recount all the glorious promises which the Lord has promised them that
continue faithful in their temptation, it would take too much time to
write it all.
Herewith I commend you my dear wife and sister in the Lord, to God,
and to the rich word of his grace, which is able to keep us from all
the subtle wiles with which our adversary the devil walks about us as
a roaring lion, as Peter says. 1 Pet. 5:8. He could assail the Lord;
should he then not assault his people? for we are not ignorant of his
devices (2 Cor. 2:11), for he works also through his emissaries, that
is, the children of unbelief, who will possibly come to assail you; but
we can well overcome them, we can do all things through the grace of
the Lord, which grace may God grant you and me, and us all. Amen.
Farewell, and pray the Lord for me, that he may keep me in this evil
time, that I may always walk in the way of the Lord. I also pray
for you, that the Lord will grant you strength, that you may be an
acceptable offering unto him, and that through your bonds and through
the voluntary surrender of your body into the tyrants’ hands, many may
come to the truth. Though it is somewhat hard for the flesh, the Lord
can give strength to them that trust in him. Yes, dear Jan’s daughter,
my dearest, beloved sister in the Lord, let us take heed and pray the
Lord, that we may well guard ourselves, that we do not dishonor the
temple of God; for thus says Paul (mark well): “Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:16,17. If we
guard ourselves well, it will be well with us, for we have a precious
treasure in earthen vessels, the Spirit of the Lord, the Comforter,
which will not be taken from us, if we fear God, depart from all sin,
and do good.
O my dearest, dismiss from your mind that you went there to get the
bed, for possibly the Lord wants thus to prove you; and let us not
tempt the Lord; he does all for the best; I would not give you for all
the treasures of the world; this the Lord knows, for he knows every
heart. Now that it is so, let it be so in the name of the Lord. You may
readily suppose that Abraham was sorrowful that he had to offer up his
beloved son; for he was dear to him, and the Lord had told him that his
seed should be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of
heaven. But, my dear lamb, he feared the Lord, and dared not disobey
his command. Thus we too; have courage, my dear wife; think, it is only
for one evil hour, or half an hour, and all is over, for much may be
done in half an hour. See, my dear, he that overcometh shall inherit
all things; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev. 21:7; 2:11. Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will
of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto
a faithful Creator. 1 Pet. 4:19. Let us pray for them that afflict us
(that is, the Pope and his adherents), that they may see how blind
they are; and also for the magistrates, that they may no longer seek
innocent blood, but be satisfied, and see wherein they are sinning
before God.
Adieu, be resigned in the Lord, my dear wife and sister in the Lord;
take my simple letter in good part, for it has been written from a good
intention.
Written with much sorrow and labor. Nothing more for this time, only
the Lord keep you in a godly life, and preserve you from the second
death. Amen.
By me, your dear husband and weak brother in the Lord, who am not
worthy of the name; but by the grace of the Lord we can do all things.
J. VAN DORT.
Written on the 18th and 19th of January, in the year 1572. Whatever I
can do for you is at your service; do not spare me. Adieu, farewell;
put your trust in the Lord alone, and you will find rest for your soul.
Amen.
* * * * *
Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he
doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they
have not known the Father, nor me. John 16:2,3.
SEVEN BRETHREN AT BREDA, JAN PIETERSS, GELEYN CORNELISS, PIETER DE
GULICKER WITH HIS SERVANT, ARENT BLOCK, CORNELIS GIJSELAER, AND ONE
MICHIEL, IN THE YEAR 1572.
In the year 1572, when many exiles were residing in Nieuwvaert, near
Breda, where they enjoyed a little more liberty than elsewhere, among
whom there were also some who, for the testimony and following of
Jesus Christ, had fled thither from other places; it happened in the
beginning of the month of August of said year, that, many brethren
and sisters having come there from without, from Brabant, from Breda,
Sevenbergen, and several adjacent villages, also from Holland, from
Leyden, Haerlem and elsewhere, which being discovered, it was reported
to the Bailiff, while he was sitting at Gerrit Vorster’s, and drank
with the steward, who hearing this, was filled with anger and said: “We
will disturb that nest, and exterminate that band at once. Thereupon
they gathered an armed force, in the evening of the fifth of August,
about nine or ten o’clock, when these assembled to hear the preaching,
and to marry a couple, in a house standing on the Voorstraet, in the
front part of which resided Pieter de Gulicker, a tailor, and in the
back part, Jan Pieterss, a weaver, where about one hundred men and
women were assembled together. The steward and the bailiff with their
men came twice to the house to listen, without accomplishing anything
further; but the third time the steward sent a servant, who found them
assembled, by the light of many candles, engaged in their preaching.
Thereupon came the steward, stadtholder, and bailiff, with all their
servants and people, well armed with pistols, halberds, swords,
and other weapons, and thrusting open the doors of the house, they
apprehended some whom they could get; but most of them broke through
the walls, passages, and the roof of the house, and escaped. In all
there were apprehended, Jan Pieterss of Vlaerdinge, who lived in the
rear part of the house, and ministered to the assembly with the word
of truth; Pieter de Gulicker, a tailor, who resided in the front part
of the house, with one of his apprentices, who was but sixteen or
seventeen years old; Geleyn Corneliss, a shoemaker of Middleharnisse,
near Somerdijck; Arent Block of Sevenbergen; and Cornelis, the son
of Koppen de Gijselaer, of Dortrecht; and two or three women. These
having been apprehended they were brought to Gerrit Vorster’s house,
and the men put in irons; but the women were placed unfettered in a
chamber by themselves, whence they made good their escape. The next
day in the morning there came to these six prisoners Michiel, the
uncle of Cornelis de Gijselaer (married to the widow of Valerius, the
schoolmaster, who in the year 1568, about three years prior to this,
had been offered up at Brouwershaven), who having come to visit his
friends, to comfort them from the word of God in their tribulation, the
Bailiff happened upon them and apprehended him likewise, saying: “You
also belong to this people; you must also stay here with them.”
All the property of these prisoners was immediately written down and
confiscated, so that the women and children had to flee deprived and
stripped of everything, which was lamented by many. In consequence of
these things the people in Nieuwvaert were so terrified, that many
dared not stay there any longer, the more so, as the steward had
written to the duke of Alva, and having received a letter in return,
had gone thither in person. In all, there fled about thirty, brethren
as well as sisters, of those who resided in Nieuwvaert, besides all the
others who had come there from other places.
The schoolmaster of Nieuwvaert, called Master Pieter Claess van der
Linden, who had disputed five hours with Jan Pieterss (besides that the
pastor had also disputed with him two or three times), and was greatly
embittered against this people, gives nevertheless this testimony
concerning them, that their chief and principal errors are: “That
they do not baptize infants; that they cannot believe that Christ had
his flesh and blood from Mary; and that they regard themselves as the
little flock and the elect of God. But that, with this exception, their
life and conversation is better than that of many others, and that they
also seek to bring up their children in better discipline and fear of
God, than many other people. That he also had of their children in his
school, who were apter and learned more readily than any others. That
he and many others deeply deplored the great persecution and vexation
inflicted upon these people, and especially that on account of the men
the poor women and children were so lamentably stripped of all their
possessions, and driven away into misery.”
These prisoners were confined in irons, in the house of said Gerrit
Vorster, from the fifth of August, when they were apprehended in
the night, until noon of the seventh, when they were together taken
to Breda, where they were most severely assailed with examinations,
promises, threats, and tortures, to cause them to apostatize from their
faith, and to name their fellow believers, so that Pieter de Gulicker,
unable to resist the same, abandoned the faith and his God, whereby he
nevertheless did not obtain a release, but was executed with the sword.
But the rest remained steadfast unto the end, however unmercifully
they were treated in the torture. For one was very cruelly tortured
and wound upon the rack, and while thus lying, urine was poured into
his mouth, and his body trampled upon; another was fastened below by
his feet, his hands tied behind his back, and he was thus hauled up
from behind, and scourged. But Geleyn, the shoemaker, was tortured
most cruelly of all. They stripped him naked, and suspended him by
his right thumb, with a weight attached to his left foot, and while
thus suspended he was burned under his arms with candles and fire,
and scourged until the two commissaries of the Duke of Alva, who were
present, themselves became tired, and went away and sat down to play
cards, the executioner looking on, for about an hour, or an hour and
a half. Meanwhile Geleyn was left suspended, who, during all the time
that they played, experienced no pain, but was as though he had been in
a sweet slumber, or in a swoon; yea, he subsequently himself testified
that he never in his life rested on his bed with less pain, than while
he was suspended there. When they had finished playing, they said to
the executioner: “Seize him again; he must tell us something; a drowned
calf is a small risk.” Coming to him, the executioner exclaimed:
“The man is dead” (so deep was his sleep or swoon). Then one of the
commissaries darted up, and shook him so roughly by one arm as to
sprain it, which was not yet healed from the burning. When he began to
revive again, he was let down; but he implicated no one, nor did he
deny his faith, so that he was finally sentenced to the fire with Jan
Pieterss and the young apprentice to be burnt alive. When they were
standing at the stakes, and were being burned, the flames were wafted
away so much from Geleyn, that the executioner had to hold him into the
fire with a fork on the other side of the stake. Thus these, valiantly
adhering to the truth, laid down their lives for it.
Shortly after, when Cornelis de Gijselaer and Arent Block were also
led to death to be burnt, Arent dropped a letter which he had written,
thinking that some one of the friends would pick it up and get it, but
unfortunately, it fell into the hands of the tyrants, who immediately
had the two taken back to prison, whereupon they were yet most
dreadfully tortured; but when they nevertheless constantly remained
valiant, named no one, and in no torture apostatized from their God,
they were finally, like the three preceding ones, also sentenced and
burned; and very soon after also Michiel, the uncle of Cornelis de
Gijselaer followed the others with a like sacrifice.
Thus these now lie together under the altar, and wait for the number
of their brethren to be fulfilled, that they may then live with them
forever in everlasting joy with the Lamb that was slain, and all the
friends of God, and sing the new song.
TOUCHING THE COURT PROCEEDINGS AND DEATH SENTENCES OF THE
AFOREMENTIONED MARTYRS.
We did not spare the pains, to have looked up, through the mediation of
certain of our good friends at Breda, in the present archives of the
year 1659, by the clerk of the recorder there, every thing that might
be noted, and could be found as recorded by the papistic rulers, of the
year 1572, concerning the imprisonment, sufferings and death of the
aforementioned pious witnesses of Jesus Christ. But soon after search
for it had begun to be made, information was received that the archives
where these and similar documents had been preserved was destroyed and
laid in ruins by a terrible conflagration a few years ago; for which
reason nothing could be brought to light in regard to the matter,
except the particular reminiscences of old writers, from which the
above is recorded. This by way of notice.
MAERTENS JANSS, A CORN PORTER, AND JAN HENDRICKSS OF SWARTEWAEL, A
STEERSMAN, BOTH PUT TO DEATH AT THE STAKE, AT DELFT, IN HOLLAND, A. D.
1572.
The city of Delft, in Holland was at this time only a burying place,
yea, a dreadful murderers’ den, for the extirpation of God’s saints.
This appeared in the case of two very pious, godfearing, and most
virtuous lambs of Christ, who had betaken themselves among the flock of
the great Shepherd of the sheep, Christ Jesus, to be led and fed by him
in the green meadows of the true evangelical doctrine. One was named
Maerten Janss, by trade a corn porter; the other, Jan Hendrickss, born
at Swartewael, a steersman, who followed the sea for a livelihood.
They were both imprisoned at Delft, where they, for almost two years,
suffered much affliction, anxiety and distress, from secular as well as
spiritual [ecclesiastical] persons, to make them apostatize from their
faith. But as they were founded upon the immovable corner-stone Christ
Jesus, they could in nowise weaken their faith, much less cause them to
apostatize entirely from it. Hence the rulers at said place, inflamed,
through the instigation of the papistic clergy, with a bitter hatred
against them, pronounced, in court, a very cruel sentence upon both of
them, namely: That they should be tied to a stake, upon a scaffold to
be erected in the market place, and burned until death should ensue.
Thereupon, on the fifth of February, A. D. 1572, both were brought upon
the scaffold at said place, to die; whereupon the town clerk read to
all the people: That no one was allowed to speak to them, on pain of
forfeiting life and property.
Then Maerten Janss’ tongue was seared; yet he nevertheless boldly
said: “Thus I must now testify to the truth; for if I had not cared
for my salvation, I would have escaped much sore conflict and obtained
pardon; but now I have fought a good fight, finished my course, and
kept the faith, and henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness.”
Then he cried: “O Lord, be merciful to me poor sinner! Who am not
worthy to suffer for thy name, but thou hast made me worthy thereto.”
Finally he exclaimed: “O Lord, receive my spirit into thy hands.” And
with this his life was ended he thus departing this world through fire.
Jan Hendrickss was likewise gagged, to prevent him from speaking; but
when he nevertheless spoke, namely: “Now is the time, now the truth
must be fully sealed,” etc., a great clamoring, confusion and running
arose among the people, so that the lords, filled with fear, caused Jan
Hendrickss to be brought inside, until the commotion and turbulence of
the people had subsided.
After that he was brought forth completely gagged, and having hurriedly
been fastened to the stake, he was deprived of this temporal life by
fire, even as his slain fellow brother.
Their dead and half consumed bodies were brought outside of the city,
to the common place of execution, called Gallows Hill, where each was
separately fastened to a stake, for food to the fowls of the air.
This was the end of the aforementioned two lambs of Jesus, who, though
a spectacle and reproach before the world, before God became a holy and
acceptable sacrifice.
NOTE.--Having been furnished from the book of criminal sentences of the
city of Delft, by the secretary there, with an authentic copy of the
sentence of death of the aforementioned friends, just as the same was
publicly read in court on the day of their death, we deem it well to
add it here, that the reader may be fully assured of the truth of the
foregoing account. The contents thereof are word for word as follows:
EXTRACT OF THE SENTENCE OF MAERTEN JANSS, CORN PORTER, CITIZEN OF THIS
CITY, AND JAN HENDRICKSS OF SWARTEWAEL, STEERSMAN, PUT TO DEATH WITH
FIRE.
Whereas Maerten Janss, corn porter, citizen of the city of Delft, and
Jan Hendrickss of Swartewael, steersman, prisoners, have confessed,
without torture and iron bonds, to belong to the evil and reprobated
sect of the Anabaptists, and consequently to have attended various
forbidden and improper meetings; and also confess to be rebaptized,
and to have withheld the holy sacrament of baptism from some of their
infants: that they also hold very evil views concerning the mass,
despising and utterly rejecting the holy sacrament of the altar, as
also all other sacraments, services and ceremonies of the holy Roman
Catholic Church, and, what is worse still persist and obstinately
adhere, to their aforesaid damned reprobated heresy, without in any
wise repenting, or being willing to abandon it, notwithstanding all
the good admonitions frequently and at divers times addressed to them
by various good spiritual Catholic persons; all of which are most
enormous, wicked and scandalous matters, which for an example unto
others ought not to go unpunished; therefore, the judges of the city
of Delft, according to the import of the decrees issued by His Royal
Majesty, have ordered, and do order by these present, the aforesaid
Maerten Janss and Jan Hendrickss, prisoners, to be led upon the
scaffold erected in the market place of this city, and there to be
tied to a stake and burned till death ensues, and their dead bodies
then to be brought to the Gallows Hill and there placed at stakes. We
furthermore declare all their property confiscated and forfeited for
the benefit of His Royal Majesty. We further condemn the aforesaid
prisoners to the costs of their imprisonment and the expenses of the
execution. Done the fifth of February, A. D. 1572, Delft Style.
NOTE.--The original date seems to be in the year 1570, being two years
earlier; but it is an error, as appears from various circumstances that
follow, as also from the date of the letters which Jan Hendrickss wrote
in prison.
Extracted from the first book of criminal sentences, fol. 195,
preserved in the archives of the city of Delft, 23d of August, A. D.
1659.
SECRETARY OF DELFT.
A LETTER FROM JAN HENDRICKSS, WRITTEN IN PRISON AT DELFT, TO HIS WIFE.
The God of all grace, who has called us from the power of darkness
into his eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, and married us with
an everlasting love, as the prophet says, the same grant you, my
dear wife, according to the riches of his grace and glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Holy Spirit in the inner man, that you
may stand steadfast and immovable in faith and love, and the peace of
God, to the salvation of your soul and the praise of God, that you
may receive the undefiled, incorruptible and unfading inheritance,
together with the crown of eternal life, Amen, which God has promised
to all them that love and serve him with all their heart. This, I Jan
Hendrickss wish Lijsbeth Jans my dear wife, from my bonds and in my
last time, as a very cordial salutation in the Lord.
Further, after all proper salutation to you my beloved wife Lijsbeth
Jans, I inform you that I am still valiant and of good cheer in the
Lord, and trust to adhere to his word and truth by his help, without
whose aid it cannot be done; and I trust that he will keep my treasure
unto the end and deliver me out of the lions’ jaws, that they may not
devour me with their teeth. Thus I trust that it also with you, and
I sincerely have this confidence concerning you that you are still
minded and determined with me to serve him all the days of your life in
righteousness and holiness; and I trust that God will strengthen and
keep you therein, even as he has hitherto done, for which praise be to
him forever.
Furthermore, my dear wife, since the time of my departure, according
to human purpose, is very near at hand, I cannot forget you, but must
out of love write you a little yet, because of the great love which I
have to you, and because you have shown me so much love in my bonds,
in various ways by visiting and writing, for which I thank you very
much; may God in high heaven, reward you for it. And I thank you most
heartily for your last letter, which was very precious, for when we
read it we were so much rejoiced by the great consolation that we both
wept. And because you love me so, and I you, therefore I must still
care for you a little, and admonish you as my most beloved. Not, my
dear Jan’s daughter, that I have not the confidence that you will walk
in the fear of God; oh no! I am confident that you will do nothing but
what is good. But that I exercise this care for you, is done only from
pure, clear love, because I love your soul so very much; hence I very
often wish that you might be taken before me, since I well see how
difficult it is to reach heaven, and how easily man is [led astray],
even as Paul warns us 1 Cor. 10:12, saying: “Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall”.
Hence; dear Jan’s daughter, take this in good part, this I pray you, as
I trust that you do. And I further admonish and beseech you, that you
always walk in true and unfeigned fear of God, since the fear of God is
the true foundation to please the Lord, for without the fear of God it
is impossible to please him. For by the fear of God we guard against
evil and shun that which is wrong; for when we begin to consider that
God will punish sinners so fearfully, we fear him on that account; for
if this were not so, there would be no need of fearing him. But when
we begin to consider it, we consequently shun and avoid that which is
wrong; but those that do not fear him commit much ungodliness. In the
second place, my dear Jan’s daughter that you firmly cleave to the
vine Christ, and abide in him and he in you, and you shall be as a
fruitful branch, full of good and beautiful fruit; and thus the Father
will purge you, that you may bring forth fruit more abundantly. For he
that does not abide in him, but departs from him, the same is cut off
from him as a withered branch. For your sins, says the prophet, “have
separated between you and your God.” Isaiah 59:2. Behold, dear Jan’s
daughter, here we have the clear express scripture, by what a man is
cut off from Christ, the vine, and what the separation is whereby we
are separated from God, namely, sin; for when we sin, we are by the
sin separated from God. Therefore, my dear wife, I beseech you once
more, that you firmly cleave to the Lord, and shun sin as you would a
serpent, that you do not come too near it, and be devoured by it; for
the teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men.
Sir. 21:2. We must beware of sin; for God does indeed warn man against
sin, but he does not prevent him from it, when he is determined to
commit it, as we have many examples in the Scriptures, as in Adam and
others.