# A Letter From Jerome Segers, Written In The Prison At Antwerp, To His Wife Lijsken, Who Was Also Imprisoned There, A. D. 1551.

1551 · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: A LETTER FROM JEROME SEGERS, WRITTEN IN THE PRISON AT ANTWERP, TO HIS WIFE LIJSKEN, WHO WAS ALSO IMPRISONED THERE, A. D. 1551.

Source heading; not independently verified

Always fear God.

In narrow prison walls I lay, well guarded and confined;

Because for Christ I testified, sore troubles I did find;

But it cometh from the Lord,

Who to me doth strength afford.

Grace, peace, joy, gladness, consolation, a firm
faith, and good assurance, together with an ardent
love to God, I wish to you, my most beloved wife,
Lijsken Dircks, whom I wedded before God and
his holy church, and thus took to wife, according to
the command of the Lord; may consolation, gladness
and joy be increased and multiplied to you my
dear wife.

I earnestly pray the Lord, that he will comfort
you, and remove from you that which is too grievous.
I well know, my chosen lamb, that you are in
great sorrow on my account; but lay aside all sorrow,
and look to Jesus the Captain and Finisher of our
faith, and let us henceforth walk in all righteousness
and holiness, as children of peace, and let us make
good use of the time of grace, and consider what
great mercy the Lord has shown us. O my dear
wife, remember how faithful a God we serve; he will
not let us be confounded. Remember how faithfully
he led the children of Israel with an outstretched
arm, from Pharaoh’s house of bondage, and out of
Egypt, through the Red Sea, and remember how
they had to prepare themselves, before they could
go out, and how they did eat the paschal lamb with
unleavened bread. They had to eat the paschal lamb
standing, and the unleavened bread which they had,
they bound up in their clothes, and began to go out
to the wilderness. And the angel of the Lord went
before them, by day in a pillar of cloud, and by
night in a pillar of fire, and thus he gave them light.
But when they were closely pressed by Pharaoh and
his host, the people began to murmur against Moses;
for they had not firm confidence in the Lord, that
he would lead them out. But the Lord told Moses,
what he would do, and how he would show his
power on Pharaoh and his host; and he commanded
Moses, to take the rod and smite the sea; and when
Moses smote the sea, it dried up, and the waters
were divided, and stood like walls to the right and
to the left, so that they went through the sea on dry
ground. Pharaoh followed with his host, and was
drowned, with all his lords and people; but Israel
passed through unharmed, and praised and thanked
God, that he had delivered them from Pharaoh’s
house of bondage. But they were not yet in the
promised land; they came into the dreadful wilderness,
where there was no bread. The bread which
they had brought from Egypt, was but a small
quantity; it was the unleavened dough which they
had bound up in their clothes, when they left
Egypt. Then they were troubled, because they had
nothing to eat; but the Lord fed them with bread
from heaven.

So also, my most beloved wife, we have not
gained all, when we have confessed the truth, separated
ourselves from the world, and renounced all
lusts and desires; but we must also fight against the
enemies, that is, we must here contend against emperors
and potentates, and the princes of this world.
We must suffer in this world; for Paul has said that
all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution. 1 Tim. 3:12. We must overcome the
world, sin, death and the devil, not with external
swords or spears, but with the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God, and with the shield of
faith, wherewith we shall be able to ward off all
sharp and fiery darts of satan, and with the helmet
of salvation on our head, and with the breastplate
of righteousness, and our feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel. If we are thus strengthened
with these weapons, we shall get through the wilderness
with Israel, and overcome and withstand all
our enemies: they shall be confounded, who fight
against the truth. 2 Tim. 3:8. Now, when the
children of Israel were out of the wilderness—the
dreadful and horrible wilderness, where the serpents
spewed fire,—after they had been wandering forty
years through it, had passed through so many dangers,
and taken so many cities and countries on
this side of Jordan; they nevertheless were not yet
in possession of the promised land, for they had not
yet crossed the Jordan; however, the Lord showed
Moses the promised land from afar. O my dear
wife, I have also seen the promised land from afar;
I hope soon to come into the beautiful city of which
John writes; which is greatly adorned; her foundations
are twelve precious stones, and her walls and
streets are of pure and clear gold; and the city has
twelve gates, each gate of one pearl; and there is no
night there, for the Lord her God lightens her,
Rev. 21. And the Lord told Moses, that he should
not lead the people into the promised land; but
Joshua brought them into it, and the Lord led them
over Jordan dry-shod, and commanded them to
keep his commandments and laws, and he should
drive out their enemies from before them. But when
they transgressed his commandments and laws, the
Lord delivered them into the hands of their enemies,
so that they were defeated by them. After they had
passed over Jordan, they still did not have the
promised land, which flowed with milk and honey;
but they had to take it by sheer force, destroy all
their enemies, and burn the cities with fire. So must
also we take the promised land by force; for Christ
says that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.
Not until now have I known what it is to contend;
no one knows it better than he who has tried it, such
is the subtlety with which they come to seduce us.

Know, that I received your letter through my
mother. I read it with tears. I thank you, that you
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so affectionately comfort me thereby, and I rejoiced
when I heard that you are so well contented.

Let me inform you, my chosen and beloved
wife Lijsken, that I have been before the margrave.
He had with him two Dominicans, two judges, and
the clerk of the criminal court. He asked me
whether I had changed my mind yet, and added
that he had prevailed upon these two good men
or lords, to try and win my soul, if I would repent.
I replied that I would not forsake my faith, since it
was the truth. They then asked me what my faith
was, I said to the monks: “Ask the Margrave, I
have confessed my faith to him; ask him.” They
tormented me much, but I would not tell them anything.
They asked whence I knew that it was the
truth—whether God had spoken orally with me.
When they could get nothing else out of me, my
confession was read, namely, that I had no regard
for the sacrament. I said: “No, it is nothing more
than a god of bread.” The priests were angry, because
I thus despised their god. They all wished
to talk with me. I said: “I will not hear you, nor
talk with you; but let my brother come here to me,
and I will talk with you, and confess our faith.”

They then asked me whether I was not strong
enough in my faith, since I appealed to my brother.

I replied: “Yea, my faith is strong enough; but
that you may not pervert our words.”

They then said: “We shall not pervert your
words.”

I said: “I know you and your roguery well.”

The Margrave said: “It shall be granted to
you.”

I understood him to say, that he should bring a
Bible with him.

The priests said that when the children are baptized,
they then have faith.

I laughed at it, and said: “Why then do you not
go into Turkey, and baptize the Turks; if thereby
men become believers, as you say, they would all
become believers.”

They replied: “Though the Turks should be
baptized, they would still remain Turks.”

They importuned me greatly, to apostatize, and
become a child of the Roman church. And the Margrave
and the judges felt such unrighteous compassion
for me, that they said: “If your life should be
spared, and you should repent and become a good
child of the Roman church, I should have good
hopes of you; for you have been brought to this in
your youth and innocency. I well know by whom
(he meant Jelis of Aix-la-Chapelle); and because
you descended from such good parents, and your
mother is almost dead with grief.”

I replied: “Though the door should stand open,
and you should say: Go, only say: I am sorry; I
should not go; for I well know that I hold the
truth.”

The Margrave then said: “I shall cause you to
be burnt alive, if you will not hear.” I laughed
again, and said: “All that you inflict upon me for
my faith, I will willingly suffer.” He said: “His
wife is the greatest heretic in the city.”

I cannot thank the Lord enough for all the great
strength and power which he gives me in this distress.
I perceive now, that the Lord is with us; for
he helps us so faithfully out of all distress (Psalm
91:15); he is such a faithful Captain, he gives his
servants such courage and strengthens them, that
they are not afraid (Job 5:22); they neither fear nor
tremble, because of the great love which they have
to their heavenly Father: for Paul says: “Who
shall separate us from the love of God? shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril or sword? As it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted
as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:35–39.

Therefore, my most beloved wife Lijsken, redeem
the time; be patient in tribulation, continue instant
in prayer, and look constantly to the beautiful
promises that are promised us everywhere, if we
persevere unto the end. And let us guard well the
treasure; for we have this treasure in earthen vessels
(2 Cor. 4:7), and cannot conceal it; it breaks out
everywhere; it is far too precious to be hid. We
rejoice greatly in this treasure, which treasure is our
faith, hope, and love; and these will not leave us
destitute, even though they put us singly into dark
dungeons, separated from one another. The treasure
is of such a nature that it will not be hid; one
calls to the other, and so pours out his treasure,
that it may be seen. We are so cheerful, eternal
praise and thanks be to the Lord! we call, we sing
with each other, we have such joy in comforting and
strengthening each other; the Lord gives us such
strength and power, that we cannot thank him sufficiently
for the great grace which he shows us.
Mal. 3:16. “For which cause we faint not; but
though our outward man perish, yet the inward
man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
while we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen.” 2 Cor. 4:16–18.

Hence, my dear wife, cease not to serve the Lord
thy God with the whole heart, and to follow his
footsteps; “For we know that, if our earthly house
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring
to be clothed upon with our house which is from
heaven . . . not for that we would be unclothed,
but clothed upon . . . for whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from the Lord.” Mark
12:30; 1 Pet. 2:21; 2 Cor. 5:1,2,4,6.

Therefore, my dear wife, give diligence that you
pass the time of your sojourning here in fear and
trembling (1 Pet. 1:17); not with such fear and trembling
as that we should fear the world, and tremble
before it, because they rage so against us; but we
are to fear and tremble before the Lord, so that we
shall keep his commandments and statutes, and
thus pass the time of our sojourning here in the fear
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of the Lord, and receive the end of our faith, even
the salvation of our souls; then shall we rejoice forever
with the Lord, and go to meet him in the resurrection
of the dead. Is. 51:11; Philip. 3:11. Therefore
do not fear the world; for the very hairs of your
head are all numbered; they have no power, except
it be given them from above. Matt. 10:30; John
19:11. And Christ says: Be not afraid of them that
kill the body; but fear him, who after he has killed
the body has power to cast the soul into hell; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and their
worm shall not die, and they shall have no rest day
nor night. Luke 13:28; Is. 66:24; Rev. 14:11.
May the Almighty, eternal and strong God so
strengthen and comfort you with his blessed word,
that you will remain faithful unto the end, and you
shall also come under the altar to all the dear children
of God, where all tears shall be wiped from our
eyes. Rev. 2:10; 6:9; 21:4. There all tribulation
will have an end, and there shall our vile body be
glorified, and be like unto the image of his glory.
Philip. 3:21. Then shall our weeping be turned into
laughter, and our sorrow into joy (John 16:20);
then shall we, who for a little while have been despised
and rejected, yea, persecuted and dispersed,
and put to death with great ignominy, pain and
reproach, for the testimony of Jesus Christ, triumph
forever, and live eternally with the Lord. We shall
be clothed with white robes, as John testifies in his
Revelation concerning the souls of them that were
slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held. And they lay under the altar, and
they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long,
O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet
for a little season, until their fellow servants also and
their brethren, that should be killed as they were,
should be fulfilled.” Rev. 7:9; 20:4; 6:9–11.

O what a glorious people shall we be, when we
shall be with that great multitude of which Esdras
writes, and John in his Revelation, says: “I beheld,
and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying,
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb. These are they which came
out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple:
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst
any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor
any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes.” Rev. 7:9,10,
14–17. Esdras also declares of the same multitude:
“that they stood upon mount Sion, and were
clothed in white, and that in the midst of them
stood one taller than all the rest, who gave palms
into the hands of every one, and set crowns upon
every one of their heads.” 2 Esdras 2:42,43,46.
And John says: “I saw as it were a sea of glass
mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the
victory over the beast, and over his image, and
over his mark, and over the number of his name,
stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of
God, and the song of the Lamb.” Rev. 15:2,3.
Behold, my dear wife, what glorious promises we
everywhere find, which God will give to all his dear
and true children who here faithfully adhere to him,
who have ended their lives to the praise of the Lord,
and washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. 1 Cor. 2:9.

O my dearly beloved wife, I cannot thank the
Lord enough for all his great goodness shown to
me; he gives me such strength and power that I
cannot express it. O, now I experience that the
Lord is a faithful helper in time of need; he does
not forsake those that trust in him, for he that
trusts in the Lord shall not be confounded. Isaiah
45:17; Rom. 9:33. He will keep us as the apple
of his eye; he will deliver us from all the power of
the devil, and the tyranny of this world; yea, he
will keep us, that we shall not go into hell, if we
remain faithful to him unto the end; for Christ says:
“He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved.” Matt. 24:13.

O my dearly beloved wife, continue faithful to the
Lord unto death; for the crown is not at the beginning,
nor in the middle, but at the end. If you continue
faithful to the Lord, he will not forsake you;
he will give you the crown of eternal life, and lead
you into his kingdom. Jas. 1:12. He will crown
you with glory and honor; and will wipe away all
tears from your eyes.

Dear Lijsken, if he will wipe away all tears, tears
must here first be shed. Matt. 5:4. He will heal us
from our sufferings; hence we must first suffer in
this world. Yea, we must fight and contend against
ferocious lions, dragons, and bears (Ps. 91:13), yea,
against the wicked and perverse generations of vipers
(Matt. 3:7) and serpent rulers, and against the
subtle serpents of this world, and the wicked seed
of Cain; for Paul says that we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness,
and the principalities and powers of this world, yea,
against the spirits that work in the air, which is the
old serpent and Satan (Rev. 20:2), who, as Peter
says, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour. 1 Pet. 5:8. Therefore defend yourself
diligently, with prayer and supplication to the
Lord, and hold fast to the doctrine of Jesus Christ
our Savior, that you may receive the end of your
faith, even the salvation of your soul. Fight with
Paul the good fight. Herewith I commend you, my
dearly beloved wife and sister, to the Almighty,
eternal and strong God, and to the word of his rich
grace, that you may be able to stand against all the
gates of hell. Amen.

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