Tis
So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
“’Tis
So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” was written by a woman, Louisa M. R.
Stead. Out of one of her darkest hours—the tragic drowning of
her
husband—this hymn was penned.
Louisa
Stead was born in England. She felt the call of God upon her
life for
missionary service. She arrived in America in 1871. In 1875,
Louisa
married a Mr. Stead, and to this union was born a daughter,
Lily. When
the child was four years of age, the family decided one day to
enjoy the
sunny beach at Long Island Sound, New York.
While
eating their picnic lunch, they suddenly heard cries of help and
spotted
a drowning boy in the sea. Mr. Stead charged into the water. As
often
happens, however, the struggling boy pulled his rescuer under
the water
with him, and both drowned before the terrified eyes of wife and
daughter.
And
out of her struggle with God during the ensuing days, flowed
these
meaningful words—“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.”
—Adapted from Kenneth Osbeck
Beautiful One
Story behind the song by Tim Hughes
I wrote Beautiful One while I was on holiday. We
had been ministering in Australia and had a few days off at the Great
Barrier Reef. I read that passage in Isaiah that talks about the Messiah
as having no beauty that would attract us to Him; nothing to make us
think how incredible He was.
That description of Him as the suffering
servant really struck me, because we often talk about Jesus being
glorious, awesome, incredible. He is the Son of God - all knowing, all
conquering, all powerful. What humility! He gave up everything to come
walk among us on the earth. We would have passed Him on the street and
not thought anything of who He was. But we know how beautiful He is, and
we often sing about that attribute in more of an intimate, slow, tender
way.
I thought to sing Beautiful One as a strong, powerful statement, in a more upbeat, declarative way was a wonderful thing that we as Christians could do.
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