The sweet peace of perfect assurance: On well-being in the hymns texts of Fanny Crosby

Abstract

Well-being is often described as a state of happiness or satisfaction with life, but it is so much more. The influence of religious involvement on a positive sense of well-being of the individual has been well documented. One aspect of religious involvement comprises the singing of hymns. Through the texts and the power of music, the well-being of the singer/believer can be positively influenced. Fanny Crosby (1820- 1915) wrote more than 8 000 hymn texts on various aspects of religious life such as assurance, salvation, redemption, worship and witness. Many of the hymns deal with the difficulties of everyday life, which is juxtaposed to the better life in the world to come. This paper is concerned with the portrayal of aspects of assurance in some of Fanny Crosby’s hymns texts. It is also shown how her hymns touch on aspects of well-being in the way that they stress the importance of having meaning in life and point towards the fact that the believer’s life can be worthwhile.