On March 1st .1562, the massacre of Vassy took place, when a Huguenout congregation was surprised and cut to pieces. On June 8th a law was passed that enabled any person to kill any Huguenot he might meet on the spot. This was more than the Reformed could bear, and we cannot be surprised that they felt the time had come for them to repel their miseries by the sword. France was thus plunged into civil war, which progressed with varying success.
The Pope ,Pius 5., now intervened, and writing to Catherine, the queen -mother advised her to pursue the Huguenots" till the are all massacred; for it is only by the entire extermination of heretics that the Roman Catholic worship can be restored."
Thus was the seed of one of the most dreadful crimes that ever disgraced humanity sown by a Pious pope! This crime is known as The Massacre of St. Bartholomew,which took place on Sunday morning, August 24th 1572 .
Preparations for thisawful deed were made with crafty skill, and they were carried into effect with popish and satanic cruelty. "Let Coligny be killed",said Charles; "and let not one Huguenot in all France be left to reproach me with the deed."
Rome and hell were let loose on that awful night. The streets of Paris ran with blood; and the sun rose upon scenes of horror. Many thousands were killedin various parts of the country. Thus did France reject the Gospel; and God took her at her word. France thirsted for blood; and she had to drink blood to satiety in a coming day. France has had ever since 1572 to reap the penalty of her fearful sin.
The joy of Rome was boundless, and the Pope coined a medal to proclaim to every age his own infamy, and the infinate wickedness of the Papacy, drunken with the blood of the saints of the Most High.
The grief of Geneva,and Scotland, and England was deep; and the Reformers held a day of fasting and prayer. those prayers have been heard and answered.
And what of Charles.?His remorse for this deedof blood left him nothing but misery, awake or asleep. By night his sweat was of blood; by day he was bowed with melancholy. On his deathbed he said to his nurse, "Ah!nurse, what blood , what murders! I know not what will become of me . What shall I do? I am lost.. I see it plainly."Thus died Charles 1x.,May 30th,1574, aged 25.
In 1598 on April15th, the famous Edict of Nantes was issued, the Magna Charta of the French Reformation.It gave full liberty of conscience to all , and granted freedom to the Huguenots in the exercise of their religion. This opened an era of peace and prosperity to France; and the twelve years following were perhaps the most glorious in her history. O that France had been wise!She might have taken her place among the nations.
This Edict cost Henry IV his life. He was assassinated on May 16th, 1610.
In October, 1685,Louis XIV., urged by the agents of Rome, signed and issued the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
thus at a stroke taking away all the liberties of the Reformed.
This act was the death -blow of all the remaining glory of France; it was her suicide. This reveals one of the great laws by which God governs the nations. Recognition of His Word and Gospel brings prosperity; rejection of His truth as certainly brings decay. Even infidel historians confess this ; it is too plain to be denied.
France has been in darkness ever since, her light extinguished by atheism and Popery. The Gospel came to her ,as we have seen, at the Reformation, and she refused it ; and has had to reap the consequences of that refusal. Germany said NO to the Pope; France said NO to God; and the nations must reap as they sow. It came to Germany, England , Scotland ,and Holland;and these received it; and their names were synonymous with prosperity, greatness and power , to the present day.
The tortures ,persecutions , prisons , and galleys, and the cruelties wreaked upon the Huguenots from 1685, were simply so many drops of wrath and vengeance treasured up against the coming day of wrath.God never forgets the kindnesses or the injuries done to His people. The thick dark cloud burst over France in 1793, when God settled the long controversy between her and Himself, between truth and error.From"The Story of the Reformation Retold"
The Pope ,Pius 5., now intervened, and writing to Catherine, the queen -mother advised her to pursue the Huguenots" till the are all massacred; for it is only by the entire extermination of heretics that the Roman Catholic worship can be restored."
Thus was the seed of one of the most dreadful crimes that ever disgraced humanity sown by a Pious pope! This crime is known as The Massacre of St. Bartholomew,which took place on Sunday morning, August 24th 1572 .
Preparations for thisawful deed were made with crafty skill, and they were carried into effect with popish and satanic cruelty. "Let Coligny be killed",said Charles; "and let not one Huguenot in all France be left to reproach me with the deed."
Rome and hell were let loose on that awful night. The streets of Paris ran with blood; and the sun rose upon scenes of horror. Many thousands were killedin various parts of the country. Thus did France reject the Gospel; and God took her at her word. France thirsted for blood; and she had to drink blood to satiety in a coming day. France has had ever since 1572 to reap the penalty of her fearful sin.
The joy of Rome was boundless, and the Pope coined a medal to proclaim to every age his own infamy, and the infinate wickedness of the Papacy, drunken with the blood of the saints of the Most High.
The grief of Geneva,and Scotland, and England was deep; and the Reformers held a day of fasting and prayer. those prayers have been heard and answered.
And what of Charles.?His remorse for this deedof blood left him nothing but misery, awake or asleep. By night his sweat was of blood; by day he was bowed with melancholy. On his deathbed he said to his nurse, "Ah!nurse, what blood , what murders! I know not what will become of me . What shall I do? I am lost.. I see it plainly."Thus died Charles 1x.,May 30th,1574, aged 25.
In 1598 on April15th, the famous Edict of Nantes was issued, the Magna Charta of the French Reformation.It gave full liberty of conscience to all , and granted freedom to the Huguenots in the exercise of their religion. This opened an era of peace and prosperity to France; and the twelve years following were perhaps the most glorious in her history. O that France had been wise!She might have taken her place among the nations.
This Edict cost Henry IV his life. He was assassinated on May 16th, 1610.
In October, 1685,Louis XIV., urged by the agents of Rome, signed and issued the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
thus at a stroke taking away all the liberties of the Reformed.
This act was the death -blow of all the remaining glory of France; it was her suicide. This reveals one of the great laws by which God governs the nations. Recognition of His Word and Gospel brings prosperity; rejection of His truth as certainly brings decay. Even infidel historians confess this ; it is too plain to be denied.
France has been in darkness ever since, her light extinguished by atheism and Popery. The Gospel came to her ,as we have seen, at the Reformation, and she refused it ; and has had to reap the consequences of that refusal. Germany said NO to the Pope; France said NO to God; and the nations must reap as they sow. It came to Germany, England , Scotland ,and Holland;and these received it; and their names were synonymous with prosperity, greatness and power , to the present day.
The tortures ,persecutions , prisons , and galleys, and the cruelties wreaked upon the Huguenots from 1685, were simply so many drops of wrath and vengeance treasured up against the coming day of wrath.God never forgets the kindnesses or the injuries done to His people. The thick dark cloud burst over France in 1793, when God settled the long controversy between her and Himself, between truth and error.From"The Story of the Reformation Retold"
Comments
Post a Comment