Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

One of the great encoruagements in my Christian life is learning from saints of old, seeing their faith, example, perseverance through trial, joy in serving & confidence in their Saviour. Many of them have fought the good fight and finished the race! Over the next few weeks, we will be spotlighting some hymn-writers, who have helped us sing God’s praise and express Scriptural truths & right response.
Today we begin with Fanny Crosby, who has been described as ‘the most prolific and significant writer of gospel songs in American history’.

Born in New York in 1820, Frances Jane Crosby was only 6 weeks old when she developed a minor eye inflammation. The doctor’s careless treatment left her blind. In her autobiography she wrote ‘It seemed intended by the blessed Providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank Him for the dispensation’. Even more amazingly, she held no ill toward the doctor and wrote ‘If I could meet him now, I would say ‘Thank you, thank you’ – over and over again, for making me blind’. She felt her blindness was God’s gift to her so she could write songs for his glory. ‘I could not have written thousands of hymns if I had been hindered by the distractions of seeing all the interesting and beautiful objects that would have been presented to my notice’. Fanny composed over 8000 songs, most of which are now forgotten, but many continue to inspire and encourage God’s people: ‘To God by the Glory’, ‘Blessed Assurance’, ‘Praise Him! Praise Him!’, All the Way my Saviour Leads Me’ and others.

A neighbour, Mrs Hawley, read to her from the Bible and taught her Bible stories, and by the age of 10, Fanny could recite the first four books of the Old Testament, and all four Gospels! She compared her mind to a writing desk, with little compartments filled with information readily available! She excelled at school, except in mathematics. She writes ‘I loathe, abhor, it makes me sick, To hear the word Arithmetic!’ It was her school principal who urged her to use her gift of poetry for the glory of God, but warned her against pride. She published her first book of poems in 1844, including the first hymn she ever wrote. But it was not until November 20, 1850, that Fanny Crosby received the assurance of her salvation. Whilst attending a revival meeting at Broadway Tabernacle Methodist Church in NYC, during the singing of ‘Alas! And Did My Saviour Bleed’, God met her personally. She describes it as ‘My very soul was flooded with celestial light. For the first time I realized I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other’.

Fanny married in 1858, her husband Alexander Van Alstyne being a gifted musician and perfect spouse to the poetess. She began writing hymns in earnest on February 2, 1864. She writes ‘I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration in the work that I am about to do.’ She would pray and meditate and even quote other hymns for inspiration. As the ideas came, she would write songs in her mind and commit them to memory. At times, she could have up to 40 songs stored away in her mind, where she would let them lie for a few days before dictating them to a friend. She was paid only $2 for each of her hymns, but we today are richer for her faithfulness.
Fanny was just a few weeks away from her 95th birthday when she was called home. For the first time she could see and, best of all, she could see her Saviour! On reflection, it is extraordinary how many times she writes about seeing in her hymns. For example: ‘And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story – Saved by grace’.

Let me leave you with lyrics from ‘Blessed Assurance’, which was based on Hebrews 10:22:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love

With love in Christ

Paul Dale
Senior Pastor