Upon the dying of a son, who from the father was called Johannes, and from the writer Gerhard.
Addressee, date, and source
The Hundred and Fifty-third Letter.
Upon the dying of a son, who from the father was called Johannes, and from the writer Gerhard.
My brother!
With much compassion (that is, self-own stirring and sincere participation in your suffering) I hear of the dying of our Johann Gerhard. The grounds and motives to comfort you, and to move you to union with God's good-pleasure, I need not first write to Duisburg. You know them yourselves. Whoever is well affected attends so little upon grounds; grace must quiet us and make us firm. This would, and will then also, do it with you in this case. Father and mother are not without cause troubled, when their dear son is taken from them; but taken by him who has given us his only and dearest Son: that we also may not withhold our dearest from him; taken by him who also had father-right to this little son, who will love him much more purely, keep him better, and do him more good, than ever would have been done by father and mother of this time. God had given him capacities for the good; perhaps however God has seen that just because of his capacities he might run into danger, in this dangerous world and time. He is taken not only from you, he is taken also from me: Will we then not rather say with Job: The Lord has given, the Lord has taken, the name of the Lord be praised! Johann Gerhard is taken away; reasonably both Johannes and Gerhard let it serve them unto awakening, watching and praying also to look toward their departure; and reasonably now father and mother leave over the whole portion of their love, which Johann Gerhard had in possession ad Dies vitae, to the rightful immortal Heir, the God of our heart who is never taken from us. I greet heartily
Mülheim, wholly Yours. the 12th of Nov. 1761.
German
Der hundertunddreiundfünfzigste Brief.
Ueber das Absterben eines Sohnes, der vom Vater Johannes, und vom Schreiber Gerhard hiesse.
Mein Bruder!
Mit vielem Mitleiden (d. i. selbst eigener Rührung und aufrichtiger Theilnehmung an eurem Leiden) vernehme das Absterben unsers Johann Gerhards.
— 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 letter of 12 November 1761 from Mülheim to Pastor Johann Christoph Hencke at Duisburg (Mein Bruder! / euch), on the dying of their son Johann Gerhard (so named from the father Johannes and from the writer Gerhard, his sponsor): the grounds of comfort need not first be written to Duisburg — they know them; grace must quiet and make firm; father and mother are rightly troubled, yet the son is taken by him who gave his only Son, who had father-right to the little son; capacities and danger in this world; taken also from the writer; with Job — the Lord has given, the Lord has taken; Johannes and Gerhard to let it awaken them, watching and praying toward their own departure; leave the portion of love to the immortal Heir, the God of our heart who is never taken from us; greets heartily — wholly Yours.
How to read the German. The panel is the 1775 first-edition wording in the house orthography used for Band II / Th IV (settled 2 Sep 2026). Distinctive KEEP forms (seyn / sey / thun / bätend / afficiret / attendiret / Motiven / Theilnehmung / hiesse / 153te / ad Dies vitae) stand as on the leaf. House fold grüsse→grüße (long ü). House folds include Mitleyden / Leyden→Mitleiden / Leiden, vest→fest, bey / beydes→bei / beides, geschencket→geschenket, hertzlich / Hertzens→herzlich / Herzens, gantz / gantze→ganz / ganze, Versalien → digraph. KEEP seyn / sey / bätend / thun.
English choices. you/your for the house (euch/Ihr); salutation not Rule B (My brother!); close ganz der Deine → wholly Yours; bätend → praying; afficiret / attendiret → affected / attends; ad Dies vitae kept as Latin (leaf roman vitæ; æ ligature resolved → vitae). Divine names ordinary. Modern morphology in ordinary prose (Jarred Rule C, 2 Sep 2026) — no decorative -eth. Job cadence rendered in modern 3sg in the body (has given / has taken); KJV opened in the Apparatus. No authorial emphasis (§9d).
How the German reads here. Panel KEEP forms (seyn / sey / thun / bätend / afficiret / attendiret) stand; grüsse→grüße; Mitleyden / Leyden / vest / bey / beydes / geschencket / hertzlich / Hertzens / gantz / gantze / GOTT are folded by the house rules (Spec §3; CRITICAL folds).
A few words and echoes.
- "Ueber das Absterben eines Sohnes, der vom Vater Johannes, und vom Schreiber Gerhard hiesse" — upon the dying of a son named Johannes from the father and Gerhard from the writer.
- "die Gnade muß uns beruhigen und fest machen" — grace must quiet us and make us firm (Heb. 13:9 diction).
- "genommen von dem der uns seinen einigen und liebsten Sohn geschenket hat" — taken by him who has given us his only and dearest Son (Rom. 8:32).
- "Der HErr hats gegeben, der HErr hats genommen, der Name des HErrn sey gelobet!" — the Lord has given, the Lord has taken, the name of the Lord be praised! (Job 1:21).
- "wachend und bätend" — watching and praying (KEEP bätend).
- "ad Dies vitae" — for the days of his life (Latin kept).
- "dem GOtt unsers Herzens der uns nie genommen wird" — the God of our heart who is never taken from us.
- "ganz der Deine" — wholly Yours (Dein → Your).
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-153 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.