Jesus [is] Physician, I [am] the sick one.

The Hundred-and-Twenty-Sixth Letter.

Jesus [is] Physician, I [am] the sick one.

In the grace of the Lord, beloved friend and sister!

Although I have not answered your kind little letter with ink, yet no conclusion is to be drawn from that, as if the state of your mind were a matter of indifference to me. By no means! I have often offered you up (weak as it may be) to the dear Saviour; and nothing is more refreshing to me than when I hear that you, with a willing hand, would offer yourselves up to this most lovable Soul-Friend. Yes, I know that you will this, for the Lord has laid it into your heart; only it shall ever [here the extant page 369 breaks off; what follows, to the close, is from GS 1845 ‖ Hartman 1819, since 1773 pp. 370–371 are missing] become more full, more hearty, and more constant.

Shall I tell you what I hold of you? This, then, I hold of you, my dear friend! that you are one of those of whom Jesus says: They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Sick you are through and through — but you have an infinitely kind Physician, whose name is Jesus, a Saviour whose cure always succeeds well; and He has taken it upon Himself to heal you too. Keep this well now: you shall not heal yourself, but Jesus shall do that. You have only to do with Jesus; and Jesus has to do with your sickness, with your sins, and with your infirmities. This you do not yet grasp enough. You complain of "security" (you mean insensibility), of subtle hypocrisy and the like; that is indeed truly in you, and more of it besides — but there you stop, so alone, at that, and let yourself be made restless and disheartened, instead of thanking the dear Saviour so much the more, and loving Him so much the more, that He uncovers your harm to you — not to thrust you away, but to heal you.

Be of good cheer, then, and be childlike in your way. Jesus is willing indeed to be your Friend and Saviour: only let Him be your object in simple faith! He is inwardly near to you, and desires only that you too remain near to Him and love Him heartily. Let, then, your inward heart-inclinations turn simply and softly in to Jesus, whom you believe so near, and keep with Him your mute and confidential intercourse in your heart. When you become aware of your misery, show it simply to the Saviour. The physician well knows what the sick one would say, when he but looks at him. When you are disturbed or scattered, seek to still yourself again, by a glance at Jesus and a little patience, as soon as ever you can. When desire, love, the heart's inclinations would go out too much upon this or that, and you mark it, then let them turn back, uprightly but calmly, to Jesus, and say, as it were: No, Jesus! Thou alone shalt be my treasure and my portion in eternity!

See, dear friend, this is indeed a quite light and lovely way, wherein one finds salvation and life; and we are certainly not worthy that the Lord should call and allure us to it. I must close, for want of time. Share this writing with the friend N. I greet you both heartily in the name of Jesus. Greet also, for my sake, N. and N.

I remain, through grace,

Your devoted friend in the Lord.

Mülheim, the 21st of August 1737.

German

Der hundertundsechsundzwanzigste Brief.

JEsus Arzt, ich Kranker.

In der Gnade des HErrn geliebte Freundin und Schwester!

Ob ich gleich euer angenehmes Brieflein mit Dinten nicht beantwortet habe, so muß doch daraus der Schluß nicht gemacht werden, als wann mir der Zustand eures Gemüths gleichgültig wäre.

— 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).