of the truth; for they still delight in persecuting the people of the
Lord, and in shedding innocent blood, even as the prophet Isaiah says:
Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in
their paths. The way of peace they know not, and there is no judgment
in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth
therein shall not know peace. Is. 59:7,8. And Paul also says: Their
throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their tongues: whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction
and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known:
there is no fear of God before their eyes (Rom. 3:13–18), as may be
seen and heard in every direction, so that it is lamentable that so
many are deceived, and walk in the broad way; erring so deplorably
from the true way of truth which leads to life everlasting; and, what
is more, those who want to turn to the way of truth, they would gladly
prevent from it were they able. But they shall exceedingly rue it
hereafter, if they repent not; but alas! it will be too late then, when
they shall say to the mountains and rocks: “Fall on us, and hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able
to stand?” Rev. 6:16,17; Hos. 10:8; Luke 23:30. And they shall (says
Isaiah 2:19) go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the
earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty; when he
ariseth to shake terribly the earth. And in John’s Revelation it is
further written: “In those days shall men seek death, and shall not
find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them; and
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night who
worship the beast and his image: and whosoever receiveth the mark of
his name, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 9:6; 14:10,11; 20:15. Then they
will get their reward for having thus lorded it over the little flock,
and lived after the thoughts of their wicked hearts, and tormented and
persecuted the people and slain those who desired to live, according to
their weak ability, according to the word and doctrine of the Lord. But
they who have suffered for the truth and the word of God, shall then be
much better off and happier than those who have persecuted them, and
inflicted tribulation and suffering upon them, and lived in wickedness
and iniquity; for when the Lord will begin to say to them, “I know not
whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity,” there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth; “for not every one,” Christ further
says, “that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Luke
13:27,28; Matt. 7:21.
O my affectionately and greatly beloved sister, let us always well
see to it, and take good heed to ourselves: that we always do the
will of the Father, according to our weak ability even unto the end,
so that we may not hear with the others: “Depart from me, all ye that
work iniquity,” and thus with them receive reward in the fiery lake
which will burn with fire and brimstone; which is the second death
(Revelation 21:8); but that we may enter into the kingdom of heaven
with all the elect children of God, where it will endure forever and
ever. All that we have suffered here, and this for a short time, for
the name of the Lord, namely, persecution, tribulation, or affliction,
will then in no wise be to our detriment. Matt. 5:11,12.
O my most beloved, always be resigned and patient in all tribulations
and sufferings which may come upon you for the name of Christ; and let
us ever diligently watch and pray, and prepare ourselves, till Christ
comes, and constantly lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against
himself, lest ye faint in your distress, and be wearied in the way of
truth, and in the love of Christ, on account of all that men may do
unto you. But always think of Christ’s great love toward us, how much
he suffered for us poor sinful men on the tree of the cross, and shed
his blood for us, as the four evangelists testify in order to redeem
and save us; for, surely he “hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows ... the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.” Is. 53:4.
O my dear beloved sister, if Christ so loved us that he suffered for
us in the flesh, let us arm ourselves likewise with the same mind, as
Peter says, 1 Peter 4:1. And also Paul: “Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians
2:5–8. And though he was the Son of the living God, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered; for he said himself: I came
down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me (John 6:38); and though he prayed his Father to take the bitter
cup from him he nevertheless said: Not what I will, but what thou
wilt. Mark 14:36.
Behold, my dear lamb, how Christ our Head abased and humbled and
utterly renounced himself, and was obedient to his heavenly Father,
even unto the death of the cross, and became poor for our sakes (2 Cor.
8:9), that he might in all things be an example unto us (1 Pet. 2:21),
and redeemed or reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death
(Col. 1:21,22); and we have the forgiveness of sins, through his blood,
according to the riches of his grace. Eph. 1:7. Hence my dear sister,
let us also, in return, love Christ even unto death, and always walk
in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. Eph.
5:2. Therefore let us also willingly deliver up ourselves for his holy
name; always wholly forsake ourselves; renounce our own will and mind;
abase and humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God; no longer
live to ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again (2 Cor.
5:15) and always be obedient to him, constantly fearing and serving
him all the days of our life, in all righteousness and holiness (Luke
1:74,75), as obedient children, so that we may not resort to former
lusts, in which we were when we did not yet know Christ, even as Peter
says: “But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all
manner of conversation; because it is written; Be ye holy; for I am
holy.” 1 Pet. 1:15,16; Lev. 19:2. For to be carnally minded is death;
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, says Paul. For, know ye
not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey; his servants
ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness? Hence, as ye have yielded your members servants
to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your
members servants to righteousness unto holiness. What fruit had ye then
in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things
is death, says Paul. For the wages of sin is death. For if ye live
after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto
you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, said the Lord Almighty.
Rom. 8:6; 6:16; 8:13,14; 2 Corinthians 6:16–18.
Therefore, O my most beloved sister in Christ Jesus, let us always
separate ourselves entirely from all worldly lusts and desires, and
touch nothing unclean, but constantly cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and continue in the fear of God,
according to the spirit, constantly to serve and honor the Lord all
the days of our life, that we may be of his sons and daughters; for if
we are his sons and daughters, we shall also be heirs in his eternal
kingdom and possession. Rom. 8:17. Hence let us always give diligent
heed, constantly to fear and serve him alone, according to our weak
ability, unto the end; for we cannot acceptably serve two masters,
that is, God and the world, for, know ye not, says James, that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be
a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Matt. 6:24; Jas. 4:4. John,
also, says: If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is
of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 1 John 2:15–17. Paul, also,
teaches us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2.
Therefore, my affectionately beloved sister, let us by no means love
this world, nor be conformed to it, nor again lust for this wicked
world, to run with it to the same excess of riot (1 Pet. 4:4), lest
we perish with it; but let us constantly go on in the true way of
truth, in newness of life, to serve the living God all the days of our
lives (Heb. 9:14), without looking back to Sodom; and let us always
well heed and do what the holy Scriptures teach and admonish us to,
so that we may in eternity rejoice with God our heavenly Father, and
with the Lamb on Mount Sion; for all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16,17. Therefore
let us always take good heed to the holy Scriptures, and accept them
for doctrine, reproof and correction, that we may thereby fit ourselves
for every good work; and let us always exhort one another with them,
and take heed, as the apostle teaches us, where he says: “Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it
is called to-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness
of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” Heb. 3:12–14. O my beloved
sister, always be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the
Lord, says Paul. 1 Cor. 15:58. John, also, says: Look to yourselves,
that you lose not those things which ye have wrought, but that ye
receive a full reward. For whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not
in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God; but he that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 2 John 8,9. O
hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown; and always
be faithful to Christ your bridegroom, unto death; this I pray you, my
dear lamb. And ever be patient in all your tribulations and sufferings,
and stablish your heart; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Behold, the judge standeth before the door, and we count them happy
which endure, says James. Jas. 5:8.
Therefore be patient, and comfort yourself with the words of God; for
it is becoming a Christian, that he should both hope and quietly wait
for the salvation of the Lord. Lam. 3:26. Let the peace of God rule
in your heart. Col. 3:15. He which hath loved us, and hath given us
everlasting consolation [and good hope] through grace, comfort your
heart, and stablish you in every good word and work, and sanctify you
wholly, that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that
calleth you, who also will do it. And, may he grant you, according to
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit
in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; and
that you may be rooted and grounded in love. Eph. 3:16,17. This I pray
Almighty God from the depth of my heart, to grant to you, and me, and
all that fear and love him.
O my dear chosen sister, whom I love so greatly with all my heart,
I should not be able to describe to you, I think, with what true,
unfeigned godly and brotherly love I love you. O adhere always
valiantly to the true, pure truth and doctrine of Christ, as I, through
the grace of the Lord, most confidently trust you will do, though I
thus write.
O my dearest sister, I also trust, through the great grace and mercy of
the Lord, to do myself, according to my weak ability, all that I have
written you; for it is still my unwavering mind and purpose rather to
lay down my life, though it be to-morrow, than to forsake the truth.
For I am still willing to resign my life for him who gave it me, if it
shall come to this; and, again, if it be his divine will, that I am to
remain in iron bonds yet for a long time, I will also gladly suffer it
for his holy name; for he suffered so much for us. And I cannot fully
thank or praise the Lord for the great grace, mercy, and the benefits
which he has shown me in prison; and for patience, that the lying in
bonds has so little affected me--it seems to me that you could hardly
believe how little it has affected me. I am not conscious, it seems to
me, that I was imprisoned, or that it lasted too long, or that I was
thus imprisoned; eternal praise, glory and thanks to the Lord, for his
abundant grace and mercy. However I have sometimes wished, if it could
have been, to be with you, if it had been for the good of my soul, and
the Lord had permitted it; and this chiefly because of the love which I
have towards you, and you to me. My dear lamb, the Lord be praised, I
have never grieved much on account of it, since it was for the name of
the Lord, and I know that we must once separate here. Though we should
be together here a hundred years yet, the time of separation would
nevertheless come, and it is better to die honorably than to transgress
the law of God and live in disgrace, as is written in the second book
of the Maccabees (6:19). And Christ, also, said: Whosoever shall seek
to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for
my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall preserve it. But whosoever
loveth father or mother, or sister, or brother, or wife, or children,
more than me, the same is not worthy of me. Luke 17:33; 14:26.
Therefore, my dearest, when it comes so far that we are apprehended and
put into bonds, everything must be forsaken for the sake of his holy
will and name, if we wish to be of his number (Rev. 6:11); for he that
does not forsake all that he has cannot be his disciple.
Thus, my affectionately and so greatly beloved sister, when we think
on and well consider these words, why should we not gladly forsake
all that we have for the name of Christ, and why should we be sad,
burdened or troubled, when this comes upon us for the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, since Christ himself has foretold it. I cannot fully
thank and praise him for his great, unspeakable grace and mercy, which
he daily shows me, that my mind and purpose are so gladly, joyfully
and tranquilly fixed upon the Lord. It is at present as well with
me according to the spirit, as it ever was, I think; praise, glory,
honor, and thanks be forever to the eternal, almighty, merciful God,
for his great grace and kindness, that he, through his Holy Spirit,
so strengthens and comforts me, poor, simple, weak, frail servant, in
my mind and purpose; and I pray God, always to strengthen, confirm
and comfort me by his Holy Spirit, unto the end, and also all those
who fear him, and to give us what is most needful to us all for the
salvation of our souls.
Herewith I will commend you to the Lord, and take affectionate leave,
with the comforting and delightful word of his grace, from you, in
regard to this matter, for this time. O my dearest S. J. H., excuse
my simple letter and the small talent I have received from the Lord;
for I have written it from true, unfeigned, godly and brotherly love,
which I bear to you, my dear, chosen sister, of which the Lord is my
witness, who knows all hearts, and tries the reins, and before whom all
things are naked and open. Jer. 17:10; Acts 15:8. And all that I have
here written to you, my dear lamb, I wish also, from the bottom of my
heart, as a heartfelt and affectionate greeting, and for a perpetual
memorial, to my deeply beloved father and brother, whom I both love
so affectionately. Let all of you pray the Lord for me, that I may
accomplish and finish what I have begun, to my soul’s salvation, to his
praise and honor, and to the edification of my fellow-men. I trust to
pray the Lord most diligently for you, according to my weak ability.
Greet one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that
are in Christ Jesus. Amen. 1 Pet. 5:14.
This last has been written in the year 1567, the ninth day of
September, by me, Jacques Mesdagh, after being imprisoned for eighteen
months, in iron bonds, for the testimony of Jesus Christ our Lord, for
the sake of the word of God, and for the right truth. Herewith I take
cordial leave from you. Adieu, dear friends.
ADRIAN WILLEMS, A. D. 1568.[294]
[294] This Adrian Willems was not mentioned in previous editions.
In the year 1568 the tyranny and persecution waged against the
Christians became very sore and grievous, so that in said year many
were apprehended and slain.
On the 4th of April of the above year, between one and two o’clock in
the morning, Adrian Willems, my father, was apprehended by Steven de
Wit, the Bailiff of Vianen, and taken to the castle of Batesteyn, where
he was kept confined fifty weeks and one day.
On the 8th of May the Bailiff and part of the members of the court
came from Vianen, to examine him concerning his faith, which he freely
confessed to them. Being then asked as to who were of the same faith
with him, he refused to tell it to them; hence the Bailiff threatened
him again and again with severe examination [the torture], and
accordingly, on the 5th of June, he had the executioner come, caused
his hands to be tied behind his back, and made him climb up a ladder,
threatening to have all his members dislocated, or he would know who
were his fellow believers; but when he saw that he could not extort it
from him, he suffered him to come down, without inflicting any torture
upon him.
Said Bailiff also had a Franciscan monk come, to delude him from his
faith; but after many words and much disputation the monk left him,
without having accomplished anything. Afterwards, at divers times,
others also came, namely, priests and monks, to draw him from his
faith; however, they all left like the former.
The letters speaking of the conversations with these priests and monks,
and of his confession, as also other letters written in prison and
received by us, lay, or were put with the others by me, behind the
bedstead under the roof, on account of the great fear of persecution
and the monstrous tyranny existing at that time. Afterwards it
happened, in the year 1570, in February, that the water came rushing
from the Diefdijck with such force or volume, that many houses drifted
away, and some had their walls broken in, so that said letters fell
into the water and perished. I greatly mourned the loss of them,
because our children might in them have seen or read how valiantly and
cheerfully their grandfather confessed the Gospel, and died for it, and
how glad he was when he was visited in prison; for I was there myself
at great peril.
On the 29th of June of said year 1568, the aforesaid Bailiff announced
that he should hold a court the following day, the 30th of said month;
on which he preferred his accusation, demanding that he should be
burned at the stake, until death ensued, and his property confiscated
for the benefit of the King. Afterwards, many court-days having been
held, and both parties having presented their papers, the Bailiff did
not cease to request that sentence be passed, whereupon the judges
decided that thirty-two guilders be paid in, to go and get advice by
way of consultation. This having been done, they of the court went to
the court of Holland, and returned with the sentence of death.
Shortly after, the 21st of March, 1569, he was informed that he should
receive his sentence the following day. Well knowing that it should be
a sentence of death and not of life (according to the time appointed),
he resolved to write his wife and children a last farewell letter.
When he had begun to write, a monk came to harass him, in order, if
possible, to hinder him in his faith. He withstood him, and left the
monk in the evening, desiring to rest a little while. The next day at
four o’clock in the morning the monk again came to him, to torment him
as much as possible. Afterwards about eight o’clock the same day he was
taken from the room in which he had been confined during his entire
imprisonment, with heavy iron fetters, with which he was shackled night
and day, except that they unlocked them when he took off or put on his
garments and stockings, namely, in the evening when he went to bed,
and in the morning, when he rose. They brought him into a kitchen,
where stood a table with victuals, of which he partook a little, and
thereupon received a drink from Steven de Wit, which he accepted in a
friendly manner, to leave the former no ground for suspecting that he
bore any ill will, though he delivered him to death. The monk (as heard
before) persisted in his attempts to draw him from his faith, but did
not effect his purpose. From there they took him to the city hall to
receive his sentence; with his hands tied, a monk at his side, and the
executioner and two beadles before and behind him, all well armed; and
thus they led him as a defenseless lamb to the slaughter. When they
arrived in the city hall, the court assembled, and the Bailiff himself
demanded the sentence. Then the Judges said: “Adrian Willems, do you
wish to say something yet in regard to this?” He replied: “I know of
nothing to tell you, save that you would remember that you must also
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, who shall pass a righteous
judgment upon the good and the evil, or the dead and the living.”
Then they arose. When they came out of the council-chamber, they
pronounced the sentence, passing judgment, that said Adrian Willems
should be executed with the sword, and his body be put into a coffin
and buried under the scaffold. They then rose again, with pale and sad
countenances, without closing the court, and left him in the hands of
cruel men, who stripped him, took him out of the city hall with his
eyes blindfolded, and hastened to execute the sentence of the judges,
which they also did. Thus the aforementioned Adrian Willems voluntarily
delivered himself up to death, choosing rather to keep his faith, than
to retain his life here for a little while, and forsake his faith; and
committed his soul unto God the faithful Creator, and thus departed
this life, bearing witness to the Gospel, and confirming his unfeigned
faith with his blood. Amen.
LUCAS DE GROOT HANGED, A. D. 1568.
In the year 1568, a brother named Lucas de Groot, a native of Ostend,
in Flanders, was apprehended there for the testimony of the truth,
and after he had boldly confessed his faith, and, would unwaveringly
adhere to it, he was sentenced to be strangled and burned; the judges,
however, afterwards changing their mind, Lucas was hanged to the
gallows, in contempt of the believers.
JAN PORTIER BURNED, A. D. 1568.