To a sick woman, for strengthening in faith and in love.
The Fifty-sixth Letter.
To a sick woman, for strengthening in faith and in love.
In our eternally-living and eternally-loving Savior, dearly beloved sister!
Your pleasant of the 7th of this [month] I have, together with the enclosed, rightly received from our sister N.
Though I have outwardly not been able to fulfill the Savior's word: I have been sick, and you are come to me in regard to you, yet it has been so much better fulfilled by me in the spirit. Often has my heart visited you and your dear attendant, blessed you, and wished you God's healing- and peace-full nearness and fellowship. No, no we have not followed fables and fantasies, as we have given ourselves over to the call from the temporal and visible to the invisible and eternal. Whoever hunts after the shadow of this world, he grasps after fantasies. God is essence alone; and your heart itself knows it, that that pleasure and the deep peace which this highest Good already communicates on the pilgrim-way is not at all to be compared with all that which world and creature can give. This communication carries its witness with it; and what will it become, when we see Him without covering and perfectly enjoy Him?
Hold out only a little yet! God will purify you through the cross, and accustom you through poverty unto faith. Give then the Lord the honor! You fantasize, when you hang after such thoughts of doubt. How? when the tempter would make you doubt whether also a Tersteegen has been in the world, whom you also have long not seen, and yet believe that he is there, and loves your soul? Only continue, my dear sister, to do even that in the drought and darkness which you would do by all the savory communications of God, then everything goes well. Pray, love and praise the God who sees you, even when you cannot see Him; rejoice yourself in Him; yield yourself to Him; sink yourself in Him, knowing that in Him is all the good and the perfect blessedness which you can find neither in yourself, nor in anything else. Are you also, according to your opinion, to that which I say here, in the least not in a position, so only suffer, and testify to the Lord that you would gladly suffer out of love to Him; when it should happen even only with a weak look of faith.
I greet you with a brotherly heart. The Lord Jesus be with your spirit! May He fully reach His high end-purpose, which He has before Him under your sickness, and soon give again a recovery according to His gracious good-pleasure!
Your Mülheim, obliged weak the 11th of April, 1761. fellow-brother.
German
Der sechsundfünfzigste Brief.
An eine Kranke, zur Stärkung im Glauben und in der Liebe.
In unserem ewig-lebenden und ewig-liebenden Heyland herzlich geliebte Schwester!
Dein Angenehmes vom 7ten dieses habe, samt dem Eingeschlossenen, von unserer Schwester N. richtig bekommen. Hab ich gleich äußerlich des Heylandes Wort: Ich bin krank gewesen, und ihr seyd zu mir kommen in Ansehung deiner nicht erfüllen können, so ist es doch im Geiste so viel besser von mir erfüllet worden.
— 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 11th, 1761, from Mülheim to Anna Christina Spieker, written to her in sickness. Her pleasant of the 7th of this month he has rightly received, together with the enclosed, from their sister N. Though he has outwardly not been able to fulfill the Savior's word — I have been sick, and you are come to me — in regard to her, yet it has been so much better fulfilled by him in the spirit. Often has his heart visited her and her dear attendant. They have not followed fables and fantasies. Hold out only a little yet: God will purify her through the cross, and accustom her through poverty unto faith. Continue in drought and darkness to do even what she would do in all the savory communications of God. Pray, love and praise the God who sees her, even when she cannot see Him. Mülheim, the 11th of April, 1761.
Visited in the spirit. He has not been able to come to her outwardly. The Lord's word is not therefore unfulfilled: often has his heart visited her and her dear attendant, blessed them, and wished them God's healing- and peace-full nearness and fellowship. No, no they have not followed fables and fantasies, as they have given themselves over to the call from the temporal and visible to the invisible and eternal. Whoever hunts after the shadow of this world grasps after fantasies. God is essence alone. Her heart itself knows the pleasure and the deep peace which this highest Good already communicates on the pilgrim-way — not at all to be compared with all that world and creature can give. This communication carries its witness with it; and what will it become, when they see Him without covering and perfectly enjoy Him?
Hold out; pray in the dark. Only still a little held out. God will purify her through the cross, and accustom her through poverty unto faith. Give then the Lord the honor. She fantasizes, when she hangs after such thoughts of doubt. How? if the tempter would make her doubt whether also a Tersteegen has been in the world, whom she also has long not seen, and yet believes that he is there, and loves her soul? Only continue, dear sister, to do even that in the drought and darkness which she would do by all the savory communications of God, then everything goes well. Pray, love and praise the God who sees her, even when she cannot see Him; rejoice in Him; yield herself to Him; sink herself in Him, knowing that in Him is all the good and the perfect blessedness which she can find neither in herself nor in anything else. Are you also, according to your opinion, in the least not in a position for that which I say here — so only suffer, and testify to the Lord that you would gladly suffer out of love to Him, even if it should happen only with a weak look of faith. The Lord Jesus be with your spirit. May He fully reach His high end-purpose under her sickness, and soon give again a recovery according to His gracious good-pleasure. Mülheim, the 11th of April, 1761.
A few words and echoes.
- your pleasant of the 7th of this. together with the enclosed, from our sister N.
- I have been sick, and you are come to me. outwardly not fulfilled; so much better in the spirit. (Matt. 25:36)
- often has my heart visited you. and your dear attendant.
- we have not followed fables and fantasies. the call from the visible to the invisible. (2 Pet. 1:16)
- God is essence alone. the shadow of this world is a grasp after fantasies.
- already on the pilgrim-way. pleasure and deep peace not to be compared with world and creature.
- when we see Him without covering. and perfectly enjoy Him. (1 John 3:2)
- hold out only a little yet. purify through the cross; accustom through poverty unto faith.
- give then the Lord the honor. you fantasize, when you hang after thoughts of doubt.
- whether also a Tersteegen has been in the world. whom you have long not seen, and yet believe that he is there.
- in the drought and darkness. do even that which you would do by all the savory communications of God.
- pray, love and praise the God who sees you. even when you cannot see Him.
- yield yourself to Him; sink yourself in Him. all the good and the perfect blessedness is in Him.
- only a weak look of faith. so only suffer, and testify that you would gladly suffer out of love to Him.
- the Lord Jesus be with your spirit. His high end-purpose under your sickness. (2 Tim. 4:22)
- Your / Mülheim, obliged weak fellow-brother. the 11th of April, 1761.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-056 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.