Celebrating a Special Music Release

Blessed Assurance

Composed by: Phoebe Palmer Knapp, 1873, Written by: Fanny Crosby, 1873

Description:
This beloved hymn was created when composer Phoebe Knapp played a new melody on the piano for her friend Fanny Crosby. When Knapp asked what the music “said” to her, Crosby immediately responded with “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” Despite her blindness, Crosby wrote over 8,000 hymns in her lifetime and considered her disability a blessing that enhanced her other abilities, including her remarkable memory of scripture.

God Will Take Care of You

Composed by: Walter Stillman Martin, 1905, Written by: Civilla Durfee Martin, 1905

Description:
Civilla Martin wrote this hymn in 1904 while her husband was away on a preaching trip. She was ill, and their son had also taken ill, making it impossible for her to travel with her husband. To comfort herself and her son, she wrote these lyrics based on 1 Peter 5:7. When her husband returned, he was so moved by the lyrics that he quickly composed the music. The hymn was first published in “Songs of Redemption” the following year and has since comforted countless people during times of uncertainty.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Composed by: George Coles Stebbins, 1907, Written by: Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Description:
Adelaide Pollard was deeply discouraged after failing to raise funds for a mission trip to Africa. Attending a prayer meeting one night in 1902, she was inspired by an elderly woman who prayed, “Lord, it doesn’t matter what you bring into our lives, just have your own way with us.” This prayer inspired Pollard to write the lyrics based on the biblical image of the potter and clay (Jeremiah 18:1-6). Five years later, George Stebbins composed the music, and the hymn was published in “Hymns New and Old” in 1907, becoming a timeless expression of surrender to God’s will.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Composed by: John Bacchus Dykes, 1861, Written by: Reginald Heber, 1826

Description:
Reginald Heber wrote this majestic hymn specifically for Trinity Sunday while serving as vicar of Hodnet, Shropshire, England. The lyrics were found among his papers after his sudden death in India, where he served as Bishop of Calcutta. The text wasn’t paired with music until 1861, when John Bacchus Dykes composed the tune “Nicaea” (named after the Council of Nicaea that established the doctrine of the Trinity) specifically for these lyrics. The hymn’s three-fold repetition of “holy” echoes Isaiah’s vision of seraphim in Isaiah 6:3 and remains one of Christianity’s most beloved expressions of Trinitarian praise.

In The Garden

Composed and written by Charles Austin Miles, 1913

Description:
Charles Austin Miles, a former pharmacist turned hymn writer, composed this hymn in March 1912. In his autobiography, Miles described receiving a vision while reading John 20, in which Mary Magdalene meets the risen Christ in the garden. He wrote, “As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene… That is the experience I tried to put into verse.” The hymn was first published in a collection titled “The Gospel Message No. 2” and became especially popular during the Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns. Its intimate, personal language has made it a favorite for generations of believers seeking to express their personal relationship with Christ.

Love Lifted Me

Composed by: Howard E. Smith, 1912, Written by: James Rowe, 1912

Description:
James Rowe, who emigrated from England to America in 1889, wrote these lyrics inspired by the story of Jesus rescuing Peter when he began to sink while walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33). Howard Smith, who served as a church organist in Connecticut, provided the uplifting melody. The hymn was first published in “Lyric Gems No. 2” and quickly gained popularity in evangelical circles. The triumphant chorus and testimonial style made it particularly suited to revival meetings and continues to resonate with those who have experienced divine rescue from difficult circumstances.

Softly and Tenderly

Composed and written by: Will L. Thompson, 1880

Description:
Will Thompson, known as the “Bard of Ohio,” both wrote and composed this beloved invitation hymn. Despite having no formal theological training, Thompson created one of the most effective evangelistic hymns of all time. The song gained wider recognition when Dwight L. Moody used it in his revival campaigns. When Thompson visited a dying Moody in 1899, Moody reportedly told him, “Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.” The hymn’s gentle melody and compassionate lyrics have made it a standard for altar calls and moments of spiritual decision.

The Old Rugged Cross

Composed and written by: George Bennard, 1913

Description:
George Bennard, a Salvation Army officer turned Methodist evangelist, spent several months in 1912 wrestling with the spiritual significance of the cross. He later recalled that the words and melody came to him simultaneously in response to the ridicule he had recently endured. The hymn was completed in Albion, Michigan, and first performed publicly with guitar accompaniment at a revival meeting in Pokagon, Michigan. Published the following year, it gained nationwide popularity after being featured in Billy Sunday’s evangelistic campaigns. In a 1958 poll by Christian Herald magazine, readers selected “The Old Rugged Cross” as their favorite gospel hymn, and it remains one of the most frequently recorded Christian songs of all time.

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Composed by: Charles Crozat Converse, 1868, Written by: Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855

Description:
Joseph Scriven originally wrote this poem in 1855 as a letter of comfort to his mother in Ireland while he lived in Canada. He had moved there after two personal tragedies: his fiancée drowned the night before their wedding in 1844, and his second fiancée died of illness shortly before their scheduled wedding. The poem remained privately circulated until a neighbor discovered it while caring for an ill Scriven in 1886. When asked if he had written it, Scriven reportedly replied, “The Lord and I did it between us.” The text was paired with Charles Converse’s melody “Erie” in 1868, and the hymn has since provided comfort to countless people experiencing loneliness, grief, and hardship.

What Can Wash Away My Sin (Nothing But the Blood)

Composed and written by: Robert Lowry, 1876 

Description:
Robert Lowry, a Baptist minister, professor, and prolific hymn writer, composed both the lyrics and music to this straightforward gospel hymn. It was first published in the collection “Gospel Music” by Biglow and Main. While serving churches in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, Lowry wrote nearly 500 hymns. Still, he once remarked, “I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative audience than write a hymn.” Despite this preference, his hymns, including this one with its simple yet profound message about Christ’s atonement, have reached far more people than his sermons ever could. The hymn’s call-and-response style makes it particularly effective for congregational singing.

When Peace Like a River (It Is Well With My Soul)

Composed by: Philip Paul Bliss 1876, Written by: Horatio G. Spafford, 1876

Description:
This hymn emerged from profound tragedy in the life of Chicago lawyer Horatio Spafford. In 1873, while crossing the Atlantic to join her husband in Europe, the ship carrying Spafford’s wife and four daughters collided with another vessel. All four children drowned, while his wife survived. Spafford later sailed to join his grieving wife, and as his ship passed near the place where his daughters had perished, he penned these lyrics. His friend Philip Bliss composed the music shortly before his own tragic death in a train accident in 1876. The hymn was first published in “Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs” and stands as one of the most powerful testimonies of faith amid suffering in hymnody.

When We Walk With the Lord (Trust and Obey)

Composed by: Daniel B. Towner, 1887, Written by: John H. Sammis, 1887. 

Description:
Daniel Towner, music director for evangelist D.L. Moody, was inspired to write this hymn after hearing a young man testify at a Moody meeting, “I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.” Struck by the simplicity and depth of that statement, Towner wrote down the phrase and sent it to Presbyterian minister John Sammis, who developed the full lyrics. The hymn was first published in “Gospel Hymns No. 5” and became a staple in evangelical services. Its straightforward chorus encapsulates a fundamental principle of Christian discipleship that has resonated with believers for generations.