A young man’s testimony at a Moody meeting became a hymn: “Trust and Obey”
“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way.” Generations of Christians have sung those words. The hymn’s message fits in its title: trust and obey.
The meeting
According to the story told by Daniel B. Towner, the composer, he was helping with music at meetings led by the American evangelist D. L. Moody. During a testimony time, a young man stood up and said that he was not quite sure of everything, but he was going to trust and he was going to obey.
Towner wrote down the words and sent them to a friend, John H. Sammis, a minister, suggesting they could become a hymn.
Sammis and Towner
Sammis was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1846. He worked in business before becoming a minister and wrote more than 100 hymns. He developed the young man’s phrase into verses and a chorus. Towner was a leading figure in American gospel music, closely connected with Moody’s work, and he later directed music at the Moody Bible Institute. He wrote the tune for “Trust and Obey” in 1887.
Faith and action
The hymn describes the blessings of walking with God: light on the path, peace in trouble, joy in sacrifice. Each verse returns to the same conclusion in the chorus: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” The hymn joins two ideas that belong together in Christian teaching: trust, which is faith in God, and obedience, which is faith in action. It warns against a faith that believes but does not act, or acts without believing.
New believers
“Trust and Obey” is found in many hymnals used in Ghana and Nigeria and is sung in English and local languages. Its simple, cheerful tune makes it popular with Sunday school children and adults alike. The hymn is often sung at baptisms, confirmations and altar calls, because it describes the first steps of Christian life in plain terms.
The young man who inspired the hymn admitted that he did not have all the answers. His honesty became one of the best-loved hymns in the English language, a reminder that faith often begins with uncertainty and a decision.
