Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
Let me share a passage from 1 Timothy 1:12, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” Yes, we must not be ashamed of the gospel, we must to share it to those in darkness, so they can come to Jesus, and might shout, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.”

Last Sunday, we sang this glorious hymn, and by the way, it is my favorite hymn. Fanny Crosby penned this hymn, a hymn, in my own opinion, with simple but profound words. I love the refrain, but the second part of the first stanza is full of sound doctrine, full of hope in our Savior, “Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” Without Jesus’ sacrifice, we could not sing this words, we could not have hope, we could not have access to heaven.

Fanny Crosby was blind, because of a doctor's malpractice with her eyes when she was little. Nevertheless, she became a writer, and her favorite thing to write was hymns. Some authors say that she wrote more than 8,000 hymns, and “Blessed Assurance” is one of her most popular. This hymn has an unique story of how it became a song of worship and testimony.

Fanny Crosby had a dear friend, Phoebe P. Knapp, a fine musician, and Fanny Crosby spent hours at her friend’s house, listening to music and having fellowship. One day, Ms. Knapp asked her friend to hear a new melody that she composed and her opinion about it. After Ms. Crosby heard this melody, she said,”Why, that says, ‘Blessed Assurance.’” In a few minutes, she wrote three stanzas and a refrain, without changing any word.
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Now, why do I love this hymn so much? Because of the refrain. This refrain is a daily call of worship to God for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and whatever we do in our daily tasks, we must to praise our Savior. “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.”
In His service,
Israel