“O dear reader or hearer, if I may pray you, it is my heartfelt desire of you, that you would always consider (and regulate yourself accordingly,) that men shall give an account of every idle word they have spoken; how much more then of their deeds. And every one shall receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad; namely, before the righteous judgment of God, where anger, hatred, envy, yea, not loving in deed and in truth, speaking scornfully or spitefully to one’s brother, Raca, thou fool, or offending him, will be deemed and judged murder, worthy of the council, of judgment, and of hell fire. Matthew 5:22; 1 John 3. In like manner, disobedience will be regarded as witchcraft; to look upon a woman to lust after her, as adultery; and any other evil which is desired with the heart, and consented to with the will (though the power for, and the commission of it be wanting), will be judged and punished as an accomplished evil work. 1 Sam. 15:23; Matt. 5:28. Not to keep his word, will be considered lying and perjury, and a good oath, so called, will be as severely recompensed as a bad oath; for Christ has prohibited all swearing; Matt. 5, as also to hate one’s enemies, and not to love them like one’s friends; and many like things. Now mark how adultery was punished under the law by the judges; for those who committed adultery were stoned to death. Lev. 20:10. And it is daily seen, how witchcraft, homicide or murder are punished by the secular lords with fire or the sword unto death. Mark, how Adam, for one sin, likewise Cain, then the whole world, with the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the adjacent cities, with fire and brimstone, Egypt, and afterwards the idolaters in Israel and murmurers against Moses, were punished according to the justice of God, for our example. Of how much sorer punishment then are they worthy who murmur against Christ, change his truth into lies, and do not receive his grace and redemption by faith, unto the amendment of their life, but reject the same, living presumptuously in their sins. Heb. 10:29; Rom. 1:25. God who did not spare the angels who had sinned, will also not spare those who through unbelief are unrighteous and false Christians, but punish them with a sorer punishment than Sodom and Gomorrah, which were turned into ashes and condemned and overthrown for an example unto all them that commit ungodliness, and do not repent. 2 Pet. 2:4,6; Jude 6; Matt. 11:24; 2 Pet. 3.
“If then we are to be saved through God’s mercy, we must repent, must be obedient children of God, born again of him, and must follow Christ in the regeneration and the footsteps of faith, through the narrow way unto eternal life; nor are we then saved through the merit of good works, but by the grace which came through Christ. Eph. 2:5. For though we lived holy, blameless, and perfect in all righteousness (as the Scriptures require), and suffered for the truth a death more bitter than that of Christ which with us men is impossible, yet we could not be saved through our own good works, but only by God’s mercy, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone has wrought out our salvation. And if we sought or placed our salvation in our good works or our sufferings, we should commit idolatry, and we were our own idol, if we trusted in ourselves. But now our salvation depends only on the mercy of God, and not on our running and following after. Rom. 9:16. Though we should run and follow after ever so well (which is our bounden duty), so that we attained, and already had, the perfection (that for which we are apprehended of Christ), and had done all those things which are commanded us, and which it is our duty to do, we were yet only unprofitable servants. Philip. 3:12; Luke 17:10. How much more unprofitable then are we now, with our many defects, though we willingly strive after and should gladly perform that which is good, and are sorry that we are not perfect[298]. Hence we have great reason, and are in duty bound, to humble ourselves very low under the abundant grace of God, and to pray; for eternal life is a gift of God, and not a debt or reward proceeding from our labor, merit, or good works; for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God hath before prepared that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10), as is our duty to do, in the least as well as in the greatest. But the wages of sin is death; hence we must hate and fear sin, that we do not consent to or commit it, if we want to be saved by the grace and gift of God. Thus, we are delivered through Christ from the bonds of the devil, or sin; let therefore no one say or hope that he is saved by his good works, which are far too insufficient. That, also, no one say: “Should we not take thought, should we not gain a livelihood, else on what should we live? except to them who say that one is not to support himself by the labor of his hands, but to go idle.” Matt. 6:25; Luke 12:22; Eph. 4:28. And that, also, no one say: “No man knows the hour and the day of the Lord, except to those who have set the hour and the day, from doing which may the Lord keep me.” Mark 13:32; Matt. 24:42; Luke 12:40. Beware of frivolous babblers, for scorners will speedily come to an end. 1 Cor. 15:33. And if, when you speak your mind, or reprove with meekness that which does not meet your approbation, and one resist you in the good, be silent instantly, that you may retain your peace and the tranquillity of your conscience. If it vex you, do nevertheless not engage in contention, that you may be found in peace when the Lord comes. 2 Pet. 3:14. We must here at any rate suffer violence and wrong; but it will not last long; hence, let us possess our souls in patience. Luke 21:19.
“The fourteenth week of my imprisonment, the first day of January, so called, A. D. 1568. I trust that the present year will not pass like the former. Watch and pray, for you know neither the day nor hour; but the godfearing may consider whether this is the year in which the Lord will deliver his elect and believers; let every one take warning.”
JAN THIELEMANS AND JOB JANS, BURNT TO DEATH FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, IN THE HAGUE, IN HOLLAND, IN THE YEAR 1568.
Hands were now laid in the Hague, on the beloved friends of the Lord, so that they did not hesitate to deprive them of their lives with flaming fire.
This became apparent in the case of two very pious and godfearing men, one of whom was named Jan Thielemans, the other Job Jans. To both of them, at that place, because they faithfully adhered to the Lord their God, and could by no torture be moved from the steadfastness of their faith, their sentence of death was read in court, namely, that, in pursuance with the decrees of the Emperor, and the King of Spain (who called himself Count of Holland), they should be put to death with fire as heretics; which was executed on the 18th of December, A. D. 1568, on both of them, after they had committed their souls into the hands of God.
Further observation, concerning the death sentences of the aforementioned martyrs.
We have this year, 1659, on this occasion, through some of our friends in the Hague, requested by way of authenticated copy, the use of the proceedings of the court, from the criminal records of the year 1568, but especially of the death sentences of the aforementioned martyrs (as recorded by the papists), which, as appears, are still extant in the original; but as A. D. 1648 peace was made with Spain, with condition of forgiving each other all previous wrongs, and consequently, to mention them no more, the actuary was afraid to make out a copy of these particulars, as well as concerning others of our fellow believers that were put to death during the papistical reign, fearing it might tend to their reproach, and prove detrimental to the peace concluded.
This aim of the actuary was not bad, since it springs from carefulness in regard to a matter of great importance; but in the meantime these holy martyrs must suffer abridgment, since their matters, which otherwise necessarily (even out of the mouth of their adversaries, might be made known to every one), must thereby remain hid. This by way of notice.
The first letter which Jan Thielemans wrote in prison.