# Christiaen Rijcen Exhorts His Wife Firmly To Trust In The Lord, And Informs Her, That He Was Assailed Once More This Week By The Pastor And A Franciscan Friar, Who Tempted Him By Threats And Fair Words To Apostatize; And Of The Terror That Came Upon Him The Following Night. 16th century (source section) · Historical source Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: CHRISTIAEN RIJCEN EXHORTS HIS WIFE FIRMLY TO TRUST IN THE LORD, AND INFORMS HER, THAT HE WAS ASSAILED ONCE MORE THIS WEEK BY THE PASTOR AND A FRANCISCAN FRIAR, WHO TEMPTED HIM BY THREATS AND FAIR WORDS TO APOSTATIZE; AND OF THE TERROR THAT CAME UPON HIM THE FOLLOWING NIGHT. Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned Grace, peace and love be unto you from God our heavenly Father, through his Son Jesus Christ. Amen. This, I wish you, my very dear and beloved wife, as an affectionate greeting in the Lord. And after all salutation, I inform you, my very dear and beloved wife, that I am still well according to soul and body, praise, glory and thanks be forever to the Lord, for his great goodness, who has called me to this time, and kept me, that I am worthy to suffer a little for his name; and I also trust by the grace of the Lord, that you and the children are also well, though I understand from your letter, that you have had the ague. I hope in our dear Lord, that he will succor you; and not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but that with this temptation he will also make a way to escape, so that you will be able to bear it. O my dearest love, trust with all your heart in the Lord, and do not forsake your friend, that loves your soul, since you have found him, as the bride in Canticles (3:4); but cleave faithfully to him, and take him for your Husband, and for a Father for my children, and diligently instruct my children, that they obey this Father all the days of their life; and you too, my dear wife, be also faithful to your Husband Christ, and do not forsake him in any distress, for his promises are, that he will also not forsake you. I must now leave you with sorrow; but, my dear wife, I hope that we shall find each other in life eternal, where we shall part no more. O my dear wife, I would like it so much, if the fight here were fought, so that I might say with Paul: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for us the crown of life. 2 Tim. 4:7. O then my heart would rejoice; but there is conflict here yet sometimes. This week I have had with me the pastor and a Franciscan friar once more, who came to see whether I would not hearken. The pastor said that the recorder had told him, that letters had come from the Court, [to the effect that] if I would not hearken, and repent, they knew what they were to do with me. I told the pastor, that I wanted to wrong no one; but as regards my faith, I said, I have received it from the Lord, and I cannot forsake it. Then they used fair words and said: “If you will hearken, you may live here with us, and be a man of honor.” I said: “I want to do well, like a man of honor, and to wrong no one; and that if I should do wrong to any one, that they should punish me twice as much as another that had done the same thing as I.” Against this they did not say very much. We had many words, which it would take too long to write. I therefore do not know what they will do with me. My dear and beloved wife, you must know yet, that the night after the pastor had been with me, a great terror came upon me, inasmuch as I thought that they should put me in irons, or place me upon the rack, which so terrified me, that the perspiration issued from my body, so that I was wet from it; which made me very sorrowful, but I remembered Christ, when his sufferings came upon him so that his sweat rolled from him as drops of blood, down to the ground; wherein I consoled myself a little, and it also seems to me, that the Lord sent it to me, that I should not boast of myself, but that I should rely only upon the Lord and not upon my own strength, as I also hope to do. And I pray my dear wife, that she will help me pray to the Lord, that the Lord will strengthen and confirm me with his Spirit, that I need not fear men, nor the children of men, since they shall perish as grass. Herewith I commend you to the Lord, and to the rich word of his grace. Amen. 1013 And greet your landlord in my name, and give him for this time this hymn; and greet from me also all the others that live near you. Nothing more for this time, except that I heartily thank you for your comforting treasures, which you send me to my great consolation, for they come very convenient to me. Farewell and console yourself in the Lord, for these, my bonds shall be no disgrace to you, for I have done nothing amiss to any one (the Lord be praised) that can say anything evil of me, wherein I greatly rejoice. Thus, my dear wife, be faithful to the Lord, for he that shall continue faithful unto death, shall have the crown of eternal life. Written on the 27th of March, A. D. 1588, by me, your beloved husband. Christiaen Rijcen. --- Page: http://history.truechristian.church/stories/mm-christiaen-rijcen-exhorts-his-wife-firmly-to-trust-in-the-lord-and-informs-her-that-he-was-assailed-once-more-this-week/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Christiaen+Rijcen+Exhorts+His+Wife+Firmly+To+Trust+In+The+Lord%2C+And+Informs+Her%2C+That+He+Was+Assailed+Once+More+This+Week+By+The+Pastor+And+A+Franciscan+Friar%2C+Who+Tempted+Him+By+Threats+And+Fair+Words+To+Apostatize%3B+And+Of+The+Terror+That+Came+Upon+Him+The+Following+Night.&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AChristiaen+Rijcen+Exhorts+His+Wife+Firmly+To+Trust+In+The+Lord%2C+And+Informs+Her%2C+That+He+Was+Assailed+Once+More+This+Week+By+The+Pastor+And+A+Franciscan+Friar%2C+Who+Tempted+Him+By+Threats+And+Fair+Words+To+Apostatize%3B+And+Of+The+Terror+That+Came+Upon+Him+The+Following+Night.%0A%0APage%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fstories%2Fmm-christiaen-rijcen-exhorts-his-wife-firmly-to-trust-in-the-lord-and-informs-her-that-he-was-assailed-once-more-this-week%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-christiaen-rijcen-exhorts-his-wife-firmly-to-trust-in-the-lord-and-informs-her-that-he-was-assailed-once-more-this-week%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+16th+century+%28source+section%29%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)