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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.
Robert Robinson (1758)
THE HYMN WRITER
Robert Robinson was born September 27, 1735, at Swaffham in Norfolk, England to parents who were members of the church of England. At the age of six, Robert was sent by his mother and father to a Latin school, where Robert showed great promise. When Robert was eight however, his father had severe financial struggles and died unexpectedly. His godly mother had to work twice as hard to keep her family afloat, including sewing at all hours of the day and night and allowing boarders in their home. At the age of 14, Robert was indentured to a barber and hairdresser in London to contribute to the needs of his family. With the loss of his father and the hardships that ensued, Robert seemed to struggle with bitterness and rebellion against God.
It is reported by some that when he was 17, Robert and his rambunctious friends providentially crossed paths with an intoxicated fortune teller who told Robert that he would live to see his children and grandchildren. This provoked Robert to want to live a life that his offspring would find interesting. So he began his journey towards a more interesting life by going to hear the famous George Whitefield preach that same evening. Whitefield was powerfully preaching the text, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). Later Robert wrote about hearing Whitfield:
“I confess it was to spy the nakedness of the land I came–to pity the folly of the preacher, the infatuation of the hearers, and to abhor the doctrine. Mr. Whitefield described the Sadducean character: this did not touch me. I thought myself as good a Christian as any man in England. From this he went to that of the Pharisees. He described their exterior decency, but observed that the poison of the viper rankled in their hearts. This rather shook me. At length, in the course of his sermon, he abruptly broke off, paused for a few moments, then burst into a flood of tears, lifted up his hands and eyes, and exclaimed, ‘Oh, my hearers, the wrath’s to come! The wrath’s to come!’ These words sank into my heart like lead in the waters. I wept, and when the sermon was ended retired alone. For days and weeks I could think of little else. Those awful words would follow me wherever I went.”
After two and a half years, of being haunted by the words of Jesus that Whitefield preached, God finally broke into Robert’s heart. He came to saving faith in December of 1755. His Christian friends recognized his gift in handling the word of God and in 1761, Robert was ordained in the Baptist church. He soon became a well-loved preacher in the Cambridge area. The church was not able to pay him very much, so Robert pursued work in farming and trading in order to support his wife Ellen, his nine children and his aged mother. In 1770 Robert began an extended literary career and wrote books on various topics. He also wrote two hymns: “Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Robinson’s “Come Thou Fount” was accepted into Christian hymnody with great appreciation and enthusiasm. John Newton (1725–1807) was a great admirer of this hymn and he quoted it several times in different letters. In a letter to John Thornton, dated 1770, he wrote:
He found me in a waste howling wilderness, in the most helpless state of sin and misery—but in consequence of his everlasting purpose and love, he was pleased to deliver me from ruin, to call me by his grace, to give me a name and place amongst his children, and amongst his ministers. O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be! My soul desires to set up an Ebenezer to his glory this day. (John Newton Project)
There is disagreement amongst hymnologists concerning the last years of Robert’s life. Many say that he turned away from orthodox Christianity and became a Unitarian, (Unitarians reject the Trinity and do not believe that Christ was the Son of God) or at least was close friends with famous Unitarian pastors. In addition, others cite a story that Robert met a woman while traveling who was humming his hymn and tried to share and discuss the beautiful lyrics and truths with him. He responded, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.” We can hope that in the end, Robert’s heart was truly bound to the Lord’s, and that one day we will get to worship along with him in glory.
IDEAS FOR DOING HYMN OF THE MONTH
We are so glad you are here, friend. If you are new to this community, welcome! It is a great time to join in and make family worship a priority if you haven’t already. You may or may not be familiar with this hymn. Either way, we invite you to spend this month meditating on its truths. You may find yourself too busy during this season to get to all of the verses, and that’s okay! Here are a few ideas for implementing the hymn of the month together:
- Print out your FREE printables for this hymn. Take a moment just to read through the verses together, as you would a poem. You can also use the copywork printables for your children to practice writing the words.
- Let your crew ask questions about vocabulary and the meaning behind the author’s poetry, and ask if there are any words or phrases that stick out to anyone.
- Read about the author together (above). There is such beauty in understanding the life and thoughts of the hymn writer! When my family sings hymns together, we often reflect on the author and his or her sufferings or blessings. For every hymn, it’s like we make a new friend.
- Listen to the hymn. Play it when you are driving together, or at home while washing dishes. Try out lots of different versions from our playlist below. Let your children hear YOU singing it. There is such wonderful comfort that comes from your children hearing you sing. Even if you feel like you haven’t a musical bone in your body, it doesn’t matter… Sing!
- Most importantly, spend time reading Scripture, praying and singing along with your children. It may feel awkward at first but go ahead and give it a try. Your kiddos may not join you in singing right away, and that’s ok. It may take a few days or even a few weeks, but at some point, you are most likely going to hear your children humming the tune or singing the lyrics while playing or while you lead them. Don’t forget to connect with your children by looking at them in the eyes while you sing. And in your heart, look to the Lord in worship, submission, joy and reverence.
- Review! There are many fantastic ways to review hymns, but our favorite is using a hymn jar. After the month is over, we write the hymn title on a popsicle stick and put it in our hymn jar. We’ll often pick 3 or 4 songs from our jar during our morning routine so that we won’t forget the beautiful songs we’ve learned. It’s amazing to me how well the lyrics often stick in our hearts and minds!
To get you started, we’ve provided free printable lyrics, music and copywork — all found here!
LISTEN IN
You can find fresh versions of the hymn on our YouTube channel that you and your family can sing along with. There are loads of fresh versions of our favorite hymns on our hymn of the month playlist.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
When we began singing hymns with our littles about 12 years ago, we kept it simple… We prayed and sang one hymn together every night at bedtime for a whole month. Everyone’s family rhythm is different, so we welcome you to gather up your families, for just a few minutes each day, to sing, discuss and memorize this hymn (following your daily time in the Scriptures and in prayer) whether it is first thing in the morning, or around the dinner table or before bedtime – whatever works best for your family. You can let us know how it’s going by posting either a video or a photo on Instagram. Just tag it with #happyhymnody! As always, if you have any questions or if you’d like to share your heart with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out! God bless you all this month as you worship and follow Jesus together as a family!
With so much warmth and love,
April
Bibliography:
Segal, M. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” April 26, 2015. DesiringGod.org Retrieved July 17, 2022 from: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing
Fenner, C. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Hymnology Archive. September 5, 2018 Retrieved on July 17, 2022 from: https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/come-thou-fount
Cambridge University, Thornton Papers, Add 7826/1/A, transcribed by Marylynn Rouse, The John Newton Project (http://www.johnnewton.org ).
de Jong, L. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Hymnary.org. Retrieved July 17, 2022 from: https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing
Cottrill, R. “Come, thou fount of every blessing,” Wordwise Hymns (18 June 2012). Retrieved July 17, 2022 from:
Hatfield, E. The Poets of the Church. New York: Anson D F Randolph and Co. (1884) online copy: https://archive.org/details/poetschurchaser00hatfgoog/page/n10/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
Burrage, H. S. Baptist Hymn Writers and Their Hymns. Portland, Maine: Brown Thurston & Company. (1858) pp. 69-75. Online copy: https://books.google.com/books?id=_tcNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Miller, Josiah. Singers and songs of the church. London : Longmans, Green & Co. (1869). Online copy: https://archive.org/details/singofch00mill/page/268/mode/2up
Happy Hymnody 