That God imparts to each one of His children something of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and to what end such a thing comes to pass.
The Hundred-and-eleventh Letter.
That God imparts to each one of His children something of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and to what end such a thing comes to pass.
Dearly beloved brother!
I have duly received in its time both your welcome letter of the 17th of this month and also the last of the 25th.
That you remain so alternatingly in sickly circumstances, I see on the one side with brotherly compassion; on the other side I must therein worship the blameless good-pleasure of the eternal Love, which has chosen this way of sufferings and of sickliness for you, to honor Him therein, and through the same to be brought to Him, after His hand shall have perfected you through suffering in His order.
For every one of His household-companions and children the Lord looks out a way and a work, wherein he is to honor his God and Saviour, and a little portion of the life, suffering, loving, of the poverty, etc. of Jesus Christ, which he is to bear upon himself, in order in time and eternity to shine in such a garment and glory to God's praise, and by such a livery to show that he belongs to the body of Christ. We have then hereby nothing to do, my dear brother, but only that we with childlike love and respect receive what is given us with fatherly love and out of well-considered counsel from day to day, from hour to hour; then certainly! that is the best; that we shall in that light recognize with most blessed wonder. Yes, already here we will confess it in faith, that the Lord is God, to whom we belong, and that He has made us, and must make us, and not we ourselves, to His people and to the sheep of His pasture. Read once this 100th Psalm, and only believe it childlikely, that the Lord remains good and friendly even in the midst of the sufferings.
That you now discover much your distractions, your clingings, and in a word yourself, is not to be wondered at; when the little bird will fly up, it feels the thread that holds it bound. Only remain a cooing little turtle-dove; the Lord will break your bands, which you no longer bear with delight, but with burden. Ah! my God! if we could only yet trust everything finely to Thee, and only let ourselves fall so much the more nakedly and heartily into Thee, the less we found of good in ourselves! Now Thou must and wilt give this too. Amen!
I greet you and our sisters heartily. May Jesus be in your midst! and I am also often there in the spirit.
Your
Mülheim, the 27th of March, 1749. — devoted weak brother.
German
Der hundertundelfte Brief.
Daß GOtt einem jeglichen seiner Kinder etwas von denen Leiden JEsu Christi mittheile, und zu was Ende solches geschehe.
Herzlich geliebter Bruder!
So wohl dein Angenehmes vom 17ten dieses als auch Letzteres vom 25ten habe seiner Zeit richtig bekommen. Daß du so abwechslend in kränkelnden Umständen bleibest, ersehe einer Seits mit brüderlichem Mitleiden; anderer Seits muß ich darin anbeten das untadeliche Wohlgefallen der ewigen Liebe, welche diesen Weg der Leiden und des Kränkelns für dich erwählet …
— 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 March letter of the 27th, 1749, from Mülheim to the same brother as the New Year letter — Johann Peter Schmitz of Solingen (the old print suppresses the name). He has had the welcome letter of the 17th of this month and the last of the 25th. The argument is the share: that God imparts to each of His children something of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and to what end.
A way and a work, and a little portion. For every one of the household the Lord looks out a way and a work, wherein that child is to honor his God and Saviour, and to bear a little portion of the life, suffering, loving, of the poverty, of Jesus Christ — to shine in such a garment and glory to God's praise, and by such a livery to show that he belongs to the body of Christ. What is left for us is only to receive, with childlike love and respect, what is given from day to day, from hour to hour. Then certainly that is the best; and already here we will confess it in faith, that the Lord is God, who has made us, and must make us, and not we ourselves, to His people and to the sheep of His pasture. Read once this 100th Psalm, and only believe it childlikely, that the Lord remains good and friendly even in the midst of the sufferings.
The little bird and the turtle-dove. That the brother now discovers much his distractions, his clingings, and in a word himself, is not to be wondered at: when the little bird will fly up, it feels the thread that holds it bound. Only remain a cooing little turtle-dove; the Lord will break the bands which are no longer borne with delight, but with burden. Then the cry: if we could only yet trust everything to God, and fall so much the more nakedly into Him, the less we found of good in ourselves. He must and will give this too.
The sisters. He greets the brother and our sisters heartily. May Jesus be in their midst; and he is also often there in the spirit. Mülheim, the 27th of March, 1749.
A few words and echoes.
- imparts … something of the sufferings. etwas von denen Leiden JEsu Christi mittheile — a share allotted, not a lesson about suffering.
- to what end such a thing comes to pass. zu was Ende solches geschehe — the argument's second half.
- on the one side / on the other side. einer Seits / anderer Seits.
- blameless good-pleasure. untadeliche Wohlgefallen — worshipped, not merely admitted.
- looks out a way and a work. ersiehet … einen Weg und Werk.
- little portion. Theilgen — a small share of His life and sufferings.
- livery. Lieberei — the household uniform by which the body is known.
- then certainly! dann gewiß! — consecutive, not causal denn.
- already here. schon hier — temporal already, not modal surely.
- and not we ourselves. the 100th Psalm, named on the leaf.
- childlikely. kindlich — as a child believes, not as a critic.
- good and friendly. gut und freundlich — his wording; the Psalm says the Lord is good.
- clingings. Anklebungen — what still sticks.
- cooing little turtle-dove. girrendes Turtel-Täublein.
- with delight, but with burden. mit Lust, sondern mit Last.
- devoted weak brother. verbundener schwacher Bruder — standalone Dein → Your, never Yours.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiii-111 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.