Further, after this my proper and Christian salutation, know, my affectionately beloved wife, that I, according to the words of Sirach, add day to day through much tribulation, as one that lodges in the field, and receives many a storm, hail and rain on his body. But God, who kills and makes alive, will, I hope, preserve me, that I shall with Eleazar prefer an honorable death to an ignominious life.
Furthermore, my dearly beloved, whom I took by the hand with tears of joy, I hope and trust that you are also well in soul and body, ready with Susanna rather to fall into the hands of men, than to sin in the sight of the living God, who, with his eyes, which are like a flame of fire, penetrates all things. Sus. 23; Rev. 1:14. The almighty Lord of lords, who, according to Paul’s writing, is rich in goodness, and abounds with grace and mercy, look upon you and us all with his gracious eyes, and deliver us from this misery; for I, like you, am at this time in great distress, besieged as those of Bethulia (Judith 7); my enemies have turned away the water with which I was formerly wont to refresh my heart, and they have compassed about the fountains where I was accustomed to quench my thirst. But the almighty King is the true fountain, who, as Jeremiah says, with his learned tongue comforts the weary soul, and, according to the words of the prophet, in time of need gives bread, and in thirst water; him, I hope, they shall not intrench or compass about; for he regards neither grated windows nor bolts, neither locks nor doors; and he, I hope, will visit us before long, for he knows that we are most sorely smitten and wounded by Babylon’s watchmen, in a dry and dark land, far and deep in Babylonia, where neither his word nor his beautiful songs of praise are heard. Jer. 31:25; Is. 30:20; Cant. 5:7; Ps. 137:1.
Hence I hope that he will exercise mercy above justice over us, since he sees our tribulation, and knows that I, for my part, am not able to bear it, because my weakness is so great; for among all that fear God there is no one so imperfect as I am. For my miserable weakness is so manifold, that I often bewail it with tears, and I am so despondent that it seems to me that my heart is convulsed, because the Lord does not take away my reproach. Hence I may well say with David: “O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; for my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no strength: free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves (Ps. 88:1–7); for all my persecutors hold counsel against me, utterly to starve my hungry soul, and to deprive my thirsty soul of drink. Hence I may well say with the prophet: My enemies wait for my soul, and they render me evil for good, to bring me into sorrow. Ps. 56:6.
Hence, O my love, my dearest love, I cannot forbear to utter my complaint before you, to ease my sorrowful heart, which is often so disconsolate, yea, so disconsolate, that I might well say with David, in my despondency: O Lord, I am cut off from before thine eyes (Ps. 31:22); yet I trust that he will before long hear the voice of my supplication. Hence I pray you, my dear lamb, let not your ears become weary of hearing my sorrowful complaint, nor let your eyes tire of beholding my afflicted countenance. I hope that the Lord will so order it, that it will not last much longer; hence bear patiently with me for a little while yet, even as you have always done towards me. For when it did not go well with us according to the flesh, you always showed more patience than I, for which I heartily thank you. For your hands were more diligent than mine to maintain the household; and you walked more piously by your faith before God, than I; and your patience is greater even until this present day, than mine. Hence I have good reason to love you more than Paul loved the church at Ephesus, which he yet for three years warned night and day, with anxiety, with watching, and with tears. Acts 20:19,31. O my lamb, my love, my dearest love, I have now, God be praised, also had you for about three years, and have in these our bonds of tribulation had great anxiety day and night for you, and have sighed so many a sigh, and wept so many a tear, which I would not have wept, had I been able to speak to you. But now, my affectionately beloved wife, since God has so ordered it, that I must leave you, and, as it seems, go before, I say thus: Though I am not worthy to exhort you, I yet exhort you in this letter with tears, and beseech you, always to have the Lord before your eyes, and to cleave to him with prayer and fasting. For I know that if God takes me out of the flesh before you, that you will after my departure be severely assailed; and therefore I beseech you, O my only lamb, for the Lord’s sake, that you will watch circumspectly, as did the good and wise virgins, who expected their bridegroom every hour. And I pray you, O my love, my dearest love, if I have found grace before your eyes, remember me, even as the pious, godfearing Judith remembered her husband. Jud. 16:22. O Beliken, Beliken, my dearly beloved, the three years which we have lived together do not seem to me to be three days; hence when I think of the parting, my heart is troubled. Yet I would, if it must be, that the Lord would come speedily. For I have, the Lord knows, so many sore vexations, so that I may well utter my complaint with David, and say: “O Lord, my chastisement is ready every morning” (Ps. 73:14); for he that seeks my soul, as a bird without cause, neither sleeps nor slumbers day nor night, evening nor morning; but I expect with Paul, that God, before long, will deliver me and us all out of the mouth of the lion. 2 Tim. 4:17. Further, my affectionately beloved wife, Beliken van der Straten, whom I love from the heart, let me, please tell your love, that I do not know much more to write at this time, but I commend you to almighty God, and to his comforting word. Moreover, I take leave from you, even as bound Israel, who gave their children the last milk; however, God who made the heavenly hosts, is well able to turn the elephants back again. 3 Macc. 180. His will be done, and not ours. Nothing more. The Lord be with you. Greet them that are with you, from me. Adrian also greets you much.
Written by me, your dear husband and brother in the Lord.
Maerten van der Straten.
THE SECOND LETTER FROM MAERTEN VAN DER STRATEN TO HIS WIFE.
I Maerten van der Straten, your dearly beloved husband and brother in the Lord, wish you my affectionately beloved wife and sister in the Lord, Beliken van der Straten, much grace and mercy from God our heavenly Father; and may the love of his Son always be multiplied to you, and the power of the Holy Ghost dwell in you richly, that you may thereby lead a chaste conversation among the heathen, and be a light for them that sit in darkness, so that you, according to Isaiah’s writing, may see the King in his beauty (Is. 33:17) and be numbered among the royal host that have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ, who bore our reproach, healed our wounds, and restored for us that which he had not taken away, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God his father; to whom be honor, power, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen. Ps. 69:4; Gal. 1:4.
Cordially written to you, my chosen, dearest love Beliken van der Straten, whom I love from the heart, yea, more than my own life, for you are flesh of my flesh. In short, you are mine and I am yours. Hence I thank the Lord without ceasing, that he has given me you; for I would not have thought that God would have given me such a faithful help-mate, with whom I have found so much love and patience; but God has in every way shown me more mercy than I am worthy, and I hope he will do so yet, when I shall need it most, for he is a gracious God, who, according to Paul’s writing, is rich in goodness, and abounds in mercy. Eph. 2:4.
Further, my dearly beloved, after this my brotherly salutation, let me, please, inform your love, that my mind, God be praised, is fixed by his help, to live and die in the truth. However, my love, I trust that through the grace of the Lord you are also thus minded, by his help to fear his name all the days of your life. The Lord of lords, and God of gods, grant you and us all his grace to this end.