Trust and Obey
Words by John H. Sammis (1887). Music by Daniel B. Towner (1887). Public domain in all jurisdictions.
Verse 1
When we Gwalk with the Lord in the Clight of His GWord
What a Gglo-ry He Dsheds on our Gway
While we Gdo His good will He a-Cbides with us Gstill
And with Gall who will Dtrust and o-Gbey
Chorus
GTrust and o-Cbey
For there's Gno oth-er Dway
To be Ghap-py in CJe-sus
But to Gtrust and o-Dbey G
Verse 2
Not a Gbur-den we bear not a Csor-row we Gshare
But our Gtoil He doth Drich-ly re-Gpay
Not a Ggrief or a loss not a Cfrown or a Gcross
But is Gblest if we Dtrust and o-Gbey
Verse 3
But we Gnev-er can prove the de-Clights of His Glove
Un-til Gall on the al-Dtar we Glay
For the Gfa-vor He shows and the Cjoy He be-Gstows
Are for Gthem who will Dtrust and o-Gbey
Verse 4
Then in Gfel-low-ship sweet we will Csit at His Gfeet
Or we'll Gwalk by His side in the Dway G
What He Gsays we will do where He Csends we will Ggo
Nev-er Gfear on-ly Dtrust and o-Gbey
Structure
Playing Tips
🎸 Strum Pattern — Verse
The march-like feel of this hymn comes naturally if you keep the strum steady and confident — four firm down-strums per bar at 88 BPM, or a down-down-up-down-up if you want a little more movement. I learned this from an older worship leader in our church who played it with a very deliberate rhythm, almost like a military march, and the whole congregation walked taller as they sang it. "When we walk with the Lord" is not a passive lyric — it is intentional, forward movement — and your strum pattern should feel that way. Start it purposefully from the very first bar.
🔊 Dynamics — Chorus
The chorus is only four lines but it is the thesis of the whole hymn. I play it with more brightness than the verse — not a swell, just a clarity — and I have the congregation sing it a cappella on the second repeat at least once during the service. No instruments, just voices singing "trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." The room always fills with something when that happens. It stops being a performance and becomes a collective vow.
🎵 Band Direction
This hymn takes a full band well. The march feel invites a strong snare, a locked bass line, and confident strumming. Piano can do a march-style accompaniment — quarter note chords in the right hand, steady bass walk on beat 1 in the left. We sometimes add tambourine on beats 2 and 4, which gives it a natural, slightly country gospel feel that the older members of our congregation respond to immediately. No elaborate arrangement needed. This song earns its power from everyone playing in the pocket together, not from individual parts standing out.
🎤 Vocal
Key of G is ideal for congregational singing. The melody is comfortable, predictable in the best way, and every verse ends on the same rhythmic and lyrical hook — "trust and obey" — which becomes a declaration by the time the congregation has sung it four times. I use this hymn most for new believers and for discipleship-focused services. Verse 4 — "what He says we will do, where He sends we will go, never fear only trust and obey" — is a commissioning. I always make sure the congregation sings that verse standing, if they are able. It changes how the lyric lands in the body.
→ Transitions
We reach for this hymn when the service is focused on commitment, obedience, or following Christ through difficulty. It pairs well before a message on discipleship or after a call to consecration. Verse 3 — "but we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay" — is one of those lines that lands differently the older you get and the more you have actually laid things on the altar. I let that verse breathe. After the final chorus on the last service of the year, we have made it a tradition to repeat "trust and obey" slowly twice more as a declaration over the coming year before the benediction.