The Spiritual Flower Garden
The First Complete English Translation of Gerhard Tersteegen's Geistliches Blumengärtlein
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Because the complete translation is over 700 pages, the print edition is divided into two physical volumes. The complete Kindle eBook contains the entire work in a single digital volume.
Print Edition (2 Volumes)
Volume I
Books I & II · 316 pages
Volume II
Book III and The Lottery of the Devout · 394 pages
Complete eBook
Books I-III and The Lottery of the Devout in one digital volume · 723 pages
ISBN: 979-8-9941752-3-1 (eBook) · 979-8-9941752-4-8 / 5-5 (Vol. I PB/HC) · 979-8-9941752-6-2 / 7-9 (Vol. II PB/HC)
From the book
The contents and the first three pages
The contents page and the opening of A Word Before the Garden (Volume I), exactly as it is set in the printed book. Choose a page, and click it to read at full size.
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.
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.
The Complete Spiritual Flower Garden Contains:
- Book I: Short and Edifying Verse — 606 brief poems distilling the essence of the spiritual life.
- Book II: Meditations and Spiritual Verses — One hundred twenty meditations pairing prose reflections with poetic responses.
- Book III: Spiritual Hymns and Devotions — One hundred twenty-two hymns spanning the full range of Christian experience.
- The Lottery of the Devout — All 412 brief maxims, originally designed to be drawn at random for daily meditation.
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. A glossary of key terms is included.
"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
Learn more: Read our articles Who Was Gerhard Tersteegen? and The Geistliches Blumengärtlein and Its First Complete English Translation.
About the Translator and Editor
Gerhard Tersteegen's Geistliches Blumengärtlein shaped German-speaking devotion for generations. Jarred Fenlason, D.Min., translated and edited this complete English edition to preserve Tersteegen's theological precision, contemplative depth, and practical warmth for modern readers.
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