Theodore Brown Hewitt: Paul Gerhardt as a Hymn Writer and his Influence on English Hymnody

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139: Was Gott gefällt, mein frommes Kind.

Was Gott gefällt, mein frommes Kind.--(Goed. 139.)

[Resignation to "what pleases God."]

First appeared in Crü.--Runge, 1653, no. 290, in 20 stanzas of 5 lines; thence in Wackernagel: no. 60; Bachmann: no. 37; Unv. L. S.: 1851, no. 723.

English Versions:

1. What God decrees, child of his love.

A good rendering of stanzas I, II, V, VI, VIII, XII, XV, XVIII, XX, by Mrs. Findlater in the 3d Series, 1858, of the H. L. L., p. 49 (1884, p. 170). Included in full in Bishop Ryle's Collection, 1860, no. 171, and abridged in Christian Hymns, Adelaide, 1872, and beginning "What God decrees, take patiently," in Kennedy, 1863, no. 1344.

2. What pleaseth God with joy receive.

Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 94.

3. What pleases God, O pious soul.

Miss Winkworth, 1858, p. 193.

4. What pleaseth God, my faithful child.

J. Kelly, 1867, p. 189.

Selected Stanzas:

Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 1858.		Mrs. Findlater in her Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1884.
1.	What pleases God, O pious soul, Accept with joy; though thunders roll And tempests lower on every side, Thou knowest nought can thee betide But pleases God.	1.	What God decrees, child of his love, Take patiently, though it may prove The storm that wrecks thy treasure here;-- Be comforted! thou needst not fear What pleases God.
572.	The best will is our Father's will, And we may rest there calm and still, Oh make it hour by hour thine own, And wish for nought but that alone, Which pleases God.	2.	The wisest will is God's own will: Rest on this anchor, and be still; For peace around thy path shall flow, When only wishing here below What pleases God.
3.	His thought is aye the wisest thought; How oft man's wisdom comes to nought; Mistake or weakness in it lurks, It brings forth ill, and seldom works What pleases God.