"Come, thou Fount of every blessing" Show Come, thou Fount of every blessing, Perhaps all hymns are to some extent autobiographical in that they reveal something of the author’s spiritual experience. In some hymns, the autobiographical thread is stronger and more obvious. Such is the case with British Baptist hymn writer Robert Robinson (1735-1790), who as a barber’s apprentice, fell under the powerful influence of George Whitefield’s preaching. A favorite line in the last stanza, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love,” is thought to be particularly autobiographical, referring to Robinson’s early life, when his mother sent him to London to be an apprentice. It was during this time, according to hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck, that “he associated with a notorious gang of hoodlums and lived a debauched life” until he came under the spell of Whitefield. After his conversion in 1755, Robinson first preached at a Calvinistic Methodist chapel at Mildenhall, Suffolk, and then founded his own independent congregation at Norwich. He was re-baptized in 1759 after taking up Baptist theological perspectives. This led to his nearly 30-year relationship (1761-1790) as pastor of Stone Yard Baptist Church at Cambridge. Baptist hymnologist William Reynolds notes that Robinson “was an unusual man, and, while lacking formal education, he rose to great prominence as a preacher, scholar.” Robinson published A History of Baptism in 1790. “Come, thou Fount of every blessing,” written in 1758, was the first hymn in A Collection of Hymns for the use of the Church of Christ, Meeting in Angel-Alley, Whitechappel . . . (1759). Martin Madan included the first three stanzas in his Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1760), which established the practice of eliminating the original fourth stanza. UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young laments the omission, saying it “eliminates the apocalyptic climax of the author’s invitatory prayer to the Holy Spirit.” The missing stanza follows: O that Day when freed from sinning, One of the most obvious biblical allusions appears in stanza two: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer/ hither by thy help I’m come.” The Hymnal Revision Committee for the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal received requests to alter this stanza by omitting the term “Ebenezer,” which means “Stone of Help,” a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” But not finding a suitable substitute, the Committee chose to maintain the original language. On this side of the Atlantic, the tune NETTLETON has been the most common but not exclusive musical setting for this famous and well-loved text. NETTLETON first appeared in John Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second (1813). C. Michael Hawn, D.M.A., F.H.S., is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Church Music and Adjunct Professor and Director, Doctor of Pastoral Music Program at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. It is amazing that a hymn written over 250 years ago, is still a favorite, but this one is. It is only three short verses in the Believer’s Hymn Book, but this is only half of the hymn. This hymn was written by a young man who was close to the Lord. In his later years, when he was far away from the Lord in heart and spirit, his own hymn was used to restore him. Robert Robinson was born of Christian parents who were
very poor. He was born in Suffolk, England, and his mother longed to see her son become a man of God. However, his father died when he was eight years old. While he had great intellect and promise, his education had to be curtailed, and his mother sent him, at age 14, to London to apprentice as a barber. Here, he fell in with a gang of youths who influenced him to live a life of sin and debauchery. So bad were his actions, that his family essentially refused to be responsible for his behavior. One day the gang decided to disrupt a gospel meeting and mock those attending. The great preacher George Whitefield was preaching that day. He was a man mightily used of God in the UK and in the Great Awakening in the new colonies of the United States. His text that day was Matthew 3:7, where the Lord Jesus was speaking in scathing words against the Pharisees and the Sadducees: “O generation of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come (Matt 3:7)?” With tears streaming down
his face, Mr. Whitefield preached, “O my hearers! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!” Robert Robinson was touched for eternity by that message. He said, “those words sunk into my heart like lead in the water. I wept … and for weeks, I could think of little else.” Three weeks later, on December 10th, 1755, in his own words, he “found full and free forgiveness through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.” His salvation produced in him a deep desire to learn and know the things of God. He
traveled all over England listening to some of the best gospel preachers of his day. He preached in a number of different churches, and it was evident he had a true gift. This hymn was written when he was 23 years old. The honesty of the words he used were prophetic. Not only was his salvation touchingly explained, but his future episodes of straying away from the Lord took expression in his words. Even then, he saw in himself that he was “prone to wander,” prone to leave the God he loved. Sadly, there were periods of his life when he did wander. He lapsed back into sinful ways, had periods of great spiritual instability, and even toyed with false doctrines opposed to the truth of Scripture. One day when he was much older, he was riding in a stagecoach, traveling through the English countryside. A lady sitting near him in the coach was obviously enjoying a hymn she was reading; she was humming the tune, and singing the words aloud. She turned to the stranger beside her, held the open hymnbook out to him, and asked him if he had ever heard that hymn. The stranger was silent for a long moment, and then he burst into tears. He said to her, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings that I had then.” Some 30 years later, the very words he had penned had been returned to him, by the grace and providence of God, to break his heart. He was a gifted preacher who held audiences spellbound. He was a talented writer, and a well-studied theologian. He was a devotional Christian, whose written works about his Savior touched many hearts. Yet, he was an unstable man; impulsive, eccentric, and one whose heart often strayed from the Lord. But the God Who had saved him, called him, and longed after him, was the God Who restored him, by his own hymn! The prodigal’s Father had never let him go. The words of the hymn seem to come alive as we consider the life of Robert Robinson. He wrote it early in his Christian experience, at a time when he had already wandered, and had been drawn back to the Lord through Psalm 116:7: “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee.” Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither, by Thy help I’m come; O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m
constrained to be! How often have each of us wandered away from God? Can we not see this very same tendency in our own hearts, and feel how truly prone we are to drift away? The God who caused Robert Robinson to be restored to Him is the God Who follows us, yearns after us, longs for us, and waits for us to return. This dear man was returned to his Father, and lived the rest of his days to the honor and glory of his Savior. He died peacefully at age 55, on the 9th of June, 1790. © Truth & Tidings - https://truthandtidings.com/2016/03/our-heritage-come-thou-fount/ When was the hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing written?In May 1758, when he was only 22 years old, Robinson penned "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" for his sermon on Pentecost Sunday. In the following year of 1759, the lyrics of this powerful hymn were included in a small hymnal entitled A Collection of Hymns Used by the Church of Christ in Angel Alley Bishopsgate.
What Scripture is Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing based on?The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" (KJV). The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help.
Is Come Thou Fount in the hymn book?Despite its omission from the current hymnbook, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is more popular today than ever. Here are the lyrics as sung in Wilberg's arrangement, which can be found on the album Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing: American Folk Hymns & Spirituals.
Who wrote Come Thou fountain?Robert RobinsonCome Thou Fount of Every Blessing / Lyricistnull
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What is the story behind the hymn Come Thou Fount?
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