Last week something new, this week something old (but performed new!), Come Thou Fount.
Marshall Segal, for Desiring God, writes,
In 1743, when Robert Robinson was just eight years old, he lost his father. Angry, bitter, and fatherless, Robert rebelled in excess through his teenage years — drinking, gambling, and causing trouble. But God broke into his heart through the gospel preaching of George Whitefield. Several years later, he followed the Lord into ministry and was later inspired to write “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Come, thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Coming from the background that Robinson did, is it any wonder that He looked at the Lord as the fount of every blessing? Someone who can turn you from drinking, gambling, and causing trouble into the full-time, devoted, self-sacrificing ministry is surely someone to be praised, and rightly referred to as a fount of every blessing. Jesus Himself said that if any man thirsts, let Him come to me (John 7.37-38).
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it
Mount of thy unchanging love
We now want to sing His song, don’t we, His melodious sonnet, the song of triumph over death and the grave, the song sung in heaven (Psalm 40.3, Psalm 96.1, Isaiah 42.10, Revelation 5.9, 14.3).
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
An Ebenezer is found in 1 Samuel 7, a memorial to the victory provided by the Lord, and it commemorates His Divine victory.
“Ebenezer means “stone of help.” From then on, every time an Israelite saw the stone erected by Samuel, he would have a tangible reminder of the Lord’s power and protection.”
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed his precious blood
What a wonderful truth this verse conveys; Jesus seeks the lost. Jesus sought you and I whilst we were wandering away from Him, whilst we were sinners, Christ even went to the lengths to die for us (Matthew 18.12, Luke 19.10, Romans 5.8).
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above
We are so apt to wander, doing what we indeed know to be wrong (Romans 7.19, Hebrews 3.15), but one of the reasons why this hymn has endured is that it is all about Him, all about Jesus; His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His salvation, His love for us.
Even though we are unfaithful, He is still faithful, and hymns like this put this awesome truth into words.
Enjoy!
James Travis 