This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
Fanny J. Crosby
One of America’s most loved
hymnwriters is Fanny J.
Crosby. It’s easy to see
why. Blind from infancy due
to the mistaken operation of a
so-called doctor, Crosby grew
up to lead a very cheerful
life. This is evident in the
joyful hymns she wrote, and
she wrote a ton of hymns! Her
total output is more than
8,000 hymns, so this
collection is just the tip of
the iceberg as far as
Crosby’s work is
concerned.
Crosby’s hymns show that the
secret to happiness is God,
not any earthly skill or
possession. “A wonderful
Savior is Jesus my Lord”
starts her hymn “He Hideth
My Soul.” “Blessed
assurance—Jesus is mine!”
begins another of her most
famous. Her love of God was
poured out through her
writings, as she took every
opportunity to “Praise Him!
Praise Him!”
In addition to hymns, Crosby
wrote a number of other songs
and poems, including some
patriotic works. She’d have
harsh words for any Christian
who shies away from political
involvement, for she herself
was very involved, often
writing songs or verse that
had to do with campaigns. In
fact, she was the first woman
to address the U.S. Senate,
when she read a poem to them
on behalf of the blind in
1844.
Lesser known about Crosby is
her mission work. She visited
several missions in New York
City and donated to many
through the proceeds of her
songs. “Rescue the
Perishing” was a city
mission song originally, even
though it makes us think of
world missions as well. Some
of the groups she supported
were the American Female
Guardian Society and Home for
the Friendless, the McAuley
Water Street Mission, the
Bowery Mission, the Howard
Mission, the Cremore Mission,
the Door of Hope, the
Women’s Christian Temperance
Union.
Crosby herself was an
accomplished musician, able to
play the piano, organ, harp,
and guitar, as well as sing.
This no doubt aided her in her
hymnwriting, as did her
knowledge of Scripture—she
had 11 books of the Bible
memorized! Only on very rare
occasions did she actually
write the music to her hymns,
though, and none of those are
included here. However, this
collection features the fine
tunes of William H. Doane (To
God Be the Glory, Rescue the
Perishing, Will Jesus Find Us
Watching?), William J.
Kirkpatrick (He Hideth My
Soul, Redeemed), John R.
Sweney (Tell Me the Story of
Jesus, Victory Through Grace),
George C. Stebbins (Saved by
Grace), Chester G. Allen
(Praise Him! Praise Him!), and
Phoebe P. Knapp (Blessed
Assurance). Most of these are
pretty well-known, but I
included a couple less-known
ones, hoping they might get
played more often.
Fanny Crosby is my favorite
hymnwriter, and To God Be the
Glory is one of my two
favorite hymns (along with
Wonderful Grace of Jesus). If
you think my arrangements are
any good, you have God to
thank for that, not me. I
hope you enjoy these hymns as
much as I have! Sheet music list : › Blessed Assurance › He Hideth My Soul › Praise Him! Praise Him! › Redeemed! › Rescue the Perishing › Saved by Grace › Tell Me the Story of Jesus › To God Be the Glory › Victory Through Grace › Will Jesus Find Us Watching?