I Leave All Things to God's Direction
I leave all things to God's direction
I Leave All Things to God's Direction is a hymn text by Leonhard Gemmingen (1560) in 8.8.8.8 meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in CW21 799, CW93 414, lsb 719, lw 429. Sung to SCHMÜCKE DICH.
This hymn exemplifies Lutheran theology's emphasis on justification by faith and trust in divine providence rather than human works or anxiety. It reflects the Reformation principle of passive trust (fides) as the proper Christian posture toward God's omniscient and benevolent governance.
History & Background
Originally composed in German as 'Befiehl du deine Wege' by Leonhard Gemmingen in the 16th century. Catherine Winkworth's English translation appeared in her collection 'Lyra Germanica' (1863) and became standard in Lutheran hymnals.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 799
- Christian Worship — 414
- Lutheran Service Book — 719
- Lutheran Worship — 429
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 529
Translation
Bulletin Note
Gemmingen's 1560 hymn shaped Lutheran piety by placing passive trust—not works—at faith's center, echoing the Reformation's conviction that God's promise, not human effort, sustains the Christian life.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the Reformation's central claim that justifying faith means releasing control; it transforms Law's exposure of our helplessness into Gospel's assurance of divine providence.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Human unworthiness and sinfulness → Christ's sacrificial gift and healing power → Confession and reception of grace → Eschatological union and eternal feast
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Trinity 4 (2×)
- Presentation of Our Lord (1×)
- Trinity 15 (1×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Lent 3 (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Overview
Salomo Franck, the Weimar court poet whose librettos Bach set in many cantatas, wrote this hymn of glad submission, each stanza ending with the motto 'What pleaseth God, that pleaseth me.' It confesses God's loving will in good times and bad (st. 1), his faithfulness that brings laughter after weeping (st. 2), and the honest admission that 'my will is wrong beyond all measure' (st. 3); it remembers that we are engraved on God's hands (st. 4) and that God desires every soul's salvation (st. 5). The refrain is not stoic resignation but the Third Petition prayed by a heart that knows God's will is gracious.
Central theme: Glad submission to God's will, because that will is loving and wills our salvation, while our own will is bent
Structure
Five six-line stanzas (9.8.9.8.8.8), each ending 'What pleaseth God, that pleaseth me.'
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: 'My will is wrong beyond all measure, it doth not will what pleaseth God' (3). Gospel: God's tender love, his engraving us on his hands, his will to save (1, 4, 5).
Confessional Connections
Third Petition (SC, LC III). 'My will is wrong beyond all measure' — bondage of the will; the natural will cannot will God's will (FC II.7, citing Rom 8:7). 'My God desires the soul's salvation, me also' — universal grace applied personally (FC XI.28: God 'wants all men to be saved'). God's good will as the ground of contentment.
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
General; Trinity season; times of trial; Third Petition catechesis.
Historical Notes
Franck (1659-1725) wrote texts for Bach's Weimar cantatas. TLH dates the hymn 1685; Franck was then in his twenties. August Crull (1845-1923) translated many German hymns for Missouri Synod hymnals.
About the Tune
WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT (Georg Neumark; TLH dates 1640).
Scripture References
Rom 8:28 Matt 6:10 Ps 18:2 Ps 30:5 Rom 8:7 Jer 17:9 Isa 49:15-16 1 Tim 2:4 Ezek 33:11 Luke 22:42 Ps 40:8
Stanza by Stanza
I leave everything to God's direction; he loves me in good times and bad. His will is good, his affection true; his heart glows with tender love. He is my fortress and my rock: what pleases God pleases me.
Rom 8:28 (TLH's text): all things work for good to those who love God. 'In weal and woe' — God's love is constant whether circumstances are good or bad. The refrain is grounded on the prior confession: God's will is good.
- Scripture
- Rom 8:28, Ps 18:2, Matt 6:10
- Imagery & language
- Direction; weal and woe; Rock.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God's loving will.
- Connection to previous
- God's will is good.
My God keeps all things; he is the ever-faithful friend. He gives laughter after weeping, and all his ways end in blessing. His love lasts forever: what pleases God pleases me.
'Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning' (Ps 30:5). 'All His ways in blessings end' (Rom 8:28). 'His love endures eternally' — the refrain of Psalm 136.
- Scripture
- Ps 30:5, Ps 136:1, John 15:15, Ps 126:5
- Imagery & language
- Laughter after weeping.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — faithful love.
- Connection to previous
- Faithful Friend.
God's will shall be my pleasure while I live on earth. My own will is wrong beyond measure and does not will what pleases God. The Christian's motto must always be: what pleases God pleases me.
The theological heart: 'My will is wrong beyond all measure' — Rom 8:7, 'the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God… it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.' FC II teaches that the natural will is turned away from God. So the refrain is not a natural virtue but a prayer that God's will replace ours (Ps 40:8; Luke 22:42).
- Scripture
- Rom 8:7, Jer 17:9, Ps 40:8, Luke 22:42, Phil 2:13
- Imagery & language
- Bent will; motto.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — the bound will; Gospel — God's will as delight.
- Connection to previous
- My will is wrong.
God knows what must be done to save me; his love for me will never end. He engraved me on his hands in the purest gold of loving grace. His will must always be supreme: what pleases God pleases me.
Isa 49:15-16: 'Can a woman forget her nursing child?… Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.' Christians hear in this the nail-marked hands (John 20:27). 'God knows what must be done to save me' — salvation is his work and plan.
- Scripture
- Isa 49:15-16, John 20:27, Jer 31:3, Eph 1:4-5
- Imagery & language
- Engraved hands; gold.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God's saving knowledge and love.
- Connection to previous
- Engraved.
My God desires the salvation of souls, and he wants to save me too; so with Christian submission I will face all earthly troubles. May his will be done forever: what pleases God pleases me.
1 Tim 2:4: God 'desires all people to be saved.' Ezek 33:11. The move from 'the soul's salvation' to 'me also' is exactly FC XI's pastoral use of universal grace: the general promise is meant for me. Knowing God's will is to save makes it safe to pray 'Thy will be done.'
- Scripture
- 1 Tim 2:4, Ezek 33:11, 2 Pet 3:9, Matt 6:10
- Imagery & language
- Salvation willed; troubles braved.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God's saving will for me.
- Connection to previous
- God wills to save me.
Themes
Trust in Providence Submission to God's Will Christian Assurance Divine Governance