Hymns from the Bowery Mission
Fanny Crosby was a friend and devoted worker at the Bowery Mission for several years and many of her hymns were inspired by experiences at this center of aggressive evangelism. Few hymns by any writer show deeper sympathetic insight than “Rescue the Perishing,” especially the lines:
“Down in the human heart,
Crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore:
Touched by a loving heart,
Wakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.”
The circumstances under which this hymn was written are worth recounting in her own words:
“I recall the period of more than sixteen years ago when it was my privilege to be a humble worker in the Bowery Mission. The world is still, and I am holding communion with the past; sweet, hallowed communion, carrying me back to the fervent heartfelt testimonies of those who, evening after evening, told of the peace flowing like a river which had entered their stained lives, had washed away their sins, and made them clean through the precious blood of our Lord’s atonement.
“One evening a man for whom we had been praying, said, his face radiant with joy, ‘Now I can meet mother in heaven, for I have found her God.’ That night I wrote my hymn, ‘Rescue the Perishing.’”
Here is a remarkable case of one who, while