TOPIC: STORIES BEHIND GREAT HYMNS YOU SHOULD

KNOW!
TEXT: EPH. 5:19; COL. 3:16
Hymns are a type of “spiritual songs” which indicate that they have a more personal element
with the divine. Why and how? Not only are you singing a song to God, but you are singing it
from your spirit. While psalms are the perfect inspired word of God; hymns are used to recite
doctrinal truth, express personal beliefs, teach gospel truths, tell God Who He is in a personal
way and in fact; they are deeply rooted from the spirit and soul of men. They are often in
stanzas, laying precepts until purpose is fully achieved. A spiritual song would be retelling the
grace, mercies, and miracles of God from the singer's point of view. These songs would be more
personal to who we are as individuals or specific communities, and informed by how God has
revealed Himself in our lives.

Now, let us look at selected hymns and how they came to be and the weight they carry in
Christendom:

1. “I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS”: A Hymn

about TAKING A STAND AS A BELIEVER!
‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus’ is a Christian hymn originating from India. The lyrics are based
on the last words of a man in Garo, Assam.
About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales. As a result of this, many missionaries
came to north-east India to spread the Gospel. The region known as Assam was comprised of
hundreds of tribes who were primitive and aggressive head-hunters. Into these hostile and
aggressive communities, came a group of missionaries from the American Baptist Missions
spreading the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not
welcomed. One missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This
man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity.
Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first
converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man
said:
“I have decided to follow Jesus.”
Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two
children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You
have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”
But the man replied: “Though no one joins me, still I will follow.”
The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment
she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more
opportunity to deny your faith and live.” In the face of death the man said the final memorable
lines: “The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.”
He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The
chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why
should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on
another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some remarkable power behind the
family’s faith, and I too want to taste that faith.”

In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the
crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their
Lord and Saviour.

The song is based on the last words of Nokseng, a man from Garo tribe of Assam (now
Meghalaya and some in Assam), India. It is today the song of the Garo people.

2. “WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS”: A Hymn

about being reassured of ONE LOVE that stands
forever – the LOVE OF CHRIST for you!
In 1844 a young Irishman, Joseph Scriven, had completed his college education and returned
home to marry his sweetheart. As he was traveling to meet her on the day before the planned
wedding, he came upon a horrible scene—his beautiful fiancée tragically lying under the water
in a creek bed after falling off her horse.
Later, Scriven moved to Canada and eventually fell in love again, only to experience devastation
once more when his fiancée became ill and died just weeks before their marriage. For the
second time, this humble Christian felt the loss of the woman he loved.
The following year, he wrote a poem to his mother in Ireland that described the deep friendship
with Jesus he had cultivated in prayer through the hardships of his life. The poem was
published anonymously at first under the title, “Pray Without Ceasing.” Ten years later, he
finally acknowledged this well-loved text had been written by him and his friend, Jesus. In 1868,
attorney Charles Converse set the text to a tune and renamed it “What a Friend We Have in
Jesus.”
Instead of thinking God was punishing him, Scriven cherished God’s friendship through all of
this hardship—a friendship he discovered in prayer.
3. “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL”: A Hymn to
reassure and comfort even in the midst of the
most terrible battles and storms!
Attorney Horatio Spafford and his wife, Anna, had a wonderful family of four daughters.
Tragically, the great Chicago fire destroyed most of his business in 1871. Then, two years later
in 1873, his wife and daughters were aboard the ocean liner Ville du Havre when it was struck
by another vessel. All four daughters drowned.
His wife survived and nine days later was able to contact her husband by telegraph with this
question: “Saved alone—what shall I do?”
Spafford took the next available ship to join his wife. During the passage, the captain of the ship
notified Spafford they were crossing the place where the Ville du Havre had sunk. After those
moments of reflection and over the course of the rest of the journey, Spafford penned the
words of this beloved hymn.
May God teach us that “whatever our lot” we can still say, “It is well.”
Life will confront us too. The songs we sing in the darkest of midnight will be the very songs
that show the world the unwavering faithfulness of our Father who loves us so much. The
darker it gets, the more we should sing.

4. “BLESSED ASSURANCE”: A Hymn sung by

Christians who are Christians indeed!
"Blessed Assurance" was composed by two of the most prolific Christian hymn writers in
history. The lyrics came from a woman with over 8000 hymns to her credit (blind Fanny J
Crosby) and the music came from the organ of a lady with over 500 hymns to her credit
(Madam Phoebe Knapp).
One day, Fanny Crosby was visiting her dear friend, Phoebe Knapp. She played a tune for Fanny
and asked her afterwards, "What does it say to you, Fanny?" Her reply was simple: "Blessed
assurance, Jesus is mine." This hymn is still being played on the church organ in thousands of
churches still today.
Despite being blind, Fanny Crosby’s impact on Christian hymns was tremendous. She once
described how her blindness affected her songs. "I verily believe that God intended that I
should live my days in physical darkness so that I might be better prepared to sing His praise
and lead others from spiritual darkness into eternal light. With sight I would have been too
distracted to have written thousands of hymns." Without Fanny’s faith and Phoebe’s organ,
songs such as "Blessed Assurance" would have never been written.
5. “JUST AS I AM”: A Hymn every Christian in
depression, worry or anxiety should sing till
FAITH is restored!
One day in 1833, when Charlotte Elliott was in her 44th year, she was feeling unusually
depressed and alone. The other members of her family had gone off to a church function while
she, an invalid and bedridden, remained at home. Before her illness she had lived a happy,
carefree life enjoying its many pleasures and gaining a measure of popularity, as a portrait
artist. Now, all of this past and stricken with the sickness which was to plague her for the rest
of her life, she felt utterly useless and cut off.

In addition, although she had been a Christian for many years, she began to have doubts about
her relationship with the Lord. How could she be sure that all was well with her soul? In her
distress she began to list scriptural reasons for believing that she was, indeed, a child of God.
She recognised the power of the Saviour's precious blood. She remembered His promise to
receive all who come to Him by faith; and His ability to pardon, cleanse and save. As she
meditated on these great truths her heart was warmed and very soon Charlotte Elliott, who was
also fond of writing poetry, was putting down her thoughts in verses:

Just as I am, without one plea,

but that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Which hymn ministers to you most?