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    Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

    Robert Robinson 1758 Tune: Nettleton (8.7.8.7 D)

    A song of grateful praise and confession of a wandering heart.

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    Quick Answer

    A song of grateful praise and confession of a wandering heart. Written by Robert Robinson (1758), set to the tune "Nettleton" by John Wyeth (attributed).

    Suggested pairing scripture

    1 Samuel 7:12

    "Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us."

    Read 1 Samuel 7:12 (KJV) aloud as a call to worship before the congregation sings "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." It anchors the hymn in the Word from which it flows.

    Read in context

    When to sing this

    Sing at the close of a service as a hymn of response, during altar calls, baptisms, and seasons of personal rededication.

    Lyrics

    Stanza 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.

    Stanza 2

    Here I raise mine 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.

    Stanza 3

    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.

    History & Background

    Robert Robinson, converted at age 17 under George Whitefield's preaching, wrote this hymn at age 22. The familiar tune 'Nettleton' first appeared in John Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music (1813).

    Scripture Behind the Hymn

    1 Samuel 7:12

    "Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us."
    Read in context

    Psalm 23:6

    "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."
    Read in context

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does 'Ebenezer' mean in the hymn?

    It is a Hebrew word meaning 'stone of help'. Robinson borrows it from 1 Samuel 7:12 to mark every place God has helped the believer thus far.

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