Just as I am

Hymns, #492, "In all thy work, O Lord, Thou didst," is a very deep hymn with a specific subject; hence, it is not suitable as an opening hymn. Hymns, #207, "Lord Jesus! when we think of Thee, / Of all Thy love and grace," is toward the Lord; hence, it cannot be used as an opening hymn in a fellowship meeting. Hymns, #333, "I know not why God's wondrous grace / To me He hath made known," cannot be used because the chorus is a quotation from the Bible; it is very specific. Hymns, #707 is on counting God's blessing and therefore is not appropriate. Hymns, #657, "Can you be obedient / To the Lord of all," is a challenging hymn and therefore is not suitable. Hymns, #1048, "Just as I am, without one plea," should be used in gospel preaching. Hymns, #397, "More holiness give me," can be sung at the beginning of a fellowship meeting when there is a feeling of insipidness. Hymns, #280, "Lord, may Thy blood now cleanse me, / Wash all my sins away," is barely acceptable. Hymns, #705, "In some way or other the Lord will provide," is very specific and therefore not appropriate.

We should simply come to the Lord without any way. Hymns, #1048 says, "Just as I am ... / O Lamb of God, I come! I come!" Every morning come to the Lord: "Lord, I come just as I am. I do not know how to pray. I come as I am, in my situation, not knowing. You know. It does not matter how I feel; it is up to Your leading." Every day come to the Lord in this way.

God is Spirit; hence, our contacting and absorbing Him do not depend on our words. Some people utter many words when they pray, but their words are like sounding brass or clanging cymbals; they do not have much value before God. We may not say anything when we come to God, but our whole being, including our heart, should face God. While we look to God, we may sigh and confess that we are incompetent, weak, unable to rise, unpresentable, and thirsty and that we lack words for the gospel and are not inclined to fellowship with the saints. We should lay our inner condition before God and even tell Him that we are short in every matter. No matter what our inner condition is, we should bring it to God. There is a hymn that says, "Just as I am" (Hymns, #1048). This means that we should come to God just as we are without trying to improve or change our condition. Our attitude when we come to God should be to come just as we are.

In England in the early 19th century there was a woman who had Christian parents and who for years had longed to be saved. She went to hear this and that preacher and visited churches and chapels in her search for salvation, but all in vain. One day she wandered into a little chapel with no real expectation in her heart, for she was almost in despair. She sat down at the back. The speaker was an elderly man. Suddenly in the middle of his address he stopped and pointing his finger at her said: 'You Miss, sitting there at the back, you can be saved now. You don't need to do anything!' Light flashed into her heart, and with it peace and joy. Charlotte Elliott went home and wrote her well-known hymn: 'Just as I am, without one plea ... O Lamb of God I come.' Those words have pointed to countless sinners the way of humble access to God through the blood of Christ. Yes, we dare to say to-day, to every one of the inhabitants of Shanghai or of any other city, that they can come to Him and be saved just as they are.

I repeat these incidents just to emphasize that what the sinner cannot do the Saviour is at hand to do for him. It is for this reason that we can tell people that they need not wait for anything, but can come to Him immediately. Whatever their state, whatever their problem, let them bring it and tell it to the Friend of sinners.

I like the song we sang today. It says, "Just as I am...I come! I come!" [Hymns, #1048]. I have told you before that this hymn was written by a woman in her twenties. She said that she had the sense of sin since she was very young. She wondered how a person like herself could face God. To her this was impossible. She visited many churches and talked with many pastors. She asked them questions and tried to find out from them how she could be saved. This went on for seven or eight years. Many told her that she had to do better before she could believe in Jesus. Others told her that she should pray more and study the Bible more. Still others told her to do good and perform noble deeds, or to do this or do that before she could believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved. As time went by, she found herself worse than before. In the end, she met an old preacher. She asked the old man what she must do before she could be saved. The old man put his hand on her back and said, "Go to God just as you are." She jumped up and asked, "Do I not have to do better, make more progress, and improve more before I can believe in the Lord Jesus?" The old man said, "There is no such need. You can come just as you are." On that day, she became clear and realized that she could come to the Lord just as she was.

God knows that we are sick. This is why He sent us the Doctor. Friends, have you ever been sick? Suppose I have a fever of one hundred five degrees. If I ask the doctor to come, will he say that he will come when the temperature drops to one hundred three? The sicker I am, the faster the doctor will come. If a person's temperature is ninety-eight degrees, the doctor may say that since it is only ninety-eight degrees, there is no need to go. The more serious your illness is, the faster the doctor will come. The woman admitted that she was a sick person and that Jesus Christ is the Physician from God who came to heal her. Not long after she returned home, she wrote this hymn: "Just as I am...I come! I come!"