It is a great privilege for us here today to be at St. Andrews in Scotland and in particular to be outside the church of St. Salvador's, the very church in front of which Patrick Hamilton was martyred for his biblical faith. Patrick Hamilton was the pioneer of biblical faith at the time of the Reformation in Scotland. Biblical faith had come in the 6th century with Columba from Ireland, from Iona reaching out through different parts of Scotland. But at the time of the Reformation Biblical faith again came into Scotland and the pioneer was Patrick Hamilton. It is a great privilege for me today to have the historian Vincent Horn with us and Vincent it is wonderful to have you here at this very place of St. Salvador's where Patrick Hamilton gave his life for biblical faith. Before I question sincere about the life of Patrick Hamilton, I would just like to fill a little historical background to the way things were in Scotland at the beginning of the 16th century. Things were that the Catholic Church was very much in control of the whole of life, the population at the time in Scotland was about 800,000 people and of that 800,000 about 3,000 were priests. the archbishop and his bishops and the priests were quite wealthy and the people in general were very poor and the people's revenue came to the Catholic Church and it increased in wealth and the Catholic Church was very intent that they would hold the revenue of the people to themselves because that was needed Now in 1513 James IV was killed on the field of battle at the famous battle of Flodden and with his death was the death of many of the nobles. So the civil power for the most part came into the hands of the Archbishop Beeton, he and his bishops took over a lot of the civil control because the young king that was to succeed James IV, James V was too young to rule and the civil rule for the most part was now in the hands of the archbishop. It looked impossible that any reformation could take place because the whole mind of the clergy from the archbishop to the bishops and the priests was to control the people and that the whole idea of indulgences would continue and bring revenue to the church That the whole idea of praying to the saints of purgatory, of getting souls out of purgatory, and on and on, and looking to sacraments rather than looking to the person of Christ Jesus to save, it looked impossible that anything could change the situation. but the Lord God wants to change the situation and that's what we praise him for as we stand here just outside the church where Patrick Hamilton gave his life and so I want now to ask you sincere if you could trace First of all, the scene of reformation that the Lord was raising up across Europe, and then you would address the whole life of Patrick Hamilton. When we come to look at the situation of that period of Patrick Hamilton, we must take into consideration that there were many factors that played a part in the initial work of reformation. They may seem to many people to be indirect in their purpose and their plan for reformation, but they were all part of the purpose and plan of Almighty God to bring about reformation. We think, for example, of the way in which there came this new learning through the Renaissance Then we had the aspect of the work being done in the printing press, making books and other things available to the general public. These things were very important for the spread of the knowledge of the truth of the gospel in those days. And so we find then that these were very important factors in the case of Patrick Hamilton. And in his case it was the fact that God not only had material, God not only had messengers in the sense of the printing press, but he had also men that he wanted to use in the work of reformation. And Patrick Hamilton was the first of a group of men that God used. And when we look at the way in which these men were chosen by God, it was very wonderful indeed to see that each one led on to another. Patrick Hamilton, for example, was an evangelist. George Wishart, who followed Patrick Hamilton as a martyr, he was a teacher. John Knox, who followed George Wishart, he was both an evangelist and a teacher, but he was a great organizer. We mention these things because they are very important in our understanding of the Reformation. William Tyndale's translation of the scriptures had reached Scotland and it was possible to be able to read the scriptures in the English language and Patrick Hamilton was coming in where the time was when people could have the scriptures in their own language and that it was wonderful that the wonderful vision as it were of the purpose of William Tyndale that the the ordinary man, the plowman, could have the scriptures and know the scriptures better than anyone else, much more than those unlearned clergy that were working to represent Christ at the time. So Patrick Hamilton came along and we praise God that the Lord raised him up. Can you tell us something sincere about his background? What type of family background did he come from? and what was his education and where did he get his first understanding of Biblical truth of the Reformation? Patrick Hamilton was born of a noble family. His father was descended from royalty and he himself had occupied a very important place because he was appointed as the abbot of Fern in the north of Scotland and so he was established in the circles both in the royalty and in the church. And Patrick Hamilton was indeed very proud of his ancestry in every sense of the term. Can you explain something of his learning? How was he intellectually and what was his academic training? Well Patrick Hamilton was privileged to be able to come to St. Andrews University and he spent his first year here and progressed through the various classes that he was taking but there was something that gripped the mind of Patrick Hamilton and that was the influence of the scriptures that were coming through the works of William Tyndale, the works of Martin Luther that were coming. It was a very important time in Scottish history. These things were not being brought into the country in a transparent way, but they were being smuggled into the country in bags of meal and bales of cloth and so on and so forth. and they were reaching many people in Scotland. The authorities got to know about this and they clamped down on it and all along the east coast of Scotland there was great consternation about what was happening at this particular time. Patrick Hamilton, after his first year, decided that he would go to the continent and he went to France in Paris and there he established himself in the university and here he was to come into direct contact with the teaching of Martin Luther. This was spreading across France at this particular time and there were many notable people who were influenced by that teaching. and Bathack Hamilton was just one of the many who came under the influence of Martin Luther's teaching. People may say, why Martin Luther? Well, Martin Luther was the man who, as it were, lit the torch of Reformation and the man who was responsible for opening up the Scriptures and showing that in the Scriptures there was only one way of salvation It wasn't by doing penance, it wasn't by following the ritual of the church, it wasn't indeed for praying for the souls of those who had departed. It was a trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. And that was expanded and was extended into a basic Christian doctrine. And yet that doctrine has been brought out very clearly in the sense that it was scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone and faith alone. Meanwhile Archbishop Beeton was very much content to spread of Martin Luther's doctrine which is biblical doctrine and faith in Christ alone and it came in as a civil injunction that nobody was allowed even to possess the writings of Martin Luther. Nonetheless Patrick Hamilton continued and he wants to continue his studies and I think As far as I remember, it was in Paris, was it not, that he went to study, is that correct? Yes. Can you explain what happened in Paris? Well, as I've said, he came under this tremendous influence and became part of the community that were listening to and reading the exposition of Martin Luther's teaching. He came back to Scotland, fired with enthusiasm for his teaching, and he began to spread it among the students of St. Andrews University. And of course that came to the light of the authorities, and they began to clamp down on it, and Patrick Hamilton was very concerned about this whole situation. and in his second year he left St. Andrews very much under pressure because he was being followed and he was being regarded as a heretic in the situation. And he went back to Europe. This time he was intending to meet with Martin Luther in Wittenberg But sadly the plague in Wittenberg prevented him from meeting with Martin Luther. He never made his journey to Wittenberg. But he met with a friend and a co-worker in the work of reformation with Martin Luther and that was Philip Melanchthon. And he talked with him and discussed matters with him. And then he went to Marburg University. and there he was established in that university, and it's interesting that Marburger was a place where William Tyndale was doing his work of translation. So these two men had something in common, and there Patrick Hamilton worked very hard and he was invited to give a series of lectures on a subject that was very much in his own mind and in his own heart and he gave a series of lectures on the law and grace and so Philip Patrick Hamilton was established in these things that were very, very important at that particular time. Yes, it would be text like the great text in Romans 3, 24, but now the righteousness of God is seen as we go back to verse 21, even the righteousness of Christ being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It was things like this that Patrick Hamilton was able to preach. preached the law and the gospel. He was preaching, yes, there is law. Yes, there is the law of Christ to fulfill all righteousness so that unholy sinners could be saved before the all-holy God by the righteousness of Christ and his grace and they would stand complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. These were the wonders of the truth that Patrick Hamilton was able to portray there at Marlborough University and he did so so excellent that his name was renowned. He returned again to Scotland and it looked as if there was the possibility of some reformation. It was made as if the Cardinal, beg your pardon, the Archbishop Beaton and his bishops were willing to talk with him and that there could be a reformation in the church in Scotland. When he returned to Scotland Indeed, it was that the Archbishop wanted to see him, but it was not done in ways that were honest. It was done in deceitfulness, and it was done so that Patrick Hamilton was deceived. It was not an idea of Reformation, it was the whole concept of wiping out the Reformation by wiping out Patrick Hamilton himself. to have him burned at the stake. Can you explain the details behind how Patrick Hamilton was deceived by the Archbishop Peter? Well, to put the situation in perspective, when Patrick Hamilton came back from Marburg, he established himself not in a large church or anything else, he established himself in his father's estate. He saw in that estate a work for ministry, a work for evangelism and he began to evangelize the workers in that estate and bringing the message of the gospel to them. His work progressed and he was greatly encouraged and then he received this summons as it were from the Archbishop to appear here at St Andrews, and taking it at its face value, Patrick Hamilton thought that this was to be a conference on church reform. And when he came to St Andrews he met with church leaders and others and he felt that he was making some headway in this particular situation. And then suddenly the whole scheme was brought to a head and Patrick Hamilton was declared to be a heretic. And from there we find that Patrick Hamilton was charged. He was then taken to the cathedral and he was put on, not only put on the charge, but he was asked to answer questions regarding his position in the matter of Reformation teaching. I understand that the cathedral on that occasion was packed with people anxious to hear young Patrick defend himself and defend himself he did and eventually he was not only charged but he was convicted as a heretic and was told that he would be burned at the stake and they made the situation such that the hour was given to him where he would be at the stake and he was told that at 12 o'clock he would be burned at the stake. Those who were preparing the fire for Patrick Hamilton brought wood that was wet and the wood would not take fire and so we find that the whole process was extended for six long weary hours and Patrick Hamilton had to endure that suffering during that time. Yes, I think it's wonderful that you mentioned that Patrick Hamilton went back and he gave the gospel to the ordinary workers and he reached out with the gospel And we know historically that many came to faith in Christ Jesus. And that was the heart of the man. It was his desire to give the gospel, to declare publicly that a man is justified by God's grace alone. to give the wonderful message of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9, for by grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Patrick Hamilton was an evangelist and we have seen his connection with, because of the use of William Tyndale's scriptures. This was William Tyndale's desire as well. William Tyndale in his day looked over different parts of England when he was growing up and before he began his translation and he saw cathedrals, he saw rituals, he saw people living immoral lives and he saw the darkness covered England. that he wanted to get the gospel to them and he felt that the only way that the gospel light could come to them was by the reading of the scriptures and so his heart's desire was to get the scriptures translated into the English language but his desire was that people personally would see that there are sinners before an all-holy God and trust in Christ alone. And that had been the case not only with Patrick Hamilton in his own conversion and coming to biblical faith originally, as he understood himself as a sinner, but in his heart's desire to reach out to the ordinary workers. So Patrick Hamilton is accused of heresy, the very man who was giving the true biblical gospel. It is really sad to see the immoral situation of such as the Archbishop at the time and the bishops. and the ignorance of the clergy and here are they condemning a man that really knows the scriptures but that is the way it was and it is really sad but the light and the witness of Patrick Hamilton has come down through the years and we are here at the actual place outside of the very church where we're making this DVD is the spot where Patrick Hamilton was martyred So you have explained how it was six long hours that he was there at the stake. Why he was at the stake? What was happening around? What was the response of the crowds? And was Patrick Hamilton actually giving the gospel there as he was at the stake? Well, there are many pictures that are given of the situation. We find that there were priests, for example, who were cajoling him and criticizing him and seeking to expose him in the very worst situation. And Patrick Hamilton took all this. There were others who were listening carefully to the words of Patrick Hamilton as he testified to the saving power of Jesus Christ. He handed over his New Testament and his cloak to a friend and then he engaged in prayer and in his prayer He was praying that the Lord would look upon Scotland at this time and that he would bring the Reformation to Scotland through the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel. And Patrick Hamilton eventually died at the stake after being burned there, but that wasn't the end. because those who stood around and watched the smoke ascending from that situation of Patrick Hamilton's martyrdom went away and the words that they uttered were, the leak of the smoke of Patrick Hamilton infected all on whom it blew. So you see, we see in the death of Patrick Hamilton that the death of the martyr became the seed of the church. Yes, indeed, many, many people came to believe in Christ Jesus and Him alone, so the Gospel was again, as the Apostle Paul had said in Romans chapter 1, the power of God unto salvation. Patrick Hamilton had preached the gospel and they were dealt with power and many came to believe. It is really sad but it is a historical fact that in the 30 years after his own martyrdom that 20 other men were to give their lives in similar testimony, were to be burned horrendously at the stake for biblical faith. That was just because the faith was spreading and the Word of God was going forth vitally. Twenty men also burned at the stake during the next thirty years after his death. Twenty men and one woman. One man was actually 80 years old when in his old age they took him out and tied him at the stake, asked him to give up his faith in Christ and trusting in Him alone and to come back to trust Him. prayers to the saints and prayers to Mary and all the indulgences and all the paraphernalia that went with Buddhism. This man of 80 years old decided that it was the grace of Christ that he would trust to and he went down and he went to his death as well. So this remarkable power of God in the gospel went forth and Patrick Hamilton, the evangelist, has been noteworthy for these things and we just praise God for the legacy that is his. Can you expand on that, just what the legacy or the gift of Patrick Hamilton has been to the church in Scotland? Well, Patrick Hamilton is looked upon, as we've stated already, as the first martyr of the Reformation. And his example has caused people in so many situations to face up to what the Gospel really means. And we find that Patrick Hamilton is taken as a glorious example of men who defiantly stated that they were entrusting in that gospel of Jesus Christ and in that gospel alone. And we find too that it became a part of the overall pattern of God's working in the land. because reformation did come to Scotland eventually, but there were aspects where in different places that that work of reformation was going on, although it wasn't the great movement that came in later years. And these men and women were being prepared for the next stage that God had for them in the work. And it was there that we find that George Wishart came into it, and George Wishart was raised up by God to be a teacher. and instructing men and women in the message of the gospel. And so Patrick Hamilton was the first martyr and it's quite remarkable to think that he was only 26 years of age when he laid down his life for Jesus Christ. but he was proud that he was able to do this and to show that the gospel really meant something to him. Yes, I think that is remarkable that he was so young at the time when he gave his life for the sake of the gospel and I think that brings us to a key factor in remembering him The key factor is what are the lessons? We live in the 21st century. What are the lessons that we can learn from Patrick Hamilton? Now I think we must first of all see the background to Patrick Hamilton as we emphasize he was the first pioneer at the time of the Reformation. as he came back from Paris and had the gospel and started proclaiming it in Scotland, in St. Andrews he was the only one he was standing out alone the whole of society, the so-called religious world was against him and people in general knew nothing darkness covered the earth, as it were spiritual darkness, and he was willing to stand alone. And I think that's what we need in the 21st century. The whole idea of being a biblical Christian and making a stand for biblical faith is not politically correct. you go on universities and it's all secularism, it's a misconceiving of ideas, there is a strong belief in evolution which of course is just based on theory, there's no factual evidence whatsoever, the biblical message of God creating the world is scientifically seen also in scientific data but we have such secularism, we have such a despising of Christianity and people would mock you on campuses if you speak up for Christ Jesus and for the beautiful truth the fact that we are all sinners before a holy God. But Patrick Hamilton stood alone. He was willing to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. So this is needed in our day, that we see this young man willing to make a stand and not only to make a stand but to do it graciously and see people come to faith as he went out to give the gospel message to workers and so the wonder of this man has a real lesson for our day that young people should be willing to make a stand and pray to God for the strength of faith. We live in a time when reformation is needed again. We look over not only society in America, in Scotland where we're making this DVD, and in other parts of the UK, but we look across France and other nations and we see such a depletion of biblical truth, such a lack of a desire to give the gospel and such a lack of interest. And we need men like Patrick Hamilton, we need women like the one who gave her life afterwards at the stake, as Patrick Hamilton did, men and women to stand for biblical truth. We need young people in universities and colleges to make a stand. This is the lesson and one of the lessons we must learn from Patrick Hamilton. While things are going apparently the other way, in this age we pray for reformation. We know that Christ Jesus spoke about his grace. He was full of grace and truth. The scriptures talk about him being rich in grace, full of mercy. We know that grace is abundant, but we must look to God for His grace, that He will graciously give it. And that is our heart's desire, as we remember Patrick Hamilton, that the power of the Gospel will go forth in young lives, in older lives, and that again we would see that the Lord would answer our prayer, that there could be reformation in our day, a return to biblical truths, and a return to seeing the power of God transform people's lives by the gospel message. Now Sintere, can you give your own conclusion to how we would finish this account of Patrick Hamilton's life and just what you would see as the lesson that we all must learn? It's very difficult to try to relate something that comes to us those hundreds of years afterwards to our own day. Nevertheless there are certain things that we have to face up to and I think that one of the things that we face today is the very sad situation where we find that the problem that we have generally is that it's not the people outside the church that's the problem, it's the people who are in the church who are the problem. And so often we find that we have to face up to the fact that we are not portraying the meaning of the gospel, we are not portraying what it means to trust the scriptures, we are not portraying what it means to live by the scriptures to the world outside. And they are getting a very wrong perception and idea of what a Christian is. And we need to think about that situation. It's so easy for us to think that, well, we can just turn around and say, I have trusted Jesus. That wasn't what the Reformers said. The Reformers said, we are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and we are walking in his commandments. And that's something that we need to learn in this age in which we live. The other thing that I would say that comes to us directly from the work of the Reformation is to realize that God is not limited to our feeble understanding. God is greater than all that we can think of and say. My own father took part in a revival movement among Scottish fishermen way back in the 1920s. And I, as a young Christian, used to ask him many questions about that. One of the times that I said to my father, Dad, what was the secret of the revival among the fishermen in the 1920s? I still remember him coming back as a kind of a rapier thrust at me and he said, that's very simple to answer. He says, obedience to the commandment of God. Now when you stop to think of it, isn't that the key to the situation today? Revival, reformation, we can use all kinds of terminology, can only come when there is obedience to the Word of God, taking God at His Word. But isn't it true that so many of us as Christians are neglecting that, and today we are not obeying the Word of God in a deep and in a personal sense. And our prayer should be, Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy love. Yes indeed, that is just a wonderful note to finish on that. It is this desire to obey Christ Jesus in his commandments. It is always the command in scripture to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not just Savior, He is Lord. And as He saves us by His grace and as we are covered in His righteousness, He is the one who gives us command that we live lives sanctified unto Him. That our lives show that we are changed, that we are a new creation in Him. It is just wonderful to have been here, not just here in St. Andrews and outside, the church of St. Salvador's where Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake but to see other parts of Scotland because reformation has come many times to Scotland beginning with St. Columba as we said earlier on and coming in after Patrick Hamilton with George Wishart and then coming up to John Knox. This has been an island or bigger part of the nation whereby there has been, even to the islands, where I had the privilege to visit in Stornoway and North Uist and other places, the Isle of Skye, but these takers have known the power of God, men and women reaching out. And that is the message. If we love Christ, we give his gospel message. Christ himself reached out to the Pharisees. He said, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. He reached out to the very Pharisees who denied Him and would not accept the principle that it is on Scripture alone that we trust, but they wanted to have their traditions. But Christ Jesus reached out and He wept over Jerusalem, the very city that was to crucify Him. The Apostle Paul said, I wish I was a curse for the sake of my brethren. He, as if it were a wish that he could be banished from the presence of God if he could reach out to his brethren. That is a desire of somebody who is truly saved, somebody who truly knows the Lord. They want to reach out. And that's the message that you brought out so wonderfully sincere. I thank you for this time together and we pray together now that the Lord's word would go forth as we remember here in St. Andrews outside the very church of St. Salvador's where Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake. and may the light of the Gospel message that he prays go forth now and for many, many years to come through the praise of the glory of God's grace. Amen and amen. Praise God. We are here at the very spot where George Richard gave his life for the sake of Christ Jesus and the Gospel. At our back we have the castle of Saint Andrews that was fully intact when George Wishart died here for the faith of Christ Jesus. The difference would be that not only was it a full castle at the time but it would have had cushions and banisters and things or neatly over the windows whereby the Cardinal could look at the burning of George Richard. George Richard had come to biblical faith 30 years after he had been born, born in 1513. He came to biblical faith in 1543. he had been converted in Cambridge where he was studying and he came to a biblical faith and it was just remarkable that he came back to Montrose and then to Dundee to preach the gospel where the grace of God could be known here in Scotland and in Dundee in particular. It's a great privilege to have of this site, this historical site, Fitzgerald Horn, and I'd like to share with you, give us some background in the person and character of George Bishop. George Wishart, as we have said previously, was a man raised by God and was an unusual person to take up this work of reformation. He was a man who had been skilled in languages, a man who was a teacher, a man who was ready to take up the mantle of Father Campbellton and to stand firm for the faith and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is that George Worship should be marked down as one of the valued men for Jesus Christ. He had a passion for Christ and for his work and he showed this in so many wonderful ways. And as we stop and think of a man of his age and his caliber, we begin to realize something of what it means when it says in the message of 1 Peter and it says, Whom having not seen, ye loved. He had a passionate love for Jesus Christ and that passion and love for Christ drove him on to the point where as we stand here with his initials very clearly marked on the roadway that we see something of the wonder of this man George Richard. Yes, he came back to Scotland desiring to give the gospel and it was particularly in 17 where he preached the gospel of God's grace. One of the leading townsmen told him to leave and not to trouble the city anymore and not to trouble the townspeople and he said that he was not troubling them, he was comforting them with the gospel, telling them of the gospel of God's grace. There's difficulties that we speak here because of the epidemic. like George Wishart at this very spot where he was burnt at the very stake while people watched and loathed with the anger they had against him but he nonetheless continued at the very end to give testimony even at the stake. I would like you to tell something about George Richard and being exiled again for his faith. Tell us something sincere about that. Well, George Richard had to go through England for a time and it was a very difficult time for him in England. He was misunderstood in many ways. He also went to the continent and he went to Zurich and there Henry Bulger, he was able to craft and obtain copies of the Second Helvetic Confession and the Catechism that went with it and he brought that back to Scotland and that was a great means of teaching and instruction in the faith in Scotland at that time. George Rouchert also had a great desire and feeling for the people of Dundee. He was in the Ashrar preaching and when it came to him that a plague had broken out in Dundee, he hastened back to that city and there as he stood on part of the city wall, he preached to the healthy on the inside and the sick on the outside. and even at that time there were signs that George Wishart had come to an untimely end because there was an attempted assassination on George Wishart at that time. He left the sea and made his way towards Edinburgh and as his ship lay in the Firth of Forth he got a message that he wasn't to come ashore because the friends that were to meet him hadn't turned up. But George Wishart came ashore there on what is known as Leap Links. George Wishart preached in the open air. Now there was a wonderful thing happened at that particular open air meeting. There was a man standing on the fringes of the meeting. And that man came forward and spoke to George Wishart. And these two men became found friends. And that man was John Knox. And it is said that John Knox went with Wishart on all his travels on the last days of his life, carrying a sword and protecting him from any would-be assassin. And it's very wonderful what we learn from this because John Knox himself says that he attributes all he knows about the Reformed faith to George Wishart. Yes, it is really wonderful that Knox was a friend of George Richard and that they grew together the knowledge of the Lord and then when Knox wanted to continue on to work with Richard. Richard said one was sufficient for the sacrifice and he urged John Knox to lead him to secure his life so that the gospel could be preached as he knew that he was going to be accused. So indeed he was brought to trial before Archbishop Dieter. Can you explain something of this trial and what happened? Well, George Wishart was resident in Ormerston. He had been preaching in Haddington which is a few miles away and he came back on the final night of his meetings and he came back to Ormerston Hall And there John Knox pleaded with him to remain with him, but he said to him, John Knox, go home to your bairns. Now the bairns were young men that John Knox was tutoring, and he urged him to go home and see to these young people. and so George Wishart was left and he spent the evening reading and praying and then the men came to the house and took George Wishart and he was imprisoned first of all in Edinburgh Castle and then after that he was brought here to St Andrew's Castle and he was put into what was known as the Bottle Dungeon a fearsome place but John Richard's spirit was still high and while he was in the prison he conducted what must have been the first communion service according to the reformed order and he conducted that among the the warders and those others who were in the prison there with him. But eventually the charges were laid against him and 17 charges of heresy were laid against George Richard. And he too, like Patrick Hamilton, was taken to the cathedral and the trial was carried through. And eventually he was ordered to be burned at the stake. We're at the very site where he was burnt at the stake. And it is amazing that while he was at the stake that he continued to preach the gospel and to testify to the grace of Christ Jesus. And he prayed that the Lord would forgive those who had brought him to trial and were causing his death. And it was such that the executioner himself was touched and asked George Wishart to forgive him and to forgive him he did indeed. Can you say just what is the testimony of George Wishart? He handed over the true gospel to John Knox and he was in many, many ways a pioneer like Patrick Hamilton. How would you summarize the heritage that Scotland and the rest of the world have as we look back to George Wishart? Well, I think the first thing that we have to acknowledge was the courage of the man. Imagine having gunpowder around your waist, the fire creeping up on you, and yet George Wishart could turn and say, this fire has burned by my body, but it has not daunted my spirit. Real courage. And that courage came from an understanding that although he was laying down his life, he was laying it down in the cause of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. And again we have to say that we acknowledge the greatness of these men who did not count their own lives dear unto themselves, but were willing to lay them down for the cause of Jesus Christ. And the more we think of them, the more we ponder on the sacrifice of these men, the more we realize the reality and the wonder that these men saw in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was in acknowledgement of that work that the Lord Jesus Christ had done for them in dying for them and rising again and being seated at God's right hand that these men saw that their lives were not their own, but they belonged to Jesus Christ. and we need more of that passion in our day and in our age that we will see that when we commit ourselves to Christ we are not just committing ourselves to something that is transient but something that is real and something that has meaning and something that is eternal. Yes, so we have the life of George Richard as we had the life and the death and the testimony of Patrick Hamilton, a man who stood for biblical faith and we stand also for biblical faith in the gospel of Christ and the fact that Christ Jesus continues to be faithful to his people. the reality of Christ Jesus and the Gospel, and that Christ Jesus never forsakes his people. Christ Jesus said, I will be with you all days, even to the end of the world. He was with Pat and George Wishart until his last day on this very site, where he gave his life for the Gospel. Again, we are being interrupted here by an airplane overhead, which I think is just leaving as we conclude this program. But it is a great privilege and an honor to be on the very site, to stand before the very castle that would have been the place that he died, that George Bishop had moved upon as he gave his life. He gave his life for the sake of Christ. Christ was faithful to him. As we stand for Christ, we know in our days that he will be faithful. Can you give one concluding word as we stand on this historical site? Well, there's only one word that we can say for these early markers of the Reformation, it's the words of Paul, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, and I know that there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Amen and amen, and we finish on that note, that through God be the glory, the praise, the worship, and the honor, now and forevermore. Amen. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes, and videos at great discounts, is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email. by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Edmonton Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since He condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.