Day 26: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou Fount Confusion

During my summers away from home as a Camp Counsellor, I attended a Mennonite Church every Sunday.  One of the most common hymns in this church was Come Thou Fount and I found that I wasn't the only one that was singing along and enjoying the song without knowing what it really meant.  So, let's look at some of the sticking points for people in this song after reading through the lyrics.

What Fount? What Mount?

Verse 1:

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

The "Fount of every blessing here is referencing John 7:37-38 when Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit welling up inside a person, like a fountain.

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

It is the Holy Spirit that wells up in us like a fountain of living water and causes us to sing a new song [a melodious sonnet] of the Grace of God just like the Angels [flaming tongues above] singing "Hosanna in the highest."

The mount of thy redeeming love is a reference to Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem:

“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress” (Psalm 48:1-3).

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, Hebrews 12:22

The "mount of thy redeeming love" is both a literal Mount Zion reference in the coming of the New Jerusalem and a description of the unmovable and unshakable nature of God's redeeming Love, like a mountain.

How Does One "Raise Mine Ebenezer?"

Here I raise mine Ebeneezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

The word ebenezer isn't used in everyday parlance anymore unless it is the proper name for an elderly gentleman or in reference to Ebenezer Scrooge.  However, in the Old Testament an ebenezer was fairly common.  The word literally means a stone of remembrance and the Israelites would set up these stones, in some ways like a cairn that you might see while hiking.  As they walked by the stones with their children, it would remind them of an important God-moment in their lives or in their family history and they would be reminded to share that story with their children.  My wife and I love this concept so much that our first son has the middle name Eben [short for Ebenezer] to remind us to always tell him of what the Lord has done in our lives.

So, this verse is saying, I am setting up a stone of remembrance to acknowledge that it is only by God's help that I have come this far and only in Him that I will return safely home.  This is a testimony that Jesus sought me out when I was a stranger to Him and I was wandering aimlessly away from God.  He rescued me and redeemed me by His precious blood.  So, an Ebenezer is like a testimony of what the Lord has done that you want to remember to share.

How Can Goodness Be "Like a Fetter?"

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.

A fetter is a chain typically used on a prisoner around their ankle to hold them in place.  So how can God's goodness be like a fetter?  Well, as you read through this verse as a whole, the sentiment is that I am prone to wander away and I'm asking for God, in His infinite Goodness to seal me in, keep me in His courts, don't let me leave the God I love.  His Goodness won't let me go, like I have a manacle around my ankle.

Biblical Background

Check out 1 Samuel 7 to better understand what an Ebenezer is.

Chris Rice Version

Final Thoughts

When you understand the words to this song it has a wonderful meaning in the progression of verses.  First, the Holy Spirit puts in me a desire for His Grace.  Second, I have a moment in my life where I set up a stone of remembrance of what the Lord has done in me and I have a testimony. Finally, my prayer is that God would seal me and lock me into this relationship so that I cannot stray.  

Check out my analysis of these other hymns, if you're interested:

• It is Well with My Soul
• How Great Thou Art
• Jesus Paid it All
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• Amazing Grace