Redemption Song

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.

 Here I raise my Ebenezer;
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.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now 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.
Robert Robinson

I have this habit.  When I am listening to a song on my playlist or on my favorite radio station, I  enthusiastically scream, “that’s my song!!” To this impassioned confession, my brother responds, “every song is your song!". In his defense, I love music and I have quite a few favorite songs. What can I say? I’ve got the music in me. However, Come Thou Fount is what I would call my song of songs. My freedom song. My anthem.

This hymn has been the refrain of my redemption story. It pierces me and brings me to the utmost yearning for my beloved Savior.  I first was drawn to "Come Thou Fount" as a pre-teen. I would hear the hymn being sung in church and it spoke to me.

 I was compelled by the lines “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 fickle as humans. Our affections are drawn from one end to another like particles tossed in an ever-changing wind. Oh, but God is steadfast and immovable. He anchors us in His abounding grace.

Honesty

 As a  believer, I wrestle with doubt and unbelief. At one point,  I remember feeling like I was so far away from God that It was impossible for me to return, impossible for his grace to reach me. God used the words of this hymn as a boat to carry me back to His truth, to soften my heart to receive His healing. The lyrics gave me permission, to be honest with God about my struggle, to pour out my heart to Him for He really is my refuge( Psalm 63).  He cares. He understands. As much as I am prone to wander, He is more prone to find, prone to rescue, prone to redeem. I remember singing this song with tears streaming down my eyes as my soul felt like a desert, parched completely devoid of any hope. But Jesus was always there, to carry me in His beloved arms, to refresh my soul, to tune my heart to sing His grace.

Tune my Heart

Philippians 1:6- being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is God who saves. It is God who keeps. He is the patient Musician preparing us, His instruments, to reflect His glory. He tunes our hearts to sing his melody of love and continually refines us, so our sound grows in increased clarity.  He always brings us back when we sing erroneous notes and removes the inclinations to sing any other song but His. He places the new melody in our hearts.
He sings and we echo  His voice. He saves. He keeps.  It is a travesty when we believe that we are too sinful for God to love us, to cleanse us.   There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus ( Romans 8).

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

“Here I raise my  Ebenezer, hither by Thy help, I’ve come."

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer] saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”1 Samuel 7:12

Ebenezer means stone of help. This line reminds me to reflect and remember God’s wonderful deeds throughout my life. I cannot make a single motion without Him graciously willing it.

For in him we live and move and have our being…( Acts 17:28)

When we feel distant from God, or beset with despair, it is beneficial to recall how God has been gracious to us. As we focus more on Him and less on our circumstances, our perspective changes. We begin to realize that we cannot do anything of our own effort, strain, or accord.  God is sustaining us. He will never let us down.  He is a very present help in times of trouble. I am reminded to remember God.


 Remember His promises.
 Remember His attributes.
                                                                                               Remember His love.
                                                                                              Remember His pursuit.

By His grace. By His grace alone.

I sing about my beautiful Fount of every blessing

 The source of all pleasure, all delight

Christ  is the greatest treasure

The Only One who sanctifies

My heart and my flesh may tremor

But He quickens me with Steadfast faith

I am found in Him forever

Praise and honor to His Name

Praise and honor to His Name

As they make music they will sing, "All my fountains are in you."

Psalm 87:7