The Spiritual Flower Garden: The First Complete English Translation of Gerhard Tersteegen's Geistliches Blumengärtlein, Volume Two - Softcover

Tersteegen, Gerhard

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798994175262

Publisher: Encounter Press, 2026

Synopsis

For nearly three hundred years, one of Christianity's most treasured devotional works has remained locked behind a language barrier. Gerhard Tersteegen's Geistliches Blumengärtlein—The Spiritual Flower Garden—shaped German-speaking piety for generations, yet no complete English translation has ever existed. Until now.

This landmark edition presents the first complete English translation of Tersteegen's masterpiece, making accessible for the first time the full breadth of a work that has guided countless souls into deeper communion with God.

Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769) was a Reformed Pietist mystic whose influence spread far beyond his quiet life as a ribbon weaver in Mülheim. After five years of spiritual darkness, he emerged with a voice that combined the contemplative depth of the Rhenish mystics with the practical warmth of evangelical devotion. His writings do not argue or perform—they simply speak, with the calm authority of one who knows the terrain because he has walked it.

Volume Two contains:

BOOK III: SPIRITUAL HYMNS AND DEVOTIONS One hundred twenty-two hymns spanning the full range of Christian experience—longing for God, the way of the cross, yieldedness, divine love, and eternal hope. These are not sentimental songs but soul-forged poetry from one who walked the path he describes. While a few found their way into English hymnals, the vast majority speak here in English for the first time.

THE DEVOUT MAN'S LOTTERY: SPIRITUAL MAXIMS FOR DAILY REFLECTION Over four hundred brief maxims originally designed to be drawn at random for daily meditation. Each one distills a lifetime of spiritual wisdom into a single pointed truth—seeds for the soul to carry through the day.

Throughout, Tersteegen's voice remains direct, concrete, and unflinching about the cost of following Christ into the depths. This is not comfortable devotional reading. It is a map for those willing to lose themselves in order to find the One who waits in the soul's Ground.

This translation preserves Tersteegen's theological precision while rendering his voice in clear, contemporary English. Key mystical terms—Gelassenheit (yieldedness), Gemüt (inmost heart), Seelengrund (Ground of the soul)—are translated according to their historical meaning within the Rhenish mystical tradition, not flattened into modern psychological equivalents. A glossary of key terms is included.

Volume One, available separately, contains Book I (Short and Edifying Verse) and Book II (Meditations and Spiritual Verses). Both volumes are required for the complete Spiritual Flower Garden.

"May God lure you more and more out of yourself and all created things. May He lead you into the sweet wilderness of inner solitude, and there speak to your soul like a friend." —Gerhard Tersteegen

Edition details

• Publisher: Encounter Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798994175262
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 378