Letters · Zweiter Band · Theil IV (1775)

From God's greatness and love. Incitement to return-love.

Bd II · Th IV · Brief 51 · Der einundfünfzigste Brief

Addressee — To Anna Christina Spieker. Salutation "In JEsu herzlich geliebte Schwester!" — Rule B (herzlich geliebte → "dearly beloved sister"), inside the longer formula "In Jesus, dearly beloved sister!". Body du / dir / dich / dein → you/your. Standalone Dein on the close → Your. verbundener → obliged. No God-apostrophe.
Date — Mülheim, 25 September 1760.
Provenance — Translated from the public-domain 1775 first edition (Theil IV, pp. 124–125), in normalized GS 1845 house orthography, collated against the 1798/99 second edition (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin). All rendered words come from public-domain prints.

The Fifty-first Letter.

From God's greatness and love. Incitement to return-love.

In Jesus, dearly beloved sister!

This occasion gives me cause also to greet you with my own hand, as before God's face, heartily, and to wish you His precious peace of God into the heart. Worshipped, praised and loved be the Lord without ceasing! for He is great, and of His perfections there is no end. He is gracious, good and all-sufficient. He has loved us and still loves us, though we are such as we are. Let us love Him again, and devote ourselves wholly to Him: Let our heart be His sanctuary, wherein He may dwell and throne, and our outer man a footstool of His feet! He is sufficient to keep us and to satisfy us, therefore can we venture it upon Him, and through separation from all and still turning-inward let ourselves be kept in His peace, until also our pilgrimage is accomplished. I greet once more with a brotherly heart.

Your Mülheim, obliged weak the 25th of September, 1760. fellow-brother.

❦

German

Der einundfünfzigste Brief.

Von GOttes Größe und Liebe. Reizung zur Gegen-Liebe.

In JEsu herzlich geliebte Schwester!

Diese Gelegenheit giebt mir Anlaß, dich auch mit eigener Hand, als vor GOttes Angesicht, herzlich zu grüßen, und dir seinen theuren GOttes-Frieden ins Herz zu wünschen.

— 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 September letter of the 25th, 1760, from Mülheim to Anna Christina Spieker. This occasion gives him cause also to greet her with his own hand, as before God's face, heartily, and to wish her His precious peace of God into the heart. Worshipped, praised and loved be the Lord without ceasing; for He is great, and of His perfections there is no end. He is gracious, good and all-sufficient. He has loved us and still loves us, though we are such as we are. Let us love Him again, and devote ourselves wholly to Him: let our heart be His sanctuary, wherein He may dwell and throne, and our outer man a footstool of His feet. He is sufficient to keep us and to satisfy us; therefore can we venture it upon Him, and through separation from all and still turning-inward let ourselves be kept in His peace, until also our pilgrimage is accomplished. Mülheim, the 25th of September, 1760.

He has loved us; let us love Him again. He is gracious, good and all-sufficient. He has loved us and still loves us, though we are such as we are. Let us love Him again, and devote ourselves wholly to Him. Worshipped, praised and loved be the Lord without ceasing; for He is great, and of His perfections there is no end.

Let our heart be His sanctuary. Let our heart be His sanctuary, wherein He may dwell and throne, and our outer man a footstool of His feet. He is sufficient to keep us and to satisfy us; therefore can we venture it upon Him, and through separation from all and still turning-inward let ourselves be kept in His peace, until also our pilgrimage is accomplished.

A few words and echoes.

this occasion. also to greet you with his own hand, as before God's face.
His precious peace of God into the heart. wished with the greeting.
Worshipped, praised and loved. be the Lord without ceasing; for He is great, and of His perfections there is no end.
He has loved us and still loves us. though we are such as we are. (1 John 4:19)
Let us love Him again. devote ourselves wholly to Him.
Let our heart be His sanctuary. wherein He may dwell and throne. (1 Cor. 6:19)
our outer man a footstool of His feet. (Matt. 5:35)
sufficient to keep us and to satisfy us. therefore can we venture it upon Him.
through separation from all and still turning-inward. kept in His peace, until the pilgrimage is accomplished.
I greet once more with a brotherly heart.

Cite this letter

Gerhard Tersteegen, Geistliche und erbauliche Briefe, Zweiter Band, IV. Theil, Brief 51 (Solingen, 1773–75); trans. Jarred Fenlason, https://gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-051.html.

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