June 6
SAVED BY GRACE
Fanny J. Crosby, 1820–1915
And I—in righteousness I will see Your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness. (Psalm 17:15)
I am living for the moment when my Savior’s face I see—
Oh, the thrill of that first meeting, when His glory shines on me!
When His voice like sweetest music falls upon my waiting ear,
And my name, amid the millions, from His precious lips I hear.
—Avis B. Christiansen
The anticipation of seeing her Savior’s face and praising Him for redeeming grace was a thrilling thought for blind Fanny Crosby to ponder, for the face of Christ as He opened the gate to heaven would be the first sight her eyes would ever behold. Written in 1891 when she was 71 years of age, “Some Day,” as Fanny titled the text, was prompted by the final words of a dying pastor friend: “If each of us is faithful to the grace, which is given us by Christ, that same grace which teaches us how to live will also teach us how to die.” Deeply moved by this thought, Fanny completed the lines in a matter of minutes under a sense of “divine inspiration.” Of all her many hymn texts, this one always seemed to be her favorite. She called it her “heart-song.” “Saved by Grace” was one of the favorite hymns of both D. L. Moody and his music associate, Ira Sankey. In their later campaigns, they used it at nearly every service.
As Ira Sankey lay dying, it is reported that he drifted into a final coma as he softly sang:
Some day the silver chord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but O the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King!
Some day my earthly house will fall—I cannot tell how soon ’twill be; but this I know—my All in All has now a place in heav’n for me.
Some day, when fades the golden sun beneath the rosy-tinted west, my blessed Lord will say, “Well done!” and I shall enter into rest.
Some day—till then I’ll watch and wait, my lamp all trimmed and burning bright, that when my Savior opens the gate, my soul to Him may take its flight.
Chorus: And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story—Saved by grace; and I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story—Saved by grace.
For Today: Acts 15:11; Ephesians 1:6, 7; 2:8; 1 Peter 1:3, 4
Take time to anticipate the moment when you, like Fanny Crosby, will see the face of Christ. Praise Him even now because you have been saved by His redeeming grace. Allow this musical truth to encourage your way and perhaps even share it with another
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace : 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1990). 173.
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