John 6:35, 37
Words by Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871
Music by William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868
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Without question, this hymn has touched more hearts and
influenced more people for Christ than any other song ever
written. The text was born within the soul of an invalid woman
who wrote these words out of intense feelings of uselessness and
despair.
Charlotte Elliott was born in Clapham, England, on March 18,
1789. As a young person she lived a carefree life, gaining
popularity as a portrait artist and writer of humorous verse. By
the time she was thirty, however, her health began to fail
rapidly, and soon she became a bedridden invalid for the
remaining years of her life. With her failing health came great
feelings of despondency. In 1822 a noted Swiss evangelist, Dr.
Caesar Malan, visited the Elliott home in Brighton, England. His
visit proved to be a turning point in Charlotte's life. In
counselling Miss Elliott about her spiritual and emotional
problems, Dr. Malan impressed upon her this truth, "You must
come just as you are, a sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world." Throughout the remainder of her
life, Miss Elliott celebrated every year the day on which her
Swiss friend had led her to a personal relationship with Christ,
for she considered it to be her spiritual birthday. Although she
did not write her text for this hymn until 1836, fourteen years
after her conversion experience, it is apparent that she never
forgot the words of her friend, for they form the very essence
of this hymn.
Though Charlotte Elliott lived to be eighty-two years of age,
she never regained normal health, and she often endured seasons
of great physical suffering. Of her own afflictions she once
wrote, "He knows, and He alone, what it is, day after day, hour
after hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost
overpowering weakness, languor and exhaustion, to resolve not to
yeild to slothfulness, depression and instability, such as the
body causes me to long to indulge, but to rise every morning
determined to take for my motto, 'If a man will come after Me,
let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'"
Another time she wrote, God sees, God guides, God guards me. His
grace surrounds me, and His voice continually bids me to be
happy and holy in His service just where I am."
Miss Elliott wrote the text for "Just As I Am" in 1836. It was
published that same year in the second edition of The Invalid's
Hymn Book, a collection which contained 115 of her original
works. She wrote this hymn with the desire that it might aid
financially in building a school for the children of poor
clergymen that her own pastor brother was trying to build in
Brighton, England. Miss Elliott felt so helpless in her desire
to aid the parishioners in this worthy project. Interestingly
enough, this one hymn from the pen of the clergyman's invalid
sister brought in more funds than all of his bazaars and
projects combined. The brother himself has left these words, "In
the course of a long ministry, I hope to have been permitted to
see some fruit of my labors; but I feel more has been done by a
single hymn of my sister's."
In all, Charlotte Elliott wrote approximately 150 hymns. She is
generally regarded as one of the finest of all English women
hymnwriters. It is said that after her death more than a
thousand letters were found among her papers from individuals
around the world, expressing testimonials for what this one hymn
had meant in their lives.
The tune, "Woodworth," composed by the well-known American
gospel musician, William B. Bradbury, was first used for the
hymn, "The God of Love Will Soon Indulge." Years later another
American gospel songwriter, Thomas Hastings, wedded Bradbury's
tune with Miss Elliott's text.
Other hymns by William B. Bradbury include "He Leadeth Me", "Jesus Loves Me", "Depth of Mercy", "Even Me", "Sweet Hour of
Prayer", and "The Solid Rock".
Only eternity will reveal the vast number of individuals whose
lives have been dramatically changed through the use of this one
hymn from the pen of an invalid woman. It is a hymn that can and
should be used more frequently than merely an invitational
number at the close of a service. Its message is one that we as
believers need to be reminded of frequently-that our eternal
standing and peace with God depend solely on Christ's merits and
not our own.
Quoted from "101 Hymn Stories" by Kenneth Osbeck. Kregel Publishers, P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, 1982.
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