That the drawing of God in the ground must not let itself be darkened by the reason.
The Fifty-ninth Letter.
That the drawing of God in the ground must not let itself be darkened by the reason.
Dear brother!
As concerns your state of mind: it is surely safest and best that you quietly strive to endure what arises in it against the drawing of grace and the sense of your mind, holding to this latter as much as possible, without entering too much, with fear and searching, into the other. God's drawing and light does not come in from without; it does not borrow its certainty and power from the understanding or the senses; it announces itself in the ground, and carries both force and certainty with it — which, however, is darkened and vanishes when the soul wants to seek a distinct certainty in its lower part. Go not out, therefore, too much into deliberation: seek no firmness through merely intelligible and outward instructions, but shut your eyes, like a child, and give yourself over to the hidden Being that is so inwardly near; and let the reason doubt as long as it will. One would do both it and the Tempter too much honor, were one to enter into disputing with it. We will seek our arguments and foundations in the light of faith, which offers itself in the ground of the soul.
The drawing of God toward this or that state of the inner life has at first something sweetly attractive about it — a pleasant insight, a very hearty inclination, and the like — and then the whole lower part (which gets a reflection of it) has nothing or little to object. Afterward everything sinks deeper into the inner or upper part; then the lower part begins to show its recalcitrance and doubting, because it stands bare, and is further incited to it by the Tempter. Then come many alternations, shakings, indeed even dangers of being jolted off the goal, wherever one does not seek to remain a simple child, content with the dark light of faith in the ground. Remain, therefore, as good and as inwardly and passively as God gives grace, and be content with Him and His will; for He is good, and good to us also. Amen!
I will seek to offer up your state to God, and expect the like of you — I who am so wretched.
Mülheim, 23 February 1733.
German
Der 59te Brief.
Daß der Zug GOttes im Grunde, sich durch die Vernunft nicht müsse verdunkelen lassen.
Lieber Bruder!
Deinen Gemüths-Zustand anlangend, so ists gewiß am sichersten und besten, daß du ruhig trachtest auszuleiden, was darin wider den Zug der Gnaden und den Sinn deines Gemüths vorkommt, bei diesem letzteren dich so viel möglich haltende, ohne mit Furcht und Forschen in das andere zu viel einzugehen.
— Opening lines of the original German. The complete transcription of all 605 letters appears in the forthcoming Encounter Press critical edition; Brief 1 is shown in full as a sample.
German text: public domain (1773–75 first edition / 1845 Gesammelte Schriften).
Translator’s notes
What this letter is. A letter of spiritual direction on a very specific problem: what to do when the reason attacks the quiet, inward "drawing" of God. Tersteegen's diagnosis is that God's guidance is real but dark — it "announces itself in the ground," carrying its own "force and certainty," but it does not argue its case to the understanding, and the moment the soul demands "a distinct certainty in its lower part," the light "is darkened and vanishes." The counsel follows from the diagnosis: don't go "out into deliberation," don't chase "firmness through merely intelligible and outward instructions," and above all don't debate. "Let the reason doubt as long as it will"; to dispute with reason — or with the Tempter behind it — is only "to do them too much honor." Instead, "shut your eyes, like a child," and trust "the hidden Being that is so inwardly near." The letter's second half is a shrewd little map of how temptation times its attack: while grace is new and "sweetly attractive," even the lower nature enjoys the "reflection" of it and offers no resistance; but as grace "sinks deeper" and stops flattering the senses, the lower part rebels, doubts, and — "incited by the Tempter" — throws up "alternations, shakings, indeed dangers of being jolted off the goal." The only safety is to "remain a simple child, content with the dark light of faith." He ends where he began, in Gelassenheit: be "as inwardly and passively as God gives grace," and "content with Him and His will."
A few words and echoes.
- "The drawing of God" (der Zug Gottes). John 6:44, "no man can come to me, except the Father… draw him" — the interior Zug, God's gentle pull in the ground of the soul, which is the whole subject of the letter.
- "The dark light of faith" (das dunkle Licht des Glaubens). The paradox at the letter's center: faith's certainty is real but not luminous to the reason — a "dark light," known in the ground, not proved to the mind. Compare John of the Cross's "luminous darkness"; for Tersteegen it is the ordinary condition of the guided soul.
- "Let the reason doubt… disputing does it too much honor." The refusal to argue with unbelief or with the Tempter — a recurring counsel (cf. Brief 56, "let nature rage… give her no hearing"; Brief 57, "speculate not"). Engagement dignifies the attack; disregard starves it.
- "The hidden Being that is so inwardly near." God present in the ground — nearer than thought, hidden from sense; cf. Acts 17:27, "though he be not far from every one of us," and Psalm 46:1, "a very present help."
- "The lower part / the upper part." Tersteegen's psychology (from Tauler and Fénelon): the "lower" region of sense and reason versus the "upper" or inmost ground where God draws; grace withdrawn from the senses is not grace lost but grace gone deeper.
- "Content with Him and His will." The settled resignation that ends so many of these letters; cf. 1 Timothy 6:6, "godliness with contentment is great gain," and the child-state of Matthew 18:3.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdi-thii-059 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.