Episode 1
'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus by Louisa Stead
A father tries to save a life. A mother cries. A young girl looks on in terror...
Today, we're talking about Louisa Stead and the tragic story behind her writing the song 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus! Then we'll look at the truths built into the song. Tune in!
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Timestamps
- [00:10] - Who is Louisa Stead?
- [00:44] - Why did she write the song?
- [01:32] - What are the lyrics, and how do they express Bible truth?
- [09:40] - What should I do about it?
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Song Lyrics
Verse 1: 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word; Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
Verse 2: 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!
Verse 3: 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.
Verse 4: I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.
Chorus: 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!
Scripture References
- Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
- Mark 9:23 - "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
- 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
- Matthew 11:28 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
- Romans 5:1 - "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
- Philippians 4:7 - "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
- Matthew 28:20 - "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
- Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
- Habakkuk 2:4 - "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."
- Romans 8:32 - "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
- 2 Timothy 1:12 - "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
- Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 12:2 - "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
- Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
- 1 Timothy 1:14 - "And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
- Psalms 34:8 - "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
- Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
- John 20:29 - "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
- Hebrews 10:23 - "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)"
- 2 Timothy 3:16 - "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
- 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
- Acts 22:16 - "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
- Romans 6:11 - "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
- Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
- Psalm 9:10 - "And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."
- John 15:13 - "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
- Matthew 28:20 - "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
- Psalm 62:8 - "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us."
- Psalm 34:8 - "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
- Psalm 37:5 - "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
- Isaiah 40:31 - "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
- 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
- Revelation 1:5 - "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."
- Romans 6:6 - "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
- Galatians 2:20 - "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
- Romans 6:14 - "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
- 2 Timothy 1:12 - "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
- Isaiah 41:8-10 - "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
- Hebrews 13:5 - "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
- Matthew 28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
- Luke 17:5 - "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
- Mark 9:17-29 - "And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."
- Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Research Resources
Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs by Melody Publications (#664)
Then Sings My Soul vol 1 by Robert Morgan (p211)
A Song in My Heart by Robert Morgan (April 4)
The Complete Book of Hymns by (p113)
Cyber Hymnal: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/i/s/s/tissweet.htm
Transcript
Welcome to Understanding Hymns for Everyday Life. Today we're talking about Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus by Louisa Stead. Louisa was born in 1850 in Dover, England, and under the influence of her Christian mother, came to a believing faith in Jesus Christ at nine years old. At 21, she immigrated to the United States, and at a church meeting in Ohio, felt called to God's mission field.
::She set out to be a missionary to China, but her frail health prevented her from realizing that desire. And so, back in the United States, she married a Mr. Steed, and together they had a daughter named Lily.
::While on vacation at New York's Long Island, tragedy struck. By majority account, a young boy started drowning out in the water. And Mr. Stead rushed in to help. Mother and daughter watched on in horror as both the man and boy lost the fight with the waves and drowned. Not long after, Louisa took Lily and moved to South Africa to live out her missionary call. And it is there, in the midst of her great poverty and the grief of her personal loss, she found the Lord to be faithful.
::She was learning indeed to trust in Jesus, and not only how to do it, but that it was sweet to do so. She thus penned the famous lines for this hymn.
::Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word, just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, thus saith the Lord.
::The Bible tells us in Psalm 34:8, O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Paul writes to Timothy, All scripture is given by inspiration of God. That is why, dear listener, we can trust it. We can rest in it. We can take Him at His Word. In Matthew 11, Jesus says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We get to rest upon his promises, and I hope that you are grateful for His Word.
::Psalm 119 is like a love letter to God's word, and it's a beautiful thing of how it repeats over and over in different ways how wonderful God's truth is, and that it quickens us and makes us alive.
::The second verse of the song says, Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust his cleansing blood, and in simple faith to plunge me neath the healing, cleansing flood.
::1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Well, how can he do that? Well, verse 7 tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
::My friend, if you have not trusted Jesus as your Savior--and it's not good enough just to think of him as a good guy or a good teacher because he was more than that, and maybe you would even admit that he's the Son of God without a real strong sense of what that means--I hope you come to the realization that Jesus is God, and that he died for your sin, and then he took victory over even death and raised himself from the dead. It's not about your good deeds getting you into heaven because they can't. It's about the perfection of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for you. That is how you can get to heaven. And he doesn't make you bend over backwards before he accepts you. He already loves you and he offers you this eternal life, this ability to get to heaven. Most importantly, to be with him. That comes free because he paid for it. If you have not trusted him that way, would you take a moment right now and ask him to save you, trusting him to take you to heaven one day? It's not by our merit, it's by the merit of Jesus Christ.
::The third verse of the song says, 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.
::You see, they come from him, and we can receive them from him. Paul writes to the Galatians, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Paul writes to the Romans, For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. He's not saying that you'll never sin, you'll never mess up, but sin's no longer in control. When you get saved and you trust Christ, then he enables you to cease from self, to cease from sin. It's not by our power that we are freed from sin. It's his. Paul writes to Timothy, I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
::And then the fourth verse of the song shifts from being about Jesus to singing to Jesus. I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend, And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.
::In Isaiah 41, God says to Israel, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. I understand that's written to Israel, but can apply to us. God wants to do the same thing in our lives.
::In Hebrews 13, God makes it clear, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
::Why is it that Louisa came to understand that He's with her and that he will be with her to the end? Well, Jesus said that to the disciples in Matthew 28. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
::And then the chorus that ties it all together. . Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh, for grace to trust Him more.
::Initially, it might sound cocky to say, well, I just trust Jesus so much. But that's not the point that's being made here. It's that through trial, through the pain, through the grief and the loss, When you learn to trust Him, and rest in Him, it's not, you're amazing because you've trusted Him a bunch. It's, He's amazing because He's so trustworthy. And we learn to trust Him, and we're able to see Him prove Himself to us through the discomforts of life.
::The apostles went to Jesus and said, Increase our faith. May we have that prayer. In Mark 9, there was a man that was begging Jesus to heal his son and cast the demons out of his son. And he says, if thou can't do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
::Oh, that we would have that mentality. God is not demanding that our faith be faultless, otherwise he's going to abandon us. No, he is always going to be with us. And he calls us to a faith that does depend on him, and that seeks to want to depend and to trust him more.
::Where does that faith come from? God says in Hebrews 12, that we are looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Let me challenge you then. The message of the song is right there on the lid. When we trust God and simply take him at His Word, believing what he said, Then we get to rest. We get the benefit.
::Hebrews tells us that the nation of Israel did not enter into God's rest because of unbelief. And the same can be true of us. You cannot rest in one that you do not trust. If we have received from Jesus the free gift of eternal life, Then why is it that we will not trust Him for the care of this temporary life? Probably because we have not, as the third verse of this song mentions, ceased from sin and self. We want to deliver ourselves from our troubles rather than casting them on Jesus. It is only after we have ceased from self. And after we have proved God, that we come to most fully call him Savior and Precious Friend.
::Let this song play in your heart and remind you of these truths. God gently calls us to simply depend on Him. He comes through every time. We're the ones who fail Him while He has the perfect record. And yet so often when trials come into our lives, we doubt and say, I don't know if he's going to take care of me this time.
::How foolish are we when we do this?
::One day Louisa remarried there in South Africa. Unfortunately, after years of service, their family had to come off of the field because of medical issues. But after six years in the States, her health had recovered, and they re-entered the mission field, this time to what is now Zimbabwe, and during this time, she wrote:
::"One cannot, in the face of the peculiar difficulties, help saying, ' Who is sufficient for these things?' but with simple confidence and trust, we may and do say, 'Our sufficiency is of God.'"
::It is said that even today the locals of Zimbabwe sing the words to this precious song in their own native tongue. I challenge you, dear listener, learn to fully trust Jesus and you will taste for yourself just how sweet He truly is.
