Saturday, December 20, 2025

Hymns of Hope: Fanny Crosby

Fanny Crosby, the prolific hymn writer, wrote several Christmas-themed songs. Though she's more famous for hymns like "Blessed Assurance" and "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior," which she wrote after hearing the cry of a prison inmate, some of her notable Christmas works include "Christmas Carol (Cheerily Hail the Christmas Morn)," a joyful carol celebrating the birth of Jesus....

"Merrily now the bells we hear
Chiming in chorus sweet and clear
Gather and sing, gather and sing
Welcome the children's King"


Another one, "Sing Hallelujah," encourages praise for the infant Redeemer....

"Come to the feet of our infant Redeemer
Come where today in a manger He lies
Lift up our hearts in a song of devotion
Let our hosannas with gladness arise"


I encourage you to find and listen to her Christmas hymns. At six weeks old, Fanny developed an eye infection, and a doctor applied the wrong medication, which causing permanent blindness. Later, she would say that she believed it was God's plan, and that she would thank the doctor if she met him, as it led to her profound spiritual life and prolific writing.

While attending a Christian camp near Lake Erie, she said to Pastor John Sweney, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition to my Creator, it would have been that I should be born blind?” When he asked why, she said “Because, when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”

In her diary, she wrote, "It seemed intended by the blessed Providence of God that I should be blind all my life. I could not have written thousands of hymns if I had been hindered by the distractions of seeing all the interesting and beautiful objects ther would have been presented to my notice."

Fanny Jane Crosb - mission worker, poet, lyricist, composer, prolific hymnist - lived from 1820 to 1915. By the end of the 19th century, she had become a household name.

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Hymns of Hope: Fanny Crosby

Fanny Crosby, the prolific hymn writer, wrote several Christmas-themed songs. Though she's more famous for hymns like "Blessed As...