apostles into all the world, and that they first taught all nations to
observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Infants
cannot learn; but he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
Then they said that the apostles had baptized whole households. I
said: “Yes, then they rejoiced that they were become believers in God;
this children cannot do. Acts 16:34. Christ called the children to him
and said that to such belonged the kingdom of heaven, but he did not
command that they should be baptized.” They then brought forward Adam’s
sin, saying that they were born in it. I replied that Christ had died
for them. I asked them whether they meant to remove sin by baptism;
since infants can have no sin, therefore they cannot die unto sin,
and rise through baptism into a new life. Then the lords said: “Your
doctrine is: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, is it
not?” I said: “Yes.” They then asked whether Christ was not of Mary’s
flesh. I said that Mary had conceived him of the Holy Ghost, even as
the angel said to her: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke
1:35. They asked once more whether he did not assume flesh from her,
since he had not brought it from above. I replied that I believed the
testimony of John, where he says: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us.” John 1:14. They asked whether I did not believe that he is
Mary’s son according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the
spirit. I replied that he was God’s own begotten and only begotten Son,
without beginning of days, nor end of life, and was now at the last
born of Mary, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Heb. 7:3. Hence he
is not of the earth, earthy, like Adam, nor will he return to earth
[dust]; for he is the Lord from heaven. 1 Cor. 15:47. Now if he had
flesh of our flesh, he would have to see corruption, for God said:
“Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”; but this was not
spoken of Adam alone, but of all his descendants. Gen. 3:19.
They then asked me whether I did not believe that in the sacrament
there were Christ’s flesh and blood. I said: “No; he is ascended, and
sits on the right hand of God his Father.” They then asked me whether
I would not believe that all the saints are in heaven. I said: “What I
have not read I cannot answer; but this much I have read; The souls of
the righteous are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall
not touch them.” Wisdom 3:1. To this they did not say much, but asked
what I held with regard to Mary. I replied that she was a pure and holy
vessel, and blessed above all women, since she was worthy to conceive
and give birth to the Son of God.
They asked whether I did not confess that there is a purgatory. I
said: “I find two ways on record, the one very broad and leading to
damnation, the other very narrow and leading to eternal life.” They
also asked what I held in regard to the Pope. I said: “The Pope I do
not know; but if this is his doctrine, which is observed here, I hold
him to be like his doctrine.” Much more was spoken, but I only write
this to while away time. Farewell.
_Another letter from Maeyken Boosers, to the brethren._
My dearest and much beloved brethren in the Lord, I let you know that
my heart is of good cheer and courage, the Lord be forever praised, for
he preserves us by his right hand, and delivers us out of the midst
of our enemies, for without him I would be lost, since they, both
spirituals and seculars, come to assail me in manifold ways, as could
be seen this Sunday, when Mr. Massaert, with a judge and a secular, a
learned man, held me to be the vilest sect that ever was under heaven.
But when I told them my faith, I moved them all to tears, so that they
could scarcely speak, and ultimately left me in a friendly manner.
No more for the present, except that I commend you to the Lord; may he
constantly keep and preserve you in his holy truth. I hope it will soon
be over with me; for I desire nothing so much, than that I might please
the Lord, and die a blessed death. Amen.
_A testament from Maeyken Boosers to her children._
A heartfelt and affectionate greeting to you, my beloved children.
Give ear to your mother, who is now in bonds for the truth; for it has
pleased God, that all who will live godly must suffer persecution.
Hence I am well satisfied and of good cheer, that the servant must
follow his lord. His blessed will be done with me; if it had been his
pleasure, he would have prevented these bonds. My dear children, it
has been so from the beginning, that the righteous must suffer, and
that the unrighteous always prevail. But their day shall soon come,
that they will lament and cry out in their distress: “Mountains, fall
on us, and hills, cover us from the face of the Lord.” Luke 23:30.
Alas! when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, and the ungodly
shall go into eternal fire. O beloved children, search the Scriptures,
and conform to them, that you may hear the blessed words: Come, ye
blessed, inherit the kingdom of my Father. Pray the Lord for wisdom,
and learn to fear God, and you will get true understanding. Do not
conform to the world, in pride, dancing, running, and idle gossip;
but evince by your walk a godly life, adorn yourselves like the holy
women, accept the Scriptures and live according to them, that your
souls may be saved, and that we may meet hereafter. May the Almighty
God, the King of kings, grant you his grace according to the riches
of his goodness, to be strengthened in the inner man, and that Christ
may dwell in your hearts; and may he guide you into all truth. I pray
you, my dear children, be peaceable among yourselves, for this is a
fruit of the Spirit. Willingly help one another, without gainsaying,
and always remember the poor; communicate willingly of all that you
have; make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; love
that which is eternal, and not what is temporal; seek the heavenly, and
not the earthly, for all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into
the oven; the glory of man perisheth, but the word of the Lord abideth
forever. Isa. 40:6. Love not the world, neither the things that are in
it, namely, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which are not
of God, but of the world; and the world shall perish, with all that is
in it; but he that doeth the will of the Father abideth forever. 1 John
2:15; 1 Cor. 7:31.
My children, do according to the will of the Lord; I, your mother, hope
to walk the way before you. Mark wherein and how I go before you, and
regard not the honor of the world, but esteem it an honor, to suffer
for the name of our God. For he who was King over all was not ashamed
to leave his glory, and came into the world, and suffered the most
ignominious death for us, and, though he was innocent, was beaten and
marred, that there remained not one sound spot on his blessed body.
Thus did he love us, thereby leaving us an example that we should
follow his steps. He is the light that came into the world, that all
who follow him should not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.
John 8:12. The Lord grant that that light shine also around you, and
that you walk in it. Amen.
_Another, short letter from said mother to her children._
My children, I greet you most cordially, and send you back your
letters, that you may fulfill the promises you therein made to me.
Always be subject to those who instruct you in righteousness, and
reprove you when you transgress. Farewell, and herewith adieu to you in
this world. My dear children, fear God, and eschew all evil.
_Another letter from Maeyken Boosers, to her father and mother._
My most beloved father and mother, I commend myself to you from my
inmost heart, praying the Lord that he will comfort you and me with
the consolation of the Holy Ghost--the promise of the Lord,--whom he
promised to send to his disciples, saying: “I go unto the Father, and
shall send you another Comforter, whom the world cannot receive, for it
knoweth him not.” John 14:16,17. Hence, my dear father and mother, be
of good cheer and await with patience what the Lord wills to do with
me. I, too, wait patiently for his comfort. What has passed I esteem
not more than a breath of air, and it gives me no trouble, the Lord,
in whom I hope, be praised; for he it is who comforts the humble, and
puts down the proud from their seats. Luke 1:52. Though there is now
tribulation before us, yet we know full well that the day of the Lord
will soon come, and that all ungodliness will be brought to nought.
And God shall judge them without respect of persons, and reward every
one according to his works. Therefore, my dear and much beloved father
and mother, worry not on my account; let the Lord finish his work. I
hope that he has predestinated me poor unworthy one for an offering
acceptable unto him, for I have hoped in his mercy; and that he will
not enter into judgment with me, for if he should judge me according to
my deserts, I should be worthy of eternal death; but the Lord, I hope,
will have mercy upon me.
I further let you know that I was brought before the Dean once more,
but neither of us yielded, and as he was leaving he said to me: “If you
persist in this belief, you are eternally damned.” I said: “How can you
speak so? seeing God shall judge.” “Yes,” said he, “I dare indeed say
it, for it will be so.” Then Master Klaes followed me and asked: “Where
have you kept yourself so long? I have long sought you.” I replied:
“You have me now, sure.” “I have not,” he said; “if you were in our
hands, we should keep you longer than these will, I think.” Herewith,
my dear father and mother, I will commend you to the Lord; may he
preserve you and me unto the end. Grieve not for me, but rejoice that
the Lord counts me worthy; for I will cheerfully resign for his sake
these my members, which he has given me. Farewell always.
_Another letter from Maeyken Boosers to her brethren and sisters._
O my dearest and much beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord, I greet
you once more with the peace of the Lord, that the same may remain with
you forever. Amen.
I let you know that these my enemies still keep tormenting me about
baptism; but of the incarnation of Christ they say nothing to me. The
Dean told them my faith, and they asked me nothing except whether I
believed that Christ was David’s son. I replied that he was the Son of
the living God. “Oh! oh!” said the Dean. The lords asked: “Is it not
written: Out of the seed of David according to the flesh?” Acts 13:23.
The Dean answered them, for there was no hearing; he frequently told
me I lied, because I withstood him, that he could not show me that the
apostles had baptized children. They all fell upon me at once, and said
that no one could enter the kingdom of heaven, except he were born
of water and of the Spirit. They hastily asked me whether I did not
confess this too. I said: “This Scripture belongs not to children, but
to the adult, who have ears to hear.” Then they arose and said: “You
labor under an opinion.”
Thus, my dear friends, I expect to be brought before them once more
to-morrow. Hence I pray you to entreat the Lord for me, that he would
direct my mouth to his praise and glory. Herewith I will commend you
forever into the hands of God, and kindly ask you to receive my simple
writing in good part, for I seek nothing but to please God, from the
simplicity of my heart; and I wish nothing, alas! save, that I might
please the King of kings and Lord of lords in my calling; then I should
indeed have been born at a blessed time. Herewith peace; farewell;
nothing more after this. Take this for an eternal adieu.
After this, Maeyken Boosers was burnt to ashes, at Doornick, having
commended her soul into the hands of the Lord.
WILLEBOORT CORNELISS, PUT TO DEATH FOR THE EVANGELICAL TRUTH, AT
MIDDELBORGH IN ZEALAND, THE 14TH OF SEPTEMBER, IN THE YEAR 1564.
_A letter of Willeboort Corneliss, written from his imprisonment at
Middelborgh, and which he sealed with his blood._
The grace and peace of God the heavenly Father, which have come to us
through Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, comfort you in all your
tribulation, my dearest sister in the Lord; and the Holy Ghost guide
you into all truth and righteousness unto the end; and the mighty hand
of God keep you and me in the straight way, that we may walk aright
unto the end. Amen.
For, my dearest and beloved sister in the Lord, in this miserable and
sorrowful world we are counted a prey to every one, as the prophet
tells us. Isaiah 59:15. Yea, Christ Jesus himself says: “Ye shall
be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” Matthew 10:22. Yea, we are
counted as deceivers, and yet are true; we are become a spectacle;
we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed. 2 Cor. 6:8; 1 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Cor. 4:8,9. We are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter; but in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. Rom. 8:36,37. For, my
dear lamb, we know that we must through much tribulation and suffering
enter into the kingdom of heaven; knowing that, whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Acts 14:22; 2 Cor. 5:6. Hence
Peter says: “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1 Pet. 2:11. Therefore,
my dear lamb, though you have now with Abraham left our fatherland,
be therefore not slothful in your business; but be fervent in spirit;
redeeming the time; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints;
and see that you are given to hospitality. Romans 12:11–13. For,
my dear lamb, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day. “For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen.” 2 Cor. 4:16.
Therefore, my dear sister, look constantly unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame. Consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied in
your distress, and faint in your mind. For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he loveth and receiveth. Heb.
12:2, etc. For our Savior himself suffered so much for our sakes that
Isaiah may well say: “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall
see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and
we hid as it were our faces from him.” Is. 53:2,3. So that he may well
say through the prophet: “They gave me gall for my meat; and in my
thirst they gave me gall and vinegar to drink; and all men laugh me to
scorn; they shoot out the lip, and shake the head.” Yea, as he says
through the prophet: “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people.” Ps. 69:21; 22:7,6.
My dear sister in the Lord, if the head thus suffered, the members
must follow. Grieve not that you must wander about yet in this world
or wilderness; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and
to do, according to the good purpose of your mind. Philip. 2:13. My
dear lamb, always let your light shine among this wicked and perverse
generation, that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they
may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day
of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12.
My dearest sister in the Lord, wait patiently for the time; be patient
unto the coming of our Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he
receive the early and latter rain. Therefore be patient, and stablish
your heart; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. My dear sister,
you have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the
Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Jas. 5:7, etc.
My dear lamb, let us keep unto the end that which we have; he is
faithful that promised it us. Heb. 10:23. My dear sister, humble
yourself always; cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you,
and for us all (1 Peter 5:6,7); for we know our reward beforehand, if
we hold fast his commandments unto the end, according to our weakness;
and we wait for it with patience. Hence Paul says that love is the bond
of perfectness. Col. 3:14. And Peter says: Have perfect charity among
yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Pet. 4:8.
My dear sister in the Lord, though we must now be the laughing stock
of the world, and wander about in foreign lands, we will be none the
worse for it when the Lord shall say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Matt. 25:34. Then shall the child be born; then there shall be no more
reviling; then shall all our enemies be conquered; then shall the tears
be wiped from our eyes; then shall no harm happen to us any more; then
shall we drink of the fountain of life, without price; for whatsoever
things were written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have before. Rom. 15:4.
The God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one
toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind
and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the
glory of God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Farewell, my
dear sister in the Lord. Amen.
By me, WILLEBOORT CORNELISS.
Written in bonds.
PRIJNTGEN AND MARTIJNTGEN MAELBOUTS, IN THE YEAR 1564.
On the 12th of November A. D. 1564, there was beheaded with the
sword, at Ghent in Flanders, one Prijntgen Maelbouts, widow of Jacob
de Backer, brother of Pauwels van Meenen, and with her, her sister,
Martijntgen Maelbouts, a young girl, a native of Thielt; not for any
reported evil deeds, but simply for the testimony of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in a good conscience, since they, according to the teaching
of the holy Scriptures, had separated from the papal church of
antichrist--as being polluted with much uncleanness of the impure works
of darkness, and the doctrines and commandments of men, militating
against the holy word of the Lord--and united with the true members
of Christ, and sought with them, according to their weak ability, to
observe the commandments and ordinances of their Lord. On this account
the persecutors and enemies of the truth deprived them of their lives,
which, to please their Lord and redeemer, they willingly resigned, in
the living hope and firm faith, that at the resurrection of the just,
they should receive back into great glory these their corruptible
members, which they here resigned for his name’s sake, and reign with
God and his saints in eternity. 2 Maccabees 7:11,14; 1 Cor. 15:43.
MR. JELIS MATTHIJSS, PUT TO DEATH FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, AT
MIDDLEBORGH, IN THE YEAR A. D. 1564.
_A letter of Mr. Jelis Matthijss, written in prison, at Middleborgh ,
A. D. 1564, where he laid down his life for the name of the Lord._
_The foundation of God standeth sure.--2 Timothy 2:19._
Grace, peace, and the abundant love of our God, with the deep and
unspeakable love of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen
gift of faith, are revealed to us by God, the merciful dear Father,
through Christ Jesus, and given to his saints, whom he, through his
fatherly love, has now chosen, called and ordained thereto, yea,
delivered from the chains and heavy bonds of the perpetual darkness of
unbelief, with which this evil, wicked and perverse world is bound; and
has, according to his fatherly mercy, begotten us again unto a living,
saving hope, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in
whom we have the forgiveness of our sins through his blood, that we my
dear sheep, should henceforth serve him without fear in all obedience,
righteousness and holiness, all the days of our life, 1 Peter 1:3; Col.
1:13,14; Luke 1:74,75. To this end may the merciful dear Father help
and strengthen us with the power of his holy Spirit. Amen.
Since you people have requested me, through your letter, and through
greetings heard from you at different times, as also previously, by the
letter of your dear wife, who also requested the same of me [to write],
know that I have frequently purposed in my heart to do so according to
my little gift, although I trust it is not really necessary, yet I hope
that it will nevertheless assure and confirm you the more. But as I had
rather much writing to do, and was engaged also with other matters,
I could not very well attend to it; yet I have constantly cherished
a father’s care for you, frequently beseeching my God with a fervent
heart, according to my weakness, that he would preserve you both, under
the shadow of his wings, in this horrible and perilous time full of all
wickedness, and fill you more and more with his Holy Spirit, and open
the eyes of your understanding, that you, my dear sheep, may learn to
know well the snares and outspread nets of the devil, which he now in
so manifold ways daily lays for the regenerated, though you are not
ignorant of them partly, well knowing his devices; wherefore you have
watched until the present time, in which I greatly rejoice, as also
in this, that your faith grows and increases in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ, unto whom I have begotten you and the others, in
my bonds, by tears, with the power of the Holy Ghost. And you became
followers of me, and of the Lord, and received the word of the Gospel
of the cross of Christ with much sighing and godly sorrow, and have
obeyed it from the heart, in the form of the doctrine wherein you now
stand, so that you have became ensamples to all those in Middelborgh,
who want to amend their lives, and take up the cross of the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 1:6,7. Not only these, but many saints are made to
rejoice, beholding your obedience and humility in the fear of your God,
which, I hope will increase and become manifest still more from day
to day, so that, my dear sheep, it may be clearly evident, that you
are truly born again from above, of God the Father, and renewed by the
renewing of your mind. Rom. 12:2. Remember that your conversation must
be heavenly, namely, according to the new man, who after God is created
in all manner of righteousness and holiness; for since he who has
called and chosen you to this service is holy, you must also according
to your ability, lead a holy, chaste and godly life in the fear of your
God. Eph. 4:24; 1 Peter 1:15. For to whom we have yielded ourselves,
his servants we are, as the apostle says: whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto life. Rom. 6:16. God be praised and thanked forever,
my dear sheep, that you were the servant and handmaid of sin, but are
now washed and cleansed with me, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, whom God the Father shed on us abundantly
through Christ our Savior, not for the works of our righteousness
which we had done; for we were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others; but God, the merciful, dear Father, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, when we were dead in sins and
unrighteousness, quickened us together with Christ, or by Christ, his
dear Son, through faith. Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:3, etc.
Therefore, my affectionately beloved sheep, in Christ Jesus, whose
souls I love from the heart, and for whom I have a fatherly and godly
care, I admonish and beseech you as a prisoner in the Lord, frequently
to call to remembrance the day in which the merciful dear Father had
compassion upon you, and took the vail from your eyes and hearts,
which still hangs before the eyes and hearts of so many thousands, who
walk such hard ways and know not the way of the Lord, because they
are drunken with the wine of the Babylonian whore, namely, the false
doctrines, by which the whole earth is covered; but you, my sheep, have
become sober, and come out of her, and I also hope that you will no
more touch her uncleanness, lest you perish with her plagues. 2 Cor.
3:16; Wis. 5:7; Rev. 17:2; 18:4.