Clinging to Thee

Author: Charlotte Elliott

Elliott, Charlotte, daughter of Charles Elliott, of Clapham and Brighton, and granddaughter of the Rev. H. Venn, of Huddersfield, was born March 18, 1789. The first 32 years of her life were spent mostly at Clapham. In 1823 she removed to Brighton, and died there Sept. 22, 1871. To her acquaintance with Dr. C. Malan, of Geneva, is attributed much of the deep spiritual-mindedness which is so prominent in her hymns. Though weak and feeble in body, she possessed a strong imagination, and a well-cultured and intellectual mind. Her love of poetry and music was great, and is reflected in her verse. Her hymns number about 150, a large percentage of which are in common use. The finest and most widely known of these are, "Just as I am” and "My God… Go to person page >

The second line is sometimes given as "The faint, the weak on Thee may lean,".

O Holy Saviour, Friend unseen, p. 836, ii. In the 1835 ed. of The Invalid's Hymn Book, No. 63, this hymn begins,"Holy Saviour, Friend unseen."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)