"Ever the silver cord be loosed…then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
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Words: Frances Jane (Fanny) Crosby, 1891.
Music: George Coles Stebbins, 1894
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The hymn…was called into being through…a sermon preached by Dr. Howard Crosby who was a distant relative and dear friend of mine. He said that no Christian should fear death, for if each of us was faithful to the grace given us by Christ, the same grace that teaches us how to live would also teach us how to die. His remarks were afterward published in a newspaper, and they were read to me by Mr. Biglow. Not many hours after I heard them I began to write the hymn.
Fanny Crosby, Memories of Eighty Years, 1906
However, these words almost didn't see light of day. They came to public notice by accident, during a conference Fanny attended at Northfield, Massachusetts. During the meeting, the great evangelist, Dwight Moody, asked if Fanny-like so many others-would give a personal testimony to the audience. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she almost declined, but finally got up to speak, and said:
There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul's poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.
You can't hide a light under a bowl!