Trust and Obey

1 John 1:71 Samuel 15:22

The hymn: Trust and Obey is certainly a classic in our hymnal. Written in 1886, it’s been sung for much longer than any of us can remember. It is one of those hymns in which the lyrics and music were written for each other.
The story behind the hymn goes something like this: In 1886, Daniel Towner was leading music for a revival in Massachusetts. During the service a young man stood up to testify. An observer commented that the man didn’t seem to know too much about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine, but he closed his speech with the following words: “I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.”

It was these words that struck Towner with their power and simplicity, so that he wrote them down and sent them to his Presbyterian pastor friend, John Sammis. Based on those few words, Sammis composed this hymn and Towner then composed the music.

The simple words of a young man, whose name is unknown, have been sung for so many years and have been important for so many people.

Who knows what happened to him after that revival—if he continued with his new faith, if he learned more, if really did continue to trust and obey.

As he wrote these four verses, Sammis considered the different areas of our life.

Verse one concerns our daily walk with God.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word,
What a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

This first verse is very happy and energetic. It focuses on the light of God’s word, glory, good will, abiding with us. It is the promise of companionship of light, of love, of shared journey. Here is the covenant: that if we walk with God and follow God’s will, then God will live with us.

If the song ended here, it wouldn’t do justice to the full spectrum of life and of faith.
This is the first step of seeing the goodness of Jesus, the delight of a God who loves us, who lives with us, and stays with us. It’s the conviction that we need the presence of God in our lives. But following Jesus isn’t about having the good life—it’s not all about happiness and protection.

Which is exactly why the song doesn’t stop, but moves on to verse two: the darker side of life—the difficult times.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil he doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.

This verse expresses the assurance we have that God will bless us even during times of burden, sorrow, and toil. If we continue to have faith during these times, we will be blessed even more. Here, our burdens and sorrows—are our toil, our hard labor that God will repay. Here, our grief, or loss, or sadness, and suffering—will all be blest if we are obedient.

It does seem to be true, at least by observation—that our struggles really do make us stronger—the pain we face in life can give us character and wisdom. The most interesting people in life are usually the ones who have survived—and the ones who are shallow and vapid, usually haven’t had to deal with very much.

Too often though it is said that we are facing a particular trial because God wants to test us, God wants to teach us a lesson. Too many helpful people—particularly pastors—are quick to say to those who are sick or grieving—that God can use our pain for good. Sometimes this is comforting, sometimes it simplistic and dismissive. Even if good does come from our pain, it can take a long time. Even if we look back at that pain and think of all of the good that has come from it, that doesn’t diminish the fact that we had to endure that pain and live through it in the first place. Sometimes we just have to sit in our pain and looking at it, knowing that we have to find a way to live through it.

The redemptive part of our pain is that beauty can come out of it. But that doesn’t make the pain necessary.
All of the Bible is written by the oppressed—those without power and authority—and this is the kind of line that gives us courage—that at the end of the day we will in fact triumph, that our suffering will not have been in vain, that it’s all worth it in the end.

What to do in the darkness Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
Go slowly
Consent to it
But don’t wallow in it
Know it as a place of germination
And growth
Remember the light
Take an outstretched hand if you find one
Exercise unused senses
Find the path by walking it
Practice trust
Watch for dawn

Verse three concerns our total submission to God:
But we never can prove the delights of his love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Laying everything on the altar is the ultimate test of our obedience.

This verse details the lightness of letting go, but not the absolute difficulty of knowing what to let go. Handing over to God that which hinders us while holding on to that which emboldens us.

Verse four is about following God's call for our life:

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet,
Or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
What he says we will do, where he sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

This is the reality of obedience: sitting and walking with Jesus, following his way, do what he says, going where he says, and without fear.
Achieving a sense of peace and sweet fellowship,
Aligning ourselves completely with God.

Dr. Carlton Young points out that this hymn “is concerned with the rewards of trusting God’s word and obeying God’s will.” The ultimate reward, a heavenly one so common in our hymns, appears in the final stanza.

The entire hymn embodies:
Being with God
Trusting God even in the bad times
Submitting to God
Following God

The hymn begins and ends in Communion with God.