To a sick man; that the grace that has befallen him is from God: together with some rules of conduct in regard of his inward state.
The Hundred-and-twelfth Letter.
To a sick man; that the grace that has befallen him is from God: together with some rules of conduct in regard of his inward state.
In Jesus, dearly beloved brother!
I see from your otherwise welcome letter the state of your sickness, and also the constitution of your mind.
The grace with which God inwardly meets you under the fevers is certainly from Him; you have no cause to doubt of it. The dark stillness and secret composure according to the ground has witness enough in itself, that something eternal and divine is near to the spirit, namely God Himself, our highest, eternal, all-delighting Good.
You do well, that you keep your Attention and inclination as much as possible withdrawn and directed toward eternity; as your present calling and inclination also require: Only do not strain yourself with too much force, in order to set yourself in this or that posture. Enough! that heart and devotion will nothing but what is God and eternal. Moreover you nestle yourself after God, and take on the form, the inclination, and Himself, even as it may please Him. The stretching-out of your spirit, to unite yourself with this eternal Good, is God's work, and separates of itself from all.
My dear brother! do not reflect on your inability or uncleanness, to be able to behold God essentially, as you speak. Whom God will make able and clean, he is so very soon. It must greatly delight you, that you have nothing good in you, and that you can give God the honor, and expect everything from Him in time and eternity. Ah my God! Thou alone art good; thou alone art great, and so essentially near to our spirit. O! how delighting is this great truth! Remain essentially near also to my dear brother, and delight his spirit here and eternally through Thyself. Make him good, clean, and capable of Thee, in that Thou takest him into Thee, and let his spirit, forgetting itself, make Thee alone great in eternity. Amen, Jesus!
Your
Mülheim, the 29th of March, 1749. — faithfully devoted brother.
German
Der hundertundzwölfte Brief.
An einen Kranken; daß die ihm widerfahrene Gnade von GOtt sey: nebst einigen Verhaltungs-Reglen in Ansehung seines Inwendigen.
In JEsu herzlich geliebter Bruder!
Ich sehe aus deinem sonst Angenehmen den Zustand deiner Krankheit, und auch die Beschaffenheit deines Gemüths. Die Gnade, womit dir GOtt unter den Fiebern inwendig begegnet, ist gewiß von ihm; du hast keine Ursach daran zu zweiflen.
— 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 29th, 1749, from Mülheim to the same brother as two days before — Johann Peter Schmitz of Solingen (the old print suppresses the name). He has seen from the otherwise welcome letter the state of the sickness and the constitution of the mind. The argument: that the grace which has befallen this sick man is from God; together with some rules of conduct in regard of his inward state.
The grace under the fevers. The grace with which God inwardly meets him under the fevers is certainly from Him; he has no cause to doubt of it. The dark stillness and secret composure according to the ground has witness enough in itself, that something eternal and divine is near to the spirit — namely God Himself, our highest, eternal, all-delighting Good.
Do not strain for a posture. He does well to keep Attention and inclination withdrawn and directed toward eternity, as the present calling also requires. Only do not strain with too much force, to set yourself in this or that posture. Enough that heart and devotion will nothing but what is God and eternal. Nestle after God; take on the form, the inclination, and Himself, as it may please Him. The stretching-out of the spirit to this eternal Good is God's work, and separates of itself from all.
Do not reflect on inability. Do not reflect on inability or uncleanness, to be able to behold God essentially. Whom God will make able and clean, he is so very soon. It must delight you that you have nothing good in you, and that you can give God the honor, and expect everything from Him. Then the cry: Thou alone art good; thou alone art great; remain near also to this brother, and take him into Thee. Amen, Jesus. Mülheim, the 29th of March, 1749.
A few words and echoes.
- to a sick man. An einen Kranken — the argument's address, name-suppressed.
- the grace that has befallen him. die ihm widerfahrene Gnade.
- rules of conduct. Verhaltungs-Reglen — the leaf's spelling, without the inner e.
- inwardly meets you under the fevers. unter den Fiebern inwendig begegnet.
- according to the ground. nach dem Grunde — the inward ground, not a reason.
- all-delighting Good. allvergnügendes Gut.
- Attention. the leaf's Antiqua loanword, kept.
- present calling. jetziger Ruf.
- nestle yourself after God. schmiegest du dich nach GOtt.
- stretching-out of your spirit. Ausstreckung deines Geistes.
- do not reflect. reflectire doch nicht — the leaf's loan-verb.
- behold God essentially. GOtt wesentlich … schauen.
- you can give God the honor. daß du GOtt kanst die Ehre geben — kanst kept as Band II.
- essentially near. wesentlich nahe.
- faithfully devoted brother. treu-verbundener Bruder — standalone Dein → Your, never Yours.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiii-112 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.