An Epistle or Exhortation of Reytse Aysess, Written to the Friends

O dear friends, do not be afraid, and do not be surprised, when you are tried by the many temptations which may come upon a Christian, and also do come upon him in bonds and imprisonment. As I now find, it is grievous according to the flesh, but very light according to the spirit, for it is the power of God. This I have experienced in these bonds: that the Lord is with those who seek Him and fear Him from the heart. Therefore, my dear friends, who have received the same faith as I have, fear the Lord from the heart, so that if it should be the Lord's will to have you here in such bonds or imprisonment, you may be able to withstand. For they use much craftiness and cunning to draw us away from the truth, and they know how to exalt lies and abolish truth with false words of their own devising; sometimes with very gentle words, and sometimes with harsh ones, by which they think to weaken and discourage a person, as they have done with me. And Satan too, as Peter says, walks about us as a roaring lion, seeking where he can devour us; so he has assailed me as well, but the Lord has kept me until now, for which I thank Him. But Satan once assailed me with a temptation which I must write to you, to show you how crafty the evil One is. I once spoke with a priest, who reviled us and said that they sang the psalms of David, while we sang hymns which men had made. And when I came back into prison, the tempter very craftily assailed me, that it was true, that we did sing hymns which men had made. And I was grieved that I should suffer, and that it might be wrong, and I was still young in years, and it grieved me much. Finally I thought: I know better; I know that the hymns are made from the holy Scriptures, and that it is right; if I could do according to them, I should be saved. Then I reflected on the priest's way of life, and on their faith, and on the things they had spoken against the holy Scriptures, which are lies, and I pleaded with the Lord, and it entered my mind no more. So then, dear friends, Satan is very crafty; but we must always pray to the Lord in every assault he makes upon us, in many temptations, for the almighty, eternal, merciful God will not let us be tempted beyond what we are able to bear, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, as he has spoken (First Corinthians 10, verse 13); for He is our Captain, our Champion in all our distress. And do not be afraid though they place me at the stake and burn me; but be strengthened by this, that the Lord is still so powerful in His works; and always fear Him, and praise Him, and thank Him, now and forever. Amen.

I thank those who sent me that book as well, for it delighted me and made me rejoice much in the Lord; and I commend all of you who fear Him to the Lord.