Not So Great Hymns/Hymn Writers of the Faith: Blessed Assurance

Recent work responsibilities have given me an opportunity to learn about America's most beloved hymn writer of the nineteenth century, Fanny Crosby. I didn't know much about her, and we rarely sing her hymns in church, so it was quite a revelation to find out some of the interesting facts about this much revered hero of the faith. And after reading about Ms. Crosby and learning more of the beliefs that shaped her hymn writing, it now comes as no surprise that only one of her nearly nine thousand hymns have made it into the Psalter Hymnal.

Fanny's life spanned nearly a century--she died in her nineties. She was blind as a result of medical treatments she received as an infant, but she did attend an institute for the blind and was able to memorize remarkably well. As an adult, she began writing hymns, and her fame brought her into association with such prominent nineteenth-century religious figures as D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey. She began writing hymns as a reaction to her strict, Calvinist upbringing, which I'm assuming included Psalm singing and a liturgy.

I learned that Fanny believed that hymns should relate to the worshiper's experience, and so that would certainly stand in contrast to a Calvinistic understanding of worship--that the focus should be on God and praising Him. Her "I-centered" hymns are reflected in her lyrics: "Now there is pardon for you"; "Pass me not";and "I come to Thee." In fact, the source I was reading explained that Fanny worked hard to write her hymns in the first person so the people could sing them as a personal prayer or testimony. Not much of a sense of corporate worship there, either.

Some interesting Fanny trivia: She experienced a life-changing moment when she responded to an altar call. Those who were there to assist her prayed for several hours with her until she had her "experience." And though Fanny was married, she spent very few years actually living with her husband. By the end of her life, she and her husband moved in different social circles and rarely saw each other. She didn't actually join a church for the first time until she was in her sixties, and she frequently "preached" at church services. Definitely an interesting Christian "hero of the faith."

And so I also hold forth as an example of a not-so-great hymn of the faith one of her most popular: "Blessed Assurance." And I have to admit that I have actually enjoyed that one at times in the past. Yet a closer look at the lyrics demonstrates that this probably is not a hymn that ought to be sung in Reformed worship. Here it is:

Blessèd 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.

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

I definitely enjoy the melody of this hymn, particularly when it reaches its emotional highpoint in the refrain. And yet we ought to be aware of what we're confessing when we sing this song. First, we know that Fanny liked to write in the first person, and that is evident here. This is certainly counter to the Christ-centered worship that we strive for in Reformed churches.

Another interesting idea occurs in the first line: "Jesus is mine." I'm not prepared to say that this is a theological error, but the focus is definitely different from our catechism, in which we confess that we are not our own but belong both body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ." So what we confess is that we are Jesus'. The second verse, especially, takes a mystical turn with its mention of angels descending from above with their echoes of mercy and whispers of love. And as much as I'd like to say I have achieved perfect submission, I haven't, and I doubt that many sinful human beings have.

So this hymn has all the earmarks of a not-so-great hymn with its first-person focus, suggestions of mystical experiences, and just plain faulty claims. And having learned something about the life and times of Fanny Crosby, it becomes clear why her hymns are not included in the Psalter Hymnal.