"

HE blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." In the case of Tyndale this was truly so, and the seed took root and produced a golden harvest. Though every effort was made to wipe out the work of the old Reformer who gave his life to translating the Bible into English, and printing and circulating it among the people, the work he did lived on after he was dead. In three years after he was killed, an authorized edition of the Bible in English was printed and circulated far and wide!

      There was a law which said that all who read the Scriptures in the native tongue should forfeit land, cattle, life, goods--they and their heirs forever. They burned the books of William Tyndale, then they burned his bones; and many another brave man lost his life in housing and circulating the Bible. But in spite of all, Tyndale's work took root. It is not in the power of man to hinder the work of God. "Potentates have proclaimed their edicts, tyrants have lighted up their pyres, and mercenary legions [102] have shed rivers of human blood to destroy the Bible and its believers"; but in spite of them all, it lives on. The more men have tried to eradicate the Bible the more deeply it has struck the roots; and the more they have tried to blot out the name of Christ, the more legible and glorious it has become.

      William Tyndale was put to death in the year 1536. His offence was circulating the Word of God in the English tongue. It seems strange to us in these days, when the Bible is so much respected and loved, that men should have lost their lives in attempts to popularize and spread it among the people. Tyndale's death and the fate of the Bible shortly afterwards show us how God sometimes brings up one man to sow seed, the fruit of which others shall gather. Little did the men who burned his Bible and burned his body think that in the space of three years the Bible should be circulated far and wide, with due authorization.

      Such was the fact; for in the year 1539 an edition of the Scriptures, called "The Great Bible," was published under royal authority,, and thus became the first authorized copy of the English Bible. From the year 1535, (one year before Tyndale's death), to 1539, several other editions of the English [103] Bible had appeared, which bore the names of Coverdale, Matthews, and Taverner. These were for the most part based on the work of Tyndale, and the Authorized Bible itself was very little more than a revision of his work. Among the men who read the first national authorized edition of the English Scriptures at the king's command was Cuthbert Tunstall, bishop of Durham, who when bishop of London had refused to shelter and help Tyndale, and who had found the money to buy copies of the Bible for burning at Paul's Cross.

      One almost wishes that the sturdy Reformer had been spared for a few years longer to witness the triumph of his work. It was his lot to labor while others enjoyed; to scatter what others should gather; and to sow what others should reap. In it all, however, God's Word was honored, the salvation of men furthered, and the glory of God secured.

      After the publication of the first Authorized Bible, in 1539, the work of revision still went on. It did not--it could not--stop. Hitherto nearly all those who had worked at Bible translation had been compelled to carry on their work under great difficulties; sometimes in hiding, often an exile, occasionally in prison. No doubt the men who worked under these conditions loved their work; but the circumstances did not allow them to produce such results as they would have done if they could have had free access to libraries and other sources of information, and if they had [104] been allowed that leisure and freedom which the best work requires. After the year at which we have arrived it was altogether different. Men could work at the Bible in open day.

      It was only a little more than twenty years after Tyndale's death that Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne of England amid the universal rejoicings of the people. In her grand entry to the city of London she was presented with a copy of the English Bible which she pressed to her lips and to her heart as a precious treasure. Among the first acts of this Queen, we may note that she set at liberty all persons imprisoned for religion, and the exiles were allowed to return home to England.

      Of the many editions of the Bible which appeared between the year 1539 and the year 1604, we need only name two.

      The Geneva Bible was published in 1560. It bore this name because it was the work of many scholarly men who passed much time in exile at Geneva, which they devoted to this work. It was the most popular of all versions for more than half a century. This was the first English Bible which laid aside the old black letter and appeared in Roman type, which divided the whole into verses, and entirely omitted the Apocrypha.

      The Bishops' Bible appeared in 1568. This work [105] was undertaken by Archbishop Parker, who obtained the assistance of a number of bishops. It was not a success, and perhaps had less popularity than any other English version.

      In less than fifty years from the accession of Elizabeth we find the king of England arranging for and directing the great company of scholars who prepared the splendid edition of the Bible which was to eclipse all others and exist down to our day--the one honored and treasured as the authorized version; than which no book ever had a larger circulation, a wider influence, or a more glorious history.

      In the early part of the year 1603 James the Sixth of Scotland came to the throne of England as James the First. He was a man of many indiscretions, but was undoubtedly possessed of considerable scholarly attainments. When he ascended the throne of England the three versions of the Bible which we have previously noticed were in use. Six months after his accession there was a conference on religious questions at Hampton Court Palace, at which the king presided. Here the question of a new revision was mooted, and warmly taken up by the king. He undertook the direction of the matter, and seems really to have shown great skill and judgment in the arrangements which he made and caused to be made. [106]

      A company of fifty-four learned men were selected to carry out the work. They were chosen from many parties and schools of Englishmen, and included some of the best known scholars of the day. Instructions as to procedure were given to them, and rules formed for their guidance. After much labor and prayer their work was completed, and given to the world in 1611.

      That they did their work well we may see in the fact that for more than two and a half centuries this version has remained in possession of the field. It is dear alike to the hearts of the rich and poor. It has found its way into the palace and the cottage. Its sweet and simple message is welcomed in the home of the prince and the peasant, and has been the light of life to countless thousands of souls. [107]

[HWGI 102-107]