After her birth in England in 1789, the first three decades of Charlotte Elliot’s life passed by relatively uneventfully. At the age of 32, however, she became seriously ill. She survived the illness, but it left her a semi-invalid. This, in turn, led to depression and a severe spiritual crisis. During this period an evangelist visited her family, to whom she admitted that she didn’t know how to come to Christ (rather odd given that her grandfather was a minister!). The evangelist told her, “Come to him just as you are.” One night twelve years later, after continued pain and distress, she finally did so. The following night she remembered the words of the evangelist and expressed her faith in writing. The result was this hymn, “Just As I Am, without One Plea.” In the years that followed she wrote roughly 150 other hymns, many of them expressing faith in Jesus in the midst of suffering and doubt, which were part of her life all the way until her death in 1871.
 
The tune commonly associated with Elliot’s hymn today was written by William Bradbury (1816-1868), a New England singing teacher and composer who also wrote tunes commonly used with the hymns “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought,” “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” “Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us,” and “Jesus Loves Me.”
 
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, I come.
 
Elliot’s hymn begins by leading us to express humble faith in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. We come to him with mouths stopped, knowing that we have no righteousness of our own to stand on before him (Rom. 3:19), but instead trusting that he poured out his blood for many (Matt. 26:28) and that he bids us come to him (Matt. 11:28).
 
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, I come.
 
In this second verse we elaborate on our hope for forgiveness through his blood, his death on the cross. Our “sins are like scarlet” (Is. 1:18), but we can wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb (to use a metaphor from Rev. 7:14). Thus we come, as we are (how else could we come?), in the sure confidence that we won’t stay that way.
 
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, I come.

We go on in our hymn to acknowledge to Jesus that we come to him tossed about with conflict, doubt, fightings, and fears, within and without. We aren’t the first ones (the book of Acts is clear on that reality), and we won’t be the last. Still, he bids us come, even with our burdens: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Some people seem to believe they have to get their act together and their life cleaned up before Jesus will let them come. Nothing could be farther from the truth.  
 
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, I come.
 
When we come to Jesus, we come not only with burdens, but also with significant liabilities. On account of the Fall, we are poor, wretched, and blind, mentally and spiritually, if not physically as well (Rev. 3:17). In Jesus, however, we find sight, riches, and healing of the mind (Eph. 1:3; 2 Cor. 5:17).Therefore we come to him, in humble expectation!
 
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
 
Here is our expectation: he will receive us! He will welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve me and you! And we need not do anything to deserve it; we need only believe his promise (Eph. 2:8)! Will you come?
 
Just as I am, thy love unknown
has broken ev'ry barrier down;
now, to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
 
We finish joyfully acknowledging that His unfathomable love has broken down every barrier. Through his death and resurrection he has opened a new and living way for us (Heb. 10:20; Matt. 27:51) Come!

For the third month in a row our hymn of the month comes from the pen of Charles Wesley (1707-1788), one of the greatest hymn-writers of all time (both in quality and quantity). “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” was born out of a comment Peter Böhler (1712-1775) made to him. Böhler, a Moravian missionary/professor, had told him, “Had I had a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ with them all.” Wesley later created a hymn around that idea in celebration of the one-year anniversary of God renewing his faith after a major crisis of faith in his life. The hymn had 18 verses, but the Trinity Hymnal includes only verses 7-12. Here is how Wesley’s hymn originally began:
 
Glory to God, and praise and love,
Be ever, ever given;
By saints below and saints above,
The Church in earth and heaven.
 
On this glad day the glorious Sun
Of righteousness arose,
On my benighted soul he shone,
And filled it with repose.
 
Sudden expired the legal strife;
'Twas then I ceased to grieve.
My second, real, living life,
I then began to live.
 
Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine;
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Saviour mine.
 
I felt my Lord's atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me he loved - the Son of God
For me, for me he died!
 
I found and owned his promise true,
Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I know,
When written on my heart.
 
Wesley’s hymn has become closely associated with a tune by a little-known German musician named Carl Glaser (c. 1784-1829). Glaser’s tune was later arranged into its current form by “The Father of American Church Music,” Lowell Mason (1792-1872). Mason, a music teacher, is also known for the tunes of “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “Nearer My God to Thee,” and “My Faith Looks up to Thee.”
 
Charles Wesley wrote this month’s hymn as a song of grateful celebration to God, and it most certainly is. Wesley’s hymn leads us in praising Christ Jesus for his character and his deeds and in marveling that we personally are his beneficiaries.
 
O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace.
 
We begin with an exclamation of desire that we had a thousand tongues to sing our great Redeemer’s praise. We would agree with the psalmist that he is “great… and greatly to be praised” (Ps 96:4). Would that we could sing his praise as vigorously as he deserves and as joyously as our own hearts need!
 
My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad,
the honors of thy name.
 
Since each of us obviously does not have a thousand tongues—and since even the tongue we do have is prone to sing divided praise—we immediately go on to ask our gracious master to assist us to proclaim the honors of his name. We are in good company when we pray this. In Psalm 19:14 we hear David pray for similar help, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” For the believer, the recipient of praise and enabler of praise are the same: the triune God of heaven and earth. According to Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Will you ask God to help you do much the same?
 
Jesus, the name that charms our fears,
that bids our sorrows cease;
'tis music in the sinner's ears,
'tis life and health and peace.

In this third verse we begin to sing of the honors of Jesus’ name. His is the name that charms or controls over our fears, as the apostle Paul demonstrated in the last part of Romans 8. As the one who is anointed by the Spirit “to proclaim good news to the poor,” “liberty to the captives,” “recovering of sight to the blind,” and “liberty” to “those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18), his is the only name that truly bids our sorrows cease. As the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), his name is music in the sinner’s ears. Simply put, his name is life and health and peace (John 10:1-29; Rom 5:1-11). Is it for you? What do your thoughts, words, and actions say? 
 
He breaks the pow'r of reigning sin,
he sets the pris'ner free;
his blood can make the foulest clean,
his blood availed for me.
 
In this fourth verse we continue to list the honors of Jesus’ name. In particular, we focus on what perhaps comes first to our minds when we think of the person and work of Jesus: his death and resurrection. We start off this verse summarizing the testimony of Colossians 1:13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son….” We then continue on to celebrate the cleansing power of his blood, echoing Paul’s testimony in 1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” His blood availed for me—is that your testimony? Is that your hope and joy?
 
He speaks and, list'ning to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful, broken hearts rejoice;
the humble poor believe.
 
The fifth verse picks up where the fourth left off, focusing on Christ’s work of drawing sinners to himself. When he speaks, the dead receive new life. To borrow Jesus’ words in John 3, we are “born again,” and that, as we proclaim in the second half of this verse, makes a great difference in our hearts and lives.
 
Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosen'd tongues employ;
ye blind, behold your Savior come;
and leap, ye lame, for joy.
 
In view of Christ’s work of drawing sinners to himself, we finish our song by calling all people to hear the voice of Jesus—to come, be healed, and praise him. Hear him! Praise him! Behold his coming! And leap for joy! How will you do so this week?
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