One of the Judges then said to me: “Have you also stolen?” I asked him twice or three times: “Did you ever hear that I did?” but he made no reply. They then began to speak very suavely to me, and said: “If you will renounce all that you have said here, we shall tear this paper in pieces, and show you mercy.” And the Margrave said: “You certainly know, how your sister fared on this account, whom I caused to be thrown into the Scheldt.” But I replied that she had died for the truth; and as regards myself: “I do not want to deny my Lord and God, who created and made me; I will rather let you do with me whatever you please.” Then the Margrave said: “Do you think we cannot also read? we, too, daily read the Scriptures; but these cobblers and tailors want to be wiser than we are. I am very glad that you have fallen into my hands; for, doubtless God the Lord sent you into that house, that I might punish you, so that others should take an example from you.” And he applied many ugly epithets to me, and said: “You have often eaten and drank in my house; I am sorry I did not tie up your throat.” And he asked me: “If you were not a prisoner, would you have yourself rebaptized?” I said: “If you will release me to-morrow, I will use diligence to have myself baptized; for this behooves believers.”
He then asked me: Will you confess nothing else?” and interrogated me concerning princes and lords, and the Pope of Rome. I said: “I hold God Almighty to be my Supreme Creator, and my King.” Then the Margrave said: “I have at home a little book, covered with chamois.” I said: “My lord, that book belonged to me, and if you will read it, you will therein find what our faith is.” He replied: “They were first published by the Pope of Rome.” I said: “I do not regard them thus; but it is the Testament, left us by God for a memorial.” He was enraged at me, and said: “I wish I had never seen you;” and irefully said: “Begone; for I and these lords, the judges, came to instruct you; but we shall send you other learned men.” I thanked him much for the trouble they had taken.
My dear friends, I did not fear them, no matter however they threatened me. Luke and Matthew say: Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; but he that loseth it for my name’s sake shall find it. Luke 17:33; Matt. 10:39. They thought they were afflicting me greatly; but I was not afraid of them at all. I hope soon to be released from this flesh. My dear friends, do not fear them that kill the body, but fear him who created and made you, and has power to cast you into the eternal fire of hell. Luke 12:5.
Herewith I commend you to the Lord; and may the mighty hand of God guide and keep you, my dear brethren and sisters in the Lord. They also asked me, whether I should be saved, because I had not received baptism. I replied: “Yes, for I trust that the Lord will have respect to my willingness, since he had respect to Abraham’s willingness.” Gen. 22:12. Brethren and sisters, pray for me, that with the help of God I may remain steadfast unto the end. I trust that you regard me as your brother, though I have not attained to perfection.[284]
Written by me, Lauwerens van der Leyen, July the 10th, 1559, at Antwerp.
A BRIEF CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND PART OF THE DISPUTATION WHICH I, LAUWERENS VAN DER LEYEN, HAD ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1559, WITH THE LORDS OF THE LAW, AT ANTWERP, AND THE DEAN OF RONSE.
(To relate it all would require too much time.)
A confession of faith, and a confession of the eternal God, who is from everlasting, and who will abide forever, without beginning and without end, who is and was; this same only One is an eternal God; and there is no other; him I confess to be an eternal God, namely, an eternal Father, and I also confess his only Son to be one with his eternal Holy Spirit. Thus he is a perfect God, and besides him there is no other, namely, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 1 John 5. According to my belief and the testimony of the holy Scriptures they are one. Amen. The almighty, eternal God, with his eternal, almighty Son, who is also the Word of the Father; to this great, incomprehensible, unblamable, and invisible God, who by his eternal Word made the world, and without him was not anything made that was made, that is in heaven and upon earth, the invisible became visible; to this eternal Son, who also is the Word of the Father, be praise forever and ever. Amen. John 1:1,2; Colossians 1:10.
Of him we want to speak, of this eternal Son, who was with his Father, and was with him in essence or in divine form, through whom and with whom he operated from everlasting; for by him the world was made, and all that is in it, and without him there is not anything made; to this eternal Son, who is one with his eternal Father, who is from the beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14), without beginning and without end, to him be praise and glory forever and ever. Amen.
For when God made man, he created him after his image, and made him ruler over all things, and gave him a commandment, which he was not to transgress. But as man was frail, and the devil subtle and cunning, and deceived man by fair pretenses, the devil induced him to transgress the faith; and man thus transgressing, sin was brought into the world; and he was ashamed and hid himself from the face of God, and thus the curse came upon the whole world; so that God said: Cursed is the ground for thy sake. And thus man remained under the curse; so that no one could make atonement for sin, since it was impossible for man, because he was weak through the flesh, was compassed with infirmities, by sin or weakness, according to the holy Scriptures. Hence sin could not be taken away or atoned for by man, because all were subject unto sin. Now as it was not possible that reconciliation for sin could be made by man, God promised his eternal Son, even as he often spoke to the people through the prophets, that he should raise up Jesus, the Savior, whom he had promised through many generations, as we find written in Matthew 1. These promises were fulfilled from Abraham to Jesse, the father of David; from David to Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, the pure virgin, whom God honored, and who also waited for the promise that the Savior should be raised up, and was not unbelieving when the angel said to her: Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. Luke 1:31,32. Here we have the assurance that the promises are fulfilled which he had promised from generation to generation, Matt. 1, which are now fulfilled in that generation; hence there is fulfilled the word, Acts 13:22. I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this generation was born the Savior Jesus, the Son of the most High God, though he existed before; but he was manifested in the latter days, to redeem us, and to gather those that were scattered, of whom Paul says that he gave many precious promises in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit. Romans 1:2,4.