By Eileen Macomber
The words and music were both written by John H. Stockton, who was born April 19, 1813, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and passed away March 25, 1877.
He accepted Christ as his Savior when he was nineteen years old at a Methodist camp meeting. In 1857, he was ordained to the ministry, preaching till ill health forced him to retire in 1874, although continuing evangelistic work. He published Salvation Melodies (1874) and Precious Songs (1875), and other hymns including “Glory to His Name” and “The Great Physician.”
He originally wrote five stanzas:
O, Jesus, blessed Jesus, dear,
I’m coming not to Thee;
Since Thou has made the way so clear
And full salvation free.Come, every soul by sin oppressed,
There’s mercy with the Lord,
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His word.For Jesus shed His precious blood,
Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
That washes white as snow.Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the way,
That leads you into rest:
Believe in Him without delay,
And you are fully blest.Come, then, and join this holy band,
And on to glory go,
To dwell in that celestial land,
Where joys immortal flow.
The Chorus:
Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus now;
He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now.
For more on John Stockton click here
In 1873, Ira D. Sankey seems to have secured a manuscript copy of this hymn and said:
“One day in mid-ocean, as I was looking over a list of hymns in my scrapbook, I noticed one commencing, ‘Come every soul by sin oppressed,’ by the Rev John Stockton, with the familiar chorus, ‘Come to Jesus.’ Believing that these words had been so often sung that they were hackneyed, I decided to change them and tell how to come to Jesus by substituting the words, ‘Only Trust Him.’ In this form it was first published in Sacred Songs and Solos in London.”
For more on Ira D. Sankey click here
William J Reynolds, Companion to Baptist Hymnal, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1976), pp. 50-51.
Worship and Service Hymnal, (Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Company, 1973), p. 199.
