I wish unto my flesh and blood, strength of spirit and a steadfast mind in all her tribulation and severe distress. Amen.
My dear and beloved wife, whom I wedded before God and his church, as the time of my departure is now at hand, may you people know that my heart and mind are concerned about you, being indeed desirous of writing you something, but having so ill an opportunity for it, because it stands thus with us that we are now watched and guarded by eight or ten servants, so that I feel little strength of spirit in me, to write anything to you, love, as it comes upon us so unexpectedly, since we had not heard a word. Willeboort, my faithful comrade, had partly undressed already, when our host and hostess came upstairs, saying: “Mr. Jelis and Willeboort, come down.” When we came down, we saw the stadtholder, and the bailiff also came and upbraided us with this, whereupon I had a few words with him. In short, my dearly beloved chosen flesh and blood, I shall now go the way of all the prophets and witnesses of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, in which I greatly rejoice and am of good cheer at the present time; yea, I find such joy and comfort in me, that I cannot well describe it to you, and I do not as yet experience the least fear; but am concerned most about you, because of the excessive grief which oppresses you, but I trust to my and your God, that with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape, through the consolation of the Holy Spirit, whereby he will comfort you. 1 Cor. 10:13.
O my flesh, my blood, I beseech you by the bleeding wounds of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, be patient in your tribulation, that you be not found as one who would fight against God, but rather say with Mary: Behold, Lord, be it unto me according to thy will. Luke 1:38, For at the very hour of meeting, the hour of separating was known to the Lord, and he in his fatherly mercy has foreseen and chosen you, also to suffer tribulation and pain now for his name’s sake. And though, my chosen lamb, I now experience greater joy, because my pilgrimage has come to a close; yet I beseech you, be of good cheer in the Lord, and receive it in patience and sorrow. Humble your heart, and endure it. Sir. 2:2. O I know that your grief is very great. O if it were God’s will, and I might die for you, yea though I were to taste a two-fold death for you, I should not shrink from it, since it does not come hard to me. O then I should certainly have the assurance that you should not be deceived by strange lovers (Jer. 2:25), nor by the noon-day devil, nor by your own flesh; however, I trust nevertheless from the bottom of my heart, that you will follow the footsteps of my faith, that is, to adhere to the truth unto the end. O, the reason of my writing and my last and great request is, that you adhere to what God, out of great grace has given you. O do not yield nor waver on account of your great grief, or because of any conflict that may arise, not known to you as yet; but in all your concerns pray with confidence to God the merciful dear Father; he will not forsake you, I am sure of it. Eph. 6:18. And though, my dear chosen lamb, we shall now be separated for a little while, we shall meet each other again hereafter in the resurrection of the dead, and shall forever be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:17. O then our small sorrow shall be changed into eternal, unspeakable joy, and all tears shall be wiped away from our eyes, and we shall hear the words: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.” Is. 25:8; Rev. 7:17; Matt. 25:34. O my dear lamb, comfort yourself with these promises, and with the words of the Gospel, where Christ himself says: Blessed are they that weep now; for they shall be comforted. But woe unto them that laugh now, for they shall weep. For the time shall come when they shall cry out: O ye mountains and hills, fall on us, and cover us from the face of the Lord. Matt. 4:5; Luke 6:25; Hos. 10:7.