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Paco2004 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Just as I am, without one plea

0 Hello Teachers02br
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00"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!"02br
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00This is from the lyrics of an old hymn by Miss Charlotte Elliot. I'm asked by an English learner from Japan about how we should interpret "Just as I am, without one plea". I rather take it as "Though I am a mere person not worth being pleaded", but I am not sure whether this is right. Could you help me?02br
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00paco 0-
  

Top answer

0Hello Paco02br 02br 00I take it to mean "in my present state, good or ill, without making any special claims". 02br 02br 00MrP0-

— MrPedantic

  • 0Hello Paco02br 02br 00I take it to mean "in my present state, good or ill, without making any special claims".
  • 02br 02br 00MrP0-
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12 Answers
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0Hello Paco02br
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00I take it to mean "in my present state, good or ill, without making any special claims". 02br
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00MrP0-
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0 without defense / excuse / apology / appeal / justification02br
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00 The corresponding slang expression is "warts and all".02br
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00 The line as a whole is meant to underscore the unconditional acceptance of the Christian deity for his creations. I personally do not belong to a church group that uses this hymn, but I vaguely recall that it is
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10without defense / excuse / apology / appeal / justification12br
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10The corresponding slang expression is "warts and all".12br
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10The line as a whole is meant to underscore the unconditional acceptance of the Christian deity for his creations. I personally do not bel
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0 Hello, guys02br
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00Thank you for the kind replies. Now I feel I was completely wrong in the interpretation of "without one plea". From the comments of MrP and CJ, I now understand it means something like "without excusing myself for what I am" or "accepting the whole of me who has many 'bads' as well as goods". 02br
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00But I still cannot understa
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0Hello Paco02br
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00I take it to mean: "I come to you with all my imperfections, and without any special pleading on my own behalf, except to say that your blood was shed for my benefit, and you have commanded me to come to you, O Lamb of ***."02br
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00So the speaker doesn't make a special plea for forgiveness of his sins; but he does gently remind h
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0 01blockquote
01cite10MrPedantic12cite12br
10Hello Paco12br
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10I take it to mean: "I come to you with all my imperfections, and without any special pleading on my own behalf, except to say that your blood was shed for my benefit, and you have commanded me to come to you, O Lamb of ***."12br
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10So
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00It's a little like saying, "I'm not going to ask you for £100; but on the other hand, you did say you'd give me £100 whenever I wanted it..."12blockquote
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00 Delightfully irreverent, Mr. P.!02br
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00 CJ0-
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0Hi Paco, you are much more of a teacher than I am but this question sounds very intriguing. So I did some looking around and, if you don't mind, here is what I came up with.02br
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00Since the song was composed in 1834, I am thinking the term 'plea' may have an older meaning that is not often used these days. The most plausible definition I came up with is:02br

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0 Thank you, Danyoo. Your comment really helps me to make my understanding clearer.02br
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00By the way, I found an article explaining how this hymn was created. :[url=05000] "Just as I am" by Charlotte Elliot [/url]. Please take a look if you are interested. 02br
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00paco 0250hrefhttp://www.tagnet.org/adventist.fm/articles/signsf.htm
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*71*0 01p

00Hi paco. I am glad you found my comments helpful! I enjoy reading your posts too; they are most informative.02p

01p

00Thanks for the article on Charlotte Elliot. That is quite an inspiring story. Past several years I've really grown to love the contemporary praise and worship songs. But some of those timeless classic hymnals always sound wonderful. Ch

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