Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling. Will L. Thompson* (1847-1909). First published in one of the publications of the Will L. Thompson Co. in Chicago, Sparkling Gems Nos 1 and 2 Combined (1880), edited by J. Calvin Bushey. It is a powerful and emotional hymn of invitation, with its refrain, ‘Come home, come home,/ You who are weary, come home.’ Young has described it as ‘a typical lullaby in the gospel hymn tradition’ in which Jesus is ‘waiting, caring, and forgiving in intimate – and for many – compelling metaphors’ (1993, p. 600). It is said to have been a favorite of the evangelist Dwight L. Moody*, who used it at the opening of meetings. In stanza 3 it contains a reminder that the...