“Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right”
This beautiful hymn was written by Samuel Rodigast in 1676 to comfort a sick friend. In it he lays out what it means to deal with the problem of pain and suffering through the perspective of faith. Our God is sovereign and full of love, and every circumstance he brings us through is good and right and true. His promise is that he will never leave us in the midst of any adversity through which he takes us.
This song reminds us that all things are from the hand of God. And like Job, who attributed all his recent tragedies to the hand of God (“the Lord, gave, and the Lord has taken away”), when we affirm this truth we are not charging God with wrong. For, as this song so beautifully affirms again and again, God’s sovereign hand brings about what is right. Our response is to trust God and to be content through the pain. In the midst of difficult things brought by his hand, God himself is helping us (“he holds me that I should not fall”), and we look forward to the day when all suffering will be over (Patiently I wait his day”).
Visit Matt Merker Music for lyrics and song sheet.