Me.'"

But God seemed to have had a purpose in placing a heavy cross upon her.
Her very afflictions made her think of other sufferers like herself and
made her the better fitted for the work that He had prepared for her--the
ministry of comfort and consolation. How beautifully she resigned herself
to the will of God may be seen in her words: "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."

"Just as I am" was written in 1836, and appeared for the first time in
the second edition of "The Invalid's Hymn Book," which was published that
year and to which Miss Elliott had contributed 115 pieces.

The great American evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, once said that this hymn
had probably touched more hearts and brought more souls to Christ than
any other ever written. Miss Elliott's own brother, who was a minister in
the Church of England, himself wrote:

"In the course of a long ministry, I hope to have been permitted to see
some fruit of my labors; but I feel far more has been done by a single
hymn of my sister's."

It is said that after the death of Miss Elliott, more than a thousand
letters were found among her papers, in which the writers expressed their
gratitude to her for the help the hymn had brought them.

The secret power of this marvelous hymn must be found in its true
evangelical spirit. It sets forth in very simple but gripping words the
all-important truth that we are not saved through any merit or worthiness
in ourselves, but by the sovereign grace of God through faith in Jesus
Christ. It also pictures the utter helplessness and wretchedness of the
human soul, and its inability to rise above its own sins; but very
lovingly it invites the soul to come to Him "whose blood can cleanse each
spot."

The hymn was born out of the author's personal spiritual experiences.
Though a daughter of the Church, brought up in a pious home, it seems
that Miss Elliott had never found true peace with God. Like so many other
seeking souls in all ages, she felt that men must do something themselves
to win salvation, instead of coming to Christ as helpless sinners and
finding complete redemption in Him.

When Dr. Caesar Malan, the noted Swiss preacher of Geneva, came to visit
the Elliott home in Brighton, England, in 1822, he soon discovered the
cause of her spiritual perplexity, and became a real evangelical guide
and counsellor