Will L. Thompson（1847-1909）. Explore “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”: song information and official sources.
Our misery in sin · Lost and sought
Moody used this evangelistic invitation hymn in British and American meetings. Its gentle voice gives it weight without removing the call's urgency: the original also asks why people delay and reminds them that time passes. In the prodigal son's story, the son has already risen and headed home when the account says, “But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran, fell on his neck” (Luke 15:20). The father's initiating mercy is central, without erasing human response. Worship leaders should keep the invitation sincere and resist replacing the gospel's own call with emotional pressure. Someone who has hesitated for a long time may be sitting in the congregation; bear that person in mind.
Evangelistic meetings, gospel Sundays and invitations to respond; teaching on Luke 15.