12/7
((from Jessica))

When my brother was little, he was a quieter soul. He wasn’t flashy, he wasn’t loud, and he was hardly a “show boat.” In all truthfulness, he was a lot like my mom – steady, consistent, and quick to serve. So I’ll never forget the Sunday evening when he quickly and boldly raised his hand during the congregation’s ever-favorite, “Pick your Favorite Hymn,” night.

I feel like I can still see his brown-sandy head and those big baby blues as he bravely announced for all to hear. “Number 17. Come Thou Fount.”

Immediately, tears stung my proud sister eyes.

Half shocked, I remember glancing over at my mom with a look that pretty much all but said, “What in the world?!?! Why is he raising his hand, and why in the world is he choosing #17?!?!”

I truly don’t remember all of his answer when we asked him after the service why he chose #17, but I remember him saying something to the effect of, “I like the tune.”

And ever since that day, every single time I hear the song, “Come Thou Fount,” my eyes go misty and my heart wanders back to that little old church and that sweet, little boy with his hand in the air.

So when I saw this hymn was listed as an option for this week’s blog post, I jumped like a hot potato to dive into it’s history. But just as quickly as I dove in with excitement, I resurfaced with a mixed bag of emotions.

Most historians agree that this beloved hymn was penned in 1757 by Robert Robinson. Robinson’s father died when he was a small boy and without a father to help guide him, he fell into companionship with a brood of bad apples. As noted by many resources, a teenage Robinson, along with his gang, forced a gypsy into drunkenness one night and demanded the woman to share their fortunes for free. It is said the gypsy woman pointed her finger at Robinson and told him he’d live to see his children and grandchildren.

Apparently, this struck a nerve in the heart of Robinson because he delcared, “If I am going to see my children and grandchildren live, I can’t go on living the way I am now.”

At the age of 20, after a run-in with the fiery preaching of George Whitefield and a few more years of sowing his wild oats, Robinson eventually accepted salvation and set out to become a preacher himself. Shortly after, he wrote the words of “Come Thou Fount,” to express his joy in his new-found faith.

When he penned the words, Robinson was aware he had been set free, no longer a prisoner and no longer defined by sin… and yet, he begs of grace to bind his heart to God. Why? Because he knows his flesh, and he knows the GPS of his heart is prone to wander and prone to leave the One he loves.

“Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Romans 7:21-23