Just As I Am Charlotte Elliott, 1836
6 verses, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. 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!
Verse 2. 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!
Verse 3. Just as I am, tho’ tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Verse 4. 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!
Verse 5. 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!
Verse 6. Just as I am—thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1836, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Just As I Am
Charlotte Elliott became an invalid in 1821 and lived at Brighton from 1823. The Hymnology Archive says the best-supported account places the writing on the evening before a bazaar for St. Mary's Hall, a school her brother Henry Venn Elliott had founded. Her household was busy with the sale, she felt useless, and she wrote down what she knew to be true of her Lord. Her sister-in-law then asked for a copy. Sources disagree on the year. Bishop Moule gave 1834, while Josiah Miller and Roundell Palmer gave 1836. The Archive found no printing before the second edition of The Invalid's Hymn Book, whose preface is dated 4 March 1841, and Hymnary.org dates first publication to 1836. A popular story has the Swiss pastor César Malan telling her to come to Christ as she was. Malan did guide her in faith, and they met on 9 May 1822. The Archive calls the quoted conversation most likely an invention of later evangelists. William Bradbury composed the tune WOODWORTH in 1849 for a different text. The Eclectic Tune Book first paired it with Elliott's words in 1860, and Bradbury repeated the closing words of each stanza to fit the music. Hymnary.org says evangelistic services use it as a hymn of invitation.
Charlotte Elliott
1789-03-18 to 1871-09-22
Charlotte Elliott was born in 1789 and spent her first 32 years mostly at Clapham before moving to Brighton in 1823. She became an invalid in 1821. She met the Swiss pastor César Malan, and he guided her in faith. She edited the Christian Remembrancer Pocket Book from 1834 and reworked The Invalid's Hymn Book, adding many of her own hymns. John Julian credits her with about 150 hymns. Her best known is Just as I Am. Her sister published her poems with a memoir in 1873, two years after Charlotte died at Brighton.
William B. Bradbury
1816 to 1868
William Batchelder Bradbury was born at York, Maine, in 1816 and moved with his family to Boston in 1830. He studied in Lowell Mason's singing classes and later led music at the First Baptist Church of Brooklyn and the Baptist Tabernacle in New York. His singing schools helped bring music into New York's public schools. He studied in London and Germany in 1847 and began making Bradbury pianos with his brother Edward in 1851. He edited 59 books of sacred and secular music. His tune BRADBURY, from Oriola (1859), is the one most often sung with "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." He died of tuberculosis in 1868.
- Hymnology Archive, Just as I am , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Just as I Am, Without One Plea , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Baptist Hymnal 1991 No. 307 , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Charlotte Elliott , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Just As I Am
The Bible passages behind the words, with the verse of the hymn that draws on each.
- John 6:37 In verse 37 of the hymn
- Isaiah 1:18 In verse 18 of the hymn
- Psalm 51
- Revelation 3:20 In verse 20 of the hymn
Just As I Am videos
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Just As I Am (Metropolitan Tabernacle) Martijn de Groot, Congregation
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Just as I Am Billy Graham Crusade Choir - Topic, Choir
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Just As I Am (6 Verses) - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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Just As I Am - piano instrumental hymn Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Carrie Underwood - Just As I Am (Live From The Ryman Auditorium/2021) Gaither Music TV, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Print and project
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in E♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Just As I Am?
Charlotte Elliott wrote it. The Hymnology Archive says she wrote it at Brighton, and sources give 1834 or 1836 for the year.
Is the story of César Malan and Just As I Am true?
Malan did guide Elliott in faith, and they met in 1822. The Hymnology Archive calls the quoted conversation most likely an invention of later evangelists.
Who wrote the tune WOODWORTH?
William Bradbury composed it in 1849 for a different text. It was first paired with Elliott's words in 1860.
Is Just As I Am in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Hymnary.org dates the text to 1836, and the Hymnology Archive finds a confirmed printing in 1841. The tune WOODWORTH is from 1849.
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