# The Second Letter From Hansken Van Den Wege.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: THE SECOND LETTER FROM HANSKEN VAN DEN WEGE.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

The eternal, abundant, unfathomable, great grace
and mercy of God the heavenly Father, which came
by Jesus Christ, the only and true Son of God; and
the great humility and meekness, holiness and peace
of our Lord Jesus Christ the Savior of the world,
together with the great power, consolation and full
joy of the Holy Ghost; this I wish you from the
depth of my heart, and from the inmost of my soul,
my dear and much beloved friend Jacob Kesij, and
mother Martijntgen; this is my perpetual and blessed
wish and holy salutation to you, and to all men that
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fear and love the Lord, and call on him out of a
pure heart; yea, may the Lord of eternal grace
grant you this my blessed wish and holy salutation,
and make you wise in that which is good, and
simple in that which is evil, so that you may with
Job be found perfect and upright, fearing God, and
eschewing evil. Amen. Rom. 16:19; Job 1:1.

Further, my dear and beloved friends Jacob and
Martijntgen, I pray you from the depth of my heart,
and by the great and fervent love and mercy of
God, and by Jesus Christ the Son of God, and this
by his merits, bitter death, bleeding wounds, and
his precious blood, which he suffered to be shed on
the cross to purchase us, and to redeem us from the
bonds of death; yea, I beseech you and say with
the apostle Paul: “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them
that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy
2:22. O take heed to it, and follow faith, for
without faith it is impossible to please God, and
he that believeth not shall be damned, says Jesus
Christ our Lord. Heb. 11:6; Mark 16:16. Hence,
O dear Jacob and Martijntgen, turn, turn, and follow
the true faith, which worketh by love (Galatians
5:6), yea, by the fervent love of God, without which
[faith] no one can now or ever please God, as Paul
says. Hence take good heed, that you confirm the
faith with love, and follow love with all the strength
of your heart, the nature of which love consists in
meekness and gentleness. Yea, charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth
not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things. Charity never faileth. 1 Corinthians
13:4. Hence I repeat it, see well to it, that
you follow this beautiful fruit of love, and that it
may be found with you forever so that you may
adorn your faith with true love, and thus please
God and be saved. Therefore, O my dear friends,
follow faith, love, and also peace with all men. For
it is a wisdom that is from above, and is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality,
and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness325
is sown in peace of them that make peace.
James 3:17,18. Hence, make peace, and continue
therein, that the peace of the Lord may rule in your
hearts (Col. 3:15), and bring forth the fruit of
righteousness to the praise of the Lord, and to the
salvation of your souls. O yes, dear Jacob and
Martijntgen, do thus according to my request, and
the admonition of Paul, and you will not be deceived.
Follow all this righteousness which is by
faith (Rom. 3:22), with all your heart, and with
all your strength and ability; pray, lament, call,
and weep in spirit and in truth, to God the heavenly
Father, for grace and mercy; yea, trust and hope
in him with all your heart, and with steadfastness,
and the Lord, who is full of all goodness (Psalm
118:1), will be gracious unto you according to his
great goodness, and unfathomable mercy; for the
Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil;
for the Lord is not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. Joel 2:13;
2 Pet. 3:9. Yea, this is his will; for Christ says:
Repent, ye, and believe the Gospel. Mark 1:15.
Hence receive this good doctrine, so that you repent
and bring forth genuine fruits of repentance,
and thus flee youthful lusts. And love not the
world—which liveth in pleasure, as John says—neither
the things that are in the world; for if any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 1 John
2:15–17. Hence I tell you once more: flee carnal
and youthful lusts in this world, that you be not
condemned with the world. Gal. 5:16; 1 Corinthians
11:32. O yes, turn from this wicked generation,
who live in pleasure, for they are dead while
they live, as Paul says. 1 Tim. 5:6. Therefore,
O Jacob and Martijntgen, turn away, turn away
from this wicked way of the ungodly, so that you
may not with them be punished without mercy by
the Lord; for God will rain lightnings, fire and
brimstone upon the ungodly, and reward them with
a tempest. Rev. 18:4; Gen. 19:24; Exodus 9:24;
Ps. 7:12. For the Lord is righteous, and loves
righteousness, so that according to his righteousness
he cannot let sinners go unpunished; hence
flee youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace, with them that call on God out of
a pure heart. Ps. 11:7; 2 Tim. 2:22. Yes, dear
Jacob and Martijntgen, follow this high gift of the
Lord, namely, the wisdom that is from above; yea,
I say, follow after it, and bring forth genuine fruits
of repentance, and it shall be well with you. And
always humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God, and be no longer high-minded, but fear
with great humility of heart and of the spirit, before
God the heavenly Father; for God resisteth the
proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 1 Pet. 5:6;
Rom. 11:20; 1 Pet. 5:5. Hence I repeat it: humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt you in due time; for whosoever exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted, says Jesus Christ our Lord.
Luke 14:11. Therefore, O dear Jacob and Martijntgen,
follow righteousness, and strive for it with all
your power and all the diligence of your heart; and
sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you.
John 5:14. And learn henceforth truly to fear the
Lord with all your heart; and learn to love him
with all your strength, so that your names may
be written in the book of life, and you may thus
through God’s great grace be forever saved, and
may, with all the holy angels in heaven, and with
the great heavenly host, with the Lord of lords, in
unspeakably great joy, glory and brightness, reign
forever in heaven, where the great and holy name
of the Lord will be forever praised, glorified and
honored; for glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14.

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Herewith, I commend you to the Lord, and to
the word of his grace. Amen. Written by me,

Hansken van den Wege.

Imprisoned for the testimony of our Lord Jesus
Christ.





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