This Hendrick Maelschalck, On The 26th Of January 1568, Wrote The Following Letter From Prison At Ghent.

We wish you abundant grace, joy, peace, and mercy, and eternal salvation, from God, our heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father, to whom be praise, glory and honor, and power and thanks, for ever and ever. Amen.

After wishing you all grace and salvation, we would inform you, Goelken our beloved friend295 in the Lord, and all dear friends that fear the Lord, that we four prisoners at Ghent, for the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ, are still well according to the flesh, and according to the spirit we thank and praise the Lord, that he thus strengthens us by his grace; for it is still our mind and purpose, by his grace and mercy, always to adhere to the Lord, and to depart from him neither for life nor death. Praise and thanks to the Lord, who thus strengthens us by his grace, since we are weak and miserable. But through the help of the Lord we have been able to endure so far, and we trust through the same Helper to persevere unto the end; for in that he himself was tempted, he is able also to succor and deliver them that are tempted. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; so that we may boldly say with the apostle: “The Lord is my helper.” Phil. 4:13; Heb. 2:18; 13:5,6.

Now, dearly beloved brethren, if God is with us, who can be against us; for all men are but the works of his hands, and he has created everything, and has power to bring it to nought again at his pleasure; why then should we be afraid of mortal men? Rom. 8:31; Is. 51:12. Surely, we must much rather fear this God; for he alone it is that can save and condemn, and though we should escape the hands of men, we cannot escape him. Hence we will rather say with Susanna: “It is better to fall into the hands of men, than to sin in the sight of the Lord.” Sus. 23.

Therefore, dear friends, we trust by no means to forsake the Lord, but always to go on to the promised land, to possess it, which is full of all good things; to this end, may the Lord strengthen, confirm and fit us by his grace and mercy, and all them that fear and accept him.

I, Hendricks, have written you all, dear friends, a little about the state of our minds. Further, I would kindly entreat you, always to continue steadfast in the fear of the Lord; for they that fear the Lord will do good things, and those who love him will strive to do his pleasure, and humble themselves before him. If ye fear God, says the prophet, depart not from him, but enter into the eternal joy and gladness. They that fear God shall attain to a good end, and in the day of their death they shall be blessed. Therefore, dear friends, let us always fear the Lord with all our heart and mind; let us obey him and keep his word, for they are blessed 695 that hear the word of God, and keep it, and they are also those who love him, and keep his word, and he that loves him is known of him. But he that saith, I know him, and keepeth not God’s commandments, is a liar, and in him the love of God is not perfect. Luke 11:28; John 15:10; 1 John 2:4; 4:18. Therefore, my dear friends, let us love him, because he first loved us, even as Paul testifies that, though he was rich, yet he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich; yea, he who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God through him. 2 Cor. 8:9; 5:21. Hence, seeing we well know that the Lord has loved us thus, and so abundantly shed his grace upon us, let us all take good heed that his grace be not bestowed in vain upon us; for we are made partakers of him, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Hebrews 3:14.

Hence, dear friends, as ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught (says the apostle), well knowing that it is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. Col. 2:6,7; 1 Pet. 5:12. Therefore, always give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall, says Peter; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 1:10,11. Therefore let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, and let us always watch diligently, and wait for the Lord, even as good and faithful servants, that he do not come at an inopportune moment for us; but that we may always be prepared, as were the five wise virgins, who had trimmed their lamps, and went in to the marriage. But the five foolish virgins had to remain without. Matt. 25:4. Hence, dear friends, let us not be as were the foolish, but as the wise. Herewith we commend you to our dear Lord, and to the comforting word of his grace; may he strengthen and confirm you all, and us all, in all truth and righteousness. Amen.

Further, cordially beloved friend Goelken, and all other friends who read this, accept this in good part, which I have written in my weakness; for I do not think myself worthy to exhort you, since I am fully aware that you are well taught of God. But I have done this from love, because I heard that you desired to have something from us; hence receive this kindly.

Further, should you wish to know something about our imprisonment, as to whether it will not soon be at an end with us, we would inform you that we do not hear much about it. We had expected to offer up our sacrifice before Christmas, for we had heard said, it should be very soon; however, now we hear nothing of it, but by the grace of God we are constantly expecting it. Affectionately beloved friends in the Lord, pray for us, that we may continue steadfast unto the end, and offer up an acceptable sacrifice unto the Lord. We trust to do the same for you, according to our weakness. Furthermore, we send you three new hymns, as a cordial and friendly greeting. Though they are simple, receive them in good part, for it has been done from love. Farewell, till in eternity. Amen. Greet your husband very much, and Grietgen your sister, and Bet., and Cor. Versw., and Anna van L.; and Susanna also greets you all very much. We further greet all them that fear the Lord.

Written by me, Hendrick Maelschalck, imprisoned at Ghent for the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ; on the 26th of January, 1568.

Cordially, affectionately and much beloved friends, the Lord has truly said that he shall come as a thief in the night; for yesterday I had concluded and sealed the foregoing letter, thinking to send it to you; but it happened, that the next morning all four of us were examined, of which we knew little when we wrote the preceding conclusion. Hence I say that the Lord has truly said that he shall come as a thief in the night. 1 Thess. 5:2. Thus, all four of us were examined, one after another, in the presence of two commissaries. They asked us many simple questions, which it would be too tedious to relate. But they did not ask us concerning our faith, except whether we were not baptized or rebaptized. Jan van Paris said that he was baptized; Lauwerens said that he was not baptized according to the Scriptures; Pierken said that he was not baptized; and I said that we were not Anabaptists, and that I was not baptized. They asked Pierken, whether if he should be released, he should have himself baptized. He answered: “Yes, if I were fit for it.” They also asked him, whether he would renounce his opinion. He replied: “I do not consider it an opinion, but the true faith.” They then asked me whether I would not renounce my belief or opinion. I told them that I had renounced lies, and followed the truth. Hence, if I were to renounce, I should renounce the truth; but by the grace of the Lord I hoped to adhere to it. In this manner they continued to ask, so that it would be too tedious to write it. To Jan van Paris they said that we should soon be dispatched, and that we should be patient for nine or ten days yet; they also said that they should send us men who should instruct us, and if we desired to hear them, we might do so. Hence we expect to have priests here; but we trust to keep our eyes open, for we well know what they seek. Thus, dear friends, all of you, we are of good cheer, the Lord be praised and thanked forever; and by the grace of the Lord we trust to keep the faith, whether it be life or death. Thus, dear friends, we think our confinement will not last much longer; for it seems that we have been delivered over to the lords of the council, and that they have orders from the Duke of Alva to dispatch us, and that the Bailiff and the Judges have nothing more to do with us. Hence we take leave from you all, dear friends, and pray you always to be diligent. We hope to go before; may the Lord by his grace and mercy strengthen and fit us thereto. Amen. Written on the 27th of January, 1568. By me,

Henry Maelschalck.

“And fear not them which kill the body; but him which hath power to cast both soul and body into eternal darkness.” Matt. 10:28.

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