Sentence and Death of Reytse Aysess

After Reytse Aysess had confessed his faith with all boldness before the lords and princes, and had taken leave of his good friends, he was finally brought before the lords and sentenced to death. His sentence reads as follows:

Whereas it has appeared to the Court of Friesland that Reytse Aysess, at present a prisoner, has been condemned by the sentence of the high and worshipful Lord Bishop of Leeuwaerden as an obstinate heretic in his opinions and errors concerning the holy church, and as such has been committed into the will and hand of the secular justice, to be dealt with according to law, by the full power of the sentence that stands with respect to this; therefore the aforesaid court, having duly regarded and considered all that ought to be considered in this matter, in the name and on behalf of the King of Spain, and so on, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, and so on, Count of Holland, Zealand, and Lord of Friesland, have condemned, and by these presents do condemn the aforesaid prisoner, to be executed with water, and brought from life to death; declaring, furthermore, all his property to be forfeited and confiscated for the benefit of his majesty. Done the 23rd of April, in the year 1574.

At this Reytse was very bold and joyful, praising and thanking the Lord that he had become worthy to suffer for His name; and in the evening, at nine o'clock, he was brought into the castellan's house by the beadles.

There were some monks there, who tormented and tempted him much, but they were not able to resist the spirit that was in him; he remained bold and fearless, and spoke with a person who bears this testimony concerning it, and sent greetings to all his good friends, especially to his parents, wife, and nearest relatives, telling them that he was of good cheer and in greater joy than he had ever been in his life. Then, about twelve o'clock at night, the castellan, the beadles, the executioner, the monks, and others gathered and led him to the torture tower, where he gladly went, singing:

"I call upon You, O heavenly Father,

Be pleased to strengthen my faith," and so on.

When he came into the torture tower, he fell down on his face and called upon the Lord in fervent prayer, after which he rose, and offered up his sacrifice with all boldness, and was drowned there. He rests now under the altar, waiting for the number of his fellow brothers to be fulfilled.

How remarkably the faithful God is filled with compassion for His people; how He comforts and strengthens them by His Spirit; how He goes with them into water and fire, indeed, how He remains with them in the bitterness of death, never forsaking them; and how He also regards every injury inflicted on His own as though the apple of His own eye were touched; this can be seen and perceived, in both the Old and New Testaments, in the avenging hand of God, with which He many times struck bloodthirsty persecutors. Exodus 14, verse 8; Second Maccabees 9, verse 28; Acts 12, verse 23.

The same can also be seen in many tyrants and persecutors of these latter days, as, among other instances, may be seen in the case of a certain nobleman named Andries Grijpen, who, searching for some thieves, laid his hands on this aforesaid God-fearing Reytse Aysess. And though their consciences (that is, his own as well as his wife's conscience) greatly troubled and accused them with regard to this deed, so that they said they much deplored that these people were so exceedingly oppressed; these people who, he said, harmed no one, nor desired anyone's property, but were well satisfied with what they had. That these were harassed in this way was a grievous cross to his heart; and though he felt this in his conscience, he nevertheless, at the instigation of his secretary, and because he, like Pilate, wanted to remain the emperor's friend and not lose his office, set aside this conviction of his heart, and bound and ironed the aforesaid Reytse Aysess, and sent him in this way to Leeuwaerden to prison. But the righteous God, who is not mocked, very soon after this deed struck the said lord sorely with His avenging hand, so that the freebooters, coming from Holland, fell upon his house and completely demolished it, and subjected him to much affliction and disgrace, taking him with them to Holland, and setting a ransom of six thousand guilders upon him, in addition to which he had to give a hundred guilders each week for personal expenses, until the ransom had been fully paid. As a result he and his family fell into extreme poverty, so that other people, filled with compassion, helped and fed him in this his great need. Besides this he was afflicted with gravel and consumption, of which he finally died a miserable death. Some others of his relatives were also taken out of this world in a miserable manner. Moreover, in these afflictions his conscience greatly accused him of this deed, so that he prayed to God in repentance, desiring that through his temporal afflictions and suffering he might, by the grace of God, escape and turn away the eternal torment of hell, which he seemed to experience in himself. So this ought to serve as an example to all tyrants and persecutors, to beware carefully of such deeds.