I Surrender All

I Surrender All

Young Judson was about as talented as they come. It seemed that he could excel at just about anything that he set his mind to do.

He was a gifted musician and singer and he had enough talent to make a name for himself in the world of art. Judson, however, was a devout Christian. He was feeling the call to serve God as an evangelist.

He worked as an art teacher in the Sharon, Pennsylvania public schools and he wavered on his commitment to preach. For five years he tried to feed both desires until a life-altering decision was made at the Ohio home of George Sebring during a local revival. In Judson’s Van Deventer’s own words:

“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.”

As a response to his decision, Judson was inspired to write a poem. The words tell the story of his decision to serve Jesus above all else. Those lines became the lyrics to great hymn, “I Surrender All.” The song contains the word “surrender” 30 times and the word “all” occurs 43 times. It has been a revival classic ever since the day it was written and untold thousands have walked to the altar singing the tune of Judson’s hymn of surrender.

I SURRENDER ALL:

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.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at his feet I bow,

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

(Refrain)

All to Jesus I surrender;

Make me, Savior, wholly thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that thou art mine.

(Refrain)

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)

All to Jesus I surrender;

Now I feel the sacred flame.

Oh, the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory, to his name!

(Refrain)