A Letter from Jan Hendrickss, Written in Prison at Delft, to his Wife

The God of all grace, who has called us out of the power of darkness into His eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, and married us with an everlasting love, as the prophet says, may He grant you, my dear wife, according to the riches of His grace and glory, to be strengthened with might by His Holy Spirit in the inner man, that you may stand steadfast and immovable in faith and love, and the peace of God, to the salvation of your soul and the praise of God, that you may receive the undefiled, incorruptible and unfading inheritance, together with the crown of eternal life, Amen, which God has promised to all those who love and serve Him with all their heart. This is what I, Jan Hendrickss, wish Lijsbeth Jans my dear wife, from my bonds and in my last time, as a very cordial greeting in the Lord.

Further, after all proper greeting to you my beloved wife Lijsbeth Jans, I inform you that I am still valiant and of good cheer in the Lord, and trust to hold fast to His Word and truth by His help, without whose aid it cannot be done; and I trust that He will keep my treasure to the end, and deliver me out of the lions' jaws, that they may not devour me with their teeth. I trust it is the same with you, and I sincerely have this confidence concerning you, that you are still minded and determined with me to serve Him all the days of your life in righteousness and holiness; and I trust that God will strengthen and keep you in it, even as He has done until now, for which praise be to Him forever.

Furthermore, my dear wife, since the time of my departure, according to human purpose, is very near at hand, I cannot forget you, but out of love must write you a little yet, because of the great love which I have for you, and because you have shown me so much love in my bonds, in various ways, by visiting and by writing, for which I thank you very much; may God in high heaven reward you for it. And I thank you most heartily for your last letter, which was very precious, for when we read it we were so much rejoiced by the great consolation that we both wept. And because you love me so, and I you, therefore I must still care for you a little, and admonish you as my most beloved. Not, my dear Jan's daughter, that I do not have the confidence that you will walk in the fear of God; oh, no! I am confident that you will do nothing but what is good. But that I exercise this care for you is done only out of pure, clear love, because I love your soul so very much; hence I very often wish that you might be taken before me, since I see well how difficult it is to reach heaven, and how easily a man is led astray, even as Paul warns us in First Corinthians 10, verse 12, saying: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

Hence, dear Jan's daughter, take this in good part; this I pray of you, as I trust that you do. And I further admonish and beseech you, that you always walk in true and unfeigned fear of God, since the fear of God is the true foundation for pleasing the Lord, for without the fear of God it is impossible to please Him. For by the fear of God we guard against evil and shun what is wrong; for when we begin to consider that God will punish sinners so fearfully, we fear Him on that account; for if this were not so, there would be no need of fearing Him. But when we begin to consider it, we consequently shun and avoid what is wrong; but those who do not fear Him commit much ungodliness. In the second place, my dear Jan's daughter, that you firmly cleave to the vine Christ, and abide in Him and He in you, and you shall be as a fruitful branch, full of good and beautiful fruit; and thus the Father will purge you, that you may bring forth fruit more abundantly. For he who does not abide in Him, but departs from Him, is cut off from Him as a withered branch. For your sins, says the prophet, "have separated between you and your God." Isaiah 59, verse 2. Behold, dear Jan's daughter, here we have the clear, express Scripture, by what a man is cut off from Christ, the vine, and what the separation is by which we are separated from God, namely, sin; for when we sin, we are by the sin separated from God. Therefore, my dear wife, I beseech you once more, that you firmly cleave to the Lord and shun sin as you would a serpent, that you do not come too near it, and be devoured by it; for its teeth are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men. Sirach 21, verse 2. We must beware of sin; for God does indeed warn man against sin, but He does not hold him back from it when he is determined to commit it, as we have many examples in the Scriptures, as in Adam and others.

In the third place, I beseech you to be patient in the afflictions that come upon you for Christ's sake, for patience is a very good thing for Christians, for Christ says: "In your patience possess your souls." Luke 21, verse 19. And Paul likewise says: "For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise." Hebrews 10, verse 36. Truly indeed may Paul say that we have need of patience, which I have proved in my bonds. Paul further says: "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds." Hebrews 12, verses 1 to 3.

Behold, dear Jan's daughter, thus are we exhorted to patience, for with patience and resignation we can overcome much tribulation and affliction; but he who is impatient cannot stand in the sufferings of Christ. Hence Sirach may truly say: "Woe to those who have lost patience, and have turned aside into perverse ways! How will it go with them when the Lord shall visit them?" Sirach 2, verse 14. Dear Jan's daughter, take heed to the holy Scriptures, and in "all things approve yourself as the minister of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by thanksgiving, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Second Corinthians 6, verses 4 to 10. See, my most beloved, mark these words, and watch for the coming of the Lord; for He shall come as a thief in the night; and always have oil in your lamp and do not let it go out, but always be ready with the wise and good virgins to let the Lord your Bridegroom in; and constantly have a burning light in your hand, and stand with your loins girded to wait, that you may not be surprised; constantly and at every moment walk as you hope to appear before Him, and do not lie down to sleep with a troubled or gnawing conscience, but purify your heart before God and your neighbor, and always act and walk according to the right rule of the Scriptures, for the Scriptures always point to Christ, and you cannot be confounded, nor deceived, nor go astray. And if you do this, the God of peace shall be with you and abundantly grant you an entrance into eternal life. Romans 15, verse 33; Second Peter 1, verses 10 and 21.

Hence, my dear Jan's child, be patient in all tribulation and distress, and take for an example the afflictions and longsuffering of Christ, and of the prophets, who have spoken to you in the name of the Lord. "Behold," says James, "we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him." James 5, verse 11; chapter 1, verse 12.

Behold, dear Jan's child, he who overcomes shall inherit all things, and he shall not be hurt by the second death. He who overcomes, and keeps my works to the end, to him will I give power over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to pieces, as Christ has testified of His Father. And to him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne; to him who overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except he who receives it; he who overcomes shall inherit all things. Revelation 21, verse 7; chapter 2, verses 11, 26 and 27; chapter 3, verse 21; chapter 2, verse 17. In short, dear Jan's child, the Scriptures are full of the great reward of the righteous; hence set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth, for those who mind earthly things, their end is destruction. Colossians 3, verse 2; Philippians 3, verse 19. Strive therefore after imperishable treasures, which thieves cannot steal, namely, after heavenly riches, which cannot perish, and will endure forever with the Father.

Let your meditation be in the word of the Lord; day and night concern yourself with His commandments and statutes, and watch for His coming, and long for it, and avoid all appearance of evil, and do not act as though you might live many years yet, but walk before the Lord just as if you were to die immediately. And let the voice or sound of the angels' trumpets constantly be in your ears, when the dead shall have to rise and appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad. Second Corinthians 5, verse 10. For the Lord Himself, says Paul, shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we be forever with the Lord. First Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17.

Therefore comfort one another with these words, my most beloved; for the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Second Peter 3, verses 10 and 11. Mark well, my dear Jan's child, what manner of persons we ought to be, says Peter; let it therefore not grieve us though we must now suffer much affliction for the name of Christ. If any man suffers as a Christian, says Peter, let him not be ashamed, but let him commit his cause to God. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it begins first with us, what shall the end be of those who do not obey the Gospel of God? And if the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? First Peter 4, verses 17 and 18. The Proverb also says: "If the righteous are recompensed here, how will it go with the sinner?" Proverbs 11, verse 31. "And if they do these things in a green tree," says Christ, "what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23, verse 31. Behold, my most beloved, if Christ the eternal truth had to suffer before He entered into the kingdom of His Father, how much more His members? For He Himself says: "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my sayings, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know him who sent me." John 15, verses 20 and 21. And if the righteous must suffer here, where shall the sinner appear? "Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls in well doing, as to a faithful Creator," says Peter. First Peter 4, verse 19. Thus, my dear Jan's child, be resigned as much as you can; though men separate us here, hereafter they shall have no power. Then we shall stand in great boldness before the face of those who have afflicted us, and they shall say: "These are they whom we so often had in derision, and a proverb of reproach. We fools have missed the right way, and the way of truth has not appeared to us." Wisdom of Solomon 5, verse 1.

Charles with his bloody decrees, and all who help to confirm them, shall then have no more power. The bloodthirsty priests shall then no more hate the people of God; but we shall live with the Lord forever and ever, and go in and out as calves of the stall. Malachi 4, verse 2. Then the great sorrow shall all be forgotten, since it shall be turned into great joy, which shall never end, for a thousand years shall seem to be but as one day because of the great joy. Second Peter 3, verse 8.

Therefore, my most beloved, comfort yourself with these promises, for He is faithful who promised; and wait for them with patience and longsuffering; and I hope to wait for you under the altar. Hebrews 10, verse 23; Revelation 6, verses 9 and 11.

Herewith I will commend you to God, who brought Israel through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness, until they were in the promised land; may He bring you into His eternal kingdom. I wish from the heart that I might take you with me, but you must await the time with patience.

Herewith I write you adieu for this brief span of time, since I do not intend to write you any more after this; but I hope to speak with you by word of mouth in the throne of heaven.

Adieu, dear wife; a thousand times adieu; acquit yourself valiantly in the truth, and walk truly in the narrow way, until the Lord comes. I thank you very much from the heart for the exceedingly great love you have shown me; in time of need love is appreciated best.

Furthermore, I bid all the friends an earnest farewell; to name them individually according to the flesh, their number is too great. And bid my son, Heyndricks Janss, farewell; and tell him to become a good child, and to fear our dear Lord, for bold and ungodly children shall not enter into heaven, but go to hell; and that he learn and go to school, and not run and play with naughty children, but obey his mother and his grandfather and grandmother, and not learn to speak evil or to lie, for the mouth that lies slays the soul. Wisdom of Solomon 1, verse 11. Further, Lijsbeth Jans, the letters at Delft you may let her keep, and thus you will have no trouble with them, since she intends to let the readers read them first, as they write me. I send you with this letter three pieces of money, of which each of you shall have one for a medal of remembrance, you one, my son one, and my daughter one; to my daughter, however, you may give the smallest one, if you please to do so. You may excuse the woman from paying for the bed and the cloak, and I thank him much. Now, my dear Jan's child, acquit yourself valiantly. I herewith write you adieu, adieu, dear Jan's child; be as resigned as you can; you would have had to resign yourself to it if I had been lost at sea; one day we must part. You may return home. Pray the Lord for me; I hope not to forget you. Greet the friends, wherever it is convenient. Adieu, my dear Jan's child; you know why I suffer.

Written on the 4th of February, in the year 1571, by me,

JAN HENDRICKSS.