Story Behind The Hymn 'Trust And Obey' 1887 'Trust In The LORD, With All Your Heart, And Not On Your Own Understanding; In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him, And He Shall Direct Your Paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6. Daniel B. Towner, who wrote the melody to this song, inherited his love of music from his father, Professor J. G. Towner, a beloved vocalist and music teacher. While growing up, Daniel studied with some of the finest musicians available and began his career as worship leader in a Methodist church in Binghamton, New York. He later served churches in Ohio and Kentucky before being tapped by evangelist D.L. Moody in the fall of 1885. For several years, Daniel traveled with Moody, singing and doing personal work. He once explained how this hymn came to be written: Mr. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, “I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust and I am going to obey.” I just jotted that sentence down, and sent it with the little story to Rev. J.H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. Sammis wrote a poem based on the phrase “trust and obey,” and sent it back to Towner, who went to work on the music. Alfred Smith, in his Treasury of Hymn Histories, adds that while working on the music to “Trust and Obey,” Dr. Towner grew discouraged. That evening, in his home, he crumpled up the paper and threw the manuscript into the wastebasket. The next morning, as his wife was straightening his office, she retrieved the crumpled paper and sang over the words and melody to herself. She left it on the organ and encouraged her husband to work on it some more, telling him, “I feel the melody you have written is just what is needed to carry the message.” She was right. In 1893, Dr. Towner became head of the Music Department of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago where he trained hundreds of young people to lead worship and minister to the Lord in music. He wrote melodies of same of our favorite hymns, including: “At Calvary,” “My Anchor Holds” and “Grace Greater Than All Our Sins.” He also compiled fourteen hymnbooks and wrote several textbooks. At age 70, while leading singing in revival meetings at Longwood, Missouri, he suffered a seizure and died.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:42:23 +0000