Gerhard Tersteegen (25 November 1697 – 3 April 1769), was a German Reformed religious writer and hymnist.
Life
Tersteegen was born in Moers, at that time the principal city of a county belonging to the House of Orange-Nassau that formed a Protestant enclave in the midst of a Catholic country.
After being educated at the gymnasium of his native town, Tersteegen was for some years apprenticed to a merchant. He soon came under the influence of Wilhelm Hoffman, a Pietistic revivalist, and devoted himself to writing and public speaking, withdrawing in 1728 from all secular pursuits and giving himself entirely to religious work. He also had a great influence on radical Pietism.
His writings include a collection of hymns, such as Das geistliche Blumengärtlein (The spiritual flower-garden) of 1729 (new edition, Stuttgart, 1868), a volume of Gebete (prayers), and another of Briefe (letters), besides translations of the writings of the French mystics and of Julian of Norwich. He died in Mülheim, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sermons
Tersteegen was well known for his deeply spiritual sermons. People crowded into his home to hear him speak of the things of God. Some of his sermons have been translated into English, including Godliness , and Warnings and Admonitions . Additional sermons can be found in Samuel Jackson's Spiritual Crumbs from the Master's Table and H. E. Govan's Gerhard Tersteegen: Life and Selections.
Poetry
Tersteegen's poetry has been regarded as spiritual. An example from his hymns:
Hymns
Hymns by Tersteegen were printed in several hymnals internationally, for example in the Danish Roskilde Konvents Psalmebog 1855, and later in Psalmebog 1912, with one hymn, "Kom, lad trøstig vandre" (No. 564).
In Sweden, a popular songbook with spiritual songs and prayers by Thomas à Kempis named Lilla Kempis. Korta Språk och Böner, till uppbyggelse för de enfaldiga (4th edition 1876) contained 19 hymns by Tersteegen.
In The Church Hymn book 1872 he is represented with four hymns: "God calling yet" ("Gott rufet noch", 1730, No. 655), "Thou hidden love of God" ("Verborgne Gottesliebe, Du", 1731 No. 744), "Something every heart is loving" (1730, No. 782) and "O thou, to whose all-searching sight" (1731, No. 927).
In The English Hymnal with Tunes, 1933, he is represented with the procession hymn "Gott ist gegenwärtig", in the English translation by John Wesley as "Lo! God is here!" (No. 637). Wesley translated several of Tersteegen's texts.
Correspondence
Tersteegen corresponded with many people. He was always practical and sought to help people learn how to live in God's presence. Among the more fundamental principles he espoused were the following:
"The Christian ought to form an invincible resolution to become as perfect as possible, and take the life and doctrine of the Saviour as his pattern."
"The means for this purpose are, walking before God - that is, a constant introversion and inwardness, so that the attention is continually directed to that which passes in the soul, and every inclination not acceptable to God is stifled at birth."
"With this exercise, unceasing or inward prayer must be connected, which consists in a continued inclination to, and an habitual dependence upon, God, even in the smallest matters."
"All this must be practiced in a state of constant tranquility and inward humiliation before God."
"In order to render it easy, the individual must seek solitude and retirement as much as is consistent with his outward calling."
Reflections
Here are samples of his reflections:
Regarding God's presence: "The secret of God’s presence is actually believed by very few, but are you aware, that if each one truly believed it, the whole world would at once be filled with the saints, and the earth would be truly Paradise? If men really believed it as they should, they would need nothing more to induce them to give themselves up, heart and soul, to this loving God. But now it is hid from their eyes. Let us pray, my beloved, that God may be made known and manifested to many hearts, and thus in the light of His divine presence, the darkness of mere human life may be dispelled, and all things cast away, both without and within the heart, which hinder the growth and life of the soul, and which this light alone discovers and unveils. In all Christian practice there is nothing more universally needful, nothing simpler, sweeter, and more useful, nothing which so sums up in itself all Christian duties in one blessed act, as the realization of the loving presence of God."