James Montgomery (1771-1854), the writer of this month’s hymn, was born in Scotland to a Moravian minister and his wife. At the age of 6 his parents sent him to a boarding school to be educated for service as a minister, while they left to serve as missionaries in the West Indies. Both of them died within a few years, leaving young James in the care of that boarding school. At the age of 14 he flunked out and wandered from place to place for the next five years. Eventually he managed to get a job working for a radical weekly newspaper in Sheffield, and not long afterwards became its editor when the previous editor was forced to flee the country on account of his political activities. Montgomery himself would be jailed twice during the 31 years of his editorship, during which he became famous for his advocacy for causes such as the abolition of slavery. During this same time he also returned to the Moravian church, from which he had drifted. He became a passionate advocate of Christian missions and began to publish Christian poems and hymns. He ended up printing some 400 hymns and settings of psalms, and to this day most hymnals contain at least a half-dozen of them, making him one of the best represented English hymnwriters. The tune printed with Montgomery’s lyrics in the Trinity Hymnal is one of the handful of tunes commonly associated with it. It holds the distinction of being composed by one of Charles Wesley’s grandsons, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876).
 
From its opening line onward, it is evident that James Montgomery wrote this hymn to lead others in praising Jesus Christ. Those well-acquainted with the Psalms will also observe that Montgomery relied heavily on Psalm 72 to do so.
 
Hail to the Lord's Anointed,
great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
to set the captive free,
to take away transgression,
and rule in equity.
 
The hymn opens with an acclamation of praise to Jesus, calling him the Lord’s Anointed, great David’s greater Son, who has begun his reign on earth. His reign, as anticipated by Psalm 72, is one of setting captives free and ruling in equity (v. 4). Jesus himself acknowledged as much when he quoted Isaiah 61’s similar words in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4).
 
He comes with comfort speedy
to those who suffer wrong;
to help the poor and needy,
and bid the weak be strong;
to give them songs for sighing,
their darkness turn to light,
whose souls, condemned and dying,
were precious in his sight.
 
This second verse continues where the first left off and uses Psalm 72:12-14 to continue leading us to reflect upon and rejoice in the reign of David’s greater Son. As Psalm 72:12-14 states, “He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.” Will you sing this with such hope in your heart?
 
He shall come down like showers
upon the fruitful earth;
and love, joy, hope, like flowers,
spring in his path to birth;
before him on the mountains
shall peace, the herald, go;
and righteousness, in fountains,
from hill to valley flow.

The words of the previous verse centered on the purpose of Christ’s reign; in this verse we sing of the result. The hymnwriter leads us in likening the coming of Christ’s reign to showers that induce the land to yield a carpet of colorful flowers, specifically love, joy, and hope. On the surface this image might sound as if it were born in the mind of our hymnwriter, but in truth James Montgomery was drawing on Psalm 72:6. There we hear it said of David’s greater Son, “May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” The same is true of the remainder of this third verse of our hymn; Psalm 72:7 states, “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!” This is the glorious result of the reign of Jesus Christ, and it will be so in perfect fullness when he returns in glory!
 
O'er ev'ry foe victorious,
he on his throne shall rest,
from age to age more glorious,
all-blessing and all-blessed;
the tide of time shall never
his covenant remove;
his name shall stand forever -
that name to us is Love.
 
This hymn, as Montgomery penned it, originally had eight verses, but at this point the Trinity Hymnal and many other hymnals jump straight to the last verse, which leads us to look ahead with confidence. Echoing Psalm 72, we profess that Jesus will be victorious over every foe (verse 11), from age to age more glorious (verses 19), and all-blessing and all-blessed (verse 18). Additionally, his covenant shall never end (verse 18 refers to God as “the God of Israel”), and his name shall stand forever (verse 17). The hymn then leads us in concluding with the declaration that his name to us is Love, as the New Testament shouts. Romans 5:8, for instance, states that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The name of Jesus truly is love to sinners like us—is it to you?

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!