#2 Restore our Heritage... of making known the Word

Yesterday we prayed that God would restore the Cambridge heritage of persevering prayer demonstrated by the life of Charles Simeon. Today our theme is that of making known the Word of God, exemplified in the life of one-time Cambridge student William Tyndale.

Tyndale was at Cambridge from 1517-1521. And perhaps it was while at Cambridge that he determined to translate the Bible -- certainly it was not long after, for in 1523 he was approaching a bishop in London to get permission from the church to do so.

Until then the Bible was available only in the Latin Vulgate, so that only those with a theological education could understand it. But Tyndale was convinced that the Bible needed to be available to all Christians -- not just those ordained.

The story is told of an argument between Tyndale and a clergyman, in which the clergyman was saying that it would be better for people to be without God's laws than those of the church. Swelling with emotion, Tyndale declared to the clergyman that he defied the human authorities of the church:
"and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"

His life was not spared long enough to complete translating the whole Bible -- he was betrayed in 1536 and put to death for the 'crime' of making the Word of God known. But his final words were "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes!" and within four years, four translations of the Bible into English had been published at the behest of that same King.

Pray with us for that heritage of making the Word of God known to be restored in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thank-you for the privilege of being able to know your Word. Thank-you for the example of William Tyndale, and his willingness even to die to make your Word known. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Would you raise up students in this city who would trust and obey your Word even in the face of misunderstanding and opposition. Would you send missionaries out from Cambridge to those places which do not yet have the Bible in their own language. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

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To hear more about William Tyndale and his faithfulness in making known the Word of God, as well as other significant people of the Word in Cambridge's Heritage, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the second of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.