I. Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) was blinded at age 6 weeks,
due to poor medical treatment. (see also lesson 4) She wrote more
than 8,000 song texts in her lifetime of 95 years. Some of the
songs that we sing that Fanny Crosby wrote are: Redeemed, Near
the Cross, He Hideth My Soul, I Am Thine O Lord, All The Way My
Savior Leads Me, Rescue The Perishing, Praise Him! Praise Him!,
and To God Be the Glory.
II. Verse 1--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.
The word blessed means: holy, sacred, consecrated, divine, godly, hallowed, pure, sanctified, spiritual and precious. Assurance means: certainty, vow, declaration, pledge, promise or word. Together they form the idea that we are divinely promised that the things that we have and will have through Jesus Christ can be counted as certain. Acts 17:29-31, Col. 2:1-3, I Thess. 1:5, Heb. 6:11, 10:22.
There are great things that belong to the Christian, both now and in the future. The assurance that these will come to us should motivate us to continue to strive to fully obey Jesus Christ. II Pet. 1:3-4 These great and precious promises do include some physical blessings, but to rely on these as a hope is foolishness. It is the spiritual blessings in Christ that are the true treasures. Those listed in the song are:
The best way to overcome these things, is to replace them with Godly thoughts and Godly activities. Christians should never underestimate the power of prayer, singing, assembling with the brethren, performing acts of kindness and fulfilling Christian duties.
Washed in His blood--Rev. 1:5, 7:14, Rom. 5:8-9, Heb. 9:14.
The blood of Jesus Christ is that which we need to clean our lives
of the guilt and the consequences of our sins. If we are not washed
(purged) of our sins the consequences will be eternal damnation.
Therefore, it is the blood of Christ that redeemed us and will
save us in judgment.
III. Verse 2--Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions
of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from
above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. I Thess. 4:14-18,
Submission to Jesus Christ, knowing that we are doing his will,
should delight our souls. The scene painted in our minds in I
Thess. should calm our souls, inspire trust and obedience, and
give us hope. In the thoughts of Jesus' coming again, we should
be moved to thankfulness, for his mercy and love on our part because
of his love for us.
IV. Verse 3--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. Rom. 3:17-18,
5:1, 8:6.
Peace in this life can only be achieved through the Savior.
The blessing and the happiness that we find by being a follower
of Christ, is contained in his word, his path, his life, his death,
our death to sin, our hope of eternal salvation, his goodness,
and his love. The Christian eyes are not on the world about us
but are looking above, waiting for that glorious day when we are
called to judgment, a time for extreme happiness and blessing
for those who are named by Christ as his own and a time for utter
despair and punishment for those who are not.
V. Chorus--This is my story, this is my song, praising
my Savior all the day long.
How many stories do we share with friends and family? How many exploits do we share with others? How many songs do we sing to ourselves and others? Can you think of anything greater than to spend our time of story and song praising and telling about the one who gave up heaven for all of mankind?