Without examining what an ‘Ebenezer’ is, we will have no idea what this verse means and so will never experience the joy found in this reference to God’s unwavering promises! This is a biblical idea, so let’s look at 1 Samuel 7:12 We are held fast to this vast love that seeks to shower affection on us, despite our performance. We want to model the angels’ praise as we gather together as Christians! Towards the end of the verse, there is a glorious assurance that we are ‘fixed upon’ the mountain of God’s redeeming love. The line ‘Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above’ is reminiscent of the cry of longing in the Lord’s Prayer “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”. We are to look to what God has done for us and respond accordingly, with ‘songs of loudest praise’. ‘Come Thou Fount’ starts by setting before us a gospel-centred model for worship, both in corporately praising God and for giving Him glory in our day-to-day lives.

It’s my hope and prayer that if we understand the things about which we’re singing about, we’ll be able to relish in the love that God shows in his redemptive purposes and not just enjoy a beautiful melody. However, as I was preparing for it on Saturday, I realised that for the rest of the guys to enjoy the richness of the words, I would have to walk them through the archaic words and phrases that are no longer used today in 2013. Recently at relate, we sang Come Thou Fount, a song that has for many years continually drawn me back to one of the core messages of the Bible: that the grace of God is the only thing that can overcome the gravity of my self-inflicted sin.

Flaming Tongues by Kenya Wright