Hymn Highlight: "If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"

A Lesser-Known German Hymn from the 17th Century

A twenty-year-old German man in 1641 named Georg Neumark composed this lesser-known hymn after a period of unrelenting trials. Upon receiving some welcome good news of employment, he penned the text and tune to the following hymn. Catherine Winkworth translated these verses into English in 1855, with a revision in 1863.

If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

If thou but suffer God to guide thee,
    and hope in Him through all thy ways,
He’ll give thee strength, whate’er be-tide thee,
    And bear thee through the evil days:
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move. 

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.

Only be still, and wait his leisure
    In cheerful hope, with heart content 
To take whate’er thy Father’s pleasure
    and all-deserving love hath sent; 
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known 
To Him who chose us for His own.

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. 

Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving, 
    So do thine own part faithfully, 
And trust His word,—though undeserving, 
    Thou yet shalt find it true for thee; 
God never yet forsook at need 
The soul that trusted Him indeed. 

This hymn text is often modernized in newer hymnals to “If You But Trust in God to Guide You.” Additionally, the second and fourth stanzas are often omitted, which is rather unfortunate because of the poignant words of encouragement present in both stanzas. “What can these anxious cares avail thee, These never-ceasing moans and sighs?” asks Neumark, acknowledging the reality of trials for the Christian. Each verse argues why we should not waver in hope despite hardship. Finally, stanza five gives the exhortation to “sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving” and live trusting in the goodness of our God.

Dance vs. Dirge

This video above shows how the tune was sung in a triple meter of either 6/4 or 3/4 time. It has a slow dancelike quality that gets stripped away in later versions where the meter gets fit into 4/4 time, replacing the dancelike long-short with an evened-out walking meter. It’s not hard to imagine how this 4/4 meter could slow and slip into a depressed dirge feel and pace. But the above triple meter keeps a hope-like pace, which is also present in the text. I commend this hymn text and triple meter setting in times of trial and hardship where we need to preach and sing to ourselves of God’s good promises.