The Cyber Hymnal ‎#3933

3933. Lord, as Thou Wilt

1. Lord, as Thou wilt, deal Thou with me;
No other wish I cherish;
In life and death I cling to Thee;
Oh, do not let me perish!
Let not Thy grace from me depart
And grant an ever patient heart
To bear what Thou dost send me.

2. Grant honor, truth, and purity,
And love Thy Word to ponder;
From all false doctrine keep me free,
Bestow, both here and yonder,
What serves my everlasting bliss;
Preserve me from unrighteousness
Throughout my earthly journey.

3. When, at Thy summons, I must leave
This vale of sin and sadness,
Give me Thy grace, Lord, not to grieve,
But to depart with gladness.
To Thee my spirit I commend;
O Lord, grant me a blessèd end
Through Jesus Christ, my Savior.

Text Information

• First Line: Lord, as Thou wilt, deal Thou with me
• Title: Lord, as Thou Wilt
• German Title: Herr, wie du willst, so schick's mit mir
• Author: Kaspar Bienemann (1574)
• Translator (from German): Emanuel Cronenwett (1880, alt.)
• Meter: 87.87.87
• Language: English
• Source: Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880, alt.
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Written in 1574, while [Bienemann] was tutor to the children of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Sachsen Weimar, in expectation of a coming pestilence. He taught it as a prayer to his pupil the Princess Maria, then three years old, the initial letters of the three stanzas (H. Z. S.) forming an acrostic on her title, "Hertzogin zu Sachsen." The Princess afterward adopted as her motto the words "Herr wie du wilt," and this motto forms the refrain of "Jesus, Jesus, nichts als Jesus," the best known hymn of the Countess Ludämilia Elizabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Julian, p. 142

Tune Information

• Name: HERR, WIE DU WILLST
• Composer: Anonymous (1525)
• Meter: 87.87.87
• Incipit: 17122 12343 21712
• Key: G Major
• Source: Deutsch Kirch­en­amt (Strass­burg: 1525)
• Copyright: Public Domain