Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

 

"One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him.
"Are You not the Christ? he said.  Save Yourself and us!"*

But the other one rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God,
since you are under the same judgment?  We are punished justly, for we
are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!"

And Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

(Luke 23: 39-43 

Christ On The Cross Between Two Thieves

(1619-1620)

Peter Paul Rubens

(1577-1640)
Flemish painter

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

Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou are 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.

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

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

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

Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav'n but Thee?

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

"Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior"
(1868)
Frances Jane "Fanny" Crosby
(1820-1915)
Prolific American hymn writer

The Story Behind The Song

When she was only six weeks old,  Frances Jane van Alstyne Crosby
caught a cold and developed an inflammation of the eyes. A doctor
treated her with poultices made with mustard which was believed
to have caused irreparable damage to her optic nerves and
causing her to lose her sight, although modern physicians
claim her blindness may have been a congenital defect.

Despite her blindness, Fanny was to become one of the greatest
Christian hymn writers in the world.  Evangelistic singing was her
mission and her hymns were always much in request, even inside
a state prison, which became the inspiration for this song.

As she stood before the crowd of incarcerated men, Fanny claims
that her own blindness gave her the power to witness, as one prisoner,
and then another, would interrupt her, calling out piteously 
for the Lord Jesus "not to pass me by."

Fanny was so moved by these desperately broken men that 
 she could not forget them.  Later, when she composed the lyrics
for "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior" she said, "I wrote the
lines with the men's pleading wail still in my ears."

The Message Of The Two Thieves

*The first thief who challenged Jesus to "Save Yourself and us!"
represents the world's view of unbelief in and rejection of Him
and the finished work of the Cross for salvation.

The second thief represents the heart of a repentant sinner,
guilty as charged, and yet redeemed, through God's amazing grace,
unmerited favor bestowed, by the precious shed blood of His Son,
 our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary.