Trust and Obey

SONG WRITER: John Sammis                    

MUSIC WRITER: Daniel Towner                     

WHEN WRITTEN: 1887

HYMN HISTORY: One night at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts, a young man stood up to testify about his confidence of salvation.  He said, "I am not quite sure," meaning that he wasn't really certain that God would save him from his sins –– and then he continued, "But I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey" –– meaning that he planned to trust God for his salvation and to do what he could to obey God's will.

"I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey."  Daniel Towner was the song leader for that meeting.  He was so impressed by the young man's testimony that he wrote down those words and stuck them in his pocket.  Later, he wrote a friend, John Sammis.  In his letter, he told about the young man's testimony and included the young man's words:  "I am not quite sure, but I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey."

Sammis quickly transformed those words into a hymn chorus:  "Trust and obey, For there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey." Soon he had five stanzas to go with the chorus, and he sent them to Towner, who composed the tune that we still sing today.

BIBLE VERSE:  Romans 16:26 – “But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.”

HYMN LYRICS:

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 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.

(Refrain)

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.

              

(Refrain)

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.

(Refrain) 

Softly and Tenderly

SONG & MUSIC WRITER: Will L. Thompson                   

WHEN WRITTEN: 1880

HYMN HISTORY: Thompson was a Christian, and while attending a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting decided to devote himself to writing and promoting Christian music.  He wrote "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling" in 1880.  It quickly became popular as a hymn of invitation in evangelistic meetings, and was soon incorporated into church hymnals as well.  Thompson wrote "Jesus is All the World to Me" in 1904, and it became quite popular as well.  He was as successful with Christian music as he had been earlier with secular music.  I am told that he sold two million books of quartet music.

Dwight L. Moody, the most famous evangelist of his day, used "Softly and Tenderly" as an invitation hymn in his meetings.  Thompson visited Moody as the latter was dying, and Moody told him, "Will, I would rather have written 'Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling' than anything I have been able to do in my life" –– quite a tribute from someone as accomplished as Moody.

Even though he became quite rich, Thompson continued to live a life of service.  He supported various civic and religious activities generously.  He was also aware of the fact that small town people had very little exposure to good music, so he loaded a piano on a horse-drawn wagon and went through small Ohio towns giving concerts of his music.

BIBLE VERSE:  Matthew 10:28 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling—
Calling for you and for me;
Patiently Jesus is waiting and watching—
Watching for you and for me!

Refrain:

Come home! come home!
Ye who are weary, come home!
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading—
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies—
Mercies for you and for me?

Refrain

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing—
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming—
Coming for you and for me!

Refrain

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised—
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon—
Pardon for you and for me!


Refrain

The Old Rugged Cross

SONG & MUSIC WRITER: George Bennard                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1913

HYMN HISTORY: George Bennard (1873-1958) was born in Youngstown, Ohio, but his family moved to Iowa, where he accepted Christ as his savior at a revival meeting sponsored by the Salvation Army.  George's coal-miner father died when George was sixteen.  George had hoped to become an evangelist, but instead went to work as a coal-miner to support his mother and sisters. 

Some years later, Bennard moved to Chicago, married, and began an evangelistic ministry with the Salvation Army.  Later still, he was ordained as an evangelist by the Methodist Church, and traveled through the northern states carrying out his ministry. In December, 1912, he was struggling with some sort of personal problem, which led him to reflect on Christ's suffering on the cross.  He later wrote, "I saw the Christ of the cross as if I were seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form, and act out the meaning of redemption."

BIBLE VERSE:  Philippians 2:8 – “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

HYMN LYRICS:

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

the emblem of suffering and shame;

and I love that old cross where the dearest and best

for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

and exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

has a wondrous attraction for me;

for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above

to bear it to dark Calvary.

(Refrain)

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

a wondrous beauty I see,

for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

to pardon and sanctify me.

(Refrain)

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,

its shame and reproach gladly bear;

then he'll call me some day to my home far away,

where his glory forever I'll share.

(Refrain)

O For a Thousand Tongues

SONG WRITER: Charles Wesley                    

MUSIC WRITER: Charles Glazer                     

WHEN WRITTEN: 1739

HYMN HISTORY: "O For a Thousand Tongues" is one of many hymns written by Charles Wesley.  He and his brother, John, became friends with a group of Moravian Christians as they returned by ship to England from the American colonies.  One of the Moravian leaders was a man named Peter Bohler -- a man that the Wesleys much admired for his deep faith.  Bohler made the comment, "Oh, Brother Wesley, the Lord has done so much for my life.  Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ Jesus with every one of them."  Those words inspired Wesley to write this hymn.

BIBLE VERSE:  Psalm 35:28 – “Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.”

HYMN LYRICS:

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

SONG WRITER: Joachim Neander                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1680

HYMN HISTORY: The author of this hymn, Joachim Neander, was born in Bremen, Germany in 1650.  In his early years, he lived a lusty, immoral life.  Then he and a group of friends decided to attend a service conducted by a visiting preacher, Pastor Under-Eyke, and Neander was quickly converted.  He was then influenced by Philipp Jakob Spener, a Pietist who sought to return vitality to the Lutheran church, which in his opinion had become staid and barren.  The Pietists emphasized individual piety, and instituted small groups for prayer, scripture study, personal accountability, and good works.  They believed that trust in Christ rather than correct theology constituted the core of the faith.  This de-emphasis on theology brought the Pietists into conflict with the more traditional Lutherans.

            

In his mid-20s, Neander became director of the Latin School of Dusseldorf, where he served for several years.  He experienced considerable opposition there because of his pietism, and was eventually dismissed from that position.  He then suffered declining health, and died at age 30. 

Neander's life was tragic in the classic sense –– a life of great potential cut short by an untimely death.  However, he wrote 60 hymns –– most during his tenure at the Latin School.  Most are hymns of joyful praise, even though they were written at a time when Neander was living under considerable stress.  Several of his hymns can be found in hymnals today, having inspired Christians around the world for more than three centuries.  Few of us, regardless of longevity, can hope to have a legacy as enduring.  It seems fair to say that God made more of Neander's life than Neander could ever have expected.

  

BIBLE VERSE:      Revelation 4:8 - "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!"

HYMN LYRICS:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration. 

Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Breathe On Me, Breathe of God

SONG WRITER: Edwin Hatch                    

MUSIC WRITER: Robert Jackson                     

HYMN HISTORY: Edwin Hatch, who wrote this hymn, was a great scholar.  An esteemed member of the Oxford University faculty, he became widely known for his Brampton Lectures, which were translated into German by the great Adolph von Harnack, a great German scholar.  Lectures of that sort tend to be challenging to read –– tough sledding, as they say. But when it came to expressing his faith in ways that would speak to the ordinary person, nobody has done it better than Edwin Hatch did with this hymn, "Breathe on Me, Breath of God." 

This hymn is a prayer.  The first line of each stanza is "Breathe on Me, Breath of God."  That phrase reminds us of the creation in which God "formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).  It reminds us of Jesus breathing on his disciples and saying to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). 

BIBLE VERSE:  John 20:22 – “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

fill me with life anew,

that I may love what thou dost love,

and do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

until my heart is pure,

until with thee I will one will,

to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

till I am wholly thine,

till all this earthly part of me

glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

so shall I never die,

but live with thee the perfect life

of thine eternity. 

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

SONG WRITER: Elizabeth Clephane                    

MUSIC WRITER: Frederick Maker                    

WHEN WRITTEN: 1868

HYMN HISTORY: Elizabeth Clephane was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1830 and lived most of her life in the village of Melrose.  Her father was the county sheriff.  She was a woman acquainted with grief, but never let that stop her.  Her parents both died while she was young, and she was never very healthy herself.  Nevertheless, she was one of those cheerful people who brighten every corner –– perhaps because she focused on what she could do for others rather than sitting and feeling sorry for herself.  Her friends called her "Sunbeam" –– a nickname that may have inspired the lines in this hymn that say:

"I ask no other sunshine than

The sunshine of His face."

Elizabeth loved poetry and wrote several hymns.  The other one with which you might be familiar is "The Ninety and Nine," a hymn inspired by Jesus' parable about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, but left the ninety-nine to search for the one that was lost –– a parable about God's love (Matthew 18:12-14).

  
BIBLE VERSE:  John 19:25 – “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

HYMN LYRICS:

Beneath the cross of Jesus

I fain would take my stand,

the shadow of a mighty rock

within a weary land;

a home within the wilderness,

a rest upon the way,

from the burning of the noontide heat,

and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus

mine eye at times can see

the very dying form of One

who suffered there for me;

and from my stricken heart with tears

two wonders I confess:

the wonders of redeeming love

and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow

for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than

the sunshine of his face;

content to let the world go by,

to know no gain nor loss,

my sinful self my only shame,

my glory all the cross.