To a home beyond the skies,
Where the fields are robed in beauty,
And the sunlight never dies.
She now felt that she had found her real mission in life, and she wrote that she was “the happiest creature in all the land.” Until her death in 1915, hymns flowed from her inspired pen in a ceaseless stream. For a long time she was under contract to furnish her publishers, Biglow & Main, with three hymns every week. It has been estimated that no less than 8,000 hymns and songs were written by this unusual woman.
Not all of her hymns possess high poetical excellence. In fact, they have been subjected to the most severe criticism. John Julian, the English hymnologist, with his usual candor, declares that “they are, with few exceptions, very weak and poor, their simplicity and earnestness being their redeeming features.”
However, whether we consider her hymns of high poetic standard or not, the fact remains that no one has written more hymns that are being sung and loved today than Fanny Crosby. Certainly the hymnody of the Christian Church is infinitely richer for “Pass me not, O gentle Saviour,” “Sweet hour of prayer,” “Safe in the arms of Jesus,” “All the way my Saviour leads me,” “Jesus is tenderly calling thee home,” “I am thine, O Lord,” “Rescue the perishing,” “Speed away,” “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,” “Jesus keep me near the Cross,” “Some day the silver cord will break,” and scores of other inspiring gems that have come to us from this blind genius.
Practically all her hymns are very subjective in character. Although this is doubtless an element of weakness, it probably explains their unusual personal appeal. It was the prayer of Miss Crosby that she might win a million souls for Christ, and there are many who believe that her prayer has been more than realized. A strong Scriptural note is heard in most of her hymns. When she was yet a child, she committed to memory the first four books of the Old Testament, as well as the four Gospels, and this proved a rich treasure store from which she drew in later life.
Fanny Crosby’s fault apparently lay in the fact that she was too prolific a writer. Most of her songs were composed in a few minutes. Often the lines came as rapidly as they could be dictated. It was this circumstance that led Dr. S. W. Duffield to observe rather facetiously that “It is more to her credit as a writer that she has occasionally found a pearl than that she has brought to the surface so many oyster shells.” However, before his death he evidently had altered his opinion, for he wrote: “I rather think her talent will stand beside that of Watts or Wesley, especially if we take into consideration the number of hymns she has written.”
Certainly there are many pearls among the 8,000 songs she wrote, and perhaps none has given more solace to broken hearts than “Safe in the arms of Jesus.” Often the themes of her hymns were suggested to her by publishers or musical composers. At other times a musician would play a tune for her and ask her to write words for it. It was in 1868 that William H. Doane, the popular hymn composer, came to her one day and said: “Fanny, I have a tune I would like to have you hear.” He played it for her, and she exclaimed, “That says ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus!’” She went to her room immediately, and within half an hour the words had been written.
Although Fanny Crosby never permitted the fact of her blindness to make her life gloomy, there are many touching allusions in her hymns to her affliction. “All the way my Saviour leads me” suggests how much a guiding hand means to the blind. The same thought appears in the song, “God will take care of you,” especially in the lines,