Text by Louisa M. R. Stead | Published 1882 (1882) | |
"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" is a Christian hymn with music by William J. Kirkpatrick and lyrics by Louisa M. R. Stead. The lyrics were written in 1882. They appeared in Stead's Songs of Triumph.
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Back story
According to the story: It was a beautiful sunny day. Louisa M. Stead, her husband, and her daughter Lily, decided to go for a picnic. They went picnicking on Long Island Sound. While having their picnic, the Steads heard a scream. It was from a young boy. Mr. Stead ran to the rescue. Louisa Stead and young Lily watched helplessly as Mr. Stead and the boy drowned. Their troubles were not over yet, however, and without her husband, Mrs. Stead became very poor and destitute.Yet God never left her. He provided for her always and she and her daughter made it through. Louisa learned to trust God, and thus the words to the song 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.' Shortly after this incident, Louisa and her daughter Lily moved to South Africa where they became missionaries.
The song is included in many hymnals and has been recorded by many artists.
Notable renditions
Amy Grant single
In 1989, Amy Grant recorded a more contemporary version of the song for a Word Records specialty album of various artists entitled Our Hymns. Word released Grant's recording as a single to Christian radio to promote the album. It was Grant's only radio single in between her highly successful Lead Me On and Heart in Motion albums. The song also marked the first time that Grant released a contemporary recording of a traditional hymn to radio. She went on to release several hymns to radio, leading up to the 2000s, when she would release two award-winning hymns albums with several radio singles from each. The song was later included on Grant's 2015 compilation album Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith.