# A Letter Of Jan Quirijnss, Imprisoned With Cornelis Janss And Clement Hendrickss, At Amsterdam, Where All Three Were Burned For The Testimony Of Jesus Christ.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: A LETTER OF JAN QUIRIJNSS, IMPRISONED WITH CORNELIS JANSS AND CLEMENT HENDRICKSS, AT AMSTERDAM, WHERE ALL THREE WERE BURNED FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

The eternal, almighty and merciful Father, who
by his mighty arm led his chosen out of the house
of the bondage of Pharaoh, keep and confirm you,
my beloved sister in the Lord, with the power of
his Holy Spirit, to so do his will that you may be
found spotless and blameless in all peace, and in all
righteousness, truth, zeal, and love, unto the end;
this grant you the almighty and strong Lord, who
is alone wise and just; to him be praise, honor,
glory, and gratitude, now and forever. Amen.

Very dear and much beloved sister in the Lord,
whom I greatly love according to the spirit, I have
undertaken, by the saving grace of God, to write
you a little, as you requested of me poor servant;
for I deem myself unworthy of writing to another—it
were more necessary that some one should
write to me. For, dear sister, I find so much lacking
in me, that, when I call upon the Father, I fear
that I am not his child, for I do not half his will.
But, dear sister, though we are compassed by vile
flesh, we will not give up courage, but firmly keep
on, and always pray without ceasing, and give him
the praise, and constantly thank him for his unspeakable
798
kindness which he has shown us simple
children. Eph. 2:7. O what great grace has appeared
to us! O what love has been shown us!
O what light has arisen to us! O what excellent,
precious, hidden treasure has been given into our
earthen vessels! That which is hid from the wise
and prudent, he has now revealed unto us poor,
simple children. Matt. 11:25. The clear truth is
now made known to us; the beautiful, shining light
has shined into a dark place; the clear radiance has
been given into our hearts, whereby we are illumined
with the uncovered, clear light, through Christ Jesus,
this gracious Lord of lords. 2 Pet. 1:19; 2 Corinthians
4:6.

He took away the great darkness out of our
dark hearts and yielded himself, this merciful Jesus
Christ, to be a shining light unto us, as John says:
“This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and
in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie,
and do not the truth.” 1 John 1:5,6. Therefore,
dear sister, take heed to the light, and let it be a
lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path,
as David says (Ps. 119:105), that you may not
stumble by day, but may always see before you
wherever you go; for the darkness is passed, and
the true light now shines. 1 John 2:8. He has delivered
us from the power of darkness [and called
us] into his marvelous light, who, as Peter says,
in time past were not a people, but are now the
people of God. Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9,10. For this
reason we may well be glad in our hearts, and rejoice,
and say with David (Ps. 124:7): “The snare
is broken, and we are escaped; we are delivered
out of the jaws of the lion, in which we were imprisoned,”
that is, in this dismal, abominable,
subtle, wicked world, which lieth in wickedness.
1 Pet. 5:19.

The God of this world, that rules in the children
of unbelief, has so blinded the minds of them that
they believe not, and so stopped their hearts, that
they cannot see or perceive in the least, nor taste
that the Lord is gracious. 2 Cor. 4:4. With them
we all had our fellowship, and had our conversation
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. Eph. 2:3. But the
rich, merciful and kind God looked with his gracious
eyes upon us poor sinners, and stretched forth his
blessed hand, and has now extended it to us, and
has delivered and brought us out of the pit of death
and tied up and healed our wounds; our hungering
and thirsting souls he has satisfied with the bread of
life, and refreshed with the water of the Holy Ghost;
he did not let us lie in our blood, he did not desire
to pass by us, he did not let us perish with hunger;
when we asked for bread he did not give us a stone;
neither did he let us go thirsty, but refreshed our
famishing souls from the clear fountain of living
water. O that we had never spent money for that
which is not food! but we have largely spent our
money for bitter gall and vinegar, and for false, corrupt
leaven. O that we had thought of this gracious
host, who gives it for nought to all that ask him
(Rev. 21:6); and none that come to him will be cast
out. Hence, my dear sister, let us desire the rational,
unadulterated milk, as new born babes, that
are born again from above of God, through Jesus
Christ, 1 Peter 2:3; John 3:3. Let us take good
heed to and firmly keep our new birth; for John
says: “Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit
sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God.” John 3:9.

O that we might take an example from Esau, who
sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. O how
little did he esteem his salvation; but afterwards,
when he sought it with tears, he was rejected; for
he found no place of repentance. Gen. 25:33; 27:38;
Heb. 12:17. But, dear sister, let us diligently take
heed, that we hold fast that which we have, which
has been given us from above of him who is the
giver of all good. Rev. 2:25; James 1:5,17. And
if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth
us: and if we know that he hears us, in whatsoever
we ask, we know that we have the petition that we
desire of him. 1 John 5:14,15. Is this not a gracious
Lord? Yes, assuredly, and he is a Lord
rich over all them that call upon him; only place
your trust firmly upon him, and put your will into
God’s will, and all will be well.

Therefore, my dear sister in the Lord, be steadfast,
immoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15:58. For you
shall receive reward by it. Matt. 20:9. If you sow
to the Spirit, you shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Gal. 6:8. If we sow in tears, we shall
reap with joy; for our shame we shall receive
honor, and for confusion we shall rejoice, says
the prophet. Is. 61:7. O let us be content then—we
shall be such a glorious people; and with
patience wait for it, and think of the glorious
promise that he has promised us. 1 John 2:25.
He also will do it, he will not delay his promise
(2 Peter 3:9); only let us continue valiantly, rejoicing
in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing
instant in prayer, not slothful in our business, but
fervent in spirit, a burning love in our hearts (Romans
12:10, etc.), and the Lord through love
grounded and rooted in us (Eph. 3:17), so that no
one may be able to separate us from the love of
God, nothing of all that may come upon us for the
name of Jesus Christ, and for his testimony. Romans
8:35. Let therefore no one beguile us of our
reward, but let us evince from our faith virtue, and
let our moderation be known unto all men. Colossians
2:18; 2 Peter 1:5; Philip. 4:5. The Lord is at
hand, be careful for nothing; for it is soon over; our
time, dear sister, is so short, if we well consider it.
1 Cor. 7:29. Hence let us pass our short time in the
fear of God, and be sober and vigilant; for our adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast
in the faith. 1 Peter 5:8,9. As James says: resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7.
Yes, dear sister, he walks about us very craftily;
now with this, now with that, whether outwardly or
inwardly with our evil flesh, which is our greatest
enemy, with whom we have most to contend; the
799
Spirit against the flesh, the flesh against the Spirit:
these are contrary the one to the other, so that we
do not the things that we would. Gal. 5:17. But
Paul gives us comfort, when he says: Walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
v. 16. O that we were as fervent in spirit, as diligent
in good works, in seeking eternal life, as we
are in seeking earthly treasures, worldly things,
which must nevertheless perish and remain here;
and that we might love God’s commandments above
gold or precious stones; we should be such blessed
children, we should continually have less and less
conflict. But alas! it is sometimes the case, that
greater endeavors are made for these temporal
things, than for the abiding riches that are in heaven,
which shall nevertheless endure forever. In writing
this I do not mean that this is the case with you; for
I well perceive that you seek the Lord with all your
heart. Hence, my dear sister, let us lay to heart
the words of the apostle, who warns us against the
tempter; lest we also be deceived by Satan, for we
are not ignorant of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11), that
is, that he aims to capture God’s children in his net
by lies and envy, since he has been the father of lies
from the beginning (John 8:44), as he has shown in
the case of the first man, as is written in Wisdom:
“God created man for eternal life; but through the
envy of the devil death came into the world; and
they that are of his part do follow him. 2:23,24.
Thus he also comes to us with his emissaries, with
whom we have a hard conflict, yea, those who went
out from us being the most troublesome to us, so
that we find that the Scripture is fulfilled, namely,
that in the latter days it should be as John says:
“Little children it is the last time: and as ye have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there
many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the
last time. They went out from us, but they were not
of us; for if they had been of us, they would no
doubt have continued with us: but they went out
that they might be made manifest that they were
not all of us.” 1 John 2:18,19. See, dear sister,
thus the apostle warns us; for they are not all
Abraham’s children that are of Abraham’s seed.
Rom. 9:7.

Therefore, dear sister, look to the pious, and not
to the weak; look unto Jesus Christ the author and
finisher of the faith, as Paul says, and suffer not
yourself to be led astray by certain vain talkers who
undertake to turn you aside. Heb. 12:2; Tit. 1:10.
Christ says that in the latter days many false prophets
shall arise in his name (O mark, in his name); insomuch
that, if it were possible, even the very elect
should be deceived. Matt. 24:24. But he that endureth
to the end shall be saved; the elect shall not
be deceived. Be valiant in your mind, and always
pray without ceasing, with prayer and supplication
in the Spirit. Meditate day and night in the law of
the Lord, that you may be a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his rich good
fruit in his season; whose leaf shall not wither
(Ps. 1:2,3); and that you may be a fruitful branch
in the vine Christ Jesus. For David says: “The
righteous shall never fall, but shall stand forever like
mount Zion”; yea, the righteous shall never be removed,
says Solomon. Psalm 125:1; Prov. 10:30.

Let us therefore finish our course with joy, and
strive lawfully (2 Tim. 2:5); for no one is crowned,
except he strive lawfully, as did the pious forefathers,
who placed their hope in God, whom they faithfully
served. He did not forsake them, nor did they forsake
him; they bowed their necks under the scepter
of Christ Jesus, as the pious Esther also bowed her
neck. 2 Esther 14:2. O take heed to this; though
the righteous must suffer much here, and be deprived
of all human help and comfort, let us turn
our eyes to the succorer Jesus Christ, who will not
forsake us. Can a mother forsake her child? Yea,
though she forsake it, yet will I not forsake thee,
says the Lord. Is. 49:16. He that touches us,
touches the apple of his eye. Zech. 2:8. Who
should not fear such a God, who always preserves
and protects his poor people? For the joy which
he has promised us, sweetens everything. He that
ever cometh shall inherit all things. Rev. 21:7.
They shall sit with Christ Jesus in his throne, even
as he sat down with his Father in his throne. Revelation
3:21. Yea, he shall gird himself, and go
before us, and serve us at table. Luke 12:37. How
the righteous shall shine forth then in the kingdom
of his Father! How they shall leap up then as calves
of the stall! How the righteous shall then shine, as
sparks that run among the stubble! how they that
did not love their lives unto death shall then triumph
and sing the song, and, with palms in their hands
and crowns upon their heads, thank, praise, and
magnify the name of the Lord! In short, eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. Matt. 13:43; Malachi
4:2; Wis. 3:7; John 12:25; Rev. 14:3; 2 Esdras
2:46; 1 Cor. 2:9.

Hence, let every one that has this hope in him
purify himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:3. But
the God of all grace, who has called us by his glory
and power, strengthen and confirm you, my beloved,
dear sister in the Lord, with the power of the Holy
Ghost, unto the end. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10.

Herewith I will commend you, my beloved sister
in Christ, to the Lord, and to the word of his great
grace. Receive this my short, simple letter in good
part, for I have written it out of true, unfeigned
brotherly love, this the Almighty Lord knows.
Hence I pray you, receive this from me in good
part; for he that fears God receives everything for
the best. Always hold fast your first love unto the
end, and the fervent love to God and the brethren
(Rev. 2:4; 1 Peter 4:8); may the Almighty, eternal
and strong God grant you this. Amen.

Greet all my friends in my name, especially M.
S’s daughter, G. R. W., and further all that know
me. Several that were with me when I wrote this
greet you; also Cornelis Janss greet you. The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

800





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