The Back Story of the Great Hymn “Blessed Assurance”
Fanny Crosby was a prolific Christian songwriter who wrote over 8,000 hymns during her lifetime. She was born in New York on March 24, 1820, into a family with a strong Puritan heritage. As an infant, she suffered an eye infection that left her blind for life.
The treatment she received from a quack doctor, which involved placing hot poultices* on her inflamed eyelids, caused scarring that led to her blindness.
Tragically, a few months after Fanny’s birth, her father passed away. Her mother, Mercy Crosby, was left widowed at the young age of 21 and was forced to hire herself out as a maid. Fanny’s grandmother, Eunice Crosby, stepped in to take care of the baby and became her primary caregiver and teacher.
Despite her blindness, Fanny’s grandmother was determined to provide her granddaughter with a quality education. She took it upon herself to teach Fanny about the physical world, illustrating it in vivid detail. She also read and explained the Bible to Fanny, instilling in her a deep faith and a love for God. When Fanny became discouraged because she could not learn like other children, her grandmother encouraged her to pray for knowledge and understanding.
In 1832, Fanny learned about the New York Institute for the Blind and knew that this was the answer to her prayer for an education. She got enrolled in the school when she was twelve. Later, she became a teacher and served at the same school for an incredible twenty-three years.
Despite the challenges she faced as a blind person, Fanny excelled academically and became a celebrity at the school. She was called upon to write poems for almost every occasion and became known for her poetic and lyrical talents.
On March 5, 1858, at thirty-eight, Fanny married Alexander van Alstine, a former student at the Institute. He was a talented musician whose skills on the organ were renowned in the New York area. The dynamic duo collaborated on several gospel hymns that resonated with audiences across the country.
In the summer of 1873, Crosby visited her friend, Phoebe Knapp, who was a gifted musician and composer. One day, Knapp played a melody on her piano and asked Crosby what she thought of it. As soon as Crosby heard the tune, she exclaimed, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” and began to compose the lyrics on the spot. Within an hour, the hymn was complete, and Blessed Assurance was born.
The lyrics of Blessed Assurance are a powerful testimony to Crosby’s faith in Jesus and her unwavering confidence in His salvation. The opening lines declare, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! / Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!” The hymn goes on to affirm the believer’s security in Jesus, their victory over sin and death, and their hope of eternal life.
*a soft, moist mass of material, typically of plant material or flour, applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth.
