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A Hymn and Prayer-Book
Publication Date: 1795 Publisher: Hurtin & Commardinger Publication Place: New York, N.Y. Editors: John C. Kunze, D. D.; Hurtin & Commardinger
A Hymn and Prayer-Book
All glory to the sovereign good
Author: Johann Jacob Schuetz Appears in 12 hymnals
All glory to the sovereign good
All praise to thee, my God, this night
Author: Thomas Ken Appears in 1,048 hymnals
All praise to thee, my God, this night
All the world exalt the Lord
Author: J. C. Jacobi; Heinrich Held Appears in 1 hymnal
All the world exalt the Lord
Now the Savior comes indeed
Author: Martin Luther Hymnal: HPBU1795 #1 (1795) Languages: English
Now the Savior comes indeed
How shall I meet my Savior
Author: J. C. Jacobi; Paul Gerhardt Hymnal: HPBU1795 #2 (1795) Languages: English
How shall I meet my Savior
Due praises to the incarnate Love
Author: J. C. Jacobi; Martin Luther Hymnal: HPBU1795 #3 (1795) Languages: English
Due praises to the incarnate Love
Johann Jakob Schütz
1640 - 1690 Person Name: Johann Jacob Schuetz Hymnal Number: 175 Author of "All glory to the sovereign good" in A Hymn and Prayer-Book Schütz, Johann Jakob, was born Sept. 7, 1640, at Frankfurt am Main. After studying at Tübingen (where he became a licentiate in civil and canon law), he began to practise as an advocate in Frankfurt, and in later years with the title of Rath. He seems to have been a man of considerable legal learning as well as of deep piety. He was an intimate friend of P. J. Spener; and it was, in great measure, at his suggestion, that Spener began his famous Collegia Pietatis. After Spener left Frankfurt, in 1686, Schütz came under the influence of J. W. Petersen; and carrying out Petersen's prin¬ciples to their logical conclusion, he became a Separatist, and ceased to attend the Lutheran services or to communicate. He died at Frankfurt, May 22, 1690 (Koch, iv. 220; Blätter fur Hymnologie, Feb. 1883).
Schütz is known as an author by two tractates; one being his Christliche Lebensregeln, Frankfurt, 1677; the other, that which contains his hymns, Christliches Gedenckbüchlein, zu Beforderung eines anfangenden neuen Lebens, &c, Frankfurt am Main, 1675 [Library of the Predigerministerium at Frankfurt]. This work includes 5 hymns, in a separate section, which is headed, “Hierauf folgen etliche Gesänge." These hymns are:—
i. Die Wollust dieser Welt.
ii. Was inich auf dieser Welt betrübt.
iii. So komm, geliebte Todes-Stund.
iv. Scheuet ihr, ihr matten Glieder.
v. Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut.
Of these No. v. is undoubtedly by Schütz, and the other four exhibit much the same style of thought as, and frequent parallels to, the prose portions of the work. None of these have been traced earlier than 1675; and until this has been done, it is pretty safe to ascribe them all to Schütz.
Three of these hymns have passed into English, viz.:—
i. Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut. Praise and Thanksgiving. First published in 1675, as above, No. v. It is founded on Deut. xxxii. 3; entitled, "Hymn of Thanksgiving ;" and is in 9 stanzas of 6 lines, and the refrain, "Gebt unserm Gott die Ehre”.
Koch, iv. 220, speaks of this hymn as "outweighing many hundred others; and a classical hymn, which, from its first appearance, attracted unusual attention." And Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 334-339, relates how delighted J. J. Moser was, when, on entering church the first Sunday after his captivity at Hohentwiel, he heard this hymn, and how heartily he joined in it; how it comforted the dying G. C. Rieger, of Stuttgart, on Tuesday, in Easter Week, 1743, and many other incidents.
Translations in common use:—
1. All Glory to the Sov'reign Good. This is a full and good translation by J. OJacobi, in his Psalter Germanica, 2nd ed., 1732, p. 151, where it is entitled, "The Malabarian Hymn."
2. All glory be to God most high. A good translation by A. T. Russell, of st. i., iv., viii., for the Dalston Hospital Hymn Book, 1848, No. 59.
3. All praise and thanks to God most high. This is a good tr., omitting st. ix., by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 146.
4. Sing praise to God Who reigns above. A good tr., omitting st. ix., contributed by Miss Cox to Lyra Eucharistica, 1864, p. 33, and included in her Hymns from the German, 1864, p. 235.
5. To God a joyful anthem raise. A good tr. of st. i., ii., iv., v., viii., by J. M. Sloan, as No. 314, in J. H. Wilson's Service of Praise, 1865.
The following are also translated into English:—
ii. So komm, geliebte Todes-Stund. For the Dying. First published in 1675, as above, No. iii., in 11 st. of 8 1., entitled, "The thoughts on Death of a Royal Princess, after the usual interpretation of Job xix. 25." This Princess was Sophie Elisabethe. daughter of Duke Philipp Ludwig, of Holstein-Sonderburg (b. at Homburg vor der Hohe, May 4, 1653; married, in 1676. to Duke Moritz, of Sachse-Zeitz; d. at Schleusingen, Aug. 19, 1684), who had been a regular attender at Spener's conferences at Frankfurt, and thus associated with Schütz. This hymn has often been ascribed to her; and she had already chosen Job xix. 25, as the text of her funeral sermon. But it is more probable that both hymns were written by Schütz for her use, or in her honour. The trs. are :—(1) "Come, happy hour of death, and close." By Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 56. (2) "O come, delightful hour of death." By Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 106.
iii. Was mich auf dieser Welt betriibt. Earthly Vanities. This hymn, on Renunciation of the World, first appeared in 1675, as above, No. ii., in 4 st. of 10 1., and entitled "From the World to God." It has sometimes been erroneously ascribed to Michael Franck. It is tr. as "The woes that weigh my body down." By Miss Manington, 1863, p. 32. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Johann Jakob Schütz
Anne Steele
1717 - 1778 Hymnal Number: 187 Author of "Come Holy Ghost, inspire my [our] song [songs]" in A Hymn and Prayer-Book Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporary minister-hymnist Benjamin Beddome. All the same, some of Steele's sufferings were very real. She lost her mother at age 3, a potential suitor at age 20, her step mom at 43, and her sister-in-law at 45. She spent many years caring for her father until his death in 1769. For most of her life, she exhibited symptoms of malaria, including persistent pain, fever, headaches, and stomach aches. Caleb Evans, in his preface to Steele's posthumous Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose (1780), noted that she had been bed ridden for "some years" before her death: When the interesting hour came, she welcomed its arrival, and though her feeble body was excruciated with pain, her mind was perfectly serene. . . . She took the most affectionate leave of her weeping friends around her, and at length, the happy moment of her dismission arising, she closed her eyes, and with these animating words on her dying lips, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," gently fell asleep in Jesus. Historically, her most popular hymn has been "When I survey life's varied scene" (and its shortened form, "Father, whate'er of earthly bliss"), a hymn that turns earthly loss or denial into a spirit of thankfulness, published in over 800 North American hymnals since 1792. Not all of her work deals with personal agony. Her hymns span a wide doctrinal and ecclesiastical range, some crafted and used for her father's congregation. Her metrical psalms are among the finest of the genre. Steele's hymns and psalms were published in two volumes in 1760, Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, under the pseudonym Theodosia, with an additional volume of material published after her death, in Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose, 1780. Sixty two of her hymns, including new material and some revisions by Steele, were published in a hymnal for Baptists in 1769, A Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, edited by Caleb Evans and John Ash. Forty seven were included in John Rippon's A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787; the only author with larger representation was Philip Doddridge, with 101. These collections represent the earliest attempts to anthologize Baptist hymns and were vital for bringing Steele's hymns into wider public worship, where they have been a mainstay for over two hundred years.
Chris Fenner adapted from The Towers (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, August 2015)
Recommended Bibliography:
Cynthia Y. Aalders, To Express the Ineffable: The Hymns and Spirituality of Anne Steele (Milton Keynes, U.K.: Paternoster, 2008).
Cynthia Y. Aalders, "In melting grief and ardent love: Anne Steele's contribution to eighteenth-century hymnody," The Hymn (summer 2009), 16-25.
J.R. Broome, A Bruised Reed: The Life and Times of Anne Steele (Harpenden, U.K.: Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2007).
Joseph Carmichael, The Hymns of Anne Steele in John Rippon's Selection of Hymns: A Theological Analysis in the Context of the English Particular Baptist Revival (2012), dissertation, http://digital.library.sbts.edu/handle/10392/4112
Priscilla Wong, Anne Steele and Her Spiritual Vision (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012)
========================
Steele, Anne, born in 1716, was the daughter of Mr. Wm. Steele, a timber merchant, and pastor, without salary, of the Baptist Church at Broughton, in Hampshire. At an early age she showed a taste for literature, and would often entertain her friends by her poetical compositions. But it was not until 1760 that she could be prevailed upon to publish. In that year two volumes appeared under the title of Poems on Subjects chiefly Devotional, by Theodosia. After her death, which occurred in November, 1778, a new edition was published with an additional volume and a Preface by the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans, of Bristol (Bristol, 1780). In the three volumes are 144 hymns, 34 Psalms in verse, and about 30 short poems. They have been reprinted in one vol. by D. Sedgwick, 1863….
Among Baptist hymnwriters Miss Steele stands at the head, if we regard either the number of her hymns which have found a place in the hymnals of the last 120 years, or the frequency with which they have been sung. Although few of them can be placed in the first rank of lyrical compositions, they are almost uniformly simple in language, natural and pleasing in imagery, and full of genuine Christian feeling. Miss Steele may not inappropriately be compared with Miss F. R. Havergal, our "Theodosia" of the 19th century. In both there is the same evangelic fervour, in both the same intense personal devotion to the Lord Jesus. But whilst Miss Steele seems to think of Him more frequently as her "bleeding, dying Lord "—dwelling on His sufferings in their physical aspect—Miss Havergal oftener refers to His living help and sympathy, recognizes with gladness His present claims as "Master" and "King," and anticipates almost with ecstasy His second coming. Looking at the whole of Miss Steele's hymns, we find in them a wider range of thought than in Miss Havergal's compositions. She treats of a greater variety of subjects. On the other hand, Miss Havergal, living in this age of missions and general philanthropy, has much more to say concerning Christian work and personal service for Christ and for humanity. Miss Steele suffered from delicacy of health and from a great sorrow, which befell her in the death of her betrothed under peculiarly painful circumstances. In other respects her life was uneventful, and occupied chiefly in the discharge of such domestic and social duties as usually fall to the lot of the eldest daughter of a village pastor. She was buried in Broughton churchyard. [Rev W. R. Stevenson, M.A.]
A large number of Miss Steele's hymns are in common use, the larger proportion being in American hymnbooks. In addition to "Almighty Maker of my frame," “Far from these narrow scenes of night," "Father of mercies in Thy word," and others annotated under their respective first lines, there are also:—
i. From her Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, 1760, vols. i., ii.
1. Come, let our souls adore the Lord. Pleading for Mercy. One of two hymns "On the Fast, Feb. 11, 1757," the first being "While justice waves her vengeful hand."
2. Come, tune ye saints, your noblest strains. Christ Dying and Rising.
3. Deep are the wounds which sin has made. Christ, the Physician.
4. Enslaved by sin, and bound in chains. Redemption.
5. Eternal power, almighty God. Divine Condescension.
6. Eternal Source of joys divine. Divine Assurance desired.
7. Great God, to Thee my evening song. Evening.
8. Great Source of boundless power and grace. Desiring to Trust in God.
9. Hear, gracious [God] Lord, my humble moan [prayer] . The presence of God desired.
10. Hear, O my God, with pity hear. Ps. cxliii.
11. How long shall earth's alluring toys ? On Longing after unseen pleasures.
12. How lovely, how divinely sweet. Ps. lxxziv.
13. How oft, alas, this wretched heart. Pardoning Love.
14. In vain my roving thoughts would find. Lasting Happiness.
15. Jesus, the spring of joys divine. Christ the Way.
16. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Providence.
17. Lord, Thou hast been Thy Children's God. Ps. xc.
18. Lord, we adore Thy boundless grace. Divine Bounty.
19. Lord, when my [our] raptured thought surveys. Creation and Providence.
20. Lord, when my thoughts delighted rove. Passiontide.
21. My God, 'tis to Thy mercy seat. Divine Mercy.
22. My God, to Thee I call. Lent.
23. O for a sweet, inspiring ray. The Ascended Saviour.
24. O Thou Whose tender mercy hears. Lent.
25. Permit me, Lord, to seek Thy face. Strength and Safety in God alone.
26. Should famine o'er the mourning field. During Scarcity.
27. So fades the lovely, blooming flower. Death of a Child.
28. Stretched on the Cross the Saviour dies. Good Friday.
29. The Lord, my Shepherd and my Guide. Ps.xxiii.
30. The Lord, the God of glory reigns. Ps. xciii.
31. The Saviour calls; let every ear. The Invitation.
32. There is a glorious world on high. True Honour.
33. Thou lovely [only] Source of true delight. Desiring to know Jesus.
34. Thou only Sovereign of my heart. Life in Christ alone.
35. To Jesus, our exalted Lord. Holy Communion.
36. To our Redeemer's glorious Name. Praise to the Redeemer.
37. To your Creator, God. A Rural Hymn.
38. When I survey life's varied scene. Resignation.
39. When sins and fears prevailing rise. Christ the Life of the Soul.
40. Where is my God? does He retire. Rreathing after God.
41. While my Redeemer's near. The Good Shepherd.
42. Why sinks my weak desponding mind? Hope in God.
43. Ye earthly vanities, depart. Love for Christ desired.
44. Ye glittering toys of earih adieu. The Pearl of great Price.
45. Ye humble souls, approach your God. Divine Goodness.
ii. From the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769.
46. Come ye that love the Saviour's Name. Jesus, the King of Saints.
47. How helpless guilty nature lies. Need of Receiving Grace.
48. Praise ye the Lord let praise employ. Praise.
iii. Centos and Altered Texts,
49. How blest are those, how truly wise. True honour. From "There is a glorious world on high."
50. How far beyond our mortal view. Christ the Supreme Beauty. From "Should nature's charms to please the eye," 1760, st. iii.
51. In vain I trace creation o'er. True happiness. From "When fancy spreads her boldest wings," 1760, st. ii.
52. Jesus, and didst thou leave the sky? Praise to Jesus. From “Jesus, in Thy transporting name," 1760, st. iv.
53. Look up, my soul, with cheerful eye. Breathing after God. From No. 40, st. v.
54. Lord, in the temple of Thy grace. Christ His people's Joy. From "The wondering nations have beheld," 1760, st. iii.
55. My God, O could I make the claim. Part of No. 9 above.
56. My soul, to God, its source, aspires. God, the Soul's only Portion. From "In vain the world's alluring smile," st. iii.
57. O could our thoughts and wishes fly. Part of No. 11 above, st. iv.
58. O for the eye of faith divine. Death anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760, st. iii., vii., viii. altered, with opening stanzas from another source.
59. O Jesus, our exalted Head. Holy Communion. From "To Jesus, our exalted Lord." See No. 35.
60. O world of bliss, could mortal eyes. Heaven. From "Far from these narrow scenes of night."
61. See, Lord, Thy willing subjects bow. Praise to Christ. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, st. 5.
62. Stern winter throws his icy chains. Winter. From "Now faintly smile day's hasty hours," 1760, st. ii.
63. Sure, the blest Comforter is nigh. Whitsuntide. From "Dear Lord, and shall Thy Spirit rest," 1760, st. iii.
64. The God of my salvation lives. In Affliction. From, "Should famine, &c," No. 26, st. iv.
65. The Gospel, O what endless charms. The Gospel of Redeeming Love. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song."
66. The mind was formed lo mount sublime. The Fettered Mind. From "Ah! why should this immortal mind?" 1760, st. ii.
67. The once loved form now cold and dead. Death of a Child. From "Life is a span, a fleeting hour," 1760, st. iii.
68. Thy gracious presence, O my God. Consolation in Affliction. From "In vain, while dark affliction spreads," 1780, st. iv.
69. Thy kingdom, Lord, for ever stands. Ps. cxlv. From "My God, my King, to Thee I'll raise," 1760, st. xii.
70. Triumphant, Christ ascends on high. Ascension. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song," 1760, st. xxxii.
71. When blest with that transporting view. Christ the Redeemer. From "Almighty Father, gracious Lord," 1760, st. xi.
72. When death before my sight. Death Anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760.
73. When gloomy thoughts and boding fears. Com¬forts of Religion. From "O blest religion, heavenly fair," 1760, st. ii.
74. When weary souls with sin distrest. Invitation to Rest. From "Come, weary souls, with sin distressed," 1760.
75. Whene'er the angry passions rise. Example of Christ. From “And is the gospel peace and love?" 1760, st. ii.
All the foregoing hymns are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Miss Steele's Hymns, 1863.
--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Steele, Anne, p. 1089, i., Additional hymns in common use:
1. Amazing love that stoop'd so low. Thankfulness. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, iii.
2. Bright scenes of bliss, unclouded skies. Saved by Hope. Poems, 1760, i. p. 228.
3. Jesus demands this heart of mine. Pardon De¬sired. Poems, 1760, i. p. 120.
4. Jesus, Thou Source divine. Christ the Way. Poems, 1760, i. p. 53, altered.
5. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Mysteries of Providence. Poems, 1760, i. p. 131.
6. Lord^in Thy great, Thy glorious Name. Ps. xxxi. Poems, 1760, ii. p. 158.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
Anne Steele
Georg Neumark
1621 - 1681 Person Name: Georg C. Neumark Hymnal Number: 63 Author of "He that confides in his Creator" in A Hymn and Prayer-Book Georg Neumark (b. Langensalza, Thuringia, Germany, 1621; d. Weimar, Germany, 1681) lived during the time of the Thirty Years' War, when social and economic conditions were deplorable. He had personal trials as well. On his way to Königsberg to study at the university, traveling in the comparative safety of a group of merchants, he was robbed of nearly all his possessions. During the next two years he spent much of his time looking for employment. He finally secured a tutoring position in Kiel. When he had saved enough money, he returned to the University of Königsberg and studied there for five years. In Königsberg he again lost all his belongings, this time in a fire. Despite his personal suffering Neumark wrote many hymns in which he expressed his absolute trust in God. In 1651 he settled in Weimar, Thuringia, where he became court poet and archivist to Duke Johann Ernst and librarian and registrar of the city. Neumark wrote thirty-four hymns, of which "If You But Trust in God to Guide You" has become a classic.
Bert Polman
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Neumark, Georg, son of Michael Neumark, clothier at Langensalza, in Thuringia (after 1623 at Miihlhausen in Thuringia), was born at Langensalza, March 16, 1621; and educated at the Gymnasium at Schleueingen, and at the Gymnasium at Gotha. He received his certificate of dimission from the latter in Sept. 1641 (not 1640). He left Gotha in the autumn of 1641 along with a number of merchants who were going to the Michaelmas Fair at Leipzig. He then joined a similar party who were going from Leipzig to Lübeck; his intention being to proceed to Königsberg and matriculate at the University there. After passing through Magdeburg they were plundered by a band of highwaymen on the Gardelegen Heath, who robbed Neumark of all he had with him, save his prayer-book and a little money sewed up in the clothes he was wearing. He returned to Magdeburg, but could obtain no employment there, nor in Lüneburg, nor in Winsen, nor in 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 the person of Nicolaus Becker, a native of Thuringia, and then chief pastor at Kiel. Day after day passed by without an opening, till about the end of the month the tutor in the family of the Judge Stephan Henning fell into disgrace and took sudden flight from Kiel. By Becker's recommendation Neumark received the vacant position, and this sudden end of his anxieties was the occasion of the writing of his hymn as noted below. In Henning's house the time passed happily till he had saved enough to proceed to Königsberg, where he matriculated June 21, 1643, as a student of law. He remained five years, studying also poetry under Dach, and maintaining himself as a family tutor. During this time (in 1046) he again lost all his property, and this time by fire. In 1648 he left Königsberg, was for a short time at Warsaw, and spent 1649-50 at Thorn. He was then in Danzig, and in Sept. 1651 we find him in Hamburg. In the end of 1651 he returned to Thuringia, and bronght himself under the notice of Duke Wilhelm II. of Sachse-Weimar, the chief or president of the Fruit-bearing Society, the principal German literary union of the 17th century. The Duke, apparently in 1652, appointed him court poet, librarian and registrar of the administration at Weimar; and finally secretary of the Ducal Archives. In Sept. 1653 he was admitted as a member of the Fruit-bearing Society, of which he became secretary in 1656, and of which he wrote a history (Der Neu-Sprossende Teutsche Palmbaum, Nürnberg and Weimar, 1668); and, in 1679, became also a member of the Pegnitz Order. In 1681 he became blind, but was permitted to retain his emoluments till his death, at Weimar, July 18, 1681. [K. Goedeke's Grundriss, vol. iii., 1887, p. 74; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. xxiii. 539; Weimarisches Jahrbuch, vol. iii., 1855, p. 176, &c. The dates given by the different authorities vary exceedingly, and are quite irreconcilable. In the registers at Schleusingen Neumark is last mentioned in 1636, and then as in the Third Form. Dr. von Bamberg, director of the Gymnasium at Gotha, informs me that Neumark's name appears in the matriculation book there under January 31, 1641; and as one of the "newly entered" scholars.]
A long list of Neumark's poetical works is given by Goedeke. A large proportion of his secular poems are pastorals, or else occasional poems written to order at Weimar; and in all there is little freshness, or happiness in expression, or glow of feeling. As a musician, and as a hymn-writer, he is of more importance. His hymns appeared in his (1) Poetisch-und Musikalisches Lustwäldchen, Hamburg, 1652; the enlarged edition, entitled (2) Fortgepfiantzter Musikalizch-Poetischer Lustwald, Jena, 1657; and (3) Unterschiedliche, so wol gottseliger Andacht; als auch zu christlichen Tugenden aufmuntemde Lieder, Weimar, 1675. Of the 34 hymns in these three works a few are found in the German hymn-books of the 17th century, and three or four still survive. The best of Neumark's hymns are those of Trust in God, and patient waiting for His help under trial and suffering; and one of these may be fairly called classical and imperishable.
It is:—
Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten. Trust in God. First published in his Fortgepflantzter musikalisch-poetischer Lustwald, Jena, 1657, p. 26, in 7 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled “A hymn of consolation. That God will care for and preserve His own in His own time. After the saying 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee'“(Ps. lv. 22). This, his finest hymn, was written in 1641, at Kiel, when after unsuccessful attempts to procure employment he became a tutor in the family of the judge Stephan Henning. Of this appointment Neumark, in his Thrünendes Haus-Kreuiz, Weimar, 1681, speaks thus:-—
"Which good fortune coming suddenly, and as if fallen from heaven, greatly rejoiced me, and on that very day I composed to the honour of my beloved Lord the here and there well-known hymn 'Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten'; and had certainly cause enough to thank the Divine compassion for such unlooked for grace shown to me," &c.
As the date of its composition is thus December, 1641, or at latest Jan. 1642, it is certainly strange that it was not published in his Lustwäldchen, Hamburg, 1652. In that volume he does give, at p. 32, a piece entitled, "a hymn of consolation, when, in 1646, through a dreadful fire I came to my last farthing." The apocryphal story, according to which the hymn was written at Hamburg, about 1653 (see Miller's Singers and Songs, 1869, p. 91), has not been traced earlier than 1744. The hymn speedily became popular, and passed into hymn-books all over Germany (Leipzig Vorrath, 1673, No. 1169), and still holds its place as in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 73.
Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 386-390, relates that it was the favourite hymn of Magdalena Sibylla (d. 1687), wife of the Elector Johann Georg II. of Saxony; was sung, by his command, at the funeral, in 1740, of King Friedrich Wilhelm I. of Prussia; was sung, or rather played, by the first band of missionaries from Herrmannsburg as they set sail from Brunshausen on the Elbe (near Stade) on Oct. 28, 1853, &c.
The beautiful melody by Neumark was probably composed in 1641 along with the hymn, and was published with it in 1657. On it J. S. Bach composed a cantata. It is well known in England through its use by Mendelssohn in his St. Paul ("To Thee, 0 Lord, I yield my spirit"), and from its introduction into Hymns Ancient & Modern (as Bremen), and many other collections.
Translations in common use:--
1. Who leaves th' Almighty God to reign. A full but free translation by Sir John Bowring in his Hymns, 1825, No. 58. His translations of stanzas ii., iv.-vi. beginning "How vain are sighs! how vain regret," are included in Curtis's Union Collection, 1827.
2. Who all his will to God resigneth. A good and full translation by A. T. Kussell, as No. 236 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. His translations of st. v.-vii. beginning "Say not, I am of God forsaken," are in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864.
3. Leave God to order all thy ways. A full and good translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser. 1855, p. 152. This is given in full in M. W. Stryker's Christian Chorals, 1885, and, omitting st. vi., in W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church and Home, 1873, and the Baptist Hymnal, 1879. Further abridged forms are in the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858; Harrow School Hymn Book, l866; Holy Song, 1869, and others. In the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868; and the American Presbyterian Hymnal, 1874, st. v., vi. are omitted, and the rest altered to 6 stanzas, beginning "My God, I leave to Thee my ways."
4. Him who the blessed God trusts ever. A good and full translation by Dr.John Ker in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine, of the United Presbyterian Church, 1857. It was revised, and st. iii., v., vi. omitted, for the Ibrox Hymnal, 1871, where it begins: "He who,” &c.
5. If thou but suffer God to guide thee. A full and good translation by Miss Winkworth (based on her Lyra Germanica version and set to the original melody), as No. 134 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Repeated in full in the Baptist Psalmist, 1878, and in America in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. It is found, in various abridged forms, in J. Robinson's Collection, 1869; Horder's Congregational Hymns , 1884; the Evangelical Hymnal, N. Y., 1880, and others.
6. He, who the living God hath chosen. A translation of st. i., ii., vii. by Miss Borthwick, as No. 237 in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864.
7. He who doth glad submission render. A good translation omitting st. vi., by J. M. Sloan, as No. 284 in J. H. Wilson's Service of Praise, 1865, repeated, omitting the translations of st. ii., vii., in Flett's Collection, Paisley, 1871.
Other translations are:—
(1) "He that confides in his Creator." By J. C. Jacobi, 1720, p. 13 (1722, p. 36; 1732, p. 61). Repeated in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754, and later eds. (1886, No. 183). (2) "0 Christian! let the Lord direct." By Miss Knight in her Trs. from the German in Prose and Verse, 1812, p. 85. (3) "To let God rule who's but contented." By H. W. Dulcken in his Book of German Song, 1856, p. 274. (4) "He who the rule to God hath yielded." By J. D. Burns in the Family Treasury, 1859, p. 309, and his Memoir & Remains, 1869, p. 240. (5) "Who trusts in God's all-wise direction." By R. Massie, in the British Herald, Aug. 1865, p. 120, and Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (6) "Who yields his will to God's good pleasure. In the British Herald, April, 1866, p. 244, and in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (7) "He who commits his way to God." In the Family Treasury, 1878, p. 49. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Georg Neumark
