Just As I Am (hymn)

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"Just As I Am"
Hymn
Elliott Bradbury Just as I am.jpg
The hymn with music by Bradbury
Written1835 (1835)
Textby Charlotte Elliott
Meter8.8.8.6
Melody"Woodworth" by William B. Bradbury and others
Time6/4
Published1835 (1835)
PublisherChristian Remembrancer

"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). [1]

Hymn type of song specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος (hymnos), which means "a song of praise". A writer of hymns is known as a hymnodist. The singing or composition of hymns is called hymnody. Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymn books. Hymns may or may not include instrumental accompaniment.

Charlotte Elliott English poet, hymn writer, editor

Charlotte Elliott was an English poet, hymn writer, and editor. She is best known by two hymns, "Just As I Am" and "Thy will be done".

Contents

Music

It has been set to at least four hymn tunes:

William Batchelder Bradbury American musician

William Batchelder Bradbury was a musician who composed the tune to "Jesus Loves Me" and many other popular hymns.

Thomas Hastings (composer) American 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 (Parmele) Hastings in Washington, Connecticut. He was a 3rd great-grandson of Thomas Hastings who came from the East Anglia region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.

Saffron Walden market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England

Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, 12 miles (19 km) north of Bishop's Stortford, 15 miles (24 km) south of Cambridge and 43 miles (69 km) north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The 2001 parish population of 14,313 had risen to 15,504 by the 2011 census.

History

John Brownlie [6] described the hymn's story in his book The Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church Hymnary: [7] Charlotte's brother, the Rev. H. V. Elliott planned to hold a charity bazaar 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 Church in Brighton and Hove , United Kingdom

St Mary's 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 Gothic-style red-brick building, whose style resembles Early English revival and French Gothic revival, is now a Grade II* listed building, and remains in use despite threats of closure.

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 Just as I am.jpg
Just as I am



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! [8]

Altar song in the Billy Graham crusades

Billy Graham converted to Christianity in 1934 in a revival meeting 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. [9] Michael W. Smith sang the song in a tribute to Graham at the 44th GMA Dove Awards. [10]

Billy Graham American Christian evangelist

William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well-known internationally in the late 1940s. One of his biographers has placed him "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century.

Christian revival increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect

Revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelistic meeting or series of meetings.

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. Early in his ministry, he was ordained at Burton Memorial Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

It has similarly been used as an altar call song at the close of other services.

Recordings

This song appears or is referenced on the following albums:

<i>Hymns by Johnny Cash</i> 1959 studio album by Johnny Cash

Hymns by Johnny Cash was the fifth album and first gospel album of Johnny Cash. The album was produced in 1958 and was then officially released in 1959. An alternate version of the song "It was Jesus" was an added bonus track after the album was re-issued in 2002. Cash said he left Sun Records because Sam Phillips wouldn't let him record the gospel songs he'd grown up with. Columbia promised him to release an occasional gospel album; this was a success for him to record. The album was Cash’s first and most popular gospel album, and is an example of traditional hymns set to country gospel music. The album was recorded simultaneously with The Fabulous Johnny Cash.

<i>Red Headed Stranger</i> 1975 studio album by Willie Nelson

Red Headed Stranger is the eighteenth studio album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson and released in 1975. After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic Records, coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager, Neil Reshen, Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, a label that gave him total creative control over his works. The concept for the album was inspired by the "Tale of the Red Headed Stranger", a song that Nelson used to play as a disc jockey on his program in Fort Worth, Texas. After signing with Columbia he decided to record the song, and arranged the details during his return to Austin, Texas, from a trip to Colorado. It was recorded at low cost at Autumn Sound Studios in Garland, Texas. The songs featured sparse arrangements, largely limited to Nelson's guitar, piano and drums. Nelson presented the finished material to Columbia executives, who were dubious about releasing an album that they at first thought was a demo. However, Nelson had creative control, so no further production was added.

Willie Nelson American country music singer-songwriter

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, producer, author, poet, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.

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References

  1. "Just As I Am, Without One Plea". The Cyber Hymnal.
  2. STEM Publishing:Hymns:Spiritual Songsters:Miss Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871
  3. Who Wrote Our Hymns, by Christopher Knapp, Publisher: Wilson Foundation, 1925, ASIN: B00088V2RE
  4. "Just As I Am, Without One Plea". The Cyber Hymnal.
  5. "Just as I Am, Without One Plea".
  6. John Brownlie CCEL
  7. The hymns and hymn writers of The Church Hymnary, by Brownlie, John (1911)
  8. Selections from the poems of Charlotte Elliott, 1873, Publisher: London, The Religious tract society
  9. Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, Publisher: Walker and Company, 1977, ( ISBN   0-06-063387-5).
  10. "2013 Dove Awards". TV Guide . Retrieved November 4, 2013.

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