Each month we highlight a hymnwriter who authored one or of the well-loved hymns that we sing today.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, Schmolk was born at Brauchitschdorf, Silesia (now Poland), studied theology at the University of Leipzig, and graduated in 1697. His entire ministry was served in Schweidnitz in Silesia, laboring under very harsh legal/political conditions which made things burdensome for Lutherans.
The Peace of Augsburg (1555) had previously established the region as exclusively Roman Catholic, but the Peace of Westphalia (1648) permitted the existence of Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinistic churches throughout the entire Holy Roman Empire. In Silesia, however, severe restrictions were placed on non-Catholic churches. Only three Lutheran churches—known as the Friedenskirchen (Churches of Peace)—were permitted, and heavy-handed conditions intended to suppress Lutheran worship were enforced. Lutheran churches could not be built within the city walls; had to be constructed with the perishable materials of wood, straw, and clay without any stone or brick; could not have steeples or church bells; and had to be built within a single year (which of course limited their size).
Benjamin Schmolck 1672-1737
Schmolck’s church at Schweidnitz usually had three pastors, but those three had to minister to members scattered among thirty-six separate villages in the region. All that, of course, had to be done without the transportation or communication technology we tend to take for granted today. Schmolck was extremely conscientious in executing the duties of his call, and his grueling labors over a period of years probably led to a decline in health. He had a stroke in 1730 which left him partially paralyzed, and suffered two more strokes before his death in 1737.
Throughout all this, Schmolck wrote over nine hundred hymns (as well as devotional books, cantatas, and musical compositions for weddings and funerals), but by far his best-known hymn is “My Jesus, as Thou Wilt” (TLH 420). It is, in effect, a petition for trust in God’s will regardless of our circumstances, and for a proper understanding of that will. Petitions of that sort can be prayed unconditionally, because we know on the basis of God’s Word that it is what He desires. Not all our petitions, however, are of that nature; and certainly, the conditions under which Schmolck labored might very well lead to petitions for relief from daily difficulties.
When we think of prayer—specifically with regard to petitions—it’s important to remember that a petition is a request, not a command. We know that God responds to the petitions of His people according to His good and gracious will, His wisdom, His love for us in Christ, and His perfect knowledge of what is best. That is our confidence, based on His infallible Word. That is why we often need to add to our own petitions the words (or at least the thought) of Christ on the Mount of Olives, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42 KJV)That truth is echoed in “My Jesus, as Thou Wilt.”
The first line of verse 1 is “My Jesus, as Thou wilt; Oh, may Thy will be mine!” There is a difference, though, between praying, “My Jesus, as Thou wilt,” and praying “Oh, may Thy will be mine.” It’s very easy to miss that distinction. Both petitions are God-pleasing, and they are similar; but they are not the same.
Those are actually two closely related but different prayers. The first expresses our acceptance of and submission to God’s will even when it is different from what we ask. It’s parallel to “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” The second, however, is not a petition for acceptance, but rather for conformity. It asks that our own desires be identical to what God wills. It prays for a greater thing: that our will be conformed to (the same as) His, not just submissive to it.
May we ever seek that God would conform our will to His, even as we submit to His when it differs from ours. Amen.
is a retired teacher and serves as assistant editor of the Lutheran Spokesman. He lives in Cape Coral, Florida.