Rescue the Perishing Lyrics Fanny J. Crosby, 1870
4 verses and a refrain, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. 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.
Verse 2. Tho’ 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.
Verse 3. Down in the human heart,
Crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried which grace can restore.
Touched by a loving heart,
Wakened by kindness,
Cords that were broken will vibrate once more.
Verse 4. 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 wand’rer a Savior has died.
Sing the refrain after every verse.
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1870, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Rescue the Perishing
Fanny Crosby wrote Rescue the Perishing, and William H. Doane wrote the tune, called RESCUE. Hymnary.org dates the text to 1869 and the first printing to 1870, in Doane's Songs of Devotion, published in New York by Biglow and Main. Doane and Crosby worked together on about 1,000 of her texts, and about thirty of his 2,200 tunes remain in use.
A 1993 hymnal companion tells the origin this way. Crosby spoke to men living in a New York City mission and invited anyone who had strayed from the faith of his upbringing to talk with her afterward. A young man came forward and doubted that his mother's heaven was open to someone who lived as he did. After prayer he accepted God's grace. That night Crosby wrote the text. The UM Discipleship article takes this account from the 1993 companion, so it is a later report and not a first-hand record.
Methodist hymnals have printed the hymn since 1882. In The United Methodist Hymnal it is number 591. When the hymnal revision committee considered the hymn, consultant S. Paul Scholling argued to keep it because it states the gospel duty to reach neighbors, which he found rare in gospel hymns. Hymnary.org counts 922 hymnals that print it.
Crosby also wrote temperance texts, and this hymn shares some of their tone. Its Scripture links include Luke 15 and Jude 22 and 23. Most printings of the tune use B flat major.
Fanny J. Crosby
1820-03-24 to 1915
Fanny Crosby was born in Southeast, Putnam County, New York, on March 24, 1820. She lost her sight at about six weeks old after an illness and poor medical treatment. She began writing Sunday school hymns for William B. Bradbury in 1864, and her first hymn appeared that year in The Golden Censer. On March 5, 1858, she married Alexander Van Alstyne, a blind musician she had met at the New York Institution for the Blind. Hymnary counts about eight thousand poems, including more than four thousand hymns for Biglow and Main, and she used nearly two hundred pen names. Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology gives her birth year as 1823, which differs from the other sources.
William H. Doane
1832-02-03 to 1915
William Howard Doane was born in Preston, Connecticut. He ran a large woodworking machinery plant in Cincinnati and led civic work there. He supported the evangelistic work of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey and helped endow Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He wrote more than 2,200 hymn and gospel song tunes and edited more than forty songbooks. His first Sunday school hymnbook, Sabbath Gems, appeared in 1861. He set many texts by Fanny J. Crosby, including To God Be the Glory.
- Hymnary.org, Rescue the Perishing , read 2026-10-16
- UM Discipleship, History of Hymns: Rescue the Perishing , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, RESCUE (Doane) , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Rescue the Perishing
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Luke 14:23
- Luke 19:10
- Jude 1:22-23
- Proverbs 11:30
- James 5:19-20
- Galatians 6:1
Rescue the Perishing videos
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Rescue The Perishing • Congregational Daniel Baptist, Congregation
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Rescue the Perishing - Congregational Hymn Temple Baptist Church, Congregation
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Rescue the Perishing Altar of Praise Chorale - Topic, Choir
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Rescue the Perishing Acapeldridge, A cappella
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Rescue the Perishing - piano instrumental hymn Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Rescue the Perishing Pleasant Hill Church of Christ, A cappella
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Print and project
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in B♭ or A♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Rescue the Perishing?
Fanny Crosby wrote the words and William H. Doane wrote the tune. Hymnary.org lists the first printing as Songs of Devotion in 1870.
What is the story behind Rescue the Perishing?
A hymnal companion says Crosby wrote it after a young man at a New York mission doubted that his mother's heaven was open to him. The account is a later report and not a first-hand record.
What does Rescue the Perishing mean?
The hymn calls Christians to go after people who are lost and bring them to Christ. A United Methodist hymnal committee consultant said it states the gospel duty to minister to neighbors.
Is Rescue the Perishing in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Crosby wrote them in 1869 and Doane first printed them in 1870.
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