History

Fanny Crosby is known as a prolific hymn writer who contributed some 8,500 hymns in her time. Though her time as a hymn-writer is certainly of note, we should be careful not to overlook her deep care for humanitarian causes.

She was blinded by a medical mishap when she was only six weeks old. This led to a life fighting for the rights of the blind, helping to ensure acceptance and accessibility, even appearing before congress to plead her cause. She frequented city rescue missions in order to teach, sing over, and serve the hungry and needy in her community. She often visited prisons, praying over the inmates and singing hymns of the faith for them.

It is stories like these led to the legends surrounding the origins of “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior.” Though history has clouded the facts that we may be certain of, many inspiring stories have emerged about this hymn. The prevailing story describes her visit to a prison in Manhattan in the spring of 1868, as was her custom. She had taught repentance and the gospel to the prisoners, and introduced some of her hope-filled hymns. At the close of her time, one prisoner shouted in a pleading voice, “Good Lord, do not pass me by!” The prisoner’s prayer stuck with Crosby, and she returned home ready to compose this hymn inspired by her experience.

Others suggest the hymn was simply an outpouring of her frequent visits to city rescue missions to serve the less fortunate. She wrote two autobiographies later in life, both of which mention the writing of this hymn, though neither includes a specific incident or story. Rather, they both simply mention that William H. Doane suggested the subject to her. Doane became a frequent collaborator of Crosby’s, writing much of the music that accompanied her hymns, including this very hymn. She likely drew biblical inspiration from the blind beggars who cried out to Christ for salvation in Luke 18.

Some have criticized the hymn for a perceived lack of theological precision, claiming the absurdity of the idea that Christ could pass some by. Though there are certainly differing theological viewpoints regarding salvation, the perspective of the hymn takes on the persona of the lowly and discarded of society. Imagine a person who has been uniformly rejected by all who then encounters Christ. It’s easy to imagine that person crying out for Christ to not pass them by, as the rest of society seems to have forgotten them.

Devotion

At its core, this hymn describes the tension of faith really well. In some ways, the words highlight the inherent illogical inequity of the gospel. How is the gospel unjust, you might ask? First, allow me to clarify that God is the source of immeasurable mercy and unalienable justice. That is the proper context for God’s character that must be understood and accepted. But when you think about the gospel from a pure, objective stance, how does it make sense for a perfect Savior in Christ to sacrifice Himself for lowly sinners such as us? That’s the illogical nature of the gospel. That’s the inequity—that the just died for the unjust. The spot‐ less died for the stained.

It can be hard for us to wrestle with that truth, because, in our core, we know we don’t deserve this grace. But the gospel compels us to trust only in His merit, not our own. That’s hard for us to reason through. We often want to add to the grace that God pours out on us. It doesn’t seem like enough.

Have you ever felt that fear that Jesus might pass you by? Fanny includes a poignant reference to Mark chapter 9 in the second stanza: “Help my unbelief.” In that passage, we see a man bring his son to Jesus to be healed from a demon. The man asks Jesus to help, if He can, to which Jesus replies, “All things are possible for one who believes.” The father replied, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

What a stark description of how faith works sometimes! We believe, but we need constant reminders and refreshing about the depths of God’s mercy. This is what sanctification is all about. Sanctifi‐ cation is the ongoing work of Jesus in making us more like Him. This is a lifelong journey of purification that the Holy Spirit works in us, through the door that Christ opened for us with His death, burial, and resurrection.

We grow in our walk with Jesus when we can humbly approach the throne and ask God for His continued grace and favor. Part of sanctification and growth is the brokenness over sin—continuing reminders of how far we need to go to be more like Jesus. But the beautiful truth of the gospel and grace of God is that He heals our broken spirit. When we approach Christ and find ourselves broken over our own sin and shame, He is the God who restores. He is the spring of comfort, the life-giving source of mercy and grace for us. The incredible culmination of reminders like this is that even in our brokenness, He will not pass us by when we cry out to Him.

Related Scripture

Mark 9:17-27; Luke 18:35-43

Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior lyrics

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Refrain
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief.

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

Thou the spring of all my comfort, More than life to me;
Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heaven but Thee?

Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior Lyric Video

What to know about [hymn]:

• Who wrote “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”?

  • Fanny Crosby wrote this hymn after visiting a prison in 1868

• When was “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior” written?

  • “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior” was written by Fanny Crosby in 1868

• What is “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior” about?

  • Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior imagines the persona of a marginalized soul crying out to God for salvation, begging to not be passed over.