Finding Salvation: "Just As I Am"

In times of need, one hymn makes believers humble and raise everything to God. "Just As I Am" is one of those hymns.

Tithes hymn is known by its short title "Just As I Am" and also by a longer one called "Just As I Am, without one plea." The more extended version is the first line of the song.

The woman behind this hymn is Charlotte Elliott (1789–1871). She was an English hymn writer, poet, and editor. Elliot only has two hymns to her credit, the other one is "Thy will be done." She wrote this hymn in 1835. She was the editor of Christian Remembrancer, where this hymn first appeared in 1836. The inspiration for this hymn was derived from John 1:29 and John 6:37.

The hymn has six stanzas and four lines. The hymn was so famous that it has five tunes associated with it. The first and original tune "Woodworth" was by William B. Bradbury (1816,-1868). First published in the Third Book of Psalmody/Men­dels­sohn Col­lec­tion (1849), the tune was set in D Major and appeared in 489 hymnals. The tune was later adapted to this hymn. The second tune is "Gwylfa" by D. Lloyd Ev­ans, which was set in A♭ Major. The third tune was "Hymns of the Church" by John Rogers Thomas (1830- 1896). The fourth tune was "Saffron Walden" in The Hym­nal Com­pan­ion. Arthur H. Brown (1830–1926) wrote it in 1890. The fifth tune was "Misericordia" by Hen­ry Thomas Smart (1813–1879), published in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (1875).

William Batchelder Bradbury (1816,-1868) is a prolific and popular American composer with 18 tunes credited to his name. Most of his songs were popular and attributed to popular hymns as "He Leadeth Me," "Sweet Hour of Prayer," "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us," and "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less."