Fanny J. Crosby wrote more than eight thousand songs during her life time.
Born in 1820 and raised in southeastern New York state, she was never afforded the privilege of seeing the sunrise or watching a bird fly through the air. Before she had even seen 6 months of life, she was blinded by a ‘medical procedure gone wrong.’ And yet as we read any one of her many hymns, you’ll find that she was constantly referring to seeing and viewing all things godly. Notice just a few of the thousands of hymns…
“Lo! A spring of joy I see…” (All the Way My Savior Leads Me)
“We shall see the King of glory…” (Keep on Watching)
“Where our eyes shall see the beauty…” (At the Breaking of the Day)
“Visions of rapture now burst on my sight…” (Blessed Assurance)
“Let me now Thy glory see…” (Hear My Call)
“Ope thine eyes, behold and see…” (Church of Christ, O Sleep No More)
For someone who never saw the colors of life, she looked beyond this world and viewed things with her heart. What has happened to those of us with strong eyesight? The blessing of opening our eyes and viewing the sunrise; the pleasure we find in reading the printed word. We are blessed with something those who are blind live without. And yet some of us, with 20/20 vision, deliberately close our eyes to the promise of God. It’s almost as if we are wondering in the wilderness. Each of us have suffered from the bite of the serpent, and yet we dig in and refuse to ‘look upon’ the one who can heal and forgive. It’s not a new scenario, and you’d think we’d learn from history. Remember God’s words to Moses in Numbers 21:8, “…and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.”
When I consider all the thousands of songs that our feature poet penned in her day, there is one particular Fanny J. Crosby song I want you to read, perhaps for the first time. It became known to me in the last seven or eight years and I was drawn to it by the title she had given it. Ms Crosby’s religious affiliations were varied throughout her life time. She worshiped with the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Trinity Episcopal church and even the Dutch Reform church. But with this smorgasbord of theology, she penned a most interesting hymn in 1905. Not only do the words reach and touch me, the message is so timely for us today. Follow along with the message and thought behind this 100 year old hymn.
Church of Christ, O Sleep No More
Church of Christ, thy Lord is calling;
Ope thine eyes, behold and see,
Precious souls, in chains of bondage,
Pleading now for aid from thee.
Up and work for those that perish,
Haste, the time will soon be o’er;
Fold thy arms of love around them,
Church of Christ, O sleep no more.
Lo, again thy Lord is calling;
Preach the Word, its truth proclaim;
Lift thy voice and, like a trumpet,
Sound aloud Jehovah’s Name.
Boding clouds are in the distance,
Billows foam, and surges roar,
Dark and wild the night is coming,
Church of Christ, O sleep no more.
Still again thy Lord is calling;
Take the lamp that once He gave;
Let its beams of peerless glory
Shine afar the lost to save.
Do His will and do it quickly,
For the time will soon be o’er;
He may come when least expected,
Church of Christ, O sleep no more.
Are we guilt of falling asleep on the job? This life is long and weary, and often times our pathway is a hard road and quite honestly…we’re tired. But this is no time to sleep! Church of Christ, we are called to bring the lost to Christ. We have an obligation to do more than just see those who in need; we must be ready to ‘fold our arms of love around them.’ Too often, I’m afraid, we revert back and say, ‘I’m just too busy’, or ‘My schedule is already so full.’ If you hold to that philosophy, I’m sorry to say, but you’re blind! Shine your light in a dark and dying world. Look up and see those who are in need. There are ‘boding clouds’ in the distance, and believe me, the ‘surges roar.’ But it ultimately comes down to you and how you view your life with Christ…”When you look around, what do YOU see?”