Come thou Fount of every blessing Author: Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson SDAH 334 Author was born at Swaffham, Norfolk, in 1735. In 1749, he was apprenticed to a hairdresser, in Crutched Friars, London. Hearing a discourse preached by Whitefield on “The Wrath to Come,” in 1752, he was deeply impressed, and after a period of much disquietude, he gave himself to a religious life. His own peculiar account of this change of life is as follows:–“Robertus Michaelis Marineque Robinson filius. Natus Swaffhami, comitatu Norfolciae, Saturni die Sept. 27, 1735. Renatus Sabbati die, Maii 24, 1752, per predicationem potentem Georgii Whitefield. Et gustatis doloribus renovationis duos annos mensesque septem, absolutionem plenam gratuitamque, per sanguinem pretiosum i secula seculorum. Amen.”

SDAH 334 Author Alterer: Martin Madan

Madan, Martin, son of Colonel Martin Madan, and brother of Dr. Spencer Madan, sometime Bishop of Peterborough, was born in 1726. He was to have qualified for the Bar, but through a sermon by J. Wesley on the words “Prepare to meet thy God,” the whole current of his life was changed. After some difficulty he received Holy Orders, and subsequently founded and became chaplain of the Lock Hospital, Hyde Park Corner. He was popular as a preacher, and had no inconsiderable reputation as a musical composer. He ceased preaching on the publication of his work Thelyphthora, in which he advocated the practice of polygamy. He died in 1790. He published A Commentary on the Articles of the Church of England.

These words were written by Robert Robinson in 1758 while he was the preacher at a Calvinistic Methodist church in Mildenhall, Suffolk, England. It expresses his own feelings after his conversion three years previously. Robinson was born in Swaffham, Norfolk, England, on September 27, 1735. When he was 8 years old, the family moved to Scarning, a small town nine miles to the east. His father died shortly after, and the family was left in poor circumstances. His mother wanted him to train for the ministry of the Anglican Church, but they had no money for the expense of study. So when he was14 years old Robinson was apprenticed to a barber in London, but he spent much time in reading and lived a careless life.Shorten with AI

When he was 17, his conscience was awakened after hearing a sermon by George Whitefield, but he was not really converted until three years after. He continued to attend services conducted by Wesley and others, and in 1758 he was invited to be a preach at a Calvinistic Methodist Church in Mildenhall. Shortly after this, he moved to Norwich and establish an independent congregation. In 1759 there was a vacancy in a Baptist church at Cambridge, and he was invited to be a preacher there. He was baptized by immersion and was so much liked in the church that he was urged to become the pastor, even though he was untrained. In 1761 he accepted this responsibility but managed a farm to balance his expenses. Though uneducated in the schools, he learned French and Latin and wrote four books that were very acceptable to his contemporary preachers. He was an eloquent orator and often wrote hymns to conclude his sermons. He retired to Birmingham in 1790 and died there on June 9 of that year at Showell Green.Shorten with AI

NETTLETON is named for Asahel Nettleton of Connecticut, who was an itinerant evangelist but not a composer. He was a Yale graduate (1809) and became a preacher for the Congregational Church. He compiled Village Hymns, 1824, which contained no tunes. The composer of the tune could have been John Wyeth, who included this tune, named HALLELUJAH in his Supplement to the Repository of Sacred Music, 1813. The Repository itself was published in 1810. Wyeth, born March 31, 1770, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, was not only a printer but also a music publisher and a musician. He was appointed postmaster of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by George Washington and edited a Federalist paper, Oracle of Dauphine, for 35 years. He died January 23, 1858, at Philadephia. NETTLETON is a very simple AABA tune, for the first score is repeated in the second and again in the fourth.Shorten with AI

Come thou Fount of every blessing Worship Notes

The original hymn includes five verses, but most modern versions use only the first three. There are a few common word changes in different versions. In some texts, instead of “Here I find my greatest treasure,” (Psalter Hymnal) the first line of verse two reads “Here I raise mine Ebenezer,” a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12, in which Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer meaning “The Lord has helped us” (Episcopal Hymnal, Presbyterian Hymnal, Baptist Hymnal, Methodist Hymnal). As well, the last line of the second stanza can be read “Interposed his precious blood” or “bought me with his precious blood.” The two verbs signify different metaphors of the atonement of Christ.

Tune:

The most common tune for the hymn is NETTLETON, an American folk tune, and some hymnals use the tune WARRENTON, from Sacred Harp music, as well as TRUST, composed by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

The NETTLETON tune is easily adapted to different styles of worship. Some examples are:

• Sufjan Stevens lilting folk version for banjo and piano
• David Crowder’s electric guitar driven version
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s choral and organ rendition, demonstrating the interchange between organ and a cappella, as well as the surge of volume in the second half of each verse that powerfully supports the upward direction of the tune
• The Fiddlesticks have a beautiful a capella version with fabulous harmonies on their album, Hymns and Songs of the Mormon Pioneers.

 

When/Why/How:

A hymn of redemption and dedication, originally written for Pentecost Sunday, but also tied to Christmastime, there are a number of different places where it could be used in a service:

• Opening hymn, a prayer of longing for the Holy Spirit to fill us with songs and words pleasing to God in our worship.
• Song of response after a sermon, as a song of dedication to God’s call.
• It could also be used very powerfully as a hymn of response after the confession and assurance. The hymn is an acknowledgement of our sinfulness or waywardness and God’s redemption and saving grace, and would powerfully frame a confession of our reliance on ourselves. The hymn could be sung as a whole, or the different stanzas could frame spoken words of confession. The first verse is a wonderful transition from an opening time of praise into a prayer of confession, followed by verse two, after which words of assurance could be spoken, with verse three sung as a response of gratitude and dedication.

 

Suggested Music:

• Count Your Blessings Name Them One By One SDAH 698
• 030 – Holy God, We Praise Your Name
• 042 – Now That the Daylight Fills the Sky
• 041 – O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
• 040 – The Dawn of God’s Dear Sabbath
• 041 – O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright