Come, Sinner, Come -William E. Witter

William E. Witter, the author of this song of invitation, was born in New York in 1853. He was ordained by the Rochester Baptist Theological Seminary in 1884. He spent several years as a missionary in India and published two books to help support missions: “An Outline Grammar of the Lhota Naga Language” and “A History and Progress of Modern Medical Missions.”

William had read the biography of P. P. Bliss and had been deeply moved by the songwriter’s tragic death in 1876. The songs of Bliss were always running through his mind, and he prayed that the Lord would also inspire him to write songs that would touch people’s hearts and lead them to Christ. It didn’t take long for the Lord to answer that prayer. One Saturday afternoon, while William was raking hay, the words and tune for “Come, Sinner, Come” came into his mind. He hurried to the house, ran up the stairs, and knelt at the bedside of an unsaved brother who was constantly in his mother’s prayers.  There, on his knees, he wrote the words on paper and believed that God would use them.

The tune for William’s song was composed by Horatio R. Palmer, who also wrote the tune for Mary A. Baker’s “Master, the Tempest is Raging!” “Come, Sinner, Come” was copyrighted in 1879 and included in Palmer’s “Book of Anthems.” It became well-known after it appeared in Ira Sankey’s “Sacred Songs and Solos” and “Gospel Hymns No. 5.”  William later wrote that Palmer’s tune was almost identical to the music that he had first imagined for the song!

“Come, Sinner, Come” originally had three verses; over the years, editors have changed some of the words and some hymnals, such as “Gospel Hymns No. 2,” published by evangelistic song leader Charles M. Alexander, including the two verses that were added in 1910 by his wife, Helen Alexander. William Witter’s words offer a gentle invitation that pleads with sinners to come to Christ for salvation. These words express the heart of his ministry. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

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