Rescue the Perishing / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 1:1-20:
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
The Calling of the First Disciples
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
My Understanding: This second stanza to this song begins by saying, “Though they are slighting him, still he is waiting.” I wanted to know the meaning of “slighting,” so I looked it up.
Slighting – “abusive; offensive; rude; impertinent; wounding; rejection; refusal; snubbing; insulting; scorning; affronting; disrespectful”; “to treat somebody rudely, e.g. by deliberately ignoring him or her; to think of or treat something as unimportant; an action that shows contempt for somebody or something” (Encarta Dictionary).
So this is saying that, even though the perishing are slighting Jesus, still he is waiting for them for them to repent, to turn from their sin, and to turn to Him in faith and obedience. He still cares about them. He still longs for them to receive Him as Lord and as Savior. And so he calls those of us who are His children to “rescue the perishing.” And, the remainder of the song and this passage of scripture describe for us how we are to rescue them.
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave – Jude 1:22-23: “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen – Ezek. 9:3b-4: “Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, ‘Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.’”
Plead with them earnestly; plead with them gently – II Co. 5:20-21: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Touched by a loving heart; wakened by kindness – Acts 26:16-18: “‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
Back to the narrow way patiently win them – Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
In the gospels we learn that John was a messenger sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord, i.e. to make a way for Jesus; to get things ready for him. His job was to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and to preach the nearness of the kingdom of God. He, as well, told of the coming of the Messiah - that he was one greater than John, and that he was the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit.
Then, when Jesus began his earthly ministry, he also began his preaching with a proclamation of the “Good News” – “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Then Jesus called his disciples. At least to some of them he said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” So, we have cycled back around. John prepared the way for Jesus, Jesus called us to follow him, he taught us how to be “fishers of men,” so we can prepare the way for Jesus’ second coming.
John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry. He did this by preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins and by telling people about the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The word “baptize” has several meanings, but I believe the main understanding of the word in this context has to do with it symbolizing death, burial and resurrection. Essentially, when we go under the waters of baptism, we are identifying with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection and we are making a public confession that we have chosen to die to our old way of life, to bury it, and to be raised to newness of life in Christ Jesus. So, baptism (the symbol of) and repentance are really very similar in meaning as both have to do with leaving the old life of the flesh behind us and being raised with Christ to a new life committed to obedience to him and to following him with our lives in all we do.
John’s baptism was a water baptism (outward), but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (inward). John’s served as a symbol of what was taking place inwardly when the people confessed their sins and they repented of them and were baptized. Yet, Jesus’ baptism was the regeneration of a heart which provided the means and the ability of one to die to his old self-life and to be resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ and to then have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling him - teaching, counseling, comforting, encouraging, exhorting, etc.
Essential to this new life in Jesus Christ is repentance – a deliberate change of mind and heart as evidenced by change of direction in thought and behavior. This cannot be left out of the gospel message. In love and kindness we are to go to the people to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they can receive forgiveness of sins. In pity, we are to snatch people from the fire of sin and the grave. Out of love and compassion we should weep and mourn over people’s sins. In a desire to lift up the fallen, we should implore people to be reconciled to God. And, it is imperative that we win people back to the road to heaven that is not the broad road that many people think it is, but to the narrow road that only a few find.
John prepared the way for Jesus by preaching repentance. Jesus then preached repentance. Jesus called his disciples to follow him and he told them he would make them “fishers of men,” i.e. that they, too, would preach repentance and the good news of the gospel and that they would snatch people from the fires of hell as a fisherman catches a fish.
When we care enough about people to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and we love them enough to snatch them from the fire and to implore them to be reconciled with God, and to let them know that the road to heaven is a narrow road, not the broad road that many travel, then we, like John, are preparing the way and are making a straight path for Jesus Christ, not for his first coming, but for him to return. May we be about the Father’s business of preparing the way for Jesus to return and by preaching the “good news” of the gospel and by calling people to repentance. This is how we can “rescue the perishing” and “care for the dying,” and because of our obedience in sharing the “good news”, those who are now “slighting him” can be brought back to Jesus.
James 5:19-20: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
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