A letter of encouragement to some awakened souls at an imminent danger of persecution.

The Hundred-and-Twenty-Eighth Letter.

A letter of encouragement to some awakened souls at an imminent danger of persecution.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

In the grace of the Lord, on all sides dearly beloved Members!

Does it not stand written into our very covenant, which we made with the Lord Jesus, my dearly beloved! — that He has allotted us the kingdom, in the same way and order in which His Father allotted it to Him? namely, that we must, with Him, through much tribulation, from within and without, enter into this glorious, unfading, eternal kingdom of God — yet all according to the wisest apportionment of our Father, without whose will not a hair from our head shall fall. Should we, then, be astonished, and not rather rejoice, when it goes with us just as our Lord foretold us? Yes truly! we now have all the more cause to lift up our heads, in the childlike trust that our cause goes well, and that the Lord is with His blessing in our midst — because the Adversary grows so evil against us. If, in our bond with Jesus, we have declared war on the kingdom of darkness, then it cannot be otherwise: we must, in turn, expect from it all manner of assaults. Only the eye of faith fixed unwaveringly on Him who has loved us — so we can, in all things, far overcome for His sake, and comfortingly say after that Hero (who had all these enemies before Him, with whom we still daily have to do): If the Lord be with us, who will be against us?

For some time now, much good seed has been sown, by divine goodness, in and among us: now a separation, a purification, a grounding must take place. The 13th chapter of Matthew is now to be laid out by act and deed, that each may find how and where he stands. For we must not indeed think that one has only pure sensible comfort and sweetness with Jesus. True, one has it unspeakably good with Him; but all good must be tested, if it is not to spoil and be lost; and so the cross, too, is nothing but grace and goodness. No, beloved! we did not board the ship with Jesus for a pastime and a diversion. A little tempest already rises; a greater may follow. The little ship is tossed. So let our hearts only be gathered in immovable, still confidence upon Him who is within us — who can command the wind and the sea — that His mouth may not shame us and say: Why are ye so fearful? O ye of little faith!

And what is it — why we should be tossed? If it should come to suffering, then we suffer, God be praised! in that case not as evildoers. To our high territorial authority we have, on all sides, rendered the due honour, obedience, and duty, as we are taught. We have aimed at no disturbances or divisions in ecclesiastical constitutions, made no new sect, nor wished to make one; we find ourselves at rest in our conscience, both over these and over other suspicious matters that one might, without ground, wish to impute to us. Our conversations have been, according to the Apostle's ordinance, provocations to love and to good works; that we, who have received Jesus, might also walk in Him and be ever more grounded. These our conversations are not secret, but held so that anyone might hear them; so gladly does one grant to another to enjoy that same Good which we have found, and hope to find, with Jesus. In short! it has been aimed at, among us, only this: how each, in his station and calling, should walk as a true Christian and Christian citizen. Whoever suspects anything else of us is either ill-informed or malicious. Who, then, should harm us, where we follow after the Good? Should we, this notwithstanding, nevertheless suffer, then we suffer as Christians, and need not be ashamed of it, but shall, in such a case, glorify God by a true esteem of His reproach, and by a childlike trust in His faithfulness, which endures forever. Only be of good cheer! We have the cause of the Lord before us: He, the Lord, will carry it out. His is the kingdom.

But the weapons of our knighthood are not carnal, but spiritual. All victory lies in a still, patient, believing, and praying mind. The hot, hard nature-force must be fastened to Christ's cross, and, by believing sinking-in, be broken and sweetened into His reconciling, gentle mind of love; so that nothing but pitying love, benevolence, and well-doing — even toward the adversaries — be cherished. So has Christ triumphed over all the powers of hell. If we walk thereby worthily of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then even those will yet fall to us who now resist, when they see the splendour of the truth, and how good we have it with Jesus.

Much deliberating, taking counsel, and planning, after human prudence, does not settle the matter. If innocence only remains unclad, as it is, then no one can catch it. All power, rest, and salvation are to be found in abiding within, in this childlike mind, with Jesus; there all is given in the hour and moment one needs it. Therefore we should not let ourselves be set outside our fortress and scattered, by needless fearing, human forethought, or perpetual talk of present circumstances; but rather, by faith and prayer, remain within so much the more before the Lord — thus, as it were, awaiting the enemy at our post. Also we should not weaken ourselves by unbelieving staring upon ourselves and abiding with ourselves: on God we should venture it; He will not leave us stuck. To everything we are to do or suffer for the Lord, thereto He Himself also furnishes the cost: there we need not go to the reckoning with our weakness or unfitness. If we only remain, in childlike faith, with Him, then we are able for all things through Him who makes us mighty.

True, the Lord sometimes, in the trials, lets us feel our weakness for a while; but this too must not make us fearful; it happens for our best, that we may be no self-heroes, but may creep, so much the more naked, into His power, and that He be it alone. We have to do only with the Lord. The world does its business — let it be! But the Lord will, in everything and through everything, carry His business on and through in our hearts; about this alone should we concern ourselves. All the adversaries must, in this, still finely help along, against their own intent. To Him, then, we remain resigned in the present, looking only upon Him with one inturned little eye, and so go comforted on our way, with ever more thorough letting-go of all that is created and of our whole self, that Jesus may have, possess, and quicken us alone in the truth. Ah, souls! forsake yourselves, with me! In us is nothing but condemnation, misery, and impotence: in Jesus is salvation and true life. Let each, for himself, seek and experience it! In Him must we be found in deed. The gate is opened in His blood, and near in the spirit, even to the greatest sinners. Ah, that they knew it! how they would run!

Now, my brothers! take these lines, with which I have found myself inclined to greet you, in simple love. Be of good cheer in the Lord! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, Selah! In His grace I remain

Your lowly fellow-brother.

Mülheim, the 3rd of October 1737.

Poor Zion! God is thy reward; only stay thou faithful to Him! Be patient! Live innocent before the world, and speak freely!

(Acts, chapter 4 and chapter 12.)

German

Der hundertundachtundzwanzigste Brief.

Aufmunterungs-Schreiben an einige erweckte Seelen bei einer drohenden Gefahr wegen Verfolgung.

Fürchte dich nicht, du kleine Heerde, denn es ist eures Vaters Wohlgefallen, euch das Reich zu geben. In der Gnade des HErrn allerseits herzlich-geliebte Mitglieder!

— 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).