I Surrender All Lyris, Story, and Video – Lyrics, Videos and Stories Behind Hymns

I Surrender All Lyrics

Author: Judson W. Van De Venter (1896)

1 All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

2 All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine. [Refrain]

3 All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me. [Refrain]

I Surrender All Hymn Story

“I Surrender All” is a hymn that was written by Judson W Van DeVenter in 1896.

Judson W. Van DeVenter was born on 15th December 1855 in Michigan. He received his education at country and village schools, and Hillsdale College.

He is reported to have written about a hundred songs but the first to become popular was “I Surrender All”. This was later followed by “Looking This Way” which was a favorite of the famous Christian musician of his day Ira D Sankey.

Below is a quotation that shows how “I surrender All” hymn composition came about:

The song was written while I was conducting a meeting at East Palestine, Ohio, and in the home of George Sebring (founder of the Sebring Campmeeting-Bible Conference in Sebring, Ohio, and later developer of the town of Sebring, Florida). For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.”

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