Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Chorus
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

This is probably in the Top 5 of most recognized hymns, and is one that is still sung in many churches today.  I would have it on the list with Amazing Grace, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and a few others.  It was written by one of my favorite hymn writers – Fanny Crosby.  The hymn was written based upon the Scripture found in Hebrews 10:22 which says “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”  The phrase “full assurance” is found a couple of places in Paul’s writings.  According to the commentaries I looked it, it can mean “fullness” or “abundance” or “certainty” or “confidence.”  As Paul reminds us, we can have “full assurance”- a certain confidence and a “blessed assurance” – in Christ’s atonement and the salvation we have received.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Purchase of God” – As we approach the Christmas season, purchasing will be something we all do.  Maybe you were even one of the folks that stood in line at Walmart at 6:00 am after Thanksgiving.  When we purchase things that are going to be gifts for others, we tend to do a couple of things.  We want the item to be in a box or container that is not damaged (whether the contents are damaged or not).  We don’t want something that looks bad because it might reflect on us.  Another thing about our purchasing style is we typically want a good deal.  We want to get the most, but spend the least amount we can.  We tend to be frugal.  The phrase in this hymn, “purchase of God,” made me think about how God purchased us.  He purchased us while we were foolish, flawed, dirty, sinful, and broken.  He picked out the “packages” with dents and scars, bought those, and then really made “something beautiful out of our lives.”  He also paid for us with the costliest thing He had.  His only begotten Son.  The price for salvation wasn’t cheap.  What a difference in a purchasing mindset!  It is encouraging to know that I am a purchase of God, and I hope that encourages you too.

• “Perfect Submission” – When I hear the word “Submission,” I respond like many Christian men do, and think of the Scripture “Wives submit yourselves to your husbands…”  I tend to ignore the “husbands love your wives” that follows because that cuts too close to home.  However, there are several places in Paul’s letters where he talks about submission, and he is speaking to all believers.  Ephesians 5:21 says “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  In Romans 13, Paul talks about submitting to authorities.  These are some of those commands in Scripture where, I think, we have head knowledge of what is right and what we should do, but it goes against everything our heart wants to do.  We want to have it our way.  We want to do it our way.  We want to be in control.   However, there is a blessedness that comes from submitting ourselves (Not my will, but thine be done), and putting our lives under His direction and control.

As someone who has worked in both banking and insurance in my past, I am familiar with the word “Assurance” from a business point of view.  You will typically find the word “assurance” as it relates to either a life insurance policy/company, or a warranty on your car, your television, or your refrigerator.  The thing about a life insurance policy and/or a warranty is the fact that they are only as good as the company standing behind them.  GM provided warranties for their cars.  Unfortunately, GM was unable to stand behind those warranties on their own.  The insurance company, AIG, provided lots of written “assurance” to their policyholders, but the reality was they could not make good on their promises on their own either.  The US Government had to stand behind both of those companies because they could not make good on their own “assurances.”

However, as this hymn reminds us, we have a “Blessed Assurance.”  An assurance from God.  Yes, like life insurance policies and warranties, our “Blessed Assurance” was written on paper – as found in the promises of Scripture.  However, we don’t have to doubt whether or not God will make good on His promises.  As Numbers 23:19 reminds us “God is not a man that He should lie.”  No, His promises are sure, and you can have absolute confidence in them.

Finally, I want to leave you a few modified insurance company marketing slogans.  I hope they are reminders for you of God’s promises and His Blessed Assurance.

• “You’re in good hands with…God.”

• “Get a piece of the rock – The Solid Rock – Christ Jesus.”

• “Like a good neighbor – Jesus is there.”