At Zurich , Zwingli preached zealously against the pardonmongers ; and when Samson approached the place , he was met by a messenger from the council with an intimation that he was expected to pass on . He finally secured an entrance by stratagem , but was sent away without the sale of a single pardon , and he soon after left Switzerland . A strong impetus was given to the reform by the appearance of the plague , or Great Death , which swept over Switzerland in the year 1519 . As men were thus brought face to face with the destroyer , many were led to feel how vain and worthless were the pardons which they had so lately purchased ; and they longed for a surer foundation for their faith . Zwingli at Zurich was smitten down ; he was brought so low that all hope of his recovery was relinquished , and the report was widely circulated that he was dead . In that trying hour his hope and courage were unshaken . He looked in faith to the cross of Calvary , trusting in the all-sufficient propitiation for sin . When he came back from the gates of death , it was to preach the gospel with greater fervour than ever before ; and his words exerted an unwonted power . The people welcomed with joy their beloved pastor , returned to them from the brink of the grave . They themselves had come from attending upon the sick and the dying , and they felt , as never before , the value of the gospel .
Zwingli had arrived at a clearer understanding of its truths , and had more fully experienced in himself its renewing power . The fall of man and the plan of redemption were the subjects upon which he dwelt . " In Adam ," he said , " we are all dead , sunk in corruption and condemnation ." - Wylie , b . 8 , ch . 9 . " Christ . . . has purchased for us a never-ending redemption . . . . His passion is . . . an eternal sacrifice , and everlastingly effectual to heal ; it satisfies the divine justice forever in behalf of all those who rely upon it with firm and unshaken faith ." Yet he clearly taught that men are not , because of the grace of Christ , free to continue in sin . " Wherever there is faith in God , there God is ; and wherever God abideth , there a zeal exists urging and impelling men to good works ." -D ' Aubigne , b . 8 , ch . 9 .
Such was the interest in Zwingli ' s preaching that the cathedral was filled to overflowing with the crowds that came to listen to him . Little by little , as they could bear it , he opened the truth to his hearers . He was careful not to introduce , at first , points which would startle them and create prejudice . His work was to win their hearts to the teachings of Christ , to soften them by His love , and keep before them His example ; and as they should receive the principles of the gospel , their superstitious beliefs and practices would inevitably be overthrown . Step by step the Reformation advanced in Zurich . In alarm its enemies aroused to active opposition . One year before , the monk of Wittenberg had uttered his No to the pope and the emperor at Worms , and now everything seemed to indicate a similar withstanding of the papal claims at Zurich . Repeated attacks were made upon Zwingli . In the papal cantons , from time to time , disciples of the gospel were brought to the stake , but this was not enough ; the teacher of heresy must be silenced . Accordingly the bishop of Constance dispatched three deputies to the Council of Zurich , accusing
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