‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus is a popular hymn written by Louisa M. R. Stead and the music composed by William James Kirkpatrick. In this lesson, we cover the guitar chords you can use for this song, sheet music for the melody including tabs, and also a finger-style guitar arrangement. Let’s get started!
How to read the guitar chord charts
To clarify how to read the chord charts in the next section, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand.
For example, on the D Major chord, you use the:
- 1st finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret
- 2nd finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret
- 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret
- Circles represent open strings
- X means to avoid the string
You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus guitar chords
In the key of D Major, the guitar chords for this song are D Major, G Major, B minor, E Major, A Major, and, E minor. You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.
Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them. These chords will be written above the melody in the next section.
By the way, you can get all the PDFs of this song below.

Here are some other resources on chords:
- What are the first chords you should learn on guitar?
- 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
- How to play barre chords and 5 tips to get better at playing them!
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus guitar tabs
This section shows you the melody of the song with guitar tabs and the chords written above the staff. Keep in mind that the melody and chords are meant to be played as separate parts. We’ll look at how to connect these parts later in the arrangement section of this lesson.
The numbers next to some notes on the top staff indicate which fingers to use on the fretting hand.
You can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols if needed.

You can learn a finger-style guitar arrangement of this song after the lyrics below.
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus lyrics
Verse 1:
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
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!
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! (Chorus)
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. (Chorus)
Reference: ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. hymnary.org
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus – guitar arrangement
In this section, we are essentially connecting the melody and chords together using a finger-style method of playing. Some of the chords in this guitar arrangement have been modified with chord inversions and using 7th chords.
If needed, check out this lesson to learn how to finger pick on guitar.

Backing Track 🎶
🎶 Want to practice along with audio tracks? Get the backing tracks here!

If you like this style of playing, you can check out this lesson to learn how to connect a melody and chords on guitar.
📘 Get the free guitar practice guide here!
Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.
All the best,
JG Music Lessons
Reference: Tis So Sweet to trust in Jesus. hymnary.org
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