CHAPTER 5
Farel's Return to Montbeliard
FAREL left Basle in company with a Frenchman of noble family, probably Nicholas d'Esche, his friend Anemund being at this time on a visit to Luther. As they intended travelling by way of Strasburg as far as Wittenberg, they were provided with letters of recommendation from Oecolampadius to Capito and Luther. If Farel really went to Wittenberg, his stay there was short, and he soon returned to Strasburg, the general asylum of the persecuted, where he met with a very friendly reception. Before he came to Basle, he had declined preaching, in the expectation that God would raise up men more able and worthy than himself. But as Ecolampadius solemnly and frequently urged him to undertake the ministerial office, his scruples were at length overcome, and he only waited for a suitable opportunity to enter upon this sacred employment. Having been invited by a christian society in Montbeliard to become their pastor, he requested and obtained permission of Duke Ulrick, of Wertemberg, (who resided there after being expelled from his hereditary dominions,) to preach the gospel in that place.
In July, he commenced his labours at Montbeliard with such astonishing success as warranted the expectation of still greater things. The duke and his court were much in his favour, and the people in general had a great desire to hear the word of God; though a few of the higher class were disposed to treat him with contempt, or apprehended unpleasant consequences from his residence amongst them. He lost no time in acquainting his friends at Basle, of the favourable commencement of his ministry. Oecolampadius wrote to congratulate him, and said, "I rejoice that the doctrine of Christ flourishes so much at Montbeliard through your instrumentality, and pray that he who employs you to plant, would also water the plantation, and preserve it alike from insidious attempts to injure it, and from open violence. It is gratifying to cultivate a soil in which the seeds spring up so rapidly; but let us not be satisfied unless we see the fruit matured and our hopes realized, or at least unless we have so fulfilled our office as to leave no occasion for any just reproach to be cast upon us. Be anxious to form not learned, but good men; I mean such as are well instructed in Divine truth and taught of God. It is not a difficult task to gain the attention of people to certain doctrines, and excite a zealous attachment to them, but to impress the heart aright is indeed a Divine work. We must first of all pray for the Holy Spirit, and put our talents to interest. For this purpose we have need of meekness, patience, and love, and, above all, of faith. We require a holy wisdom which is not of this world, but imparted from above, and which will teach us to become, after the example of Christ, 'all things to all men.' But why do I remind you of these things, since I am confident that you are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
Tossanus also wrote to him in the following terms: "I exhort you, for Christ's sake, never to forsake the path in which you have entered so courageously, but to press forward with christian confidence and unshaken resolution. I am glad that the duke and his court are on your side; but there is need of watchfulness, for you well know that the destroyer of our peace never slumbers, but employs every weapon to overcome his opponents; and the more so, whenever any extraordinary attack is made upon his kingdom. To men of the world, many things are objects of desire, which, on close examination, are evidently opposed to the spirit of the gospel. Be cautious, therefore, and try every thing by the unerring standard of the Scriptures. The cause to which you have devoted yourself, is to great to be profaned by offers of wealth, of worldly gratifications, or of secular aid; but, if we waver between these objects and the requirements of the gospel, we shall have fallen from Christ, and shall walk in darkness. However, I do not write thus to you, because I think that you need to be admonished; but as proof of my regard for you, and my desire that Christ may be planted in every heart." The chevalier Anemund was the bearer of these friendly epistles.
Scarcely had his friends despatched these expressions of sympathy and encouragement, when Oecolampadius was informed of an occurance, apparently disastrous, but which ultimately had a favourable effect on the progress of the gospel. The guardian of the franciscans at Besancon, with a dean of the Priory, and some other persons, interrupted Farel while preaching, by giving him the lie, and denouncing his doctrine as unchristian, before the whole congregation. The hearers, Germans as well as Frenchmen, loudly expressed their disapprobation of such a gross breach of decorum. The duke's attendants, fearing a tumult, hastened with the intelligence to the castle. The duke came down, reprimanded the dean, and desired him to use his authority in preserving the peace. If the preacher, he added, had inculcated any thing unchristian and erroneous, he might note it down and controvert it at a suitable time and place, and in so doing, might depend on his (the duke's) protection. The dean took the admonition in good part, but not so the guardian; he came forward in another church in the afternoon, and not only contradicted and abused Farel's sermon, but endeavoured to excite a tumult in the town. The duke put both the guardian and Farel under arrest; the guardian was required either to show on good grounds that Farel's discourse was erroneous and heretical, or to retract what he had said respecting it; he chose the latter alternative, and confessed from the pulpit, before the whole congregation, that farel had spoken the truth, and that his opposition proceeded from undue warmth of temper and inconsideration. This acknowledgment was committed to writing. The guardian having complied with all the conditions required, was dismissed: and to prevent the circulation of false reports, an official statement of the whole affair was published in Latin and German.
Farel's zeal appears to have been increased by this opposition; and as the clergy had been very active in the business, he attacked them with great vehemence and acrimony, in a manner not altogether consistent with the dignity of his office. He began also to preach against the sacrifice of the mass, regardless of the wise advice of Oecolampadius, that his first object should be to banish antichrist from the hearts of his hearers. The course he pursued served rather to exasperate than to conciliate. His faithful monitor heard of this from a mutual friend, of whom he significantly inquired, "how it fared with Farel's meekness?" The friend bore the strongest testimony to his activity, faithfulness, and success, but mentioned at the same time how violently he attacked the priests, particularly on the subject of the mass. Oecolampadius, fearful lest Farel's zeal should carry him too far, reminded him of the resolutions which he formed at Basle, and endeavoured to attemper his zeal with meekness and modesty. "Mankind," said he, "must be led, not driven. We must keep one object in view, to win souls for Christ, and consider how we ourselves should wish to be taught, if we were still enveloped in darkness, and bound in the fetters of antichrist.
"The image of Christ must be visible in your life and doctrine. It is true that the Saviour at times spoke harshly to obstinate Pharisees, though more meekly than his words are generally rendered; at one time full of compassion, at another, in a way of warning, and again with earnestness, blended with meekness, so that his benevolence was never more conspicuous than in his treatment of his most violent persecutors and enemies. But let this suffice; I know that you wish to be a healing physician, and not a tormentor of your fellow-man." On another occasion he thus expressed himself: "You will not be able to gain over to Christ every Ananias and Sapphira who resist the Holy Spirit; therefore, let them alone, and assist the weakness of others. It is not enough that you are friendly to your friends; you must spare no pains to win over your enemies. Noble minds express their anger only on proper occasions. We know the zeal of Elijah, but before we adopt him for our model, let is consider the circumstances in which he was placed, and whether he always glowed with the same fire. Above all, I wish you to copy the meekness and gentleness of Christ, and follow in the footsteps of 'the Good Shepherd,' who 'laid down his life for the sheep.'"
Tossanus also wrote to him as follows: "I thank God that he has employed you for the purpose of making known his beloved Son to the world. Do not, however, be elated on this account; distrust yourself, and study to show yourself a faithful teacher, who not only instructs the people to despise things which have little connexion with christian truth, but so trains and fortifies their minds, that they may bid defiance to every storm." Farel was sensible of the heart-felt affections from which these admonitions flowed; he also acknowledged the excellence and necessity of meekness, but the opposition he met with, combined with his compassion for the ignorant and deluded, led him frequently to employ expressions of indignant zeal.
During the winter, a friar of the order of St. Anthony came into the neighbourhood of Montbeliard, and employed a monk to publish and recommend from the pulpit an assortment of relics, for which he hoped to find purchasers. After the announcement of these wares, Farel and John Gailing (the court preacher, and a disciple of Luther, who first preached the gospel in the duchy of Wirtemberg) appealed to the senate to put a stop to such blasphemy and imposture. Farel represented in strong terms how much evil had been caused by designing men, who, by such traffic, had destroyed souls, robbed God of his glory, and the poor of the produce of their labour. The senate, however, had not courage to act, in accordance with the wishes of the preachers, and alleged that cognizance of such matters belonged not to them, but to the duke. To him, therefore, application was made, that he would dismiss the obnoxious individual. But that no one might charge the duke or the adherents of the reformed faith with injustice, in dismissing a person unheard, it was further requested that, though the friar should not be allowed to preach or sell his relics, he might be allowed to prove, if possible, the propriety of his conduct, from the holy Scriptures.
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25/10/2009
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