Page 31 - 04 The Waldenses

damp stones of their dreary abode, by long

pilgrimages, by humiliating penance and

fearful torture, thousands vainly sought to

obtain peace of conscience. Oppressed with a

sense of sin, and haunted with the fear of

God's avenging wrath, many suffered on,

until exhausted nature gave way, and without

one ray of light or hope they sank into the

tomb.

The Waldenses longed to break to these

starving souls the bread of life, to open to

them the messages of peace in the promises

of God, and to point them to Christ as their

only hope of salvation. The doctrine that

good works can atone for the transgression

of God's law they held to be based upon

falsehood. Reliance upon human merit

intercepts the view of Christ's infinite love.

Jesus died as a sacrifice for man because the