# Another Letter Of Joost Verkindert, Written From Prison, On The 12th Of July, To His Mother.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT, WRITTEN FROM PRISON, ON THE 12TH OF JULY, TO HIS MOTHER.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

Grace, joy and peace from God the heavenly
Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
together with the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, who
proceeds from both the Father and the Son, to comfort
all them that are in any tribulation and affliction
for his holy namesake; may he be multiplied in
you; unto whom be praise, honor, glory, dominion,
power, and majesty, forever and ever. Amen. This
and all divine virtues, I wish you as a cordial and
friendly greeting, my dear and beloved mother and
sister in the Lord. I inform you by this that I am
still tolerably well according to the time, and I trust
that you are well, too. My mind also is still fixed to
adhere to the eternal truth, and not to forsake the
same, whether it mean life or death; for Peter says,
that there is none other name under heaven, given
to men, whereby to be saved, than only through the
name of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12; 10:43. Therefore,
my dear mother, it is necessary that we constantly,
according to our weak ability, seek to follow the
footsteps of Jesus Christ; for John says: “Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, hath both the Father and the
Son.” 2 John 9.

Hence, my beloved, let us take heed that we may
always be found to be of the little flock (Luke
12:32), that our sheaf may be gathered with all the
elect saints of God into one barn for there is a great
storm at hand. O that we were all worthy of the
Lord; then we should indeed have been born at a
blessed hour! O I pray the Lord most heartily for
you, to keep you in his holy truth; so that we may
hereafter be crowned with praise and honor. O my
beloved, the bringing forth is so grievous to me;
truly indeed does Christ say: “In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world.” John 16:33. And also, further:
“Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice;
and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow
shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in
travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come:
but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth
no more the anguish, for joy that a man
is born into the world.” vs. 20, 21. We have now
also much sorrow, and the world is glad and joyful,
and they do not once think how lamentably they
are under the wrath of God, as long as they do not
become converted, and show true repentance before
the Lord. How applicable are the words of Isaiah:
Hell hath opened wide her mouth, that there may
go in both their princes and the common people:
yea, they go to hell like sheep to the slaughter.
Is. 5:14. May the complaint ascend to the Lord of
heaven, that the false prophets so lamentably seduce
the poor blind people (Ezek. 13:10), and, what is
still more, so miserably oppress, persecute, rob, and
make a prey for every one, those who seek to
amend their lives. Truly indeed does Isaiah say:
Holy and pious men are taken away, but no man
layeth it to heart. Is. 57:1. Hence, my beloved,
let us not fear men, who must perish like grass; for
the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the
worm shall eat them like wool. 51:2,8. O dear
mother, they forbid the reading of the holy Scriptures,
while Christ says and exhorts us: “Search
the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they that testify of me.” John
5:39. For Paul also says: “Whatsoever things
were written beforetime were written for our learning.”
Rom. 15:4. O how hard will it go with those
who so little esteem the Scriptures; they are those
that call good evil, and evil good. Is. 5:20. O that
they might once consider, how grievously they have
incurred the wrath of God. I pray the Lord most
heartily, to open the eyes of their understanding,
that they may see against whom they are fighting,
that it is against God and the Lamb; but the Lamb
816
shall overcome them. Rev. 17:14. For Isaiah says:
“Though a mother should forget her child, and
forsake the son of her womb, whom she brought
forth herself, yet will I not forsake thee.” Is. 49:15.
Yea, the Lord further says through Zechariah:
“He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of
mine eye.” Zech. 2:8. And again, Isaiah says:
Fear not, O Jacob; when thou walkest through the
fire, I will preserve thee; and when thou art in the
water, it shall not harm thee: for I the Lord will
keep thee. Is. 43:1,2. My beloved, his hand is not
yet shortened; he is still the same God that delivered
Israel out of the land of Egypt, and out of the hand
of Pharaoh: who made the Red Sea a way so that
the ransomed of the Lord passed over. He is also
still the same God that fed them for forty years with
bread from heaven, as is written: He fed them with
bread from heaven, and with angel’s food. Psalm
78:25. He is also the same God that preserved
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace,
and delivered Daniel out of the den of lions,
and many other holy fathers, concerning which an
abundance is written in the Scriptures.

Therefore, my affectionately beloved sister in the
Lord, my heart felt prompted once more to exhort
you a little with the word of the Lord, though you
are yourself abundantly taught of him; for Paul
says: “Exhort one another [daily,] while it is called
to-day” (Heb. 3:13), for the Lord cometh as a thief
in the night, as you may well perceive in our case.

Further, dear mother, I thank you for the affectionate
love which you have shown me at all times;
yea, even before I obtained your dear daughter to
wife you were always kind to me. I also thank
you for the good intercourse which we have always
had together in peace (the Lord be praised); for I
have often rejoiced my soul with you. And now,
my beloved, I commend to you my dear wife and
her two little orphans, desiring that you will help
exercise a Christian care over them, and do not
spare the rod on the children. Associate with R.
as much as is possible for you, lest she becomes
despondent; for I know that I am dear to her heart,
and that she will therefore sorrow for a long time.
But exhort her to be patient in her tribulation; for
every dispensation of God toward us I hope will
turn to the salvation of us all; for the Lord knows
what we need. My beloved, receive this brief exhortation
in good part as a testament, since it is
written with a humble heart and mind. Herewith I
will commend you to the crucified, bleeding Christ
Jesus, and to the word of his rich grace. Amen.
Adieu, my dear mother, until another time, if we
should here see each other no more. Lauwerens,
my fellow prisoner, and I, greet you and our acquaintances
in the Lord most cordially with the
peace of the Lord.





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