Letters · Zweiter Band · Theil IV (1775)

Our faults should serve us for future caution.

Bd II · Th IV · Brief 69 · Der neunundsechzigste Brief

Addressee — To Anna Maria Rittershaus. 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 / deinen (the sister) → you/your. Standalone Dein on the close → Your. verbundener → obliged. No God-apostrophe.
Date — Mülheim, 7 September 1763.
Provenance — Translated from the public-domain 1775 first edition (Theil IV, pp. 169–170), 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 Sixty-ninth Letter.

Our faults should serve us for future caution.

In Jesus, dearly beloved sister!

I thank you for your greeting and blessing-wish, which the Lord would fulfill, and also let flow richly back upon your soul again!

Your little letter from D. was also pleasant to me. It is the truth: Had you kept your faithful leader childlike in view, you would not have let yourself be so childishly unsettled by idle curiosity. Now it shall happen no more! See Little Flower-garden Song VII, verses 10 and 11. It is enough that you have confessed it and prayed it away. Now it must also be forgotten, and serve only for being brought to nought and for future caution. Embrace the mother of eternal love now, with me, so much the more heartily, who lifts us up out of the dirt much more often than we believe, and cleanses us again, and love again, as before.

Because time and means to write more are lacking, so I greet only with a brotherly heart, earnestly offering you up to the Lord, and remain through grace

Your Mülheim, obliged weak the 7th of September, 1763. brother.

❦

German

Der neunundsechzigste Brief.

Unsere Fehler sollen uns zu künftiger Vorsichtigkeit dienen.

In JEsu herzlich geliebte Schwester!

Ich dancke für deinen Gruß und Segens-Wunsch, den der HErr wolle erfüllen, und auch auf deine Seele reichlich wieder zurück fließen lassen!

— 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 7th, 1763, from Mülheim to Anna Maria Rittershaus. He thanks her for her greeting and blessing-wish, which the Lord would fulfill, and let flow richly back upon her soul. Her little letter from D. was also pleasant. Had she kept her faithful leader childlike in view, she would not have let herself be so childishly unsettled by idle curiosity. Now it shall happen no more; see Little Flower-garden, Song VII, verses 10 and 11 — Image of Christian Childhood. It is enough that she has confessed it and prayed it away; now it must also be forgotten, and serve only for being brought to nought and for future caution. Embrace the mother of eternal love now, with him, so much the more heartily — she lifts us out of the dirt much more often than we believe, and cleanses again; love again, as before. Time and means to write more are lacking. Mülheim, the 7th of September, 1763.

Childlike, not childish. Had she kept her faithful leader childlike in view, she would not have let herself be so childishly unsettled by idle curiosity. Now it shall happen no more. See Little Flower-garden, Song VII, verses 10 and 11. It is enough that she has confessed it and prayed it away. Now it must also be forgotten, and serve only for being brought to nought and for future caution.

The mother of eternal love; time is lacking. Embrace the mother of eternal love now, with him, so much the more heartily, who lifts us up out of the dirt much more often than we believe, and cleanses us again, and love again, as before. Because time and means to write more are lacking, he greets only with a brotherly heart, earnestly offering her up to the Lord. Mülheim, the 7th of September, 1763.

A few words and echoes.

your greeting and blessing-wish. which the Lord would fulfill, and let flow richly back upon your soul.
your little letter from D. was also pleasant to me.
childlike in view. had you kept your faithful leader so, you would not have been so childishly unsettled.
idle curiosity. would not have let yourself be unsettled by it.
now it shall happen no more. see Little Flower-garden, Song VII, verses 10 and 11.
confessed it and prayed it away. it is enough; now it must also be forgotten.
being brought to nought. and for future caution.
the mother of eternal love. embrace her now, with me, so much the more heartily.
out of the dirt. she lifts us up much more often than we believe, and cleanses again.
love again, as before.
time and means to write more are lacking.
obliged weak brother. Mülheim, the 7th of September, 1763.

Cite this letter

Gerhard Tersteegen, Geistliche und erbauliche Briefe, Zweiter Band, IV. Theil, Brief 69 (Solingen, 1773–75); trans. Jarred Fenlason, https://gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-069.html.

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