The Tenth Letter from Jan Wouterss, to his Oldest Brother-in-Law and Sister

Grace and peace from God the heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord and Savior, and the cooperation of His Holy Spirit, always be multiplied to you both, for the confirmation of your faith, and for comfort on your pilgrimage, that you may not grow weary in the only way of life, but may go on unwaveringly to your rest, so that you may together receive the end of your sure faith, namely, the salvation of your souls. Amen.

After this my heartfelt brotherly greeting and good wish, please know, my most cordially beloved oldest brother-in-law, and my most heartily beloved sister, that in this conflict I have constantly remained unchanged in the faith of the truth once delivered to the saints. For this I now suffer vexation from mortal men, and bear it with a patient heart.

I cannot fully thank the Lord for this great grace, that He has preserved us in this way as the apple of His eye. So I beg you both, do not be dismayed because of my passing tribulation, but be all the bolder in the living faith, which works by love, knowing that your labor will not be in vain, but that it will follow you, clothing and adorning you in the day of Christ. Look to this constantly, and always follow His footsteps, in humility and meekness of heart. And be ever resolved, the longer the more, to live still more holy, remembering that we always fall short in many things, as I also find in my own case. But my hope and refuge is Christ Jesus, who is our salvation, righteousness, perfection, eternal priest, propitiation and intercessor. I would further tell you, my specially beloved brother and sister in the Lord, that I, your beloved brother-in-law and weak, unworthy brother, could not well keep from writing a little to your love, though I know that my gift is simple and small, and that you have an abundance of Scripture, and also the anointing, which always teaches you what is right, so that I think it unnecessary to write you much. Yet I feel constrained to it, so that I may in some measure show you my unchanging love before I put off this tabernacle. It serves for your comfort and for the strengthening of your faith, and I am confident in my heart that it will be acceptable to you, though it is little. So, my dearest, I present nothing new to you, but I beg and exhort you both to take diligent care to keep the pearl of great price, and to preserve the precious treasure in your earthen vessels. For you know how much it cost you before you found and obtained it. And in confirmation that it still is and remains in you, let your light shine before your enemies, who are terrified by it, and defeated before your eyes by the Lord, without your help, as we have an example in Gideon and others, in which it is fully shown to us that the Lord fights His people's battles. And since it is certain that the almighty Lord is with us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His only Son, how should He not with Him give us all things? So He is a shield to those who seek and trust Him with all their hearts, and believe His Word to be sure, that He will not forsake us, but that the Lord Almighty will be with us to the end of the world.

But if we do not trust Him, and forsake Him, and are afraid of the many enemies of the truth, and flee for this reason, as the ten spies did, He will also forsake us. But if we have a manful spirit with Joshua, Caleb and David, and remember in our hearts that God is true, that His hand is not shortened, that He is a faithful helper of the miserable, who has delivered us from the hand of Pharaoh, from the plausible, deceiving, insinuating rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, from the strange fire, and from other enemies and perils, and who, according to His promise, for His name's sake, and for our salvation, will help us further. Not only in the beginning, or in the middle, but to the end He will bruise the head of our enemies, so that through the help of the Lord we shall overcome our enemies. So have good courage, and be of good cheer. He who through His great grace began the good work in you is also able (this is certain) to perform it in you, and in all who believe in Him and are of good purpose. And consider, do we not see our desire upon our enemies, that however they stir, labor, strive, despise, beat, threaten and slander, we nevertheless remain unchanged and undisturbed through the grace of our Lord? I certainly believe that steadfastness is the desire of Christians, for it has the promise of salvation. So I, unworthy one, minister to you by this in a small degree, that I may spread and magnify the name of the Lord, and His faithful daily help and power. I also counsel all Christians, when they go walking in their pleasure garden, namely, in the holy Scriptures, not to forget the Psalms of David, which are left to us by the Spirit of God. They serve us especially for righteousness, boldness, a firm confidence, a living hope, and for comfort on our pilgrimage. In short, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works. Second Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. Again: "Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, so that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope." Romans 15, verse 4. So hold fast to them. In them you will find all that will be necessary to your salvation, as I trust from the heart that there will remain in you what you have heard and accepted from the beginning, nothing strange, but as declared in the holy Scriptures. For you know what it has worked in you, how through this heavenly trial you are delivered from your vain way of life, in which the whole world is still sunk; how you have turned from dumb idols to the living God, indeed, have passed from death to life, so that you are enlightened, and your hope made alive, and all this through Jesus Christ. And loving His appearing, we patiently wait for Him in good works, which live in us, so that we love our neighbor as ourselves, seek his advantage more than our own, indeed, when necessary lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. This is a seal and a sign that we love Him whom we do not see, and that we still believe in Him as though we saw Him. Again, if we did not love the brothers and sisters, whom we see, how could we truly love God, whom we do not see? But when we love the brothers and sisters from the heart and without fear, by this it is known that we are Christ's disciples. And those who are Christ's disciples are sometimes tried like gold in the fire, yet not to destruction, but to purification and greater perfection, for He chastens every son whom He wants to receive and loves. Hebrews 12, verse 6. And it is nothing strange to us that this now happens to us unworthy ones in these latter days, for it has always been so from the time of Abel. Darkness has always hated the light, for they will not be reproved in their darkness, but resent it; and in order to defend themselves, and to continue in their own way, they say, "Judge not, that you be not judged;" but what the apostle says

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5, verse 11); this they passed by.

So drunkards, idolaters and the like know how to help themselves with the Scriptures. But alas, with such fig leaves they wrong themselves, and let themselves be led by the learned like the ox to the slaughter. O dear Lord, I heartily pray You, enlighten the eyes of our enemies, as You did to Paul, who also persecuted the church of God. Take this brief letter in good part, for I trust that you are yourselves taught and strengthened. Be manful in it, watch, stand fast in the faith, be strong in the faith, and let all your things be done in love, and as I sincerely trust concerning you both. With this I will commend you, my much beloved brother-in-law and brother in the Lord, and my greatly beloved sister in the Lord (and by marriage), to the Lord of lords, and to the rich Word of His grace, which is able to keep you from all evil, and to make you zealous in what is good, and fit for His eternal kingdom, to give it to you, the incorruptible inheritance among those who are sanctified. I also thank you both as much as I can for your great friendship and affection to me, unworthy one.

With this I bid you adieu. There in the presence of Christ Jesus I will await you, and my very dear wife, and all the God-fearing left behind. Amen.

Written shortly before Easter, when I expected hourly to be told that I was to offer up my sacrifice, to the praise of God, and to my salvation. Amen.

With this I bid my nephews and nieces adieu on this earth. Oh, that they would also follow Christ when they have come to understanding! Then they would also come where He, namely, Christ, is; and those who repent and keep His commandments, these are His friends and disciples who follow Him.

So I beg you, my dear, beloved niece, to shun evil, to seek diligently the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and to work to satisfy her hunger with bread, and quench her thirst with drink. If you do this, my dear niece, you will be one who with Mary has chosen the good part. And I will then await you there with Christ Jesus, where I will go a little beforehand; and all who love the truth will follow. To this end may the good Lord grant His grace, that this heartfelt wish of mine may be fulfilled, to the salvation of my nieces and nephews. Amen.

Written in my bonds, by me,

JAN WOUTERSS VAN KUYCK.