Montbéliard is a little town, now belonging to France, but at that time to the German Empire. A pretty little town in the valley of the Allan, now chiefly inhabited by watchmakers and cotton manufacturers. There is an old castle on a high hill, with ancient round towers, and a bridge across the river below.
Farel was soon busily employed. He preached constantly. He also worked hard at the translation of German tracts into French, and himself wrote French tracts, which were all printed together at Basle. Anemond helped him eagerly in this work. Master Faber had by this time finished his translation of the whole of the New Testament into French. Anemond managed to get one of these Testaments, and had a great many printed from it, at the press at Basle. As neither Farel nor Anemond had any money of their own, all the expenses were paid by the Lord’s people at Metz, at Grenoble, and at Lyons. There were now many believers at Lyons, for the seed sown in Dauphiné had sprung up, and preachers of the gospel had gone forth to other places. There was just then a reason why several went to Lyons. The king, Francis I, had started for his Italian wars. His mother and sister had gone with him as far as Lyons, and there they remained for awhile. This was in August, 1524. Margaret had brought no attendants except those who believed the gospel. She was anxious that the Word of God should be preached at Lyons. And thus several preachers, who were persecuted elsewhere, took refuge there. Many believed the glad tidings, amongst them some of the rich merchants, who gladly sent money to Farel and Anemond to help on the work of printing. The two friends were a great help to one another. Anemond went backwards and forwards between Basle and Montbéliard, and kept William well supplied with tracts and books. These were given to colporteurs, men who carried them about in packs into the towns and villages of France, where they sold them cheaply. Thus, where preachers were banished, the Word of God still had free course, and this seed, sown far and wide, sprang up and brought forth fruit. All over France, in a little while, there were men and women who believed in the Lord Jesus, and turned from their idols to the one living, and true God.
But the young knight’s work was done. Anemond was suddenly taken ill at Schaffhausen, from drinking cold water when he was overheated. He knew he was dying, and sent off his servant to tell William Farel. Up to the last he had been diligently employed in printing and sending into France Testaments and tracts. William set off to see him, but arrived too late. Anemond’s loss was a very bitter sorrow to him, and he grieved deeply also at the loss the people of God would suffer, now that so faithful a servant had been called home. Young Laurence de Châtelard, Anemond’s brother, had believed the gospel. He was very grateful to William for having been such a devoted friend to his beloved Anemond.
Farel’s preaching was heard with great joy by many of the people of Montbéliard. A great number seem to have been converted. Hausschein was delighted with the news that God was thus owning and blessing his dear friend. But he was always frightened when he thought of Farel, much as he loved him. He was afraid that he would rouse people to anger by his strong language. He entreated him again and again to be meek and gentle, to lead people, not to drive them—not to speak severely of the mass priests.
“Remember,” he said, “they are often people who know no better. They are ignorant and superstitious, and really think they are doing right. Be kind to them, and try to win them over by persuasion. Do not speak against the mass till you have first preached Antichrist out of their hearts.”
Farel did endeavor to be meek and gentle, but at the same time he did not hesitate to say that the mass was idolatry. He preached Christ boldly and faithfully. Very soon a disturbance arose. A monk and a priest stood up in the church where he was preaching, and interrupted the sermon by calling him a liar and a heretic. The duke arrested the priest and the monk, and ordered them to make no further disturbance, under penalty of his severe displeasure. The monk, however, again interrupted the sermon in the afternoon, and endeavored to raise a riot. The duke then arrested both the monk and Farel. He told the monk he would give him his choice—either to prove from the Bible that what Farel had said was false, or if he could not do that, to confess that it was true. The monk having duly considered the matter, said he could not contradict Farel from the Bible, and would therefore own that he had spoken in anger and ill-temper, without any reasonable ground for what he had said. The duke desired him to write his confession, that it might be read publicly. The honest monk did so, and both were then dismissed.
The preaching was now listened to more eagerly than before, and Farel found his time fully taken up, for those who were converted wished to be further taught, and desired that their children should be taught too. Thus matters proceeded for about nine months, but the New Year 1525 was to be a dark year for the believers in and near France. Early in that year the French king, Francis I., was taken prisoner by the Emperor Charles V., at the battle of Pavia. During the year that the king’s captivity lasted, the government was placed in the hands of his wicked mother, Louise of Savoy. You remember Louise and Chancellor Duprat as two bitter enemies of the gospel. The time was now come when they had it all their own way. A terrible persecution of the Lord’s people immediately began in every part of France where believers were to be found.
Bédier and the doctors of the Sorbonne were now free to breathe out threatenings and slaughter against all who had received the gospel.
“Let us banish from France,” said Bédier, “this hateful doctrine. This neglect of good works is a fatal delusion from the devil.”
And to set the example of good works, did Bédier proceed to hunt out from every corner of Paris, Meaux, Lyons, or wherever else the Word of God had been preached, all those who had believed it.
The first attack was made upon Briçonnet. After his terrible denial of his Lord, this poor man had again ventured to preach Christ. He had again gathered round him some of the gospel preachers; he had even made a tour round his diocese in company with Master Faber, and had spent three months in clearing out the images from all the churches; he had burnt them one and all, the crucifixes only excepted. Briçonnet was, therefore, seized. He requested to be tried before the Parliament, but this favor was refused him. Bédier was afraid he would have too much to say for himself. He was, therefore examined privately by two councilors, who were desired to get him, if possible, to deny his faith. Bédier judged rightly that his martyrdom might bring honor to the gospel, but that his denial of it would only bring disgrace upon the faith he had professed. A second time was the poor bishop called upon to decide between Christ and Satan; a second time he made the awful choice of giving up his Lord. He consented to do penance for his past errors—he publicly condemned Luther’s books—he gave orders that the saints were to be worshipped as before—and he headed a pompous procession to testify his faith in popery. Thus Briçonnet fell to rise no more. He lived eight years after this denial of the Lord whom he had owned and preached. In his will he commended his soul to the Virgin Mary, and to the “heavenly choir of paradise,” and desired that twelve hundred masses should be said for him after his death.
Master Faber was the next victim. He was the man who was specially hateful to Bédier, for he looked upon him as the author of all the mischief.
“Faber,” said Bédier, “tells us that whoever seeks to save himself will perish, while the man that lays aside all strength of his own, and throws himself entirely into the arms of Jesus, will be saved! What a hellish error! What a deceitful snare of the devil! Let us oppose it with all our might.” Alas, how many Bédiers still remain! You, perhaps, and I have been Bédiers too. It is through God’s mercy if we are not so now. We may not dare to use his words, but have we never thought his thoughts, and have felt dislike, contempt—God might say hatred—to those who trust in Christ alone?
The Parliament, later in the year, drew up an accusation against Master Faber, but, when he was sought for, he was not to be found. The old doctor had left Meaux secretly, and was gone. We shall hear of him again by-and-by.
Bédier now turned with all the rage of disappointment to Louis Berquin. He was a second time seized, and cast into prison.
“He shall not escape us,” said the Parliament.
The next object of Bédiers fury was Erasmus. This was not because Erasmus was a teacher of the gospel; on the contrary, he had just been writing against Luther and the Lutherans. But Bédier knew that Erasmus despised him, and the priests and monks in general, for their ignorance, their stupidity, and their hypocrisy. Besides, he had helped on the cause of the gospel without intending it, by encouraging the study of Greek, and therefore, of the New Testament. He had translated it also. He had on the whole done much more to help than to hinder the new doctrines.
“Erasmus must, therefore,” said Bédier, “be crushed speedily.”
But Erasmus appealed for protection to the Emperor Charles V. This plan succeeded, and another victim escaped from the clutches of the Sorbonne.
One of the next who was seized was a preacher of the gospel near the town of Nancy, in Lorraine. His name was Schuch. Lorraine was then in the possession of a duke called Anthony the Good. But Anthony’s goodness began and ended with repeating the Lord’s Prayer and the Ave Maria on all suitable, or rather, unsuitable occasions; when not so employed, he was either indulging in vice, or persecuting the people of God. He and his confessor, Friar Bonaventura, seized upon Schuch, who was brought before the duke for trial. The trial was in Latin, which Anthony did not understand, but he was provoked at seeing Schuch look so calm and happy, and, thinking the examination had lasted long enough he stood up and condemned Schuch to be burnt alive.
Schuch looked at him, and quietly replied, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.”
It was in August, 1525, that Schuch was burnt at Nancy; his Bible was burnt also. There were yet other victims upon whom Bédier had his eye.
The next who was seized was the young student James Pavanne. You remember that in the happy days of Meaux, he had been invited by Briçonnet to help in the gospel work with Master Faber and Farel. When Briçonnet had the first time turned from Christ, Pavanne had been seized by the Sorbonne, and imprisoned. This was at the end of 1524. The poor boy, alone in his prison, felt his courage give way, he consented to go back into popery, and he was released; but from that moment he was utterly miserable. We are told he spent his time in weeping. He now came forward and said he had sinned against his Lord, and desired to be counted amongst those who trusted in Christ alone. He did not, he said, believe in purgatory; he could not pray to the saints; he would own Christ as his Savior, and Christ only. He was taken to the Place de Grêve, at Paris, there to be burnt. His sadness and fear were gone; he walked to the stake, looking bright and joyful; he preached boldly during the few minutes that remained, and so great was the power of that little sermon, that one of the priests said, “I would rather the Church had paid a million gold pieces, than that Pavanne should have spoken as he did.”
The burning of Pavanne was soon followed by another glorious testimony to Christ. The poor hermit of the forest of Livry was dragged into the city of Paris, to be burnt by a slow fire in front of the cathedral of Notre Dame. The whole city crowded to the place of execution. The hermit was calm and firm. The priests pressed around him, holding a crucifix before his eyes, and the doctors of the Sorbonne cried aloud, “He is damned! he is going into hell fire!”
The hermit only replied that his trust was in Christ, and he was resolved to die believing in Him only as his Savior.