Johann Sebastian Bach
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
“What God does, that is done well”
(Cantata BWV 99) 

In St. Matthew 6:24–34, the Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, Jesus tells his disciples not to fret about the conditions of their lives. God clothes the grass of the field; he will surely clothe us. Our heavenly Father knows what we need.

That absence of anxiety runs through the six stanzas of a 17th-century hymn beloved by J. S. Bach and other German composers. Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan (“What God does, that is done well”) was written in 1675 by Samuel Rodigast (1649–1708), the son of a Lutheran pastor who taught philosophy at the University of Jena.

Here is an English translation of the original German:

What God does, that is done well!
His will remains just,
however he deals with my affairs.
I want calmly to place my whole trust in him.
He is my God, who in my troubles
knows well how to support me;
therefore I let him alone rule over me.

What God does, that is done well!
He will not deceive me;
he leads me along the right way,
so I live content
with his favour and have patience.
He will turn aside my misfortune,
for he has the power to do so.

What God does, that is done well!
He will take good care of me.
He, as my physician and miracle-worker,
will not give me poison
instead of medicine.
Therefore I want to rely on him
and trust his grace.

What God does, that is done well!
He is my light, my life
who can have no ill will towards me.
I want to entrust myself to him
in joy and sorrow. The time will come
when it will be clearly apparent
how faithful his intention is.

What God does, that is done well!
If I have to taste the chalice
that I foolishly imagine is bitter,
I shall not let myself be frightened,
since in the end I shall feel delight
and sweet consolation in my heart.
Then all sorrows will vanish.

What God does, that is done well!
I shall keep to this thought.
It may be that on the rough road
I shall be driven by distress, death, and misery,
yet God will just like a father
hold me in his arms.
Therefore I let him alone rule over me.

Many scholars believe that Rodigast wrote this text for a sick friend. The friend, Severus Gastorius (1646–1682), was a church musician, who composed a melody to which Rodigast’s hymn could be sung. The tune — known as WAS GOTT TUT — has accompanied the text ever since.

Bach used this tune and portions of this text in seven of his cantatas, three of which are known by the name Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan. One of those is BWV 99, composed to be sung on the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. In this cantata, Bach uses two of the hymn’s stanzas, one in the opening chorus and one in the closing chorale. In both movements, Gastorius’s melody is used.

Before listening to the entire cantata (below), you may want to take a minute and listen to the closing chorale to get to know the tune.

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Chorus, Ton Koopman, conductor

That melody also permeates the opening chorus of Cantata #99, permeates, but does not dominate. Conductor Jos van Veldhoven of the Netherlands Bach Society explains that this opening movement entices listeners with a sense of confident joy suggested by Rodigast’s hymn.

As van Veldhoven points out, the flute and oboe have prominent roles in this cantata, and not just in the opening movement. Here is flute player Marten Root describing why, in playing his part in BWV 99, he sometimes sounds like “a shepherd who has flipped his lid.”

Here is the entire cantata, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society. The soloists are Gerlinde Sämann, soprano; Damien Guillon, alto; Charles Daniels, tenor; and Peter Kooij, bass. The conductor is Jos van Veldhoven. The German text with an interlinear translation is available here.

The hymn on which this cantata is based is not in our Hymnal, but we have sung it in the past by means of an insert placed in the bulletins. We use the translation of four of the stanzas by Catherine Winkworth. You may download a copy of “Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right” by clicking here.

Below is a recording of the hymn played (with a slightly different harmonization) by pianist Andrew Remillard.