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| This hymn is sometimes called the hymn Paul Gerhardt did NOT write, but could have written. So let's celebrate George Newmark. |
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Born: March 16, 1621 - Langensalza, Thuringia, Germany
Died: July 18, 1681 - Weimar, Germany | ||||
Georg Neumark was educated at the Gymnasiums in Schleusingen and Gotha. He received his certificate of dimission from the latter in September 1641. He left Gotha in the autumn of 1641, along with a number of merchants going to the Michaelmas Fair at Leipzig. He then joined a similar party going from Leipzig to Lübeck, planning to proceed to Königsberg and enroll at the university there. After passing through Magdeburg, they were attacked by bandits on the Gardelegen Heath, who robbed Neumark of all he had with him, except his prayer book and a little money sewed up in his clothes.
Georg Neumark returned to Magdeburg, but could not find a job there, nor in Lüneburg, Winsen, or Hamburg, to which in succession the friends he made passed him on. In the beginning of December he went to Kiel, where he found a friend in Nicolaus Becker, a fellow Thuringian and then chief pastor at Kiel. Day after day passed without an opening, till about the end of the month the tutor in the family of judge Stephan Henning fell into disgrace and fled from Kiel. On Becker’s recommendation, Neumark got the job, and this sudden end of his anxieties was the occasion of the writing of his hymn Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten. Georg Neumark passed the time happily in the Henning home until he had saved enough to proceed to Königsberg, where he enrolled June 21, 1643, as a law student. He remained five years, also studying poetry under Dach and maintaining himself as a family tutor. During this time (in 1646) he again lost all his belongings, this time by fire. In 1648 he left Königsberg, was for a short time in Warsaw, and spent 1649-1650 at Thorn. He was then in Danzig, and September 1651 in Hamburg. By the end of 1651 he had returned to Thuringia, and was noticed by Duke Wilhelm II of Sachse-Weimar, the president of the Fruitbearing Society, the principal German literary organization in the 17th Century. The Duke, apparently in 1652, appointed Neumark as court poet, librarian, and registrar of the administration at Weimar; and finally secretary of the Ducal Archives. In September 1653 Neumark was admitted as a member of the Fruitbearing Society, of which he became secretary in 1656. In 1679, he also became a member of the Pegnitz Order. In 1681, he went blind, but was permitted to keep his posts until he died. |
"If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"
by Georg Neumark, 1621-1681
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He'll give thee strength, whate'er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days.
Who trusts in God's unchanging love
Builds on the Rock that naught can move.
2. What can these anxious cares avail thee,
These never-ceasing moans and sighs?
What can it help if thou bewail thee
O'er each dark moment as it flies?
Our cross and trials do but press
The heavier for our bitterness.
3. Be patient and await His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whate'er thy Father's pleasure
And His discerning love hath sent,
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own.
4. God knows full well when times of gladness
Shall be the needful thing for thee.
When He has tried thy soul with sadness
And from all guile has found thee free,
He comes to thee all unaware
And makes thee own His loving care.
5. Nor think amid the fiery trial
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred.
Time passes and much change doth bring
And sets a bound to everything.
6. All are alike before the Highest;
'Tis easy to our God, we know,
To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
To make the rich man poor and low.
True wonders still by Him are wrought
Who setteth up and brings to naught.
7. Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word, though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.
Hymn #518
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ps. 55:22
Author: Georg Neumark, 1640
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Wer nur den lieben Gott laesst walten"
Composer: Georg Neumark, 1640
Tune: "Wer nur den lieben Gott"
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GJ - This is a great hymn for those going through a time of trial. The anniversary of the Reformation gave me plenty of reasons to be completely disgusted. The attitude of 100% of the Lutherans was - "Let's get this over with so we can ignore Luther with impunity."
An ELCA pastor teaching the deluded souls at a Jeske conference was a good example of this. She said, "I am already tired of the anniversary."
WELS/ELS cannot give up their position against Luther, because we all know - from these two sects only - that Sig Becker and JP Meyer were far superior to Luther in their theological insights from the Bible or wherever they found their theses.
Matt the Fatt's LCMS has stolen a march on the competition by publishing a catechism that gloriously explains - as Mrs. Matt did to me - that there is an Objective and a Subjective Justification - yes, everywhere but the Bible, Luther, and the Confessions. Thus the Oblates of Walther Immaculate have sealed the fate of their dying sect.
What troubles me is -
- Everyone has access to the English version of Luther's Bible - the King James Version, plus various KJV updates.
- The Book of Concord teaches Justification by Faith and commends Luther's Galatians Lectures.
- Various theologians have repudiated OJ/SJ.
- All the clergy have access to a wealth of theological and Scriptural books but show no inclination to deal with the issues.
