Encouragement to thankfulness for God's goodness, and to a cheerful pilgrim-walk.

The Hundred and Forty-third Letter.

Encouragement to thankfulness for God's goodness, and to a cheerful pilgrim-walk.

N. N.

Your little greeting-letter of the 1st of December 1761 we have read with pleasure, and have already answered in the Spirit with a hearty wish and love's echo. Your remembrance and fellowship remain dear to me and to us all. The good hand of our God, which has drawn us to himself out of wandering and out of ruin, out of pure mercy; this same good hand has also brought us to his congregation, to his children: We have found one another; we have loved one another; we have been spared, borne, preserved; we have enjoyed good, yes countless good, against all our desert. All this, and ourselves also, we lay wholly prostrate before our great Compassionate One in Christ, before our God and highest Good: He will soon grant us for Jesus' sake a longed-for eternity, to sing with a fair hallelujah all his mercies without end, to behold the blessed, great, ever-loving God, whom we have here believed, our sweet Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has loved us, and purchased us with his blood. Amen, hallelujah! Faithful is he that has called us; he will also do it.

Take courage then yet a little while! my brother! Soon it will be finished. Hold out still a little in praying, in loving, in enduring, in waiting! May our heart and eye remain ever more fully withdrawn from us and from every visible dream, and turned in upon the God who in the sweet name Jesus is so inwardly near to us, and sets his heart and eternity open! Yes, he is near to us, even then when he seems far: He sees us also then when we do not see him; He watches how we do; whether we also give him the honor, and hold our trust upon pure grace firm unto our end? Ah yes, my God! so we will it; my brother wills it thus with me, for Thou hast laid this willing very deep in our ground, and hast preserved it until now. Here we are, O Lord! our eyes look unto Thee; and here is our heart, as it is! Here is our willing, which is from Thee; make it into the performing, that we may become people after Thy heart, in whom Thou mayest now and forever have peace, joy and delight, to the honor of Thy majesty, Amen! for Jesus' sake!

With this sigh and wish my brother-heart greets and kisses you; and so minded we will continue, with God, until we are counted worthy to greet and to kiss one another in the better land and state, before the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Your dear helpmeet and brother B. I ask you heartily to greet. I remain, etc.

German

Der hundertunddreiundvierzigste Brief.

Aufmunterung zur Dankbarkeit gegen GOttes Güte, und zum muntern Pilger-Wandel.

N. N. Dein Gruß-Brieflein vom 1ten Decembr. 1761 haben wir mit Vergnügen gelesen, und schon im Geist mit einem herzlichen Wunsch und Liebes-Echo beantwortet.

— 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).