Come Thou Fount
City Harbor Lyrics
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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.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
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,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
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.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
In City Harbor's song Come Thou Fount, the lyrics express a longing for divine guidance and grace. The song begins with an invocation to God to "tune my heart" to sing his grace, a recognition that our hearts can be out of tune with God's glory without His intervention. The song then moves to a recognition of the "streams of mercy" that never cease flowing from God, calling for "songs of loudest praise." The second verse speaks to the pain and sorrow that we experience in our earthly existence, but acknowledges that even in this, we can praise God for the help He provides in navigating these difficulties, and the hope we have for our eternal home. The third and final verse is a declaration of the debt of gratitude we owe to God for the salvation we have received through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The lyrics express a desire to be bound to God's goodness and a recognition of our own inclinations to wander from God's love.
Line by Line Meaning
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Please come, oh source of all blessings.
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Help me have a heart that can sing about the goodness of God.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Mercy from God never ends.
Call for songs of loudest praise.
That mercy deserves the loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Please teach me some beautiful words to say.
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Words that are worthy of being sung by angels in heaven.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
I am committed to praising the name of God.
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
I am praising God for his sacrifice that saved my life.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
I know I will have hard times on earth.
Till released from flesh and sin,
Until I am free from flesh and sin.
Yet from what I do inherit,
Despite the troubles I will face here,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
I will start praising God here on earth.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
I am setting a physical marker to commemorate God's help.
Here by Thy great help I've come;
I have made it to this point thanks to God's help.
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
With God's will on my side,
Safely to arrive at home.
I will be able to return to my eternal home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
God found and saved me when I was lost.
Wandering from the fold of God;
I had wandered away from God's teachings.
He, to rescue me from danger,
God acted to save me from harm.
Interposed His precious blood;
Jesus' sacrifice saved me from sin and death.
How His kindness yet pursues me
God's kindness still follows me today.
Mortal tongue can never tell,
There are no words to express how great that kindness is.
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I am human and will remain human until I die.
I cannot proclaim it well.
I can't express how great God's kindness is well enough.
O to grace how great a debtor
I owe everything to God's grace.
Daily I'm constrained to be!
I am obligated to be grateful to God every day.
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
May God's abundant goodness chain me to him.
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Help me stay close to God's teachings and love.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
I am aware of my weakness and my tendency to drift away from God.
Prone to leave the God I love;
I need God's help to stay loyal and committed to Him.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it;
I offer myself and ask God to make me his.
Seal it for Thy courts above.
May God accept me and consider me worthy of going to heaven.
O that day when freed from sinning,
The day when I am free from sin will be like no other.
I shall see Thy lovely face;
I will be blessed to see and be with God.
Clothed then in blood washed linen
I will be washed by Jesus' blood and be clean.
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace;
I will sing loudly as I am overwhelmed by God's greatness.
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
I want to be with God right now, I don't want to wait anymore.
Take my ransomed soul away;
I can't wait to be in heaven and to be with God.
Send thine angels now to carry
Please send angels to take me to God's presence.
Me to realms of endless day.
To God's eternal home where there is no darkness or sorrow.
Writer(s): Josh Varnadore, Public Domain Unidentified, Matt Bronleewe, Molly E. Reed
Contributed by Victoria D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.