Latimer

A Prayer for Salvation

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Isaiah 12:1-6 (ASV)
And in that day thou shalt say, “I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.” Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, “Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.”

A Theme to Remember:
It is not in our power, perhaps, to create fervency of spirit at will, but we can pray God to implant it. It is ours, then, to nourish and cherish it, to guard it against extinction, to prevent its abatement or decline. The process of personal salvation is not only to pray, to express our desires to God, but to acquire a fervent spirit and seek, by all proper means, to cultivate it. It is never out of place to pray God to beget within us, and to keep alive the spirit of fervent prayer (Adapted from E.M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer)

Words to Remember:
We must first be made good before we can do good; we must first be made just before our works can please God.
–Hugh Latimer

Recovery of English Catholicism

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With Edward’s early death in 1553, his older sister Mary became queen. There was a brief attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne but the people wanted their rightful sovereign, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. She was a loyal Catholic and she promptly restored Catholicism and sought the forgiveness of the pope. Cardinal Pole, Mary’s best friend in England, was made papal legate and absolved the nation. Most of the people cared little whether Catholic England was under papal or royal jurisdiction, but many liked the old Catholic ways and there was no disturbance over the changes in religion that Mary made. The leaders in the Church of England were divided in their preferences. Men like Gardiner, whom Mary made Lord Chancellor, and Bonner, Bishop of London, would have been content with royal instead of papal supremacy, and Cranmer preferred Protestantism, but the queen had her way. Gardiner and Bonner fell in with her policies. Cranmer went to the stake, and with him were burned Latimer and Ridley, both eminent scholars, because they would not conform to the Catholic policy of Mary.

Impact: The short and unhappy reign of “Bloody Mary” resulted in the execution of about three hundred persons. She was disappointed in her marriage to Philip II of Spain and was disappointed in her hope of an heir. Her death after five years on the throne was celebrated in England and the people gladly welcomed her half-sister, Elizabeth.

Latimer, Hugh

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Hugh Latimer (c. 1485-1555) was an English bishop and martyr, Latimer was born in Leicestershire, England and received his education at Christ’s College, Cambridge. In 1530 he was appointed a royal chaplain and in 1535 he became the bishop of Worcester. His sermons calling for church reform led to his arrest, although Edward VI later freed him. When Mary Tudor became queen he was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake along with fellow reformer Nicholas Ridley. His popularity and courage helped embolden Protestant believers during the reign of Mary.