Just as I am
Like
many hymns of lament and devotion, this hymn has a personal story behind it. Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871) was the daughter
of a silk merchant. In her early 30s she suffered an illness which left her
permanently disabled, weak and depressed – she had been a gifted artist and
writer of humorous verse. She lived with
her brother, a clergyman, and one day, frustrated at her inability to help with
parish tasks, and struggling to know how she could be any use to God, she
remembered the words of a visiting preacher to her many years before, that she
could come to God, “just as she was”.
She wrote the hymn (originally a poem) that day.
Just as I am is sung to several
tunes. Woodworth (1849) , by William Bradbury is the earliest and most popular
across the world, but hymn books commonly used in the Church of England usually
set it to Misericordia (1875 Henry Thomas Smart) or Saffron Walden (1877)
written by Arthur Henry Brown.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but
that thy blood was shed for me,
and
that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
O
Lamb of God, I come.
[Just
as I am, and waiting not
to
rid my soul of one dark blot,
to
thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O
Lamb of God, I come.]
Just
as I am, though tossed about
with
many a conflict, many a doubt;
fightings
and fears within, without,
O
Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight,
riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come.
yea, all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come.
Just
as I am, thou wilt receive;
wilt
welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
because
thy promise I believe,
O
Lamb of God, I come.
Just
as I am, thy love unknown
has
broken every barrier down;
now
to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O
Lamb of God, I come.
Just
as I am, of that free love
the
breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
here
for a season, then above:
O
Lamb of God, I come.
- Do you feel you can come to God “just as you are”, or do you hang back, not feeling worthy?
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