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Come Thou Fount
Jimmy Needham Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 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.
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;
Clothèd 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 this hymn, the writer is calling upon God to tune his heart to sing His grace, which is overflowing with streams of mercy and never-ending praise. The writer acknowledges that they are prone to wander away from God, and asks for His goodness to bind their wandering heart and keep them close to Him. The writer also talks about how Jesus found them as a stranger, rescued them from danger, and covered them with His precious blood. They hope to arrive safely into their eternal home, where they will be clothed in blood-washed linen and free from sin, singing and praising God's sovereign grace.
The term "Ebenezer" mentioned in the second verse refers to a stone of help, which was often used in biblical times to serve as a memorial for an encounter with God's faithfulness. The line "sung by flaming tongues above" in the first verse is a reference to the biblical account of Pentecost in Acts 2:3, where the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in different tongues as if they were on fire. The fourth verse, "O to grace how great a debtor," was said to have been frequently quoted by Lewis Hyde, the author of a book entitled "The Gift," in his lectures on the subject of gift-giving.
Interestingly, the lyrics to "Come Thou Fount" were written by Robert Robinson in the 18th century, who was only 22 at the time. Robinson was a restless young man, who was on his way to a drinking party when an elderly woman shared the gospel message with him. Her words had a profound impact on Robinson, and he soon turned to the ministry. Robinson became a well-respected preacher and hymn writer, with "Come Thou Fount" being one of his most famous hymns.
Line by Line Meaning
Come, thou Fount of every blessing
O divine source of all blessings, I request you to come into my heart
tune my heart to sing thy grace
Make my heart sing your praises by filling me with your grace
streams of mercy, never ceasing
Continuous flow of your mercies which never stops
call for songs of loudest praise
Your abundant mercies call for the highest form of praises
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Teach me a sweet song
sung by flaming tongues above
The song sung by the angels in heaven
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
I lift up this mountain where I am fixed and praise it
mount of thy redeeming love.
This mountain represents the love of Jesus which redeemed me
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Here I set up a stone of help
hither by thy help I'm come;
I have come here with your help
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
I hope that I will reach my destination by your will and grace
safely to arrive at home.
To safely arrive at my ultimate home with you
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Jesus came for me when I was a stranger to him
wandering from the fold of God;
I was lost and strayed away from the path which leads to God
he, to rescue me from danger,
Jesus, to rescue me from danger and to save me
interposed his precious blood.
Defend me by his own precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor
I am fortunate to be heavily indebted to your grace
daily I'm constrained to be!
Every day I feel obliged to you and your grace
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
May your goodness bind me like a chain, restrict me from wandering away from your grace
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Bind my mind which has a tendency to wander, to you and your grace
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
I feel vulnerable and susceptible to wander away from you
prone to leave the God I love;
I acknowledge my vulnerability to leave the God I love
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
I surrender my heart to you, take and preserve it
seal it for thy courts above.
Preserve my heart for eternity in your courts above
O that day when freed from sinning,
The day I look forward to with hope, the day sins no longer restrict me
I shall see Thy lovely face;
I will see your beautiful face
Clothèd then in blood washed linen
Dressed in pure white clothes that are washed with blood
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Then I will sing your supreme grace
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Come lord, do not delay anymore
Take my ransomed soul away;
Take my soul that was ransomed by you
Send thine angels now to carry
Send your angels now to transport me
Me to realms of endless day.
To the realms of eternally bright day
Contributed by Isabella P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.