# A Letter From Hendrick Verstralen, Written To His Brethren And Sisters.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: A LETTER FROM HENDRICK VERSTRALEN, WRITTEN TO HIS BRETHREN AND SISTERS.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

We prisoners and bound in the Lord for the eternal
truth’s sake, Hendrick Verstralen and Maeyken
Deynoots, your very weak brother and sister in the
Lord, wish our very dear and affectionately beloved
brethren and sisters, who in the Lord stand in like
faith with us, and are gone out from Babylon, no
more to touch the unclean thing, nor to be yoked
together any more with unbelievers, but are come
unto Jerusalem, into the church of the living God,
there to serve the Lord your God, around the
slaughter house, where some of you are still spared,
as the prophet Jeremiah says (Jer. 11:19), to be
baptized; much consolation, gladness and joy in
all your hearts, from God our heavenly Father, and
this through Jesus Christ his only, eternally begotten
Son, full of grace and truth, through this our High
Priest and mercy seat, who offered himself to God
his Father for us, on the tree of the cross, that
through his death he might prepare us the entrance
to eternal life. Through this innocent and spotless
Lamb, that took away our sins, we bow the knee
of our heart day and night before God our heavenly
Father, that he would spread his peace among you
as a river, and confirm you, my dear brethren and
sisters in the Lord, with his Holy Spirit, that you
may be strengthened in the inner man, and keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and love
(Eph. 4:3), so that we, my dear brethren and
840
sisters, who are bought and redeemed with the precious
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, may together
serve the Lord in holiness and righteousness acceptably
before him, as long as we are in this tabernacle.
Amen.

O thou camp of the Lord, thou city of the living
God, may the Lord set watchmen everywhere on
thy walls, that never hold their peace day nor
night (Is. 62:6); but that thy teachers may, as David
says, be filled with much blessing, and gain one
victory after another, so that the vineyard of the
Lord may be planted, and thou Jerusalem be built,
thou temple of the Lord, though in a sorrowful time.
Let every one gird his sword to his side, and let
him build with the one hand, and with the other let
him hold the spear, so that the enemies who would
prevent our working may be repelled, so that Zion
alone may be shown prepared. O my dear brethren
and sisters, we wish you from God, that you may be
built together a spiritual house and habitation of
God; that God’s law may be written in all your
hearts, and his commandment be in your mind, and
you thus remain sons and daughters of God in
whom he may dwell and walk: that he would keep
you, that you will never touch the unclean thing,
but may approve yourselves in all things as ministers
of God, so that the name of the Lord may be
praised from the rising of the sun to the going
down of the same. O brethren and sisters, that
your light may arise as the morning star, and you
remain a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a
peculiar people, so that you, dear brethren and
sisters, may everywhere lift up holy hands to God,
and offer up to him the fruit of your lips, spiritual
sacrifices, so that the vial of the Lord may be
filled with incense from the prayers of the saints.
1 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 13:15; Rev. 5:8. O thou bride
of the Lamb, who from love of your bridegroom
Christ must be zealous unto death, and bring forth
the fruits of righteousness with many sorrows and
pains, and be sick of love to him; may the Lord
our God lay his left hand under your head, and
embrace you with his right hand (Cant. 2:6), thou
Eve regenerated by Christ your husband through
the incorruptible seed of the living word of God
proceeding from the fatherly heart. O thou beautiful
daughter of the almighty Father, who art now
presented to his Son Jesus, the Lord from heaven,
and through faith in him shalt have eternal life;
may the eternal, almighty Father richly pour out
upon you his blessing and the power of the Holy
Ghost, and make you fruitful and fit for every good
work, so that you may win his Son Jesus many sons
and daughters, that his wine press may soon be
filled through the number of his saints (Rev. 6:11),
and you may thus the sooner see the destruction
of our enemies, who are innumerably many, and
have bent our back, and walk over us as over a
street, and reward us evil for good, because they
cannot build with us on the spiritual house of the
Lord, because they are uncircumcised of heart and
carnally minded. Against these our enemies, may
God arm us and you, my dear brethren and sisters
in the Lord, with the armor of righteousness, [and
grant] that we may be shod with the Gospel of peace,
and our loins be girt about with truth, always having
the two edged sword of the Spirit at our side, thus
preserving our helmet of salvation with the shield
of faith, guarding the knapsack of love, and thus
following the Captain of our faith, as Christian soldiers,
boldly waging the war of the Lord, under the
bloody banner of Christ; so that we, our dear brethren
and sisters, may through the grace of God gain
the victory of a good fight in godly conflict, and
obtain the crown of eternal life. Amen.

We prisoners in the Lord, and bound for the
eternal truth’s sake and the testimony of Jesus,
Maeyken Deynoots, and Hendrick Verstralen, herewith
greet all our brethren and sisters in the Lord,
and send you this brief letter from the depth of our
heart, as our last adieu; hereby taking affectionate
leave from all dear brethren and sisters, especially
those of you who are known to us, and have
shown us much good by your consoling exhortations,
in our tribulation, where we are imprisoned
for the eternal truth’s sake. Hence we again entreat
all you beloved who shall see our letter, or hear it
read, before we are out of the flesh, that you will
help us heartily to beseech the Lord, that we may
overcome even unto death, to the praise and glory
of the almighty God, and to our salvation, and to
your boast in the day of Christ. Phil. 2:16. Adieu,
all my dear brethren and sisters. Adieu, all that
love the Lord and his appearing. Adieu, H. P. H.
de R. and D. P. and Adam and his wife, and B. P.
and S. and J. van H., our faithful helpers in distress.
Adieu, K. and L. B. and M. S. and G. and her sister
Janneken. Dear friends, lay it to heart to pray
to God for us, for we ask it of you with tears.
H. de R., I pray you greet much in my name with
the peace of the Lord, for an adieu, L. de C., and
your servant-maid, and your friend C., and all my
dear brethren. O that God would grant that the
two Abrahams might each make a Sarah out of
their rib; this is my heart’s wish. Bid them adieu
too, Grietjen and Judith. Adieu, T. de S. and
your wife, our L. S. G. as I may boldly call you;
my dear brother, my dear friend, adieu; however,
I hope to remember you yet, if it is possible. Acquit
yourself valiantly.

Written on St. Georges day, A. D. 1571.





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