Hello, I'm Doctor Kylie Fisher. Welcome to heavenly harmonies. Psalm 119, verse 105 says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
The word of God. The Bible brought light and hope to millions during the darkest period of this earth's history, when Satan worked with all his power to crush out God's church. Upon reading the sacred pages of that book, Martin Luther cried out, oh, that God would give me such a book for myself.
The longing of Luther and countless others is expressed in the hymn, give me the Bible. Stay with me to find out how this song can keep you near to the heart of God. This season, we are exploring the theme of the Bible, the great controversy between good and evil, through song.
And so in our first episode, we looked at the hymn, we are living, we are dwelling. We saw that terrible, this terrible war between good and evil, between Christ and his angels and the rebellious Lucifer, then now turned devil and his angels, began in heaven. And today it is reaching its climax right here on planet Earth.
We also saw how our saviour came to earth personally. That was about 2000 years ago. He came personally to die for us and to set us an example of obedience.
And at the death of Christ, Satan was cast down. The death of Christ in man's behalf was an argument that could not be overthrown. And so he brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
And we learn more about this through our second episode, victory through grace, that wonderful hymn. And so, following the return of Christ to heaven, his disciples spoke, spread the gospel all over the world. And the early christian church was a pure church.
It was symbolised in revelation, chapter six, by a white horse going into battle, conquering and to conquer. And so the early church conquered, through their love for Christ, which led to unselfish love for one another. But this, of course, stirred the hatred, the ire of God's enemy, Satan.
And we saw in the hymn sound the battle cry, see, the foe is nigh. Satan made war on the christian church and at first, he made open war. He persecuted Christians by having them thrown to the lions, by torturing them in all sorts of ways.
And yet still the church of Christ went forward and it continued to grow and it continued to spread. And so when Satan saw that he was losing the battle for human souls, he then tried to achieve through strategy what he had not been able to do by force. And he led the church, many church leaders, to form a compromise with the world.
And so, for the sake of personal safety and worldly honours, many Christians sacrificed, bit by bit, their obedience to God and to his word. But there were some we found out in our episode last week. There were some who maintained their allegiance to God and their allegiance to his word.
They found the blessed hope of salvation through Christ, and they found that hope in the living word of God. And so people like the Waldenzis copied out the scriptures, and they, even though the visible church at that time tried to destroy these people and tried to wipe them and the Bible from the earth, God would not permit his word to be destroyed. And so in secret places, these people copied out the scriptures, and they preserved the word of God.
And it has been preserved down to our day. Even though Satan sought to get rid of it, he was not able to. And I did also briefly mention John Wycliffe, who was the first to translate the scriptures into the english language.
And that was during the 13 hundreds during the 14th century. And so today, in our hymn, we are going to be looking at the hymn, give me the Bible, and I will be particularly looking at how this hymn reflects upon the experiences of Luther. Martin Luther, who is, I guess, looked on as kind of almost the leading reformer in the Reformation.
He was a bold figure. But, you know, Luther did not work alone. He worked with Philip Melanchthon, was his co worker.
And there were people in all other lands, in fact, who at a similar time, they came to similar conclusions with Luther, which shows the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit was working on people's minds in various places in the world. And it was amazing just how similar the conclusions of these people, all studying independently, were. It was just really amazing, a really amazing evidence of the power of God and the power of his Holy Spirit.
So in our episode today, we're going to be particularly looking at Luther, and we are also going to look at William Tyndale, who was really to go a long way towards, although he didn't quite finish it before he was actually martyred, but he went a long way towards completing the work of Wycliffe in translating the Bible into the english language. So in Wycliffe's day, the Bible was actually only available in Latin. And so that was the Bible that Wycliffe worked from.
He worked from the Vulgate. It was the best Bible that was available at the time. But by the time that Martin Luther and William Tyndale, you know, they were both living at the same time, working in very close proximity, I'm not sure that they actually met each other.
But Tyndale, in fact, could not get his Bible published, or not the whole Bible, but the New Testament, he could not get it published in England, so he actually went to Germany, and it was there that he was able to publish his New Testament. By the time of Luther and Tyndale, the scriptures had become available, and which is whole amazing story in itself, but we don't have time, unfortunately, for that, in this episode. But they had become available.
The New Testament had become available in its original language of Greek, Koina Greek. And the Old Testament had become available in its original language of Hebrew. And so it was from those scriptures that Luther was able to produce his german translation.
And then Tyndale, within a very few years of that, was able to produce the first English New Testament. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, because so far we haven't even started discussing our hymn. But it was the love of the Bible that compelled these men and others as well, to work to translate the Bible, because they found hope, they found peace in God's word, the Bible, a peace that, you know, both Tyndale and Luther were very learned men, yet in the Bible, they found what their soul was longing for.
They found hope and a peace that they had not been able to find in all of the scholarly works that they looked at in all of the rites of the church. They found peace, they found truth. They found Jesus Christ in the Bible, in the living word of God.
So let's look at this hymn and see how it does reflect on their experience. So the first verse of give me the Bible says, give me the Bible, star of gladness gleaming to cheer the wanderer lone and tempest tossed no storm can hide that peaceful radiance beaming since Jesus came to seek and save the lost give me the Bible holy message shining thy light shall guide me in the narrow way precept and promise law and love combining till night shall vanish in eternal day yeah. And so, as we have been saying, the Bible brought hope and comfort to the hearts of Luther and Tyndale.
And through their work in translating the scriptures, it brought hope and comfort into the lives of thousands and, you know, millions through the years. In fact, the King James Version of the Bible, the New Testament, at least in some places as high as 90%, the work of William Tyndale. And in fact, just even many of the phrases that are used in common English today are phrases that actually come from Tyndale's New Testament.
And so it just shows the enduring power of Tyndale as a translator and also the power of God's word. But give me the Bible star of gladness gleaming let's have a look at some Bible verses about this song. So let's start by looking at two Peter, chapter one and verse 19.
2nd Peter, chapter one and verse 19. And here in two Peter chapter one. Peter is talking about, amongst other things, he speaks about his personal experience and how one time he was, you know, which is told in the gospels, but we don't have time to read it today.
He was he. James and John were up on a mountain with Jesus and before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured. He appeared with the glory that was his in heaven before he came down to earth.
And Peter, speaking about this experience, you know, speaks about that. It was a wonderful experience. He says, you know, I'm not just telling you a fable, that is the actual truth of what happened.
But Peter found hope, more hope and comfort in something else. Let's have a look at it. Two Peter chapter one and verse 19, which says, we have also a more sure word of prophecy.
So Peter found greater hope in the Bible and in the prophecies of the Bible than in his own experience, you know, the experience of his senses. You know, we can rely 100% on the Bible. The words of the Bible are always true.
So Peter said, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well, that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. And so the Bible is a light.
As I said in the introduction to this programme, psalm 119 105 says, thy word, the Bible, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And so the Bible is a light because it points us to Christ. He is the light.
He is the light of the world. Jesus said in John chapter eight. But let's have a look at a couple of other verses about this, because revelation chapter 22 and verse 16, Jesus gives himself another name.
So in John chapter eight, he says, I am the light of the world. So the light of the world, that's a name. That is Christ's.
But let's just have a look at revelation chapter 20 216. Because there Jesus says, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. And then he says, I'm the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.
Jesus is the bright and morning star. You know, he's like the sun that is our closest star and it lights everything. And when Jesus comes into our life, it just lights up our whole lives and it just really transforms your life.
But I wanted to mention that verse in particular, because I was saying in some previous episodes about the prophecies in revelation, and we looked at a few prophecies in revelation, chapter two, that told about the history of the christian church. So we looked in particular at the church of Pergamos, but the church that, in terms of time period, was to follow the church of Pergamos. So, I mean, these are, you know, the Church of Ephesus, the church of Smyrna, the church of Pergamos, the church of Thyatira.
Those are the four churches in revelation two. And then revelation three, you've got another three churches. So these are all.
It's not like they're actually different churches. It's a depiction of the experience of God's people through the christian ages, all the way up to the second coming. And so the church of Thyatira actually foretells and gives us a depiction of the things that were happening during the Dark Ages and about the time of also Luther and Tyndale.
And there's a wonderful promise. There's various different promises, actually, there's promises given to every one of those who overcome during these different time periods, a promise that particularly contains something that has special significance to the people living at that time. But I really like revelation 228.
This is one of the promises to the church of the Hataira, which says, I will give him the morning star. And so, in the Bible, you know, we've been speaking about the waldenses. We've been speaking about Wycliffe, Luther, Tyndale, all of these people found in the Bible, Jesus.
They found Jesus the bright and morning star. And so, yeah, that was just a wonderful, wonderful promise to those people living at that time when there was just such terrible and such intense persecution. They found the Bible to be a light in a dark place.
And so let's go on to the second verse of this hymn which says, give me the Bible when my heart is broken when sin and grief have filled my soul with fear give me the precious words by Jesus spoken hold up faith's lamp to show my saviour near. And this so much does apply, I think, to what we know of the life of Martin Luther. Because Martin Luther, you know, at an early age.
Age, he decided to become a monk, and he locked himself away in a convent and tried to earn salvation by works of penance. And he did everything that he could possibly have done to try to earn salvation, and yet he could not find rest for his soul. And, you know, then, providentially, he was guided to a Bible which was chained to the wall of the convent where he was.
And it was as he was reading that Bible for the first time that he said, oh, God, would give me such a book as this for myself. He found in the Bible that which he had not been able to find elsewhere. So, yeah, Luther found the longing of his soul met in the Bible, and yet still, you know, he was still doing acts of penance.
And one day he made a pilgrimage to Rome. And while he was there, he was climbing Pilate staircase, what was believed to be pilot staircase, on his knees, in order to obtain, as he believed, the forgiveness of sins. But suddenly, as he knelt there on that staircase, all of a sudden, the verse, a verse that he had read in the Bible from Romans, chapter one, verses 16 and 17, it thundered in his mind when he suddenly thought, the just shall live by faith.
And he leaped up from that flight of stairs and he left the place in horror as he realised that none of his works could add to the salvation that Christ had brought through his life and death. And so that text never lost its power on Luther's soul. Yeah.
Was to lead to tremendous struggle against the leading church of that time, but through the Bible and the hope that he found in Christ and in the forgiveness of sins, as promised in the Bible. So, as our song says, precept and promise, law and love combining, so Luther found a promise, the hope of salvation in the Bible. And through that, he was strengthened to stand against the highest dignitaries of both state and church as they combined to persecute him.
And, you know, in order to save his life, an official arranged for Luther's capture so that he could be taken away to a castle where he would be safe for his own protection. And it was there that Luther translated the scriptures of the New Testament. So that was.
That was such an amazing blessing to the world, although that was not what Luther actually wanted to be doing at that time. But it was amazing how God's providence worked. So the Bible brought Luther hope from fear, from that fear that it held him in bondage all of his life to, you know, enslaved him to these useless works.
And instead, he gave his life to Christ and to the spread of his word. So let's have a look at verse three of this hymn. Give me the Bible, all my steps enlighten, teach me the danger of these realms below that lamp of safety or the gloom shall brighten that light alone the path of peace can show.
And I want to speak particularly about Tyndale with respect to this, because, you know, Tyndale was, as I said he was a scholar, but he found wonderful hope and truth in God's word. And as he was working to tell people and to explain to people about the Bible, you know, he would go from place to place, and then, though, when he would return to the priest place where he had previously been, that people had forgotten the things that he said. And that was when he realised that people needed to have the word of God in their own language, in their own tongue.
They needed to have the Bible in their hands so that they could study it for themselves. And that awakened in him this desire to translate the Bible. And so, because only the Bible can expose the deceptions of Satan, you know, those deceptions that were so strong in the days of Luther and Tyndale, and today it's pretty much actually the same deceptions, but just kind of like, newly packaged again today.
And so only the Bible can bring us that hope. It can, yeah. Show us the danger of these things that we think will bring happiness and peace into our lives.
But actually, if it's not according to God's will, if it's not what is in the law of God? As our song says, precept and promise. Precept is another word for, like commandment or law. Precept and promise, law and love, combining till night shall vanish in eternal day.
So if it's not in harmony with God's law and in harmony with God's will, it can never bring peace and true, lasting happiness into our life. But let's speak just briefly before we listen to fountain view sing this beautiful hymn for us. I do want to speak about the fourth verse of this hymn.
Now, fountain view is not going to sing this fourth verse, but I felt that particularly with speaking about Luther and Tyndale, I just could not help but mention this fourth verse because the last line of the chorus says, till Nigel vanish in eternal day. And that brings us to the final verse of this hymn which says, give me the Bible, lamp of life immortal. Hold up that splendour by the open grave.
Show me the light from heaven's shining portal. Show me the glory gilding Jordan's wave. You know, the Bible exposed to Luther and Tyndale the futility of trusting to their own works for salvation, trusting to their own works to gain merit with God.
But what they also found in the Bible was the truth of the resurrection, and it was that truth and hope in the resurrection. I believe that was one of the things that enabled William Tyndale on, I believe it was the 6 October 1536 to give his life at the stake for the scriptures that he had worked so hard to translate. He was willing to do that because he looked forward to the resurrection, and that was a hope that he found in the Bible.
He looked forward to an eternal life with Christ in a world made new. And so let's now listen to this wonderful hymn sung by fountainview. Give me the Bible give me the Bible serpent is free to cheer the wonder alone and tempest toss no storm can hide that peacefully since Jesus came to seek and say the lost give me the Bible holy message shining thy light shall guide me in the narrow way precept and promise long walk combining till mine shall vanish in eternal day give me the bible when my heart is broken when sin and grief have filled my soul with fear give me the precious words by Jesus spoken hold a face lamp to show my saviour need give me the Bible holy message shining thy life shall guide me in the narrow way precept and promise long welcome binning till thy shall vanish eternal day give me the Bible always steps to light and teach me the danger of these rounds below that when my safety order will shall brighten that light along the path of peace and show give me the Bible holy message shining thy life shall guide me in the narrow way precept and promise why welcome mine till I shall vanish in eternal day give me the Bible I am so glad that God has preserved his word.
You know, through terrible, terrible storms of persecution against his church, he has preserved this word for us, and also through the sacrifice of those like the waldenses, luther, Tyndale, many, many others. So let's say a prayer to thank God for his word and to express this wonderful joy and the hope that we find in his word. And, dear God, we are just so grateful for your protecting care that despite the attempts of Satan to blot your people and your word from the earth, you have taken care of your word.
And it says in Isaiah 48, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever. We're just so grateful for this word, dear Lord, and I just pray that we may have the courage and strength of those like Luther and Tyndale, who were willing to risk their lives and even give their lives to preserve this word. Help us to find the hope and the peace that they found in it and to find that peace in Christ the bright and morning star.
I pray in Jesus name. Amen. So thank you so much for joining me today on heavenly harmonies.
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