Copy of a Letter Written by Hans Symons to his Wife

Grace, peace and mercy from God the heavenly Father; also steadfastness in the faith, and constant adherence to God in all temptations and tribulations, by the power and working of the Holy Ghost; to Him, blessed forever, be praise and thanks. This I wish you, my most beloved wife and sister in the Lord, whom I love in a godly manner, as my own flesh, indeed, have loved more than my own self, as many favors and acts have shown; this is my heartfelt greeting to you, and that it may go well with you, both in soul and body. Amen.

Further, my dear and much beloved wife, and sister in the Lord, know that I have received your letter, which comforts me in my bonds, because I learn that you still remember me and my fellow prisoners in the Lord in your prayers, that the Lord would strengthen and comfort us, and help us finish the good work begun in us by Him, to His praise and the salvation of our souls.

O dear lamb, I also beg you on high, from the bottom of my heart, to keep you from all error of unbelief, and to help finish, to His praise and honor, and to the salvation of your soul, the good work which He has begun in you. [n916-1]

Let us pray together with a broken heart, a humble spirit and a pure conscience, lifting up holy hands, without contention or strife, praying to God steadfastly in the faith; then our prayer will be a sweet savor and an acceptable offering to God; for every gift comes from the Father of lights.

O my dear wife, lay to heart the virtues which the Lord has caused to be proclaimed to you, as the prophet says: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6, verse 8.

Always remember those who have walked the way before you through much tribulation, and have always remained valiant in the faith, with a firm confidence. "Who was ever confounded that trusted in the Lord?" says the prophet. Therefore, dear wife, do not lightly esteem the great grace which the Lord has shown you. Always persevere steadfastly, and trust in the Lord with a firm confidence; He will not forsake you; nor will He leave you without comfort; for in time of need He helps His own, and says: "A mother may forget her child, yet I will never forget you."

Be of good cheer, I pray you, in your trial, which the Lord sends you, and take Job for an example, how patient he was; and the Lord blessed him.

I trust the Lord will let His merciful eyes rest upon you and upon all sorrowing and afflicted hearts, to comfort them by the Spirit by which He Himself was comforted in His sufferings.

I am much troubled and afflicted in my heart when I think of you, and of my four poor little lambs, whom I must all leave.

I pray you, Tanneken, remember them in your heart as long as you live.

Do not forget my request of you, namely, that you walk in the law of your Lord all the days of your life, and that you be to my and your children, whom the Lord has given us during the time of our wedlock, a pattern in all humility and obedience, in instruction in righteousness; and take for remembrance the Maccabean mother, how she strengthened her children, that they should not forsake the law of God.

I commend them to you, my dearest wife, and to the Lord. He will help you; His hand is not shortened, that He cannot help us. For better is one child that fears God than a thousand ungodly children; indeed, it would be better to die childless than to leave ungodly children behind. I pray you, exercise good care over them; I commit them to you, and to the Lord, for I am taken from you and them, which greatly troubles me, according to the flesh; but I remember that it is written: "Whoever does not forsake everything, father, mother, sister, brother, wife, children, property, lands, indeed, also his own life, is not worthy of me;" in short, "Whoever loves anything more than me is not worthy of me." I do not know what the Lord has seen in me, when I consider that I am so miserable and unworthy to suffer for His name. I can praise and thank the Lord for the great benefits which He has shown me in my bonds. I clearly find now that the Lord has helped us unworthy ones, especially me.

According to the Spirit, my heart rejoices in the hope of future glory. I hope that I shall soon put off this mortal garment, and put on the immortal; may the Lord direct our hearts to it, for we need help from the Lord of hosts in our tribulation. See, my dear and much beloved wife and sister in the Lord, take this, with your little children, as a testament and as a remembrance from him who has lived with you in the bonds of wedlock for about five years. We must now part, because of the covenant which we made with God, never to turn away from it; therefore I must now depart from the marriage covenant, for the sake of the covenant which we made with God; I now go (though unworthily) the way which the prophets, Christ, and His apostles went, through much tribulation and pain, with many tears, and must drink the cup of bitterness which they all drank. Though the Lord Himself said: "Holy Father, if it is possible that this cup pass from me, let it be done; but if not, Holy Father, Your will be done;" yet He was given us for an example, that we should follow His footsteps in obedience; for Christ entered into His glory through much suffering, thereby leaving us an example that we should follow His steps:

Therefore, my beloved in the Lord, comfort yourself with His Word, and remember that John writes that the Lord said to His disciples and to His friends: "In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, your tribulation shall be turned into joy." Therefore, dear Tanneken, rejoice in the hope of future happiness; be patient in tribulation, continue steadfast in prayer, that the Lord would comfort you and not let you fall into temptation, but with it also make a way of escape. Commend your matters to the Lord; I hope and trust in God that, if you continue in His laws, and constantly keep the Lord before your eyes, He will raise up someone who will help, comfort and assist you. Never separate from the God-fearing. How pleasant it is to be among the Lord's people! I say with Moses: "I would rather suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy temporal pleasure."

Always associate with the saints of the Lord; for among the holy, one becomes holy, says the apostle. And remember the words of the Lord:

"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and be clothed in white raiment, and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes."

O dear Tanneken, it seems that there must be tears; for where no tears are, none can be wiped away. The Lord grant (as I trust in Him that He will) that after this tribulation, which has come upon us for His name's sake, and which is a sore affliction to my heart, we may rejoice together in the kingdom of God and of Christ. For, my dear and much beloved wife and sister in the Lord, whom I love from the bottom of my heart, together with my four little children, it is very hard for me when I think of your heavy burden, the spoiling of our property, and that the Lord has deprived you of the provider of your daily bread. I would have wished, had it been the Lord's pleasure, that He had spared us this affliction; however, as it cannot be otherwise, we will commend our affliction to the Lord.

When I consider, Tanneken, our past time, I think that it is a fatherly chastisement, for He says:

"Whom I love I chasten." I well know that we have deserved it at the hands of the Lord, since we often were disobedient in the sufferings sent us by Him. When we (as is true enough) had little success, as the world counts success, we complained and murmured against God, because we did not have more to live on, and many children were born to us; just as though God's hand had been shortened, that He could not have fed us. And now that little vanishes away as a prey, and we must be satisfied; however, it is for the Lord's sake; and for His sake I gladly suffer. The Lord gave it to me, and for His sake I will also gladly give it up.

Therefore, dear Tanneken, I have often told you this before. I do not write it to trouble you, but to show you that God is chastening us; for He shows that He still loves us. Though the Lord chastens us, let us not cast His chastisement from us; for he who rejects chastisement and instruction will perish.

Therefore, my beloved, I earnestly pray the Lord for you, and for my four children whom God has given me, whom you bore me and brought forth in pain, that He would not forsake you, but comfort, strengthen and establish you, and feed all my four little orphans, and their mother, both according to the soul and body. Always trust in the Lord; I trust He will not forsake you. Take counsel with the Lord, and with those who fear Him; and take better heed to walk in the obedience of Christ. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart that I have not used my time better. And I ask you to excuse and forgive me in whatever I have grieved you; for I am heartily sorry for it; and in whatever you may have grieved me, I forgive you all from the bottom of my heart. And I pray the Lord that He would also forgive us the same, as I hope, and also trust in Him, that He has done. I thank you for the good fellowship we had together during the time of our wedlock; and I thank also all the brothers and sisters in the Lord for the fellowship I had with them in the faith, for their faces were always pleasing to me. The Lord grant us grace that hereafter we may all live together in joy with the Lord, and be crowned with the crown of salvation, with which all the saints of God will be adorned, and this out of pure grace. Amen.

This is my testament, my dear and much beloved Tanneken. In parting, let me tell you that my mind is still unchanged in the Lord, namely, that I, unworthy one, am determined to bear testimony to the Lord, and to seal it with my blood, as a token that it is the truth; nor do I know any other way to be saved through grace, for a witness to the world, to the honor of God, and to the salvation of our souls. Amen.

Cornelis, Mattheus, and Christian are also of this mind. Entreat the Lord for us all, that He would help us finish the good work begun in us by Him, to His honor and to the salvation of our souls. Amen.

Pray the Lord for us all, and remember the prisoners, as being imprisoned with them. All four of us heartily greet you and those who live in the same house with you, with the peace of the Lord.

No more for the present; excuse my letter, for my mind is not in the best condition for writing. Herewith I commend you to God, and to the rich Word of His grace. Amen.

By me, Hans Symons, your husband in the Lord, confined in prison at Antwerp.