These are revival songs. Dr. Bill Harvey and Dr. Rice are pictured singing one of the songs from their book. Here are songs for the soul winner, songs for the sinner, songs that go along with warning and pleading for sinners to be saved.

The best songs often come out of great revival fires. Many blessed hymns were born during the Moody-Sankey revivals, the Torrey-Alexander revivals, the Sunday-Rodeheaver revivals, and the great revival era. But when great revivals became uncommon, Christian songs tended to lose their soul-winning fire. They became nice songs of testimony and devotion, but lacked the urgency to win the lost.

Today, we still have gifted Christian songwriters like Peterson, Gaither, Stanphill, Hamblen, and Lillenas. They produce many sweet songs of praise and testimony. Yet, where are the new songs like “Tell Mother I’ll Be There,” “Ye Must Be Born Again,” “The Great Judgment Morning,” “Must I Go and Empty-Handed?,” “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?,” and “I Surrender All”? Many modern songs speak warmly about Jesus and the Christian life, but few plead with sinners to be saved or urge Christians to win souls.

In ten thousand churches this coming Sunday, if the pastor gives an invitation to the unsaved, the song leader will likely go back 140 years to Charlotte Elliott’s time to sing “Just As I Am.” It will be much the same for “I’ve Wandered Far Away from God” or “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling.” It has been eighty-eight years since “Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart” was copyrighted. Not a single regularly used invitation hymn has been written in more than a hundred years! Those who preach, sing, and weep for the lost, those who see souls coming down the aisles must write songs from Spirit-filled hearts for revival, invitation, and warning.

According to Ephesians 5:18-20, the fullness of the Spirit, the enduement with power for soul winning, leads to “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” We need Holy Spirit fire again, and we need a renewed emphasis on soul winning!

Soul winning has been my lifelong burden. By God’s mercy, thousands have trusted Christ in my revival campaigns, and many more have been saved through literature and radio broadcasts. I believe I ought to have some songs for great revival and soul winning.

On revival and soul winning, my song “Souls Are Dying” has stirred many hearts, with tears shed as my daughters sang it before large audiences in revival and soul-winning conferences. “Oh, Bring Your Loved Ones” has been greatly used. Perhaps most popular is “So Little Time! The Harvest Will Be Over” (4). “Here Am I” (9), a decision song for soul winning, was powerfully used in a citywide tent campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, and elsewhere. “Remembering in Heaven” touches me deeply. Also note “Souls We Must Win”.

The following are especially arranged for duets:

• If You Linger Too Long

• Jesus Ever Near

• Let the Joy Bells Ring

• Resting in His Promise

• So Little Time

• Souls Are Dying

Many of these will work beautifully as alto and soprano duets.

Four songs focus on the second coming:

• Jesus Is Coming

• Caught Up Together

• Coming Today — a thrilling number for the choir

• When Jesus Comes to Reign

“Jesus, Baby Jesus”  is a fresh Christmas song, sweet and gospel-centered.

May God, in His mercy, smile upon these songs and allow some of them to be as widely used and blessed as the great revival hymns of a hundred years ago.

John R. Rice
Murfreesboro, Tennessee

List of Songs of John R. Rice (All Available on our Website with complete hymn sheets and midis:

• A Little While

• All My Heart’s Love

• Ask and Seek and Knock

• Caught Up Together

• Come and Drink

• Never Lonely, Never Fearing

• Oh, Bring Your Loved Ones

• Oh, Heavy Hearted

• Oh, Those Shining Faces

• Oh, Thou Word of God

• Come and Take Salvation

• Come, Holy Spirit

• Coming Today

• God Met Me There

• Oh, Turn Your Heart

• Oh, What a Fountain

• One Thing I Know

• Open Your Heart’s Door

• God’s City Fair

• Power of Pentecost

• He Loves You Still

• He’ll Never Let You Down

• Here Am I

• His Yoke Is Easy

• If You Linger Too Long

• I Love the Dear Saviour

• I Love Thee, My Jesus

• I’m Leaning on Jesus

• I Walk a Stranger

• I Woke Up This Morning

• Jesus, Baby Jesus

• Jesus Died for Sinners

• Jesus Ever Near

• Jesus, Hear Me, Too

• Jesus Is All I Need

• Jesus Is Coming

• Jesus Loves Me

• Jesus, Only Jesus

• Let the Joy Bells Ring!

• Let the Sun Shine Again in My Heart

• Like a Wandering Star

• Remembered No More

• Remembering in Heaven

• Resting in His Promise

• Safe Wherever I Go

• Saved, Hallelujah!

• So Little Time

• Songs in the Mountains

• Souls Are Dying

• Souls We Must Win

• The Crucifixion Road

• The Price of Revival

• The Prodigal Comes Home

• The Song Birds Are Singing

• Too Long I Neglected

• Trusting, Trusting All the Time

• Walk Beside Me

• We’ll Never Say Goodbye

• What Will You Say Then

• When Jesus Comes to Reign
  
  The ones with links are available on our website.