By He Reads Truth
Frances Jean “Fanny” Crosby (1820-1915), an only child from Brewster, New York, was one of the most prolific hymn writers the world has ever seen, composing over 8,000 hymns, along with several books and over 1,000 poems. Because publishers in her day were often reluctant to publish a woman’s work, Fanny used more than 200 masculine pseudonyms over the course of her career.
Blind from an early age, Crosby saw the world through her mind’s eye. She would begin to compose a hymn in her head, and once she had it written on her memory, she would then recite it to her personal stenographer who would write it down for her. She often worked on 5 or 6 hymns at a time, each floating in its own corner of her imagination until she felt ready to let it out.
In describing her hymn-writing process, Crosby once said: “It may seem a little old-fashioned, always to begin one’s work with prayer, but I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration.” The hymn “Blessed Assurance” reveals that she did indeed believe her Lord to be good.
“Blessed Assurance” is an exploration of the wonder of what it means to walk presently in what Peter calls a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3). For Fanny Crosby, one thing this “living hope” means is that we have a reason, right now, to celebrate with the confidence to draw near to God, trusting that He will never cast us away. This hymn celebrates the goodness of being at ease in a confident and perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
“Blessed Assurance” in unashamedly happy. Crosby uses words like foretaste, praising, delight, happy, goodness, and, of course, blessed to give the song its buoyancy. In a cynical world, a hymn like this is refreshing. Crosby isn’t offering Christians a false sense of optimism. She is articulating the sure and eternal benefits of the work of Christ given to the believer. “Blessed Assurance” invites us to “draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22).
For the blind hymn writer from New York, passages like 1 John 4:7-19, Hebrews 10:19-23, and 1 Peter 1:3-9 were cause for celebration, which is what this hymn sets out to do. The Christian’s hope for happiness and peace is not wishful thinking. It is based on what we have already been promised because of the finished work of Christ—a blessed assurance that Jesus is ours.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Fanny Crosby, 1873
Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
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, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
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. [Refrain]
For an added layer of worship during reading plan, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for Hymns V! You can find the complete HRT Hymns V Playlist here, or listen to the first track on the player below. Enjoy!
235 thoughts on "Blessed Assurance"
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Hunter Pope says:
It teaches me that God is an all powerful loving being. That God truly is the embodiment of love.
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That the gospel is filled with nothing but grace and love. It shouldn’t stir up fear but instead excite me with joy.
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I will go throughout the day trying to show the love of God and be completely fearless since fear cannot be in love.
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That man is fearful and that is not in love. The only way man can really love is through God’s love.
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I will pray that God’s love is poured out through me so that I may love everyone according to His will.
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Joshua Granat says:
I know that man’s merits have nothing to do with the hope we have. Although, we often hope in our endeavors. It is easy to see the tangible work we do with our hands in ministry. It is harder to see that God works in and through all things for His glory. I believe that self-reliance is opposed to healthy fear of God. Likewise, it opposes assurance.
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This teaches me that God hasn’t designed me to fear outside of Him. Although my role as an image bearer had been marred by sin, I am being restored, because He loves me. This love compels me to reject unhealthy fear outright, by default. I am struggling to remember that God’s ability to hold on to me is in fact greater than my ability to jump out of His hand. I hope to gain greater faith and understanding of this love, allowing it to temper my heart, as well as give me vision of the assurance I have in knowing Jesus Christ.
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The good news is that even in my strivings I am continually being taught what it means to be a disciple. Nothing I do in an attempt to reciprocate God’s love will ever be enough. But He has granted me wth good credit through the cross. I cannot make God’s Word void, and He who called is certainly faithful. Although I am running a race that Paul spoke of, the gospel means that I can rest from the battle. It is both paradoxical and true.
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I want to respond with faith. As foundational and simple as that is, it is profoundly counterintuitive as well as counter cultural. I would like to be able to oppose the idea that my external circumstances should gauge what is going on spiritually in my life. I want to place enough faith in God, to where safety nets aren’t scattered around in the case of God “not being faithful”.
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God, give me peace and trust in You.
My heart is so troubled by many things, and I feel continually burdened by my own mind. Help me to discern what is Your will and help me to stay in Your Word. -
Josh S. says:
That it is of utmost and joyous rapture for man to be caught up in the overwhelming and life changing love of God. To know Him is to fear nothing.
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God want his people to know with full faith and confidence that they are bound to Him and He to them.
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I will, like Fanny, and as suggested by the Lord and many of his people in the good book, start my endeavors with prayer.
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The Gospel is such that those who truly grasp it cannot resist its beauty and truth. And once they have grasped it, it holds on to them faithfully.
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I will pray that God blesses me with full confidence of my identity in His great family. And I will praise Hime evermore for each morsel of his goodness.
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Austin Rossborough says:
By praising God, and resting in the truth that the battle is won.
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We can rest in peace knowing God has already won against sin and death and we are free.
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We are not alone because of Gods plan and mercy, and His plan through Jesus gives us a peace that lasts.
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He is good and present in every circumstance, and He has already won the victory.
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Lord, thank you for your mercy and the assurance that I have been saved and set free. Help me to spread this to those around me in peace and love.
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