Hymns From Home: Tis So SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS

PRAY
Lord Jesus, it is so sweet to trust you and rest on your promises.  Do not let me be troubled or afraid, and when I am, grant me the grace to be able to trust You more than I ever have.  Amen.

LYRIC
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 
and to take him at his word; 
just to rest upon his promise, 
and to know, "Thus saith the Lord." 

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! 
How I've proved him o'er and o'er! 
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! 
O for grace to trust him more! 

O how sweet to trust in Jesus, 
just to trust his cleansing blood; 
and in simple faith to plunge me 
neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, 
just from sin and self to cease; 
just from Jesus simply taking 
life and rest, and joy and peace.

SCRIPTURE
John 14:27

BACKGROUND

'Tis So Sweet was published in 1882.  The author, Louisa Stead, had lost her husband two years prior to it's publication and it is inferred that the tune came out of her experience with trusting Jesus through that season of loss.  Unfortunately little else is known about her except that she later went on to be a missionary in Africa.

The hymn-tune TRUST IN JESUS was written by American composer William J. Kirkpatrick.  He received a music education as a child but then worked as a carpenter for 16 years before devoting his life fully to music.  He served as the music director at a Methodist church in Philadelphia and published 100 collections of gospel music as well as running a publishing company of his own.
​

PERSONAL

Blake Thornell and I have been friends long enough that there was a point where his wife, Sarah and I were in each other's "Top 8" on MySpace.  Through birthdays and weddings and babies and loss, they have been a vivid part of the tapestry that is my life in Nashville.  Blake is also a gifted musician and worship leader at Calvary Chapel Brentwood.  
Life doesn't often afford us the opportunity to play music together, but we've played several weddings, a few miscellaneous youth events, and a pop-country music video together.  Also, a few years ago I had the great privilege of playing violin on record he made with his duo partner, Shanna.  (You can find that record "Trembling Hearts" on iTunes here!)

​In addition to worship leading, Blake works in the live event department for a Christian ministry, and loves coffee, his wife Sarah (an interior designer and lifestyle blogger, and being a dad to their two kiddos (although not in that order.)  You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel here!  As a Hymns From Home first, we actually decided to do two versions of this tune, one instrumental and one with Blake's amazing vocals.  (You can find that video at the bottom of this blog post or on You Tube HERE!)

When Blake suggested we do this song, I immediately agreed because I love the tune and I knew it would be a familiar favorite to many of you.  But to be honest, I've always felt a bit uncomfortable singing the lyric "how I've proved Him o'er and o'er;" that word "proved" just trips me up.  While I would like to think that I have lived such a Christ-centric life that others would be pointed directly to the truth of how sweet life with Jesus is, I know I fail Him on a much more frequent basis.  I remember a season of about 10 years where I simply refused to sing that line of the chorus whenever it was sung in church.

But then I started to think about the word prove in a slightly different way than simply using evidence to support something.  Take making bread for instance.  There is a proving time where the dough simply rests while the yeast does its work and makes it rise into something that can be baked into something delicious.  What if I am that dough-ball?  All I have to do is rest and be still and let the yeast of the Holy Spirit that is in me do the work to make me into something beautiful? 

Or what about proofs in the mathematical sense?  The answer was already there and the point of the exercise was to show how to get to the answer.  In that sense, my failures are part of working out my faith with fear and trembling and all the while ending in the arms of Christ.  Obviously both these analogies break down a little bit, and I realize I'm walking a fine line of a faith vs. works debate that I certainly don't want to engage on this blog.  :) BUT...I think when put together...the passive resting while Jesus works in me and the active wrestling our faith to arrive at the answer in the person of Christ...we have the concept of abiding that we find in John 15.  And that, my friends, 'tis SO sweet.


***Note: If you have been enjoying the "Hymns From Home" series, I'd be honored if you would check out my Kickstarter project currently in process to record some of these incredible pieces into an instrumental record.  Click HERE for more info.