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HITHER shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:7-13)
In the routine life of the Christian, there are two values that must coexist together, and in the order given in the title of this song – Trust and Obey. Obedience makes no sense if we do not first TRUST the Master; and TRUST without OBEDIENCE is a non-starter.
This Gospel Song ws written by John H. Sammis and Daniel Brink Towner in 1887. The refrain expresses the summary meaning of the entire text and was first revealed at a DL Moody Evangelistic Meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts. The tune, unnamed, is the composition of Towner.
Trust and Obey
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]
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]
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
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. The first step in following the Lord is to WALK with Him through TRUST. He says to His disciples, “Follow me” and we must. He bears an ugly cross, and so must we in following. Whatsoever thing the Lord commands, we must do in obedience and trust. His Word is our light of navigation: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) The Lord is an intimate friend who abides (lives) in our hearts always. He never leaves nor forsakes. We see glorious beauty in our walk with the Lord, but we cannot walk with Him unless we first trust, then obey. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.” (Isaiah 43:1-3)
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. A good parent will reward a child tenfold for small gifts of wildflowers or some other small gift of a paper doll that expresses love. Our Father in Heaven is no different. Every pain and hardship we face, for His sake, is rewarded with ebullient blessings from on high. He shares our every burden. Even the crosses we bear are blest by the Lord. If we follow in the steps of Jesus, we shall have the perfect example of obedience: “ . . . . he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
The very catalyst of obedience is expressed by our LOVE: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 (KJV) Our degree of obedience is directly proportional to our Love for Him.
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. If you lay all of your gold and silver upon the altar, this will not satisfy the offering law. Even if we sell all and give to the poor, the offering law is not even moved a point. So, what do we lay on the altar of God – All that we are – our being – our hearts. God wants no more than our all. He cares not for money or riches, for He has all of those. He wants our hearts. If He is given our hearts, all else will follow in order. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
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. Trust and obedience leads to joys unmentionable in our future Paradise with the Lord. Just as He walked with Adam and Eve eastward in Eden, so shall we be privileged to walk with the Lord day by day in the Paradise of God. There are tremendous rewards beyond expression that follow in trusting and obeying: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18) “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:” (Exodus 19:5) “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28)
Refrain
Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus But to trust and obey. Once we acknowledge there is no other way, because we have come to know He is the Only WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, we shall have a freedom we could never have imagined before. The will of the Christian heart is always to do things pleasing to the Lord. We have rejected our own self-will (in bondage to sin) and received his golden-sealed will in our hearts. Trusting and Obeying our Lord is the summary of the Christian living.
