What I find beautiful about this hymn is the language. Specifically, the language that would be called archaic by our professors, while they suggest we use more modern words.

The poetry of hymns I find have a far stronger effect on the Christian heart- if you know what they mean. We have the obvious in hymns, no doubt, but I want to talk about one word that occurs in the second stanza of this one,

Here I’ll raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;

Ebenezer.

Pulled from 1 Samuel 7.

It was during a time of Israel’s repentance- they destroyed their idols and sought to follow the Lord once more. The Philistines attacked and through divine help, Israel claimed the victory as well as land that was theirs that had been occupied by the Philistines. To commemorate, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (v12). The word Ebenezer means, “stone of help.” The Israelites saw the stone as a reminder of the Lord’s power and protection.

In the hymn it’s an acknowledgement of God’s blessings and help. We are basically singing, “Here I’ll raise my stone of help,” because all that I have is because of you. But in a starkly more beautiful way.

I find that in modern times we’d never be able to use the word Ebenezer and get away with it, which is why I’ll stay old fashioned and always prefer the language of the hymns.

What I find just as fascinating- Robert Robinson was only twenty-two when he penned the lyrics.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing:

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’ll raise my 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,
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 feeble heart to Thee.
“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,”
Long I cried to be made pure;
“Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Work in me Thy double cure.”

Hallelujah! I have found it,
The full cleansing I had craved,
And to all the world I’ll sound it:
They too may be wholly saved.
I am sealed by Thy sweet Spirit,
Prone no longer now to roam;
And Thy voice, I’ll humbly hear it,
For Thy presence is my home.