Tune My Heart
By Jesse Becker
Rev. Robert Robinson wrote one of my favorite hymns, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, as a post-sermon hymn-poem, a practice that was common among ministers in the mid 1700s. This prayer to the Fount of every blessing, asks God to tune my heart to sing Thy grace. As a musician, I find this phrase to be a wonderful word picture of worship. The entire hymn itself seems to capture the essence and purpose of coming together with other believers: to focus on God, welcome His presence, and give Him the praise He deserves.
Music plays a fundamental part in these three roles of corporate worship as it unites our thoughts and mends our emotions. Each week I count it a privilege and a responsibility to lead the music at Eastland Baptist Church. I see my main purpose as helping us to refocus on God through the use of music, and hopefully stir greater devotion to Him. I know that my own life can be filled with so many distractions that I need these times to tune my heart.
King David had just brought the ark of God to its rightful place among the people of Israel in I Chronicles 16. Upon its arrival, the people offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. David organized the Levites to minister before the ark by recalling the works of the Lord, thanking and praising Him, and playing music continually. David then presented a Psalm to Asaph and his musicians in verses 8-36 (cf., Psalm 105), which seems to be a wonderful model for a worship service.
“Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works. ”
It begins worship by leading the congregation to focus on God and His wondrous works. Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works. (I Chronicles 16:8-9) In the following verses David continues to specifically name God’s many deeds.
The hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing incorporates the same concept in those curious words in the second stanza, Here I raise my Ebenezer. This phrase is a reference to I Samuel 7:12, where Samuel set up a stone to remind Israel how the Lord had heard their cry of repentance and mercifully delivered them from the Philistines. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. The second stanza continues to rehearse the undeserved salvation offered to us through Jesus’ precious blood:
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.
Not only does David’s psalm focus on God’s wondrous works, but it also encourages the congregation to welcome and declare God’s glory and presence. Verses 11, 27, 29, and 30 all speak of this with remarkable clarity. Seek his face…Glory and honour are in His presence…Come before Him…Fear before Him. We all know that God is present everywhere, but His presence is not always welcomed everywhere. Joining together in singing His praise is a great way to acknowledge and welcome His presence. The aforementioned hymn also speaks of close communion with God Himself:
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
After considering God’s works and becoming aware of His presence, David inspires the people to give to the Lord what he deserves: glory, strength, and offerings of worship. When a true worshipper recalls what God has done, and recognizes God’s presence, the natural response should be to give. The psalm advises giving glory or verbal praise; giving strength, which is anything material or physical; as well as giving any offering sacrificially. Romans 12:1 reminds us that our whole being can be, and should be, a sacrifice unto God.
The author of Come, Thou Fount came to the same natural response at the end of this timeless hymn. After reflecting on what God had done in his life and experiencing a nearness to God Himself, he feared that he might somehow move away from God; so, he gave his own offering:
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.
May our worship focus our hearts and minds on God, seek His presence, and give all the glory He deserves.