Who is the greatest purchaser in history? If you asked one guy named Francis Foster, in 1915 when he wrote “The Great Redeemer”, he’d probably say it was God. This divine being ‘bought’ all of us with something only He could offer as collateral for this transaction. It’s impossible to pin a dollar-sign or any other monetary measure (like the ones in the picture shown here) on this event. It was a one-time buyout, but really it’s still being played out, since all of us who are reading this have yet to finish off our end of the bargain. But, Foster’s words suggest a way for us to verbalize our feelings about all this…to follow his exhilaration at the deal being offered.
Francis Foster is a virtual unknown, except for a few facts and the words we can read of his devotion to God. He wrote a handful of songs, among them many which were published in two Sparkling Jewels collections by Samuel Beazley and James Ruebush. Whether “The Great Redeemer” was in either Sparkling Jewels is not clear, but we can be sure many worshippers at the time considered it a treasure. Another source shows the song was listed in at least 10 publications. We may not know from first- or second-hand testimony what Foster’s motivation was for writing, but his emotions are evident in the song’s words. He was ebullient, overwhelmed with what God’s atonement for him meant. No more guilt, no burden, just a ‘sunshine’-filled life. Foster must have been like so many who had come to a realization of his condition after some struggle. What was this crucible, this experience that burned into his consciousness what his destiny might have been except for the Great Redeemer? It wasn’t just a one-time episode for Foster, since he wrote about his devotion in numerous songs. It’ll have to be one among many scores of anonymous or near-anonymous biographies that we’ll hear in eternity.
Imagine the encyclopedia that the Omniscient One is keeping up above. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say it’s closer to a library full of biographic sketches that only He and perhaps relatively few others know, but which have been preserved for humanity at large. In our internet, information-saturated age, a story worth hearing but yet remaining unknown is almost unthinkable. How much is that story worth? Do you have a redeemed life-story that has turned you upside down, and inside out? Foster’s words model the response I need to follow: Tell someone, and make it memorable, and inspirational for others. Then, expect to hear some more …go hear Francis Foster tell his in the first-person. I have one too, but you’ll have to go where I’m goin’ to hear it all. It’s not quite finished yet.
The following site shows 14 hymns to Foster’s credit: http://www.hymnary.org/person/Foster_F4
Little to nothing is known of the composer, except that some of his songs were published by Beazley and Ruebush in 1912, including 10 shown here. See the following: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/f/o/s/foster_f.htm
2 comments:
I've never heard of this hymn, and it's not in any of my large collection of hymnals. Where did you find it? Can you tell me which Sparkling Jewels collections it is in?
Marian,
“The Great Redeemer” is in several contemporary hymnals, including the Songs of Faith and Praise, by Howard Publishing, 1994. As for which one of Sparkling Jewels it is in, I do not know. That it is in one of Sparkling Jewels is implied in the Cyber Hymnal site referenced at the end of the scoop.
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