Martyrs Mirror 7TO THE YOUNG, THE MIDDLE AGED, AND THE OLD

Besides, persons of every age may enter this school of practice in virtue; the young, the middleaged and the old, all shall be led to true godliness by the living examples of those who went before them.

The young people who live after their lusts, and have not come to the light, will see here, that many of their equals, yea, who were only fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty years old, or even younger, had at that age already forsaken the vanities of the world and the lusts of youth; nay, some so early that they had not yet come to know them, much less to practice, them; but that, on the contrary, so soon as they reached their understanding, they remembered their Creator and Saviour, bowed their youthful members under His yoke, accepted His commandments, obeyed Him with all their heart, and surrendered themselves willingly to Him, so that they, for His sake, did not spare their lives unto death. Eccles. 12:1 ; Prov. 23:26 .

The middle aged, who, like the firmly rooted oaks of Bashan, are so deeply engrossed in, and joined to, earthly affairs and household cares, that it is next to an impossibility to detach them there

* As we cannot look at heaven and earth at the same time, nor stand at once upon the mountain and in the valley, even so it is impossible to serve God and the world at the same time. Our Saviour says: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matt. 22:37 . Concerning this it should be observed that if we must love God with all our heart, then no love for the world or sinful flesh may remain.

from because of their inseparable desire for the goods of this world; will see here people in the flower and prime of life, who might have gained much, but sought it not, because they would not miss the heavenly gain. These had a contented heart; they were clothed with coats of skins, only against cold and nakedness; they lived in buts or plain cottages, to be sheltered from rain, wind, hail and snow; they ate bread to satisfy their hunger, and drank water to quench their thirst; more they had not. *

There they shall see that these contented people surrendered to God the strength of their bodies, their station in life, and whatever they had; so that they, having become members of His church, esteemed it greater riches to suffer with the same the reproach of Christ, nay death itself, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

The aged, who have neglected their youth and middle life, and are now come to the eleventh hour, ** and yet are still not working in the Lord's vineyard, may here behold persons whose hoary head is a crown of glory, since they are found in the way of righteousness; who devoted their feeble powers, the short span of their life, yea their last breath, to the service and praise of their God and Saviour, watching and waiting for the hour of their departure and the day of their redemption, that

* Surely no man in the world can derive advantage from the abundance of his temporal possessions over and above the necessaries of life. Why then, the manifold anxieties and cares to provide for the future in regard to the things which concern the body; since nature is so soon separated by death from all this? "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." Matt. 6:33 . "Casting all your care upon him," (the Lord) etc. I Pet. 5:9 .

** Though it is not advisable in temporal things to put off doing the day's labor until evening, yet it is better late than never. This holds good also in spiritual things.

they might become an acceptable offering to the Lord. They longed for the clock to strike twelve, so as to be admitted by the Lord and be seated at His glad feast.

When two of our last martyrs, Jan Claess of Alckmaer, and Lucas Lamberts of Beveren, an old man of eighty seven years, received their sentence of death, at Amsterdam, Holland, in the forenoon of a certain day in the year 1544, Jan Claess said to the old man, Lucas Lamberts: "My dear brother, fear now neither fire nor sword. O what a glad feast shall be prepared for us, before the clock strikes twelve." See II Book, year 1544.

All this and infinitely more the worldly minded, ignorant and unbelieving are taught here. O that each of them would consider this well!

Men are more easily converted by good examples than by good teachings, because examples are more impressive; yet here you have both.

Let every one come hither, therefore; and no one remain behind; all have need to be taught in the way of salvation; no one would choose to be unsaved. Here you shall see the patience, the faith, and the constancy of the saints. Have compassion upon your own souls, whom the Lord loves so dearly, seeking to lead them to heaven; yea for whom the Son of God has shed His precious blood, thus purchasing them with so great a price. We would commend this matter most urgently to you as well as to ourselves. O Lord, help! Lord, let it prosper!

But it is now time that we turn our attention to giving instructions concerning the proper understanding and use of this work.

TH. J. VAN BRAGHT Dort, July the 27th, 1659.