Will Jesus Find Us Watching? -- Fanny Crosby

 

Does she even remember where she was or what made her think of these words? Certainly, she wasn’t thinking of a physical observation of God (such as with binoculars, like those used by the US Navy signalman in this photo), since she herself would have been incapable of such an act, given her blindness. Perhaps one of Fanny Crosby’s close musical acquaintances might have coaxed the background of “Will Jesus Find Us Watching?” from her memory when it was sung for the first time. Maybe some worshippers on a distant shore might have recalled that first time, because Fanny’s hymns were not confined to use in her native United States. Was there a bible story that Fanny was reading that helped spur the poetry she composed? We’ll have to quiz this hymnwriter in the Afterwhile about the song’s circumstances, because that is where she might be able to tell us, with a glorified body and mind – courtesy of God! Will the story even matter by that time, because what Fanny wrote about in a future sense will have been realized.

 

Frances Jane Crosby (later van Alstyne) wrote thousands of hymns between the mid-19^th Century and the early 20^th Century, so it would be virtually impossible for her to tell us exactly what compelled each one attributed to her. She would probably remember that she lived in one of the rough, rundown neighborhoods of New York City in 1876 (the year ‘Will Jesus Find…’ was first published) when she was in her mid-50s. That was her choice, so that she could do the personal mission work to the urban poor by living among them. She would also be able to tell us that Howard Doane had a hand in ‘Will Jesus Find Us Watching?’, as he did with some 1,500 of Crosby’s hymns, as the musical tune-maker. Maybe the well-known evangelist and Crosby friend Ira Sankey could recall how the song’s emergence transpired, or if it was first sung by a British crowd to whom he often preached the message. It is listed among sixty of Fanny’s hymns that are still the most popular in British Christendom, according to one source (hymnary.org). It seems to be a virtual certainty that Fanny was referencing a parable that Jesus taught (Matthew 25) about ten young women awaiting a bridegroom, including the wise ones who had ‘lamps…trimmed and bright’ (v.1). Fanny must have used many scores of well-known bible episodes to adorn her own poetry, and give her words more potency for the believers who would sing them.  So, Fanny used some well-honed methods, and perhaps some that we don’t yet know, when she constructed ‘Will Jesus Find…’. Being God’s servant among the poor, having access to talented friends like William Doane and Ira Sankey, and reading her own bible to keep in touch with God communicating to her inner spirit daily – these were just a few of the key modes of operation that Fanny employed.

 

So, Fanny asks a question, one that she must have been first trying out on herself.  Despite her physical encumbrance, Fanny found other ways of watching. One would imagine that Crosby must have had a bible in braille, so that by touch, she could sense what His word spoke to her every day. If she didn’t, one or more seeing friends could have helped her get a dose of bible inspiration, a transaction that would have been richer because she shared it with another person. Arguably, helping the poverty-stricken might have been Fanny’s most watchful moments. But whether she was reading a bible or helping minister to the poor, Fanny did not let those moments vanish into oblivion. Her poetry preserves them, and helps connect us to Him all these years later. Her watching makes one wonder, was she really blind, after all?     

 

 

See here for the song’s verses/refrain: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/i/l/l/willjesu.htm

 

See some of author’s biography here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/c/r/o/s/crosby_fj.htm

 

And much more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Crosby

 

See also here a list of the author’s commonly used hymns in Britain: https://hymnary.org/person/Crosby_Fanny

All Things Are Ready -- Charles H. Gabriel

 

This 39-year-old already had a rich reputation for spontaneous composition, so would it be surprising if Charles Hutchinson Gabriel was once again called upon to concoct something for an occasion in 1895? And yet, some of what we know of “All Things Are Ready” suggests that perhaps he didn’t always want clear attribution that would normally come with a song’s publication and use. His biography indicates he was in Chicago by the last decade of the 19^th Century, when he urged people to attend a ‘feast’. Was he trying to coax visitors to partake of a church potluck meal, or instead something more significant? Was a minister at a church teaching from a certain text, making Charles’ verses relevant to a message’s concluding thoughts? See what you think.

 

Charles Gabriel may have written up to 8,000 songs in his lifetime, and if so, he must have had a variety of circumstances at play that helped focus his energies. One of Gabriel’s publications was an autobiography entitled Sixty Years of Gospel Songs, so a bit of simple arithmetic suggests that Charles was composing an average of 133 new songs every year over that six-decade stretch. That means he was almost constantly thinking and composing, about every two or three days. This prodigious output, according to those who knew him, included focused thoughts for upcoming occasions or episodes that he’d already experienced. The words he used in ‘All Things…’ reiterate with each verse that a feast is set for consumption, and that it’s not an ordinary meal of which Charles was thinking. The ‘invitation’ for this special banquet was issued by God Himself, so one can envision Charles having heard a message from the pulpit, or perhaps expecting to hear one, based upon what Jesus had to say when he was a guest at someone’s house for a meal (Luke 14:15), or when he was teaching (Luke 13:29 or Matthew 8:11). ‘Come to this feast’, one can hear a minister plead, underscored with the four verses of song that Charles wrote to further coax those still hesitating. It’s not about food, but instead about being with God in the kingdom forever, about accepting the ‘everlasting life’ (v.4) that is available to all. That’s not something an ordinary human can offer another, just God. And, He and His Son and the Spirit need not offer other things along with it. Perhaps that’s what Charles understood intrinsically – being at God’s table is enough.

 

Charles Gabriel, like other hymnwriters of the time, used pseudonyms frequently when providing attribution for what they wanted to publish, especially if so many of a hymnal’s selections were from one author. For ‘All Things…’, Charles apparently used the fictitious name Charlotte G. Homer (in some songbooks). Be it Charlotte or Charles, the poet is just the deliverer of the offer God makes. God doesn’t need an alias, and none of us who are still around when He returns will mistake His identity. If you take the time to read about the end of time, it can be pretty terrifying. God will not be someone that you want to be your adversary. Make Him your advocate, instead. He’s doing the friendly approach now, by inviting you to come be at His table. You won’t want to hear the words ‘I never knew you’ (Matthew 7:23). Know Him, and He will reciprocate, like no one else is capable of doing.   

 

 

Here’s a link to the author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/g/a/b/r/gabriel_ch.htm

 

See more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Gabriel

 

See here for song’s verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/t/a/r/ataready.htm

Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary -- John M. Moore

 

This songwriter was prepared, or someone might actually say he was surprised, when the story of “Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary” is told. The Scottish minister John M. Moore responded to an urgent call one day in 1952 while going about his daily routine in Glasgow, and he did what ministers do when called to visit someone in the hospital. The young fellow whom he saw could not have been said to be in a foxhole, since he was in fact a seaman, but he nevertheless did what others in danger like that do: call for a man of God to help ‘lift the burden’, and bring some sense of peace and protection. John had a handy piece of literature (see a picture from it here) to give this seaman, probably a sign that he had some experience at this sort of ministering – you give the afflicted some really good, to-the-point advice that is written just for that specific circumstance. John must have felt a sense of accomplishment and confirmation, as he left that hospital, that he had done his duty well. Later that night, John’s hospital experience stayed with him, perhaps in a way that he could not have predicted.

 

The day’s events compelled John to write some song words to match the picture of what had happened. Part of their inspiration came from the tract he had probably carried in his bag for some time; it was one from Pilgrim’s Progress, and it had seemed very appropriate for the young seaman’s troubled spirit that day. The sick mariner nodded that he felt the weight of a burden on his back, but his facial expression when he prayed with John and sensed that the weight had been removed got John’s attention.  John just had to write what his mind would not allow him to forget. What he saw on the man’s face was a glow -- no more ‘sorrow and care’ (v.1), ‘worry and fear’ (v.2), or heartache and tear (v.3). John must have felt especially that ‘Jesus is very near’, because he wrote this concluding thought in every verse. Though John may have seen similar reactions from others from time-to-time, something special had occurred in that hospital room. Was it the depth of this merchant mariner’s conviction, as if his life was filled with more debauchery than the average person, that underscored the transformation of the man’s despair into peace? It was like a man walking out of the prison cell through the door opened at long last. How would you feel toward the person who put the key in the hole and turned it so the door unlatched and let you free? That’s kinda what John Moore saw happen that day in 1952.

 

John Moore was just 27 years old that day in 1952. Just a young pup in ministry was he, he might say, looking back on this episode. He went on to several other locations in a lifelong ministry that was ongoing still in 2013 (he was apparently still living, as of 2022, making him 97 years old, according to available sources). How many more times did John pull out that Pilgrim’s Progress that had proved so effective that day in a Glasgow hospital? What’s so great about this incident is not that it happened one time and created a special memory. No, it keeps going on, because the heart of the song’s message is still true. John just rediscovered that it was so in 1952.

   

   

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; and 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985.

 

Also see this link for a brief version of the author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/o/o/r/moore_jm.htm  

 

See link here to the key piece of information the author used in this story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress