Published: May 01, 2008 09:24 am            

Hymns: Rescue The Perishing

Frances Jane Crosby was born March 24, 1820 in Putnam County, N.Y., to John and Mercy Crosby. When she was only 6 weeks old she caught a cold and through a tragic error by her doctor, she was blinded for life.

The doctor ordered mustard poultices applied to her forehead. Although the mother objected, she was assured by the doctor that this was necessary for her to be healed.

The mother consented and the rest is history. Frances was nicknamed "Fanny" as a child and she carried this nickname until she died. Her father died when she was only 1 year old. She was raised by her mother and grandmother, who were devout Christians.

She was taught the Bible her entire childhood. Fanny was probably the most prolific hymnist in history. She wrote over 8,000 poems and hymns and never seemed discouraged by her blindness.

She felt like this was God's will for her to be blind. When asked about her blindness this is what she said: "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

Fanny was always witnessing about Christ to anyone who would listen. She tried every week to visit the Bowery Mission in New York City, to witness to the lost and homeless.

One night at the Bowery she wrote the hymn "Rescue The Perishing," following an experience that she had. This is her account of that experience.

"I usually tried to get to the mission at least one night a week to talk to 'my boys.' I was addressing a large company of working men one hot summer evening, when the thought kept forcing itself on my mind that some mother's boy must be rescued that night or he might be eternally lost. So, I made a pressing plea that if there was a boy present who had wandered from his mother's home and teachings he should come to me at the end of the service. A young man of 18 came forward and said, "Did you mean me, Miss Crosby? I promised my mother to meet her in heaven, but as I am now living that will be impossible." We prayed for him and suddenly he arose with a new light in his eyes. "Now I am ready to meet my mother in heaven for I have found God."

"A few days before, a good friend of mine, William Doane, who had written music for several of my hymns, had sent me a tune that he had written, and asked me to put the lyrics to it. He named the tune, 'Rescue the Perishing' based on Luke 14:23. While I sat in the mission that evening this line came to me, 'Rescue the perishing; Care for the dying'. That night I went home and could think of nothing else but those words. I picked up my pen and immediately began writing down the words as they came to me. I finished the song before going to bed. The song was first published in 1870 in William Doane's hymnal, Songs of Devotion."

William H. Doane was born Feb. 3, 1832. He developed his musical talents at a very early age and was destined to compose many great hymn tunes. He helped direct music while attending the Woodstock Academy. Within two years of graduating from Woodstock he had published his first composition.

Although he called music his "Avocation," he composed over 2,000 hymn tunes in his lifetime. However, his main trade was secular, he was president of the J.A. Fay Woodworking Machinery Company, and was an extremely successful businessman.

He also served as Sunday school superintendent and choir director at the Mount Auburn Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and donated large sums of money to charities of his choice. The Doane Memorial Music Building in Chicago, Ill., was named after him.



Stories Behind the Hymns is written by Warren Shiver of Biscoe. If you have questions or comments, he can be reached by e-mail at wshiver99@embarqmail.com or by snail mail at P.O. Box 775, Biscoe, NC 27209.

        

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