent some of his time reading this Latin Bible. As he read the Bible he came across the great truth that he was a sinner, which invariably happens when we read the Scriptures in sincerity, and thus the Holy Spirit led Wycliffe on to see his need of a Saviour. Now the preaching of the Word of God was contrary to the teaching of the Church, which insisted that its priests alone could pronounce forgiveness.

Wycliffe was of course greatly disturbed in his mind when he made this discovery, for with this joy of sins forgiven for Jesus' sake and solely on he ground of the Saviour's finished work on the Cross of Calvary came the knowledge of the deception of the people by the counterfeit priests. It seems that he was filled at once with a great desire to make his Saviour known to all around him, together with a dislike for the system which was responsible for such darkness and misery.

We find Wycliffe translating this hatred into acts of great daring. He sought in all his preaching to bring condemnation upon the Church authorities and to give to the people "the truth as it is in Jesus".

These are some of the bold things he said against the Friars: "Friars say that their religion is more perfect than the religion of Christ, and that it is more meritorious to give alms to hypocrites, that say they are holy and needy when they are strong in body and have overmuch riches than to give them to poor, feeble, crooked, blind and bed-ridden men." " Friars, that be called Masters of Divinity, live as lords and kings, and send out idiots, full of covetousness, to preach not the Gospel, but chronicles, fables and lies; to please the people, and to rob them." " Friars deal not faithfully in showing people their sins, but flatter them and nourish them in sin."

All this naturally roused the ire of the Church Authorities, but the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was then one Simon Sudbury, was not at all eager to meddle with Wycliffe, for an attack on Wycliffe meant an attack on the powerful Duke of Lancaster who was a friend of his.

Eventually, however, the outcry against Wycliffe became so great that the Archbishop had to take action, and on19th of February, 1377, Wycliffe was cited to appear before the Church Authorities in St Paul's Cathedral. He was escorted by John of Gaunt, Lord Percy, Earl Marshal of England, and other powerful supporters. It is always good to have the support and encouragement of powerful friends as Wycliffe had on this occasion, but it is far better to know that God is undertaking for us; men can and often do fail, but God never fails. Wycliffe again and gain testified to His faith and trusted not in his powerful friends, but in his Almighty GOD.

Certainly GOD undertook for His servant that day. Before the Court commenced, the followers of Wycliffe had heated words with the Bishop of London, William Courtenay. The records give it thus: "Hereupon very contumelyous words did rise." This brawl finally broke up the proceedings in the Cathedral, but outside a riot broke out, and in the midst of it all Wycliffe and the business in hand were forgotten; the Court broke up in confusion and no sentence was passed. Thus GOD saved Wycliffe that day from the hand of his enemies and preserved him for a major part in "His eternal purpose" which was even then in process of fulfilment.