Five short rules on the way of inward Christianity.
The Twenty-fourth Letter.
Five short rules on the way of inward Christianity.
In the grace of our sweet Saviour, dearly beloved sister!
Your three letters from N. I have well received, but have had neither time nor ability, nor opportunity, to be able to answer. — — O! how so happy are you not, that God, in these restless and troubled times, has given you a little hiding-place in N.; since here in the whole land is nothing but fear, unrest and danger! How so greatly are you not obliged, to recognize this with a thankful mind, and to pray along for so many thousand poor and distressed people! — — True, God gives His whole heart-children grace and peace in all things, and everywhere: However, whoever is still easily unsettled and disturbed may thank God, when he is spared with such hard lessons. — —
You desire, dear sister! that I should write you how you are to conduct yourselves: only you must yet learn better at the lesson assigned you in the winter. Now, to content you, I will write therewith some little sayings to learn.
1. Love God, and deny yourselves. Praise God; occupy yourselves with God; rejoice in God; have no other desire than only to please God; it may stand with you and with your own pleasure however it will.
2. Love God's children and your neighbour, serving them, caring for them, more than for yourselves; and highly esteeming their good, but yourselves and what is yours small; following them, not yourselves.
3. Receive everything, (I say everything, your actual sins and imperfections alone excepted) that comes upon you inwardly or outwardly, with love and thanks straight from God, and seek to make everything of use to yourselves, without lingering with the creature or with means, or wanting to have it otherwise.
4. The place, the station, the circumstances, wherein you find yourselves at all times for the present, look upon in divine order as a station and place wherein God has set you for the time; wherein you also out of respect toward His will and order would gladly hold out, and serve God therein, according to the grace He extends, without from your own impulse undertaking changes.
5. Forget never your pilgrim-state. A pilgrim must accommodate himself, etc. We must not will to have it better in the world than our Forerunner Jesus had it. (John 4:17.) Take weal and woe indifferently, and of good courage take it as it comes, and rejoice with all pilgrims toward a good evening.
Now I must close, because the opportunity hastens. I greet you together with sister N. heartily in the spirit of the love of Jesus, and earnestly offer you up to His oversight and government of grace. Will then sister N. not also write me a couple of lines from afar? She may also read this letter for herself along with you. Jesus our peace, our life, our eternal delight, reveal Himself in our hearts!
Your Mülheim, weak fellow-brother. the 18th of April, 1757.
German
Der vierundzwanzigste Brief.
Fünf kurze Reglen auf dem Weg des Inwendigen Christenthums.
In der Gnade unsers süßen Heilandes herzlich geliebte Schwester!
Eure drei Briefe aus N. habe wohl erhalten, aber weder Zeit noch Vermögen, noch Gelegenheit gehabt, zu können antworten. — — O! wie so glücklich seid ihr nicht, daß euch GOtt, bei diesen unruhigen und betrübten Zeiten, ein Verbergungs-Plätzgen in N. gegeben hat; da hier im ganzen Land lauter Furcht …
— 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. An April letter of the 18th, 1757, from Mülheim to Maria von der Leyen of Krefeld, then in N. (Aachen). Her three letters came well; he had neither time nor ability nor opportunity to answer. How happy she is, that God has given her a little hiding-place in these restless and troubled times: here in the whole land is nothing but fear, unrest and danger. She is obliged to recognize this with a thankful mind, and to pray along for so many thousand poor and distressed people. God gives His heart-children grace and peace in all things; yet whoever is still easily unsettled may thank God when spared such hard lessons. She desired how she is to conduct herself: she must yet learn better at the winter's assigned lesson. To content her, five little sayings. Love God, and deny yourselves. Love His children and your neighbour. Receive everything straight from God, sins of deed alone excepted. Hold the present place and station as His order, without undertaking changes from your own impulse. Forget never the pilgrim-state; not better in the world than our Forerunner Jesus; take weal and woe of good courage, toward a good evening. The opportunity hastens. Greet sister N.; she may read this letter for herself. Jesus our peace, our life, our eternal delight, reveal Himself in our hearts. Mülheim, the 18th of April, 1757.
Three letters, and a little hiding-place. The three letters from N. came well; neither time nor ability nor opportunity to answer. How so happy is she not, that God, in these restless and troubled times, has given a little hiding-place in N.; here in the whole land is nothing but fear, unrest and danger. How greatly is she not obliged to recognize this with a thankful mind, and to pray along for so many thousand poor and distressed. True, God gives His whole heart-children grace and peace in all things, and everywhere: however, whoever is still easily unsettled and disturbed may thank God, when spared with such hard lessons.
Five short rules on the inward way. She desired that he write how she is to conduct herself: only she must yet learn better at the lesson assigned in the winter. To content her, some little sayings to learn. Love God, and deny yourselves; praise Him; occupy yourselves with Him; rejoice in Him; have no other desire than only to please Him. Love God's children and your neighbour, serving them, caring for them, more than for yourselves; highly esteeming their good, yourselves and yours small. Receive everything — actual sins and imperfections alone excepted — that comes inwardly or outwardly, with love and thanks straight from God; make everything of use, without lingering with the creature or with means, or wanting it otherwise. The place, the station, the circumstances of the present: look upon them in divine order as wherein God has set you for the time; hold out out of respect toward His will; serve Him therein according to the grace He extends; undertake no changes from your own impulse. Forget never your pilgrim-state. A pilgrim must accommodate himself. We must not will to have it better in the world than our Forerunner Jesus. Take weal and woe indifferently, of good courage as it comes, and rejoice with all pilgrims toward a good evening. Now he must close, because the opportunity hastens. He greets her together with sister N. in the spirit of the love of Jesus, and offers them up to His oversight and government of grace. Will then sister N. not also write a couple of lines from afar? She may read this letter for herself along with her. Jesus our peace, our life, our eternal delight, reveal Himself in our hearts. Mülheim, the 18th of April, 1757.
A few words and echoes.
- your three letters from N. well received; neither time nor ability nor opportunity to answer.
- a little hiding-place. in these restless and troubled times.
- nothing but fear, unrest and danger. here in the whole land.
- pray along for so many thousand poor. with a thankful mind.
- grace and peace to His heart-children. in all things, and everywhere.
- love God, and deny yourselves. occupy yourselves with God. (Matt. 16:24)
- receive everything straight from God. actual sins alone excepted.
- the place and station of the present. hold out in His order. (1 Pet. 4:10)
- forget never your pilgrim-state. not better than our Forerunner. (1 Pet. 2:11)
- take weal and woe of good courage. toward a good evening. (Ps. 27:14)
- Jesus our peace, our life, our eternal delight. reveal Himself in our hearts. (Eph. 2:14)
- Your / Mülheim, weak fellow-brother. the 18th of April, 1757.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-024 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.