Commit Thou All That Grieves Thee

Representative Text

1 Commit thou all that grieves thee
And fills thy heart with care
To Him whose might and glory
The starry skies declare.
He shows the winds their courses
And points the clouds their way;
Will He not guide thy footsteps
And be thy staff and stay?

2 The Lord must be thy refuge
If thou wouldst feel secure;
His work must thou consider
If thine is to endure.
No profit will it yield thee
To pine in grief and care;
But God will lend His blessing
In answer to thy prayer.

3 Thy loving heart so faithful,
O Father, knoweth well
The needs of all Thy children
Who in Thy shadow dwell.
And what Thy wisdom chooseth
Thy might will surely do;
According to Thy counsel
Wilt Thou Thy work pursue.

4 Hope on, then, weak believer,
In trouble undismayed;
The gloomy night is waning,
Thy fears shall be allayed.
Possess thy soul in patience,
Be firm in God's employ,
And thou in radiant beauty
Shalt see the Sun of joy.

Source: American Lutheran Hymnal #269

Author: Paul Gerhardt

Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which con­demned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >

Translator: Winfred Douglas

Charles Winfred Douglas (b. Oswego, NY, 1867; d. Santa Rosa, CA, 1944), an influential leader in Episcopalian liturgical and musical life. Educated at Syracuse University and St. Andrews Divinity School, Syracuse, New York, he moved to Colorado for his health. There he studied at St. Matthew's Hall, Denver, and founded the Mission of the Transfiguration in Evergreen (1897). Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1899, he also studied in France, Germany and England, where he spent time with the Benedictines of Solesmes on the Island of Wight from 1903 to 1906. For much of his life, Douglas served as director of music at the Community of St. Mary in Peekskill, New York, and had associations with cathedrals in Denver, Colorado, and Fond… Go to person page >

Translator: Arthur W. Farlander

(no biographical information available about Arthur W. Farlander.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Commit thou all that grieves thee, And fills thy heart with care
Title: Commit Thou All That Grieves Thee
German Title: Befiehl du deine Wege
Author: Paul Gerhardt (1656)
Translator: Arthur W. Farlander (1939)
Translator: Winfred Douglas (1939)
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Language: English

Tune

PASSION CHORALE (Hassler)

The tune HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN has been associated with Gerhardt's text ["O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden"] since they were first published together in 1656. The tune's first association with a sacred text was its attachment in 1913 [sic: should read 1613] to Christoph Knoll's funeral text "Herzl…

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BEFIEHL DU DEINE WEGE (Gesius)

First published in Enchiridivm Etlicher Deutschen und Lateinischen Gesengen mit 4 Stimmen (Frankfort, 1603). The tune was originally set the the text "Lobet Gott unsern Herren" and it was known by that name until it started to be paired with Gerhardt's hymn in Praxis Pietatis Melica (1653). See Joha…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)

Ambassador Hymnal #596

The Hymnal 1982 #669

Include 9 pre-1979 instances
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