Part 203
The grace and peace of God the heavenly Father, the love of his beloved Son, together with the comfort joy, and gladness of the Holy Ghost, this I wish you as a friendly greeting, my very dear and beloved wife and sister in the Lord. Be pleased to know, that I am still tolerably well according to the time, for which I thank and praise the Lord for his great goodness and grace, trusting to hear the same from you. Know further, that I received your letter, and thank you for your good exhortation and Christian solicitude for me in these my bonds. O my beloved, this indeed may truly be called the narrow way, for we are assailed from every side, namely, from flesh and blood; and Satan rests not day or night, by some means to bring us into error or unbelief; for the enemies of the cross of Christ approach us very subtilly. Now they have compassion for us, saying: “I will be innocent of your blood.” Then they say: “If you die in your belief, you must from this fire go into the eternal.” Thereupon I replied to him, that we had a better hope, and were not as those that beat the air. 1 Cor. 9:26. He said that we were possessed of the devil, and were so firmly bound or held of him, that we would not let ourselves be moved. We replied that the Jews also said to Christ, that he had a devil. John 7:20; 10:20. I wonder, said he, if it would do some good to exorcise you; and other blasphemous words. We told him to go and seek souls, and to reprove harlots and rogues, drunkards, and the ungodliness of the people, since to such the kingdom of heaven is denied. He answered, that he exhorted them to repentance. Lauwerens told him, that all their things and ceremonies were nothing but hypocrisy and abomination, and that they sold masses to the people by the dozen. He replied to Lauwerens, saying: “If you were a wise man, I should take this ill of you.” I asked him, where there was anything written [in the Bible] concerning his mass. He said it was a sacrifice, and made many words with regard to this matter, so that it was astonishing where he got it all; much of it had a fair semblance. Among other things he said, that he would shed his blood for us, to gain our souls. I told him, that he would nevertheless be loth to die for us, and set us free. He said that we were too pernicious to live. I said: “My lord, I am much surprised (since you say, that if we die in this belief we are damned) that you will not rather suffer us to live; for as long as a man lives, he has time for amendment and repentance.” But to this he had little inclination, saying, that we were of the worst persuasion on the earth; for the Calvinists and Martinists, he said, were more easily moved than we; so that we could not agree, but he said, that he daily prayed for us. O, said he, I remembered you this very day in my mass. We said, that we also prayed the Lord day and night for our greatest salvation. He said, that we sought salvation, but ignorantly. He would also have the flesh and blood of Christ really present in the bread or Supper. In regard to this we made but few words, but I said to him: “Even as Israel made a golden calf, which served as an idol, to whom they said, that these were their gods which had delivered them out of Egypt; so it is also with your people; for they say: This is our god which has redeemed us on the tree of the cross. He said, that if he were not present in the bread, it would be idolatry; but when the priest has pronounced the words over it, he comes sacramentally into it, and hence it is also not idolatry. And when he could not move us with Scriptures, he held out to us release and pardon, to lure us, so that my conflict thereby becomes the more grievous to me; yet I hope that the Lord will help us to triumph, for without the help of God it were impossible to stand.
Hence, my beloved, help me heartily to entreat the Lord, that he will preserve me through his great goodness and long-suffering as the apple of his eye, that I may not be seduced through philosophy or carnal liberty, nor depart from my God, of which I have a great terror; but that he will comfort and strengthen me in my good purpose, to the praise of his holy name, and to the salvation of my soul.
Herewith I will commend you to the crucified, bleeding Christ Jesus, and to the rich word of his grace; who is faithful in what he has promised. I greet you, my beloved, with the kiss of peace; and Lauwerens and I also greet all our acquaintances very cordially with the peace of the Lord. Amen.
Written in my bonds, by me,
JOOST VERKINDERT, Unworthy prisoner in the Lord.
ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT, WRITTEN TO HIS BROTHERS, MICHIEL AND PLEUN, ON THE 7TH OF SEPTEMBER, THE 100TH DAY OF HIS IMPRISONMENT.
May God the Father, and our dear Lord Jesus Christ, give you a heart and mind, to walk in his holy truth all the days of your life, to the salvation of your poor, naked souls, that they may be saved, when the Lord shall visit them at the last day, when we shall all be placed before the judgment seat of Christ, where every one shall receive reward according to his deeds, whether they be good or bad. 2 Cor. 5:10. To God the Father be praise and honor through Jesus Christ; may he give us his Holy Spirit for a Comforter in all our tribulation, in which we now are, for Christ and the gospel’s sake. To the Lord be praise, honor and thanks forever and ever. Amen.
This I wish you, my dear and beloved brothers, Michiel and Pleun, as a heartfelt and friendly greeting, from the inmost of my soul. Be pleased to know, that I am still tolerably well according to the flesh; and as regards the Spirit, my mind is still fixed, to adhere to the eternal truth with the help of the Most High, to whom I must look for comfort and help; for of myself I have not one good thought but only aversion; for the flesh always shrinks from suffering. Nevertheless, my dear brothers, there must be suffering, either here or hereafter, for Christ says, that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent must take it by force. Matt. 11:12. O dear brothers, I pray you from the heart, that you will take heed to yourselves, to obey the voice of the Lord, so that you may not be found to be of those who had buried their talent in the earth, and of those who want to put a new piece upon an old garment, and of those who put new wine into old bottles. Matt. 25:18; Luke 5:36,37. O my dear brothers, if you do not take heed to yourselves, God will require a strict account of you, for Christ says: All those who will not have me to reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before mine eyes, and cast them into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Luke 19:27; 13:25. And further, Luke 12:47, Christ says: That servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. O my dear brothers, accept this my warning in good part, for it is done out of pure brotherly love, and this because I so well know, that without Christ and without his word there is no salvation. For I also, for a number of years knew better than I did, the Lord forgive me; and if I could have served the world and the Lord, I would not be in bonds. O dear brothers, flesh and blood did not bring me to this, but the word of the Lord, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. For no man can serve two masters at the same time; he must despise the one, and hold to the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon together. Matt. 6:24. And O, it (the word) also calls to the children of Israel and says: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him; if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21. O dear brothers, these and other Scriptures compelled me to renounce my own will, in order to escape the great deluge and punishment that shall come upon those who have not obeyed the Gospel of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. 2 Thess. 1:8,9.
O dear brothers, be afraid of that day which shall burn as an oven, and when all the proud despisers, and all the wicked shall be as stubble; but they that have kept the laws of their God shall then grow up as calves of the stall, and they shall go in and out, and tread down the wicked like ashes under their feet. Mal. 4:1. O dear brothers, that we might all be found worthy to hear the pleasant voice of Christ saying: “Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom of my Father, prepared for you from the foundation of the world--O then we should have indeed been born at a blessed hour! For there are so few that seek to follow the Lord with a whole and true heart, for every one would excuse himself; the one says: I have bought five yoke of oxen; the second: I have married a wife; the third: I have bought a piece of ground; I pray thee, have me excused. Luke 14:18. O dear brothers, before the Lord no excuse shall be able to stand; hence let us take heed, if we have heard his voice, that our hearts do not become hardened or stony; for we have many examples in the holy Scriptures, that the ungodly cannot stand before the Lord. For we read, how God punished the world with the deluge, because of their sins; but he saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, and brought in the flood upon the world, of the ungodly; and overthrew and condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins; but preserved just Lot with his two daughters, who were vexed with their improper and unchaste conversation. 2 Pet. 2:5. Thus, dear brothers, though the Lord does not outwardly comfort[322] you, as, he then did, yet he shall not let sin go unpunished, for the Lord is a righteous judge, who will judge the heart and thoughts. O yes, man shall have to give account of every idle word that he has spoken. Matt. 12:36. O dear beloved brothers, go out from this spiritual Egypt, from the power of the hellish Pharaoh, and from this spiritual Sodom, where they crucified our Lord, and from this spiritual Babylon; so that you may live in Zion, and there behold the beautiful worship of God; for I warn you in the name of the Lord, and my conscience, that you will find it at the last day, as I have here written you.
[322] Perhaps a typographical error, and should read, punish.--TR.
O dear brothers, Michiel and Pleun, I also admonish myself hereby, for if I persevere not in this conflict, all that I have suffered is in vain, for the unsaved shall be written in the earth. Jer. 17:13. O so many times I feel a terror of apostatizing, for I am so certain and assured that I am on the right way. For, dear brothers, you well know, that no one can come into this world except he be born; so no one can enter into the future world, except he be born again, even as Peter clearly testifies, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth, forever. 1 Peter 1:23. O brothers, dear brothers, happy is he that is thus born: for such regenerated persons use the true baptism and the true Supper; they also keep aloof from all false doctrines, and also use the true excommunication and separation, for the maintenance of the purity of the church, or it would soon become a Babylon.
Dear brothers, I have been before a priest four different times, and we can agree in nothing. O he uses such diligence to bring us to his church; and because we will not buy, or cannot accept with a good conscience, his merchandise, therefore he says that we have the devil in us, and that we are damned if we thus die in our belief. However, I am not terrified by his judgment, but I pray the Lord, to open the eyes of their understanding, that they may see against whom they are contending, that it is not against men, but against God and the Lamb; for Christ says. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, [but I have chosen you out of the world,] therefore the world hateth you. John 15:19. And Christ further says: If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household. Matt. 10:25. O how truly it may be said at this time, that our life is accounted madness, our going out destruction and our honor shame. Wis. 5:4; 3:3. O how are the words of Christ fulfilled where he says: “They shall put you out of the synagogues: 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. And also Paul says: If they had known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2:8. O my dear brothers, remove your feet from the paths of the ungodly, for they go to hell, like sheep to the slaughter. Proverbs 4:14. And look not to the multitude, for Esdras writes: Even as there is found much earth of which to make earthen vessels, but little to make golden ones, so are the ungodly to the righteous. 2 Esd. 8:2. And again: Like as a flood is to a drop, so are the ungodly to the righteous. 9:16. And he further says: What profit is it to man that there is promised a city full of all good things, if he cannot enter into it? or that there is promised an immortal life, whereas we do the works that bring death? Hence we may well say with Esdras: “O Adam, Adam! what hast thou done! for when thou didst fall, thou didst not fall alone, but also we all that come of thee.” 7:48. O my dear brothers, strive to become true sheep of Christ’s flock, and true branches of the vine Christ, and seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; set your affections on things above not on things on the earth; and mortify your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. Col. 3:1,2,5,6. Thus, my dear brothers, if you desire the truth, and to escape the punishment to come, seek to order your life according to the Gospel, and deny yourselves; for Christ says in the Gospel: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s shall save it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? But whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Matt. 16:24–26; Mark 8:38.
O my dear brothers, consider well these Scriptures, and meditate on them, for Christ Jesus has brought them down here from high heaven, and lived and taught them, and sealed them with his blood, and became poor for our sakes, that through his poverty he might make us rich. O consider once, how despised Christ was for our sakes. So that the prophet Isaiah laments and says, that there was no beauty in him, which might have pleased us. Is. 53:2. Yea, he [the Psalmist] laments, that he was a worm, and no man. Ps. 22:6. O dear brothers, let us take an example from him, how admirably he went before us; for all those who do not accept Christ are not redeemed by him; for Christ also says in the Gospel: “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? for whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.[323] And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:24–27. And Christ further says, of the sower, Matt. 13, that some seed fell by the wayside, some upon stony places, some among thorns, and some into good ground, and this brought forth fruit. O ponder well this Scripture, in how many a one the deceitful riches suppress the word of God, so that it does not bring forth fruit. Thus, my dear beloved brothers, this is written in my bonds for a perpetual warning to you. O that God would grant grace, that his word might lie in your heart, as it does in mine; then you should soon bid the world farewell. Yet, my flesh sometimes wonderfully shrinks back from suffering, so that at times I am as fearful as one that is in the throes of travail. Nevertheless, Christ Jesus also shrank from suffering. Luke 22.
[323] _Corner-stone_, the original has it.
Herewith I will commend you to the crucified Christ Jesus, and to the abundant word of his grace, as a perpetual adieu upon earth if we should here see one another no more; for my mind is still fixed this day, to seal this letter with my blood, and, with old Eleazar, rather to die honorably than to live stained with ignominy. And, Michiel, I also greet your wife, sister Tanneken, very cordially with a perpetual adieu. My brothers always do good, and praise and thank the Lord, that you have a brother who is worthy to lay down his life for Christ and the Gospel’s sake. Written to you in tears, for nature’s sake. Assist Christian with the children, wherever it is possible for you; and keep this letter as a testament. By me, your dear brother,
JOOST VERKINDERT.
THE LAST LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT, WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE AFTER HE HAD RECEIVED HIS SENTENCE, AND WAS BROUGHT TO THE COMMON PRISON, IT BEING ON THE 12TH OF SEPTEMBER.
God, who is the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God through Christ Jesus, to him be praise, honor, glory, dominion, power, and majesty, forever and ever. Amen.
This I wish you as a cordial and friendly greeting, my dear and beloved wife and sister in the Lord, as a perpetual adieu upon earth; informing you, that I am still tolerably well according to the time, for which I thank and praise the almighty Father, my and your God, that he has chosen me hereto.
Hence, my most beloved, do not sorrow too much on my account, but praise and thank the Lord, that you have had a husband that is counted worthy to lay down his life for the truth.
O my beloved, I pray and exhort you once more, that you will keep yourself in quietness and in the fear of God, that we may together receive the beautiful promises, where neither cold, nor heat, nor hunger, nor thirst shall be any more, but such joy, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the great joy and gladness which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor. 2:9.
O my beloved, this befell me, when we least expected it; but the almighty God be praised and thanked through Christ Jesus, that he still thus aids and succors me in my distress.
Herewith I commend you and my two little children to Christ Jesus, whom I commend to you for a husband.
O my beloved, never forsake this husband and bridegroom, for he is the Father of the widows and orphans. Ps. 68:6. Adieu, my most beloved, with mother and all our friends, whom I commend upon earth to the crucified, bleeding Christ Jesus. Adieu, adieu all together. Subscribed by me,
JOOST VERKINDERT.
Your dear husband, written in my bonds.
A LETTER FROM LAUWERENS ANDRIESS, THE FELLOW-PRISONER OF JOOST VERKINDERT; SENT THE 9TH OF SEPTEMBER, TO R., THE WIFE OF SAID JOOST.
The eternal, abundant and rich grace and mercy of God the heavenly Father, and the pure love, joy and peace of the Son, together with the comfort of the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from both the Father and the Son, to comfort those that are in any tribulation; this I wish you, my dear and God-beloved sister in the Lord, as a friendly greeting, to strengthen you in your great tribulation, in which you now also are for the Lord’s holy name and the Gospel’s sake, which Gospel he left us, and sealed it with his precious blood, that he might thereby cleanse and wash us from all our uncleanness, and present us unto himself holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle, yea, that he might thereby prepare unto himself a holy people zealous of good works. Eph. 5:26,27; Tit. 2:14. To him be praise, thanks, glory, honor, power, and majesty, forever and ever. Amen.
After all proper greetings, my dear and beloved sister in the Lord, whom I love from the depth of my heart, because of our regeneration, I inform you, that I and your dear husband are still tolerably well according to the flesh; and as regards the spirit, it is still the purpose of us both, to adhere to the eternal truth by the great help of the Lord, without whom we can do nothing, and from whom we must also constantly look for help and comfort. And he, according to his promise, does not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but does with the temptation also make a way to escape. 1 Cor. 10:13. Yea, he is a faithful helper in distress, who never yet forsook his own that continued in his fear, and firmly trusted in his word; for he gives unto every one that asks him, and will not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, that we should be to the praise of his glory. Matt. 7:7; 2 Pet. 3:9; Eph. 1:12. Hence, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye[324] also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Col. 3:1–6. Therefore, let all bitterness, conceitedness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us. Eph. 4:31,32; 5:1,2. And Christ says: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. John 13:34,35. And Peter says: Have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8); and love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom. 13:8. But we must love God above all, as is written: If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26. And further: He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matthew 19:37. Thus, we must love him above all, and for his name forsake everything, and entirely deny ourselves. 16:24. Hence, my dear sister, be content, and do not grieve immoderately on this account; for it is the will of the Lord, and his will must be done. We must part here once. Thus, hasten, that we may all meet together when men shall not be able to part us any more. May the good and almighty Lord full of grace and truth make us fit hereto. Amen.
[324] _We_, in the original.
Farewell, and accept this in good part.