Another Letter from Hans Bret

Grace and peace from God our dear heavenly Father, full of grace and truth, rich in mercy and loving kindness, through the bitter suffering and death of His only Son Christ Jesus, who loved us, and washed us in His blood from all our sins and iniquities that we have done; the power of the Holy Ghost, to strengthen you in the belief of the truth, which the Lord through His unspeakable grace and mercy has revealed to you: this I, your weak brother, wish you with all my heart, for the salvation of your soul. Amen.

Dearly beloved sister in Christ Jesus, whom I love from the heart, I cannot keep from writing you this short letter, here in this pit into which I have been cast, with no light except the light of the candle.

So I bid you farewell here, in case I should write you no more, which is known to our dear heavenly Father.

I tell you further, my beloved friend, that by His divine help I intend to keep the covenant that I have made with my God, and to wait for the coming of our Bridegroom Christ Jesus, so that when He comes, I may go in with Him to the marriage, and be in joy forever. O dear sister, I cannot praise or thank our God enough for His unspeakable mercy, that He helps and strengthens me here in this pit into which I have been cast for the word of truth.

Dear sister, remember me, a poor prisoner, in your prayers to God, as I hope you also do; that it may please Him to deliver me soon out of this flesh, so that I may offer up my sacrifice to the praise of His holy name and to the salvation of my soul, and so that these enemies may be confounded in their purpose, who think to rob me of my inheritance through this pit into which they have now cast me. But thanks be to the Lord, who helps me in my distress, and is my only helper, to whom I flee for refuge, for Paul says that He is faithful and true, and will not lay on us more than we are able to bear. Colossians 1, verse 12; Psalm 46, verse 1; First Corinthians 10, verse 13.

So, dear sister, always remember your poor, weak brother to the Lord, for the prayer of the righteous avails much.

O dear sister, these cruel wolves have taken from me all my letters that you have sent me, pens, ink, and paper, all of it, and also a few things that I had written myself. Also two letters, one that I had written to my dear brother H., and another, almost finished, to my brother Willem, and besides one thing and another; but I hope that no trouble will come from it.

The fact that we were writing was disclosed by one who was confined with me; if I were to write you all of it, my paper would run out. I received this paper afterward from the man who was confined with me in this pit.

So I have been confined here ten days; how much longer I am to stay here is known to our dear Lord. I was confined here, as I recall, on a Friday night, the 27th or 28th of July.

But, my dear sister, always hold to the truth, which is Christ; do not be afraid of these wolves, for our God always helps us, according to His promise, in all distress. Hebrews 13, verse 5.

I bid you a warm farewell, my dear sister. Greet my mother most heartily in my name, and all my sisters, our brother Hans, and my dear master, and also all the friends. I ask you, do not let my mother know that they have cast me into this Lazarus' pit. The Lord be with you, and keep you in His ways always and forever. Amen.

Written by me, your weak brother, by the light of a candle, in a pit that is called Lazarus' pit, where I am confined for the Word of truth. The Lord knows my redemption. HANS BRET.