“I know that my Redeemer lives. What comfort this sweet sentence gives.”  (emphasis mine) The words are so familiar, the Easter message so full of joy, we can’t help but sing it with vigor and a heart filled with wonder.

But where did this great hymn come from?  The hymnal tells us it was composed by Samuel Medley in 1775.  That doesn’t really tell me much, except that it’s old.  So I set out exploring.  Who was this Samuel Medley and what prompted him to write this hymn that has lived through the ages?

Samuel Medley was brought up in Hertfordshire England in a very Christian household, but he himself was godless.  In his younger days he left home and joined the Royal Navy. While at sea, he was involved in a sharp fight in which a number of French vessels were destroyed.  Medley’s leg was badly wounded.  The surgeon declared that he would have to amputate the leg to save Medley’s life.  Despite his unbelief, that night Medley turned his face to the wall and prayed hard that the Lord would save his leg.  When the doctor visited the next day, he was amazed at the healing done in just twelve hours.  “You will not need to have it off!” 

After the battle, the fleet was ordered home.  Medley stayed in London with his grandfather, William Tonge, during his recovery.  It was Tonge’s custom to read religious material to him on the Lord’s Day.  The young man dreaded these times but was prudent enough to be respectful.  One day his grandfather read the sermon of Isaac Watts on Isaiah 42:6-7.  Initially indifferent, Medley experienced a spiritual awakening to these words.  He felt his guilt and appealed to God for mercy.  In this awakening, God had saved Medley for a life of preaching and hymn writing.  One of his callings was to work among the seamen at the port of Liverpool.  His non-traditional preaching and fervent faith gave him much success among these men.  His son would later say that the object of all his father’s labors was to humble the pride of fallen men, to exalt the grace of God, and to promote real holiness in heart and life.

And so, we are the benefactors of this magnificent hymn.  Oh the sweet joy and assurance!  Christ not only lives, but he reigns, he hears and he saves!

“Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives,
I know that my Redeemer lives!”

Judy