Some Jesuit-inspired history books of today like to pretend that the Reformation was only a change in ideology, but not for nothing were the Middle Ages called the Dark Ages. Quite apart from her dogmas the Papacy had held the people down in three ways – ignorance, silence in worship and slavery of conscience – and the Reformation, as well as changing their religion, overcame these three giants in the name of the Lord, so that the sociological effects were clearly seen. There was real freedom from the real bondage. The Protestant Princes set the Reformers to organizing this work.

1.  Ignorance turned into Knowledge⤒🔗

Under Luther and Melanchthon's teaching the University of Wittenberg had trained a band of young men willing to live in poverty among the villagers to plant the gospel. A few years later Luther went on a tour of visitation to these humble pastor­ates, but found that the work had not met with the success hoped for. "Everywhere," he wrote, "we find poverty and ignorance. The face of the Church is everywhere most wretched. Sometimes we have a collection for the poor pastors, who have to till their two acres, which helps them a little. The peasants have nothing and know nothing. They neither pray, confess, nor communicate." As soon as Luther was back in Wittenberg he set to work on two catechisms, a Shorter and a Larger. (Knox did the same thing for Scotland a little later). The first comprised a brief and simple exposition of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Sacraments, with forms of prayer for night and morning, Grace before and after meals, and a series of Scripture texts for daily use. The Larger Catechism elaborated the same things. These two books were quickly printed and were used everywhere by the poor pastors. For those who could not afford (or read) a Bible the memorizing of the catechism took the next place and was greatly blessed of God to the community. "Like dew descending softly," says Wylie, "these rudiments of divine knowledge penetrated the understanding, awoke conscience, quickened the intellect and evoked an outburst of spiritual activities."

In Switzerland it was much the same. When the monasteries were taken over by the town councils at Basle and Zurich their riches were used to found hospitals and schools and to train students to teach the people to read. Said Zwingli, "Every peasant's cottage became a school in which the highest art of all was practiced, the reading of the Old and New Testament; for the right and true Schoolmaster of His people is God." In the short space of ten years this great work was accomplished in Switzerland by means of Luther's German edition of the New Testament introduced in 1522. The opening of their intelligence coming via the Bible meant a new moral awareness that changed the whole social outlook.

2.  Silence turned into Praise←⤒🔗

"The part that Rome assigns to her people in her public worship is silence: their voices raised in praise are never heard." Clerical choirs sing in a dead language: the sound may be beautiful but nothing reaches the heart or understanding. The services were only a colorful spectacle to the people. Luther, who as a boy sang Latin vesicles at Ursula Cotta's door, could not worship his Lord without breaking into music, and early had his disciples singing psalms and hymns of his own composing in his home. He soon introduced these to the Reformed churches and the people found an altogether fresh meaning in worship as they took active and intelligent part in the services. A Danish disciple of his, Nicolaus Martin, translated some of these into Danish and took them to his home country. There, in 1525, the Reformation was making great strides against an alarmed Romish hierarchy. The assemblies of Protestants could not long be content to be dumb listeners. A music-loving nation, they responded to the hymns in their own language and sang them from the heart. It was not long before a complete Psalter was pub­lished in 1525 "with the favour and privilege of the King." This publication was accompanied by notes explaining the psalms in a Gospel way, so that while singing them the people imbibed the deep truths couched in them. It is re­corded that an outdoor assembly of a thousand and more singing psalms most joyfully entered the city of Malmo and completely wrecked the plans of the Papists who thought the sect was shut out in a state of excommunication!

In France a lyrical poet, Clement Marot, versified thirty psalms from a psalter already circulating in a French translation. These were taken up with astonishing rapidity by the Reformed part of France. The people loved them and sang them to ballad tunes. "This one ordinance alone con­tributed mightily to the downfall of Popery and the propagation of the Gospel. It was an especial part of morning and evening worship in their several houses to sing God's praises." Only two years of such happy singing was enjoyed in France before the Papists bore down upon all such singers, and Marot himself fled to Geneva. Here Calvin got him to versify twenty more psalms and this book of fifty psalms was published, with a preface by Calvin in 1543. Editions were quickly published in Holland, Belgium, France and Switzerland and the printing presses could not meet the demand. Rome forbad the book, but the people were only the more eager to get it. Calvin also, at this point, went into the question of suitable tunes and applied to the most accomplished musicians in Europe. William Franc of Strasburg responded, and wrote some beautiful dignified tunes. Now would the noble "Old Hundredth" be heard in church and workroom, mountain chalet and on the mountains themselves. Christoffel records that at Appenzell the congregations became too large for the churches and moved into the meadows. "The echoes of their mountains awoke responsive to the voice of the preacher and the psalm with which they closed blended with the sound of the torrents as they rolled down from the summits."

Marot died in 1544 and Calvin asked Theodor Beza to complete the Psalter in verse, which he did. Geneva therefore had the honour of publishing the first whole book of Psalms ever rendered into the metre of any living language.

3.  Slavery into Freedom←⤒🔗

A look at the history of mediaeval Europe shows continual warfare as the greed of the popes turned from one rich dukedom or kingdom to another and manipulated kings one against another. And how did they get the necessary armies? The "victim" would raise his own people, the papal side raised mercenaries from other countries. On a fresh war breaking out a vigorous cardinal would be given the task of rousing the young men with promises of foreign gold. The old formula was rehearsed again – free pardon for sins, indulgences for the relatives. If the response was poor the other side was shown – purgatory and excommunication. In almost every generation there had been a great "reaping" of the young men, particularly of the Swiss Cantons, and it led to misery and impoverishment of the community with far too many widows and orphans. The promised high pay often dwindled and most campaigns finished up with looting and even savagery. Hardened by low living and contact with low morals, often wounded, crippled and incapable of work, the poor men crept back to their old homes and ended their lives in misery. Zwingli, who had witnessed much of this in his home Canton, used to preach urgently against it, but it was not until they had imbibed the principles of the Gospel that the people dared to withstand the Popish threats. When the Protestant Cantons had established freedom from this strangulating yoke it was soon evident in settled, happy and prosperous villages in glaring contrast with those of the old faith which still had to part with their potential breadwinners to fight in wars they felt no patriotism for. Was this just a change in ideology? No, it was a shaking off of chains and a restoration of dignity to the claims of home.