Page:Complete Works of Menno Simons.djvu/412

112 together become unprofitable," "and the way of peace have they not known," Rom. 3: 12, 17, and, that their sins have reached unto heaven, Rev. 18: 5. O, dear Lord, how long will this dreadfully great blindness, blasphemy, deceit, abomination, blood-thirstiness, and recklessness continue!

Noble lords, reform; do works meet for repentance, such as can stand before the Lord; humble yourselves with the king of Nineveh; take off the ungodly, tainted coat of sin; repent in sackcloth and ashes; cry out unto the Lord with a broken heart: rend your hearts and not your garments, as the prophet says; let the pious Josiah be your pattern, who turned himself unto the Lord, with all his heart, and soul and strength, as soon as the law of God was read to him, from the book which was again found, John 3: 7; 2 Kings 22: 11.

Dear lords, seek, fear, and serve God with all your strength; do justice unto the widows, orphans, strangers, and all the forsaken; cleanse your hands of blood, rule your countries in wisdom and peace, and let all your thoughts, words, and actions be conformed to the crucified Christ Jesus; follow his footsteps; for "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool;" "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way, and live," Isaiah 1: 18; Ezek. 33: 11; 18: 32.

Inasmuch as those who boast themselves the church, are so estranged from Christ, that they are no more than nominal Christians; and, inasmuch as the salt, which is the preachers, has wholly lost its savor, that it does more injury than good, for they flatter more than they reprove, if they can make some earthly gain thereby, and do not seek the praise of the Lord; by which they all, both preacher and hearer, are led upon the broad road which leads to destruction, and since there are, alas, none to stop them in their career, as the prophet complains, and, since we, God knows, would gladly see all men awaken, fear the Lord, sincerely repent and be saved, that thus the fallen city, which is the church, may again be built upon her old foundation, that is, upon the firm foundation of the apostles, and upon the pure doctrine of Christ Jesus, and that such repentance may be verified unto the world by a pious, penitent, Christian life, according to the Scriptures; behold, therefore we are so hated of the learned, that by their slanderous crying and clamoring, we are often robbed of our possessions, and our bodies given to the executioner. Some of us, through necessity, are forced to seek refuge in foreign lands, on account of their persecution, as has been said. Therefore we, poor, miserable outcasts, pray your Honors and Excellencies the third time, earnestly to reflect upon this matter, for Christ's sake, and faithfully compare the doings of the preachers and the tenor of the following writing addressed to them, and the matters and things therein set forth, that our apology may be rightly understood, and the truth explained according to the word of the Lord; and that the guilty may no longer be protected in their unrighteousness. Yea, beloved lords, if this was impartially done, in the fear of God, you would soon find, by the grace of God, in great clearness, with whom the truth or falsehood is; and that the doctrine, sacraments, and life of the preachers are not in accordance with the Scriptures, but that they are deceitful and contrary to the word of God.

O, beloved, noble lords, we beseech you not to despise our reasonable and Christian prayer, but to consider it in love; for it concerns the praise of the Almighty God, his eternal word, and truth, and the eternal salvation of all our souls, which are so much desired and so dearly purchased with his precious blood. O, consider the difference, to live eternally with Christ Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, or eternally to die with all the devils in the abyss of hell.

Dear lords, we are in great anxiety and tribulation, and are terrified in two ways. For, if we follow the truth, which we ever intend to do in our weakness, by the grace of God, then we are made a prey to all the world. If we deviate, and again enter into the broad way, from which the merciful Father save us, then we fall into the hands of God and must bear his eternal punishment. The salvation of our souls is worth