THE SECOND LETTER FROM MAERTEN VAN DER STRATEN TO HIS WIFE.

I Maerten van der Straten, your dearly beloved husband and brother in the Lord, wish you my affectionately beloved wife and sister in the Lord, Beliken van der Straten, much grace and mercy from God our heavenly Father; and may the love of his Son always be multiplied to you, and the power of the Holy Ghost dwell in you richly, that you may thereby lead a chaste conversation among the heathen, and be a light for them that sit in darkness, so that you, according to Isaiah’s writing, may see the King in his beauty (Is. 33:17) and be numbered among the royal host that have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ, who bore our reproach, healed our wounds, and restored for us that which he had not taken away, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God his father; to whom be honor, power, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen. Ps. 69:4; Gal. 1:4.

Cordially written to you, my chosen, dearest love Beliken van der Straten, whom I love from the heart, yea, more than my own life, for you are flesh of my flesh. In short, you are mine and I am yours. Hence I thank the Lord without ceasing, that he has given me you; for I would not have thought that God would have given me such a faithful help-mate, with whom I have found so much love and patience; but God has in every way shown me more mercy than I am worthy, and I hope he will do so yet, when I shall need it most, for he is a gracious God, who, according to Paul’s writing, is rich in goodness, and abounds in mercy. Eph. 2:4.

Further, my dearly beloved, after this my brotherly salutation, let me, please, inform your love, that my mind, God be praised, is fixed by his help, to live and die in the truth. However, my love, I 909 trust that through the grace of the Lord you are also thus minded, by his help to fear his name all the days of your life. The Lord of lords, and God of gods, grant you and us all his grace to this end.