To the same: that the love of Jesus would unite us, in loving and suffering, with Himself and with one another.

What this letter is. A July letter of the 10th, 1749, from Mülheim to the same brother as a week before — Johann Peter Schmitz of Solingen (the old print suppresses the name: "To the same"). Tersteegen still has the brother's own-hand greeting, and breath and strength enough to answer it. The argument: that the love of Jesus would unite us, in loving and suffering, with Himself and with one another.

Loved unto the end. Jesus loved His own who were in the world, unto the end; and He grants that they love one another even so, live and die with one another, taking part one in the other's circumstances, and one bearing the other's burden with him. He can simply say that the brother is near him, and he takes hold of him, and is much reminded to offer him up to their faithful God. If the brother can believe with him that Jesus' high-priestly Spirit so reminds him, the unworthy one, of him, then it can serve him for comfort and strengthening.

You do not suffer alone. This Spirit of Jesus is Himself that by which he is, under all trials and sufferings, so inwardly supported and held. No — he does not suffer alone: Jesus with and in him bears the load. His suffering is a fellowship of His sufferings; and His divine influence into all spiritual and bodily circumstances makes that he comes through everything, and will certainly reach his goal and eternal redemption. Praise and honour be to the great Saviour.

Yielded over. He remains only yielded over to Him, in the manner in which He Himself gives such from time to time: let Him do with you; expect nothing from yourself, but all from Him; consent to your general nothingness and misery, so that Jesus alone may be your stay. It must please you right well that you are nothing in yourself and have nothing, so that you may have it all in Jesus. He will surely destroy all your misery, and surely bring you off from all props upon yourself, to let you go, bare and for ever, into Him. That His divine Majesty would carry this through, he asks earnestly. Jesus, Jesus.

A few words and echoes.

• To the same. An denselben — the same Schmitz as 117.
• dearly beloved brother. Rule B arm 1 on hertzlich geliebter Bruder — do not flatten to heart's-brother.
• our eternal Salvation. leaf unserem (with e), not unserm.
• breath and strength. leaf Odem (1799 Athem not adopted).
• your own-hand greeting. deinen eigenhändigen Gruß — deinen letterspaced on the 1775 (Sperrdruck; not reproduced).
• unto the end. bis ans Ende (his ¹ Joh 13,1 lives at Recension).
• love one another even so. einander eben also lieben (his ² Joh 13,34).
• one bearing the other's burden with him. einer des andern Last mit tragende (his ³ Gal 6,2).
• I take hold of you. ich dich fasse (his ⁴ im Gebet).
• as you can. wie du kanst — Band II kanst → can; kan → can.
• then it can serve you. dann kan es dir… dienen — consecutive dann, kept.
• you do not suffer alone. du leidest nicht alleine.
• Jesus with and in you bears the load. JEsus mit- und in dir träget die Last.
• a fellowship of His sufferings. eine Gemeinschaft seiner Leiden (his ⁵ Phil 3,10).
• the great Saviour. dem großen Heilande.
• yielded over to Him. ihm überlassen.
• nothingness and misery. Nichts und Elend — Elend → misery, not persons.
• your stay. deine Stütze (tz).
• you have nothing. nichts hast → have, not hast.
• He will surely destroy. Er wird schon all dein Elend vernichten — modal schon = surely (again: wird dich schon… abbringen).
• all props upon yourself. von allen Stützen auf dich selbst.
• let you go, bare. dich bloß… loß zu lassen.
• faithfully devoted weak brother. treu-verbundener schwacher Bruder — standalone Dein → Your, never Yours.