Page:Complete Works of Menno Simons.djvu/707

407 AN EPISTLE TO MARTIN MICRON. 407 whereby you will, perhaps, deprive him or his poor children of their whole welfare, nay, of thousands, if the Lord in his provi- dence does not prevent it. The Spirit of the Lord does not enjoin you thus to act toward the innocent. Dear Micron, if you would have had a single drop of pious blood in your veins you would have had mercy on the poor, in- nocent, unworthy servant; whom you thus, alas, repay before the whole world, for his faithful services of love willingly shown you and yours with sincere, christian intentions. In the same manner you have acted to- ward the others who furnished you with a dwelling place, victuals and drink, who so- licitously led yours into the city, furnished them situations, and showed them all man- ner of kindness, in pure love. Let the chris- tian reflect and judge according to the Lord's Spirit and word, whether this is the work of unadulterated, christian love, which wishes harm to none, much less does it. Besides, you have also, nearly pointed out my place of abode which I had enjoy fed until that time (of which Herman, also, had to deprive a poor child), while you are well aware that every where they try inno- cently to take my life, out of mere hatred of the truth. By which doings you surely can not teach unto righteousness, nor in- struct the ignorant. And the work in itself does not prove to be the reasonableness and love of a regenerated christian, but it rather shows an unmerciful, cruel, envious, hateful, ravenous, blood-thirsty heart, and the bitter mind of an informer, as all the reading world must judge and say. Whether you have done this by the mer- ciful, compassionate, faithful, unadulter- ated and pure Spirit of Christ, as a pious, virtuous man, or by the unmerciful, tyran- nical, faithless, false and unclean spirit of anti-christ, as an ungodly and shameless spy, to cause me, an old, afflicted man, some trouble, I will leave to the considera- tion of your own soul, as before God who tries the hearts and reins, in Christ Jesus. Observe and see if you are not one of those, who say in their hearts. It is hard for us to see him; for his life does not con- form to ours. Dear Micron, reflect and see if it is not the triTth I write. Seventhly, it is also manifest that you encourage and strengthen the rulers in their impenitent lives, not a little, by your writ- ing, who are, as a general thing, quite ob- durate, proud, ambitious, puffed up, self- conceited, pompous, selfish, earthly, car- nal, and in part, blood-thirsty. And, that you may the more gain their favor and praise, I, miserable man, must be your blind and imprisoned Samson whom you make to play and dance before the princes of the Philistine, as a mockery and deri- sion, although I never, in my life, spoke an indiscreet word against the rulers, or against their office and service. I have, from the beginning of my minis- tration, fraternally warned them in my wi'itings in faithful, unadulterated truth, from my soul, against the corruption of their souls; admonished them to a godly, penitent, christian life; pointed them with the Scriptures to the unblamable Spirit, word, commandments, prohibitions, ordi- nances and example of Christ; and, when you proposed yoiir Pharisaical, Herodian question concerning the Magistracy, I said nothing more to you than that it would hardly become a true, christian ruler to shed blood, for this reason: If the transgressor should truly repent before his God, and be born of him, he would then also be a cho- sen saint and child of God, a fellow-par- taker of grace, a spiritual member of the Lord's body, sprinkled with his precious blood, and anointed with his Holy Ghost, a living grain of the bread of Christ, and an heir to eternal life, and for such an one to be hanged on the gallows, put on the wheel, placed upon the funeral -pile, or in any manner be harmed by another chris- tian, who is of one heart, spirit and soul with him, would look somewhat strange and unbecoming, according to the compas- sionate, merciful, kind nature, disposition, Spirit and example of Christ, the meek Lamb, which example he has commanded all his chosen children to follow. Again, If he remain impenitent, and his life be taken, one would do nothing else but unmercifully rob him of the time of re- pentance, of which, in case his life were spared, he might yet avail himself; do nothing but tyrannically olTer his poor soul,