In the choice of instrumentalities for the reforming of
the church, the same divine plan is seen as in that for the
planting of the church. The heavenly Teacher passed by the
great men of the earth, the titled and wealthy, who were
accustomed to receive praise and homage as leaders of the
people. They were so proud and self-confident in their
boasted superiority that they could not be molded to sympathize
with their fellow men and to become colaborers with
the humble Man of Nazareth. To the unlearned, toiling
fishermen of Galilee was the call addressed: "Follow Me,
and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19. These
disciples were humble and teachable. The less they had been
influenced by the false teaching of their time, the more
successfully could Christ instruct and train them for His service.
So in the days of the Great Reformation. The leading
Reformers were men from humble life--men who were most
free of any of their time from pride of rank and from the
influence of bigotry and priestcraft. It is God's plan to
employ humble instruments to accomplish great results. Then
the glory will not be given to men, but to Him who works
through them to will and to do of His own good pleasure.
A few weeks after the birth of Luther in a miner's cabin
in Saxony, Ulric Zwingli was born in a herdsman's cottage
among the Alps. Zwingli's surroundings in childhood, and
his early training, were such as to prepare him for his future
mission. Reared amid scenes of natural grandeur, beauty,
and awful sublimity, his mind was early impressed with a
sense of the greatness, the power, and the majesty of God.
The history of the brave deeds achieved upon his native
mountains kindled his youthful aspirations. And at the side
of his pious grandmother he listened to the few precious
Bible stories which she had gleaned from amid the legends
and traditions of the church. With eager interest he heard
of the grand deeds of patriarchs and prophets, of the
shepherds who watched their flocks on the hills of Palestine
where angels talked with them, of the Babe of Bethlehem
and the Man of Calvary.
Like John Luther, Zwingli's father desired an education
for his son, and the boy was early sent from his native valley.
His mind rapidly developed, and it soon became a question
where to find teachers competent to instruct him. At the
age of thirteen he went to Bern, which then possessed the
most distinguished school in Switzerland. Here, however,
a danger arose which threatened to blight the promise of
his life. Determined efforts were put forth by the friars to
allure him into a monastery. The Dominican and Franciscan
monks were in rivalry for popular favor. This they
endeavored to secure by the showy adornments of their
churches, the pomp of their ceremonials, and the attractions
of famous relics and miracle-working images.
The Dominicans of Bern saw that if they could win this
talented young scholar, they would secure both gain and
honor. His extreme youth, his natural ability as a speaker
and writer, and his genius for music and poetry, would be
more effective than all their pomp and display, in attracting
the people to their services and increasing the revenues of
their order. By deceit and flattery they endeavored to induce
Zwingli to enter their convent. Luther, while a student
at school, had buried himself in a convent cell, and he
would have been lost to the world had not God's providence
released him. Zwingli was not permitted to encounter the
same peril. Providentially his father received information
of the designs of the friars. He had no intention of allowing
his son to follow the idle and worthless life of the monks.
He saw that his future usefulness was at stake, and directed
him to return home without delay.
The command was obeyed; but the youth could not be
long content in his native valley, and he soon resumed his
studies, repairing, after a time, to Basel. It was here that
Zwingli first heard the gospel of God's free grace. Wittembach,
a teacher of the ancient languages, had, while studying
Greek and Hebrew, been led to the Holy Scriptures, and
thus rays of divine light were shed into the minds of the
students under his instruction. He declared that there was
a truth more ancient, and of infinitely greater worth, than
the theories taught by schoolmen and philosophers. This
ancient truth was that the death of Christ is the sinner's only
ransom. To Zwingli these words were as the first ray of
light that precedes the dawn.
Zwingli was soon called from Basel to enter upon his
lifework. His first field of labor was in an Alpine parish, not
far distant from his native valley. Having received ordination
as a priest, he "devoted himself with his whole soul to
the search after divine truth; for he was well aware," says a
fellow Reformer, "how much he must know to whom the
flock of Christ is entrusted."--Wylie, b. 8, ch. 5. The more
he searched the Scriptures, the clearer appeared the contrast
between their truths and the heresies of Rome. He submitted
himself to the Bible as the word of God, the only sufficient,
infallible rule. He saw that it must be its own interpreter.
He dared not attempt to explain Scripture to sustain a
preconceived theory or doctrine, but held it his duty to learn
what is its direct and obvious teaching. He sought to avail
himself of every help to obtain a full and correct understanding
of its meaning, and he invoked the aid of the Holy Spirit,
which would, he declared, reveal it to all who sought it in
sincerity and with prayer.
"The Scriptures," said Zwingli, "come from God, not
from man, and even that God who enlightens will give thee
to understand that the speech comes from God. The word
of God . . . cannot fail; it is bright, it teaches itself, it
discloses itself, it illumines the soul with all salvation and grace,
comforts it in God, humbles it, so that it loses and even
forfeits itself, and embraces God." The truth of these words
Zwingli himself had proved. Speaking of his experience at
this time, he afterward wrote: "When . . . I began to give
myself wholly up to the Holy Scriptures, philosophy and
theology (scholastic) would always keep suggesting quarrels
to me. At last I came to this, that I thought, `Thou must let
all that lie, and learn the meaning of God purely out of His
own simple word.' Then I began to ask God for His light,
and the Scriptures began to be much easier to me."-- Ibid.,
b. 8, ch. 6.
The doctrine preached by Zwingli was not received from
Luther. It was the doctrine of Christ. "If Luther preaches
Christ," said the Swiss Reformer, "he does what I am doing.
Those whom he has brought to Christ are more numerous
than those whom I have led. But this matters not. I will bear
no other name than that of Christ, whose soldier I am, and
who alone is my Chief. Never has one single word been
written by me to Luther, nor by Luther to me. And why?
. . . That it might be shown how much the Spirit of God
is in unison with itself, since both of us, without any
collusion, teach the doctrine of Christ with such uniformity."
--D'Aubigne, b. 8, ch. 9.
In 1516 Zwingli was invited to become a preacher in the
convent at Einsiedeln. Here he was to have a closer view of
the corruptions of Rome and was to exert an influence as a
Reformer that would be felt far beyond his native Alps.
Among the chief attractions of Einsiedeln was an image of
the Virgin which was said to have the power of working
miracles. Above the gateway of the convent was the
inscription, "Here a plenary remission of sins may be
obtained."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 5. Pilgrims at all seasons resorted
to the shrine of the Virgin; but at the great yearly festival
of its consecration multitudes came from all parts of Switzerland,
and even from France and Germany. Zwingli, greatly
afflicted at the sight, seized the opportunity to proclaim
liberty through the gospel to these bondslaves of superstition.
"Do not imagine," he said, "that God is in this temple
more than in any other part of creation. Whatever be the
country in which you dwell, God is around you, and hears
you. . . . Can unprofitable works, long pilgrimages, offerings,
images, the invocation of the Virgin or of the saints,
secure for you the grace of God? . . . What avails the
multitude of words with which we embody our prayers? What
efficacy has a glossy cowl, a smooth-shorn head, a long and
flowing robe, or gold-embroidered slippers? . . . God looks
at the heart, and our hearts are far from Him." "Christ," he
said, "who was once offered upon the cross, is the sacrifice
and victim, that had made satisfaction for the sins of
believers to all eternity."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 5.
To many listeners these teachings were unwelcome. It
was a bitter disappointment to them to be told that their
toilsome journey had been made in vain. The pardon freely
offered to them through Christ they could not comprehend.
They were satisfied with the old way to heaven which Rome
had marked out for them. They shrank from the perplexity
of searching for anything better. It was easier to trust their
salvation to the priests and the pope than to seek for purity
of heart.
But another class received with gladness the tidings of
redemption through Christ. The observances enjoined by
Rome had failed to bring peace of soul, and in faith they
accepted the Saviour's blood as their propitiation. These
returned to their homes to reveal to others the precious light
which they had received. The truth was thus carried from
hamlet to hamlet, from town to town, and the number of
pilgrims to the Virgin's shrine greatly lessened. There was
a falling off in the offerings, and consequently in the salary
of Zwingli, which was drawn from them. But this caused
him only joy as he saw that the power of fanaticism and
superstition was being broken.
The authorities of the church were not blind to the work
which Zwingli was accomplishing; but for the present they
forbore to interfere. Hoping yet to secure him to their cause,
they endeavored to win him by flatteries; and meanwhile
the truth was gaining a hold upon the hearts of the people.
Zwingli's labors at Einsiedeln had prepared him for a
wider field, and this he was soon to enter. After three years
here he was called to the office of preacher in the cathedral
at Zurich. This was then the most important town of the
Swiss confederacy, and the influence exerted here would be
widely felt. The ecclesiastics by whose invitation he came to
Zurich were, however, desirous of preventing any innovations,
and they accordingly proceeded to instruct him as to
his duties.
"You will make every exertion," they said, "to collect the
revenues of the chapter, without overlooking the least. You
will exhort the faithful, both from the pulpit and in the
confessional, to pay all tithes and dues, and to show by their
offerings their affection to the church. You will be diligent
in increasing the income arising from the sick, from masses,
and in general from every ecclesiastical ordinance." "As for
the administration of the sacraments, the preaching, and the
care of the flock," added his instructors, "these are also the
duties of the chaplain. But for these you may employ a
substitute, and particularly in preaching. You should
administer the sacraments to none but persons of note, and only
when called upon; you are forbidden to do so without
distinction of persons."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
Zwingli listened in silence to this charge, and in reply,
after expressing his gratitude for the honor of a call to this
important station, he proceeded to explain the course which
he proposed to adopt. "The life of Christ," he said, "has
been too long hidden from the people. I shall preach upon
the whole of the Gospel of St. Matthew, . . . drawing solely
from the fountains of Scripture, sounding its depths,
comparing one passage with another, and seeking for understanding
by constant and earnest prayer. It is to God's glory, to
the praise of His only Son, to the real salvation of souls, and
to their edification in the true faith, that I shall consecrate
my ministry."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6. Though some of the
ecclesiastics disapproved his plan, and endeavored to dissuade him
from it, Zwingli remained steadfast. He declared that he was
about to introduce no new method, but the old method
employed by the church in earlier and purer times.
Already an interest had been awakened in the truths he
taught; and the people flocked in great numbers to listen to
his preaching. Many who had long since ceased to attend
service were among his hearers. He began his ministry by
opening the Gospels and reading and explaining to his
hearers the inspired narrative of the life, teachings, and death
of Christ. Here, as at Einsiedeln, he presented the word of
God as the only infallible authority and the death of Christ
as the only complete sacrifice. "It is to Christ," he said, "that
I desire to lead you--to Christ, the true source of salvation."
-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6. Around the preacher crowded the people
of all classes, from statesmen and scholars to the artisan and
the peasant. With deep interest they listened to his words.
He not only proclaimed the offer of a free salvation, but
fearlessly rebuked the evils and corruptions of the times.
Many returned from the cathedral praising God. "This
man," they said, "is a preacher of the truth. He will be our
Moses, to lead us forth from this Egyptian darkness."-- Ibid.,
b. 8, ch. 6.
But though at first his labors were received with great
enthusiasm, after a time opposition arose. The monks set
themselves to hinder his work and condemn his teachings.
Many assailed him with gibes and sneers; others resorted
to insolence and threats. But Zwingli bore all with
patience, saying: "If we desire to gain over the wicked to
Jesus Christ, we must shut our eyes against many things."
-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
About this time a new agency came in to advance the
work of reform. One Lucian was sent to Zurich with some
of Luther's writings, by a friend of the reformed faith at
Basel, who suggested that the sale of these books might be a
powerful means of scattering the light. "Ascertain," he wrote
to Zwingli, "whether this man possesses sufficient prudence
and skill; if so, let him carry from city to city, from town to
town, from village to village, and even from house to house,
among the Swiss, the works of Luther, and especially his
exposition of the Lord's Prayer written for the laity. The
more they are known, the more purchasers they will find."
-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6. Thus the light found entrance.
At the time when God is preparing to break the shackles
of ignorance and superstition, then it is that Satan works with
greatest power to enshroud men in darkness and to bind
their fetters still more firmly. As men were rising up in
different lands to present to the people forgiveness and
justification through the blood of Christ, Rome proceeded with
renewed energy to open her market throughout Christendom,
offering pardon for money.
Every sin had its price, and men were granted free license
for crime if the treasury of the church was kept well filled.
Thus the two movements advanced,--one offering forgiveness
of sin for money, the other forgiveness through Christ,--
Rome licensing sin and making it her source of revenue; the
Reformers condemning sin and pointing to Christ as the
propitiation and deliverer.
In Germany the sale of indulgences had been committed
to the Dominican friars and was conducted by the infamous
Tetzel. In Switzerland the traffic was put into the hands of
the Franciscans, under the control of Samson, an Italian
monk. Samson had already done good service to the church,
having secured immense sums from Germany and Switzerland
to fill the papal treasury. Now he traversed Switzerland,
attracting great crowds, despoiling the poor peasants of their
scanty earnings, and exacting rich gifts from the wealthy
classes. But the influence of the reform already made
itself felt in curtailing, though it could not stop, the traffic.
Zwingli was still at Einsiedeln when Samson, soon after
entering Switzerland, arrived with his wares at a neighboring
town. Being apprised of his mission, the Reformer
immediately set out to oppose him. The two did not meet, but
such was Zwingli's success in exposing the friar's pretensions
that he was obliged to leave for other quarters.
At Zurich, Zwingli preached zealously against the
pardonmongers; and when Samson approached the place, he was
met by a messenger from the council with an intimation
that he was expected to pass on. He finally secured an
entrance by stratagem, but was sent away without the sale of
a single pardon, and he soon after left Switzerland.
A strong impetus was given to the reform by the
appearance of the plague, or Great Death, which swept over
Switzerland in the year 1519. As men were thus brought
face to face with the destroyer, many were led to feel how
vain and worthless were the pardons which they had so
lately purchased; and they longed for a surer foundation for
their faith. Zwingli at Zurich was smitten down; he was
brought so low that all hope of his recovery was relinquished,
and the report was widely circulated that he was dead. In
that trying hour his hope and courage were unshaken. He
looked in faith to the cross of Calvary, trusting in the
all-sufficient propitiation for sin. When he came back from
the gates of death, it was to preach the gospel with greater
fervor than ever before; and his words exerted an
unwonted power. The people welcomed with joy their
beloved pastor, returned to them from the brink of the grave.
They themselves had come from attending upon the sick
and the dying, and they felt, as never before, the value of
the gospel.
Zwingli had arrived at a clearer understanding of its
truths, and had more fully experienced in himself its
renewing power. The fall of man and the plan of redemption
were the subjects upon which he dwelt. "In Adam," he
said, "we are all dead, sunk in corruption and condemnation."
--Wylie, b. 8, ch. 9. "Christ . . . has purchased for us
a never-ending redemption. . . . His passion is . . . an
eternal sacrifice, and everlastingly effectual to heal; it satisfies
the divine justice forever in behalf of all those who rely
upon it with firm and unshaken faith." Yet he clearly taught
that men are not, because of the grace of Christ, free to
continue in sin. "Wherever there is faith in God, there
God is; and wherever God abideth, there a zeal exists urging
and impelling men to good works."--D'Aubigne, b. 8, ch. 9.
Such was the interest in Zwingli's preaching that the
cathedral was filled to overflowing with the crowds that came
to listen to him. Little by little, as they could bear it, he
opened the truth to his hearers. He was careful not to introduce,
at first, points which would startle them and create
prejudice. His work was to win their hearts to the teachings
of Christ, to soften them by His love, and keep before them
His example; and as they should receive the principles of
the gospel, their superstitious beliefs and practices would
inevitably be overthrown.
Step by step the Reformation advanced in Zurich. In
alarm its enemies aroused to active opposition. One year
before, the monk of Wittenberg had uttered his No to the
pope and the emperor at Worms, and now everything
seemed to indicate a similar withstanding of the papal
claims at Zurich. Repeated attacks were made upon Zwingli.
In the papal cantons, from time to time, disciples of the
gospel were brought to the stake, but this was not enough;
the teacher of heresy must be silenced. Accordingly the
bishop of Constance dispatched three deputies to the
Council of Zurich, accusing Zwingli of teaching the people to
transgress the laws of the church, thus endangering the peace
and good order of society. If the authority of the church
were to be set aside, he urged, universal anarchy would result.
Zwingli replied that he had been for four years teaching
the gospel in Zurich, "which was more quiet and peaceful
than any other town in the confederacy." "Is not, then,"
he said, "Christianity the best safeguard of the general
security?"--Wylie, b. 8, ch. 11.
The deputies had admonished the councilors to continue
in the church, out of which, they declared, there was no
salvation. Zwingli responded: "Let not this accusation move
you. The foundation of the church is the same Rock, the
same Christ, that gave Peter his name because he confessed
Him faithfully. In every nation whosoever believes with all
his heart in the Lord Jesus is accepted of God. Here, truly, is
the church, out of which no one can be saved."--D'Aubigne,
London ed., b. 8, ch. 11. As a result of the conference, one
of the bishop's deputies accepted the reformed faith.
The council declined to take action against Zwingli, and
Rome prepared for a fresh attack. The Reformer, when
apprised of the plots of his enemies, exclaimed: "Let them
come on; I fear them as the beetling cliff fears the waves
that thunder at its feet."--Wylie, b. 8, ch. 11. The efforts
of the ecclesiastics only furthered the cause which they
sought to overthrow. The truth continued to spread. In
Germany its adherents, cast down by Luther's disappearance,
took heart again, as they saw the progress of the gospel in
Switzerland.
As the Reformation became established in Zurich, its
fruits were more fully seen in the suppression of vice and
the promotion of order and harmony. "Peace has her habitation
in our town," wrote Zwingli; "no quarrel, no hypocrisy,
no envy, no strife. Whence can such union come but from
the Lord, and our doctrine, which fills us with the fruits of
peace and piety?"-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 15.
The victories gained by the Reformation stirred the
Romanists to still more determined efforts for its overthrow.
Seeing how little had been accomplished by persecution in
suppressing Luther's work in Germany, they decided to
meet the reform with its own weapons. They would hold
a disputation with Zwingli, and having the arrangement of
matters, they would make sure of victory by choosing,
themselves, not only the place of the combat, but the judges that
should decide between the disputants. And if they could
once get Zwingli into their power, they would take care that
he did not escape them. The leader silenced, the movement
could speedily be crushed. This purpose, however, was
carefully concealed.
The disputation was appointed to be held at Baden; but
Zwingli was not present. The Council of Zurich, suspecting
the designs of the papists, and warned by the burning
piles kindled in the papal cantons for confessors of the
gospel, forbade their pastor to expose himself to this peril.
At Zurich he was ready to meet all the partisans that Rome
might send; but to go to Baden, where the blood of martyrs
for the truth had just been shed, was to go to certain death.
Oecolampadius and Haller were chosen to represent the
Reformers, while the famous Dr. Eck, supported by a host of
learned doctors and prelates, was the champion of Rome.
Though Zwingli was not present at the conference, his
influence was felt. The secretaries were all chosen by the
papists, and others were forbidden to take notes, on pain
of death. Notwithstanding this, Zwingli received daily a
faithful account of what was said at Baden. A student in
attendance at the disputation made a record each evening
of the arguments that day presented. These papers two
other students undertook to deliver, with the daily letters of
Oecolampadius, to Zwingli at Zurich. The Reformer answered,
giving counsel and suggestions. His letters were
written by night, and the students returned with them to
Baden in the morning. To elude the vigilance of the guard
stationed at the city gates, these messengers brought baskets
of poultry on their heads, and they were permitted to pass
without hindrance.
Thus Zwingli maintained the battle with his wily antagonists.
He "has labored more," said Myconius, "by his meditations,
his sleepless nights, and the advice which he transmitted
to Baden, than he would have done by discussing in
person in the midst of his enemies."--D'Aubigne, b. 11, ch. 13.
The Romanists, flushed with anticipated triumph, had
come to Baden attired in their richest robes and glittering
with jewels. They fared luxuriously, their tables spread with
the most costly delicacies and the choicest wines. The burden
of their ecclesiastical duties was lightened by gaiety and
reveling. In marked contrast appeared the Reformers, who
were looked upon by the people as little better than a company
of beggars, and whose frugal fare kept them but short
time at table. Oecolampadius's landlord, taking occasion
to watch him in his room, found him always engaged in
study or at prayer, and greatly wondering, reported that the
heretic was at least "very pious."
At the conference, "Eck haughtily ascended a pulpit
splendidly decorated, while the humble Oecolampadius, meanly
clothed, was forced to take his seat in front of his opponent
on a rudely carved stool."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13. Eck's
stentorian voice and unbounded assurance never failed him. His
zeal was stimulated by the hope of gold as well as fame; for
the defender of the faith was to be rewarded by a handsome
fee. When better arguments failed, he had resort to insults,
and even to oaths.
Oecolampadius, modest and self-distrustful, had shrunk
from the combat, and he entered upon it with the solemn
avowal: "I acknowledge no other standard of judgment than
the word of God."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13. Though gentle and
courteous in demeanor, he proved himself able and
unflinching. While the Romanists, according to their wont,
appealed for authority to the customs of the church, the
Reformer adhered steadfastly to the Holy Scriptures. "Custom,"
he said, "has no force in our Switzerland, unless it be
according to the constitution; now, in matters of faith, the
Bible is our constitution."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13.
The contrast between the two disputants was not without
effect. The calm, clear reasoning of the Reformer, so gently
and modestly presented, appealed to minds that turned in
disgust from Eck's boastful and boisterous assumptions.
The discussion continued eighteen days. At its close the
papists with great confidence claimed the victory. Most of
the deputies sided with Rome, and the Diet pronounced the
Reformers vanquished and declared that they, together with
Zwingli, their leader, were cut off from the church. But the
fruits of the conference revealed on which side the advantage
lay. The contest resulted in a strong impetus to the Protestant
cause, and it was not long afterward that the important
cities of Bern and Basel declared for the Reformation.