Chapter 9 . Reform in Switzerland
In the choice of instrumentalities for the reforming of the church , the same divine plan is seen as in that for the planting of the church . The heavenly Teacher passed by the great men of the earth , the titled and wealthy , who were accustomed to receive praise and homage as leaders of the people . They were so proud and self-confident in their boasted superiority that they could not be moulded to sympathize with their fellow men and to become co-labourers with the humble Man of Nazareth . To the unlearned , toiling fishermen of Galilee was the call addressed : " Follow Me , and I will make you fishers of men ." Matthew 4:19 . These disciples were humble and teachable . The less they had been influenced by the false teaching of their time , the more successfully could Christ instruct and train them for His service . So in the days of the Great Reformation . The leading Reformers were men from humble life--men who were most free of any of their time from pride of rank and from the influence of bigotry and priestcraft . It is God ' s plan to employ humble instruments to accomplish great results . Then the glory will not be given to men , but to Him who works through them to will and to do of His own good pleasure .
A few weeks after the birth of Luther in a miner ' s cabin in Saxony , Ulric Zwingli was born in a herdsman ' s cottage among the Alps . Zwingli ' s surroundings in childhood , and his early training , were such as to prepare him for his future mission . Reared amid scenes of natural grandeur , beauty , and awful sublimity , his mind was early impressed with a sense of the greatness , the power , and the majesty of God . The history of the brave deeds achieved upon his native mountains kindled his youthful aspirations . And at the side of his pious grandmother he listened to the few precious Bible stories which she had gleaned from amid the legends and traditions of the church . With eager interest he heard of the grand deeds of patriarchs and prophets , of the shepherds who watched their flocks on the hills of Palestine where angels talked with them , of the Babe of Bethlehem and the Man of Calvary .
Like John Luther , Zwingli ' s father desired an education for his son , and the boy was early sent from his native valley . His mind rapidly developed , and it soon became a question where to find teachers competent to instruct him . At the age of thirteen he went to Bern , which then possessed the most distinguished school in Switzerland . Here , however , a danger arose which threatened to blight the promise of his life . Determined efforts were put forth by the friars to allure him into a monastery . The Dominican and Franciscan monks were in rivalry for popular favour . This they endeavoured to secure by the showy adornments of their churches , the pomp of their ceremonials , and the attractions of famous relics and miracle-working images .
The Dominicans of Bern saw that if they could win this talented young scholar , they would secure both gain and honour . His extreme youth , his natural ability as a speaker and writer , and his genius for music and poetry , would be more effective than all their pomp and display , in attracting
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