Fanny J. Crosby, 1820–1915
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22, 23)
Beware of despairing about yourself. You are commanded to put your trust in God, and not in yourself.
— St. Augustine
Some people claim to have accepted Christ as Savior, yet they live in the tragic uncertainty of doubting their personal relationship with God. The Scriptures teach, however, that we can know with absolute confidence that we have the life of God within us (1 John 5:13). This confidence is not based on inner feelings or outer signs. Rather, this assurance is founded upon the promises of a faithful God and His inspired Word. It depends not on the amount of our faith but on the object of our faith—Christ Himself.
Though blinded at six weeks of age through improper medical treatment, Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 gospel songs texts in her lifetime of 95 years. Her many favorites such as “Blessed Assurance” have been an important part of evangelical worship for the past century. Only eternity will disclose the host of individuals whose lives have been spiritually enriched through the texts of Fanny Crosby’s many hymns. Engraved on Fanny J. Crosby’s tombstone at Bridgeport, Connecticut, are these significant words taken from our Lord’s remarks to Mary, the sister of Lazarus, after she had anointed Him with costly perfume—“She hath done what she could” (Mark 14:8).
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.
Perfect submission, perfect delight! Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
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.
Chorus: 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.
If you have accepted Christ as personal Savior, live with the absolute conviction and triumphant faith that the apostle Paul had when he exclaimed—“I know whom (not merely what) I have believed … (2 Timothy 1:12). Carry Fanny Crosby’s musical praise with you—
For Today: Isaiah 12:2; Romans 8:16, 17; 15:13; Titus 2:13, 14; 1 John 5:13; Revelation 1:5, 6
Osbeck, K. W.
- Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and will not fear: for the Lord God is my strength and song: he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2
- The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. If we be children, we are also heirs, even the heirs of God, and heirs annexed with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16-17
- Now the God of hope fill you with all joy, and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the holy Ghost. Romans 15:13
- Looking for that blessed hope, and appearing of that glory of that mighty God, and of our Savior Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purge us to be a peculiar people unto himself, zealous of good works. Titus 2:13-14
- These things I have written unto you that believe in the name of that Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe in the Name of that Son of God. 1 John 5:13
- And from Jesus Christ which is that faithful witness, and that first begotten of the dead, and that Prince of the Kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his blood. Revelation 1:5-6