The Second Letter from Hansken van den Wege

The eternal, abundant, unfathomable, great grace and mercy of God the heavenly Father, which came by Jesus Christ, the only and true Son of God; and the great humility and meekness, holiness and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, together with the great power, comfort and full joy of the Holy Ghost; this I wish you from the depth of my heart, and from the inmost part of my soul, my dear and much beloved friend Jacob Kesij, and mother Martijntgen; this is my perpetual and blessed wish and holy salutation to you, and to all men who fear and love the Lord, and call on Him out of a pure heart; indeed, may the Lord of eternal grace grant you this blessed wish and holy salutation of mine, and make you wise in that which is good, and simple in that which is evil, so that you may with Job be found perfect and upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. Amen. Romans 16, verse 19; Job 1, verse 1.

Further, my dear and beloved friends Jacob and Martijntgen, I beg you from the depth of my heart, and by the great and fervent love and mercy of God, and by Jesus Christ the Son of God, and this by His merits, bitter death, bleeding wounds, and His precious blood, which He suffered to be shed on the cross to purchase us, and to redeem us from the bonds of death; indeed, I plead with you and say with the apostle Paul: "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Second Timothy 2, verse 22. Oh, take heed to it, and follow faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God, and he who does not believe shall be damned, says Jesus Christ our Lord. Hebrews 11, verse 6; Mark 16, verse 16. So, O dear Jacob and Martijntgen, turn, turn, and follow the true faith, which works by love (Galatians 5, verse 6), indeed, by the fervent love of God, without which [faith] no one can now or ever please God, as Paul says. So take good heed that you confirm the faith with love, and follow love with all the strength of your heart, the nature of which love consists in meekness and gentleness. Indeed, charity does not envy; charity does not boast, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, does not seek her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails. First Corinthians 13, verse 4. So I repeat it, see well to it, that you follow this beautiful fruit of love, and that it may be found with you forever, so that you may adorn your faith with true love, and thus please God and be saved. Therefore, O my dear friends, follow faith, love, and also peace with all men. For it is a wisdom that is from above, and is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness* is sown in peace of those who make peace. James 3, verses 17 and 18. [n1017-1] So make peace, and continue in it, that the peace of the Lord may rule in your hearts (Colossians 3, verse 15), and bring forth the fruit of righteousness to the praise of the Lord, and to the salvation of your souls. Oh, yes, dear Jacob and Martijntgen, do this according to my request, and the admonition of Paul, and you will not be deceived. Follow all this righteousness which is by faith (Romans 3, verse 22), with all your heart, and with all your strength and ability; pray, lament, call, and weep in spirit and in truth, to God the heavenly Father, for grace and mercy; indeed, trust and hope in Him with all your heart, and with steadfastness, and the Lord, who is full of all goodness (Psalm 118, verse 1), will be gracious to you according to His great goodness, and unfathomable mercy; for the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of the evil; for the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Joel 2, verse 13; Second Peter 3, verse 9. Indeed, this is His will; for Christ says: "Repent, and believe the gospel." Mark 1, verse 15. So receive this good doctrine, so that you repent and bring forth genuine fruits of repentance, and thus flee youthful lusts. And do not love the world, which lives in pleasure, as John says, neither the things that are in the world; for if anyone loves 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 passes away, and the lust of it: but he who does the will of God abides forever. First John 2, verses 15 to 17. So I tell you once more: flee carnal and youthful lusts in this world, that you may not be condemned with the world. Galatians 5, verse 16; First Corinthians 11, verse 32. Oh, yes, turn from this wicked generation, who live in pleasure, for they are dead while they live, as Paul says. First Timothy 5, verse 6. Therefore, O Jacob and Martijntgen, turn away, turn away from this wicked way of the ungodly, so that you may not be punished with them without mercy by the Lord; for God will rain lightnings, fire and brimstone upon the ungodly, and reward them with a tempest. Revelation 18, verse 4; Genesis 19, verse 24; Exodus 9, verse 24; Psalm 7, verse 12. For the Lord is righteous, and loves righteousness, so that according to His righteousness He cannot let sinners go unpunished; so flee youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those who call on God out of a pure heart. Psalm 11, verse 7; Second Timothy 2, verse 22. Yes, dear Jacob and Martijntgen, follow this high gift of the Lord, namely, the wisdom that is from above; indeed, I say, follow after it, and bring forth genuine fruits of repentance, and it shall be well with you. And always humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and be no longer high-minded, but fear with great humility of heart and of the spirit, before God the heavenly Father; for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. First Peter 5, verse 6; Romans 11, verse 20; First Peter 5, verse 5. So I repeat it: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; for whoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he who humbles himself shall be exalted, says Jesus Christ our Lord. Luke 14, verse 11. Therefore, O dear Jacob and Martijntgen, follow righteousness, and strive for it with all your power and all the diligence of your heart; and sin no more, lest a worse thing come to you. John 5, verse 14. And learn from now on truly to fear the Lord with all your heart; and learn to love Him with all your strength, so that your names may be written in the book of life, and you may thus through God's great grace be forever saved, and may, with all the holy angels in heaven, and with the great heavenly host, with the Lord of lords, in unspeakably great joy, glory and brightness, reign forever in heaven, where the great and holy name of the Lord will be forever praised, glorified and honored; for glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2, verse 14.

With this, I commend you to the Lord, and to the Word of His grace. Amen. Written by me,

HANSKEN VAN DEN WEGE.

Imprisoned for the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ.