I Know That My Redeemer Lives -- Jessie Brown Pounds

She was 32 when she wrote the words, probably leaning on earlier versions from Charles Wesley and Samuel Medley in the 18^th Century, and H.A. Merrill’s version just 14 years earlier than her own in 1879. Perhaps Jessie Brown Pounds’ own version spurred another by Frederick Fillmore, the brother of her musical collaborator James Fillmore, in 1917. So, with no less than five versions of “I Know That My Redeemer Lives (or Liveth)”, one might understandably be confused by which one is which. Or, maybe another way to look at this bit of hymnody is that the original words by an ancient writer (Job 19:25) have proved so meaningful as to spark these many iterations of his thoughts. Was it a cry of anguish that also compelled Jessie in 1893 to take up her pen, to echo what Job was experiencing? The angst-ridden experience of someone like Job rings true for so many people, yet how often from the depths of despair do you and I call out with an exclamation of faith the way Job did? Perhaps its rare quality is what has captured the attention of writers across three centuries (18^th, 19^th, and 20^th).

Jessie was born, died, and is buried in Hiram, Ohio (see map here, showing its location in Portage County, in the northeastern corner of the state), where she may have spent much of her life, including potentially where she was when she wrote ‘I Know That My Redeemer Lives’. Small-town America is what Hiram appears to be; additionally, it is the home of a small liberal arts college and President James Garfield who lived contemporaneously with Jessie Pounds. The size of Hiram (just 144 people in 1880) and the president’s religious faith (he was a member of the Church of Christ) are probably two reasons why Jessie’s parents and their family were apparently friends of Garfield, prior to his unfortunate assassination in the summer of 1881. That event, when Jessie would have been 20, must have been as shocking to her as it was to other Americans. Jessie’s poor health as a child undoubtedly helped shape her early life also; she reportedly was educated at home from an early age because of her health, perhaps helping to explain how she began to write and submit poetry to Cleveland newspapers and other publications by age 15. While we know not what motivated Jessie to pen the words about her certainty regarding the Savior’s risen state, we can imagine that this was a theme consistently on the minds of Christian believers and something she and others would have heard in countless sermons during a church’s worship life. Was it a sermon on Job that actually spurred Jessie’s endeavor? The trials such as Job experienced, and the eventual victorious outcome of mortal existence were no less meaningful then as they are today. Perhaps Jessie and others of the church had sung on occasions the three other versions of “I Know…” that existed at the time, thus planting a seed of creativity that this young poetess was coaxed to bring to new fruition. We’ll learn more someday, won’t we?

If Job was part of the inspiration for Jessie Pounds’ verses, one wonders if she was uttering something from a deep emotional hole like him. Take a moment, and read Job 19. It’s not pretty. Job’s ‘woe is me’ self-pity is not something anyone would expect to nourish a healthy faith. And yet, maybe his spleen-venting episode is instructive for those of us who cross our arms and think we can judge someone else’s burst of anger in the midst of turmoil. Even after Job’s tirade, he’s still able to utter the song’s title words. Do you suppose that’s one reason why God remained tuned in to Job’s frequency? It’s OK to be angry at the stuff that torments me at times. Jessie and her contemporaries had their moments, too. I can complain with a shout, as long as the life of Him within me emerges, too. In fact, that’s just human nature and the God nature coexisting. He was like that once too, wasn’t He?    

Here's a link to the Pounds’ version of the hymn: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/k/n/o/iknowtmr.htm

Some biographic information on the poetess-author: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/o/u/pounds_jb.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Brown_Pounds

The author’s home is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram,_Ohio