To a soul who is assured of the rightness of her way, and instructed how she is to conduct herself further.

The Hundred-and-Sixteenth Letter.

To a soul who is assured of the rightness of her way, and instructed how she is to conduct herself further.

In our great little Jesus, dearly beloved sister!

In Him my soul greets you. Your latter little letter, and the larger earlier one, I have both received, and they gave me occasion, with pleasure and refreshment, to thank God for the graces He has shown you in more than one way. You are, indeed, not yet at the goal; there will, in its time, still be wrought in you a deeper going-out and coming-in: but you are now on the right track, and it sinks itself ever more into the ground, where the Good gives itself to be known in unity, wherein lies true and eternal blessedness.

I am comforted when I think of your soul — which formerly was not at all the case. Should I come to die, I assure you herewith, once and for all, that your way is right, and beyond all danger. It is of God, what goes on in you. Only it will sink itself ever more into the ground, and no longer so put on the outer humanity except with alternations, that the jewel be not defiled, or touched by enemies. The senses are far too coarse for this tender Good; they stand open to all manner of enemies and passions, as you experienced on New Year's Day; therefore it withdraws itself again into the ground, where it is, as it were, covered from all danger. (Look up Psalm 31:21, Psalm 27:5 and what precedes, etc.; John Arndt, True Christianity, Book 3, at the end of chapter 6.) There God has it in His hand, and thither the soul must follow God without following: that is, in a more suffering than doing manner, the innocent childlike noticing sinks itself, too, down into the ground of unity, and gives itself wholly to the unnameable, near Good. In the outer humanity the soul sometimes suffers, and is thereby annihilated, but takes it not upon itself, but remains in the ground with God, in another kingdom, and so is, out of grace, ever more redeemed and thoroughly sanctified.

You must ever more let the little Child in you become and work all things. Take what is given you, but without appropriating it to yourself, and without doing anything of your own thereto. What is not given you, that desire not either. Be content with all and with nothing. Be more suffering than working in your inward part. The little Master wills to be Master. I pray you, speak sparingly of the inner childlike way, and only where God shows an open door, and even then with the Master's leave. Your state, in part, does not yet bear speaking much of such ways; and besides, you do not yet know enough the great incapacity of poor souls. Many are called, few chosen. Go not much abroad without need. Take heed of the household, as well as you understand it. The Lord will care.

To that which is slandered of me, answer nothing; it is not worth the trouble. If I justified myself from morning till evening, it would still help nothing. Whoever seeks a stone can easily find one. You too need not take it upon yourself, or justify me: only say plainly that they are ill-informed, that it is not so. If they will not believe it, then one must be silent, and pray for them. Now my poor head can no more at all. I greet you heartily, and lose myself with you in Jesus for time and eternity — who take and receive us in, out of grace! Amen.

Mülheim, the 20th of February, 1737.

German

Der hundertundsechzehnte Brief.

An eine Seele, die von der Richtigkeit ihres Weges versichert und angewiesen wird, wie sie sich ferner zu verhalten.

In unserem großen JEsulein vielgeliebte Schwester!

In Ihm grüßet dich meine Seele. Dein letzteres Briefgen und vorigen Größeren habe beide empfangen, und sie haben mir Anlaß gegeben, mit Vergnügung und Erquickung GOtt zu danken für die Gnaden, so Er dir auf mehr als eine Weise erzeiget hat.

— 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).