What our only business in time and eternity shall be. Of self-forgetting, leaving, and trusting God.
The Forty-second Letter.
What our only business in time and eternity shall be. Of self-forgetting, leaving, and trusting God.
In Jesus our dear Savior, dearly beloved sister!
Your pleasant letter of — April I have rightly received, also immediately answered in the Spirit, and sought to offer you up to the Author and Finisher of the faith.
God be praised, that He has raised you up once more! Your life-force and time be offered to Him anew to His good pleasure; be it life or death, health or sickness, light or darkness, drought or taste; for apart from God's good pleasure everything is evil and bitter. We shall in time and eternity have only one single business, namely to content God, loving Him and serving Him after His, not after our, manner. In Him is our blessedness; what is it to us? If God is only content with us, then is everything well; and He is content with us, when we are contented with Him and with that which He gives us.
O sister! forget yourself and all designs upon yourself a little more; let your heart be enlarged in God, to whom you belong, and who unchangeably is Love. In the pleasant days God proves to us His love; in the dry, dark days of suffering we shall prove to Him our love. The trials are serviceable to teach us our weakness; our misery and weakness however teach us that we leave ourselves, and sink ourselves ever more naked into Jesus. Our corruption is manifold and deep. God has much to do with us; we shall only let Him do; He will carry it out gloriously. With our caring and grieving we hinder more than we further. Lift up your mind in childlike trust, and venture yourself thereby. Here is the time, when one out of love to God can and must work and suffer something; let us make this of use to ourselves with quiet courage: The blessed in heaven have this fair opportunity no more.
It is the truth, what you say, that you have need thereto of new courage and strength, and more of the thing: Guard yourself however, dear sister, that you also do not attempt to seek these fair needful things in yourself, and then become faint-hearted, when you do not find such fruits in your own garden. Be in yourself gladly poor and weak; sink away from yourself, in quiet and gentle trust, believing that your God and Redeemer is so inmost-near to you, even when you find yourself dark and dry: Wait upon Him with sweet patience; from Him expect all your salvation and soul's contentment, with the greatest possible inwardness: He will not let you be put to shame, but will surely give what your heart wishes. I greet you with a brotherly heart, and remain through grace
Your Mülheim, obliged weak the 26th of May, 1759. brother.
German
Der zweiundvierzigste Brief.
Was unser einiges Geschäffte in Zeit und Ewigkeit seyn soll. Vom Selbst-Vergessen, Verlassen und GOtt zu vertrauen.
In JEsu unserem theuren Heilande herzlich geliebte Schwester!
Dein Angenehmes vom — April habe richtig erhalten, auch alsobald im Geist beantwortet, und gesuchet, dich dem Anfänger und Vollender des Glaubens aufzuopfern.
— 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 May letter of the 26th, 1759, from Mülheim to Anna Maria Rittershaus. Her pleasant letter of — April received, also immediately answered in the Spirit, and sought to offer her up to the Author and Finisher of the faith. God be praised, that He has raised her up once more. Life-force and time offered to Him anew to His good pleasure — be it life or death, health or sickness, light or darkness, drought or taste; for apart from God's good pleasure everything is evil and bitter. One single business in time and eternity: to content God, loving Him and serving Him after His manner, not ours. Forget yourself a little more; let the heart be enlarged in God, who unchangeably is Love. In the pleasant days He proves His love; in the dry, dark days of suffering we prove ours. Trials teach weakness; misery and weakness teach us to leave ourselves and sink ever more naked into Jesus. God has much to do with us — only let Him do. Caring and grieving hinder more than they further. Here is the time to work and suffer out of love to God; the blessed in heaven have this fair opportunity no more. Do not seek the fair needful things in yourself, then become faint-hearted when the fruits are not in your own garden. Be gladly poor and weak; wait upon Him with sweet patience. He will not let you be put to shame, but will surely give what your heart wishes. Mülheim, the 26th of May, 1759.
One single business; forget yourself. We shall in time and eternity have only one single business, namely to content God, loving Him and serving Him after His, not after our, manner. In Him is our blessedness; what is it to us? If God is only content with us, then is everything well. O sister! forget yourself and all designs upon yourself a little more; let your heart be enlarged in God, to whom you belong, and who unchangeably is Love. In the pleasant days God proves to us His love; in the dry, dark days of suffering we shall prove to Him our love.
Let Him do; do not seek the fruits in your own garden. The trials are serviceable to teach us our weakness; our misery and weakness however teach us that we leave ourselves, and sink ourselves ever more naked into Jesus. Our corruption is manifold and deep. God has much to do with us; we shall only let Him do; He will carry it out gloriously. With our caring and grieving we hinder more than we further. Here is the time, when one out of love to God can and must work and suffer something; the blessed in heaven have this fair opportunity no more. Guard yourself, that you also do not attempt to seek these fair needful things in yourself, and then become faint-hearted, when you do not find such fruits in your own garden. Be in yourself gladly poor and weak; sink away from yourself, in quiet and gentle trust. Wait upon Him with sweet patience; He will not let you be put to shame, but will surely give what your heart wishes. Mülheim, the 26th of May, 1759.
A few words and echoes.
- our only business. einiges Geschäffte — in time and eternity, to content God after His manner, not ours.
- self-forgetting, leaving, and trusting God. the argument of this May letter to the sister.
- forget yourself. and all designs upon yourself a little more; let the heart be enlarged in God.
- in the pleasant days God proves His love. in the dry, dark days of suffering we shall prove to Him ours.
- sink ever more naked into Jesus. our misery and weakness teach us to leave ourselves.
- He will carry it out gloriously. (Isa. 28:29)
- the blessed in heaven have this fair opportunity no more. here is the time to work and suffer out of love to God.
- do not seek these fair needful things in yourself. then you become faint-hearted when the fruits are not in your own garden.
- wait upon Him with sweet patience. He will not let you be put to shame. (Ps. 25:3)
- He will surely give what your heart wishes. (Ps. 37:4)
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-042 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.