Blessed Assurance
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Blessed Assurance is a Christian hymn with lyrics written in 1873 by Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) to Phoebe P. Knapp's (1839-1908) tune known as “Assurance”. The syllabic meter is 9.10.9.9 with a refrain of 9.9.9.9. The musical meter is 9/8.
Crosby reported that Knapp played the melody for her on the piano, who then asked Crosby what the tune “said”. Crosby replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” and went on to write three verses and a refrain for it:
vs.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.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
vs.2
Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
vs.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.
(Refrain)
“Blessed Assurance” was sung in the movie The Trip to Bountiful.
It has been recorded numerous times, including by
- George Beverly Shea
- Cece Winans on Alone in His Presence
- Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices on the Grammy Award-winning One Voice (Many Roads Records, January 2005)
- Cynthia Clawson on Blessed Assurance: Songs My Grandmother Taught Me
- Randy Travis on Worship and Faith (Curb Records, November 2003)
- The Isaacs on The Best of The Isaacs- Favorites from the Homecoming Series (Gaither Gospel Series, August 2004)
- Sandi Patty on Songs of Faith...Songs of Inspiration (INO Records, September 2004)
- Delores Winans on Hymns From My Heart (EMI Gospel, October 2004)
