Rules for how one is to conduct oneself in work, in withdrawal for prayer, and in outward carefulness.
The Seventieth Letter.
Rules for how one is to conduct oneself in work, in withdrawal for prayer, and in outward carefulness.
In the grace of the Lord, beloved friend and brother!
Your latest, of the 31st of August, I duly received, and send accordingly herewith the manuscript. —— That the thoughts are sometimes not so present at the work can come from more than one cause; you must not on that account leave off the work, but do it as a service of God, overcoming yourself — in dullness, in importunity, and also in inconstancy — for the Lord's sake.
The order which I have advised in work, in withdrawal, and so forth, may and must not be so legal that you would make a sin of it when this order is overstepped; yet neither must it be overstepped for the sake of a self-made and trifling cause, to please the corrupt nature. Nor is it needful that everyone notice this order. If one has, for example, a visit from a friend, or a business that brooks no delay, at the hour when one should otherwise withdraw, then one lets the time go, in all freedom, but catches it up again as soon as one is free. This little, in haste, because the occasion presses.
Greet your wife heartily; she has a careful temperament, and must therefore take good heed to direct her whole care only to the One thing — how she may best please the Lord in all. Ah, that this might become her work, her chiefest work, her dearest work, from morning until evening! All other care and anxiety is most harmful to her, and will fill her heart only with darkness, unrest, and sadness. As concerns the soul, she must give herself over to Jesus with love and trust, and in such a mind of love seek to please Him in the aforesaid manner. As concerns the outward, she must do her work in the very same love to Jesus, and not in carefulness and importunity. If importunity comes, she must hold still a moment, until the affect is somewhat broken. If carefulness comes, she must give something away somewhere to the needy, and rejoice when she gets opportunity to flow out in a little act of kindness. Let her take good courage and set to the matter with gladness! God will surely help, and I hope to do so too, with my poor prayer.
I greet also your brother-in-law and the other good friends as occasion serves. Remember me too. Remain,
Your
Mülheim, 5 September 1734.
fellow-combatant.
German
Der 70te Brief.
Reglen, wie man sich bei der Arbeit, Absonderung zum Gebet und äusserer Sorglichkeit zu verhalten.
In der Gnade des HErrn geliebter Freund und Bruder!
Dein Jüngstes vom 31ten August habe richtig erhalten, und sende dem zufolge hiebey das Manuscript. —— Daß die Gedanken bisweilen nicht so präsent bei der Arbeit sind, kann aus mehr als einerlei Ursache herkommen; du must deswegen die Arbeit nicht unterlassen, sondern sie thun als einen GOttes-Dienst …
— 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 short, intensely practical letter — a rule of life for a working household. Its subject is how to keep the inner life from being crushed by outward duty and worry. Two principles govern it. First, order without legalism: keep set hours for work and for prayerful withdrawal, but never so rigidly "that you would make a sin of it" when a real interruption breaks them — let the time go freely, and catch it up later. Second, work itself as worship: when the mind won't settle at a task, don't abandon the task; "do it as a service of God," overcoming your own dullness "for the Lord's sake." The larger part of the letter, though, is a gentle diagnosis of the wife's anxious "careful temperament" — the besetting sin of the conscientious. Her cure is Martha's lesson: fix "your whole care only to the One thing," please the Lord in the doing, and refuse the worry that "fills the heart with darkness, unrest, and sadness." Even her practical remedies are spiritual: when driven and importunate, "hold still a moment until the affect is broken"; when anxious, break the spell by giving — "give something away to the needy, and rejoice."
A few words and echoes.
- "Do it as a service of God" (als einen GOttes-Dienst). Colossians 3:23, "whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord"; 1 Corinthians 10:31. Work sanctified by the intention, not the task.
- "Order… not so legal." The refusal to bind the conscience with self-imposed rule (cf. Colossians 2:20–23) — a recurring Tersteegen guard: the rule serves love, not the reverse.
- "Your whole care only to the One thing." Luke 10:41–42, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful" — the wife is a Martha, and this is Mary's cure.
- "All care and anxiety… fills the heart with darkness." Philippians 4:6, "be careful for nothing"; Matthew 6:25–34, the sermon against anxious care. Worry is treated not as prudence but as spiritual harm.
- "Give something away to the needy, and rejoice." Anxiety broken by generosity — 2 Corinthians 9:7, "God loveth a cheerful giver"; Acts 20:35. A concrete, outward act that frees the fretting heart.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdi-thii-070 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.