Sunday, March 27, 2016

Come Thou Fount

"Come Thou Fount"

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 lodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above
 Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of God's unchanging love.
 Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I come.
 And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger wand'ring from the fold of God;
 He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
 Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.



Robert Robinson had a rough beginning. His father died when he was young, and his mother, unable to control him, sent him to London to learn barbering. What he learned instead was drinking and gang-life. When he was 17, he and his friends reportedly visited a fortune-teller. Relaxed by alcohol, they laughed as she tried to tell their futures. But something about the encounter bothered Robert, and that evening he suggested to his buddies they attend the evangelistic meeting being held by George Whitefield.

~~~~~~~~~~
 Whitefield was one of history's greatest preachers, with a voice that was part foghorn and part violin. That night he preached from Matthew 3:7: "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" And then he burst into tears and exclaimed, "Oh my hearers! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!" Robert sobered up and sensed Whitefield was preaching directly to him. The preacher's words haunted him for nearly three years, until December 10, 1755, when he gave his heart to Christ.

~~~~~~~~~~
Soon after his conversion, Robert entered the ministry. Three years later at age 23, while serving Calvinist Methodist Chapel in Norfolk, England, he wrote a hymn for his sermon on Pentecost Sunday. It was a prayer that the Holy Spirit flood into our hearts with His streams of mercy, enabling us to sing God's praises and remain faithful to Him. "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," has been a favorite of the church since that day. Robinson continued working for the Lord until 1790, when he was invited to Birmingham, England, to preach for Dr. Joseph Priestly, a noted Unitarian. There, on the morning of June 8, he was found dead at age 54, having passed away quietly during the night.

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.
 Taken from "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan
~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Easter, friends! I hope your day was truly wonderful and refreshing, as we celebrate our Lord's rising from the dead. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:14: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." Jesus has so much love for you that He died on a cross so that you could have eternal life, and then rose from the dead to show His mighty power over death.

Low in the grave He lay-Jesus, my Savior! Waiting the coming day-Jesus, my Lord! Vainly they watch His bed-Jesus, my Savior! Vainly they seal the dead-Jesus, my Lord! Death cannot keep his prey-Jesus, my Savior! He tore the bars away-Jesus my Lord! 

Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o'er His foes; He arose a Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign, He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
I hope you all have a good and godly week. 
I want to kindly thank Mrs. Smith for suggesting today's hymn. :) 

 My sister made this carrot cake for our family get-together this afternoon. :)
Rejoicing in the Risen Lord,
Ashley
2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slack-ness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful hymn and pictures, Ashley!
    ~Emily

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you ever so much, dear Ashley! Oh, the words to this song just resonate with me on such a deep level. Especially, the part that you repeated at the end..."prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love". OH, dear Lord, I never want to leave You!!! But, my human heart is so prone to wander, and it is my prayer that His goodness works as a fetter to bind my wandering heart to Him. This song is in a scene from the "Love Comes Softly" movie...Clark is sitting on a bench up on a mountain singing that song, and Marty hears him. It is SO precious. You can see the clip I am talking about at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3moETvvn3E I can't thank you enough for so kindly granting my request and for the mention here. You are a blessing to me, dear friend. Always stay so sweet and kind and in love with Jesus as you are now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful pictures accompanying such an incredible message, hymn, and story! I love how you share the history of these wonderful old hymns Ashley! And the carrot cake looks scrumptious! Cheryl certainly picked a marvelous old hymn to highlight, I just love it so much! May the Lord continue to bless your writing for him!

    ReplyDelete

Hello there!
I'd love it if you left me a comment...they totally make my day!