Page 11 - 12 The French Reformation

people might have access to the word of God

for themselves, and this was soon

accomplished. Lefevre undertook the

translation of the New Testament; and at the

very time when Luther's German Bible was

issuing from the press in Wittenberg, the

French New Testament was published at

Meaux. The bishop spared no labor or

expense to circulate it in his parishes, and

soon the peasants of Meaux were in

possession of the Holy Scriptures.

As travelers perishing from thirst welcome

with joy a living water spring, so did these

souls receive the message of heaven. The

laborers in the field, the artisans in the

workshop, cheered their daily toil by talking

of the precious truths of the Bible. At evening,

instead of resorting to the wine-shops, they

assembled in one another's homes to read