not put to confusion after my departure in this horrible and perilous
time, for you can plainly see and hear that now is certainly the time
of which Christ Jesus and his holy apostles have so diligently warned
us, even as Christ himself said that the love of many should wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matt.
24:12,13. O my dear sheep, ponder the words of Christ, and let them
lodge in your hearts. It is indeed not spoken with regard to the world;
for in the world the love of God cannot wax cold, since it has not
received it, neither knows it; but it is spoken with reference to the
true Israelites, and you see that this happens abundantly among them,
which is certainly a lamentable matter, as that the devil and spirit of
the old serpent has gained such strength and power in the present time,
through the manifold, subtle and dexterous snares which he daily lays,
to capture anew in his net of unbelief the souls of the regenerated,
who have escaped him through the knowledge of God, whom he does capture
again, my dear sheep, some of them through false doctrine, not only
through the Roman antichrist, since now there are many antichrists
in the world. For this reason he has put on another cap, which is no
longer like the Roman, well knowing that his game with it will soon be
played; hence he has transformed himself, and appears now as an angel
of light, and does his diligence to mingle with the children of light,
there to set forth his wares anew. For, my dear sheep in the Lord,
formerly he came with human ordinances and commandments, but now he
knows that men want to hear Scripture; hence he now comes adducing many
Scriptures, so that it seems to be all right, even as he presumptuously
did with Christ, quoting to him from the prophet David, that it was
written that he [God] should send his angels, who should bear him up
in their hands, lest he should dash his foot against a stone. Matt.
4:6; Ps. 91:12. See, my dear sheep, he did indeed quote Scripture,
just as it read; but it had not been spoken or prophesied with any
such meaning; thus these also, though they quote many Scriptures, and
presumptuously say: Thus it is certainly written; by which he easily
captures in his outspread net the wavering and those whose ears itch to
hear something new.
Others he gets through deceitful riches that come to them, which bring
men into destruction and perdition, since covetousness is the root
of all evil. 1 Tim. 6:9,10. Nevertheless, some yet desire that their
temporal possessions increase, and are so busily engaged therewith,
that in the meantime they forget the exercise of godliness, and bring
upon themselves many sorrows. Alas, my dear lamb, it shall go with them
as it went with certain of the Israelites; they that had gathered much
had nothing over; and they that had gathered little had no lack. Ex.
16:18. Hence, if we have food and raiment, O that we could therewith
be content; for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out. 1 Tim. 6:7. For we see, dear sheep, that
the words of our dear Lord Jesus Christ are true, namely, that the
deceitful riches choke and suppress the good seed, namely, the word of
God, whereby many also come to shame.
The third class [he deceives], through the loss or spoiling of their
goods, who do not rightly consider that, like the merchant-man, they
have found the most beautiful pearl, which is certainly well worthy of
all this, and far above comparison with it. The fourth, through crosses
and suffering, namely, persecution. The fifth, through the entreaties
and solicitations of father and mother, friends and relatives. The
sixth, through wife and children. The seventh, by their own evil,
subtle flesh. The eighth, because they become weary of the way of
righteousness, and turn back to Egypt and Sodom, to live at ease and
peace for a short time with the Babylonian whore, and afterwards to be
tormented with her in everlasting pain.
Behold, my most chosen and beloved sheep, all this is wrought and set
in motion by a single spirit, the old serpent, who neither sleeps nor
slumbers, but constantly walks about us, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Pet. 5:8. Hence resist him manfully and with a believing heart, and
let it not terrify you, though they so lightly forsake the commandments
of the Lord. O, regard not the negligent, slothful and unfaithful; but
let all faithless servants and false disciples forsake their Lord and
Master, yet we hope nevertheless to adhere to him, and you with me, and
are ready to suffer whatever he imposes upon us. Ah! what should we do
or undertake, if we should forsake his commandments? whither should we
flee, where he should not find us? Oh! heaven and earth must obey him
with trembling; mountains and caverns must quake before him, and can
not stand in his presence; how much more the children of men, who dwell
in houses of clay. Ps. 114:7; Job 4:19. O my dear sheep, wherewith
shall they excuse or justify themselves when he shall visit them, who
now so unfaithfully depart from him?
Alas! alas! it is indeed a lamentable matter, that they have conceived
such a loathing for the noble heavenly bread, and that the only
medicine by which all the souls of the regenerated have been restored,
is become such a deadly enemy to them. Yea, my dear sheep, we may well
sigh and lament with the prophet over the destruction of Israel, and
over Jerusalem the fair city of God, and this the more because so many
Israelites drift into the wilderness of this wicked world, and are
again destroyed and slain by the subtle spirit of the serpent. Also,
because some of the watchmen are become apostates, and the citizens of
Jerusalem, too, are becoming slothful and drowsy, though he who walks
around the camp neither rests nor pauses, but diligently seeks day and
night, whom he may find idle or sleepy, to sow his tares into the field
of the heart, even as he, alas! did not a little in my time, and will
still do, the longer the more, according to my opinion. For the more
the people of God increase, the more will he reign among them; nor will
he rest until he succeed in getting some of them to submit to his will
again; and God permits him to torment the pious, and also to seduce
them, that the others may be tried. See, my dearest and much beloved
children in the Lord, it is therefore my fatherly entreaty and humble
request of you, for the sake of the eternal salvation of your souls,
that you will henceforth exercise great care that you may remain in
the way of righteousness, and always be mindful how you from this time
on ought to walk in the house of God, which is the church of God, unto
which you have come, whereof I was very glad, when I heard it, and
thanked and praised my God for his great fatherly goodness and grace
which he has shown you, and has received you as his son and daughter,
yea, as heirs of his heavenly riches, on which account you have so
voluntarily betaken yourselves under the yoke and rod of the cross,
and, with the holy apostle Paul, counted your gain loss, that you might
gain your souls in Christ, even as you have done. Hence, take heed to
yourselves, and depart or waver neither to the right nor to the left,
lest you fall from your own steadfastness, and eternal fire be your
inheritance; but as you, my dear sheep, have now put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, so continue to walk in him, and remain firmly established and
rooted in his doctrine, lest you wax cold or lukewarm in love, and thus
lose what you have received and so willingly accepted. 2 Peter 3:17;
Col. 2:6; 1 Cor. 4:7.
I also beseech you, by the mercy of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that
you neglect not, to thank and praise God the merciful dear Father day
and night, through Christ his dear Son, for the great, unspeakable
benefits which he has shown us poor, miserable creatures; and has
foreseen and chosen us from our mother’s womb, and this to the end
that we should truly live and confess his name among this wicked
and adulterous generation, and thus may hold fast unto the end, the
beginning of the Christian life. For though, my dearest sheep and
much beloved children, you are now become true heirs of eternal life,
through obedience to the Gospel, and are written with me and all
saints in the book of life, yea, have been brought to an innumerable
company of angels, yet, O my dear sheep, he can soon blot us out again,
and write our apostate names in the earth (Jer. 17:13), if we do not
faithfully, according to our weakness, walk in God’s commandments unto
the end of our lives; for we know that the glorious promises given to
the pious, and the crown of eternal life, lie neither in the beginning
nor in the middle; but he that endures, and continues faithful unto
the end, shall receive the same from the hand of the Lord. For it is
evident, that it availed the outward Israel (in whom we have a clear
example) nothing, my dear sheep, that they by the strong hand of the
Lord, had been delivered out of Egypt from the service and bondage of
Pharaoh: yea, all the benefits shown them on the way by the faithful,
merciful, dear Father, were certainly for the most part lost or in
vain. Though he fed them with angels’ food, and gave them all that
their soul desired, yet they became impatient and murmured, and did
not receive their trial in the fear of God, or in patience, wherefore
the Lord was wroth, and destroyed twenty-three thousand at one time.
O, my dear, chosen sheep, think on it; it certainly occurred for our
instruction and admonition, as the holy apostle says, that we should
not fall into the same example of unbelief; for what could it avail
us, that we have now also gone out from spiritual Egypt and Sodom, and
been delivered from the service of the hellish Pharaoh, through the Red
Sea of the blood of Christ Jesus, and been baptized in the name of the
Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, upon the confession of our
faith, and have thus, having renounced our own selves, entered into the
true Noah’s ark--Christ Jesus. O my dear sheep, it all cannot avail
or save us, if we do not observe the fulfilling of the commandments
of our God; for the apostle John says: “He that saith, I know God,
and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him.” 1 John 2:4. But you, my most beloved, have always obeyed not
only in my presence, but much more in my absence; therefore work out
your salvation with fear, and constantly walk as becomes the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ, after my departure, that you may always
stand fast in one spirit and mind; and be not terrified in any wise
by your adversaries, whether from within or without, which is to them
an evident token of perdition, but to you of eternal salvation, and
that of God. For, my dear sheep, it is not enough that you believe
on Christ, but you must also suffer for his name, if not in bonds or
imprisonment, then in the daily conflict and temptations, which at the
present time arise in many and various forms, and may come upon you
still more. Phil. 2:12; 1:27. For God proves and tries his chosen in
manifold ways. Bonds and imprisonment are regarded as the greatest
trials of faith; but, my dear lamb, I write and confess to you at
this time, that to me it is the least, compared with the perils and
temptations I tasted and met with in the wilderness of this world,
or which I saw before me, so that I often did not know which way to
turn, for anxiety of heart and spirit, and sighed and wept to my God
on account of the manifold subtle and adroit snares which the old
serpent is now laying, fearing that I might yet become entangled in her
snares of human weakness, and of the wisdom of my own flesh, because
I saw and heard that such high, strong and firmly rooted trees were
completely torn up by the roots, and such lofty mountains brought low
most miserably. Besides, I felt that in me there dwelt no good thing;
moreover, I considered that at his righteous day much chaff will be
found, when he will look over his own. O then he will see those who
will not have on a wedding garment.
For this reason also I was in great anxiety, fearing that through my
daily mistakes and polluted walk I should not be able to stand at
his coming; hence I often besought him with tears, that through his
fatherly mercy he would make me, poor, miserable man, fit, that I
might suffer for his name’s sake, to go into bonds and imprisonment,
and even into death, for his holy testimony;--then I should be sure
of my soul’s salvation, and not fear to come to shame in the day of
his wrath,--whereto he, through his fatherly mercy, has now chosen
me and made me worthy, to declare his holy testimony before this
evil and adulterous generation, in my bonds; on which account I am
greatly rejoiced in my soul, and sincerely regret that I cannot thank
or praise my and our merciful dear Father enough for his unspeakably
great benefits which he has shown and is still daily showing me
miserable creature; for I trust in his fatherly grace and mercy, that
he will further fit me and make me worthy to go into death for his
holy testimony; for he knows that I have for a long time longed to be
at home, and this on account of the manifold dangers I behold in the
way. Hence, my affectionately beloved sheep in the Lord, as I still
have a fatherly care for you, and love you with a godly love, I cannot
forbear, seeing I am still in this tabernacle for a little while, to
admonish you a little by my writing, praying you not to think that I
rule over you; but I seek to build you up with all kindness unto the
full stature of the fullness of Christ, so that you, my dear sheep,
may be found a true letter of Christ, not written with ink on paper,
but by the Holy Spirit of the living God, whereby you are also sealed
unto the day of your redemption, who has written God’s statutes and
laws into your hearts and minds, whereby you are now become an epistle
of Christ, which is seen and read by all men who behold your holy,
chaste conversation in the humility of your heart and depreciation of
yourselves. 2 Cor. 3:2; 1 Pet. 3:2.
Therefore, my dear lamb, I beseech you once more, though you are
humble, humble yourselves still more; though you are clean, cleanse
yourselves yet more; yea, though you have become holy, sanctify
yourselves yet more and more, that you may be found pure and
blameless, the children of God, in the midst of this crooked and
perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of
Christ, so that I may not have labored in vain with you; for though I
am to be offered up, and the time of my departure is at hand, yet I joy
and rejoice in my heart, on your account, and of the others whom I have
begotten in my bonds, who in time past were unprofitable to the house
of God, but are now useful and profitable, whom I love for the truth’s
sake, and desire that they shall also have a part herein, hoping that
it will also rejoice them in the spirit and faith, for an assurance
and confirmation of all your minds in Christ Jesus. John 15:3; Rev.
22:11; Philip. 2:15; 2 Tim. 4:6; Phil. 10:11; 2 John 1,2. Hence, my
final and affectionate request to you all is, that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, namely, by the living, powerful and saving
word. John 13:34; 1 Pet. 1:22,23. And remember the words of Paul our
fellow brother, where he says: The end of the commandment is charity
out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience; yea, it is the bond of
perfectness. 1 Tim. 1:5; Col. 3:14. O how blessed is he who is truly
girded about with this bond; for he does not live unto himself, but
unto his Lord; and he observes the words of Christ in everything, also
where he says: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father also is merciful.”
Luke 6:36.
Hence, my dear sheep, I beseech you yet, by the mercy of our dear
Lord Jesus Christ, and also for the sake of the eternal salvation of
your souls, that you forget not to do good and to communicate; for
the administration of this service supplieth not only the want of the
saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; for by
such offerings God is pleased. 2 Cor. 9:12. Remember also the words of
the wise man, where he says: “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth
unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
Proverbs 19:17. He further says: “He that giveth unto the poor shall
suffer no sorrow; but he that turneth away his eyes shall decrease.”
28:27. “The righteous useth his wealth to life, but the wicked useth
it to sin.” 10:16. He also says: “There is that scattereth, and yet
increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it
tendeth to poverty.” 11:24. Tobit, also, commands his son to remember
the poor, saying: “Turn not thy face from the poor, and the face of God
shall not be turned away from thee. Wherever thou be able, help the
needy. If thou hast abundance, give alms accordingly; if thou have but
little, give according to that little with a faithful heart.” and he
adds: “For alms deliver from death, and blot out sin.” Tob. 4:7. With
regard to this, also Sirach says: “Alms maketh an atonement for sin.”
Sir. 3:30. Alms also preserve the giver in everlasting habitations;
wherefore Christ commanded: “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon
of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into
everlasting habitations.” Luke 16:9.
Christ has well said: “For the poor always ye have with you.” John
12:8. Hence he shall say at his righteous day: All that ye have done
unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done unto me. Matt. 25:40.
From this it follows, my dear sheep, that the words of Paul will also
be verified, namely: He which soweth sparingly (here) shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully
... for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Cor. 9:6,7. My affectionately
beloved sheep in the Lord, though I thus write, I nevertheless know
that you are taught of God and his Holy Spirit, and that this will do
more for you than all I can write; yet, from heartfelt Christian love,
I write it to you; for the reason, that you may remember the former
times, when you were so diligent in all manner of unrighteousness,
sparing no expense in the way of numerous costly banquets or feasts,
yea, in pomp and display, which God abominates. O think once, my dear
sheep, what delight you then took [in these things]. O, should you now
not give the much more diligence in the things which God has commanded
you, to lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt. O we should be able now to spare a bit of money occasionally,
to give to poor saints, just as easily as we formerly could provide
large amounts, to spend in unrighteousness. O my dear, beloved
children, I do not write this to oppress your hearts, but that your
love may increase yet more and more from day to day: For you know not
how much time you will have yet, or when robbers may get possession of
your treasure. Further, my faithful sheep, it is my fatherly request,
that you live together in peace, harmony and unity. Help to bear in
love one another’s burdens, since you know not how long you will live
together; and remember that you are called children of peace, since
your King and Prince is the King and Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6); hence
you must be found children of peace, as I also trust you are, though I
thus write.
Herewith I will commend you to the great Shepherd of the sheep, who,
I faithfully trust, will keep you under the shadow of his wings; if
you only continue in his statutes and commandments, and depart on no
account out of his hand, then I am certain that no one shall pluck
you out of his hand. Once more I beseech you, and this by the wounds
of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, and also for the sake of the eternal
salvation of your souls, that you will take to heart my letter and
faithful admonition written at the close of my life; and do not let it
lie unused among you after my departure, nor look upon it then as a
dead history or fable; but receive it as a testament, and let it be a
perpetual memorial to you, and remember me by it, how I was an example
unto you, according to my weakness, and follow my footsteps which I
trust to walk before you through the power of my God, namely, to adhere
to the truth unto the end, to testify to you and to all who seek to
fear God with a pure heart, that this is the true grace of our God, as
Peter says, yea, the sure road and highway to eternal life; wherein you
now stand. 1 Pet. 5:12; Ps. 25. Hence, let no one divert you from your
present purpose, or cause you to waver, but give more and diligence to
make your calling and election sure. O, if you do these things, my dear
sheep, you shall never fall; but an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:10,11. Watch rigidly therefore in righteousness all the days
of your life; for it is necessary indeed. I also kindly request that
you receive this prescription in love; for I have certainly written it
out of Christian love. Herewith I want to bid you all adieu, until in
eternity. Amen.
Furthermore, my affectionately beloved sheep in the Lord, as regards
how it is with me and my fellow combatants, know that it still tends
to the promotion of the Gospel. Know also, that the Lord faithfully
succors me in my conflict and defense, and has given me strength to
gain the victory, and delivered me out of the mouth of hell, and the
teeth of the lions. I believe I have been in combat with them ten or
twelve times; the others, however, they did not torment so much. In
short, I hope that the fight is fought, the course finished, the life
[faith] kept. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of glory,
which, I hope, no creature shall ever take from me; for faithful is he
that has begun this good work in me; he will doubtless help me finish
it, according to the good purpose of my heart, so that I may pass
through Jordan unharmed. Philip. 1:6. May God grant us his grace. Amen.
Communicate this among yourselves, commend it to God, meditate upon it
diligently, understand it wisely. O, if you do this, it will be evident
that you seek your salvation and esteem my letter.
Finished the 6th of October, in the twenty-third month of my
imprisonment. Once more, my dear children, valiantly adhere together to
the cross of Christ, and do not depart from it.
ANOTHER LETTER FROM MR. JELIS MATTHIJSS, WHICH HE WROTE TO HIS WIFE.
I wish unto my flesh and blood, strength of spirit and a steadfast mind
in all her tribulation and severe distress. Amen.
My dear and beloved wife, whom I wedded before God and his church,
as the time of my departure is now at hand, may you people know that
my heart and mind are concerned about you, being indeed desirous of
writing you something, but having so ill an opportunity for it, because
it stands thus with us that we are now watched and guarded by eight
or ten servants, so that I feel little strength of spirit in me, to
write anything to you, love, as it comes upon us so unexpectedly, since
we had not heard a word. Willeboort, my faithful comrade, had partly
undressed already, when our host and hostess came upstairs, saying:
“Mr. Jelis and Willeboort, come down.” When we came down, we saw the
stadtholder, and the bailiff also came and upbraided us with this,
whereupon I had a few words with him. In short, my dearly beloved
chosen flesh and blood, I shall now go the way of all the prophets and
witnesses of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, in which I greatly rejoice
and am of good cheer at the present time; yea, I find such joy and
comfort in me, that I cannot well describe it to you, and I do not as
yet experience the least fear; but am concerned most about you, because
of the excessive grief which oppresses you, but I trust to my and your
God, that with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape,
through the consolation of the Holy Spirit, whereby he will comfort
you. 1 Cor. 10:13.