# The Fourth Letter From Maerten Van Der Straten, To Anna Servaes.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: THE FOURTH LETTER FROM MAERTEN VAN DER STRATEN, TO ANNA SERVAES.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

I, Maerten van der Straten, your unworthy friend
and brother, wish you, my beloved, dear sister in
911
the Lord, Anna Servaes, much grace and mercy
from God our heavenly Father; and may the love
of his Son be in you as a burning fire, that you
may become perfect unto the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles, and bearing good fruits,
as a tree planted by the rivers of water, so that you
may be numbered among the royal priesthood, the
peculiar people, which God, according to the writings
of Moses, bore on eagle’s wings; so that you,
when the land shall again be divided to Israel, may
possess an inheritance full of joy, for ever and ever.
Amen. Eph. 4:13; 1 Pet. 2:12; Ps. 1:3; 1 Peter
2:9; Deut. 32:11.

A cordial, fond and affectionate greeting to you,
my dear and much beloved sister in the Lord, Anna
Servaes, whom I love with a pure love out of a pure
heart, of which God be my judge, who, according
to the word of Jeremiah, tries men’s hearts and
reins. Further, after all proper and Christian salutation,
let me, please, inform your love, that I and
my dear wife are in tolerably good health according
to the flesh, and according to the spirit we hope
by God’s assistance to keep the covenant which we
once made with the Lord our God, when we bowed
our knees before him and his glorious majesty. Yet,
we moreover trust that also you are well in soul and
body, ready to perform your journey to Bethel, and
to prophesy against Jeroboam and his altar. 1 Kings
13:1. To this end, may you and we all be strengthened
by the only and eternal, almighty God, whose
tabernacle is on high, and who lives far above all
heavens, in a light which, according to the words of
Paul (1 Tim. 6:16), no man can approach unto; that
we may fear and love him above all. For he is a jealous
God, who would dwell alone in man’s heart; for
thereunto we have been delivered out of the hand
of our enemies, and from them that hate us, that
we should fear and serve him without fear, in true
righteousness and holiness, all the days of our lives,
as good and faithful servants, seeking the praise of
God, and, with Paul, counting our gain loss for
Christ’s sake, leading a chaste, honorable life, and
setting up an ensign for the nations, that we may
not make the blind to wander out of the way, but
that we, according to the words of Peter, through
a modest and good conversation, may win the unbelieving
without the word; which Christ also teaches
us in the Gospel, saying: Let your light shine before
men, that they may behold your good conversation,
and glorify God our Father in the day of
visitation. Ex. 20:5; 2 Cor. 6:16; Luke 1:74,75;
Phil. 3:7; Isa. 11:12; Deut. 27:18; 1 Pet. 3:1,2;
Matt. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:12. Hence, O my dear and
much beloved sister in the Lord, let us with all humility
follow the Lord’s footsteps, that in every respect
we may adorn the doctrine of the Gospel,
shining as a bright morning star among this evil
and perverse generation; then shall the King, as
David writes, greatly desire our beauty. Ps. 45:11.

Hence, O love, let us each seek to be the chiefest
in virtue, and patiently wait for the Lord, our Comfort,
who alone can help us, as David says: “I
waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto
me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out
of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my
feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And
he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise
unto our God.” Ps. 40:1–3. Therefore, O dear
lamb, let us thank the Lord, and pray that we
may not be caught through our tongue, saying
with Jesus Sirach: “O Lord God, Father and Lord
of my life, let me not fall among the slanderers,
and perish among them. O that I could bridle my
thoughts, and discipline my heart with the word of
God, and that I might not spare myself, if I erred,
lest I should cause sin, and create great error, and
commit much evil, and perish before my enemies,
and become their sport.” Sir. 23:1–3. Hence, O
dear sister, let us seek God’s face day and night
with tears, that we may not perish with the wicked
under the wrath of God, but that we may continue
obedient in Christ unto the end of our lives, so that
we may be saved in the day of the Lord, which,
according to the words of Christ, shall come as a
thief in the night; in the which according to Peter’s
writing, the heavens shall be dissolved with fire,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. And
if all these things are to come to pass, O how ought
we to be meet and adorned with a good, chaste
and holy conversation! For the time is come that
judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it
now begin at us, and if the righteous shall scarcely
be written in the book of life, what shall the end of
the ungodly be? Matt. 24:42,43; 2 Pet. 3:10–12;
1 Pet. 4:17,18. O well may I sigh and say with
Solomon: O Lord, wink at the multitude of my
sins. Wis. 11:23. Hence we may also with David
say: “O Lord, enter not into judgment with us,
or, thou, O Lord, shalt be justified. And render
us not according to our deeds, neither reward us
according to our works, nor chasten us, O Lord,
in thine anger, but be merciful unto us, O Lord,
according to thy goodness, which is great.” Psalm
143:2; 6:1,2. Therefore, O dear lamb, let us
cleave to the Lord with prayer and supplication,
with a broken heart and contrite spirit, that we may
be saved, not through our merits, but through the
grace of God, and thus live with the Lord in his
eternal kingdom.

Further, my dear sister, I do not, because of my
small gift, know much more to write you, but commend
you to the Lord, and to the rich, comforting
word of his grace. I moreover pray you to excuse
the plain, simple letter which I, your unworthy servant,
have written, who am the weakest in Israel,
yea, not worthy to unloose your shoe’s latchet;
however, I yet trust in the grace of God.

Furthermore, my dear sister, greet your dear
husband, and also the acquaintances, in my name.
My dear wife also greets you both, and the acquaintances
much. There also greet you much, Adriaen,
Grietgen, Hansken, and Dingentgen; and all of us
prisoners jointly request of you, that you will diligently
pray the Lord for us. Nothing more. Farewell,
and do the best in the beginning and in the
end.

Written in my bonds, by me, your weak brother
and servant, as much as I am able.

Maerten van der Straten.

912





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