To the Young, the Middle-Aged, and the Old

Besides, people of every age may enter this school of practice in virtue; the young, the middle-aged, and the old will all be led to true godliness by the living examples of those who went before them.

The young people who live after their lusts and have not come to the light will see here that many of their equals, indeed some who were only fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, or twenty years old, or even younger, had already at that age forsaken the vanities of the world and the lusts of youth; indeed, some so early that they had not yet come to know them, much less to practice them; but that, on the contrary, as soon as they reached understanding they remembered their Creator and Savior, bowed their youthful members under His yoke, accepted His commandments, obeyed Him with all their heart, and gave themselves willingly to Him, so that for His sake they did not spare their lives, even to death. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1; Proverbs 23, verse 26.

The middle-aged, who, like the firmly rooted oaks of Bashan, are so deeply engrossed in and joined to earthly affairs and household cares that it is next to impossible to detach them from these, because of their inseparable desire for the goods of this world, will see here people in the flower and prime of life who might have gained much but did not seek it, because they would not miss the heavenly gain. [n13-1] These had a contented heart. They were clothed with coats of skins, only against cold and nakedness; they lived in huts or plain cottages, to be sheltered from rain, wind, hail, and snow; they ate bread to satisfy their hunger and drank water to quench their thirst; they had no more than that.*

There they will see that these contented people surrendered to God the strength of their bodies, their station in life, and whatever they had; so that, having become members of His church, they counted it greater riches to suffer with it the reproach of Christ, indeed death itself, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

The aged, who have neglected their youth and their middle years and have now come to the eleventh hour,** and yet are still not working in the Lord's vineyard, may see here people whose gray head is a crown of glory, since they are found in the way of righteousness; who gave their feeble powers, the short span of their life, indeed their last breath, to the service and praise of their God and Savior, watching and waiting for the hour of their departure and the day of their redemption, that they might become an acceptable offering to the Lord. They longed for the clock to strike twelve, so that they might be admitted by the Lord and seated at His glad feast. [n13-2]

When two of our last martyrs, Jan Claess of Alckmaer and Lucas Lamberts of Beveren, an old man of eighty-seven years, received their sentence of death at Amsterdam, in Holland, in the forenoon of a certain day in the year 1544, Jan Claess said to the old man, Lucas Lamberts: "My dear brother, fear neither fire nor sword now. Oh, what a glad feast will be prepared for us before the clock strikes twelve." See the Second Book, year 1544.

All this, and infinitely more, is taught here to the worldly-minded, the ignorant, and the unbelieving. Oh, that each of them would consider it well!

People are more easily converted by good examples than by good teachings, because examples are more impressive; yet here you have both.

Therefore let everyone come here, and let no one stay behind; all have need to be taught in the way of salvation; no one would choose to be unsaved. Here you will see the patience, the faith, and the steadfastness of the saints. Have compassion on your own souls, whom the Lord loves so dearly and seeks to lead to heaven; indeed, for whom the Son of God has shed His precious blood, purchasing them at so great a price. We commend this matter most urgently to you, and to ourselves as well. O Lord, help! Lord, let it prosper!

But it is now time to turn our attention to giving instructions on the proper understanding and use of this work.

THIELEMAN J. VAN BRAGHT [n13-6]

Dort, July 27, 1659.