The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1884-02-13
TyndaIe's New Testment.

page of Ratpert4S In Math@una, printed
by Peter Quentel, at Cologne, 1876.
The prologue and the text of st. Mat
thew, with marginal notes, are printed in
the old English black letter.
The preface contains much interesting
matter. There is given poem which
describes the first burning Of the New
Testament, by command of Cardinal
Wolsey and the bishops, prominent
among whom was Tonstall, Bishop Of
London. Here is quotation:
They set not by the gospel a fly.
Didst thou not hear what villainv
They did unto the gospel?
By my troth, they set him a6re
Openly in London City.
Who caused it so to be done?
In sooth the Bishop of London,
With the Cardinals authority,
lie, at st Paul's cross, earnestly
Denounced it to be heresy
That the gospel should come TO right
Calling them heretics, execrable,
Who caused the gospel, venerable,
10 come unto laymen's sight
He declared, there in his furiousness.
That he found errors, more or less,
Above three thousand in the translation.
Howbeit. when all came to pass,
| dare say unable he was
Of one error to make probation"
Again this poem, in describing Cardin-
al Wolsey, uses these words
" o miserable monster, most malicious,
Father of perversity, patron of hell
o terrible tyraut, to God and man odious,
Advocate Of antichrist, to Christ rebel
10 thee speak, caitiff Cardinal, so cruel,
Causelessly charging, by thy cursed command
ment,
To burn Gods word the holy Testament.
Gods word, ground of all virtue and grace,
The fruitful food of our faithful trust,
Thou hast condemned in most careful case,
Thou furious folly. false and unjust.
Y fierce Pharaoh, follower of heshly lust,
What moved thy mind, by malice, to consent
10 burn Gods word, the holy TESTAMENT"
And thus the poem proceeds in six ad-
ditional verses, giving terrible photo
graph of that willy and ambitious cardinal
who said, in his days of disgrace Had
l served my God as faithfully as I have
served my king Henry VIII. he would
not have deserted me in my old age"
The following is Tyndale's marginal
note on Matthew xvi-xviii-" And l
say, also, unto thee, that thou art Peter"
etc.
Peter, in the Greek, signifeth stone in
the English. This confession is the Rock.
Now is Simon Bar-Jonah, or Simon, the
son of Jonah, called Peter because of his
confession? Whosoever, then, in this
wise, confesseth Christ, the same is called
Peter. Now is this confession come to
all that are true Christians? Then is
every Christian man and woman Peter.
Read the Venerable Bede, Augustine
and Jerome of the manner of loosing and
binding, and note how Jerome checketh
the presumption of the Pharisees of his
time, who yet had not such monstrous
interpretations as our new gods have
feigned. Read Erasmus Annotations.
1t was not for naught that Christ babe
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.
Nothing is so sweet that they make not
sour with their traditions. The gospel,
that joyful tidings, is not bitterer than
the old law. Christs burden is heavier
than the yoke Of Moses. Our condition
and estate is ten times more grievous
than was ever that Of the Jews, the
Pharisees have 50 leavened Christ 6
sweet-bread.
This marginal note gives us the key
note Of the Reformation, and shows clear
ly that the true Church of Christ and the
Church at Rome are antagonistic. The
end Of the latter must be destruction.
The following is the first paragraph Of
Tyndale's prologue to the New Tesla.
ment:
81 have here translated, brethren and
sisters most dear and tenderly beloved
the New Testament for your spiritual
ediiying, consolation and solace, exhort-
ing constantly and beseeching those that
are better seen in the tongues DIETER
scholars in the dead Languages than /,
and who have higher gifts Of grace to
interpret the sense Of the Scripture and
meaning Of the Spirit than /, to consider
and ponder my labor, and that with the
spirit Of meekness. And if they perceive
that in any places that I have not at
tanned the sense Of the tongue or meaning
Of the Scripture, or have not given the
right English word, that they put to
their hands to amend it, remembering
that 50 is their duty to do. For we have
not received the gifts OF God for ourselves
only or to hide them, but to bestow them
unto the honoring Of God and Of Christ