fear , where no fear was : for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee : thou hast put them to shame , because God hath despised them ." Psalm 53:5 .
The papal leaders , despairing of conquering by force , at last resorted to diplomacy . A compromise was entered into , that while professing to grant to the Bohemians freedom of conscience , really betrayed them into the power of Rome . The Bohemians had specified four points as the condition of peace with Rome : the free preaching of the Bible ; the right of the whole church to both the bread and the wine in the communion , and the use of the mother tongue in divine worship ; the exclusion of the clergy from all secular offices and authority ; and , in cases of crime , the jurisdiction of the civil courts over clergy and laity alike . The papal authorities at last " agreed that the four articles of the Hussites should be accepted , but that the right of explaining them , that is , of determining their precise import , should belong to the council--in other words , to the pope and the emperor ." -- Wylie , b . 3 , ch . 18 . On this basis a treaty was entered into , and Rome gained by dissimulation and fraud what she had failed to gain by conflict ; for , placing her own interpretation upon the Hussite articles , as upon the Bible , she could pervert their meaning to suit her own purposes .
A large class in Bohemia , seeing that it betrayed their liberties , could not consent to the compact . Dissensions and divisions arose , leading to strife and bloodshed among themselves . In this strife the noble Procopius fell , and the liberties of Bohemia perished . Sigismund , the betrayer of Huss and Jerome , now became king of Bohemia , and regardless of his oath to support the rights of the Bohemians , he proceeded to establish popery . But he had gained little by his subservience to Rome . For twenty years his life had been filled with labours and perils . His armies had been wasted and his treasuries drained by a long and fruitless struggle ; and now , after reigning one year , he died , leaving his kingdom on the brink of civil war , and bequeathing to posterity a name branded with infamy .
Tumults , strife , and bloodshed were protracted . Again foreign armies invaded Bohemia , and internal dissension continued to distract the nation . Those who remained faithful to the gospel were subjected to a bloody persecution . As their former brethren , entering into compact with Rome , imbibed her errors , those who adhered to the ancient faith had formed themselves into a distinct church , taking the name of " United Brethren ." This act drew upon them maledictions from all classes . Yet their firmness was unshaken . Forced to find refuge in the woods and caves , they still assembled to read God ' s word and unite in His worship .
Through messengers secretly sent out into different countries , they learned that here and there were " isolated confessors of the truth , a few in this city and a few in that , the object , like themselves , of persecution ; and that amid the mountains of the Alps was an ancient church , resting on the foundations of Scripture , and protesting against the idolatrous corruptions of Rome ." --Wylie , b . 3 , ch . 19 . This intelligence was received with great joy , and a correspondence was opened with the
67