Funeral Songs (Part 5) – “Come Thou Fount” by Robert Robinson

Dear God, this has been an interesting series for me to do with you–the songs I would choose for my funeral. What do they say about me? What do they say about what I want to communicate to the world?

I’m up to a song that I love for the last part of the last verse. It’s a great song, but it’s the humble honesty of those last lines that make it so powerful. Here’s the whole song:

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson

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
Here there by Thy great help I’ve come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Oh, that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in the blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let that goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

 

Each verse has so much in it that I’m not even sure how to do this without taking two hours and I have a meeting at work in an hour.

The first verse mentions teaching me to sing your praise for the streams of mercy from you that are never ceasing. And letting it be the Holy Spirit and angels who teach me.

Notice the italicized words in verses two and three. This is what I meant in the first one I did in this series when I said I would have this song sung “Howard Butt, Jr. style.” At his funeral, they replaced the second have of the second and third verses with the last part of the song: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it/Prone to leave the God I love/Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it/Seal it for thy courts above.”

I was listening to a sermon this morning on my phone and I heard the pastor talking about how your glory fades from us when we walk away from you. And it frustrates all of us. I’ve heard that Mother Theresa wrote letters indicating that the last part of this song applied to her. Howard Butt, Jr. obviously thought it applied to him. And I can tell you it applies to me. I am prone to wander and leave you.

Father, here’s my heart. Please take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen