“He is our God, if we despair in ourselves and trust in Him; and His is the glory. Amen!”
William Tyndale.
“I hope our redemption is nigh.”
Fryth’s bearing before his judges was princely. He confined his defence to four principal themes, and these he conclusively argued so that his accusers were silenced. They were:—“1. That the Pope’s opinion respecting the Sacrament cannot be considered as an article of faith necessary to be believed upon pain of damnation. 2. That, as Christ’s natural body was in all respects like unto ours, sin only excepted, there can be no reason why it should be in two or many places at once, contrary to the nature of our body. 3. That we are not to understand Christ’s words by what we may conceive to be the meaning of the words, but by comparing one passage of Scripture with another. 4. That the manner in which the Sacrament is administered by the priests is quite different from that in which it was administered by Christ Himself.”
In the spirit of his friend Tyndale, is also Fryth’s vigorous and noble reply to Sir Thomas More:—
“Until we see some means found by the which a reasonable Reformation may be had, and sufficient instruction for the poor commoners, I assure you I neither can nor will cease to speak. For the Word of God boileth in my body like a fervent fire, and will needs have issue, and breaketh out when occasion is given. But this hath been offered you, is offered, and shall be offered: Grant that the Word of God, I mean the text of Scripture, may go abroad in our English tongue, as other nations have it in their tongues, and my brother William Tyndale and I have done, and will promise you to write no more. If you will not grant this condition, THEN WILL WE BE DOING WHILE WE HAVE BREATH.”
Tyndale wrote a second letter to his noble friend, and in it he says:—
“Dearly beloved, be of good courage, and comfort your soul with the hope of this high reward, and bear the image of Christ in your mortal body, that it may, at His coming, be made like to His, immortal; and follow the example of all your other dear brethren which chose to suffer in hope of a better resurrection. Keep your conscience pure and undefiled, and say against that, nothing. Stick at necessary things, and remember the blasphemies of the enemies of Christ, saying, they find none but will abjure rather than suffer the extremity. Moreover, the death of them that come again after they have once denied, though it be accepted with God and all that believe, yet it is not glorious: for the hypocrites say he must needs die, denying helpeth not. But might it have holpen, they would have denied five hundred times; but seeing it would not help them, therefore of pure pride and mere malice together, they speak with their mouths that their conscience knoweth to be false. If you give yourself, cast yourself, yield yourself, commit yourself wholly and only to your loving Father—then shall His power be in you and make you strong; and that so strong that you shall feel no pain, which should be to another present death, and His Spirit shall speak in you, and teach you what to answer, according to His promise.
“Fear not threatening, therefore, neither be overcome of sweet words; with which twain methods the hypocrites shall assail you. Neither let the persuasions of worldly wisdom bear rule in your heart, not though they be your friends that counsel.”
In a postscript Tyndale adds a sentence behind which there lies a breaking heart striving to accept the will of God in heroic faith:—