Rescue The Perishing

 Rescue The Perishing

There is an old gospel song entitled “Rescue the Perishing. You may remember singing it in church. But sadly, It isn’t sung anymore in our modern church worship styles, although it was once a popular revival standard. It was written by Fanny Crosby in 1869.

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!

Those are very precious words aren’t they, especially when you pause to consider that without Jesus, we are all doomed to Perish! Thankfully, Jesus came into this world to literally rescue the perishing! 

What does it mean to Perish? The word perish means to endure tremendous ruin and utter destruction or death.

I was once shopping in the vegetable section of the grocery, when I observed a sign hanging over the lettuces and tomatoes. It said “Perishable Goods.” 

I thought about that sign, and quickly realized that the items on display only had a minimal shelf life and had to be purchased by a certain time, before they would be thrown out as perished items. 

Those thoughts about “Perishable goods and a shelf life” made me think about life for people here in this world. We all have a sort of “shelf life” in this world. Our lives are all too short relatively speaking and then like a vapor that fadeth away, we too expire. 

Significantly more important than the fact that life in this world is temporary and brief, is the fact that we are born into this world as “Perishable Creatures.” 

I hate the whole idea of having a Perishing nature. Nobody wants to Perish! Surely to goodness if there is a God of Love; he has provided a stopgap measure against his creatures having to Perish! The Good News is: He has! 

The most noted scriptures in Gods Word offers everyone a promise of a Rescue from Perishing!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not PERISH, but have everlasting life. 

John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

So when I hear that old glorious gospel song, “Rescue the Perishing,” I think about how much God loves me, and sent Jesus to not only rescue me from perishing; but also to grant me the hope of Eternal Life! 

Yes: Jesus is Merciful, Jesus will Save!

by: Darrell G. Young

December 2020