Just over a month before his martyrdom in May 1567, Guido de Bres, the author of the Belgic Confession, wrote from prison to his wife:
How do you prepare for persecution ahead of time and find strength in the midst of it? By meditating on eternity.
Godly men and women, suffering for their faith, do not ultimately hope in release from an earthly prison. The wife of de Bres, and many martyr’s wives of the past oriented their hope around heaven, trusting the truth of God’s word that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18)
When an assembly of judges accused John Bunyan of preaching heresy, Elizabeth courageously declared: “’My lord, when the righteous Judge shall appear, it will be known that his doctrine is not the doctrine of the devil.’” This same confidence in eternal vindication has characterized many godly women of the past. It must also characterize us today.
One of the most poignant stories of a martyr’s wife is that of Isabel, the wife of Scottish covenanter John Brown (1627-1685). On her wedding day, a fellow minister warned Isabel of her new husband’s likely violent death, and he “advised her to keep linen with which to make winding sheets, or grave clothes.”
Three years into their marriage, John Brown was indeed shot in front of his wife and children because he refused to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the king. The commanding officer stood over Isabel as she cradled the body of her husband and asked her what she thought of her husband now. Isabel’s reply shows her sure and certain hope: “I ay thocht muckle [always thought much] o’ him, but now more than ever.”
Will persecution come to the American church and its gospel ministers? I don’t know. But if it does come, I will pray the words of Isabel Brown, when the soldiers arrived at her house: “’The thing I feared has come upon me. O give me grace for this hour.’”
I have every confidence that He will.
_______________
Posts in the persecution series:
3 Reasons to Think about Persecution
Seek Peace. Expect Trouble. Make New Friends.
Before We Call Suffering "Persecution"
Knowing Whom We Have Believed
Husband Arrested? Pack Him a Lunch
Also:
How to Be a Martyr's Wife
Brendenhof, W.L. “A Reformation Martyr Comforts His Wife from Prison.” The Aquila Report: 16 November 2009. Accessed 21 July 2014.
Deal, William. John Bunyan The Tinker of Bedford. Christian Liberty Press, 2007. Print.
“And I pray you, my dear and faithful companion, to join me in thanking God for what he has done. For he does nothing that is not just and very equitable, and you should believe that it is for my good and for my peace. You have seen and felt my labours, cross, persecutions, and afflictions which I have endured, and have even had a part in them when you accompanied me in my travels during the time of my exile. Now my God has extended his hand to receive me into his blessed kingdom. I shall see it before you and when it shall please the Lord, you will follow me. This separation is not for all time. The Lord will receive you also to join us together again in our head, Jesus Christ.
This is not the place of our habitation – that is in heaven. This is only the place of our journey. That is why we long for our true country, which is heaven. We desire to be received in the home of our Heavenly Father, to see our Brother, Head, and Saviour Jesus Christ, to see the noble company of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and many thousands of martyrs, into whose company I hope to be received when I have finished the course of my work which I received from my Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray you, my dearly beloved, to console yourself with meditation on these things. Consider the honour that God has done you, in giving you a husband who was not only a minister of the Son of God, but so esteemed of God that he allowed him to have the crown of martyrs. It is an honour the like of which God has never even given to the angels.”
How do you prepare for persecution ahead of time and find strength in the midst of it? By meditating on eternity.
Godly men and women, suffering for their faith, do not ultimately hope in release from an earthly prison. The wife of de Bres, and many martyr’s wives of the past oriented their hope around heaven, trusting the truth of God’s word that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18)
When an assembly of judges accused John Bunyan of preaching heresy, Elizabeth courageously declared: “’My lord, when the righteous Judge shall appear, it will be known that his doctrine is not the doctrine of the devil.’” This same confidence in eternal vindication has characterized many godly women of the past. It must also characterize us today.
One of the most poignant stories of a martyr’s wife is that of Isabel, the wife of Scottish covenanter John Brown (1627-1685). On her wedding day, a fellow minister warned Isabel of her new husband’s likely violent death, and he “advised her to keep linen with which to make winding sheets, or grave clothes.”
Three years into their marriage, John Brown was indeed shot in front of his wife and children because he refused to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the king. The commanding officer stood over Isabel as she cradled the body of her husband and asked her what she thought of her husband now. Isabel’s reply shows her sure and certain hope: “I ay thocht muckle [always thought much] o’ him, but now more than ever.”
Will persecution come to the American church and its gospel ministers? I don’t know. But if it does come, I will pray the words of Isabel Brown, when the soldiers arrived at her house: “’The thing I feared has come upon me. O give me grace for this hour.’”
I have every confidence that He will.
_______________
Posts in the persecution series:
3 Reasons to Think about Persecution
Seek Peace. Expect Trouble. Make New Friends.
Before We Call Suffering "Persecution"
Knowing Whom We Have Believed
Husband Arrested? Pack Him a Lunch
Also:
How to Be a Martyr's Wife
Brendenhof, W.L. “A Reformation Martyr Comforts His Wife from Prison.” The Aquila Report: 16 November 2009. Accessed 21 July 2014.
Deal, William. John Bunyan The Tinker of Bedford. Christian Liberty Press, 2007. Print.
Love, Dane. Scottish Covenanter Stories: Tales from the
Killing Times. Neil Wilson Publishing, 2011. Print.
Thank you for these sober words. Persecution or not, the Christian life can really only be lived successfully in light of a firm belief in the glory to come. Thinking about persecution is a good reminder of this truth.
ReplyDeleteYes! "Looking unto Jesus" (Heb. 12:2)
DeleteThanks for this piece Megan. I'm preaching through Ephesians and this Sunday we're talking about the helmet of salvation. This article furnishes 2 exquisite examples of God's people putting on the helmet of the hope of glorification! God bless!!
ReplyDeleteWow - the grace God gives us exactly when we need it! Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author AND PERFECTOR of our faith ... Amen
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled upon your blog and very happy to have done so - I too am a pastor's wife ;-)
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing these stories from church history!
ReplyDelete