• William Tyndale

    The Life And Testimony Of William Tyndale

    William Tyndale, a faithful minister and martyr of Christ, memorable for having made the first translation of the Bible that was printed in English, was born on the borders of Wales, some time before the year 1500. He was brought up from a child in the University of Oxford, where, as he advanced in years, he increased in the knowledge of the learned languages. He applied himself especially to the study of the Holy Scriptures, which he read with a meek and humble spirit, and with prayer for heavenly wisdom to direct him. Nor was he satisfied to hide under a bushel the light which he received from them; for, while he was living in Magdalen Hall, he read private lectures in divinity to some…

  • Thomas Cranmer

    The Life And Martyrdom Of Thomas Cranmer

    The archiepiscopal see of Canterbury can boast of a long list of names, representing some of the most eminent divines and scholars our country has produced; yet few of its illustrious occupants have so worthily and so honourably discharged their important functions as Thomas Cranmer did in the days of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Holding that responsible post at a very critical period in our history, when England was in a state of religious transition, Cranmer nobly and wisely used his influence to forward the progress of those principles that have their foundation in the Word of God; and, although perseverance in such a cause was sure to be rewarded with contempt and opprobrium, yet the heroic archbishop defended and maintained the principles of…

  • Hugh Latimer

    The Life And Martyrdom Of Hugh Latimer

    Leicestershire has reason to be proud of its connection with the history of our country's Reformation. Two of the most prominent leaders of this movement—Hugh Latimer and John Wycliffe—spent a portion of their valuable lives in this county; the former his childhood, and the latter his closing years. In the small, quiet town of Lutterworth did Wycliffe industriously labour as rector; it was here that he preached the truths of the Gospel with a characteristic fervour and simplicity; it was here that he penned a large number of those outspoken tractates that so powerfully influenced the minds of his countrymen; it was here that he rendered verse after verse, chapter after chapter, book after book, into his mother tongue, until there lay before him the…

  • Nicholas Ridley

    The Life And Martyrdom Of Nicholas Ridley

    This eminent divine, scholar, and martyr of the English Reformation was born in the county of Northumberland; and in the town of Newcastle he was taught the rudiments of education. From Newcastle he removed to Cambridge, where his learning and progress soon gained for him some of the highest honours that seat of learning had then to confer. He was made Doctor in Divinity, and he was also placed at the head of Pembroke Hall. At the conclusion of his university career, he made a tour on the Continent; and, when he returned to his country, emoluments were again offered him. He was appointed one of the chaplains to Henry VIII, and was afterwards elevated to the episcopal bench as Bishop of Rochester. Soon after…

  • John Bradford

    The Life And Martyrdom Of John Bradford

    “By the grace of God I am what I am." These words were penned by one who had fully learned their meaning. This was no mere theoretical statement on the part of the Apostle, but a free and frank confession, based upon a deep and tried experience, that he was a debtor to the free and sovereign grace of God. Once he was a persecutor of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, incessantly occupied in haling men and women to prison; and, when he penned these words, the Apostle was thoroughly satisfied that, but for the grace of God, he would have continued this bloodthirsty career unto the day of his death. But he was mercifully arrested as he was on an errand of persecution.…

  • Rawlins White

    The Life And Martyrdom Of Rawlins White

    The sole and infallible authority of Holy Scripture was the grand fundamental principle of the Reformation. The Bible was the potent instrumentality that transformed the face of Europe at the commencement of the sixteenth century, its glorious truths permeating the various ranks of society, and awakening those aspirations for liberty which, after an arduous and protracted struggle, were eventually realized. The clouds of ignorance and superstition in which the whole Continent was enveloped quickly dispersed before this light, and a thorough renovation—religious, political, and social—was effected in the various countries that opened their doors to receive this harbinger of prosperity and stability. God, speaking through His Word to the hearts and souls of men, aroused them to a sense of their abject condition and utter…