Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
| "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" | |
|---|---|
| Hymn | |
| Written | 1757 |
| Text | by Robert Robinson |
| Meter | 8.7.8.7 |
| Melody | by John Wyeth "Nettleton" |
"Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is a Christian hymn written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson penned the words at age 22 in the year 1757.
In the United States, the hymn is usually set to an American folk tune known as "Nettleton", composed by printer John Wyeth, or possibly by Asahel Nettleton. In the United Kingdom, the hymn is also often set to the tune "Normandy" by C Bost. The "Nettleton" tune is used extensively in partial or full quotation by the American composer Charles Ives, in such works as the First String Quartet and the piano quintet and song "The Innate". The "Nettleton" tune is also quoted at the end of "My Trundle Bed" by Tullius C. O'Kane. A shape note song called "Warrenton" also has been sung with a chorus being in 4/4 time or 2/2 cut time; to fit the text to this melody, the second half of each verse is omitted and replaced with a refrain of "I am bound for the kingdom, will you come to glory with me? / Hallelujah, praise the Lord!"
The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" (KJV). The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help. The unusual word Ebenezer commonly appears in hymnal presentations of the lyrics (verse 2).
The original text of the hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing":
It has been revised and now appears in modern hymnals as the following:
The following version was adapted by E. Margaret Clarkson in 1973.:
The following version appears in Nazarene hymnals and those of the Holiness movement. It replaces "wandering" with "yielded," and "prone to wander" with "let me know Thee in Thy fullness".:
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