The hymn If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee, written by Georg Neumark in the 17thcentury, expresses resolve that the Lord will provide His people with the strength to endure any circumstance, even “the evil days.” Neumark was well-acquainted with evil days: his entire early life was spent amid the Thirty Years War, a conflict which would devastate Central Europe with a brutality not seen again until the World Wars of the 20thcentury. Further, in 1641 he lost his entire life savings in a robbery and was forced to travel from city to city looking for work. After months of destitution, the twenty-year-old Neumark found a position, after a seemingly chance encounter with an official who had recently dismissed his children’s tutor. In gratitude for God’s providence, he wrote the text of If Thou But Suffer the very same day, which includes the line “He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee.”
This hymn tends to appear in modern hymnals in two versions of the same melody, called either NEUMARK after the composer, or WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT, after the first line of the German text. The first, common among Lutherans, is in a lilting 3/4 meter. The second, which appears in the 2018 Trinity Psalter hymnal among others, is in 4/4 and has a slightly different abgesang (the “B” section of an “AAB” structure). Several composers have incorporated this melody into large scale works, including J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Max Reger. While those figures have tended to use the 4/4 version, in my experience, the triple meter version (which is Neumark’s original) is better suited for congregational singing due to the regularity of the rhythm.
If your congregation will be singing in unison, the published key may be a bit too high—I like taking this down a step to F minor. However, much lower and the piece becomes too muddy.
You will also often find the text of this hymn modernized as If You But Trust In God To Guide You or If You Will Only Let God Guide You. I find the older language more evocative, but the contemporary versions still convey the intent of Neumark’s poetry. In times of difficulty, be they sickness or grief, broken relationships or financial hardships, we can take confidence in the provision of the Lord. He will provide the strength we need. As the psalmist implores us in Psalm 27, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”