Biblical Connections

Verse 1

• “Come, Thou Fount of every blessing… streams of mercy never ceasing” - Ps 68:26; Jer 17:13; John 4:13-14
• “Tune my heart to sing thy grace;” - Ps 57:7; 108:1; Eph 5:18-19; Col 3:16
• “Sung by flaming tongues above” - Heb 1:7
• “Praise the mount” - Heb 12:18-25

Verse 2

• “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I’ve come” - 1 Sam 7:12
• “Safely to arrive at home” - John 6:16-21; 2 Tim 4:18
• “Jesus sought me when a stranger Wand’ring from the fold of God” - Matt 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7; Eph 2:11-13; Col 1:21-22
• “He to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood.” - John 10:11; 1 Pet 1:18-19; Rom 5:6-8

Verse 3

• “Oh, to grace how great a debtor” - Matt 18:23-35; Luke 7:36-50; Col 2:13-14
• “Daily I’m constrained to be” - 2 Cor 5:14-15
• “Prone to wander…” - Psa 119:10; Mark 9:24; 1 Pet 2:25
• “Here’s my heart… Seal it for Thy courts above.” - Eph 1:13-14; 4:30

Verse 4

• “I shall see Thy loveley face” - Matt 5:8; 1 John 3:2-3
• “Then adorned in blood-washed linen” - Rev 7:13-14
• “Come, my Lord, no longer tarry” - Rev 22:20
• “Send Thine angels now to carry Me…” - Matt 13:41-43; Luke 16:19-22
• “…to realms of endless day.” - Rev 21:25; 22:5

Compared to Hymnals

We Do Not Use the Common Alterations of Vss 1 and 3

Most hymnals in the Stone-Campbell movement have adopted two significant alterations in verses 1 and 3.

In verse 1, lines 5-8:

First Publication (1759):	Alteration:
Teach me some melodious Sonnet, Sung by flaming Tongues above; Praise the Mount, I'm fixt upon it, Mount of God's unchanging Love.	Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still thy goodness prove While the hope of endless glory Fills my heart with joy and love.

In verse 3, lines 5-6:

First Publication (1759):	Alteration:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave that God I love;	Never let me wander from thee, Never leave the God I love.

These alterations seem to have originated in Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, Barton W. Stone, and John T. Johnson’s The Disciples Hymn Book(1834):

In hymnals more broadly, these alterations are uncommon. Most hymnals use a version of the text which is close to the original. We have chosen to do the same.

We Include Vs 4

Although the original hymn had four stanzas, the fourth was omitted very early by Martin Madan in his 1760 Psalms and Hymns. Most hymnals since then have also omitted the fourth stanza. It is notably included, however, in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. We have included it as well.

	No.	Words	Music
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs	680	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3	Alto sometimes sings SOL instead of DO to add fifth to the chord.
Songs for Worship and Praise	237	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Identical
Songs of Faith and Praise	226	Lacks vs 4	Identical
Praise for the Lord	500	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Identical
Hymns for Worship (Revised)	420	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Alto sometimes sings SOL instead of DO to add fifth to the chord.
Songs of the Church	405	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Identical
Sacred Selections	545	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still my goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1 (the additional alteration of “Thy goodness” to “my goodness” is particularly startling); Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Alto sometimes sings SOL instead of DO to add fifth to the chord.
Christian Hymns No. 2	70	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Lacks vs 2; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in (our) vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Alto sometimes sings SOL instead of DO to add fifth to the chord.
Great Songs of the Church No. 2	472	Has “O Thou” instead of “Come, Thou” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove” instead of “Teach me some melodious sonnet…” in vs 1; Uses the alteration “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love” instead of “Prone to wander…” in vs 3; Lacks vs 4	Identical

Compared to the First Publication (1759)

There are several small alterations to the first publication of 1759 which are now very common. We have adopted these.

First Publication (1759):	Common Small Alterations:
Come, thou Fount of ev'ry 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 fixt upon it, Mount of God's unchanging Love. Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy Grace I'm come; So I hope by thy good Pleasure, Shortly to arrive at Home: Jesus sought me, when a Stranger, Wand'ring from the Fold of God; He to rescue me from Danger, Interpos'd with precious Blood. O! to Grace how great a Debtor, Daily I'm constrain'd to be; Let that Grace now like a Fetter, Bind my wand'ring Heart to Thee: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave that God I love; Take my Heart, O take and seal it, Seal it from thy Courts above. O that Day when freed from Sinning, I shall see thy lovely Face; Cloathèd then in blood-wash'd Linnen, How I'll sing thy sov'reign Grace: Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransom'd Soul away; Send thine Angels now to carry Me to Realms of endles Day.	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 Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I've come; And I hope by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger Wand'ring from the fold of God; He to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood. Oh, to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness like a fetter, Bind my wand'ring 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. Oh, that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; Then adorned in blood-washed linen, How I'll sing Thy sov'reign grace! Come, my Lord, no longer tarry; Take my ransomed soul away; Send Thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day.

Sources

• Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, Barton W. Stone, John T. Johnson, The Disciples Hymn Book (1834):
  https://www2.lincolnchristian.edu/library/hymnals/hymnal.php?hymnal=PHS34&pgref=PHS34180.gif

References

• Chris Fenner, “Come, thou fount of every blessing,” Hymnology Archive:
  https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/come-thou-fount
• J.R. Watson, “Come, thou fount of every blessing,” The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
  https://hymnology.hymnsam.co.uk/c/come,-thou-fount-of-every-blessing
• Hymn page at hymnary.org:
  https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing