Another Letter of Joost Verkindert, Written from Prison

Grace, joy and peace from God the heavenly Father, and our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood; together with the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from both the Father and the Son, to comfort all who are in tribulation and sorrow for His holy name's sake. To Him be praise, honor, glory, dominion, power, and majesty, forever and ever. Amen.

This, and other divine virtues, I wish you as a friendly greeting, my dear beloved brother W., and your dear wife I.; letting you know that I am still reasonably well, considering the time, for which I thank and praise the Lord for His great grace which He shows me, a poor, weak and feeble servant; trusting that you also are well. Know further that I learned in my bonds that Fra. sent word to Jo. Ca. that he should look to his own advantage, and that they would do the same. Having received this message, Jo. immediately fell sick, so that he was paralyzed on one side, and also lost his mind, so that he took in and received the idol, and, consequently, received extreme unction, as a good son of the Romish church, and died on the 9th of August, as a perpetual warning to us and all the God-fearing. Oh, my soul was very sad when I heard it. It is just as Christ says:

"Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it." Luke 17, verse 33. So, dear brother and sister, let us take diligent heed that we have not received the grace of God in vain; for now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Let us therefore give offense to no one, but in all things show ourselves to be the ministers of God. Second Corinthians 6, verse 1. Let everyone strive to excel in good works; for whatever good a man has done, the same he shall receive twofold from the Lord. So let us always give heed to and follow the words of Christ, where He says: "Do not fear those who kill the body; but rather fear him who, after he has killed, has power also to cast soul and body into hell." Luke 12, verses 4 and 5. Let us stand in awe of Him and fear Him, I say; for before Him ungodliness cannot stand. But there are few who lay it to heart, even as it has also been from the beginning, as in the time of Noah, when there were only eight righteous people. Again, in the time of Sodom, when there were only three who could stand before the Lord. Likewise the children of Israel, who were God's own special people; the Lord did not spare them, but destroyed them in the wilderness, so that of six hundred thousand only two entered into the promised land, namely Joshua and Caleb. O my dear brother and sister, how many there are who are also falling in the wilderness of this world, though they too were delivered by the Red Sea, namely, by the blood of Christ. And this need not surprise us, since the Scriptures testify that the present world was created for many men, but the future for few. For it is indeed just as the angel showed Esdras, namely, a city built on a broad field, full of all good things; its entrance was narrow and steep, as if there were a fire on the right hand, and on the left a deep water, so that there was only one narrow path between them both, so small that only one man could go there at a time; and no one could or might receive that city for an inheritance unless he first passed through that narrow place. Second Esdras 7, verses 6 to 9. O my brother, now we are on the narrow way, which is narrow indeed, and no one knows this better than he who is tried in it; for we are now under the test. May almighty God grant us His grace, that we may not be found to be hay, straw and stubble, but gold, silver and precious stones. First Corinthians 3, verse 12. O my dear friends, the flesh is indeed afraid; but when we consider and meditate on the beautiful promises which are promised to those who overcome and remain steadfast, they sweeten every pain; for now no chastening for the present, says Paul, seems to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it. Hebrews 12, verse 11.

So we too must quickly bring our days of sorrow to an end; for we are sometimes like one who is in the throes of labor, and so many grievous woes come upon us that we would almost seem to perish. Isaiah 26, verse 17. So pray to the Lord for us poor, weak prisoners; we do the same also for you and all the God-fearing. With this I will commend you to the crucified Christ Jesus, and to the Word of His grace, bidding farewell here to my dear brothers and sisters. Greet in my name, with the peace of the Lord, all my acquaintances, and also those not known to me by sight, but known before the Lord; and always remember those who are in bonds, as though bound with them. And always persevere steadfastly, so that we may find one another under the altar. Amen.