Trust and Obey - John H. Sammis (hymn)

I will now post the tune itself . It took me a very long time to find this one. All the ones I could find were either too wild, didn't have all the verses or were not the right tune. But I hope you enjoy it.

Song of the week

Trust and obey
John H. Sammis

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.

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 or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we 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.

But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

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.

Here is a short history of the hymn.

John H. Sammis (1846-1919), gave up his life as a businessman and part-time YMCA worker to study for the ministry. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1880 and then served at
several pastorates. In his later years, Sammis taught at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
Daniel B. Towner (1850-1919) was music director for several well-known churches and schools, including the Moody Bible Institute. He published several music books and wrote the music for many well-loved hymns, including At Calvary and Only A Sinner Saved By Grace.
In 1887, just following an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody, a young man stood to share his story in an after-service testimony meeting. As he was speaking, it became clear to many that he knew little about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine. His closing lines, however, spoke volumes to seasoned and new believers alike: I'm not quite sure. But I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey.
Daniel Towner was so struck by the power of those simple words that he quickly jotted them down, then delivered them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics to Trust and Obey. Towner composed the music and the song quickly became a favorite. It has certainly become a favorite song for our family.

Singing with thankful hearts

I have just received a wonderful opportunity to join a small choir arranged by my piano teacher's piano teacher. I have been praying for this opportunity for a long time, and it is wonderful to see him answer me with a yes! To sing praises to the Lord with fellow believers is a thought that thrills my soul, and I wanted to share it with you all.
I will be posting more on this subject later on. Praise the Lord!

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

I have written about Bach and now I want to share with you one of my favorite compositions by him: Jesu joy of man's desiring.

Luther on music

Martin Luther was quite a lover of music; He wrote:
"Next to Theology I give to music the highest place and the highest honor. Next to the word of God, only music deserves to be extolled as the mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart. We know that the devil's music is distasteful and insufferable. My heart bubbles up and overflows in response to music."
Luther was one to use strong terms to prove his point; when describing the "perfect wisdom of God in His wonderful work of music", he said, "He who does not find [music] an inexpressible miracle of the Lord is truly a clod and is not worthy to be considered a man"!

Bach, my favorite composer from the Baroque era

Born in 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach is arguably the most famous composer from the Baroque era. Some of his admirers and copiers were Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and Mendelssohn, and I certainly admire him; his music is so complex yet so simple, so powerful yet so gentle, uplifting and majestically beautiful. I have listened to Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky, but none of them have the same uplifting and majestic feel to them. I do enjoy listening to these other composers, but if I needed some joy or encouragement, I would choose Bach before any others from the classical or Baroque period. His music really makes you think; it doesn't lull you to sleep or dull your senses; in fact, it sharpens them. I would say that this was mainly due to his Christian faith; it brought joy and life into all that he wrote. Bach's main goal was not fame or fortune,which was chiefly to be gotten from the writing of opera. Instead, his primary goal was, in his own words, "a well regulated church music." He intentionally wrote all music from a Christian perspective and for the glory of God, signing each piece with "Sola Dei Gloria": to God alone be the glory. Even in his day, the music he wrote was considered old fashioned and was not as admired as it was later on. He tended to use the old styles and stood up against the trends of the day. He did not, however, totally abandon the newer music; he often took newer themes and wove them in with the older ones. There is another interesting fact: of all the books in his library, only his Bible remains; it includes marginal notes in his own hand which reveal thorough and thoughtful reading.
Bach was born in a large household, the eighth child of fourteen, and all in his family were musically gifted. Score paper and music were rare in his day because it had to be copied out by hand. It was said that, once, when he wanted to borrow some of his brother's music, (who, incidentally, tutored him in music), his brother refused. Undaunted, however, he stole up into the attic at night to copy it all down, and when his brother found out, he burned all of his work. Though he wrote most of his music for the harpsichord, which was his favorite instrument, he also played the violin, viola, and organ. He died in 1750, leaving over 1,000 compositions, and succeeded as a witness of the gospel to those who followed after him.

Striken smitten and afflicted

Here is a song I just learned, by Thomas Kelly. Absolutely stunning in it's simplicity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs4gP5HNVJs

If you cannot get to the video by clicking on the link, just copy and past the link into your URL bar, and you will be able to see it that way!