Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior is a hymn of prayer by Fanny Crosby, written in 1868 after she heard a prisoner cry out, Good Lord, do not pass me by, during a service at a New York prison. William H. Doane wrote the tune. It is the prayer of someone who feels unworthy but dares to ask for mercy, like blind Bartimaeus calling to Jesus as He passed through Jericho: Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Its last verse borrows Psalm 73: Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heaven but Thee?
In the spring of 1868 Fanny Crosby went to speak at a prison in Manhattan. After the service, as she later told it, she heard one of the men call out, Good Lord, do not pass me by. The words stayed with her, and that evening she wrote them into a hymn. Two years later William Doane set it to music, and in the 1870s Ira Sankey sang it in D. L. Moody's meetings in Britain, where it became one of the most requested songs. It has been loved ever since by people who feel overlooked, ashamed or far from God, because it gives them words to ask Jesus not to pass them by. Below are the four verses and refrain as printed in 1894, followed by 12 KJV passages that show Jesus stopping for people who called out to Him.
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour: the words
Verse 1
Pass me not, O gentle Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art smiling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Saviour, Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Verse 2
Let me at a throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief.
Refrain:
Saviour, Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Verse 3
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Refrain:
Saviour, Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Verse 4
Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heaven but Thee?
Refrain:
Saviour, Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Words: Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915), written in 1868; music: William H. Doane (1870), first published in Songs of Devotion (1870). Text copied from Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 Complete (New York and Chicago, 1894), hymn 585, checked against Brightest and Best (Lowry and Doane, 1875), hymn 33 (Internet Archive scan). That 1894 printing has smiling in verse 1 and calling in the refrain; Brightest and Best, which prints verses 1-3 only, has calling in both places, as many hymnals do. Public domain.
Hear my humble cry: Jesus stops for those who call
1. Mark 10:46-47
"And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me."
The hymn could have been written for blind Bartimaeus. Mark says that as Jesus left Jericho, blind Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. The crowd told him to be quiet, but he cried all the more. Jesus stood still and called him. Fanny Crosby, herself blind, knew what it was to sit by the road while life passed by. Her hymn is Bartimaeus's prayer: do not pass me by. And like him, those who pray it find that Jesus stops.
2. Luke 19:5
"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house."
Zacchaeus was a rich tax collector, despised by his neighbors, who climbed a tree to see Jesus pass. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. Out of the whole crowd, Jesus stopped for the one person everyone else had written off. He called him by name. The hymn's fear is that Jesus might smile on others and pass me by. The story of Zacchaeus answers that fear. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10), and He knows where the lost are.
3. Psalms 27:7
"Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me."
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. The hymn's opening request, Hear my humble cry, has been prayed by God's people for thousands of years. David wrote Psalm 27 as a man of confident faith, The LORD is my light and my salvation, yet in the middle of it he still cries out for mercy. Confidence and humble asking belong together. Crosby's hymn is not the prayer of an unbeliever only. Mature Christians pray it too, because none of us ever outgrows the need for God's mercy. See our Bible verses about crying out to God.
4. Matthew 15:27
"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
A Canaanite woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter. At first He did not answer, and the disciples wanted to send her away. When Jesus said the children's bread was not for dogs, she replied, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Jesus praised her great faith and healed her daughter that hour. She is the picture of the hymn's petitioner: an outsider who will not be put off, who admits she deserves nothing, and asks anyway. Humble persistence is not rudeness to God. It is faith refusing to believe that He will pass by.
At a throne of mercy: contrition and a sweet relief
5. Hebrews 4:16
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
The second verse asks, Let me at a throne of mercy find a sweet relief. Hebrews invites us: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Because Jesus is our high priest who was tempted as we are, the throne of the universe has become a throne of grace for those who come through Him. Boldly does not mean proudly. It means freely, without fear of being turned away. Crosby's sweet relief is the comfort of coming to God and finding Him ready to help. See our Bible verses about prayer.
6. Mark 9:24
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. Crosby quotes the father who brought his tormented son to Jesus. When Jesus said, all things are possible to him that believeth, straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. It may be the most honest prayer in the Bible. The man had some faith and some doubt, and he brought both to Jesus. Jesus did not send him away to come back when his faith was stronger. He healed the boy. Weak faith in a strong Saviour is enough to begin.
7. Psalms 51:17
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Deep contrition means a heart crushed by sorrow for sin. David, after his great sin, wrote: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. God does not ask the sinner to clean himself up first. The sacrifice He wants is the broken heart itself. That is why the hymn's third verse prays, Heal my wounded, broken spirit. The brokenness that God accepts is the brokenness He heals. The prisoner who cried Good Lord, do not pass me by was offering exactly this sacrifice. See our page on Psalm 51.
8. Psalms 147:3
"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147 sets this tender verse next to one about God counting the stars and calling them all by name (Psalm 147:4). The God who governs the galaxies stoops to bandage a wounded heart. Crosby's line Heal my wounded, broken spirit trusts that kind of God. Many who sing this hymn carry wounds that others cannot see: guilt, grief, rejection or shame. The psalm promises that God does not pass by wounded people. He binds up wounds, as a doctor does, and He heals.
Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Grace alone
9. Psalms 73:25-26
"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."
The last verse ends with two questions from Psalm 73: Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. Asaph wrote this psalm after nearly losing his faith when he saw the wicked prosper. In God's presence he realized that God Himself was his true treasure: God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Crosby, who lost her sight, her only child and much else, found the same portion. The hymn that begins with a fearful plea ends with settled love. Thou the Spring of all my comfort, more than life to me.
10. Titus 3:5
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
The third verse says, Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face; save me by Thy grace. Paul states the same truth plainly: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Merit means deserving. The sinner has no merit to bring, only Christ's. Salvation is by mercy and grace, not by our record. That is why the hymn is a prayer and not a bargain. We ask, Pass me not, because we have nothing to offer except our need. See our Bible verses about mercy.
11. Psalms 36:9
"For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light."
Crosby calls Christ the Spring of all my comfort. The psalmist says to God, For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. For a blind poet, that second line must have meant a great deal. She often said that she would not have chosen to be given her sight, because the first face she would see would be her Saviour's. The fountain of life and the light of God are found in Him. Every other comfort is a stream; He is the spring they come from. To have Him is to have the source of every good thing.
12. 2 Corinthians 1:3
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;"
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Paul wrote this after trouble so heavy he despaired of life (2 Corinthians 1:8). He calls God the Father of mercies, the One from whom every mercy is born, and the God of all comfort, not some comfort. Paul then says God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Fanny Crosby's hymn, born from one prisoner's cry, has comforted millions. The mercy she asked for in the prison chapel has been passed on through every voice that has sung it since.
A short prayer
Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. Like Bartimaeus by the road, I ask You for mercy, and like the father who brought his son, I say, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. I have no merit of my own, so I trust only in Yours. Heal my wounded, broken spirit and save me by Your grace. You are the spring of all my comfort and more than life to me. Whom have I in heaven but You? There is none on earth I desire beside You. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Get the 30-Day Prayer Journal · Print the free prayer journal pages · Memorize Psalm 73:25-26 with Scripture memory cards
Frequently asked questions
What inspired Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior?
In 1868 Fanny Crosby spoke at a prison in Manhattan. She later said she heard a prisoner cry out, Good Lord, do not pass me by, and that she wrote the hymn that evening. William H. Doane composed the tune, and it was published in Songs of Devotion in 1870.
What Bible story is Pass Me Not based on?
It fits several Gospel stories of people who called out as Jesus passed by, especially blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 and the blind men in Matthew 20:30-34, who cried Have mercy on us. Its lines also quote Mark 9:24 (help my unbelief) and Psalm 73:25 (Whom have I in heaven but thee?).
Is it smiling or calling in Pass Me Not?
Both are printed. Gospel Hymns (1894) has While on others Thou art smiling in the first verse and While on others Thou art calling in the refrain. Many later hymnals use calling in both places. The meaning is the same: a request that Jesus would not overlook the one who prays.
Is Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior in the public domain?
Yes. The words by Fanny Crosby (1868) and the tune by William H. Doane (1870) are in the public domain in the United States. Modern gospel arrangements may have their own copyright, but the original hymn may be printed and sung freely.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Blessed Assurance · Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross · Just As I Am · I Need Thee Every Hour · What a Friend We Have in Jesus · Mercy · Crying Out to God · Prayer
Explore more: All Bible verses by topic · KJV Bible verses · Verse of the day · Prayers · Bible study · Bible reading plans
