Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling is an invitation hymn written in 1880 by Will L. Thompson, a songwriter from East Liverpool, Ohio. It pictures Jesus waiting and watching on the porch, the portals of the old hymn, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, and calling every weary sinner to come home. Its refrain, Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home, echoes Jesus' own invitation: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
Will Thompson was a successful writer of popular songs before he turned his gift to gospel hymns, and he ran a music business in his hometown on the Ohio River. Softly and Tenderly is his best-known work. It became a favorite closing hymn at revival meetings and evangelistic services, sung while people came forward to respond to the gospel. A well-known story says that when the evangelist D. L. Moody lay dying in 1899, Thompson visited him, and Moody told him he would rather have written Softly and Tenderly than anything he had accomplished in his life. Whether or not every word of the story is exact, the hymn has carried Moody's message for more than a century: God is calling, the time is short, and the door is open. Below are the words as printed in 1894, and 12 KJV passages behind them.
Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling: the words
Verse 1
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He's waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Verse 2
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?
Refrain:
Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Verse 3
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Verse 4
Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me;
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Words and music: Will L. Thompson (1847-1909) of East Liverpool, Ohio, first published in 1880. Text copied from Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 Complete (New York and Chicago, 1894), hymn 324 (Internet Archive scan); words broken across lines there (mercies, coming, pardon) are joined. Public domain.
Calling for you and for me: the invitation
1. Matthew 11:28
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
The refrain, Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home, is the hymn's version of Jesus' great invitation: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus does not call the strong, the successful or the already religious first. He calls the weary and the burdened. The invitation is personal, come unto me, and the promise is rest. Thompson's hymn keeps repeating for you and for me because the invitation includes the singer as well as the listener. No one is too tired or too far gone to come. See our page on Matthew 11:28-30.
2. Luke 15:20
"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."
See, on the portals He's waiting and watching. The picture comes from Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. The son had wasted everything and was coming home to beg for a servant's job. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The father saw him a great way off because he had been watching the road. Portals is an old word for doors or a porch. Thompson's Jesus stands there, looking down the road for every wanderer. See our Bible verses about the prodigal son.
3. Revelation 22:17
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
The last invitation in the Bible sounds like this hymn: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. The Spirit calls, the church calls, and everyone who has heard is told to call others. The offer is free and open to whosoever will. Softly and Tenderly was written to be sung as part of that call, at the end of a sermon, when the congregation joins the Spirit in saying Come. The water of life costs nothing to the one who comes.
4. John 6:37
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
Many who hear Jesus calling are afraid that if they come, they will be turned away. Jesus answers that fear directly: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. In no wise means in no way, never. The Greek uses a double negative for emphasis. The hymn calls Jesus' voice soft and tender, not harsh, because He is not looking for reasons to reject anyone. Whoever comes to Him, however late, however broken, will be received. That promise is the reason the invitation can be so gentle and so urgent at the same time.
Why should we tarry? Time is now fleeting
5. 2 Corinthians 6:2
"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading? Paul answers with a word about timing: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. He quotes Isaiah 49:8 and then insists that the day Isaiah foresaw has arrived. To tarry means to delay. The danger in Thompson's second verse is not open rejection but simply putting off a decision. Many people intend to come to Christ someday. The hymn, like Paul, says that someday is now. The pleading of Jesus is an act of mercy, but it is not meant to be ignored forever.
6. Hebrews 3:15
"While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95 and applies it to his readers. The Israelites in the wilderness heard God's voice again and again and kept refusing until their hearts became hard. Each time we hear the gospel and set it aside, it becomes easier to set it aside again. That is why the hymn asks, Why should we linger and heed not His mercies? The softness of Jesus' call is not weakness. It is patience, and patience should lead us to repentance, not to delay.
7. Isaiah 55:6
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:"
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Isaiah 55 is one of the Old Testament's great invitations, beginning Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. This verse adds urgency: there is a time when the LORD may be found and is near. The gospel is preached, Christ is calling, and the heart is stirred. Those moments are gifts. Thompson's hymn was written to be sung in exactly such a moment, when a person hears the call and must decide whether to answer while He is near.
8. James 4:14
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing. James asks, For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. A vapor is breath on a cold morning, visible for a moment and then gone. The third verse of the hymn speaks plainly about death, shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming, not to frighten but to wake us up. Every life is short, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. The wise response is not panic but coming home to God today. See our Bible verses about time.
Mercy and pardon: the wonderful love He has promised
9. 1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The last verse promises, Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me. John writes: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Forgiveness is not a reward for doing better. It is promised to those who confess, who agree with God about their sin and bring it to Him. God is faithful, keeping His promise, and just, because Christ has already paid for those sins. The sinner who comes home does not need to hide anything. See our Bible verses about forgiveness.
10. Isaiah 55:7
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Return is the Old Testament word for repentance, turning around and going back home. Isaiah's promise is that God will abundantly pardon, not reluctantly and not partly. The hymn's wonderful love He has promised is this abundant pardon. Coming home involves leaving something behind, our own way and our own thoughts, but what we gain is far greater: the mercy of the God we left.
11. Micah 7:18
"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy."
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. Micah ends his book with a question that has only one answer: no one is like God in His mercy. He delights in it. Thompson's line Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon is a small echo of Micah's great praise. The tenderness in Jesus' calling is the tenderness of a God who enjoys forgiving. He is not waiting on the porch to scold, but to welcome.
12. Luke 15:24
"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
When the prodigal came home, the father ordered a feast and said, For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Coming home to God is not a quiet admission into the back door. It is a celebration. Jesus said there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). The hymn ends with pardon for you and for me, and the parable shows what follows pardon: a robe, a ring and a party. That is the home Jesus is softly and tenderly calling us to.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, I hear You calling softly and tenderly, calling for me. Thank You for waiting and watching like the father in the parable, ready to run to meet me. I do not want to tarry or harden my heart. My life is a vapor, and today is the day of salvation, so I come home to You now. I confess my sins and trust Your promise of mercy and pardon. Thank You that You will never cast me out. Give me a heart to call others home too. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling?
Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909) of East Liverpool, Ohio, wrote both the words and the music, and published the hymn in 1880. Thompson studied music in Boston and Germany, wrote popular songs before turning to gospel music, and ran a music publishing business. He also wrote Jesus Is All the World to Me.
What Bible story is Softly and Tenderly based on?
The image of Jesus waiting and watching on the portals comes from the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, where the father watches for his son and runs to meet him. The refrain echoes Matthew 11:28, and the urgency of the middle verses echoes 2 Corinthians 6:2 and Hebrews 3:15.
What does on the portals mean in Softly and Tenderly?
A portal is a doorway or gate. The line See, on the portals He's waiting and watching pictures Jesus standing at the door of the Father's house, looking down the road for the one who is coming home, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son.
Why is Softly and Tenderly sung at funerals and altar calls?
It is an invitation hymn, so churches often sing it at the end of a service when people are invited to respond to the gospel. Its verses about time fleeting and its call to come home also make it a comforting hymn at funerals, where it speaks of the hope of being received into God's house.
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: Just As I Am · I Love to Tell the Story · Amazing Grace · Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior · The Romans Road · The Prodigal Son · Come As You Are · Salvation
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