He and rugged oratory recommended him to Henry VIII., who appointed him one of the Court preachers. His courage did not fail him even in the presence of royalty, as we find from his address to the King: 'If your Grace allow me for a preacher, I would desire your Grace to give me leave to discharge my conscience.' This he ever sought to do above all things. preached as a man who felt that the burden of the Lord was upon him, and whether he stood before the King, the clergy, or the people, he did not shun to declare all the counsel of God.' We have a noble example of his fidelity in the exordium to one of his sermons before the King, in which he thus spoke : ‘Latimer, Latimer,' he cried out, 'thou art going to speak before the high and mighty King Henry VIII., who is able, if he think fit, to take thy life away. Be careful what thou sayest. But Latimer, Latimer, remember also that thou art about to speak before the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Take heed that thou dost not displease Him.' In 1535, Latimer was made Bishop of Worcester, and during the time he held that see used his utmost influence in forwarding the Reformation and encouraging the movement for the translation of the Bible into the vulgar tongue. But at the end of four years he resigned his episcopal office, on account of the partial revival of Popery, which the King had been persuaded to sanction, and retired into private life. Those were times of great tyranny and persecution, and it was scarcely to be supposed that so powerful an adversary of the Pope would be allowed to settle down in peace. Popery knows nothing of toleration. Accordingly, Latimer was dragged forth from his retirement and committed to the Tower, where he remained imprisoned for six years. At the end of that period the promising young Edward VI. ascended the throne, and Protestantism was once more brought into favour at the Court. Latimer was set at liberty, and devoted himself to preaching the Gospel in different parts of the country during the too brief reign of Edward. The alternations of light and darkness were painfully rapid in those unsettled times; and Protestantism and Popery were so frequently changing places, as the professed religion of the country, that the trimmers were constantly 'in doubt which way they were to walk.' With the accession of 'bloody Mary,' the land was once more plunged into Popish darkness. The sacrifice of the mass was substituted for the Protestant services of the previous reign; the Popish hierarchy was re-established; the Protestants were hunted down. Such was Popish sway in England. It is computed that at least two hundred and seventy-seven persons were burnt at the stake, including persons of almost every rank and age. Five bishops, twenty-one clergymen, eight lay gentlemen, eighty-four tradesmen, one hundred husbandmen, servants, and labourers, fifty-five women, and four children, thus perished for their fidelity to the Word of God and their opposition to the Popish power. Latimer was soon marked out as a victim to the bigotry of the cruel Queen. All the Protestant preachers were silenced, and most of them thrown into prison. Latimer was ordered to the Tower again, together with Archbishop Cranmer, with whom he was then residing. The two prelates were soon called forth from their place of confinement to attend before a council of Popish divines at Oxford, with Bishop Ridley, ostensibly for the purpose of holding a disputation. Latimer, who was now bending beneath the burden of threescore and fifteen years, stood before his adversaries with a penny leathern girdle about his waist, at which hung his New Testament, while his spectacles, without case, were suspended from his neck. He conducted himself bravely in the discussion, but his doom was sealed, and Rome replied to his unanswerable defence by the most powerful of all her arguments, the stake. The three bishops were sentenced to be burned as heretics. They had all been actively concerned in the preparation of the Articles, Homilies, and Liturgy of the Reformed Church of England. This alone was more than sufficient to bring down upon them the anger of the persecuting Queen, who determined to destroy both the Reformation and the Reformers. But neither flame, sword, nor the horrible Inquisition could destroy 'the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.' It was for the supremacy of the Bible that Latimer and his friends con tended, and for the right of both clergy and laity to read it, every man in his own tongue, and in the firm maintenance of this right they laid down their lives. The end of the dauntless old Reformer was worthy of his noble life. Neither his natural courage nor his strong confidence in God forsook him for a moment. At the place of execution a sermon against heretics was preached by Dr. Smith, to which he listened patiently, and when it was concluded he declared that he could easily reply to it if only he were allowed to do so; and added his usual saying, 'There is nothing hid, but it shall be opened.' He then stood bolt upright while the executioner prepared him for the fire, and chained him, with his companion. Ridley, to the stake. A blazing faggot was thrown at Ridley's feet, and as the flames were kindling all around, Latimer courageously turned round to his friend, and said, 'Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day, by God's grace, light such a candle in England as, I trust, shall never be put out.' With prayer upon their lips, these two eminent servants of God died in the defence of the truth. Their happy spirits mounted to heaven, in the chariot of flame, to join the noble army of martyrs. As long as England has a history, the name of Hugh Latimer will hold a prominent place in it. We cannot afford to let so noble a name perish; it must be had ' in everlasting remembrance.' The 'blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,' and from their death has gone forth a power which has broken the influence of Popery in this land, and given to us of this generation those spiritual and political blessings which are the offspring of Protestantism. The candle of the Lord' burns brightly with us, but it requires to be carefully guarded, for many are seeking to hide it under the bushel of Roman Catholic teaching, in order that they may ultimately put it out. We remember, several years ago, paying a visit to the late Rev. R. J. M‘Ghee, Rector of Holywell, Hunts, a well-known opponent of Romanism, when, in a conversation on the rapid increase of Popery in this country, he said, 'The Methodists have always been most consistent and uncompromising Protestants,' and expressed his belief that they were destined to become a great national bulwark against the encroachments of Rome. Their founder was a determined enemy to her corrupt teaching and practices, and his followers have always been Protestants of the Protestants. One of their most distinguished honours, in recent times, has been to preach the Gospel to those who are at Rome also,' and to carry the candle of the truth as it is in Jesus,' which Ridley and Latimer lit at the stake, to illuminate the darkness of the headquarters of that apostate Church by whose hands they were martyred. May that candle, by the grace of God, never again be extinguished! |