The Second Letter from Jan Wouterss, Written to his Brother and his Sisters

The eternal and merciful God grant you, my only brother and my beloved sisters, His grace through Jesus Christ, that you may together get a desire, taste and longing for your salvation, to the end of your life. Oh, that this would happen, dear Lord; what a joy it would be to us hereafter. And I hope it will be so, that our old, venerable, beloved father, and our venerable mother and their children, will find one another in life eternal. Amen.

In the first place, I hope in the Lord that you, with me, have received a desire, taste and longing for salvation. So I now exhort you a little, that you will increase in it, since the Lord has granted you His grace, and opened your eyes, so that you can tell good from evil.

So, my dearest, beloved brother, since you have received this grace, that you know and believe (as I trust you do) that God hates evil and loves righteousness, thank the good and almighty God for it, and especially that He has delivered us from the hands of Satan through Christ Jesus, and has according to His mercy begotten us again by the word of life, and has helped us in this acceptable time; in which time He has caused His saving grace to shine upon all men; and you, my dear brother, have taken heed to this saving grace, and have received, as I trust, this light, which is Christ Jesus. The Scriptures testify that to those who have received Christ (that is, who believe in Him), power is given to become the children of God. John 1, verse 12. So let yourself be governed, directed and guided by Him continually, through His Spirit; for these are the true children of God, who are led by His Spirit; they are Christ's.

Now, my dearest brother, be careful all your life to guard well this good and most precious treasure, so that you may live by it, and always follow what the saving grace of God (namely, Christ Jesus, who is our light) teaches us.

In the first place, the saving grace of God teaches us to deny the ungodliness of this world, and its lusts and desires, as Paul says: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that is, after the mind of Christ." Titus 2, verses 11 and 12; Romans 12, verse 2. If you do this, you will walk in the light, and not in the darkness in which the world walks. Beware, my beloved brothers, of the works of darkness, and have no fellowship with them, but always separate from them, and do not touch the unclean thing, namely, all evil; and you will be a child of God and remain one if you abide in Christ to the end. Ephesians 5, verse 11; Second Corinthians 6, verse 17.

I, an unworthy one imprisoned for His name's sake, affectionately beg you, always hold to the Word of the Lord, and you will never fall; and whatever you ask the Father in His name, He will give you. Though one incurs suffering by it, we must not lose heart on that account, for it is made plain by it that the way is narrow, and the gate strait, which leads to life eternal. But this suffering passes, and if we suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified together; for the sufferings that men can inflict on us are short and light, and work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for though our outward man perishes, which must perish in any case, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Second Corinthians 4, verses 17, 18 and 16. And when the faith has been kept, and we have overcome, all is sweetened by Him who strengthens us, which is Christ; He helps us to triumph. This I experience best now that I am in the trial. To Him be praise forever and ever. Amen.

But, my dear brother, do not think that something new has happened to me, as though it had not always been this way.

Read of righteous Abel, and you will understand the Word of Christ, that the servant is not better than his lord. Matthew 10, verse 24; John 13, verse 16. Dear brother, the head, which is Christ, suffered Himself; the members must follow. And it is a special sign of love that He sends me this chastening, to prove me, whether I indeed fear, love and trust Him from the heart. In short, I consider it to be for my salvation. His holy will be done to my salvation. Amen.

So I now declare to you, my dearest brother, that this is and will always remain the only right truth, for which I now suffer for a little while. So, my dearest brother, diligently read the Word of the Lord with devotion, and meditate well on it, and always pray to the Lord in every concern, with prayer and supplication in the Spirit, with perseverance; for if you live according to the Word of the Lord, you will prosper, and never fall (Second Peter 1, verse 10), for in the Word of the Lord is our light, which is Christ Jesus. Let us follow Him, and we will get to Him where He is. By our High Priest Christ Jesus, there I will wait for you, my dear wife, my daughter, our father, and mother, and sisters, if you all die in the Lord, namely, if you hold to the truth to the end and follow the Lord, as I hope that you with all the saints of God will do. I will go on ahead, and with this I write to all of you in this short time. Adieu; the Almighty God grant you all His grace, that you may always have good courage to obtain your salvation through Christ Jesus; and be diligent in love, and be a pattern to one another in every good work leading to eternal life.

So, my only, dear brother, I have now written you a little, for your remembrance, and to stir up your minds (Second Peter 3, verse 1), and for your comfort, that you fear not men, but only the Almighty God, who is eternal. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Psalm 103, verses 15 and 16; Isaiah 40, verse 6. Men are perishable; they cannot harm a hair of our head, unless the Lord permits them. And He will not permit them more than we are able to bear and keep the faith.

Oh, it affords such peace, when one by the help of the Lord has kept his lips. Praise, all my friends, our strong and faithful God, who kept my lips in the first torturing. I hope and trust that He who helped me first is able to help me again, for He has promised it to us unworthy creatures (His words are yes in Him; He is a faithful helper in distress, as David says: "With the Lord help is found, he is our shield, our fortress, and the strength of the poor" ). But we must also trust Him. Who was ever put to shame who trusted in the Lord? So do not stop seeking your salvation, and do not be slothful in your business, but be fervent in spirit, patient in tribulation, and continuing steadfast in prayer. Romans 12, verses 11 and 12. But if you feel no fervor in you, pray to the Lord for it, and He will give it to you, if you only sincerely seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, as I trust you do. But beware of trusting in the world; possess your souls in patience. The Lord can easily in due time give you a God-fearing person for a companion; but first pray diligently to the Lord, to so order it that you will first unite with the God-fearing. Write my brother-in-law a letter some time, and he may be prompted to write you also, and to advise you where you may need advice. I thank you for the friendship which you have shown me until now.

Written the second day after Matthew, in Lent, on which day I was again suspended twice and scourged once; but, my only brother, the strong God again kept my lips. So I ask you, rejoice with me, and praise the Lord, since I have great joy now; and do not be dismayed in your mind because my flesh has suffered a little while; for now the good heavenly Father has tried my faith, as gold in the fire, whether I would also trust and fear and love Him in the severest conflict. And now that He has found me faithful, from one tribulation to the other, so that through the grace of God I have overcome the rulers of this world (in which I have greatly rejoiced from the heart), and this by the prayer of the faithful, and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, from now on there is laid up for me the crown of eternal life, to receive the same from Christ through grace. There I will now go on ahead (and first put off this mortal clothing of the flesh), with the prepared burning lamp; for I have kept, and not denied, the faith, nor love, nor Christ. The faith is the oil, a pure heart and conscience the wick, and fervent love the light.

Do you also daily adorn yourself with these, to meet Christ our Bridegroom; and take possession of the promised land, that is, the everlasting kingdom of God. But do not be afraid on the way because there are many enemies, robbers and wolves in the wilderness, namely, in the world; and do not be dismayed on this account, for I have passed through it all by the help of the Lord, and have spied out the country in advance for you and many of the God-fearing, so that I can now write you that you need not stay back on account of the peril, and this because the Lord Himself conducts our conflict; He fights for us, and He is certainly the strongest; for He said to Abraham: "Fear not, for I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward." Genesis 15, verse 1. Was this said to Abraham alone? Paul says it is written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15, verse 4.

Consider former examples, how God fought for Gideon, David, Jehoshaphat, and others; the people [the hostile army] were slain without their having to lift up a hand. Oh, my only dear brother, put your whole trust in the Almighty, for with Him help is found; He is a true helper in distress; He does not forsake His own in all their tribulations; so that we may say with the apostle: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not with him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8, verses 31 and 32. If He has shown such great love toward us, how should He not preserve us in every extremity?

Believe this, that the good God is our debtor; if we unwaveringly continue to walk in His way, and cleave to Him, and not forsake Him, He will also not forsake us. This is certainly a sure promise; but if we deny Him, He also will deny us. Second Timothy 2, verse 12; Luke 12, verse 9. Oh, how thoughtless, how unwise, indeed, how unmerciful toward their poor souls are those who, because of this little, short suffering, through fear, forsake the way of life and choose another way according to their own mind, to escape the cross of Christ, and comfort themselves with a vain consolation in the way which they have found according to their own views; whose end is destruction. But, my only dear brother, do not follow these, for those who are such do not believe that God is almighty and true. So the Scripture says: "Woe to the faint-hearted! For they do not believe; therefore they will not be defended. Woe to those who do not persevere! How will it go with them when the Lord visits them? (Sirach 2, verses 13 and 14), indeed, their part will be with sorcerers in the lake that will burn forever." So, take courage with Joshua and Caleb; but you must firmly believe in God's promises, even as you believe that God has created heaven and earth by His Word; and you will then devour all your enemies like bread, and through patience finish your conflict with the help of God, and take the promised land by force, for the violent take it by force. Numbers 14, verse 9; Matthew 11, verse 12.

But, dear brother, the apostle testifies, and I, an unworthy one, also, that we wrestle not only against the rulers of the world, but also against the spirits that are under heaven (Ephesians 6, verse 12), and as Christ says, that in the latter days many false Christs will arise. Matthew 24, verses 5 and 11. This I have also spied out for you; for in the time of my faith many false prophets or false Christians have assailed me; now they came with this fair appearance, now with another. But the Lord, who would have all men saved, delivered me from all this, and I cleaved to the Word of God, as I heard and accepted it in the beginning; and my faith did not weaken, though many fell away who had seemed to be the most valiant. See, so our faith is tried in many ways, and besides by the daily conflict that never ceases; for it is a lasting conflict: the Spirit wars against the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit. Galatians 5, verse 17. In this I find myself troubled the most; my own sinful flesh was my most inveterate enemy, which has cost me many a bitter tear. Satan sought by this to sift me as wheat; but now falling, now stumbling, I have come this far through the grace of God, for I always struggled up hard by the grace of the Lord. But what was it? I so much wanted to be perfect, but this weak flesh was always in the way; which must now suffer, and I hope to offer it up as a burnt sacrifice.

So, my dearest brother, I have explained to you a little what conflict a Christian must wage, namely, against flesh and blood, against false spirits, who have laid their subtle arrows upon the bow, to shoot in secret at the pious. So take to yourself the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the subtle assaults of the devil; and be girded with the girdle of truth; above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and have your feet shod so that you may always be well prepared for the Gospel of peace; and take the helmet of salvation, the living hope, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; and pray always with all prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6, verses 13 to 18. Behold, with these weapons of the Spirit we can overcome, and then the crown is promised us. But do not forget that Jesus Sirach says: "My son, have you sinned? Do so no more, but ask God for pardon for your former sins. Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent, for if you come too near it, it will bite you; its teeth are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men. All iniquity is as a two-edged sword, whose wounds cannot be healed." Sirach 21, verses 1 to 3. Paul, too, says: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. In short, live according to the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the works of the flesh." Colossians 3, verse 5; Galatians 5, verse 16. To this end the good God grant His grace, that you may grow up in faith, in love, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you may become a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and so wait for the coming of Christ. Ephesians 4, verse 13.

Oh my dear brother, take care for your salvation; the time here is so short, and eternity is at hand. O heavenly Father, I humbly beg You, that You will keep my only brother from all evil, and sanctify him in Your name through Christ Jesus, and always guide him by the Holy Spirit, that we may rejoice together hereafter. Amen.

Adieu, my only brother on this earth; with Christ I will wait for you. I wrote the first page just after I had been tortured, so it is somewhat badly written. Now my hand is a little better, but I still have the marks of the sufferings of Christ; His name be praised forever.

This I have written you in my bonds, the second day of March, in the year 1572. By me, your only brother, unchanged in mind, imprisoned for the testimony of Christ; so be of good cheer; the faith is kept, I have striven to the point of bloodshed, in the Vuylpoort at Dortrecht.