Just As I Am (hymn)
Encyclopedia
Just as I Am is a well-known hymn
, written by Charlotte Elliott
in 1835, first appearing in the Christian Remembrancer, of which Elliott became the editor in 1836. The final verse is taken from Elliott's Hours of Sorrow Cheered and Comforted (1836).
s:
John Brownlie described the hymn story in his book "Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church Hymnary" :
Charlotte's brother, the Kev. H. V. Elliott planned to hold a bazaaiyan event designed to give, at a nominal cost, a high education to the daughters of clergymen supported by St Mary Church
:
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst 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 toss'd 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!
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!
was saved in 1934 in a revival meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina led by evangelist Mordecai Ham
hearing the altar call
song "Just As I Am". This song became an altar call song in the Billy Graham crusades in the latter half of the twentieth century. Graham used the title of the hymn as the title of his 1997 book - Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham.
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
, written by Charlotte Elliott
Charlotte Elliott
Charlotte Elliott was an English poet and hymn writer.Charlotte was the daughter of Charles Elliott, a silk merchant and his wife, Eling Venn who married at Yelling on 20 December 1785.Eling Venn was the daughter of Rev...
in 1835, first appearing in the Christian Remembrancer, of which Elliott became the editor in 1836. The final verse is taken from Elliott's Hours of Sorrow Cheered and Comforted (1836).
Music
It has been set to at least three hymn tuneHymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s:
- The original, "Woodworth", was written by William B. BradburyWilliam Batchelder BradburyWilliam Batchelder Bradbury was a musician who composed the tune to Jesus Loves Me and many other popular hymns.-Biography:...
, and was first published in the Third Book of Psalmody in 1849. The "Woodworth" tune was first used for the hymn "The God of Love Will Soon Indulge." Thomas HastingsThomas Hastings (composer)Thomas Hastings was an American composer, primarily an author of hymn tunes of which the best known is Toplady for the hymn Rock of Ages. He was born to Dr. Seth and Eunice Hastings in Washington, Connecticut...
, adapted Bradbury's tune for "Just as I AM" years later. - Hymns Ancient and ModernHymns Ancient and ModernHymns Ancient and Modern was a hymnal in common use within the Church of England. Over the years it has grown into a large family of hymnals....
(1875) contained a setting "Misericordia" by Henry T. Smart. - In 1890 Arthur H. Brown wrote "Saffron WaldenSaffron WaldenSaffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
" which was published in The Hymnal Companion.
History
Charlotte Elliot wrote this song about how to find salvation through Christ. It has been used by many as the call to the altar at the close of services, as it brings a quiet simple message of sin, forgiveness, and salvation to all that turn from sin and trust in Jesus.John Brownlie described the hymn story in his book "Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church Hymnary" :
Charlotte's brother, the Kev. H. V. Elliott planned to hold a bazaaiyan event designed to give, at a nominal cost, a high education to the daughters of clergymen supported by St Mary Church
St Mary the Virgin, Brighton
St Mary the Virgin Church is an Anglican church in the Kemptown area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The present building dates from the late 1870s and replaced a church of the same name which suddenly collapsed while being renovated...
:
The night before the bazaar she was kept wakeful by distressing thoughts of her apparent uselessness ; and these thoughts passed by a transition easy to imagine into a spiritual conflict, till she questioned the reality of her whole spiritual life, and wondered whether it were anything better after all than an illusion of the emotions, an illusion ready to be sorrowfully dispelled. The next day, the busy day of the bazaar, she lay upon her sofa in that most pleasant boudoir set apart for her in Westfield Lodge, ever a dear resort to her friends." The troubles of the night came back upon her with such force that she felt they must be met and conquered in the grace of God. She gathered up in her soul the great certainties, not of her emotions, but of her salvation : her Lord, His power, His promise. And taking pen and paper from the table she deliberately set down in writing, for her own comfort, "the formulae of her faith." Hers was a heart which always tended to express its depths in verse. So in verse she restated to herself the Gospel of pardon, peace, and heaven. "Probably without difficulty or long pause" she wrote the hymn, getting comfort by thus definitely "recollecting" the eternity of the Rock beneath her feet. There, then, always, not only for some past moment, but " even now " she was accepted in the Beloved "Just as I am."
Original Poem
Just as I am - without one plea,But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst 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 toss'd 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!
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!
Altar Song in the Billy Graham crusades
Billy GrahamBilly Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
was saved in 1934 in a revival meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina led by evangelist Mordecai Ham
Mordecai Ham
Mordecai Fowler Ham, Jr. , was an American Independent Baptist evangelist and temperance movement leader. He entered the ministry in 1901 and in 1936 began a radio broadcast reaching into seven southern states...
hearing the altar call
Altar call
An altar call is a practice in some evangelical churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building. In the Old Testament, an...
song "Just As I Am". This song became an altar call song in the Billy Graham crusades in the latter half of the twentieth century. Graham used the title of the hymn as the title of his 1997 book - Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham.
Recordings
This song appears on the following albums:- Traveling Mercies by Chris PotterChris Potter (jazz saxophonist)Chris Potter is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Potter spent most of his childhood in Columbia, South Carolina where his mother taught psychology at the University of South Carolina...
on bass clarinet - Red Headed Stranger by Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
- Just As I Am by Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
- As I Am by Kristin ChenowethKristin ChenowethKristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...