Part 229
In the year 1573, there were put to death at Ghent in Flanders, for the genuine faith of the truth, and for following Christ, Francoys van Leuven (the son of Willem van Leuven. separately mentioned in this book), the uncle of Jan Doom; Hansken van Oudenaerden, born at Geertsberge; and Grietgen van Sluys, born at Tielt, in Guelderland. These were at said place, by the envious and blood-thirsty generation of Cain, and not of Judah, put to death most ignominiously, as not worthy to be tolerated upon the earth, not on account of any misdeed, but only because they, according to the command of the eternal God, had separated from this corrupt world, which lies in inhuman wickedness, and sought, according to their weak ability, to follow Christ in the regeneration; and as the light can have no fellowship with darkness, this tyranny was inflicted upon them by the rulers of darkness, because they held the genuine faith of the truth, and thus they became partakers of the sufferings of Christ, wherefore they shall also with Christ, when his glory shall be revealed, receive great joy and gladness, and enjoy the same forever. 1 Pet. 4:13.
LIPPIJNTGEN STAYAERTS, SIJNTGEN BARNINGE, OR LAME SIJNTGEN, A. D. 1573.
In the same year there were imprisoned at Ghent, in Flanders, for the truth of the holy Gospel, Lippijntgen Stayaerts, a native of Ghent, and Sijntgen Barninge, called Lame Sijntgen, born at Kortrijck in Flanders. As these had also betaken themselves into the way of righteousness, under the banner of their only and eternal Shepherd Christ Jesus, the ministers of antichrist inflicted upon them the same treatment which their Captain himself had met with, and which he had also foretold and promised his followers: not to be loved and highly esteemed by the world but the very opposite, namely, hatred, tribulation, crosses, persecution and death. Thus it happened, after manifold trials and temptations which they suffered for Christ’s sake, that they were sentenced to death by the rulers of darkness, and beheaded with the sword in the count’s castle. And as Sijntgen was lame, she was carried upon the scaffold in a chair, and as she held up her folded hands rather high, a brother (named Natanael de Tollenaer, a brother of Joost de Tollenaer) cried: “Lamb, look out for your hands;” and so they also cut off her two thumbs. Thus they did not love their lives unto death, but willingly delivered up their earthly house for the heavenly; hence there is prepared for them a building of God, a house which, in unspeakable glory, shall endure forever in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:1.
JACOB VAN DEN WEGE, A. D. 1573.
This Jacob van den Wege, born at Ronse, in Flanders, was a nephew of Mr. Claes, who was a colleague of the Dean of Ronse, in his time, probably, the most prominent and zealous inquisitor and persecutor of the Christians in that country. As Jacob had come to the knowledge of the truth, and followed it with ardent love, he was on this account banished from all the dominions of the king of Spain, and had thus, as a fugitive, for more than seven years to subsist very meagerly, gaining a livelihood, and providing bread for his wife and children, by making chests or trunks. Much of the time he abode secretly with good friends, here and there in Flanders, as at Meenen, Halewijn and Wervick, whence, on account of the severe persecution under the Duke of Alva, and because he was also an exile, he went to work in a shop at Rijssel, which was three leagues from the former place.
Having afterwards secretly taken up his residence, with wife and children, at Ghent, it happened at a certain time, that he went to the house of one Christoffel van Leuven, a minister of the word of God, at the very time that the authorities of Ghent had sent to apprehend this Christoffel, and not finding him, they laid hands upon Jacob, taking him along and putting him into severe confinement, in a tower, guarded, and secured with seven doors. There, lying in great fear and distress, he earnestly called upon the Lord his God, in prayer, in spirit and in truth, that he would strengthen him therein, and graciously grant him help, of which he was then in great need, seeing many strong enemies assailed him; for Satan, the envier of all that is good, exerted great power to make him apostatize from the Lord his God, not resting day or night, but very subtly going about him to lead his soul astray. The emissaries of Satan also approached him very craftily, with plausable speeches, as though they sought to comfort and enlighten him; but if he had listened to them, they would have murdered his soul, from which God preserved him. His wife and children also were to him a source of great temptation, for it was very hard for him to leave them, but for the Lord’s sake it had to be done.
After he had been imprisoned for a time and valiantly withstood many entreaties and torments, he was finally publicly burned, at Ghent, for living in accordance with the genuine truth, about three years after his brother Hans had been burned there for following Christ, as related before.
We have added here the letters of this Jacob van den Wege, which have come into our hands, that the reader from them may see in what faith he stood and died.
A LETTER FROM JACOB VAN DEN WEGE, WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE, IN THE BEGINNING OF HIS IMPRISONMENT, AT GHENT, IN THE HUYS TER LUCHT, AT THE END OF THE MEULENAERS STREET.
O my most beloved under the sun, and my three children, who make my heart so faint that I scarcely know what I have in myself, for when I think of you, I am so sorely crushed with anguish in the press of affliction, that my eyes run over with tears, so that I only with difficulty can quiet myself.
O my dear wife, and my three lambs, whom I love, how strong is love? how shall I be able to write you a parting letter? for the waters of affliction fill my eyes, and this through my infirmity, misery and great weakness.
O my wife, I confess here before you and before all that read this, that I have written you here, far too feebly and miserably; nevertheless, the great anxiety and deep affliction, which rises from my strong love for you four, impelled me to it. But I hope that you will accept it from me for the sake of the truth; and, my dear wife, please hear my answer in regard to what you had asked me, as to what advice I would give you concerning the traveling. I say, I give you no advice with regard to it, since I do not know an opportunity at present; but I would most urgently entreat you, that, if it be possible for you to gain some sort of a livelihood here, that you remain until the matter is decided with me one way or the other, and this for no other reason, but that I might still hear from you now and then, for a greeting from you is more precious to me than much silver or gold. And, my wife, please know, that Kalleken Meere, who is imprisoned with me, has made you a bequest, namely, a shift, a necklace, a night neckerchief, and a hair-lace; and Mijntgen also gives you a night neckerchief, a neck-cloth, and her best apron. This they give to you for their remembrance and testament; after their death it is yours, and they cordially greet you with the peace of the Lord. Amen.
Written in my bonds, by me, your dear husband and brother in the Lord.
JACOB VAN DEN WEGE.
ANOTHER LETTER FROM JACOB VAN DEN WEGE, TO HIS WIFE, AND HIS BRETHREN AND SISTERS.
_Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14._
I, Jacob van den Wege, imprisoned for the invincible truth, wish my dear in God beloved wife and sister in the Lord, and my three innocent little children; and further all brethren and sisters, and all my dear friends in the Lord, grace, peace, mercy, much true Christian wisdom and prudence, an understanding heart, a steadfast mind in the truth, a strong faith, a living hope, a good, peaceful conscience toward God and man, and an unblamable, holy conversation in all humility, meekness, kindness and unity, and all this in the true fear of God bound with the bond of love. This I wish you all from God the heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ his eternal, only, true Son, our Lord, together with the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, as a cordial and affectionate greeting. Amen.
After my simple, cordial salutation, my beloved wife, and all brethren and sisters, and further all my friends in the Lord, let me please inform you, that it is still well with me, and I am unchanged in the faith and knowledge of God, even as I was when I bowed my knees before the Most High, so I am minded; and still stand through the grace of God, and the power of Christ, which strengthens me, to live or die with Christ in this same faith and truth. The almighty Lord, who is able so to strengthen and confirm him that is miserable, weak, and without strength here in this conflict, to him be praise, thanks, glory, and honor forever and ever, and this for all his great benefits which he has so abundantly shown me. So I trust that it is also very well with you, on which account I rejoiced, and thank God the Most High, for all his great goodness that he has shown you, and all this through his great mercy and love; and I pray the same almighty Lord and God of grace, to bless you all, and to fill you with all knowledge and spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily and fruitfully all the days of your life in holiness and righteousness, and receive the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Let me further, please, tell my dear friends the reason why I have been so backward in writing, when you have so many times requested of me, that I should write to you. Hence I tell you, that I hardly dare write anything, and this because it is such a perilous time, so that people sometimes understand and construe a letter as they will, and not as the writer has meant it. Even as I have only too much known this to be the case, and it has even happened to me, in my simple writing. Not that I mean that I am above criticism; God forbid! but I say that some people find fault not only with the letters of simple prisoners, but sometimes also with the holy Scriptures; and since I also know myself far too simple and ignorant, to write anything profitable for your exhortation, therefore I have always refused them that requested it of me, and have thus far put it off. And were it not for my innocent little children, who to-day understand neither good nor evil, I should not have written much yet; but they constrain me to write now, in order that when they come to the years of understanding through the grace of God, and I shall then have been taken from them, the same might then teach them of my faith, and instruct them in righteousness and the knowledge of God, in the fear of the Lord, and in all obedience. And since I must walk the way, and obey the vocation in which I am called, and I can then not admonish them with my lips, I write and leave them this much for a treasure and testament; for gold or silver I cannot give them, but such as God has given me, which is little, but yet more than I am worthy of; this I leave them for an exhortation, that they may also know most assuredly and certainly by my own writing, in what doctrine and faith I died, and that I did not suffer for any misdeed or wickedness, or heresy, as one that follows his own mind and purpose (though I am called a heretic by this evil generation, who imagine that they are pure, and are yet not washed from their filth; but their railing is no proof, and their calumny is untruth); for I well know and am sure that all who follow their own mind and purpose do not keep God’s commandments; for the Scriptures teach us, that we must be spiritually minded, as Jesus Christ was, that we must be obedient and deny ourselves, yea, utterly and completely renounce our own will, and bow ourselves under the word and the mighty hand of God, which word is like a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces, yea, as a two-edged sword, which shall judge men in the last day. Rom. 8:6; Philippians 2:5; Matt. 16:24; 6:10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Jeremiah 23:29; Rev. 1:16; John 12:48. Hence I say that I have submitted myself, to obey the same with all my power and ability, to suffer myself to be instructed by it, to believe what the Scriptures say; for I believe all that is written in the law and the prophets, both in the Old and the New Testaments; and have hope toward God, for which the prophets themselves waited, namely, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust; and herein do I exercise myself, always to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men (Acts 24:14–16); thus my faith, which God has given me, is as the word of God, and like the Scriptures, as here briefly follows:
In the first place, I believe and confess one only, eternal, almighty God the Father, of whom are all things. Him I confess to be a living God, who created and made heaven, earth, the sea, and all that in them is, even as both the Old and New Testaments highly extol and worship him in his worthiness; as an invisible and immortal God, a God of gods, a Lord above all lords, a great God, mighty and most terrible, who sits upon his throne, a Lord unto whom there is none like, for he is higher than the heavens, deeper than hell, longer than the earth, and wider than the sea, as he himself by the prophet says: “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Rightly has Jeremiah said: “Thou great and mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is thy name; great in counsel, and mighty in work. For behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens can not contain him.” Hence I also say, that a creature can not comprehend the Creator, but I confess him to be a holy, true, gracious, merciful, but also a severe, righteous and just God, before whom alone we must tremble and fear, fall down and worship, and love and obey him; who shall render unto every one according to his works, whether they be good or bad, either salvation or damnation. Mark 12:29; Is. 40:28; Gen. 17:1; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gen. 1; John 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 139:8. Is. 66:1; Jer. 32:19; 1 Kings 8:27; Lev. 19:2; Ps. 7:11; Matt. 4:10; 2 Cor. 5:10.
In the second place, I confess and believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only, own, true Son, our Lord, who was with the Father from the beginning and from everlasting, whom the Father has imbued with his real essence, and expressly set forth the same in him, as is everywhere fundamentally contained and declared in the Scriptures; so that he is the image of the eternal light, the immaculate reflection of the divine glory, and the likeness or image of his being. So that when he was in the form of God, he was glorified as God, yea, the wisdom and word of God himself, in whom alone was life, the firstborn of every creature, invisible, impassable, and immortal, through whom all things were created and made; he is before all, and all is in him, so that he is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, who is, and who was, and who is to come; even thus do I confess the Son of God in his divinity as the eternal true Son of God, true God with the Father, equal with him in glory, brightness, power, will, and providence. John 3:16; Rom. 8:32; Mic. 5:2; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Philip. 2:6; John 1:4; Col. 1:15; Rev. 1:8,17; John 17:21.
But when the man Adam, by transgressing the commandment, had sinned, and through sin, because of God’s strict justice, was, with all his posterity, under the sentence of eternal death, God, kindled with compassion and fervent love, comforted the miserable, sorrowful Adam and promised to man his only Son, or eternal Word, by which all things were made, yea, Adam himself having first been created after his own likeness; he promised him, that he should be redeemed and saved by that same Word. This promise God also made for consolation, to many ancient fathers, as patriarchs, prophets and servants of God, by beautiful figures and shadows, for a Redeemer and Savior of the world, especially of those that believe. When the time and all promises were fulfilled, God sent his Son, born of a woman named Mary, who was espoused to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. This virgin conceived of the Holy Ghost, even as God had foreordained, and spoken by Isaiah saying: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bare a son.” Yes, she conceived of the Holy Ghost, and through the power of the Most High it became flesh in her, that is man, like unto us in all things, sin excepted. Namely, he that was previously invisible, became visible; he that was immortal, became mortal; and he that enjoyed great riches of glory, was glorified as God, yea, was himself true God, the same forsook his riches, glory and brightness for a little while, and became like unto other men, and was found in fashion as a man: so that he was both true God and man, and was put under the law to redeem them that were under the law. Gen. 3; Romans 5–18; Jer. 33:14; Deut. 18:15; 1 Tim. 4:10; Gal. 4:4; Matt. 1:25,20; Is. 7:14; John 1:14; Heb. 2:17; 5:2; John 17:5; Philip. 2:7,8; Gal. 4:5.
Thus I confess with the apostle, that the eternal Word of the Father, in whom alone was the light and the life of men, became flesh, and dwelt upon the earth, and they beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Even as John testifies and says: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you. And their testimony is true. Hence I confess from these words, and other Scriptures, that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Yea, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. John 1:4,14; 1 John 1:1–3; John 17:3; 1 John 4:2; Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 3:16.
Thus I believe that the true Messias did come, whom God had promised to the believing fathers; for Abraham received the true promised seed of Christ, in whom he and all the nations upon earth are blessed. And this beautiful Morning Star rose out of Jacob, and hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Judah received his Shiloh or Deliverer, and Moses his Prophet. He was born in the city and of the lineage of David, and called the Son of the Highest, yea, Israel and Judah beheld themselves their Lord, King, Savior, and God, and the arm of the Lord reigned with power and he taught men, not only as a true messenger, but also as a lover of life, and a faithful steward, the word of his Father, which he himself had first heard and seen from his Father, and which he proved and confirmed with very many mighty signs, and ultimately sealed with his precious blood, when he took upon him our sin and transgression, and had to restore that which he had not taken away; who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Of him Isaiah says: “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” And he died for us an ignominious death on the tree of the cross, when we were yet enemies. He was buried, and raised again the third day according to the Scriptures, for our justification, and after his resurrection, as an almighty, victorious prince and potentate in heaven and earth, he again taught his apostles, to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them. He then ascended up on high, and sat down at the right hand of his Father in heaven, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And he is our Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate, Mercy-seat, Reconciler and High Priest, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people; for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted, and can have compassion on our weakness, wherefore he is able also to save them evermore that come unto God by him. John 4:25; Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16; Num. 24:17; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Gen. 49:10; Deut. 18:15; Luke 2:4; John 12:49; Heb. 9; 1 Pet. 2:24; Ps. 69:4; 1 Peter 2:22; Is. 53:4,5; Rom. 5:10; 1 Cor. 15:4; Romans 4:25; Matt. 28:18,20; Eph. 1:20,21; Romans 8:34; Heb. 2:17,18; 5:2; 7:25.
In short, I believe and confess that Jesus Christ was sent by God, and that God testified of him, that he is his Son. Now, he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. But I confess with John, that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. This is the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive, and liveth now for evermore. Little children, keep yourselves from idols, especially Adamitic creatures that are highly esteemed by the world. Amen. Matt. 3:17; 1 John 5:10–12; John 3:36; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 1:11,18; 1 John 5:21.