# A Letter From Sijntjgen Van Rousselare. · Page 1 of 2 [Previous page: G. KLEERMAECKER, WITH SIJNTGEN VAN ROUSSELARE AND MAEYKEN GOSENS, PUT TO DEATH FOR THE TRUTH, AT ANTWERP, A. D. 1573.](/en/stories/mm-g-kleermaecker-with-sijntgen-van-rousselare-and-maeyken-gosens-put-to-death-for-the-truth-at-antwerp-a-d-1573/part-3/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: A LETTER FROM SIJNTJGEN VAN ROUSSELARE.](/en/stories/mm-a-letter-from-sijntjgen-van-rousselare/part-2/) Grace and peace. Written at Antwerp, in prison, I, Sijntgen, who am unworthy, am imprisoned for the testimony of the Lord, and daily expecting my sentence; the Lord grant us, that we may offer up our sacrifice to his praise and glory; and to the salvation of our souls. Amen. The great grace and mercy of God the Father, and the great love of the Son, and the power of the Holy Ghost, confirm you, my very dear sister in the Lord, and us, unto the end, that we may be found worthy in the day of the Lord, through grace to receive the beautiful promises, when the Lord shall say; “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” O what great joy will then be prepared for us, if we only hold the beginning of the Christian life steadfast unto the end; hereunto confirm us the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, whose power is great, even as the prophet declares, that with his three fingers he encircles the whole earth; and unto his name every knee must bow in heaven and earth, and every tongue must praise him; the Lord of hosts is his name, the Lord Sabaoth, the Mighty One in Israel, for whose name we are imprisoned here; to him alone be praise and glory, forever and ever. Amen. Is. 40:12; 45:23; 54:5. For he has created and made heaven and earth out of nothing. This same bleeding, naked, crucified Christ I wish you, my very dear sister in the Lord, as an affectionate and Christian greeting; may he keep and comfort you in all affliction that may come upon you and us for his name. After all loving and Christian salutation, I inform you, my dear lamb and sister in the Lord, that my mind is still determined (eternal praise and glory to the Lord for his grace) as it was when I unworthily bowed my knees before the Lord, thereby showing that I desired to obey him in every thing, in affliction as well as in joy, even as the apostle also admonishes us, that it is given unto us not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him. O my dear sister in the Lord, the servant is not above his Lord, nor the disciple above his master, and Christ has also told us: “The world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” And further: “Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:20,33. And our faith is the victory that overcometh the world, by which we must overcome princes and magistrates, through the grace of the Lord. 1 John 5:4. O my dear sister in the Lord, it is true, we are here as sheep for the slaughter; but in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us, as the apostle says; Who shall separate us from the love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or peril, or sword? As is written. Rom. 8:35. O my dear lamb, he is such a faithful King whom we serve; he will not forsake us but assist us in water, sword and fire: for he says by the prophet Isaiah: Though a mother should forsake her own child, yet will I not forsake thee, but keep thee as the apple of mine eye. Is. 49:15; Zech. 2:8. O my dear sister, this is for us a glorious comfort in our present tribulation, and distress, which is temporal and light, says the apostle, and worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are temporal, but at the things which are eternal; for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. 2 Cor. 4:17,18; 1 Cor. 2:9. O my dear sister in the Lord, let us choose much rather to suffer affliction with the children of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and let us esteem the reproach of Christ great riches, and with the prophet David, much rather go into the holy sanctuary of the Lord, than in the path of the ungodly, for though he flourishes here, he must perish, for the wise man says that the hope of the ungodly is like dried thistle-down. Wis. 5:14. But we, dear sister in the Lord, have a sure hope; though here in the sight of the unwise we seem to die, we know that we shall live forever, for it is written: They that here sow in tears shall reap with everlasting joy and gladness, and bring their sheaves into God’s garner. Wis. 3:2; Ps. 126:5,6. O my dear sister in the Lord, when this mortal shall put on immortality, how gloriously we shall then be crowned with glorious joy, for then our joy shall not be taken from us. 1 Cor. 15:53; 2 Esd. 2:45. O my dear lamb and sister in the Lord, let us freely trust in our King, for his promises will not fail, for he will not put us off, as do these carnal lords, all of which passes away, but he will out of grace give us life eternal. ## Original source [Read this passage on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65855/pg65855-images.html#Page_919) [Edition details](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65855) [Previous page: G. KLEERMAECKER, WITH SIJNTGEN VAN ROUSSELARE AND MAEYKEN GOSENS, PUT TO DEATH FOR THE TRUTH, AT ANTWERP, A. D. 1573.](/en/stories/mm-g-kleermaecker-with-sijntgen-van-rousselare-and-maeyken-gosens-put-to-death-for-the-truth-at-antwerp-a-d-1573/part-3/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: A LETTER FROM SIJNTJGEN VAN ROUSSELARE.](/en/stories/mm-a-letter-from-sijntjgen-van-rousselare/part-2/) --- Page: https://history.truechristian.church/en/stories/mm-a-letter-from-sijntjgen-van-rousselare/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+A+Letter+From+Sijntjgen+Van+Rousselare.+%C2%B7+Page+1+of+2&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AA+Letter+From+Sijntjgen+Van+Rousselare.+%C2%B7+Page+1+of+2%0A%0APage%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fen%2Fstories%2Fmm-a-letter-from-sijntjgen-van-rousselare%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-a-letter-from-sijntjgen-van-rousselare%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+16th+century+%28source+section%29%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)