Another Letter from Mr. Jelis Matthijss to his Wife

My dearly beloved chosen wife and sister in the Lord, I wish you folks much strength and comfort from God the merciful dear Father, through the consolation of the Holy Ghost, by which He comforts all afflicted, sorrowing hearts that are oppressed for His testimony, as is the case with you at this present time, so that it troubles you greatly, though you have been taught so much by the Holy Ghost that you well know it is the will of our Lord and Master, to whom we have bowed our knees, to serve Him and be faithful to Him in every distress, tribulation and temptation; for He has chosen and called us both to this end, that we should keep His name in the midst of much tribulation and pain, and should not grow weary of these few stripes and fatherly chastenings (Job 5, verse 17); for by them He makes us true heirs of His heavenly kingdom, if we receive them in resignation and patience, and are exercised by them; to which may the merciful, dear Father strengthen us with the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen.

Further, my dearly beloved wife, since I suppose that your heart is much troubled and sorrowful on my account, and that you, as I believe, would like to hear and know how it is with me, I cannot keep from writing you a little about how it went with us. I did write to you on our last night (as I thought), and asked the bailiff whether I might write a little more to my poor, sorrowing wife. He said, "Yes." But we were not allowed to go upstairs again, and had to stay in the kitchen; and Huyge would not agree to my writing, unless he could hold it and hand it to the bailiff, as I think he has done; yet I hope that you will still get it. Further, my dear lamb, know first of all that my purpose is still unchanged, and that I am ready to await in patience all that God the merciful, dear Father and the enemies of the truth will lay upon me. Further know, you folks, that we had not heard of any trouble of the flesh; but in the evening, about nine o'clock, Huyge came upstairs with his wife, saying: "Mr. Jelis and Willeboort, come down; there is somebody who wants to speak with you." Then our women, especially Maeyken, began to cry and weep greatly. I asked him whether we were not to come up again, and to this he gave me very little reply. So I at once took off my cassock, and put on my old jacket. I then kissed my blood, that is, the child, took off my hat, and briefly spoke to God, the merciful, dear Father, that He would preserve the child all the days of its life; my heart felt some sadness over it, but it did not last long. When I came down, the stadtholder was standing there, and a short time afterwards the bailiff came too, and catching sight of me he said: "Well, Mr. Jelis, the time has come," or some such words. I then stepped up a little closer to him, my heart being quite joyful, and said to him in a very friendly way

"My lord, I have known you for eight or ten years, and have looked on you as an honest man; how is it that you want to take us by surprise in this manner? We certainly have not heard a word of it."

He replied: "There is time enough; it will not be yet; but make yourself ready for tomorrow at five o'clock." I then exchanged a few more words with him, saying: "O man, man, what a great burden you put upon yourself; I wish from my heart that you were not a judge over us, yet not for our flesh's sake, for as to that we are of very good cheer;" and I took up a tankard that stood there, and drank his health. When he had gone away, I began to write, and wrote until about five o'clock, when he came back and gave orders that the servants should take us up; and how it went up in the city hall you have probably heard. When we came away from there, we were both locked up in a room, and since I was fettered, I could not write to you.

I inform you further that the next day, that is, this morning, the bailiff and the stadtholder summoned us down, and brought us both into a separate underground dungeon, which was very dark, and they had also darkened the window. They said: "You will have to stay here until it will be otherwise." The stadtholder said: "We are all mortal; we do not know ourselves when we are to die." I said nothing. When I stood in the dungeon, the bailiff looked at me, and I lifted my eyes up toward heaven, and said: "O God, preserve us," or such a word or two.

It seemed as though the bailiff wanted to say: "Yes, it comes through you;" however, he did not put it into words, and went away with the other; and our God was not far from us, with the consolation of His Holy Spirit, and made my heart joyful, so that I could not keep from singing a hymn.

In the afternoon we were given a bit of a candle, and I began to write this, which I would have liked to send to you before night, but I was not able to do so; so accept it in love.

O my affectionately beloved lamb, I think our hour is fast approaching; for it seems that the ruler of this world will come this night. So I beg you by the bleeding wounds of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, and for the sake of the eternal salvation of your soul, that you will never let it leave your heart how I walked before you; and when my blood which I hope you will bring up in the fear of God has come to years of understanding, admonish him with it, and you, my most beloved, do not forget it either; but let my blood be a lasting testament and memorial to you, of how I, according to my feeble ability, have been an example to you. Still, I wish I had been able to walk more holily and blamelessly before you; but you know that according to my feeble ability I sought to please the Lord, and, according to my weakness, walked with boldness in the way of the cross, which it is my heart's desire that you will do also; and do not forsake it; but it is my fatherly entreaty that you give more diligence to make your holy calling and election surer and surer; for the day of the Lord is not far off, in which He will reward everyone according to his works. Then, my faithful lamb, He will find the lukewarm, slothful and heedless, who now bear the name of Christians, and who do indeed carry the vessels, but do not have the oil of love and righteousness in them. So, my flesh, my blood, I kindly entreat you not to regard the lukewarm, slothful, heedless and fearful; but prove yourself, and examine yourself daily, whether you are truly walking in the faith of the Son of God. If you examine yourself in this way, you may prove and know what is still necessary for you to put off. Second Corinthians 13, verse 5.

Oh, always strive for humility, since a humble heart is in the best condition for self-examination; for such a one constantly bewails his weakness and insignificance before the Lord, fearing that at last he might yet come to shame in this perilous, fearful time, through the many and subtle snares and nets; therefore such a regenerate child of God has a heartfelt desire to be at home, and to be delivered from this miserable, spotted garment of the flesh, knowing full well that he is walking in the midst of great perils; so he rejoices when he hears of the cross of Christ; he is not minded to flee lightly before the ungodly, except when necessity demands it. But the lukewarm, slothful and heedless, who sometimes think that they are rich enough and have need of nothing, in the meanwhile, as soon as they hear anything of the ungodly merely forming a compact to root out the righteous, are greatly disconcerted, or are more fainthearted; and sometimes this is not yet all, but they come to their neighbor, whose heart they ought to encourage, and make him fainthearted too.

But you, my faithful lamb, be courageous, this I heartily entreat you, and do not look to those I have mentioned, nor to those who now so unfaithfully depart from the Lord, whether through the cross, or persecution, or false doctrine. Oh, if they had examined themselves daily before this, and had had a taste for heavenly things, they would not have let themselves be deceived so easily, or have dreaded the cross so much; but they would heartily desire to confess the name of their God among this wicked and perverse generation, and would entreat their Lord from their hearts that they might be strangers in the land, to the praise of their God and the edification of their neighbor.

Further, my dear, faithful, beloved and chosen wife, whose soul I love as dearly as my own, it is still my Christian and fatherly request that you will take care all the days of your life that you may come to the place where I shall soon be, so that we may not be separated in the eternal habitations. O that it might be God's holy will and pleasure, and be possible, that I might drink the cup of bitterness for you. Indeed, though it were three times, I think I would do it most willingly, from the heart, so that you might also be saved.

Oh, then I should accept my departure with a still much more joyful heart, and should certainly have no apprehension that you would ever be moved from the simplicity of our dear Lord Jesus Christ; however, I feel no apprehension, as long as you continue as I now leave you; for you fear the judgment of the ungodly. So I desire with Sirach that in all your undertakings you remember what he says, namely: "My son, whatever you take in hand, remember the end, and you will never sin" (Sirach 7, verse 36), namely, such sins as could keep you out of God's kingdom; for as for your daily frailties and missteps before God, they will not condemn you or bar you out, since with reference to this the holy apostle John says: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with God the Father, who makes intercession for us," which is Christ Jesus, the high priest, who entered in, namely, into the holy of holies, and made an eternal offering and atonement for His people and generation, and sat down at the right hand of God His Father, as an advocate and intercessor for our daily stumblings and fallings, as the apostles say, First John 2, verse 1; Romans 8, verse 34; Hebrews 9, verse 12; Psalm 110, verse 1; Colossians 3, verse 1. See, my faithful and dearly beloved lamb, to this intercessor and advocate I direct you, and not to the deceased saints, as the blind leaders of this world do.

Therefore flee to Him for refuge in your great distress; remember that His ear is not heavy, that He cannot hear you, and His hand not shortened, that He cannot help you; for His eyes are upon His saints (Psalm 34, verse 15), whom He has bought so dearly with His own precious blood; and He listens to their calling, sighing and crying; for He already calls those blessed who here weep and suffer for righteousness' sake, and you are one of them now. Matthew 5, verse 4. So, O my flesh, my blood, comfort yourself with these promises; this I pray you; for those who sow here in tears shall afterward reap in great joy. Psalm 126, verse 5. Oh, therefore do not think, my dear lamb, that the tears you now weep will have been wept in vain; for they have already come before the face of the Lord. So be patient yet a short time, this I entreat you; for I hope He will not keep you here long, but will also take you away from the evil to come, and bring you to sure rest in His chamber, as the prophet Isaiah (57, verses 1 and 2) says, because you, according to your feeble ability, desire to walk uprightly to the end; to which may the merciful, dear Father help you, through the help and power of His Holy Spirit; faithful is He who will doubtless do it. First Thessalonians 5, verse 24. Further, my dear, chosen and beloved wife and sister in the Lord, as I cannot yet draw my fatherly and anxious heart away from you, but would so gladly, from my inmost soul, present you, in and according to your weakness, perfect and blameless before God, it is my humble and kindly request that you will sincerely love your neighbor, and always remember the poor saints of the household of God, as you have had such a disposition until now. Do not let your love in this grow less, but much rather increase. Always remember Christ's words, where He says: "The poor you will always have with you." Matthew 26, verse 11. And it is plain that there are always poor among or in the house of God. Hebrews 3, verse 6. Bear in mind that it is a great and acceptable work before the Lord; therefore Sirach says that a man's alms are like a purse on the way with him, and that it will spare him in the judgment. Indeed, it blots out sin, and covers the multitude of it; for mercy glories against judgment, says James (2, verse 13). So give diligence in this also, as I am confident you will; and though there is no need to write you this, yet I hope it will tend to your best interests, so that after my departure you will not grow slack. I furthermore entreat you, my dearly beloved lamb, that you will always associate with the pious, that you may come to greater piety and discretion. And desire the reasonable, sincere milk, namely, to hear the Word of God, that you may thereby grow and increase in every good work. First Peter 2, verse 2. And live in quietness (you know what I mean); this I earnestly entreat you; and wait for the day of your redemption, which perhaps is not far off. With this I will take my leave and eternal adieu from you, my flesh, my blood, and humbly entreat you once more, for the sake of the eternal salvation of your soul, and by all the great love that you have ever had for me, that after my departure you will be mindful of my writing, and of my heartfelt entreating and admonishing, whether done by writing or by word of mouth; and do not let it remain with you as a dead letter or a fable, but make frequent use of it as a prescription tending to your health, and keep it in the strong box of your heart as a lasting treasure and memorial; for it will bring you more profit than many pieces of fine gold and silver. Oh, the time is approaching rapidly, and I will therefore stop writing and everything else; so it is my affectionate request, if you love me and the eternal salvation of your soul, that you fulfill my request, according to your feeble ability, and depart neither to the right nor to the left, whether through the cross of bonds or imprisonment, or any other cause; and if God, the merciful, dear Father, makes you worthy to suffer for His name, do not be afraid; for I should never have thought that bonds and imprisonment could cause so little conflict to one who has renounced himself, and has a heartfelt desire to be at home; so do not fear them. Now, my affectionately beloved, chosen lamb, and dear sister in the Lord, my time is fulfilled, the days are spent, the years are finished; I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (Second Timothy 4, verse 7); so that my enemies who set themselves against me have been put to shame (Psalm 53, verse 5); for through my God I have gained the victory, who has delivered me out of the jaws of the lions and the mouth of hell, and shall also deliver me from every evil (Second Timothy 4, verses 17 and 18), and save me at His coming, and give me the true promised land, which I have seen by faith, and tasted of its fruits, and therefore I have a heartfelt longing for it. Oh, help me to thank and praise the merciful, dear Father, that I have come safely through the wilderness of this evil, wicked and perverse world, and am now standing before the Jordan, and only this remains for me to pass through. Though it is somewhat terrible to look at, yet I do not fear it at all, for I am sure that my God will help me, and make me ready, so that I shall pass through it safely and unharmed; for faithful is He who promised it to me, and He will never leave me nor forsake me, so that I may boldly say: "The Lord is with me; I do not fear what man may do to me." Psalm 56, verse 4; Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6. They have come for me.