Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

[mikbone]

My wife is the ward music director and she knew that I love this song so she is putting in the lineup for father’s day.

She wanted to make sure our organist was familiar with the music so she sent her the sheet music

Anyway, after the Sacrament meeting yesterday she started playing the music as the postlude.

And about half of the members started humming / singing the music.

[zil2]

It's a hard song to dislike, IMO.   I've loved it from the first moment I heard it, and only like it more every time I do.

[Carborendum]

I found the footnote about Ebenezer to be interesting. 

I had always thought of Samuel raising the stone as a symbol of our rededication.  The entire story of the Old testament and much of the Book of Mormon is the pride-prosperity cycle. It was our repentance and return to the Lord. We renew our covenants.

Quote

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 they courts above.

But the way the footnote describes it, it is not about our repentance.  It is about His grace in bringing us back to the fold.

Quote

Here, I raise my Ebenezer. 
Here by thy great help I've 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.

Wow, what a powerful song.  I'm tearing up just quoting it.

Edited June 3, 2024 by Carborendum

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

I taught sunday school yesterday and played Think a sacred song and It is well with my soul while everyone filed in. I really like the new songs.

[Little Nipper]

On 6/3/2024 at 2:07 PM, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

I taught sunday school yesterday and played Think a sacred song and It is well with my soul while everyone filed in. I really like the new songs.

Since you all seem to love this old Christian hymn as do I ---- I thought that you might enjoy reading what it means and who wrote it: https://imperfectdust.com/blogs/news/from-doubt-to-worship-the-history-of-come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing

[Vort]

30 minutes ago, Little Nipper said:

Since you all seem to love this old Christian hymn as do I ---- I thought that you might enjoy reading what it means and who wrote it: https://imperfectdust.com/blogs/news/from-doubt-to-worship-the-history-of-come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing

The article never really defines "Ebenezer". It's taken from 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us."

In ancient Hebrew, ebhen means "stone" and  eber means "help". Thus, the name Ebenezer literally means "stone of help". So "to raise one's Ebenezer" is to memorialize God's help, as Samuel did.

[mikbone]

51 minutes ago, Vort said:

The article never really defines "Ebenezer".

You will probably like this talk.  It is saved as one of my many "Must read"

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/curt-holman/raising-ebenezer-monument-remember/

Raising Your Ebenezer: A Monument to Remember

CURT HOLMAN

July 30, 2013

[zil2]

1 hour ago, mikbone said:

You will probably like this talk.  It is saved as one of my many "Must read"

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/curt-holman/raising-ebenezer-monument-remember/

Raising Your Ebenezer: A Monument to Remember

CURT HOLMAN

July 30, 2013

Ah, he promotes breaking out your fountain pen to write your Ebenezer!

Quote

That evening I carefully wrote about my experience, making special note of the spiritual confirmations I had received. I concluded my journal entry that night with the following sentence: “If someday in the future I ever find myself questioning my faith, please read this journal entry!” This experience is an example of a monument that I raised to help me remember what Heavenly Father had done for me.

...

...we took time together as a family to write down in our journals what we had experienced and how we felt.

Edited June 29, 2024 by zil2

[Little Nipper]

I thought that you all might a rendition of COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING.  In this case it was recorded in an Ohio prison sung by an Amish youth choir in the 1990's.