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The Life And Martyrdom Of John Hooper
“Of whom the world was not worthy." This epitaph the Apostle Paul penned to the memory of those illustrious heroes of Old Testament history—heroes who walked in the fear of God, and fought stoutly for His honour and glory, by obeying the commands of their Almighty Creator rather than submit to the dictates of puny man. This same epitaph, we are assured, may be safely and as appropriately inscribed to the memory of such men as John Hooper, who, at a period much nearer our own time, stoutly vindicated God's honour and glory, by proclaiming the Gospel of His grace in a day when power and influence were arrayed on the side of its enemies. Hooper and his martyred comrades may be justly ranked among…
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The Life And Martyrdom Of John Rogers
The reign of Queen Mary will ever be associated with burning stakes and persecuting edicts. In all parts of the land—north, south, east, and west—men and women were haled to prison for the truth's sake. Many were the modes of suffering which they endured, for all that human ingenuity could devise was made use of in prolonging and aggravating the tortures of these martyrs. Looking at these events exclusively from this standpoint, and only taking into consideration the brutal nature of the deeds and the trials of the victims, causes one almost to drop the pen, and cease from rehearsing facts at which the heart sickens. Our indignation rises to a very high pitch when we read how men could torture their fellow-creatures in such…
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The Life And Martyrdom Of Laurence Saunders
Laurence Saunders, the subject of our present paper, was the second martyr in Queen Mary's reign. His parents were of good position, and thus able to give their son a liberal education. At an early age Saunders commenced his education at Eton school, and from there he went to King's College, Cambridge, where he made rapid and considerable progress in the learning of the age. On leaving the University, he was apprenticed to a London merchant, Sir William Chester, who was afterwards Sheriff of London the same year that Saunders was burnt at the stake. But a mercantile life proved very unsuitable to the tastes and inclinations of Saunders, as his master perceived, so his indentures were given him, and the apprentice was free. Saunders…
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The Life And Martyrdom Of John Lambert
This distinguished martyr was born in the county of Norfolk, and educated at the university of Cambridge. He became a very proficient scholar and a master of Greek and Latin, so that he translated several books from those languages into the English tongue. Through the instrumentality of Bilney, Lambert renounced the errors of Rome, and allied himself with those who were propagating the everlasting truths of the pure and unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. His belief in the truth becoming known to the Papists, Lambert thought it advisable to flee; and so he crossed the sea, and joined Frith and Tyndale, with whom he remained more than a year. He was appointed chaplain to the English factory at Antwerp, which preferment he owed to his…
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The Life And Martyrdom Of John Frith
The subject of our present paper was a bosom friend of William Tyndale, and a very able and clever scholar at Cambridge University. John Frith was the son of an innkeeper at Seven-oaks, in Kent, where he was born about the year 1503. At a very early age he manifested a strong inclination for learning, and his abilities attracted the notice of Cardinal Wolsey, who selected him as one of the new members of his college at Oxford, which he had founded on a very magnificent scale. In the year 1525, Tyndale being in London, Frith paid him a visit; and this appears to have been the time when he was brought, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and through the instrumentality of Tyndale,…
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The Life And Martyrdom Of William Tyndale
There is no history in the world so replete with heroes and heroic actions as the history of England. Our national records, present one continuous portrait gallery, hung with the most brilliant galaxy of noble and patriotic characters. These heroes may be divided into two classes—the world's heroes, and God's heroes. In the former class, we include those who have gained human esteem and favour, such as the military hero, who has earned his fame at the cannon's mouth; or the philanthropic hero, who, at great personal sacrifice, it may be, strives to ameliorate the condition of a part of the human race; or the political hero, who, at some crisis in our history, has skilfully guided our nation's helm. These men have gained the…