Letters · Erster Band · Theil II (1773)

On the profit of humility and of trust in Jesus. Instruction on speaking and not-speaking.

Bd I · Th II · Brief 93 · Der 93te Brief

Addressee — "Lieber Bruder!" — a man, intimate du → you; unnamed. He has been pressed to speak about certain matters ("N.'s affairs") and has dwelt too much on his own "miseries" — plausibly connected to the persecution-of-the-devout circle of B92.
Date — Mülheim, 23 January 1736 — dated but NOT subscribed (the letter ends with the blessing + dateline; no signature line)
Provenance — Translated from the public-domain 1773 first edition (Theil II, pp. 278–280), in normalized GS 1845 orthography, collated against the 1845 Gesammelte Schriften (Bd 8) and Hartman's 1819 reprint. All public-domain.

The Ninety-third Letter.

On the profit of humility and of trust in Jesus. Instruction on speaking and not-speaking.

Dear brother!

God gives grace to the humble; one gets an inward witness of it, when one does but once bow before this God of grace, inwardly and unfeignedly — and still more, when one willingly lets oneself be humbled by others, although we are yet long from being humble. Meanwhile we see, all from afar, the great goods and unspeakable rest that is born out of the annihilations, which should strengthen and incite us, in all trials, to embrace all humiliations with both arms, let them come from whatever side they will.

Make for yourself few or no resolutions for the future, for we are weak and blind; we can accomplish nothing, and know not what God will have of us tomorrow. To remain, from moment to moment, with humble trust in Jesus — let that be our whole; therein alone one finds strength for faithfulness, and also light, how one is to act in the occasions that arise. As regards speaking, or not-speaking, no other resolution or rule is needful for you either; this inward disposition is enough to give rule and measure. Only I say in general: of others speak very sparingly; of N.'s affairs, nothing — decline it; if one presses you too hard, then say roundly that it is forbidden you to speak of such matters. You have spoken of your miseries more than was needful and useful. I am full of miseries; let us forget our miseries, and let ourselves be kept by God more than we would keep ourselves. We should become children, and in our nakedness and weakness lose ourselves in the lap of the Mother, which remains open to us in the name of Jesus. He bless you! Remember me before God.

Mülheim, 23 January 1736.

❦

German

Der 93te Brief.

Vom Nutzen der Demuth und des Vertrauens in JEsum. Unterricht vom Reden und Nicht-Reden.

Lieber Bruder!

GOtt gibt den Demüthigen Gnade; davon bekommt man ein Zeugniß inwendig, wann man sich nur ein einzig mal vor diesem GOtt der Gnade innigst und unverstellt beuget, und noch mehr, wann man sich willig von anderen demüthigen lässet, ob wir schon noch lange nicht demüthig sind.

— 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, tightly-packed letter of direction on three linked themes — humility, moment-by-moment trust, and discretion in speech. It reads almost as a set of maxims, and several of its lines are among Tersteegen's most quotable.

He begins with the paradox of humility drawn straight from Scripture ("God gives grace to the humble"): the proof of it is inward and experiential, given "when one does but once bow before this God of grace… and still more when one willingly lets oneself be humbled by others." Real humility is tested not in self-abasement one chooses but in humiliations one accepts from outside. Hence the striking counsel to "embrace all humiliations with both arms, let them come from whatever side they will" — because "the great goods and unspeakable rest… are born out of the annihilations" (Tersteegen's Vernichtung, the self-naughting through which God empties the soul to fill it).

The second theme is his lifelong distrust of self-directed planning: "Make for yourself few or no resolutions for the future, for we are weak and blind… we know not what God will have of us tomorrow." The alternative is not passivity but a continuous, humble leaning on Christ: "to remain, from moment to moment, with humble trust in Jesus — let that be our whole." That single inward posture, he says, gives all the "rule and measure" one needs.

The third theme — announced in the title, "instruction on speaking and not-speaking" — is holy discretion. Speak of others "very sparingly"; of the delicate matters ("N.'s affairs") say nothing; if pressed, decline plainly — "say roundly that it is forbidden you to speak of such matters." And he adds a rebuke wrapped in fellowship: the brother has been dwelling too much on his own "miseries." Tersteegen's reply is disarming — "I am full of miseries; let us forget them, and let ourselves be kept by God rather than keep ourselves." The letter closes with one of his tenderest images: to "become children," and "in our nakedness and weakness lose ourselves in the lap of the Mother" — the maternal bosom of God's grace — "which remains open to us in the name of Jesus."

A few words and echoes.

"God gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5, both quoting Proverbs 3:34 — "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." The whole letter unfolds from this text.
"Still more when one willingly lets oneself be humbled by others." Tersteegen's characteristic turn: chosen humility is easy; the school of true humility is the humiliation that comes unbidden from other people.
"Born out of the annihilations." Vernichtung — the mystical "annihilation" or reduction-to-nothing of the self, through which (in Tersteegen's Quietist inheritance from Guyon and the Rhineland mystics) God brings forth "great goods and unspeakable rest."
"Make for yourself few or no resolutions for the future." One of Tersteegen's steadiest counsels (cf. Letters 90, 91): grand plans are a "subtle craft of nature"; the surrendered soul lives in the present moment. Compare James 4:13–15, "ye know not what shall be on the morrow… ye ought to say, If the Lord will."
"From moment to moment, with humble trust in Jesus." John 15:4, "abide in me, and I in you" — the moment-by-moment abiding that is the sum of the spiritual life.
"Of others speak very sparingly." Proverbs 10:19, "in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin"; James 1:19, "swift to hear, slow to speak"; the discipline of the tongue (James 3). "It is forbidden me to speak of such matters" is offered as a clean, guiltless way to refuse gossip or interrogation.
"Let ourselves be kept by God more than we would keep ourselves." Jude 24, God "is able to keep you from falling"; 1 Peter 1:5, "kept by the power of God." Self-guarding gives way to being guarded.
"Become children… lose ourselves in the lap of the Mother." Matthew 18:3, "except ye… become as little children"; the maternal image of God's comforting care (Isaiah 66:11–13, "as one whom his mother comforteth"; Psalm 131:2, "as a weaned child"). The "Mother's lap" is the grace that "remains open to us in the name of Jesus."

Cite this letter

Gerhard Tersteegen, Geistliche und erbauliche Briefe, Erster Band, II. Theil, Brief 93 (Solingen, 1773–75); trans. Jarred Fenlason, https://gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdi-thii-093.html.

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