Page 37 - 05 John Wycliffe

with palsy, and in a short time yielded up his

life.

God had appointed to Wycliffe his work. He

had put the word of truth in his mouth, and

He set a guard about him that this word

might come to the people. His life was

protected, and his labors were prolonged,

until a foundation was laid for the great work

of the Reformation.

Wycliffe came from the obscurity of the Dark

Ages. There were none who went before him

from whose work he could shape his system

of reform. Raised up like John the Baptist to

accomplish a special mission, he was the

herald of a new era. Yet in the system of truth

which he presented there was a unity and

completeness which Reformers who followed

him did not exceed, and which some did not

reach, even a hundred years later. So broad