Communication from Bro. Ertzenberger.
By J. Ertzenberger
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN AMERICA: Although you have heard nothing from me for a long time, I have often thought of you; but I have not felt that I was in a proper state to write for the Review, and therefore have kept silence. My writing at this time is by way of humiliation. Bro. Andrews has spoken of the fact that after my return to Switzerland I lost sight of my dependence upon the Lord, and was left to go on in my own strength till I learned how evil it is for a poor, erring mortal to have his own way. I did not backslide all at once, but step by step. I left the good counsels of the dear brethren in Switzerland, and gradually departed from the Lord and pursued my own way. My course was sinful before God and a great grief to my brethren, and so the face of God was hidden from me, and darkness and anguish filled my soul. Even after the arrival of Bro. Andrews, I could not see the sinfulness of my course in its true light. But, through the help of God, his patient and earnest efforts in my behalf were finally the means of great good to me. I could understand my dangerous position and see my sinful course, and the Lord helped me to repent of my sins and to correct my wrongs. After thus becoming reconciled with the dear ones in my native land, and being determined to obey God, as his providence seemed to plainly call me to Germany, I came to this field of labor. It was with the approval of the Swiss brethren that I came here to labor for the dear Saviour. And since the time that I left Switzerland, he has continued his good work in my heart, even until now. Before I started with Bro. Andrews for Germany, I began once more to enjoy the free Spirit of God. And during my sojourn in this region, my heart has often been so filled with his grace that I have wept before him. Even at this time tears are filling my eyes. I have made many failures in the past, and I have grieved the Lord and have also grieved his people. I deeply regret my faults, and I am striving more earnestly than before to make clean work for the kingdom of God. And by these lines I would ask you, dear brethren, to forgive me. And as St. Peter after his humiliation spoke no more haughtily, but with a deep sense of his unworthiness, I join in in his words: “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” The foregoing will explain my silence in in not answering letters from America, though I was very grateful for them. Forgive me in this also. And will you all pray for me? Yours with Christian love, J. ERTZENBERGER. Vohwinkel near Elberfeld, Prussia, July 21, 1875.