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• Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he was dying of tuberculosis; he finished it the Sunday he gave his farewell sermon in the parish he served so many years. The next day, he left for Italy to regain his health. He didn’t make it, though—he died in Nice, France, three weeks after writing these words. Here is an excerpt from his farewell sermon:

• O brethren, I stand here among you today, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to impress it upon you, and induce you to prepare for that solemn hour which must come to all, by a timely acquaintance with the death of Christ.

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Blessed Assurance

• Mrs. Joseph Fairchild Knapp wife of the founder of the Metropolitan Life Ins. Co

• Knapp brought Fanny the tune to a song

• Knapp asked what Fanny thought about it and Fanny named it Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine

• And wrote the lyrics in just a few minutes following

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Fanny J. Crosby• Wrote over 9000 Hymns• At the age of 15 in New York she taught English

and History• She taught for 35 years• What makes her so special, at six weeks of age

she was blinded by an incompetent Doctor• She stated that the first thing she wanted to see

when she gets to Heaven is the face of the one who died for me.

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• Asked to give her personal testimony by D.L. Moody

• She hesitated then gave the following

• Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing;but oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story--saved by grace!

• She died at age 95

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• She is buried in Bridgeport Conn.• On her grave is written• Aunt Fanny• Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. • Notable Songs• Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine• He Hideth My Soul• Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior• Rescue The Perishing• Safe In The Arms Of Jesus• Saved By Grace• Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It

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• All The Way My Savior Leads Me• Close To Thee• God Will Take Care of You• I Am Thine Oh Lord• Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home• Near The Cross• Praise Him Praise Him• Room At The Cross• Tell Me The Story Of Jesus• Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet• Tis The Blessed Hour Of Prayer• To God Be The Glory• To The Work• Will Jesus Find Us Watching

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• Her statement about her being blind is quite remarkable as it took a lot of thought

• It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be

blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight

were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns

to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and

interesting things about me.

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Luther B. Bridgers He Keeps Me Singing

• Methodist Minister• Went to a conference in Kentucky and left his

wife Sarah and his three sons with his Father-in -law while he made the trip for two weeks

• The final night he called the Father-in-law and to his dismay he discovered that his house had burned up and all had perished including his wife and three sons and the father-in-law and his wife.

• That distraught father leaned heavily on the Lord and wrote this song in his grief.

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William Newell – At Calvary

• 1868 to 1956• Born in Ohio he was an evangelist• Bible college teacher• On his way to class he thought about what

Christ had done for him on the cross• He entered an empty classroom and wrote this

song in half an hour on the back of an old envelope which is all he had to write on

• He gave the words to the director of music there and within an hour the entire song was finished

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No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus

• Evangelist off in a Crusade• He came home to find a Dear John letter• Stating that the life of an evangelist was

not for her and she was gone forever• The next few years were great despair for

Charles• After a time his faith was restored and he

realized what it was to put your faith in Jesus and wrote these lyrics and its tune.

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It Is Well With My Soul

• October 1871 , great Chicago Fire ruined him financially as he was a wealthy businessman

• He sent his wife and four daughter by ship across the Atlantic

• The ship collided with another ship and all four daughters perished as it sank

• He received a telegram from his wife stating “Saved Alone”

• Several weeks later he followed in a ship and passed over the spot where the ship sank and his daughters died and he wrote this song

• There is always hope no matter how dark the hour or situation

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Miss Charlotte Elliott was visiting some friends in the West End of London, and there met the eminent

minister, César Malan. While seated at supper, the minister said he hoped that she was a Christian. She

took offense at this, and replied that she would rather not discuss that question. Dr. Malan said that he was

sorry if had offended her, that he always liked to speak a word for his Master, and that he hoped that

the young lady would some day become a worker for Christ. When they met again at the home of a mutual

friend, three weeks later, Miss Elliott told the minister that ever since he had spoken to her she had been

trying to find her Saviour, and that she now wished him to tell her how to come to Christ. “Just come to

him as you are,” Dr. Malan said. This she did, and went away rejoicing. Shortly afterward she wrote this

hymn.

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Near To The Heart Of God

• Living in Chicago he received word that both his nieces had died of diphtheria within 24 hours of each other

• He was a Presbyterian Minister and the only place he could find solace was in the book of Psalms

• After studying Psalms he wrote this hymn

• He sang it at the funeral the next day

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William Williams

• Had been preparing for Medical Profession• After hearing the Gospel he became a minister

of Anglican Church– Singing Hymns was his love.

• Wrote 800 hymns in Welsh, yet Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah was the only one translated

• He was a circuit rider preaching all over Wales riding a horse over 100,000 miles preaching and singing

• This hymn compares the 40 year wilderness journey of the Israelites to our pilgrimage journey through this barren land of today.

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Thomas Chisholm• Also wrote “Living For Jesus, O To Be Like Thee

and 1200 others.• Great is Thy Faithfulness was not written because

something great had happened in his life• But simply because over his life he has simply

seen the greatness of God• At age 75 he wrote, due to my health I have never

been able to create wealth but I have seen wonderful displays of God’s providing care and I am filled with astonishing gratefulness for all he has done for me.

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Have Thine Own Way Lord

• Always wanted to be an African Missionary and thought God wanted it too

• She could never raise the funds to go• In a prayer meeting she heard an elderly man

that prayed the following : “It’s all right, Lord. It doesn’t matter what You bring into our lives, just have Your own way with us.” At home that night, much encouraged, she wrote this hymn.

• Later in her life she did go to Africa and spoke to them until she was 75 years of age.

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How Great Thou Art

• Carl Boberg and titled it “O Great God” in 1885• In 1907 it was translated into German and in

1912 into Russian• In 1927 Hine found it and used it in his Ukraine

work and when WWII broke out he brought it back to England and translated it into English and wrote a fourth stanza

• When the refugees from the war flooded into England, all were asking when are we going home and the song answers the question.

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I Love To Tell The Story

• Born 1834 to a wealthy English Family• Her love was to have Bible Studies with

the poor and downhearted and bring them to Christ all over the city of London

• She became ill and had to take off Bible Studies with them for a year

• During this year she wrote a poem, the first part had 50 stanzas and later on Dr. W.H. Doane wrote the song “ Tell Me The Old Old Story”

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I Love To Tell The Story

• From part II of this poem, W.H. Fischer took parts of the poem and wrote this hymn.

• It was very obvious from these two songs that she loved to tell the story of Jesus to anyone that would take the time to listen

• She showed great love and compassion to all who would listen just as her Savior had done

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Softly And Tenderly, Jesus is Calling

• Dwight Lyman Moody, well known preacher lay on his death bed

• Will Thompson comes to visit him• They would not let him in but Moody from

his death bed calls for him• With is dying words he said “Will, I would

rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.”

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I Must Tell Jesus• He spent most of his time working with

people who were “down and out”• One day working with a woman in great

pain and anguish and very discouraged he told her “She Must Tell Jesus All Of Her Troubles”

• He thought about this all the way home and wrote this song as a result.

• In the song he reminds us that we need to go to God for our physical needs and also our temptations that are so alluring to us

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The Sweet By And By• Webster was a nervous depressed musician

which could be aroused by a new song to work on for Sanford

• One day he came in to Sanford’s store and backed up to the wood heater and Sanford asked him what was the matter?

• His answers, "It's no matter," he replied, "it will be all right by and by." 

• Thus the idea for this hymn which took a total of thirty minutes for Sanford to write the words and for Webster to write the music.

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Precious Lord Take My Hand • Written in 1932 in Chicago Illinois

• Dorsey’s wife Nettie died after giving birth to his Son

• The Son died shortly thereafter

• Dorsey sang the song to his friend, singer Theodore Frye after feeling so bad about his wife and son dying

• Frye then sang it at services the next Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church

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• 1834 Mote was considering the graciousness of the Lord and wrote this hymn

• One day he was visiting a friend and his sick wife, they studied scripture and wanted to sing a song but he had no book but brought out these verses and read them to the family.

• The wife stated that they gave her such strength and encouragement, that Mote went home and decided to change it a little and publish a hymn

• If these words can help one dying woman, maybe it can help a lot of other people in need

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• 1819-1866 He had learned early in life to give his griefs to Jesus

• On the eve of his wedding day, his bride was found drowned

• This crushed him and he moved away to Port Hope

• He discovered Jesus and decided to give his life in helping others and became known as the “Good Samaritan of Port Hope

• He wrote this song as an encouragement to his sick mother

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• We are reminded again that we have a friend who wants to know our cares, griefs, burdens, temptations, trials, sins, pain, and sorrows.

• Jesus is that friend.

• Have you spoken to Him today?

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• Born in Southhampton England• As a child he drove his parents to the brink with

his rhymes and verses• In school he got in trouble for not closing his

eyes in prayer• To this he said : "A little mouse for want of

stairs -ran up a rope to say its prayers." • Receiving Corporal punishment for this he said :

"O father, do some pity take - And I will no more verses make."

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• Charles Wesley made the statement that he would give up all his other hymns just to have written this one

• Other notable songs

• Joy To The World

• Come Ye That Love The Lord

• Alas And Did My Savior Bleed

• This Is The Day The Lord Has Made

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• 1731-1800 Cowper had a life of great turmoil, with a lot of up’s and down’s

• Parents wanted him to study law and he did and then had a mental breakdown just before taking the final Bar exam and was admitted to an asylum

• While at the asylum he found the Lord and got better and moved to Olney and became very good friends with John Newton and wrote a book of 349 songs with Newton.

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• Of the 349, Cowper wrote 67 of which “There is a Fountian” being a favorite

• Zech 13:1, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."

• He discovered that he could trust the Savior to take away his sins and cleanse him from their guilt by coming to God’s Fountian of Jesus’ Cleansing Blood