When he had been brought into the market place, near the stake and the fire, he lifted himself up, and being clothed with Christian glory, descended from the wagon, being of good courage in God, strong in faith, and persevering in the conflict. With folded hands, he bowed his knees to the earth, humbly casting his eyes up to heaven, thus preparing himself to worship his Lord and God, and to commend himself to him, even as behooves every Christian believer. Luke 23:46. But when those blood-thirsty men saw this, they could not tolerate or endure it (which they nevertheless permit criminals to do, who are put to death for their evil deeds); but very hurriedly and quickly pulling him up from the ground, they prevented him from calling to God upon his knees, and with great cruelty conducted him to the stake. To suffer all this, he went into the hut (constructed of straw and wood), humbly and meekly stepping to where they placed him at the stake, and made him fast by putting chains around his body, all of which he endured with great steadfastness for the word and truth of Christ. And as he thus stood in the hut, at the stake, they finally kindled the fire, thus burning alive and devouring this lamb, whose body, indeed, was burnt, but whose soul was received into paradise, into joy and blessed rest, because he confessed Christ, who has promised salvation to them that endure.
Thus did this young and pious Christian, aged about twenty-one years, end his life, and offer and deliver up his body for the word of God, in the year 1577, on Derthien-Avondt, and thus he became a witness among the witnesses of Jesus, a confessor among the confessors of Christ, a Christian conqueror among the soldiers of the Lord, a soul among the souls of Christ at rest under the altar, a faithful servant among the servants of Christ, whose reward is the crown of eternal, imperishable life.
Here follow some letters which Hans Bret wrote during his imprisonment.
THE FIRST LETTER OF HANS BRET, WRITTEN ON MONDAY AFTER WHITSUNTIDE, A. D. 1576, AT ANTWERP, IN PRISON, TO HIS DEAR AND BELOVED MOTHER.
Grace and peace from God our heavenly Father, through his only Son Christ Jesus, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost, for the increase of your faith, and to the salvation of your soul, this I wish you, my heartily beloved mother, from the very depth of my soul. Amen.
Most dearly beloved mother, let me please inform you, that I am well according to the flesh, thanks to the good God; but according to the spirit, I thank the Lord, and praise him for his unspeakable grace, that he gives me strength by his Holy Spirit, so that my mind is unchanged, the Lord be thanked. And I trust in the Lord that he will give me strength by his Holy Spirit, even as he through grace has hitherto done to this hour, to me poor man, for which the Lord be praised forever. For from him alone we expect our strength, to withstand these cruel wolves, so that they can have no power over our souls, for they are more cruel than wolves—they are not satisfied with our body, that they tear that; but they seek to devour and kill our souls, as I told three priests. Is. 40:29; Zeph. 3:3. However, according to the words of Christ, they cannot harm our souls; for when they have done all that they can (however not without the Lord’s permission), they can but kill our body, which I gladly suffer for the name of Christ, and have a desire to be delivered from this flesh, and to be in joy with Christ, who has prepared for us a dwelling not made with hands, but which is eternal in the heavens. Rom. 7:24; 2 Peter 1:14; Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:1. We now look not at the things which are seen, but hope in the things which are not seen—in the imperishable, to be crowned with the crown of eternal life, yea, to be clothed in fine, white linen, and to rest with the souls that are under the altar, that were slain for the word of God, until the number of our brethren is fulfilled, who shall also be killed, according to the testimony of John in his Revelation. 2 Esdras 2:43; Rev. 19:8; 6:9,11.
Therefore I long, dear mother, from one Saturday to another, to offer up my sacrifice. I had so fondly hoped, that I should this day offer up my sacrifice, but it has not pleased the Lord; hence I hope to offer up my sacrifice next Saturday, if it please the Lord, and to have with the Lord that joy and gladness which ear has never heard, and of which the heart of man cannot conceive, yea, which is prepared for the righteous, who were not ashamed to confess the name of the Lord before this adulterous generation, as long as they had breath to speak, in their bodies, yea, until they were deprived of speech. 1 Pet. 1:8; 1 Cor. 2:9; Mark 8:38. Therefore, my dearest mother, rejoice, and thank the Lord, that he counts me, your son, an unworthy man, worthy to suffer for his name, and to offer up my body to him, to the praise of his holy name. Acts 5:41; Rom. 12:1.
For, my dear mother, there happens to me nothing but what has happened to all God’s righteous ones, from the beginning of the world until this present day. If they killed Christ, the Author of faith, in whom was no sin, what shall they do to the servants? for the disciple is not above his master, says Christ. Hence console yourself, my dear mother, and rejoice therein; for they can do no more to me, than the Lord permits them. For the Lord says: That the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his will; but of how much greater value are we than the sparrows. Matt. 10:29–31. Yea, he says that we are not to fear them that kill the body, for they have no power over the soul. Hence be resigned, and pray the Lord for me and my fellow prisoners.
My mother, I would write you more for your consolation, but I hope that you are better comforted of the Lord, than I should be able to comfort you with my writing; and I also forbear so that you may learn something about how it goes with our imprisonment, for otherwise my paper would not suffice. For I presume that you greatly desire to hear it, even as I desire to hear from you, as to how you are. I hope that you, as also all of you, are well, both according to body and soul, for which I pray the Lord, and remember all of you in my prayer to the Lord. Remember also, in your prayers, us poor prisoners according to the flesh, but rich according to the spirit, as I also hope to remember you, for James says that the prayer of the righteous avails much (James 5:16); that we may finish our conflict with joy, for we have to strive not only against flesh and blood, or the priests of Jezebel, but against invisible spirits, namely the enemy, who always seeks to hinder and quench that which is good, with deception and lies; yea, I fear that you will hear, or have already heard, through the great falsehoods which the enemy of the truth is spreading, that I wanted to listen to the priests. Yes, they do not hesitate to tell great falsehoods here in this prison, for they went twice in one day to N., and told her that I wanted to listen to the priests; yea, the great priest, the Dean, was not ashamed to speak abominable falsehoods to N., in order to rob her, by deception and lies, of her salvation, with these words: “Your servant wants to hearken to us, and to repent;” and other like words which Satan (who was a liar from the beginning) knows how to use; so that she has to endure no small conflict, from the priests, as well as from her brother, who causes her great conflict. As regards N., her friends exert themselves very greatly to procure her release; but in what manner, I do not know. I have exhorted her that she should take heed, which to rehearse here would be too long. She has told me, that her mind is unchanged, and that she does not want to be ashamed of the truth.
Touching N., I know so far nothing but good, and that her mind is all right, the Lord be thanked; for she longs with me only for the day of our deliverance from this flesh, and to offer up our sacrifice. For yesterday evening, which was Whitsuntide-evening, about eleven o’clock I spoke with N.; then she was somewhat grieved, because she had said to the priests, that she would listen to them in whatever agreed with the word of God; because she thought that the priests had thereby gotten some occasion to say of her that she wanted to hearken to them. Hence I comforted her about this, and told her that I myself should say it, and that there was nothing evil in it, since their abominable idolatry is contrary to the word of God, and can never agree with it, for there is a great difference between darkness and light. Is. 5:20; 2 Corinthians 6:14. And as regards myself, I thank the good God, who beholds me, unworthy man, with his eyes of mercy, and gives me strength by his Holy Spirit, to confess his word and truth before this adulterous generation; yea, who counts me, poor miserable man, worthy that I am to offer up my body to him, to the praise of his holy name. Phil. 2:17. O my mother, thank and praise, with me, the good God, who looks upon me, unworthy man, with his eyes of mercy, through his Son Christ Jesus; who shows me so many benefits. How shall I be able sufficiently to praise and glorify him for the unspeakable grace and mercy that he is showing to meward, here in this lions’ den. Thank now the Lord with me for his goodness which he shows us through his Son Christ Jesus, for which praise be to him now and forever. Amen.