Redeemed

In this series, this is another hymn of one of my absolute favorite hymn writers, Fanny Crosby. Born in 1820, Crosby has written many of the cherished hymns of the faith over the past 150 years. In this hymn, you can hear her love for Jesus and the redemption she experienced through Him. When we sing it, we get to enjoy singing about that same wonderful theme of redemption.  You can read her full story below.

I trust you will enjoy this great hymn as you read the lyrics. Be sure to check out the YouTube videos below as well where you can sing along.

Redeemed Lyrics

The Theology

The theology of this song is Christ-centered and rejoices in redemption through Him. His blood, His mercy, the redemption He provides – all of these things form the heart of this great song. It is to be sung as a personal testimony of the follower of Christ. As a testimony, we rejoice in all that Jesus provides for us today, every day, and in the future through our redemption.

The Author and Composer

Fanny Crosby, author

The author of Blessed Assurance, Fanny Crosby (sometimes spelled Fannie), was born March 24, 1820. She became blind at the age of six weeks from maltreatment of her eyes during a spell of sickness. At the age of fifteen she entered the New York Institution for the Blind, where she received a good education. She became a teacher in the institution in 1847.

She began to write Sunday-school hymns for William. B. Bradbury in 1864. As the years went on, she spent regular hours on certain days at the office of The Biglow & Main Co., the firm for which she did most of her writing, and for whom she has composed over four thousand hymns. Fanny loved her work, and was happy in it. The secret of this contentment dates from her first composition at the age of eight years. “It has been the motto of my life,” she says. It is:
“O what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be;”

She said that had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education, nor so great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory. She knows a great many portions of the Bible by heart, and had committed to memory the first four books of the Old Testament, and also the four Gospels before she was ten years of age.[1]

 

William J. Kirkpatrick, composer

William J. Kirkpatrick (b. Duncannon, PA, 1838; d. Philadelphia, PA, 1921) received his musical training from his father and several other private teachers. A carpenter by trade, he engaged in the furniture business from 1862 to 1878. He left that profession to dedicate his life to music, serving as music director at Grace Methodist Church in Philadelphia. Kirkpatrick compiled some one hundred gospel song collections; his first, Devotional Melodies (1859), was published when he was only twenty-one years old. Many of these collections were first published by the John Hood Company and later by Kirkpatrick’s own Praise Publishing Company, both in Philadelphia. [2]

 

Enjoy This Media

Some groups singing the song from YouTube:

The Gaither Homecoming group sings a version of this son.

Classic congregational singing of all verses.

Here is the earliest published copy of the song from Songs of Redeeming Love, song #7 from 1882 [4]:

 

Here is a more modern version from Favorite Hymns of Praise #140 [6]:

 

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