Music by W. H. Doane, 1869 (1832-1915)

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

weep o'er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Refrain

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Though they are slighting him, still he is waiting,

waiting the penitent child to receive;

plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently;

he will forgive if they only believe.

Refrain

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;

strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;

back to the narrow way patiently win them;

tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died.

Refrain

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

     In the summer of 1869, the blind hymnwriter Fanny Crosby visited a city mission in one of the worst slum districts of the Bowery in New York City. Here she heard about the needs of those who were dying without hope and without God in the world. Her sympathies were aroused, and she talked to a particular young man there. As a result, he accepted God. While she was riding home, the words of this hymn formed in her mind. Before she retired that evening, she had dictated them to a friend. The next morning she sent the text to her friend, William Doane, who composed this tune.

The following was penned by Fanny J. Crosby:

"As I was addressing a large company of working men one hot August evening, the thought kept forcing itself upon my mind that some mother’s boy must be rescued that very night or perhaps not at all. So I requested that, if there was any boy present, who had wandered away from mother’s teaching, he would come to the platform at the conclusion of the service. A young man of eighteen came forward and said, “Did you mean me? I have promised my mother to meet her in heaven; but as I am now living that will be impossible.” We prayed for him; he finally arose with a new light in his eyes; and exclaimed triumphantly, “Now, I can meet mother in heaven; for I have found her God.”

A few days before, Mr. Doane had sent me the subject “Rescue the Perishing,” and while I sat there that evening the line came to me, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.” I could think of nothing else that night. When I arrived at my home I went to work on it at once; and before I retired the entire hymn was ready for a melody. The next day my words were written and forwarded to Mr. Doane, who wrote the beautiful and touching music as it now stands.

In November, 1903, I went to Lynn, Massachusetts, to speak before the Young Men’s Christian Association. I told them the incident that led me to write “Rescue the Perishing," as I have just related it. After the meeting a large number of men shook hands with me, and among them was a man, who seemed to be deeply moved. You may imagine my surprise when he said, “Miss Crosby, I was the boy, who told you more than thirty-five years ago that I had wandered from my mother’s God. The evening that you spoke at the mission I sought and found peace, and I have tried to live a consistent Christian life ever since. If we never meet again on earth, we will meet up yonder.” As he said this, he raised my hand to his lips; and before I had recovered from my surprise he had gone; and remains to this day a nameless friend, who touched a deep chord of sympathy in my heart. It is these notes of sympathy that vibrate when a voice calls them forth from the dim memories of the past, and the music is celestial."