What English speaking Christian does not know the hymn,
"O happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God"?
It was written by a minister, Philip Doddridge. He was born in London, England, June 26, 1702, the youngest of a large family of twenty children. So small and weak was he at birth that the nurse thought he could not possibly live. She wrapped the wee baby in cotton and laid him in a little box.
But the Lord uses "the weak things of the world to confound the mighty," and little Philip was a chosen vessel for Himself. The child lived and grew into godly young manhood. When barely out of his teens he was known as a consistent Christian and able preacher of the Word. For the rest of his forty-nine years he served God both in his preaching and with his pen. He was a gifted hymn writer, having written in all 364 hymns for the use of God's people. Perhaps the best known is "O Happy Day," the new convert's outburst of joy in finding peace, rest, and full satisfaction in his Savior-God:
"O happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.
“'Tis done! The great transaction's done,
I am my Lord's and He is mine;
He drew me, and I followed on,
Glad to confess the Voice Divine.
“Now rest, my long-divided heart—
Fixed on that blissful Center, rest!
Nor ever from thy Lord depart,
With Him of every good possessed.”
In connection with this hymn we quote the following interesting narrative:
“It was prayer meeting night—a freezing, rainy, January night in 1898. In an old St. Louis church Dr. Mathews, the pastor, rose to dismiss the faithful group who had braved the weather to attend the service. But, with a heart for lost souls, he invited anyone who desired the prayers of Christians to go forward while a last hymn was being sung.
“A well-dressed, earnest-looking young lady came timidly forward and quietly knelt at a chair. Intense interest was manifested. Several prayers were offered in her behalf, and her own tears indicated great depth of seriousness and conviction of sin.
“At about ten o'clock some were on their knees in silent prayer for this exercised soul, when, without book or organ, others began to sing softly:
'O happy day, that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God.'
"Soon the entire audience was singing in sweet unity. When the stanza,
"Tis done, the great transaction's done,
I am my Lord's, and He is mine,'
was reached, the penitent woman still on her knees lifted her clasped hands in prayer, while her face was as radiant as if from the throne of God.”
One who was present that night said later, "To see this woman of culture and modesty rejoicing in the revelation of God's love was worth more than all the books written on the evidences of Christianity.”
But stop! Can you say, as Philip Doddridge wrote,
"'Tis done, the great transaction's done!
I am my Lord's and He is mine"?
If not, oh may you give yourself to Him now; let Him be your Savior. Then you can truly sing
"Happy day, happy day!
When Jesus washed my sins away!”