Notes
Directly after the edification hour one of these two women told me that her husband, along with her neighbor, were having two bushels of new corn qround as a gift for me and my dear colleague, which need only be fetched from the mill. Another pious man brought me more than a bushel of very fine potatoes on his back to my house. And thus the Lord sweetened the occasion of sadness and pain for me in manifold ways. Mr. /Ludwig/ Meyer inspected the injury and found nothing broken or sprained, nonetheless the shoulder is swollen and suffused with blood, and I feel pain in other places. Hence I have entrusted myself to the surgeon, Mr. Meyer, for a cure. May God cause it to redound to my benefit! He has presented me anew with my life today, for there was not a step between me and death. “We have a God who helpeth, and a Lord who saveth from death.” (Psalms 68:21) Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not what good He has done unto you, who hath redeemed thy life from perdition and hath crowned thee with grace and mercy.” I look upon this rescue also as a granting of the pleas of so many of the faithful for us, as we find so many assurances in the preface to the 8th Continuation. May God reward it!
Saturday, the 18th of September. Because the nights are becoming cooler, the people are beginning to slaughter their oxen and old fattened cows for meat for the winter. A few are also coming to sell, if not whole oxen, nonetheless a few good pieces, which is proving especially useful to the 4th transport, which still has few cattle. In the orphanage our kind Lord has blessed us so abundantly this year that we will get sufficient meat and lard from oxen and pigs for a whole year, as just yesterday two large oxen were slaughtered. It is indeed a special solicitude of God over us that, although other people in the country and in Carolina have lost very many cattle because of an infectious disease, nonetheless we in our place have felt not the slightest trace of it even though the most part of the horned cattle are free in the woods and even run off a long way. Some of them are searched for by our people on horseback, and some are brought into Old Ebenezer, for a small payent, by the Lord Trustees’ herdsmen.16
Monday, the 20th of September. Ms. N. attends the prayer hours and the public divine services on Sundays very diligently and thereby purports to desire forgiveness for her sins and to stand in the grace of God. She knows well how to talk the speech of the faithful; but when we see her deportment in dealings with her neighbor, we notice the dominion of the Old Adam, and we see the natural, not-born-again man everywhere. But she is so clever that she can paint the coarsest things in a good color and can disengage herself from them in such a way that she is not easy to apprehend and convince. We admonished her yesterday about the path and attitude of Ananias and Sephira. I worry that the country will spew out such people sooner or later.
Tuesday, the 21st of September. Yesterday and last night Flörl’s wife was in very difficult labor, at which the righteous Mrs. Bacher was used as midwife; but, because she was unable either to advise or assist in the troublesome circumstances of the mother and the still unborn child, at night we had to fetch Ms. N. out to us. She performed very fine services. This woman is a very skilled and practiced midwife and knows how to administer medication for female circumstances very well. Likewise David, in his retinue of heroes, had various ones who were not the best, as we observed in the story from 2 Samuel 23 in the prayer hour. Nonetheless they rendered him and the Israelites good services, and for that reason he bore them and worked on them through the Word of God and by good example, although otherwise he liked to have pious servants, according to the content of the 101st Psalm.
We completed this story of the heroes today, and during it just yesterday and today we remembered, to His praise, a few right important benefactions of God which we have experienced in this country. For example, God gives us a safe river, fountain, and well water in abundance, for refreshing ourselves in healthy and sick days, whereas David and others did not have it so well in the cave of Adullah during his exile and concurrent high fever. What a great benefaction it is we experienced not only on our shipboard journey, with the lack of water, but we also would have experienced it even more with our little children if we had had to flee before our enemies. The full bottles, as with Hagar, Genesis 21:15, would soon have become empty. N.B. that we have no lions here, also that the other rapacious animals such as bears and wolves are so timid that they flee before people, and this is likewise a great benefaction in this desolate country.
In the Lord Trustees of the highly praiseworthy Society in London, in General Oglethorpe, in so many brave ministers and other benefactors in Europe, our Ebenezer has nothing but heroes, who through their prayer, good counsel, and benefactions have turned so much harm away and so much well-being to us that we must fairly praise the name of the Lord because of them, pray for them, and demonstrate in words and actions that we are grateful to them. For if anyone rewards good with evil (as King Saul and many Israelites did with David and as was done in the New Testament with Christ and His Apostles), evil will not leave his house. Our dear Lord has caused us more than once to find from this story quite many fine prefigurations of persons who have their loving fulfillment in Christ and the new economy.17 It is a testimony of the great benefaction and kindness of God that He caused such a famous fountain to spring up in an otherwise obscure Bethlehem, not in a corner or courtyard of a private citizen but in a public place, standing open to everyone, to wit, beneath the gate thereof, from which even the famous Jerusalem and other places, as is known amongst the scholars, were able to take refreshment.
This signifies that the Messiah would be born in that very place, He for whom many prophets, kings, and righteous persons have thirsted, and in Him would such a fountain of life come up that not only could all sin and impurity be effaced but also many poor sinners languishing under the law would find their single and proper refreshment. Zecharia 13:1: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” “My soul thirsteth for God, etc. . . . When shall I come and appear before God?” in which words dear David certainly sighed for the future in which the Messiah would come incarnate. Now we say: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, etc. . . . And out of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” By means of such faithful acceptance one becomes a true hero, John 7:37, 38.
Wednesday, the 22nd of September. Today during the morning N.N. and his wife showed me a new tile oven which his wife had set up with her own hands almost as tidily as a mason. But if she is to grasp and keep a good verse from the Bible or an item from the catechism or experience the effect of penitence and faith upon her soul, then she lacks memory and powers of body and mind, and we get excuses everywhere. Recently she once more caused great vexation by cursing and unChristian scolding, from which she could palpably grasp that still she had no faith and has not become a new creature, although she acted for some time quietly, honestly, and obligingly, provided there were no provocations. Such blind people either consider such works of the flesh to be sins of weakness which cling to Christians, or even if they have to consider them to be outbreaks of a prevailing lack of faith and as signs of an unaltered heart, nonetheless they are still of the opinion that they had had a better foundation but had fallen from grace. Because they allow themselves to be somewhat sorry and improve themselves, this too is supposed to be called penitence, as if they were once more standing in a state of grace, from which they (in their opinion) once more may fall on the occasion of hard provocation, and into which they may enter once more. This is a right terrible error. Some consider it penance and conversion if in the evening they ask God for forgiveness for their sins and whatever else they can think of. Oh! What a tight corner we get into with such people, over whom we are placed as watchmen according to Ezekiel 3.
On my way home a woman recounted to me with great pleasure how our dear Lord had shown her the means and ways to reconcile herself with N. in a right warm and sisterly manner, amidst prayers and tears, and to dispense with all the old misunderstanding and mistrust. This renewed Christian friendship means much to me and others who know the circumstances. She regretted her hard and haughty heart deeply, which always wanted to be right in the end and not humble; and she was very pleased by my well-meant counsel in view of future events. The Kingdom of God amongst us will profit greatly from this new coupling of hearts; for their mutual prayer to God, for themselves, the congregation, orphanage, benefactors, all Christendom, and all men is very ardent. This, too, clarifies for me the stories of the heroes which we have been contemplating. May the Lord trample further Satan beneath our feet in the near future.
Friday, the 24th of September. Because of my still uncured arm and a few bodily weaknesses I cannot do anything more than ride to the plantations on Tuesdays and Fridays and cannot even visit people in the city, and therefore I have begun quietly to read the late Prof. Francke’s Collegium Pastorale, which was printed in Halle last year.18 It was sent to us amongst other beautiful books a short time ago; I shall edify myself from it both in my Christianity and in my office. I glorify the Lord for this undeserved benefaction which He presented to me in the form of this exceptionally beautiful book, for I find in it oil and wine for my wounds, and I have desired to read such a work which goes to the main point without circumlocution and prolixity. When one has official duties and allows the concerns of the souls of the adults and children to lie upon one’s heart for the deliverance of one’s own soul, one finds so much to do that one cannot catch up in reading long books. However, enough time turns up to go through an abridged treatise, which can be done bit by bit. In it the heart of a minister who would like to become a faithful and wise householder can find proper nourishment. On account of the great blessing which, through God’s mercy, I find in this writing, I wish that it would come into the hands not only of students of theology but also of beginning and other preachers who would like to be useful to their Lord and become more and more faithful and also remain so.
Monday, the 27th of September. Today a strong, right cold west wind came up which would soon bring us night frost if it were to keep up, although one could hardly have expected it of this country, which lies south of the 32nd parallel. Because our dear Lord has given continually dry weather, our people have had the most suitable time to gather in their physical blessing in the field, as they have done faithfully; and they are still busy with beans, rice, squash, and also corn, bringing it in completely. The beans grow uncommonly abundantly, and if one should take a mind to plant a single one apart from the others and later count the beans which grew from it, one could not marvel enough at the great increase together with the wisdom, kindness, and omnipotence of God.
Single beans, or also a type of Indian red pea that is bigger than the German sugar peas, are thrown into a hole between the Indian corn, which is planted four feet from one another. At first they grow somewhat slowly because the corn seems to draw some nourishment out of the ground and also casts shadows. However, when the corn is ripe and bent down, they grow quickly and run up the half-bent down corn stalk as if on an adminiculum,19 and cover over the earth and the corn as if with a green tapestry. When the first ones have become ripe, the subsequent ones blossom on their tendrils or the straw and become ripe by the time the frost comes and kills the remaining blossoms, and the young shoots or hulls of the beans wither and are used for cattle fodder.
Men pay no attention to the miraculous creatures of birds and flowers because they always have them before their eyes and are accustomed to them, so that the Lord must expressly direct them thereto and say: “Behold the fowls of the air, consider the lilies of the field.” It is the same with these and other crops, and one should, as an intelligent, and even more as a Christian person, encourage oneself diligently to view the miracles in nature, to the recognition and honor of the wisdom, kindness, and omnipotence of the Creator, and also accustom the children to them during their early days.20 That would be a profitable and blessed stroll in God’s garden. Gathering in all the local beans and peas is somewhat tiresome because they do not all ripen simultaneously, and, unlike the peas in Europe, cannot be mown with or gathered in with the straw. Nonetheless the trouble is worth it because beans and hulls, the former for people and the latter for cattle, can be used very profitably, because horses and cattle like eating the hulls or shells alone almost as much as the beans or corn. The deer also eat up not only the green, young bean stalks but also green and dry beans just as quickly as they grow if they are not kept away. The bears, squirrels, and other animals dangerous to the corn leave those things unharmed.
Thursday, the 30th of September. I called on a pious man whom I found somewhat downcast. In the last edification hour he understood from the beginning of the 24th chapter of 2 Samuel and other places in the Scripture that we have to judge our sins not according to reason and the opinion of other men but rather according to the Holy Writ, if we do not wish to err and come to harm. For we showed then what judgment the Holy Writ passes on sins which occur in thoughts, desires, gestures, words, and actions, which, if one considers it properly and believes such judgments an unerring word of God, should drive out one’s frivolity and self-certainty. There are things which one can call per se indifferent, innocent, and neither good nor bad, as with David the reckoning of the people here; but if they are acted upon and brought to fruition they are not indifferent, they are noted and judged, as the person who does them is constituted.
A converted man is a good tree and brings forth good fruit so that all his actions, even the smallest, such as measuring corn, beans, and rice, counting squash, etc., are not only good but are also a veritable service to God.21 On the other hand an unconverted man, or one who lets his flesh dominate him once more, is and becomes a bad tree which bears nothing but bad fruit. His best works are without faith, as the principio bonarum actionum solendida vitia,22 as the late Luther expressed it. To the pure, everything is pure, but to the impure and unfaithful nothing is pure, Titus 1:15, cf. Matthew 6:22, 23, at which not just the parishioners’ current, but also their former lives in patria, in Germany, on the journey, and here in this country were enumerated, and the verses of Matthew 12:35–37 and I Corinthians 4:5 were laid upon their consciences. With this, I specified to this sin-burdened man the recently contemplated story of the free and open fountain beneath the gate at Bethlehem, which was a splendid model for Christ, with whom counsel and comfort for penitent sinners are to be found. He well knew how great and dear Christ would become to him if God would disclose his sins and make all his own good deeds as nothing, and would cast him into the mire; on the other hand he knew that Christ, with His precious merit, is paid little heed if one does not feel sin in one’s conscience, and the wrath that is deserved with it.
OCTOBER
Friday, the 1st of October. In today’s edification hour on the plantations the abomination of drunkenness was pointed out, and we showed the parishioners what their behavior with regard to such vexatious persons should be, which we hope will make a good impression on the sinners and others. Today I warned my parishioners about the sins of David’s subjects, over which the wrath of the Lord (as is expressed fearsomely in 2 Samuel 24:1) was once more kindled. To be sure, they are not specified; but we may assume from other places in the stories and from the Psalms of David themselves that it happened under the fortunate regime of David, with the enjoyment of the peace they had wished for, and the well established divine services, and so many physical benefactions in Jerusalem and in the entire country. As it says in Ezekiel 16:49, 50: “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride and fullness of bread [when people went lustily for eating, drinking, fancy clothing, etc.] and abundance of idleness, etc.” What then do we have to expect in this country, in which the abominations of Sodom and Jerusalem are in full fashion, if the Lord shall see into them (as it says in loc cit.). It says here, too, from Isaiah 1:9: “Except the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom,” etc. May the Lord increase and strengthen His little band so that by means of prayer it may place itself in the breach and make itself into a rampart.
Saturday, the 2nd of October. The good Christian Riedelsperger has been for some time now somewhat downcast over a certain matter which concerns his person and marriage. But today I found that he is taking his heart in faith and patience and is becoming more comforted, as I also laid before him a few reasons which can dispel completely all burdensome thoughts like a fog. What the Apostle James said of other sick persons who believe in Jesus is also pertinent to this righteous Riedelsperger: “The prayer of faith shall save the sick.” For, since no remedies took effect, he, and others with him, prayed all the more in faith, which God, contrary to his and others’ expectations, has vouchsafed a clear and gracious hearing. He is becoming stronger in his limbs every day and is getting his proper speech once more, which heretofore had been very labored. To be sure he has not been able to plant anything because he has been ill a very long time and also has to give a great deal of money for his cure, nonetheless he is comforted and is experiencing what the Lord says: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” For the heavenly Father causes something to fall to him every day, so that he is advancing further than others. In cattle breeding he has much good fortune and blessing; and, since he has served the orphanage in quite many ways and continues to serve it, his cattle go to the orphanage’s cowpen and our dear Lord recompenses him also, with the good success of his horned cattle, for the impartial love he has shown the orphanage. Because the doctor’s fee is very high for him we have designated one £ sterl. from the poor-box for his help. With him it is applied in the way that our benefactors would wish.
Monday, the 4th of October. This afternoon I visited Hans Flörl’s wife. In our conversation she came to the miraculous ways upon which our dear Lord led her to escape from popery and to bring her to the Lutheran doctrine. In her it is fulfilled that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed and leaven: it commences from a small state and thereafter spreads right gloriously in the soul, where she is being made faithful. Several others also gathered here who united with me in prayer and praise of God.
On Saturday our dear Pastor Mühlenberg arrived in Savannah; he rested on Sunday. He has accepted a calling to the office of minister in Pennsylvania; and today he came by water via Abercorn. His things are coming up in a large boat via Purysburg with a Salzburger family who had previously been in Cadzant in Seeland. He has brought along letters from the most praiseworthy Society and from Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen. The reports from Prussia and the massive silver and heavily gilded communion chalice and those items which a Christian midwife in H. has sent were also brought along, for which may our dear Lord be humbly praised. We are somewhat troubled that in some long time no letters with the diary have arrived in London, since we wrote quite often at the end of last year and in this current one, and each time appended a portion of the journal. May the Lord set right what is floating around astray or seems to be lost. Pastor Mühlenberg has taken the path here because Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen finds it to be a good thing for me to accompany him to Pennsylvania, and according to the grace which God bestows, that I should myself help to make the first arrangements. May God convince me of His gracious and pleasing will.
We are very fond of our dear Mr. Mühlenberg and with him we help to praise God for His miraculous care which he enjoyed upon the sea during the very long, arduous journey. On board ship they found themselves with the most extreme lack of water; and, since they were still far at sea, our dear Lord, upon their fervent prayer, granted a strong east wind which brought them most quickly to the coasts of Carolina. Because the wind became contrary they had to float around for a week after drinking the water to the last drop, God arranged for two English warships to come to them and to present them with three barrels of water, by which they were all gladdened and refreshed. Moreover, Mr. Mühlenberg is sound and in good possession of his powers, which is a good thing because he must hasten off on account of the winter, when no sloops go to Pennsylvania.
Tuesday, the 5th of October. This morning God granted me a very pleasurable hour in the gathering on the plantations, and I certainly believe that the blessing thereon extended not only to me but also to my parishioners.
After the edification hour we had to bury Ruprecht Zittrauer’s youngest little son. He had died the previous night. At the grave I spoke of how death in the world makes great and painful separation amongst the best and dearest friends, as married couples, parents, and children are. I said, however, that there was a day of complete and eternal restitution coming when that which stands in the New Testament as a model will come to pass completely and forever: The Lord gave the awakened child and only son once more to his mother. What joy it is here, when good friends separated from one another meet once more. But what will such an eternal and completely sinless reunion of the blessed in the resurrection of the just bring in the way of joy and blessedness? If our own are to be given to us once more and if we are to come together with them forever, our most loving occupation in this our time of grace would have to be to help to lead our own to Christ, through penitence and faith; and nothing should lie closer to our hearts than their true salvation, for besides our own selves we can take along nothing but our children into eternity, and those we call our own.
Wednesday, the 6th of October. Young [Paul] Müller, the clockmaker’s son, indicated to me at my house that, with the assent of his parents and from his own inclination, he desired to marry the milkmaid in the orphanage, Apollonia Kreder, a quiet, diligent, and Christian person, and that he wished today to be betrothed to her. He invited me to his parents’ house to bless their intention with the Word of God and prayer, which I did forthwith; and the Word of God and the prayer brought about much emotion and edification amongst them all. The marriage itself will still not take place so soon; nonetheless, since they surmise that I am traveling away, they wished to announce their intention to me, and ask the blessing of the Lord through my office.
Friday, the 8th of October. Today in the edification hour on the plantations and in the prayer hour in the city Pastor Mühlenberg gave a sermon from God’s word to the congregation. May the Lord bless it in everyone. The Salzburger family who came with Pastor Mühlenberg, to wit, the parents and three small girls, arrived here towards evening; and for their care they were put into the orphanage, for which they showed much gratitude. My dear colleague had traveled to Savannah to have them brought here with our people, since nothing came of Colonel Stephen’s order for it which he had given to other people in Savannah.1
Sunday, the 10th of October. This day has been a right remarkable and blessed day for us: through His holy word and through holy communion, which sixty-six persons enjoyed with us, our dear Lord has shown us so much good that in blessed eternity we cannot thank Him enough for it. Dear Pastor Mühlenberg was amongst the communicants and was right heartily inspired and refreshed. It is a year since our church was dedicated, and we reminded our parishioners of the many spiritual benefactions God has shown them in this church in the year just past, and we roused ourselves with them to His praise. After the afternoon catechisation I took my leave of the congregation in prayer, on account of tomorrow’s early departure. The leave-taking took place not without tender emotions on both sides. In such circumstances it is obvious how fond people are of one another through the grace of God. Prior to the prayer I reminded them of a few points they were to observe during my absence so that the double burden which my dear colleague now had to carry would be lightened and good order would be promoted and maintained. We bound ourselves diligently to pray for one another, which will certainly have great profit.2
Monday, the 11th of October. It was determined that today was the day for the departure of my dear and worthy colleague and Mr. Mühlenberg to take place, but that did not happen until evening. In the meantime the day was spent with much blessing, and many things were discussed which were necessary for me to know in my office. My dear colleague has experienced many things from which he realized how the Lord had blessed yesterday’s recitation. When it came time to leave, my dear colleague took leave of us in prayer. Many of our parishioners were present, who, along with many others, accompanied him and Pastor Mühlenberg to the water, where once more we took leave of one another, and commended them to the Lord. Pastor Mühlenberg sang at the departure: “So let us follow our dear Lord with body and soul and stand with Him cheerfully, comforted, and glady in suffering. For he who does not struggle will not carry off the crown of everlasting life.3
There was great emotion amongst us all. I hope the Lord will bring us together again in blessing. We have never had such a blessed period in Ebenezer. For the Lord has never manifested such a benefaction to us: He led to us one of our dear friends in Germany, who otherwise had already loved us in spirit, whom we indeed have been able to look upon as a true friend and brother in Christ. Now I hope that we will be united even better and that God will grant the grace for a congregation in Pennsylvania to be gathered by the preaching of the Gospel, and for us to be one heart and one soul with it. Yesterday afternoon we treated the epistle pertinent to the occasion. May the Lord grant that it come to that end, for the sake of His love, and for the glorification of His name. Amen.
Tuesday, the 12th of October. Today God gave me the grace to preach Jesus Christ to my parishioners on the plantations and in the city. I preached Him as a high priest who is holy, innocent, unsullied, separated from the sinners, and higher than Heaven itself. To this end the words of the Lord Jesus gave me the opportunity, John 8: “Who among you convicteth me of sin?” Thus was the Lord Jesus able to proceed and inquire with great joy; but we, however, must say of ourselves something quite different, to wit, what is written in Romans 3:23. But whoever recognizes this penitently and causes himself to be brought to faith in this innocent Jesus, that person will be made pure of all sins through His blood, all of his sins will be forgiven, sin will also not, therefore, hold sway over him, and he can now proceed and ask: “Who will condemn?” For, whether or not sin rages and blusters in him often, nonetheless it is said of those who are and who remain in Christ and who do not follow after the flesh but after the spirit, that there will be no damnation amongst them.
Wednesday, the 13th of October. In the afternoon I went to the plantations to visit some people. On my way I was pleased to see the field still garnished and decorated with all kinds of beautiful flowers. It would almost look as it does in spring, if the leaves on the bushes and trees were not beginning to turn yellow. I was going especially to the person to whom my dear colleague had lent, for her edification, the late Spener’s Pure Milk of the Gospel, since she had not been able for some weeks to be at the divine services. She told me that someone had recounted something from yesterday’s edification hour, at which point I showed her still more of the good things I had said of my Savior; she was indeed gladdened to hear it. She only regretted, she said, that she could not put it properly to use, and it went thus for her also with the observance of the glorious benefactions of God as they are presented in the above-mentioned book. She would often read through many a benefaction, she said, but she still could not properly make it her own, at which point I showed her that by the grace of God she belonged amongst the poor in spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I said she must not look to feelings so much but rather simply keep faith in His word of promise. Oh, may the Lord take further pity on this person, as He has already done, and strengthen her mightily in faith.
Thursday, the 14th of October. This afternoon I visited some neighbors who were in their sickbeds. The one is Peter Reiter, whom for a year the Lord has drawn to Himself by means of a hard test in that He caused him to become lame because a bear fell on him from a tree. He told me that a few days ago he had wished to die joyfully but now he found himself otherwise inclined. I told him, however that he must not look to feelings but rather keep faith in Christ; Christ was completely his, and what he lacked, I said, he should seek in Christ. The other person was Mrs. Crause, and she can also say: “Now Thou hast accepted me as I came imploring to thee. My heart has felt that Thy gaze of mercy has touched it.”4 This person needed to hear just that which I told the former one.
Friday, the 15th of October. In today’s edification hour on the plantations I read aloud the letters of my dear colleague. With what came from Thomas Stephens I reminded the parishioners to consider what a sin it was to place oneself in opposition to the authorities, and I said that each one of them should guard against taking part in such a sin.5 At the same time I indicated publicly on this occasion what I had said to the miller in private, to wit, he had asked if he could grind his flour on Sundays because the people needed flour. To which I answered that it was contrary to the express ordinance of God concerning keeping the Sabbath holy. I said that, if we turned our minds to it, it would be an easy thing for him to keep the mill running longer, as he had shown us frequently. For, although it is quite dry in the country on account of the lack of rain, the mill is nonetheless running quite well and it has had to stop for only a few days. Indeed, if it pleased our dear Lord to cause the water once more to fall, we would still have done His will, and it would be an easy thing for Him, after we had borne the trial, to help us once more.
Saturday, the 16th of October. When I was at the miller’s yesterday I saw their little child lying in the cradle in great pain. It was a real picture of misery, so that one could recognize to a certain degree how much heartbreak has come into the world through sin. Already then, when I was in their hut and afterwards in the edification hour, I asked the Lord if He might absolve us from the great pains, and thus it also happened. When the prayer hour was over someone came to me and brought me the report that it had happened; they asked whether I might come out and help to bury the child, which also took place.
I caused myself and other people at the interment to profit from the words: “His pain, sorrow, and misery have come to a blessed end. He has borne Christ’s yoke. He has died and still lives.”6 May the Lord be praised for granting our prayer and supplication, may He cause us all willingly to bear the yoke of Christ; thus we shall be as favored as this child was, and all faithful imitators of Christ.
Monday, the 18th of October. Because our dear Lord gave me strength yesterday evening, I held a prayer hour in which, prior to the prayer, I made a start at reading something aloud from Dr. Francke’s, Glaucha Memorial Booklet,7 in which it is my intention to progress therein every Sunday, if the Lord grants me the power and life to do it. This morning a woman concerned about her soul came to me and recounted how, in yesterday’s reading, it came anew into her conscience that she had spent her Sundays so badly in her younger years. “Indeed,” she said concerning the matter, “I am too sinful. It appears to me that there is no one as sinful as I.” I preached Christ anew to her and told her she should not hold herself back from Him through her feeling for her sins.
Wednesday, the 20th of October. This afternoon a woman, one of the old inhabitants, came to me. She has often wished to tell me what God has done in her soul, but she has never had the right opportunity for it, hence she did it today. She is quite simple, but was able to say so much that our dear Lord disclosed to her her corruption. At that point she was sorely tempted;8 but, she said, she prayed all the more zealously and diligently, and finally our dear Lord gave her a light heart. When these and like circumstances which she experienced then appeared in the sermons, they became for her living recollections. “Yes,” she said, “I have indeed experienced that all external suffering is nothing compared to inner temptation.” The first powerful awakening happened in the old church hut, when she heard my dear colleague’s sermon that one must properly come to see and know Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, the 21st of October. At noontime a woman was with me who was still the same, but I cannot believe it. She knows well how to justify herself in everything. I did not speak much with her, rather I more often kept quiet. When she was on the point of going away, I told her the cause, to wit, that she was one of those who say: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” The Lord Jesus says, however, “. . . And knoweth not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” She said she knew as much but that God had shown her grace. But I replied briefly that it might well be that God’s preliminary grace was tapping at her and that she was feeling it, but that it had not yet come to a change of heart and had not yet broken her old ways of Adam. There are such people as she is, who are satisfied when they notice that God is beginning to work powerfully upon them; but they do not proceed faithfully with the preliminary grace. Rather they believe that they already have Christianity and therefore they cause it to come no further; they cause sin to hold sway over themselves and consider such a thing to be weakness. This is also the reason I do not often visit this person. I can accomplish nothing with her. She thinks and remains convinced that she is converted, and I cannot concede her such a thing. Hence all discussion is in vain. Such people are glad to hear something good; but, when it comes to the proper point of extirpating the old Adam, then it is at an end. May the Lord take pity on such persons and open their eyes.
Peter Reiter has gotten tertian fever. Our dear Lord has given him to recognize with it all the more how miserable this life is, and he longs more for eternal peace. In the meantime he wishes nonetheless to use external means and let our dear Lord reign however He wishes to bless the matter. The honest Klocker, his neighbor, has also used the fever cure; the fever left him, but his diarrhea is very severe. In the meantime he was comforted in the Lord and is satisfied whether the Lord wishes him to live or die. He stands firmly in the grace of God and thanks his God many times for the treasured work of His redemption. He is indeed quite satisfied (as he himself expressed it), that our dear Lord is flogging him. If he should die, the Lord would care for his children; if he should remain living longer, he would like to apply all his diligence to them so that they come to a recognition of God. Especially on the eldest girl he wishes to spare no diligence; she can comprehend practically nothing. Finally he asked me to pray with him, and admonished his two girls that they should pray along with us. Amongst other expressions he used this one: It was not good, he said, if a person suddenly died off, it was better if prior to that he were to suffer and be ill, because then he would have the opportunity better to be prepared for blessed eternity.
Friday, the 22nd of October. Our dear Lord has caused Brandner to become very ill, nonetheless an improvement has begun once more. His fever clot inconveniences him greatly;9 hence, when he is lying down, he has to turn so that it does not cause him too much pain. Already in Salzburg our dear Lord worked powerfully on him. The most prominent amongst the Lutherans advised that each person in those circumstances diligently pray for himself so that the Lord might show what to do and what the best thing would be. He followed this advice also and prayed diligently. But our dear Lord then disclosed to him his corruption very clearly, so that he was able to say no other prayers but the pater noster. He said the anxiety of his heart had been very great. Afterwards, when he came to Lindau, these circumstances lasted on for two years, and he had not the courage to disclose them to his ministers; yet afterwards it became somewhat easier. Now he was lamenting bitterly over his lack of faith. I told him for what reason our dear Lord granted him to recognize this. Of Peter Reiter he told me that about three weeks ago he had gone home from church with him and that he, the former, had said to him: “Today indeed we have heard something good once more; it appears to me that my life in the world will be very short, and I will be happy to die.” When I was with this Peter yesterday, he told me that in his circumstances the words he had often heard occurred to him: “I hang and remain hanging to Christ as a member. Wherever my head has passed through, he will take me along, too.”10 “Oh,” said Brandner, “what a person this Peter was heretofore, and how God’s grace has now turned him around.” I added: “Hallelujah!”
Saturday, the 23rd of October. Martin Herzog told me today that he was now coming upon the proper sign for true Christianity: his reading and listening till now had not helped him, he said, because he did not pray to the Holy Spirit. But now that he is doing it, he said, things are quite different with him; he only wishes that he might be faithful. I told him that the Lord Jesus wished to be entirely his. With him one could receive everything, and I believed that in him, too, the works of God would also become apparent. “I am,” said he, “forty-two years old,” and he said he was now beginning to come to the proper sign. Oh, what an abundance of patience and forebearance of God this is! This happened in passing as I met him along with the new Salzburger from Cadzand at work and discussed it with him briefly.
Thursday, the 28th of October. This morning at 8 o’clock our boat, which had carried my dear colleague and Pastor Mühlenberg to Charleston, arrived at our place in good condition. My dear colleague is also returning again because there had been no opportunity to go to Pennsylvania, and to stay long in Charleston costs much money, hence we expect him shortly.
Friday, the 29th of October. After the prayer hour our kind Lord brought my dear colleague along with Kalcher from Charleston via Old Ebenezer, on land, back to us again.11 Praise the Lord for everything He did for them and for us while we were separated. His kindness is great and manifold. Hallelujah!
Saturday, the 30th of October. Praise God! Who vouchsafed me (Boltzius) once more to see my dear colleague and our entire congregation in blessing. I was welcomed most lovingly by them, and the joy at our unexpected meeting and reunion was very great. What will take place in Heaven when we shall again meet with the dear parishioners who have preceded us and other true members in Christ? I put my travel diary in order because I must share its contents and the way the Lord led me on this pilgrimage with our congregation and our friends in Europe. I wish to incorporate it into this diary, and therefore I am turning back to that time on the 12th of October when I arrived in Savannah from Ebenezer.
Sunday, the 31st of October. My dear colleague12 had the reading on the proper gospel on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, for which he had prepared prior to my return, and thus I and my parishioners profited in the afternoon by the proper epistolic section, and he recounted towards the end of the hour a few points concerning the kind providence of God which held sway over me and my traveling companions, so that that which stands in today’s epistle may be brought in praxim by all of us: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I am attesting publicly my joy that the heavenly Father, for the sake of Christ, has granted the prayers of the congregation for us travelers and our prayer for those members of the congregation left behind, both sound and sick, and for granting my wish that I made known among other things to the parishioners, that no one in my absence might make the duties of my dear colleague difficult and cause me sadness. I found everything in good order, and the Lord bestowed much strength, joyfulness, and blessing on my dear colleague for the conduct of his duties. In the evening we held a prayer hour wherein we praised our dear Lord for all the spiritual and physical benefactions He has shown us, most especially in the many advantages in Ebenezer above so many other people in this country and in Carolina. We have seen them anew with our eyes and heard them with our ears. We prayed for the miserable people: “May God convert the sinful world that considers itself so fortunate while hastening to hell.”
NOVEMBER
Monday, the 1st of November. Today we were busy delivering to the people of our place, for payment, those things which were purchased for them in Charleston for a rather inexpensive price; every single one had a choice and selection.
Wednesday, the 3rd of November. The sick Klocker cares only for Jesus and, without Him, considers himself a worm worthy of damnation. He mentioned to me a particular sin which he had already acknowledged to my dear colleague, and requested that a report be made of it to Senior Riesch, because it would be to his advantage. He complained that the lack of loyalty among the servants in the Empire1 was very great; I have heard this song of lamentation already from several people.
Thursday, the 4th of November. This evening I received a letter via Purysburg from Pastor Mühlenberg. In it he reported that our taking leave of one another on Sunday had indeed left him somewhat downcast, but that he recognized therein also the will of the Heavenly Father.
Friday, the 5th of November. Today we held a harvest sermon, my dear colleague on the plantation and I in town, and inspired ourselves and the congregation to the praise of God for the harvest we had received so abundantly and for other spiritual and physical benefactions. The little verse from last Sunday’s epistle (Ephesians 5:20), which we both had as text, gave us right fine material for it: “. . . Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . .” Mr. David Züblin had come to us yesterday from Purysburg; and it was his and our pleasure to glorify our dear Lord for the blessed harvest. This year we had especially great cause to praise our merciful God; for He had not only granted a fruitful year and bestowed constantly dry weather for the gathering of the crops, but also drove away the Spaniards in a miraculous manner in midsummer when the corn was just beginning to ripen. They otherwise might have laid waste our harvest and driven us quite away. In the evening prayer hour we briefly repeated the morning sermon catechismically with the children. Praise God, who brought me back safely from Charleston and who deigned to allow me also to hold this harvest sermon, in order to inspire me and to unite me with my parishioners in praise of God. Some people from the 4th transport who were kept from properly tilling their fields because of their illness, and hence had little or indeed no harvest, were directed to do herewith as Job did: “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” We should be thankful to God for everything and in everything, thus also for crosses and trials. We are also bound to pray for our neighbor and to praise God for His kindness, and therefore such persons can also celebrate a harvest and thanksgiving feast. The harvest which we had this time consisted of the following:
Saturday, the 6th of November. This afternoon when we were sitting down to eat, with my two guests Mr. Zübli from Purysburg and Mr. Vigera, a man from Old Ebenezer brought me a pleasing letter from Mr. Verelst from London, at which I was reminded of the beautiful verse from Psalm 50: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.” Yesterday on account of the harvest we had received we were inspired to praise God.
We began to write down the number of bushels of the crops we had gathered in the hope that this year our laborers would receive the “bounty” or some money from the Lord Trustes as encouragement to new industriousness. In the letter I received from Mr. Verelst he gave me the joyful news that the Lord Trustees had resolved for certain to pay our inhabitants the bounty or “corn shilling” from 1739. If the current money suffices, Colonel Stephens is supposed to pay it now; if not, we are supposed to be patient only until the New Year. Also the 4th transport was promised cattle, swine, and fowl. This morning the people of the 4th transport discussed composing a letter of request to the Lord Trustees for stock animals and a half-yearly provisional payment. In the above-mentioned letter from Mr. Verelst it was reported that the Lord Trustees had also resolved to give the 4th transport cattle, swine, and fowl as soon as they get a new grant of money from Parliament. This strengthens our faith and gives us hope that the request for a half year’s extension of the provisions will also take place.
Monday, the 8th of November. Mr. David Zübli has been with us since Friday and is traveling home again today. He has a son in Switzerland who is studying theology, and has gotten the testimony from Professor Wegeli that he is fit for office.2 The father would like to have him over as the German preacher in Purysburg, but, because the German people are becoming fewer and fewer and he himself has no strong desire to remain there, he wishes that the Reformed Germans in Savannah might call him to be their preacher. If the younger Zübli is such a pious and skilled student of theology as people claim he is, we would wish him for the German people in Savannah. The Lord Trustees have let me know in a letter that in time they wish to give the Reformed people in this country their own preacher.3
This evening we began once more to hold our song hour, which a small group of people, especially women, very willingly attended. We repeated the two songs: Gott, den ich als Liebe kenne, etc., likewise, Gott wills machen, dass die Sachen, etc. At the end of the hour we bent our knees before God (as is always done), praised Him for allowing us to live so long and to begin once more this hour of song and prayer. We also implored Him for the sake of the Holy Spirit to place us in a position to discuss amongst ourselves “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” etc. And thus we went home with pleasure and blessings.
Tuesday, the 9th of November. Zettler has built a new dwelling for himself and has now occupied it. He along with his wife requested that I come to them and help them ask for a blessing, so that the old might pass away and everything might become new with them. Two hours before the prayer hour I was with them and initially told them something for their instruction and edification concerning the last words of the recent Gospel: “and himself believed and his whole house,” etc., likewise concerning Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” We appealed to our dear Lord on our knees concerning everything necessary for them in regard to their Christianity, marriage, and household.
The people on the plantations would like to have Kocher as schoolmaster. Steiner is very faithful and diligent; but he has also an important household,4 so that he cannot devote himself completely to the school. Kocher, however, is too weak for cutting trees and other rough forestry work, and therefore would like to be used in the school. He does have time enough to wait for the school. And therefore I have consented in the matter gladly, so that he will be accepted as schoolmaster, the more so as I know that on the journey he looked after the children of the 4th transport so diligently and for that reason received a good testimony from Senior Urlsperger and Mr. von Müllern.5 We are giving him 5 £ per year as salary from the poor box, but the people who send their children to school are giving him something from their crops to support him.
For that purpose, he has to hold classes in two places, to wit, in Hans Schmidt’s and in Krause’s dwelling, so that even the smallest children from the outermost plantations do not have too far to go to school. He is buying Schmidt’s plantation and dwelling for 8 £ Sterling and is getting from us 30 sh. Sterling as aid. Schmidt, on the other hand, is moving to Kocher’s undeveloped land near town and thanks God for this dispensation, for he likes being near the city with good reason.
Wednesday, the 10th of November. If the land beyond the millstream were not so low and were not sometimes flooded at inopportune times, we could have many very fruitful plantations on that very same island. The high land is owned everywhere and there is practically nothing left over but the pine forest, which no one wants to take, because no one has enough stock to make sufficient manure, which would necessarily be required if such land is to become useful. In such a case it would bear fruit abundantly, as we already have tested. The people here in this country do not take the pains in agriculture that they apply to it in Germany; and they scorn the ground which does not bear all year without manure. They, and especially the orphanage, get great profit from pieces of land near their dwellings, because it is easy to bring the manure there from the stalls. I learned from the Surveyor General, Mr. Avery, that he had brought orders from London to lay out good land for all inhabitants and to consider the pine forest for nothing. However, it will become difficult for him, if not impossible, to carry out these orders if the people are to live with one another. If they do not have their land near each other there will be spiritual and bodily harm.
Thursday, the 11th of November. The Lord Trustees have given freedom to all the children of their German servants here in Savannah. They would have had to serve some years for the desired freedom of their parents. They will now be able to move to their plantations, which will be laid out for them by a large stream in the vicinity of the orphanage, around Christmas.6 They are supposed to set up their own city, cooperatively. These servants have cause not to forget for their entire lives what the Lord Trustees have done for them. Their labor is of little significance, yet they and their families have had such good care that they will not have the like when they are on their own land. They have, however, for the most part sinned greatly against the Lord Trustees through unfaithfulness and unjust offenses, for which they have already felt the heavy hand of God through the death of their stock; nonetheless they have not become any better. The divine truth has been freely attested to them when we are with them because of our official duties, but they simply listen to it; it never comes to true penitence and withdrawal from injustice.
Saturday, the 13th of November. I answered dear Pastor Mühlenberg’s amicable letter today and gave him news of the safe and sound end to my journey from Charleston to Ebenezer; and I assured him of our righteous love and mutual intercession for his person and office. I hope, for our edification and for the sake of the Kingdom of God, that we will find occasion to correspond with each other diligently. I wrote also to our friend and patron Mr. Jonathan Bryan and thanked him for the love he displayed recently to me and otherwise to our people; and I sent him once again the last words of his wife’s sister-in-law, who departed in peace; and set the account we had with him in rice and horses completely to rights. Such correspondence is profitable to our congregation and advances the Kingdom of God.
The Salzburger Kurz and his wife, who came here recently, were at my house. Both of them, by means of their openhearted disclosure of their previous and present spiritual and bodily circumstances, give me pleasure and the hope that they will be true Christians and profitable people amongst us. They and their children are healthy and vigorous, and they thank God for the many good things they have enjoyed in England, on the journey, and here. They cherish the memory of Mr. Mühlenberg, and they wish for him much good for the love he showed. They have a great desire to send a letter to their relatives in Cadzand, and they wish from their hearts that they were here with them.
Monday, the 15th of November. It rained practically the entire day, the rain becoming stronger especially around evening time, so that we had to put off the public prayer hour. Notwithstanding that, a few people came to my house to hold the song hour, when we repeated a song and started to learn others. It is very fine and profitable that the melodies of the old and new songs are to be found in the song book edited by the late Pastor Freylinghausen.7 How many songs can one not sing at all because the melodies are unknown, and some are so corrupted that people in various places have learned them in various ways. Now, however, we can help them correctly and watch in a small congregation such as ours so that anomalies and mistakes do not come into use in the melodies we have learned.
Tuesday, the 16th of November. Prior to the edification hour I visited Mrs. Leimberger and inquired about a certain matter which had appeared suspicious to me. She explained herself very clearly about it and asked me about the correct understanding of the words of Christ at John 9, “God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God and doeth his will, him he heareth,” as also through the example of the penitent publican. She has Grimmiger’s little girl with her and is bringing her up well, and we can clearly see the difference between the previous and the current education in behavior, words, and deeds of the child.
We observed from the recent Sunday gospel on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity God’s loving kindness and our duty to Him and our neighbors. Amongst other things was shown that one must not be separated from the other, and that those who neglect their duty are very much fooling themselves if they take comfort in the kindness and mercy of God. A married couple was in the church, who, however by their own fault was little improved from the sermon. They are bitter that we cannot allow them to go to Holy Communion, but we cannot help them.
Wednesday, the 17th of November. At this time all the good land in our region is occupied. The island on the millstream has a great amount of good land, but no one can depend on planting there because in the last two years there has often been flooding. There is still good enough land towards Abercorn and in other regions, which, however, lies fairly far distant from us; and it is alleged that it has already been surveyed for and is destined for certain gentlemen. If more Salzburgers should wish to come here it would first have to be arranged to allot to them a region for cultivation upon which they could support themselves with God’s blessing.
Krause has built for himself on his plantation a durable and comfortable house, which was consecrated this morning with the Word of God and prayer. He had also invited Christian friends to it. We took the 30th Psalm as basis for the edification. David composed it upon the consecration of his house, as the first verse says. It gave me a beautiful opportunity to show how things went for dear David in his lifetime as well as what his spiritual concerns were in his house with all kinds of occurring circumstances. In our lifetimes in this pilgrimage we are also subject to all sorts of alterations of our health, as he was, and we should guard against self-assurance and self-reliance and our own good fortune in good days (v. 8), but not despair in evil days but take our refuge with God (v. 3). We should remember also with gratitude His previous rescues, protection, and all kinds of spiritual and physical benefactions, and glorify Him for them with heart, mouth, and demeanor (v. 2). We should also seek to know and associate with other faithful persons and to inspire ourselves to the praise of God with them (v. 5), “for he dwelleth in the praise of Israel.” In previous times this married couple experienced many kinds of sometimes troublesome circumstances, but also the help of the Lord. On the occasion of this psalm I reminded them of a few details known to me, and I showed them how they now should spend their time in this house. God gave us much edification and heartfelt pleasure.
Thursday, the 18th of November. Our dear God is working very powerfully on Ms. N. N.; and it appears to me that a good basis of true penance is being effected in her. She came here with the 4th tranport but nothing seemed to want to go right with her until she had to be pulled into divine order by means of a violent illness, as if by means of bridle and bit. At the end of her illness something came upon her on the way between the plantations and the city. By means of it she was sorely awakened, and it will be profitable and helpful to her for her whole life, as she recounted to me herself. Her own and her husband’s peril was presented to her at once visibly and vividly, and this brought her to her knees under the open sky, when she implored God in the greatest consternation for just one more hour of grace (if it should not be any longer); otherwise she would wish never to have been born. She could but tell of the vision of her peril and mortal fear of death in such a way that anyone hearing it correctly must himself be moved inwardly by it. For a long time she imagined herself to be a good Christian; but in this vision of mortal fear, when she was told that her praying would now no longer help her, she said she saw her self-deception. Amongst other things I suggested to her the words of the 30th Psalm: “O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down into the pit.” I also gave her the hymn to read: Ich bin ja Herr in deiner Macht, etc.
When Gottfried Christ’s wife was a widow she brought three unreared children to our place; and to lighten the burden of the poor parents we took the eldest, who is very frail and has to get about on her knees, into the orphanage. But it is not going here with this little girl as we might have wished and hoped, hence the parents themselves are finding it necessary to take the child back. We wish to provide it with necessary clothing and also a couple of bushels of corn instead of other foodstuffs as aid, and the child can gradually be brought to do needlework by its parents. If they keep to their Christian behavior amongst us, it could come about in the summer that we would take the other little girl, who is quite young and delicate now, into the orphanage as a boarder. I was at their house today and admonished them on the essence of Christianity and on the Christian matrimonial commitment between them.
Friday, the 19th of November. Prior to today’s edification hour some men were showing some concern about Christian Riedelsperger and wished to learn how things stood with him. Yesterday they traveled into the forest in rather a large number on foot and on horseback to make still another attempt to drive the livestock which they have been missing for some years into the orphanage’s cowpen and to brand them so that the Trustees’ agent in Old Ebenezer will not take them away and count them with the Trustees’ cattle. This could quite easily happen; for he has the power to brand all cattle without any mark with the Trustees’ brand. Riedelsperger set off after a herd and thus got out of sight of the remaining people, and then they feared that his horse may have thrown him, and that he had injured himself. We learned after the prayer hour, however, that he had come safely back to the plantation again. They came upon a herd of forty head of cows, oxen, and calves together but were unable to bring it to the cowpen because they were wild and sprang once more into the bushes and swampy regions.
For a long time they considered many head as lost, but now they are hopeful that by and by they will come upon their own once more. They will work industriously to catch and brand them. Cattle ran away from us more than eight years ago, and since then they have multiplied. It is more than probable that they belong to no one else but our congregation although they do not have our brand and cannot have it because we have never been able to get them. The Lord Trustees can certainly trust our people not to desire any but their own; but it would be an inconvenience if they branded one with the sign of the congregation but could not substantiate through sufficient testimony that it was theirs.
To be sure, a couple of years ago the orphanage itself got back once more some cows from the Lord Trustees’ servant at Old Ebenezer; but we had to leave behind the yearling calves, and we were not permitted to catch and brand such ones in the forest as looked similar to ours. This greatly harmed the congregation. With the superior authorities in Savannah I got the answer that we could brand those calves that ran after the old cows as their mothers because the young and old ones keep together. But when the Englishman in Old Ebenezer holds his round-up and drives the calves and other unbranded cattle together, the cattle become separated. Now how can one know where the yearling and old calves have stayed, or can one substantiate that, if they are come upon in another herd, they belong to us? To be fair, we should also have the freedom to consider as many cattle as ours as have run away from us and as our people are missing for certain.
In the first years our people did their utmost to keep their cattle together under a few herdsmen and have them guarded in specific areas, but gradually the herdsmen departed from us, the pasture grew scarce, and the cattle multiplied, so that we were obliged to let the greatest part run loose in the forest so that they could go after their own pasture. The people have had much trouble and unrest for that, and they must have it also, for a large part of their nourishment consists of the cattle.8
If only a way could be found so that our cattle did not mix in with the Trustees’ cattle. At the arrival of the 4th transport, to whose people no one wished to give land granted by the Lord Trustees beyond the Ebenezer River, we humbly requested the higher authorities to drive the Lord Trustees’ cattle into another region and leave us all the cattle pasture between Abercorn, Old Ebenezer, and New Ebenezer. I received, however, no answer; and the above-mentioned cattle are not removed. If things had gone according to the suggestions of Mr. /Thomas/ Jones, they would already have been removed to the Ogeechee River and would have the best pasture; but he could not carry it through. If we should cause something similar to reach the Lord Trustees they would not be able to understand it and would interpret similar desires on our part as bad. Hence we must be patient because we are Germans and must recognize the English as our benefactors. Who knows how God may ordain for us to be helped in this.
Saturday, the 20th of November. Yesterday evening shortly before the prayer hour a welcome letter from Pastor Mühlenberg was brought to me. He had written it in Charleston on the 4th of this month, and in it he sent me many kinds of material for intercession for him and others of our friends, also for England and our German fatherland. He had received a letter from Mr. Zwiffler from Philadelphia. He writes that he is still unmarried and is considering remaining that way. He says that as a medical doctor he has so much work that he cannot think of marriage. He has a small monetary debt to demand from the schoolmaster Ortmann and from Ms. Rheinländer, and he desires me to help him therein. For this reason he has already written four letters to me which I, however, have not received. It seems his income must not be so large there because he is seeking to collect the old balance. He also writes that Count Zinzendorf and his people are making a great commotion, concerning which much quarreling is being stirred up and many things must even be settled with blows.
Zinsendorf is having a church built in Philadelphia at his own expense, at the laying of whose foundation great solemnities were performed, and this caused a sensation. The count, he says, bought the piece of land which had previously belonged to Mr. Whitefield; one part of it received the name Bethlehem and the other Nazareth. It is supposed to lie forty miles from Philadelphia, and many Germans and Englishmen are said to have gone there to see the Moravians’ zealous divine services for themselves, etc.
Pastor Mühlenberg writes to me amongst other things the following details, which convince me and my dear colleague even more that I should not have waited in Charleston but rather gone back to Ebenezer to my duties. From this our friends in Europe will recognize the counsel and the hand of our heavenly Father:
Captain Grant arrived here on the 1st of November . . . and is still considering whether he should travel to Philadelphia. I asked the captain of the small sloop from Philadelphia, which arrived here during these days, if he might take me along. But he excused himself, saying that he had not the meagerest comfortable spot for a passenger on his little ship. Mr. Fowler and Mr. Grant were of the opinion that the little ship was too small and too perilous in the wintertime. People also held it to be dangerous on account of the Spaniards. Mr. Lampton’s brigantine, armed with cannon, goes to New York in 14 days; Mr. Grant is thinking of going with it, if he resolves to travel. But I do not depend on cannons or on accommodations aboard the ships but rather on God who has brought me hither. If He wishes to have me going to Philadelphia He can protect me without weaponry and bring me thither on a powerless sloop as well as on a brigantine. If Captian Childs of the little sloop condescends to do it I will accept it in God’s name and go so far as the Lord will have me go. But if he does not wish to take me along, as he does not like being crowded with passengers, I must look on it as God’s guidance and wait for Mr. Lampton’s brigantine or other opportunity.
The sloop is departing here on the 8th or 9th for Philadelphia. Please be so kind and help me and pray with your dear colleague and trusted friends. You can easily understand the circumstances of body and mind in which I find myself, and whither I am supposed to go. Either to death or into the enemy’s hands or into the hospital, or, more likely, into a spiritual madhouse. Nonetheless I do not fear; “The Lord is my shepherd,” according to the 23rd Psalm. It will soon be a year since I set out on my journey from Hennersdorf. My current work is journal writing, instructing a few children, and preaching on Sunday. Captain Ellis is also still here. No one wishes to advise me to travel by land, and it is also impossible for me because I do not have much money.
Sunday, the 21st of November. On this last Sunday of the current church year sixty-three persons were at Holy Communion. In yesterday’s preparation and act of confession the little verse from the 130th Psalm followed for observation: “But there is forgiveness in thee, that thou mayest be feared.” Our dear reconciled Father in Heaven also granted me much inspiration and blessing from this. My dear colleague held preparation and confession on the plantations and read and applied something to the parshioners from Dr. Müller’s Heavenly Kiss of Love,9 which was very necessary and profitable. Since doors and windows have been set in place in our church we now enjoy great comfort in that neither wind nor rain nor cold can disturb us in the least. Whenever the church is filled with adults and children (as they all attend very diligently), it soon becomes tolerably warm inside.
In the walls of the church are twenty-four casements each composed of eight window panes eleven inches long and nine inches wide. Because of this it is extremely light and bright in the church, so that one can read the smallest script clearly in every corner. These glass windows, which are provided with hinges and latches, cost much money, for each previously described pane is worth more than six pence sterling. However, the profit and comfort which we enjoy in the divine services winter and summer, during the day and in the evening, is very great. There are also shutters on them which are most highly necessary on account of the strong wind which sometimes hurls the rain against the windows with the greatest violence.
The 22nd of November. This morning Theobald Kieffer’s wife and mother-in-law received private Communion in their house, and I applied to my and their use the first part of Psalm 130. Although her sickness has somewhat improved, she is still very weak so that she cannot leave home, much less go to church. I also visited the sick Klocker, with whom there has begun to be some improvent in the last eight days. The cold is very great. Although he has good quilts and blankets, he cannot get warm; and this prevents him from gaining strength. He is very comforted and ready for either life or death, so that in his case we can also say, “If Thou wishest me dead, I will gladly die, my God. If Thou wilt that I live, I will resign myself to this too.”10
Monday, the 23rd of November. At the communal labor of making fences misunderstandings have occasionally arisen; but because we were brought in a timely manner and advised the people who differed gave up their claims, everything soon returned to good order. There are few laborers to be sure, but they show great industry and have already advanced far. Once the fence is put in place there will be as much land enclosed as they can plant in ten years. The fence is also being built so durably that it will not need repairing for some years. Yesterday Kocher took up the school teaching on the plantations. At this time he has few children, but even these are worthy of a schoolmaster. By and by several will come there. Also, a few grown adults wish to have him help them further with their reading. He is a man of good will who takes instruction well, and therefore we hope that he will become useful. He has good natural gifts, and a good recognition of, and beginning in, Christianity; and he also possesses good manners and a method of getting along with children. Nevertheless, in Germany one would never have taken him for a schoolmaster.
Wednesday, the 24th of November. Because of their difficult household tasks and because they are without hired hands and also have small unraised children, our parishioners have so much work that it is difficult to hire them for a few days for labor on our houses. If they can break away from their regular business for a few days, they then have public labor to perform, e.g., at the mill and in building the church and bridges. They are also happy to serve Mr. Meyer, the orphanage, etc. Because we cannot get a woodcutter for lack of money, sometimes most of the men have gotten together and chopped us some stacks of wood, for which they accept no pay. Today they are here again doing similar work voluntarily, which we could get no one to do for pay. This evidence of their love is, to be sure, very dear to us; nonetheless we would wish rather to have a faithful servant who would do the same kind of work without burdening the congregation, which otherwise has its own hardships. Since the death of Peter Heinrich,11 who died already three years ago, we have found no one who is suited to our house. In similar circumstances I think of some words of the late Professor [A. H.] Francke:
“Just as a minister must be on guard not to take a bad wife, so must he also certainly see to it that he takes no domestic servant into his house who lives badly, even if he can work ever so splendidly and is praised by others on account of his ability or industry. If, however, such domestic servants are once in his house, he must certainly have great patience with them and consider that God has led such bad persons whom he did not recognize as bad to him so that they might be converted in his house. Therefore it is fair for him to bear them and admonish them, so that their souls be not lost. Where, however, all gradus12 are used, and their sins burst out into vexation; there he must prefer the congregation to the labor of such people, and send the same out of his house.”
One of the late Peter Heinrich’s daughters is still in my house and is carrying on a serious Christianity. She is very frail of body and has been afflicted since childhood with epilepsy, but she can look forward in faith to the promise that also applies to her: Her transitory body (soma tes tapei oseas)13 shall become like the transfigured body of Christ. In the paroxysm of fever she speaks of spiritual things so impressively, clearly, and earnestly that she cannot do it with the full use of her reason, not in the grip of the paroxysm. She has, to be sure, a basic recognition in spiritual things but does not possess the ability to express herself properly. But whenever, as mentioned, she lies beside herself in the heat of fever, she knows how to chastize the vices which she perceives in herself and others so properly and movingly, and to laud the grace of God in Christ and to glorify it for others that those present find themselves moved to tears and edified. There are still two girls of Peter Heinrich’s at our place; one is married and the other is single, and both are on a good path to seek and grasp their salvation in Christ. A grown daughter and a boy are still in service in Savannah. If it were within our capability we would like to bring them here according to their longing wish.14
I learn from Hans Flörl that Klocker is growing weaker and is coming nearer the end of his life. He has had the joy of seeing, while he lived during his life, his children cared for in the orphanage. The eldest girl is already amongst the orphanage children, the middle one is going now to help her father, and the smallest little boy, who is only two years old, is now being taken into the orphanage. After the death of his wife the father entrusted him to the care of Ms. Bruckner, and without our knowledge agreed with her to pay five pence a day for his care, but especially to give clothing. Although we are giving him something from the poor-box as aid in the matter, such remuneration could not be kept up over a long period. Mrs. Kalcher is quite willing to accept this little child as one of her own, which I prefer all the more since I know that Senior Riesch and Pastor Felss in Lindau bear a special love for the Klocker family, and therefore they will be pleased that the children are being maintained. It is only too bad that our orphanage is so constricted that we lack the capability at this time to enlarge it and place one or two stoves in it, so that the children could be kept together also in the heated room in the winter. They now make do in the large, well-equipped kitchen whenever it is very cold in the mornings and evenings.
Thursday, the 25th of November. My dear colleague has gotten a fever, hence I held school today in his stead. I caused the children to profit from something out of the very edifying personal record of the Countess zu Stollberg, whereby I also led them to the beautiful examples of right pious children, to wit, the young Samuel and Timothy, to whom Paul, 2 Timothy 3:15, gives a very beautiful testimony. Such beautiful examples give an instructor much material with which to give children good doctrine and admonitions. The littlest orphan boy was at my house this afternoon and fetched a sheet of paper for his writing book. I asked him whether he understood today in school what it meant to be called a bad child. Satan is also called bad; and those who are on his side also bear this ugly name. He replied: “I understand it well.” Question: “Do you wish to remain so?” Answer: “I am planning to become different today.” Question: “How must you then do things, if you wish to become better?” Answer: “I must pray to God.” Thereupon I exhorted him briefly and emotionally and allowed him to go. The joy in Heaven and on Earth would be great if this bad child would cause himself to change.
On this first day of my dear colleague’s fever our dear Lord has displayed much mercy to my soul; may He make me faithful. What I told the children simply I have noticed for myself through God’s grace. How merciful it is of the Lord when He discloses one’s own corruption more and more. It shall come to the point that, as with Paul (Philippians 3, passim), we abandon everything that is only sham and not truth and struggle only to gain Christ and to be created anew in Him. I hope and ask God soon to strengthen my dear colleague once more. In the meantime I see from this how good it is that I did not remain in Charleston or travel further. My dear colleague could not, and would not, have spared himself in my absence.
We hear currently from the story in 2 Samuel 24 that David once more awoke by God’s paternal mercy from his sleep of self-assurance, in which he had remained for almost ten months by his own fault and then came to true penance. And it is to be seen not as chance that we have been awakened by his example at the end of this church year. Indeed, among us, with all the use of the means of salvation and with all the civic respectability, many have remained in sin and the sleep of spiritual death throughout this year and longer. If God had called them, like others, to eternity in such circumstances, things would be most miserable for them. It is a right great benefaction that, through God’s providence and the Lord Trustees’ good land arrangements, we dwell so close to one another like the Israelites and that, by God’s word and through good examples, we are being earnestly encouraged daily to attain salvation.
If it had been good for the Israelites, God could have alloted them a larger country for dwelling and building so that afterwards, just as in Carolina and other places in America, almost every family can dwell in its own district and wilderness. However, He chose first the narrow land of Goshen for their increase, and then narrow Canaan for their sojourn; and they found all their support under the special blessing of God (5 Deuteronomy 11:12 ff.) and the frugal arrangement of their economy, although according to the count in 1 Chronicles 22 there were very many of them. In this manner adults and children could be inspired as to the main point of why they were in the world, and also be better preserved from heathen abominations. It is too bad that the people in this country do not wish to recognize the good purpose of God and also of the Lord Trustees and their state government, but rather long for the freedom of the planters in Carolina; but we wish to have no part of it. It is indeed much better for our disposition of our land to resemble God’s disposition amongst His people than to resemble the essence of worldly persons who dissipate themselves hither and yon and suffer harm in body and soul.
We have also learned anew our Christian duty from this story, which is emphasized with special vigor in 1 Timothy 2:1–3. If we wish to lead a calm and quiet life under the government of the authorities of this country then we must pray heartily for them so that they do not, as did David, happen on false paths and lay upon their subjects a burden and unrest as he did through arrogant and willful counting of them. Beneath David the blessed regime of the Israelites had enjoyed many good spiritual and physical things, which, however, they used so badly that Satan stood against them as an accuser, the wrath of the Lord flared up against them, and David, who did not guard and pray enough, fell into the snare of Satan, to the harm of his kingdom. What advantages we enjoy under the regime of our beneficent authorities!
Other subjects in England and Germany have, in this time of continuous war, much unrest and heavy taxes and are also forced to go to war, while we live in peace and can attend our divine services quite undisturbed. If we should not allow ourselves to be led to penance through these kindnesses of God, but rather be ungrateful, wrath would certainly envelop us like David’s subjects and other people in our time, who later on grumble about the authorities and bad times and forget their sins as the cause of every vexation.
Friday, the 26th of November. Today we had a very lovely summer day, the likes of which should hardly have guessed at in the current season. Our people are very enthusiastically occupied with planting wheat, for which great pieces of land near the orphanage have also been plowed up and today have been partially sown with wheat. They still cannot arrange things as in Germany where they kept the livestock in the stalls all winter and thereby got all the more manure. We still lack sufficient hay and straw, hence most of the cattle which are not giving milk go into the woods, where there is good grass and young cane. The producing cows are at home and are grazed during the day and brought back home again at night. If only they could fertilize and improve the fields a little, the profit would be great, as we already know from experience.
Saturday, the 27th of November. This afternoon the quartermaster at Fort Argyle, Mr. Milledye, sent to me by way of two of his soldiers a letter wherein he reported that he had received news from General Oglethorpe that the Spanish Indians had taken Fort Venture on the Alathamaha River by surprise and had compelled the soldiers to surrender the same. He said they had surrendered upon the agreement of free withdrawal, to which the Indians consented at first, but nonetheless as soon as they had taken possession of the fort and the weapons they killed the wife of Captain Francis and her child, and three men, and dragged off three alive. A man escaped from them and delivered the report. Our rangers were warned to be on their guard, for there is some worry that the Spanish Indians wish to press further inland to Fort Argyle and some of the plantations of Savannah. It is an especial judgment of God on the above-mentioned woman. She is a German whose parents were His people, and had already died a few years ago. Mr. Jones accepted the children (and therefore this female); she served and enjoyed many good things in his house; and, because she was acquainted with an unmarried Englishman named Francis, she was faithfully warned by me and Mr. Jones against seduction. But she paid no heed to it but rather became a whore,15 and had herself married, after a time, to this Francis, by the preacher in Purysburg.
Her child was already around six weeks old when, in the absence of her husband, she had it baptized by me, since it was ill. But subsequently the godparents did not suit her, hence the preacher in Savannah, since dead,16 undertook new ceremonies with the child, and godparants were requested with whom one could make merry in the way of the world. She heard God’s word, felt it in her heart, also received good books from us, but improved herself little. This is a new example of how God finally takes into His hands the sins which take place here in this country and are quite unpunished for unpenitent sinners the terrible words are written: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
With this sad news we, too, have our lesson, for we should not look upon it as chance that He caused it to come to our ears just on the last day of the church year. Thereby God wishes to preach penitence to us tangibly, just as it was preached to us yeterday and today in the prayer hours from the story in 2 Samuel 24:10. We learned that our merciful Lord finally awakened David powerfully from his long self-assurance, so that he 1) humbly recognized his sins, 2) humbly acknowledged his sins, and 3) earnestly sought forgiveness. We also consulted the 6th Psalm, which seems to have been completed in these circumstances. Our parishioners were thereupon diligently directed to ask God to grant them to recognize the secret sins and subtle snares of Satan, by which many a person is kept back from his true conversion and proper breakthrough,17 to judge sins not by reason and other peoples’ wont but by God’s word and to learn in the school of the Holy Spirit what they cannot from nature and according to the self-love that rules them, to wit, to learn to be horrified at their sins and learn to regard them as great, for whose sake they should very earnestly look into the mirror of the Passion of Christ, etc. Otherwise may God be heartily praised for causing us to close this church year in calmness and blessing! May He grant, for the sake of Christ, our public prayers of penance which we have directed to Him and cast all our familiar and unfamiliar sins behind Him and sink them in the depths of the sea. May He also not act in the current fever sickness of my worthy colleague according to our sins but rather cause our poor supplications for him to find grace.
Sunday, the 28th of November. Today, the first Sunday of Advent, I had to preach the Word of the Lord alone because my dear colleague was very much exhausted from the fever, with a quite long-lasting high temperature, and had to lie in bed constantly. Morning and afternoon we observed the regular gospel and the introductory words, John 14:21: “Christ’s love for us and our love for Christ.” Instead of the repetition hour the people came in the evening to my chamber for singing and prayer. We sang four selected beautiful songs in two parts: “O wie selig seyd ihr doch, ihr Frommen,” etc., “Seligstes Wesen, unendliche Wonne,” etc., “Auf Zion, auf! auf Tochter, saüme nicht,” etc. God sent us much edification thereby, and we certainly believe that He will place His divine blessing upon the singing as well as upon the prayers engendered thereby. We wish often when we sing the beautiful songs and melodies for such a musical instrument as we could use for accompaniment and therefore increase and awaken our spiritual joy; but it would not only cost a good deal, there is also the worry that in the local very changeable weather, where the humidity also permeates everywhere, it would need frequent repair, which would not be possible to procure here.
Monday, the 29th of November. Our rangers today held inspection together in our woods today and also came to Old Ebenezer, where the local Englishman placed over the Lord Trustees’ livestock recounted remarkable and fearsome stories for them. Not only the letter we received day before yesterday but also a reliable report from Savannah which agreed completely with the contents of the letter, gave us sufficient instruction concerning the details of how things fell out in the taking of Fort Venture, so that the usual idle gossip in this country does not throw a scare into us. Who does not fear God may be afraid before His enemies. If all amongst us did as David did, who arose from his fall by means of true penance, then God would not sweep them away in His wrath but rather cause grace to be pronounced for justice, although paternal chastisement does not fail to appear. He prefers to chastise His children Himself rather than surrender them to the cruel will and hands of His enemies. At the end of the 6th Psalm David could say, in the power of his faith: “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will accept my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.”
Tuesday, the 30th of November. I came just at the time when the new schoolmaster on the plantations was very earnestly praying and singing with his little children in Krause’s kitchen. Some small children recited for me some little verses they had learned, and they received from him an attestation of diligence and ability, although they are still small. Scheffler, who is no Salzburger, sold his plantation and hut after the death of his wife, and at first had the notion of going back to Germany again; but, because he did not find this practical, he wished to apply himself to his trade of knitting stockings and built himself a new hut near town. But when he found obstacles to his trade he regretted that he had given away his land and is now pestering me to assist him in getting another piece. He is once more completely healthy and claims he would rather work on the land than knit stockings. We are giving him all kinds of suggestions for a new plantation; but there will be more difficulties with a new plantation than if he had kept his first one. Thus the people tumble into all sorts of distress and inconvenience if they do not wish to take advice and undertake their affairs without God.
Eischberger, from the 2nd transport, called on me and complained to me about his poor progress in Christianity. Our dear Lord, he said, had shown him much mercy since the last day of penitence and had disclosed to him many hidden sins; but, he said, he nonetheless could not properly come to a hatred against sin and to a proper certainty of the gracious forgiveness of sins. He said that the cross which God has placed on his body by means of illness is very profitable to him and that God was also laying upon him sufficient bonds of love by means of many different benefactions, but that he was so often frivolous, etc. I gave him instruction from God’s Word and delivered to our dear Lord in prayer the complaints of which he had unburdened himself. He was able to cite various things from the sermons and prayer hours which were very impressive to him, and I learned especially that the spiritual materials became very clear to him through simple parables that they had penetrated his mind all the more deeply.
DECEMBER
Wednesday, the 1st of December. Some suspicious symptomata and coincidences have manifested themselves in my dear colleague. We had to fetch Mr. Thilo for advice, and yesterday he bled him on the arm and today on the foot. We are praying diligently for him and he too does so on his hard couch, which our reconciled God and Father will not leave unheard. Mr. [David] Zübli from Purysburg is once again with us to attend tomorrow the wedding of his brother,1 who is marrying our serving girl Christiana Häussler from Memmingen. He is very happy that it was broken off with N., on the other hand he and we hope for many good things for both persons in the now agreed upon marriage. She is still not as she should be in her Christianity and her housekeeping and as she could be on account of the spiritual and bodily direction she has had, nonetheless she has a pliable, willing mind and has deported herself honestly and faithfully amongst us.
Thursday, the 2nd of December. Col. Stephens gave me a report, in a letter from himself, of the sad business which had been written to me on Saturday from Fort Argyle, to wit, that the Spanish Indians had raided Fort Venture unexpectedly and killed some people and dragged away some others. He said that they especially acted very cruelly with the wife and child of the commanding officer, who was away from the Fort in Frederica with some people. He did not report further details. He desires our rangers to be on the alert because no one knows how far these Indians might roam into the country although he guessed that they had retired to St. Augustine after committing their barbarities. For that is how the Indians act; they hide in wait until they seize something, and then they hide themselves again for awhile.
Friday, the 3rd of December. The quantity of harvested grain has now been brought together, so that it can be reported next week to Col. Stephens. In all, our people have received, under God’s blessing, 3,048 bushels of corn, 537 bushels of beans, 566 bushels of sweet potatoes, 733 bushels of rice, 92 bushels of wheat, and 11 bushels of rye and barley. In the specification of this year’s grain under the 5th of November the quantity is somewhat less because a little more came in later. If the water in the mill stream had not flooded the fields too long in the springtime and if the people of the 4th Transport had not been obstructed in planting and guarding their fields through a protracted fever-sickness, the quantity would have been much greater. Nonetheless, every one of them is not only heartily satisfied with this blessing but also considers himself, from humility, quite unworthy of the same. We all glorify God for causing us to take pleasure in Him in peace and quiet, and as the body is satisfied with necessary victuals, so is the soul satisfied and refreshed with His Word and the holy sacraments.
Saturday, the 4th of December. Yesterday and today again we have had very warm days, as if we were in the middle of springtime. A man from Purysburg offered me some grape vines, but we do not need them, especially as he is very costly with them. If I were to sell my own in this manner (I have still not had them completely planted for a year), I would be able to realize about 20 £ sterling for them. Gen. Oglethorpe is said to have bought such expensive vines last year from this very man. Another man in this colony had sent 500 mulberry trees and wishes to send 500 more, which Gen. Oglethorpe, without my request, is sending to those amongst us who still have none or have too few. Of such young trees we have sufficient amongst us, nonetheless we are accepting these too, since they cost us nothing. They will have to be planted in such areas as the livestock cannot reach, otherwise they will soon be spoiled. We would like to have planted the streets and other public places with similar trees, and last year we made a start at it. However, because the livestock got to them and because the grass around the roots, which grew very high, was not cut down, they were partly spoiled and partly hindered from growing. If I and my dear colleague had a hired hand, we would seek to arrange many things for the benefit of the congregation, even if the profit ensued only after some years. But our parishioners have so much to do for themselves that we can seldom get them for day labor.
Sunday, the 5th of December. On this second Sunday of Advent I still had the business of my office alone because my dear colleague was still prevented by bodily weakness from attending the public divine services. In the meanwhile his strength increased considerably today so that we have good hope that he will be able to take up his work again this week in the school and church according to his sincere desire. The Lord be praised for this blessing too! Instead of the repetition hour we held a song hour in my chambers and learned the excellent song Liebes Hertz bedencke doch, deines Jesu grosse Gute, etc., which so comfortingly explains and applies the glorious little word from the Advent verse from Zacharias 9:9: “He cometh as a helper,” which is so comforting for us sinners.
Monday, December 6. Yesterday the carpenter Kogler advised me that the construction of the church on the plantations was to begin and that its foundation should be laid. For that reason he wished to have me present if I were not hindered by the trip I was planning to Savannah. But I let neither the trip nor anything else prevent me from riding out there this morning to help lay the foundation with prayer and God’s word. I showed the assembled people that we should not look upon it as a matter of chance that the laying of the foundation for our church on the plantations was happening at this edifying time of Advent. We not only perceive from the Bible texts and gospel songs how ready our Savior, Helper, and King is to come to us and into our hearts through His word and the sacraments and to dwell in us with the Father and the Holy Ghost, but we will also contemplate very important circumstances in the current story from the Old Testament from 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 22 in the regular reading. For we learn that because of the sins of the land great judgments went upon the Land Israel. When David with the elders humbled themselves before the Lord, our loving God granted him through the Prophet Gad the command and the gracious nod that he should erect an altar upon the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite on the mountain Moriah, and as it were lay the foundation for the temple, cf. 1 Chronicles 23:1. This was a sign of grace that our dear Lord was not dealing with David and his subjects in wrath but rather wished to reconcile them to Him, by means of the altar, which represented Christ in His reconciliation, which was to be established at that time. As the God of the Covenant He wished once more to have His fire and hearth amongst them. The piece of land, the altar, and thereafter the temple to be built thereon he bought for full gold from the Jebusite, a heathen race, etc.
At this time I reminded the parishioners that it did not cost the Lord Trustees little but rather much to obtain this colony and also our land peacefully from the local heathens, and therefore we had it by right and were obliged not to build our church on any place occupied by force. I said that God had awakened so many benefactors in England and Germany who had sent us charitable gifts of money from which this church now could also be built, and that He wished thereby to make our divine services inexpensive and easy for us. For this act of mercy, I said, we should fairly glorify the Lord as did David in Psalm 103 and request the blessing of God upon the benefactors. But now, since He had directed us, through the great judgments which are prevailing everywhere, to a location for building the church and had granted us the means for it, we should recognize from this how willing He was to bestow upon us the reconciliation established by Christ and to be spared His judgments; cf. Judges 13:23.
In this House of God also it shall be preached “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,” etc. The ministers will cry in the name of God: “We pray you in God’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” If it comes to that, no enemies will be able to harm us, rather the word will be: “If God be with us, who can be against us?” etc. If God is against us, however, the whole world cannot shelter us, as we see in David, whose power and great forces availed him nothing when God caused war, famine, and plague.
The threshing floor of Arauna, which the Lord Himself selected as the place for the divine services, was in itself a humble place dedicated to labor, and we see therefrom that our great and glorious Lord takes no displeasure in humble things and therefore takes none in our humble plantations where the church shall now be built; rather He wishes to manifest His grace and lovingly in Christ here too. It is pleasing to Him when hard work which brings sweat is connected with the divine services. I accept it also as a sign of grace that my dear colleague at this time regained his strength once more with divine blessing and is therefore able to work with me in one congregation. After the sermon we stepped before the countenance of the Lord and lifted our hearts, eyes, and hands to Him in prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. Our dear Lord sent a great awakening and strengthening of faith, and the laborers gained great joy to begin their labor with God and not relax until the church is under its roof.
Tuesday, the 7th of December. My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled yesterday at noon to Savannah. I am now, to be sure, through the miraculous power of God, so far recovered in my illness that I can stand up, but my strength is still rather weak. Yesterday and today I wrote something in the diary, but that became rather difficult for me, hence I had to cease. Our dear Lord prepared me right well for this illness, for previously He had so especially refreshed and strengthened me at Holy Communion, hence in the illness I was very comforted and would gladly have died; and, when it came time for the bleeding, I was also comforted, for I knew I was in the hand of my Jesus, and the Lord caused it to be so successful that it seemed to me as if our dear Lord had granted me a completely new body on the first day of my bleeding, so well did I feel. It is likely a really miraculous cure which the Lord has manifested in me this time. I was very miserable, and yet He helped me so quickly. Now may the Lord be praised for that and cause me entirely to consume in His service the strength which He presented to me and is still presenting to me. Since we last partook of Holy Communion, and also during my illness, our words were: “If thou lovest me, then feed my lambs, then feed my sheep.”
Wednesday, the 8th of December. Today at one o’clock in the afternoon we departed from Savannah and arrived at five o’clock in Abercorn, at sundown. There I found a horse and companions with whom I was able to ride quite comfortably in two good hours across our plantations to Ebenezer; and therefore I got through my entire trip in six and one half hours. Since last summer our people have marked out a short road from Abercorn, which has already been rather well trampled out. This time our dear Lord caused me to make this journey to Savannah at such a time as I was able to accomplish everything that I had long intended.
Mr. /Thomas/ Jones had just arrived in Savannah day before yesterday at noon, and we both were very happy to see one another in good health once more. He brought no letters from Gen. Oglethorpe to me but he did assure me that Mr. Oglethorpe received well the letters I had written him and was seeking to promote our interests in every way. He is hale and hearty and is having Frederica very strongly fortified. He had given orders to Mr. Jones to pay us now the bounty, or so-called “corn shilling” from the year 1739,2 so that our people would not be obliged to wait until spring, when Col. Stephens is hoping to have more money for it. However, because of the calumny of malevolent people, it happened that Mr. Oglethorpe’s letters of exchange and sola-bills were accepted nowhere in Carolina, hence we have to wait until the next letters from London. I have now been fully able to bring up to date the bill at the storehouse for myself, my house construction and the orphanage and also my old debts for house construction. Mr. Jones also paid me 33 £ Sterling for our rangers for a six months’ period. This money comes at just the right time for them in their household expenses.
After Charleston I found an opportunity to remit what debts I still owed for goods and a horse. I learned that Pastor Mühlenberg had indeed taken the chance on the very small sloop and had gone to Philadelphia on it. Since there is no cabin, but rather everything is open, he will have to suffer a good deal in the winter, which is customarily very severe as one goes north. May God stand by him! Mr. Jones read aloud to me a few items which a merchant from Savannah, Robert Williams, had delivered to Parliament in London, in which he maintained that our inhabitants in Ebenezer were able to support themselves as little as others, and although we desired more Salzburgers to come here, only I had said it. The congregation knew nothing about it, for I was its God, king, and priest. . . . I am astounded at the impudence of this man in bringing such lies as this before Parliament, but they will not harm either me or the congregation.
Thursday, the 9th of December. As I went down towards Savannah I learned that the young man who was claiming to be a prince from Wurttemberg had been brought by Kieffer to his plantation and was only waiting for a trading boat to get to Savannah Town and to go over either to the French or the Spaniards. He cut a swath through all of Carolina, and although they indeed pursued him, they were not able to find him. I told Mr. Jones that in this matter I earnestly desired to have him brought here by our rangers, for he had run away and had already caused harm and was still embarking on more. On Monday evening I wrote of this matter to my dear colleague, who gave Pichler the commission for it; but, because Kieffer accepts the man and puts himself against the authorities’ orders and our rangers have no authority in Carolina, where his plantation is, Mr. Jones’ desire could not be fulfilled.3
In the meantime I wrote, by way of a trading boat which went past here this morning, to the captain in Palachacolas and reported to him the particulars about this man and why people are concerned if he should come amongst the Spaniards and French. I had the old Kieffer himself come to my house after school and told him that he was acting in opposition to the verse, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth,” etc. and against the tenth commandment,4 since he wanted to help this person get through and get on. I asked what he would likely think and say of us if we had done likewise with his blacks who had run away to our region a few times. I said he was doing himself and the person more harm than profit through such behavior, for he was getting himself into trouble and suspicion with our superiors. If the man were to run away and be caught, he would be all the worse off; but, if he voluntarily confided in us and thus were turned over to the authorities, we might hope by pleading to win milder treatment.
After I gave him these instructions, he coaxed him and persuaded him to come with him to my house before the evening prayer hour, when he showed himself willing to go along with our boat Saturday to Savannah. Because I was going along myself on account of the Germans, I wish to speak in his interests to Mr. Jones, so that he might leave him at our place, according to the concession of the General, as long as it takes to get letters concerning him, from which we will recognize the truth or falsity of his contention. He has been a prisoner in Corsica, Turkey, and even Bender,5 and, as he himself must recognize, he has stirred up no good everywhere. In my quarters he got the fever, and then we served him something warm for his refreshment. Kieffer has to guard him until he comes down in our boat, according to his promise. We gave him a new woolen cover or blanket from the orphanage. I also gave him a few of Pastor Rieger’s sermons. He knew him well and showed a desire to read in it with devotion.
Friday, the 10th of December. N. is again ill and bedridden. He has attributed it to his hard labor on the plantation which he is laying out. He could also have been struck dead by a tree if God had not averted it. He claims that he feels that he is an abomination and burden to himself on account of his many sins; but he is seeking forgiveness and calming of his bad conscience in the Passion of Christ, to which his mind always clings. He wishes me to read aloud to him at his bedside the far-reaching personal record which he has composed, so that he might remember anew, penitently, one by one, the sins he enumerated. Today I had no time for it, especially since he himself said several whole days would be needed for it. I hope that our merciful Lord will also bless this old sinner through Christ the universal Savior.
This morning my dear colleague married Johann Scheffler to the widow Anna Maria Ernst. It is his first official business after his illness. Praise God, who helped him so far; may He strengthen him further and cause him better and better to experience His precious promise: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength . . .” etc. Because I was on a journey last Tuesday and was therefore unable to hold the edification hour on the plantations, I would not have liked setting aside the one for today on account of this wedding, especially as the laborers at the church also need to have something expounded to them for further reflection from God’s word during their work. They have laid the foundation of the church very well and are now already starting to erect the walls, indeed in such a way that the entire construction will turn out very durable and well-proportioned. Kogler told me, praise God, that they are all working in brotherly harmony with one another and that each one is doing his own task with the greatest willingness, calmness, and industriousness. If they did not have to make noise with their hand tools, passersby and neighbors would hardly know that work was going on. The Word of the Lord has been very much blessed in them at the laying of the foundation.
Saturday, the 11th of December. Our dear Lord is now causing us to note somewhat more clearly the granting of our supplication for poor Ruprecht Schrempff. His mad, wild character has already abated in the last few weeks; and he has no longer been tearing the clothes from his body. Nonetheless, he was crying out a good deal inside and outside of his prison, and no one dared approach him. Now, however, he is growing calm, speaks more humbly, and does a little labor in the company of Kalcher. Very soon he should be brought for bleeding, which up to now has been the only remedy we have been able to use with him.
The German people in Savannah are going to their own plantations after Christmas. They are being laid out for them in the form of a township behind the [Bethesda] orphanage. The Lord Trustees are doing a good deal for them. A few of them of our faith are asking that one of us preach the Word of God to them, and that one of us might hold Holy Communion before they move out. Because our large boat has to fetch something and the matter of the would-be prince has come to a head also, I am therefore traveling there with it very early this morning. God grant me to accomplish something good for the glory of the Lord Jesus.
Sunday, the 12th of December. Because my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, is in Savannah (as he himself noted in yesterday’s entry), I have been alone today; and I have to report, to the praise of God, that He can do abundantly more than we ask and understand; for it grew fairly easy for me. To be sure, at the beginning of the divine services in the morning my strength was very weak, but our dear Lord strengthened me so much during the sermon, both morning and afternoon, that it grew easier for me than I first thought. As an exordium I had the verse from Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” I repeated only that with the children in the afternoon, as I had no time left to repeat the sermon on the gospel.
We now indeed have cause to be gladdened because the Son of God Himself is our Savior, who not only has that name but also manifests Himself in that manner, as we ourselves recognize from the introductory words as well as from the gospel. Oh, how blessed is the one who really experiences Him as a Savior. We showed the parishioners in several ways that each and every one could experience Him as a Savior within oneself. May the Lord help things to come to that point, so that things are right in Christ for each and every one.
Monday, the 13th of December. This morning Mrs. Schweighoffer called on me, which right gladdened me, for I had quite a pleasant conversation with her. Through God’s blessing this was very profitable for her and for me. She complained to me of her distress and how yesterday her spirits had been right miserable. She said she had been pleased to hear how the Son of Man had come to seek and to save that which was lost; but her many sins, which seem great mountains to her, hindered it so that she was not able to take up the comfort for herself. Here I had the opportunity to preach the gospel to this poor woman and to show her how all the good things in the gospel apply especially to her. I said she should be exquisitely calm when her sins storm and rage, hold to the beautiful introductory words, and only hope that it will already become good and that the Lord Jesus will manifest Himself in her as her Savior.
I told her she should be glad that she was feeling her corruption more and more; others also felt thus. But, I said, just as she had all the more right to the Lord Jesus, so should she cling tightly to Him and diligently observe His love for mankind and how He died for us. That, I said, was the right basis for comfort; where we leave it out of our mind, we do not progress but always vacillate. I prayed with her and read aloud to her the beautiful hymn: Liebes Herz bedencke doch, deines Jesu grosse Güte. All this was very blessed in both of us. For what I told her I told myself too, because I had need of the same thing; and when we speak with others there is all the more impression on our minds. Hence this conversation was very blessed to me, and what our Lord Jesus says becomes true here also: “When two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Tuesday, the 14th of December. Yesterday evening my traveling companions brought me to Abercorn, from whence this morning (as soon as it was possible, on account of the extreme cold) I traveled to our plantations and home. It was a very cold journey this time; we feel it more in Savannah by day and night than at home, where we have either warm chambers or well protected kitchens. Our dear Lord strengthened me in mind and body so that I was able to hold a prayer hour Saturday, preach twice on Sunday, and still in the evening prayer hour preach something from the remarkable story in 2 Samuel 24 and pray with the people. Mr. Jones proved to be very kind towards the oft-mentioned would-be prince, who had traveled voluntarily down with me, had food and drink served to him in his house, presented him with one of his own coats, and promised to take him along himself to Frederica and advance his interests himself with Gen. Oglethorpe. Because he displayed a great desire to travel back to Ebenezer for the sake of his edification and to remain here until Mr. Jones’ departure, he agreed to it.
Saturday evening this person became violently ill; and, because he surmised that it would be his last night, he humbled himself very earnestly before God and approached Christ in a very woebegone manner, as a poor, penitent sinner. We did what we could for him. Things improved for him towards morning, so that he was able to go to church. He attested that this mortal fear had brought much profit to his soul. May God bestow grace upon him for a true conversion.
On Friday a young Creek Indian who calls himself a prince shot a bullet through the nose of a Cherokee Indian when he could not hit him in the head. They had a quite insignificant dispute. It was recounted to me that shortly before a Creek Indian had shot down another because the one had refused a powder horn to the other. It is appalling to live near and around these people, and therefore we may thank God that we have little traffic with them. Mr. Jones assured me that if peace with the Spaniards were once again to be established we would not have to suffer all this from the Indians. Now people allow themselves every devilry.
Wednesday, the 15th of December. Prior to my journey I had agreed with the parishioners on the plantations that instead of Tuesday I would hold the edification hour the following day and finish the story from the 24th chapter of 2 Samuel, which also took place today. By the beautiful example of David we learned how, in a manner pleasing to God, we should apply our times to those times when the judgments of God encompassed almost the entire face of the earth. He and the elders of Israel humbled themselves righteously before God, fell into His hands in penitence and faith, became obedient to His word, and acted precisely according to His decree in service to the Lord. We compared the 60th Psalm with the sign of grace that he should build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor. In verse six of this psalm it says very comfortingly: “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.” vv. 11, 12. “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He is it that shall tread down our enemies.”
The young locksmith Schrempff was at my house and requested a piece of advice in a matter pertaining to his trade. He is, praise God, now once more quite clear-headed, and thanks God, who rescued him from his misery and once again helped him to the right path. I warned him about disorderly emotions of the spirit, since he was complaining extensively about his head, and I also recommended to him association with Christian people. I said that, if something difficult and contrary came into his mind, he should go into prayer and learn to practice the Christian rule: “Cast all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”
Thursday, the 16th of December. I spoke this morning with some men concerning the young locksmith and gave them some instructions about how they might behave towards him, act according to his weakness, and promote his interests by complaisance, and the practice of love. On account of the great headaches he felt he was bled by Mr. Meyer this morning. I believe God will be praised for putting his mind in order, just as previously He was publicly and very earnestly implored in the matter. I am also hoping that he will ponder upon the chastisement of God, which nonetheless occured in grace, will kiss the hand of the omnipotent Creator who gives and takes according to His pleasure, in humility and obedience, and will apply the reason and powers of mind now once more granted him exclusively to His glory and to the service of his neighbors. We will remind him of it as we have the opportunity. It now occurred to me what is recorded in Daniel 4:31–34.
Friday, the 17th of December. I found Mrs. Schweighoffer still in bed and heard her complaining about a fever, nonetheless she attested, praise God, that things had improved with her shortly before. In her soul, too, and in childlike trust towards God she was more strengthened than a few days ago. I spoke to her and myself something for edification about the words of the catechism where we are directed to take pleasure and comfort in the Lord Jesus alone. For this reason our dear Lord inflicts us with all sorts of external and internal suffering so that we might leave all joy and comfort in ourselves and the world and penetrate into the joy and comfort of Christ and the salvation we acquire from Him.
With the many kinds of weaknesses and the lack we feel in the orphanage, the precious words of David occurred to me, Psalms 62:11, “God hath spoken once; twice I have heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” Immediately thereupon another evidence of divine love and kindness was displayed, which impressed me deeply and strengthened my faith that God will soon engender assistance. As I was departing I heard Mrs. N. praying to God in another room, and I believe with certainty what is said in Tobit 4:22 will also come true in us poor folk.
We are now beginning the story from 1 Chronicles 23, which connects precisely with the last chapter of 2 Samuel. As an introduction to the same, at the end of the hour we profited by the verse “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” David performed true penance and now we are hearing of the righteous fruits of his penance. And therefore it is not enough that people pretend penance; they must give evidence of the truth of it also in a pious life, otherwise one cannot believe them and they will plunge into hell through self-deception.
Saturday, the 18th of December. We wish with all our hearts that all Protestants might live as calmly and contentedly as we are living in this colony under the gracious shelter of the Allhighest; they would not have much in the way of misery and dearth to complain of. Not only the progress of our diaries but also the daily letters of our people to their patrons, friends, relatives, and countrymen in Germany and Prussia attest sufficiently to the many good things and advantages which they enjoy in Ebenezer. From previous experience their hope is strong that the remaining difficulties which they are accustomed to finding in the new planting spots will fall away by and by and that they will enjoy the fruits of their labor in peace and pleasure, and we also hope this for the other inhabitants of this country who are not lazy and disorderly but manage their labor and households well.
In view of this, we would not be able to escape from the censure of being an ungrateful and bad segment of society if we grumbled amidst the many benefactions bestowed upon this country and were to have the least to do with the practices of such people who so maliciously oppose the salutary decree of the Lord Trustees.6 In accordance there with we and all the parishioners entrusted to us hereby protest against such people, who pretend to be agents of this colony; and we attest that we have nothing to do with them and their ways.
Sunday, the 19th of December. Since the holy celebration of Christmas is coming up very soon, our preaching and entire spirit is directed towards passing this blessed celebration, with God’s grace and support, as if it were the first and last in this miserable life.
Monday, the 20th of December. This year our people on the plantations have sown much wheat, which is ripening everywhere so beautifully that even merely looking at it causes pleasure. If God grants His blessing thereto, many a head of household will receive as much white flour in the coming summer as he has need of in his household. Heretofore the mill has always had enough water, and therefore everyone has been able to make his corn and wheat into flour without difficulty and expense. This inspires each and every one to industry in his agriculture and thanksgiving towards God. I hear that Kogler will ferret out a means of drawing off the superfluous water so that it cannot easily inundate the fields lying next to the river. The advantage of this will be that milling will be able to go on with very little water. To be sure, there will be some new expenses required; but since, as I already recognize from the description, the profit will be quite large, we cannot spare the expenses, rather we have a childlike trust in God that He will cause as much to flow to us from the little fountain of His kindness as is also necessary for this highly needed improvement to the mill.
Tuesday, the 21st of December. We will learn in the next prayer hour on 1 Chronicles 23 that many strangers found themselves in the land of Israel, who had abandoned their fatherlands on account of the religious worship there and had moved to a country where they had the opportunity to become acquainted with the true God of Israel. Hence it is indeed right absurd when people who profess the true religion stay away from the good opportunity to be edified for eternity, either constantly or for a long period. They would not do it if there were in them a genuine desire for the word of life. They are commonly ready with causes which induce them to such anomalies, but that day will make it clear whether such causes were valid. They also like to say that God is not bound to one place, He is present everywhere. Nonetheless, if there were many thousands in the world who must live without preachers and public divine worship, we cannot indeed condemn them for that reason.
Today in the edification hour on the plantations and in town we were warned about self-selected divine worship, as we heard that David did not make the choice himself of the threshing floor of the Jebusite for the future construction of the temple, but rather had chosen according to the direction of the Lord Himself. We find an example of a self-selected and therefore fruitless, indeed sinful, religious worship at Isaiah 1:12 and in the words: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Thus do quite many (unfortunately!) observe Christmas and other celebrations, which is a tempting of God and an abuse of His holy name. For whoever wishes to serve God must make it an earnest desire not to tempt God. We came to this place destined for a temple and to the words of David, 1 Chronicles 23:1 upon the two mystical stories wherein also is found beautiful material for Christmas, Genesis 22 and 28:12 ff., that the Jebusite was heartily willing to offer everything in his capacity for the temple and altar; and that heathens too were made worthy of contributing something. For it is without doubt a mystical image of how the heathens, too, would receive access not only to the temple of the Old Testament but also to Christ, who would live in human nature as in His temple and would open up a whole profusion of grace and truth; the promise at Acts 15:15–17 pertains to this and is to be seen in the first of the heathens, the Wise Men from the Orient. Thereby it is also fair to note that there were also heathen women in the family line of Christ (Matthew 1:3–5) who contributed their own special things, according to God’s gracious dispensation, to the temple which the Son of God built for Himself in taking on the form of man. How comforting it is for us that we are by nature and by blood heathens. The very fine deportment of the Jebusite Araunah or Ornan should arouse us to surrender and offer up all our property, even the dearest and best, to our King of Glory, who has come to us in great love, as we have seen also on the first Sunday of Advent in the examples of the Gospel of Matthew 21:1 ff.
Wednesday, the 22nd of December. Leimberger was perilously ill last night and was seized by a very violent stroke of epilepsy. When I came to him the paroxysm had passed, to be sure, but he could not speak right clearly because he had injured his tongue with his teeth. Heretofore he had cut boards and laths at the church; and he did this necessary and profitable labor just yesterday, although for some days he has had pains in his abdomen. I brought him the treasured words from the 68th Psalm, from which I had profited this morning with my family, according to regular order: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts,” etc. “God lays a burden on us, but He helps us, too.” “We have a God . . .” etc. He was very calm and well composed in his soul, from which his body also took part. He spoke very edifyingly and thereby gave us to understand that our dear Lord had already prepared him for this illness and indeed also for death. He stands in true denial of self-will and wishes nothing other than what God his Father wishes; and, since he had experienced that our life, if it was savory, was only trouble and labor, thus he also longed for peace. Nonetheless, if God should cause him to recover, he wished first to become useful to God and his neighbor; and he believed with certainty, he said, that this illness, through God’s blessing, would produce much profit for him. He was overjoyed, as was the Jebusite Araunah, to be thought worthy to give up a place on his plantation for the church, the cemetery, or, if necessary, the preacher’s or schoolmaster’s dwelling, and I hope God will grant him the joy of helping dedicate the church, which will be built across from his dwelling.
His wife has already had almost the same sudden occurrence as harbingers of a rapid death, and she can and should be awakened anew to the serious desire for Christianity, through this perilous illness of her husband; of which I also reminded her. The church construction, praise God! is proceeding apace and the laborers are doing their projects in the most delightful harmony. The church is getting an even handsomer appearance both internally and externally than the church in town. For the more the carpenters practice important construction, the more benefits they derive; and thereby they cause no unnecessary expenses. We have, to be sure, not as much money in cassa as will be required for payment of all construction expenses; but I believe that we can risk something hereby and trust to our dear Lord, who has promised to grant everything with His Son, that He will, in His time, cause so much to fall to us that we will not have to remain obligated to any laborer.
Thursday, the 23rd of December. Things are still at a bad pass with Klocker. Yesterday I requested Mr. Thilo to visit him once more and to arrange some medications for his circumstances, to which end a horse was given him today to ride out there. Whoever knows the man wishes, along with us, that we might keep him longer in the congregation, for he is a profitable, obliging, and unselfish man. His heart is indeed with the Lord Jesus and is always directed to Him in prayer and praise. He is at Hans Flörl’s house and is enjoying many good spiritual and physical things. He well recognizes also (and Flörl rendered this judgment) that he is a spritually minded man, etc.
Since the above was written Mr. Thilo has returned from Klocker and has brought the news to me that Klocker had died shortly before his arrival. I was telling him yesterday, amongst other things, the beautiful Christmas verse: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” Now, according to the state of his soul, he will have come to the complete enjoyment of this abundance; for Christ was his life, hence also dying his gain and not loss. I recounted to him how his eldest girl and youngest boy were being cared for in the orphanage, and what hope I had for the girl’s true improvement. He was pleased by that and said that the middle girl, who was now attending to him, was not praying so diligently and was not so obedient as before, on which account I admonished her. Because of that she shed many tears and prayed with me on her knees next to her sick father.
This evening after our song hour I received a letter from our dear Pastor Mühlenberg which he wrote in the quarter hour on the 12th of November when the little sloop, on which he had ventured in faith, was intending to leave. He wrote as follows:
I chose the first opportunity for Pennsylvania, and signed on with the sloop. It is about like the one on which Captain Grant sailed to Frederica, with one mast. Mr. Lampton’s brigantine will still be waiting long. I gave Captain Childs 3 guineas for the passage. Mr. Theus wished to take nothing for my board. I wished to urge something on him because he is a poor man and has nothing but what he earns from painting, but he did not wish it. May our gracious Lord reward it according to His kindness. From the time I arrived I have instructed some big boys, preached twice on Sundays, applied the remaining time to writing down my journal, and completing a letter to the Court Chaplain. Aside from that I have run from one place to another in order to speak with the people about the journey. I gave my package to Mr. Theus, who intends to give it to Mr. Hopton.
Friday, the 24th of December. Today after the edification hour Bernhard Klocker was buried; and my dear colleague assisted at the burial because I had become somewhat weak and tired in the edification and preparation hour. This morning I had the legacy of this deceased man, as much as was in his own hut, written down and brought to Peter Reiter’s dwelling. The remaining best things are at Hans Flörl’s, where Klocker long lay ill. What we cannot store we will turn into money in the interests of the children. It is also better at this perilous time, when here and there the fatal cattle illness is still raging, that we sell the cattle which he left and put the money safely by. Our dear Lord this day caused us to hear many good things in preparation for the holy celebration of Christmas, and our hearts were inspired in the edification hour as well as in the prayer hour to safeguard our present salvation well.
Saturday and Sunday were the holy celebration of Christmas. Although some members of the congregation are now being afflicted with fevers and other weaknesses, nonetheless our dear Lord has granted to both of us the health and strength to carry out our duties entirely unencumbered. Also our parishioners diligently attended divine services, and we were able to edify ourselves with them in prayer and song and through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. The weather was cold to be sure, but dry; and, because our church is well provided with windows and doors, we did not feel the cold very much. A German man from Savannah and two German rangers from Fort Argyle had come here to celebrate Christmas with us. God strengthened Leimberger so much once more that he was able to attend divine services on both holidays, which also caused us joy.
Monday, the 27th of December. The German tailor from Savannah7 has now fully resolved to move to our location, after he has secured permission from us for it, on condition of Christian behavior. He is buying Scheffler’s new hut near the city; he no longer needs it, as he has married Ms. Ernst. The tailor is promising all good things and will have it good amongst us, too, if he should keep his promise. He is a master, and works very quickly and cheaply. Prior to this he was a soldier amongst the French. But as John the Baptist also accepted military people and gave them salutary reminders, so it is our duty to attempt it with all kinds of people. Perhaps the Word of the Lord will succeed in their souls since it has been abundantly proclaimed to them as it has been to others. If they do not follow then they have all the less excuse.
Tuesday, the 28th of December. Our song hour is still prgressing, praise God, with blessing, and we have therein much edification and divine pleasure. Yesterday and today we practiced the beautiful song: Sey willkommen, liebstes Kind, etc., likewise Herr, so du wirst mit mir seyn, etc. to grasp correctly. Because the melody is somewhat difficult and the verses long and therefore there are many variations in the melody, it has been somewhat hard for the people to grasp it as quickly as others; but practice and repetition give everything subsequently. The latter is a very edifying pilgrim and emigrant’s song, which is quite appropriate indeed to the material which we are now learning in the evening prayer hours about the strangers in the Jewish country, according to 1 Chronicles 23:2, cf. 2 Chronicles 2:17. They did not move to the land of Canaan to make their fortune with the acquisition of great estates, for the way to that was barred to them by the expressed decree of God. Rather it was for them to a matter of recognizing God and serving Him and becoming blessed; and because they, as we know from many beautiful examples of such strangers, at first strove for the Kingdom of God and for His righteousness, the physical things also fell to them, although they had no land of their own at all and no rights of citizens or place of honor in Israel, nor could they have any. That God loved the strangers especially we see from Exodus 22:21, cf. 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:18, where it says quite comfortingly: “He . . . loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment,” etc. This can strengthen very much the faith of ourselves, who are also strangers, so that if we arrange our way of living according to 1 Peter 2:11 ff., we will have no lack of any good thing, even if we do not possess as much land and temporal property as perhaps others in the vicinity, with which lack persons of carnal lusts often reproach our people.
We have also been reminded of our duty of gratitude and obedience towards our beneficent authorities, as they heretofore have behaved towards us as in 3 John 5-8. On the other hand, we must be right disgusted with the sins of the people who repress and oppress strangers, be they white or black servants, and have no thought for the word of the Lord Jesus: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto You, do ye even so to them.” Because the strangers had no land and no rights of citizens but rather had to feed themselves as day laborers, workmen, and artisans among the Israelites, David also gave them the opportunity to earn something with the preparation for the construction of the temple. Just such a thing is a reason why the Lord Trustees do not wish to introduce any Negroes into the country, so that the poor and the strangers can be employed at all kinds of labor, for otherwise there is no livelihood for poor whites where there are sufficient Negroes, as in Carolina and other places.8
Wednesday, the 29th of December. N. became very ill on the second day of the celebration and lay delirious almost 24 hours. This morning he had me come to him quite early and acknowledged, amidst weeping and sighing, that he had had a very sad night. For, he said, God had caused all his sins to fall heavily on his conscience; there were more of them than sand on the seashore. Especially oppressive were certain youthful sins, to wit, that he had often misused Holy Communion because no improvement followed therefrom. He said he had heretofore considered himself a good Christian, but now he saw well his error and self-deception. He was troubled that God would cast him out on account of his sins; if only that would not happen, he said, he would happily surrender himself to everything which God might intend for him. Hans Schmidt had offered him words of comfort during the preceding night, he said, but no comfort would cling to him. I told him that his current feeling of sin and the honest desire to be saved therefrom by Christ was a sign that God wished not to cast him into hell but rather would have him in heaven. I directed him herewith to the manner of penance of David, of the publican, of the Prodigal Son. I admonished him to a reconciliation with his neighbor, especially with N., with whom for some time he had not gotten along. I reminded him also of the beautiful parable of the king who had an accounting with his servants so that he might convince them of their disloyalty and fault, and who, upon their humbling themselves, forgave them everything. I said that this was also the purpose of God in this current illness and stirring of his conscience.
I visited N. N. this morning, but was able to accomplish little with him. He has a very good literal recognition of spiritual things, and therewith tells a good story, and is like an eel in the hand which one can never grasp but who knows how to wriggle out of everything which is culpable in himself. He quickly inveighs against other people with very coarse judgments, so that, if we did not know such people better, we would have to consider them coarse sinners and miscreants. He was also irritated with me because I cannot approve of his way of life and behavior; and it was his judgment, he said, that I had no good will and purpose towards him. What can one do? We have to deliver such people to the mercy of God; and, if He does not change, convince, and humble them, we poor instruments accomplish little or nothing.
Thursday, the 30th of December. At one o’clock adults and children gathered in the orphanage, in the dining room, where I read aloud something to them from God’s word at the close of the old year, thanked our dear Lord with them for the benefactions we had received, and prayed for ourselves and our benefactors. During the reading I reminded them of the verse we had had from Deuteronomy 10:18. God loved orphans, widows, and strangers, in that He gave them food and raiment; and I showed them that it was pleasing to our dear Lord to make us into strangers in this land and make us similar to His ancient people Israel, indeed to the patriarch Abraham, and to Isaac and Jacob in this matter. I said that the manner in which He was inclined towards us strangers was contained here. He loved us; He showed this love, I said, not only by giving us food and raiment for the entire almost ended year but also by manifesting to us many other spiritual benefactions and by granting us His word and the holy sacraments, good opportunities for edification, good peace and much prevention of harm and misfortune.
From Europe God had granted many beautiful blessings for the support and progress of the orphans’ and widows’ institutions; and thereby He clearly gave to recognize that He had awakened other Christian hearts to an active love towards us, as we saw some time ago to our great pleasure from the edifying foreword to the 8th Continuation.9 Herewith I requested from our strangers in the orphanage two different things: 1) That at the end of this year they think back and ponder, one by one, how many acts of love the Lord had showed them. 2) That they inquire precisely how their mutual love towards the loving and merciful God and Father had been constituted. Whoever did not first strive for the kingdom of God and went around not grateful and faithful but rather discontented; whoever was disobedient, quarrelsome, envious, slanderous, did not have a true mutual love towards God but was rather a loveless and faithless person. Food and raiment God had granted to each and every one, for all of them had been able to satisfy their need and be clothed by day and night. But, I said, it was quite common that the discontented person was not satisfied with that. Soon they find fault with something in the quality of the food and raiment, soon they desire money and other things in addition; and, if they cannot have it so, they grumble secretly and do not consider such specimens of divine providence as signs of God’s love although He makes them l.c.10 Finally the horror of this sin was presented, and each of them was faithfully warned to eradicate it through true penance in the blood of Christ and to call to God the Holy Spirit, that He might make them all into entirely new persons.
Friday, the 31st of December. The tailor Metzger from N. called on me to ask whether we intended to allow him to move to us with his children. He cannot get on in N. /Purysburg/ and would like to care for his children in his old age that they will be instructed from God’s word.11 If it is true that he wishes to accommodate himself here with his children in Christian order, which is quite well-known to him, then we do not wish to hinder his living amongst us and enjoying the opportunity for the edification of his soul. He gave me such a deplorable description of the state of affairs in N. that one could not find fault with anyone if he left the place and sought his nourishment elsewhere. It was already known to us how confused everything appeared in spiritual and physical matters, and since in all particulars we enjoy great advantages, we have cause diligently to remember amongst ourselves the spiritual and physical benefactions which have abundantly befallen us from God, and to arouse ourselves to righteous gratitude towards Him and our benefactors.
MAY THE HEAVENLY FATHER BE HUMBLY PRAISED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR ALL HIS KINDNESS WHICH HAS FLOWED TO OUR SOULS AND BODIES IN THIS YEAR NOW PAST. MAY HE CAUSE US TO END THIS OLD YEAR IN BLESSING AND BEGIN THIS NEW YEAR IN BLESSING, SO THAT WE MAY BE AND REMAIN THE BLESSED OF THE LORD IN TIME AND ETERNITY. AMEN!