And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)
This favorite gospel hymn has long been cited as a choice example of a balanced biblical view of a believer’s faith in Christ and the resultant good works that should then be evident. We begin with implicit trust in His finished redemptive work and then spend our lives seeking to obey Him and to fulfil His revealed will in our daily living.
Evangelist D.L. Moody once gave this formula for successful Christian living: “The blood alone makes us safe; The Word alone makes us sure; But obedience alone makes us happy.”
The inspiration for this hymn came in 1886 during an occasion when Daniel B. Towner was leading music for Mr. Moody in Brockton, Massachusetts. Towner, the composer, has left the following account:
“Mr. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, “I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.” I just jotted that sentence down, and sent it with the little story to the Rev. J.H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born.
Upon receiving Mr. Towner’s request, Mr. Sammis first composed the familiar lines of the refrain: Trust and obey—for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
These lines became the capsule thought for the verses, which he then developed, detailing more fully the various areas of life that a believer must commit to the Lord in order to truly be happy. The text with this tune first appeared in the collection, Hymns Old and New, published in 1887. It has been a favorite with God’s people to the present time.
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.
Refrain
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear, not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey. Refrain
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief nor a loss, not a frown nor a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey. Refrain
But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favour He shows and the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey. Refrain
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says He will do, where He sends we will go—
Never fear, only trust and obey. Refrain