Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
– Robert Robinson
What a beautiful prayer to the Author of EVERY blessing: “Tune my heart.”
When my guitar is out of tune, the song that is meant to be beautiful can sound more like nails on a chalkboard to me. Something’s not right. So, I stop. And I take the time to gently restore each string to its right place so the song will be beautiful again.
And, oh, how my heart needs tuning! I forget His goodness. I forget there are “streams of mercy, never ceasing.” I forget that I’m already accepted, covered, held, known, beloved. And when I forget that I’m His cherished daughter, I start hustling for my worth. Grasping for “good” as if I don’t already have access to the Giver of every good thing.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
I’d never play a song with an out of tune guitar, but so often (too often) I am willing to live with a heart that is out of tune. Dissonant. Fearful. Discontent. Ashamed. All because I don’t take the time to restore my heart to its rightful place, to a place of gratitude for a Love that will never leave me.
It seems that our work as followers of Jesus is to remember. To sing His grace over and over. And because of what He did on the Cross, it’s a song that will never grow old. We can’t sing it too much or too loudly. We can’t wear that record out.
While we were still sinners, Love gave Himself up for us, and walked out of the grave, so that we could taste the sweetness of mercy and belonging. That song is powerful. Lord, would you help us to sing it?
I need this hymn. I need the truth that it carries.
It calls me back to remembering the Fount of every blessing.
It beckons me to raise up Ebenezer stones. Rocks to remember how God has been my helper. Rocks to remember our Rock.
Because I’ve got nothing if I don’t have Him. And we HAVE HIM. He stands with open arms, ready to transform our hearts if we’ll but hand them over. Bind us to Your side, Lord Jesus.
What might happen if we invited Him to tune our hearts to sing His grace today?
COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
Robert Robinson, 1735-1790
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 mine 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,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy 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, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
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415 thoughts on "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
Tune my heart I need you Lord!
“Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise”
So true, and such a joy to read-read these lyrics and really think about them.
Seal my heart for the courts above
I’m struggling there is so much evil, sin, disease in this world. Lord tune my heart. Let me see the blessings that you have for me, my family and those brothers and sisters who know you in the world. Help my heart look to the stones of remembrances that point to your goodness & your return. Come lord Jesus.
This was such a good reminder! ❤️
Love this hymn and the line “Bind my wandering heart to thee!”
How brilliant is the writing of this hymn.
Bind my wandering heart to thee!
Could not make it through each day without my savior Jesus! So blessed to be saved
I am yours God !
Tune my heart to sing your amazing grace, Lord!
He is the reason we have every blessing!
Tune my heart to sing your grace…
I love how when I’m striving for my worth that God gently nudges me stop my wandering and tune my heart back into him.
Lord help me to remember
He stands with open arms ready to transform us…
One of my favorite and beloved hymns!
Listening to it now. We should always be striving to tune our hearts up to the Bible and to Jesus. This is also reminding me that we need to be reminded of what Christ did for us, and how we need to be thankful for every little thing we are given and also on the flip side, we need to be thankful of everything that is taken away
I loved how she said that – I would never play a song with an out of tune guitar but I am too often ok with living a life with an out of tune heart (paraphrase). That was convicting in a way I needed it to be. Lord, I’m prone to wander, bind me to you!
One of my favorite Hymns!
Tune my heart to sing your praise. I don’t think I ever really thought about these words until now even though I have always loved this song. I walk around out of tune quite often so this will be posted on my wall.
Amen.
In his youth, Robert Robinson was apprenticed to a barber in London and lived a wild and reckless life. But one day he heard a sermon by George Whitefield on the stern words of John the Baptist to the Jewish leaders of his day, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ” (Matt. 3:7). The Spirit of God convicted the wayward young man and he put his faith in Christ.
Associated with the Wesleys for a time, Robinson served as a pastor in several churches. He wrote a number of works on theology, and two hymns that we know of, Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee, and Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. The latter hymn begins:
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
The song is autobiographical in its confession of a proneness to wander away from the Lord. Though a man of intellectual brilliance, Robert Robinson was, in the words of Scripture, “unstable as water” (Gen. 49:4). In his later years he drifted away from God. This weakness is reflected in a later stanza of the hymn above:
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.
In a spiritually backslidden condition, the author was traveling in a stage coach one day. His only companion was a young woman unknown to him. In the providence of God, and not realizing who it was she spoke with, the woman quoted Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, saying what an encouragement it had been to her. And try as he might, Robinson could not get her to change the subject.
Finally, he said, with tears in his eyes, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who composed that hymn, many years ago. And I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I then had! ” Gently, she replied, “Sir, the ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing. ” He was deeply touched by that. As a result of the encounter he repented. His fellowship with the Lord was restored through the ministry of his own hymn, and a Christian’s willing witness.
Source: wordwisehymns
I think as humans we need to try all the more to not let our hearts wander since we are prone to it. I pray that my heart would not wander Lord and that you would seal it for thy courts above❤️
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Dear God, please tune my heart to sing your praises.
1Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
I love this! I am so grateful for God in my life everyday but today even more! In Him, I have everything! He loves me, no matter what I’m bringing. And I’m grateful for him getting me this far but sometimes I forget it was Him. So I need to set my Ebenezer as a reminder. And I’ve always wanted to name my first girl Ebbie (short for Ebenezer) and never really known why…until today <3
Thank you Lord that your every blessing and streams of mercy aren’t things to come but are already there for me daily.
Listened to this song during my church’s prayer night last night and oh I am prone to wander and prone to leave the God I love. But I am so thankful for his goodness and grace each and every second of the day.
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Yes – my wandering heart. Tune it up!
Lord help me always be mindful of your love. Help me remember that you don’t change even if I do.
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Oh, praise the Lord for His marvelous mercy!! His kindness never ceases!
I loved this.
Yes, we are prone to wander! I pray that God holds our hearts & prepares them for heaven❤️
Yes, I definitely wake up every morning with a heart that needs to be tuned by Jesus!
Such a beautiful sweet reminder of our wonderful faithful loving God!
I love the “seal my heart”. It reminds me that Jesus is the only one who has my heart.
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10For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
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I didn’t know the second verse. How rich!
I’m am prone to wonder! I am willing to give you my heart!
I have always loved this hymn and never fully processed the idea that “tuning my heart” means bringing it back into the rightness it was meant to be!
Love this hymn. Thanks for the post and for the encouragement. Here is a video I did on the same hymn you might enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c1ZRlAXtjw&feature=youtu.be
God is my rock ❤️
Just how wonderful
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One of my favorite hymns and such encouraging words
Thank you so much for this. This led to a soul searching trip through my Bible that my anxious heart desperately needed and then the devotion reaffirmed everything that I had just read. I need to remember to lean on God and not myself daily.
I love that line “prone to wander Lord I feel it” It’s so hard to sing something so true. We naturally stray away from the truth of Christ. But his grace allows us to find our home with him, in his kingdom. Amen!
I understand the part when a guitar is out of tune, it’s sounds way off and it’s a disaster. It’s just like our hearts, we have Christ in us but sometimes we are slaves to sin, and when we sin we think that other people aren’t watching us but God is and we always need to remember that God watches everything we do, think, say and see. Sometimes I get filled with fear, insecurities, worrying, but I need to remember that God is by my side, that there’s nothing to fear because He’s there, to not be unsecured because He made me in His image.
As a musician, I understand when my guitar is out of tune, it’s a disaster. But with my heart? I forget about those tender mercies. My heart needs tuning every minute of every day.
I know my heart has been long out of tune. I need to remind myself of God’s constant overflow of blessings in my life.
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This is one of my favorite hymns. I love the reminders it gives us.
This is so beautiful and so true! So often we try to give God praise and worship with out of tune hearts. This has become one of my favorite hymns!
this is one of my favorite hymns of all time, and it truly has a special message! I’m so thankful that my God opens his arms open wide, and he can tune our hearts so that we can sing about his grace and mercy all day long!
Love this
i sometimes forget during hard times that we HAVE God. He is here to tune and transform our sinful hearts -ellie
I really love this hymn! 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 the courts above
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Lord seal my heart to remember always the great helper who has redeemed me by his precious blood. May I not wander from this truth but have my heart ever tuned to worship.
I so needed this one today. Since getting married 13 months ago, my husband has been unemployed and searching for a job for 6 1/2 months. I am a full time teacher at a private school and God is definitely providing. However, there are days that I find it hard to keep believing that God is working His glorious plan. There are moments I forget that God works for my good and His glory. This season has been hard. It would be hard no matter what, but so early in our marriage has really tested us.
Right now the thing God has been harping on for me is how I take offense to what people (specifically my husband) might say against me. If my heart were properly tuned, I’d be getting my identity solely from Him and when people say something to me in their weakness, I can help empower them to look to Jesus instead of getting in my feelings.
I️ totally agree Ana- I️ too often try to identify myself based on what others are saying to me and about me. It’s time I️ properly tune my heart to be a beacon for those people, not something negatively affected by those people.
I mean tune… hehe
Could not have related to this message more!
This is my favorite song to sing with the choir. We sang this song with three other choirs and we were blessed to have a full orchestra accompanying us. What a glorious and moving moment in my life.
I really needed this devotional today, it shows that even though we wander, he has our heart and we NEED his love. I’ve been trying to wander, but God keeps bringing me back in. I feel the need to leave because I want to do everything on my own, but I know I’m in desperate need of God’s love and strength.
I’m thankful for a God who is my help, my protector, my fullness of joy.
Praise our most high
It’s amazing that God gives His word to me at the right times. It’s amazing what I see what He’s trying to get across to me. My heart does need tune ups. I need to fall on Him with every little thing and constantly praise and thank Him. I’ve thanked Him much but why does my praise everyday fall short? Why is my heart in this funk and when did it start? I pray daily and it’s for others or my family, or both. I’ve fallen away from Him in the past and the last time I fell away from Jesus, I came back with so much brokenness that He healed. I could never again fall away from Him and yet why is my heart in this funk… God, please keep my heart open to you, with praise, with thankfulness, in my heart and on my lips. Don’t let me lose sight of your plan for me and my family. Teach me to follow you better and keep my heart pure with your spirit, untouched by the world and untouched by evil. I wish to serve you continuously Father. Thank you for saving me, thank you for giving me Jesus so that I could come to you through Him. Thank you for the countless teachings you keep piling up. Amen.
a devotional reading written a few years ago applied to my heart today. it was what needed. the word is alive
This spoke to my heart so much. This is one of my favorite hymns but I don’t know if I’ve ever truly listened to it. My heart is sooooo out of tune and this gave me the reminder and hope that Jesus is there and I’m His and I need to tune myself to Him
My prayer tonight:
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.
Life has many hurdles and distractions. It’s easy to get caught up in the world. I pray God guards my heart and mind from earthly things and keeps them focused on Him. And I pray He does the same for you ❤️
I needed this SO much. One of my favorite hymns that just hits home every single time. Thank you.
“And we HAVE Him!” Amen, all day.
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Need this today so much.
This hit home. Just what I needed. Jesus you are so amazing❤️
WOW! Just wow to every single part of this. This resonated with me to the point of tears. We forget sometimes that we don’t let God down because we were never holding Him up. He’s holding us,and when we lose sight of that sacrifice. When we lose sight of our purpose and what worship really is. Its a mess!
But worship is,not only to praise Who is worthy, about reminding ourselves who He is and how small everything else is around Him.
Praise God!
This has been my favorite hymn since I heard is 10 years ago. Never have I felt so connected, or just that this is what I’m trying to say! Prone to wonder, bind my heart to thee – that’s a daily prayer & plea for me. It’s so easy to get caught up in daily life and go through my day without calling on God to help me through even those little moments.
So beautiful! I wish there was a way to save favorites to a folder to read again and again!
“prone to wander, Lord, I feel it” It could not have been put any better. Why does my heart keep returning to discontentment when it has already been overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord?! What a powerful hymn.
I am his cherished daughter ❤
I needed this today. Thank you SRT ❤️
The Sufjan Stevens version of this song is also so good!
I love this song now
such a beautiful version of this hymn! a favorite one of mine
Definitely needed this word today. Time to tune my heart
Thank you Lord♥️♥️♥️
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
God help me in moments when I am afraid or feel alone. Please help me know that you never leave my alone, that im always safe and protected by you. Be with me Lord in my time of need
It’s important to sit at the feet of Jesus and just take in everything that he’s given us, and appreciate and enjoy it. God is so amazing.
I love Adam Young’s version of this song. It’s powerful.
Loved this !! Hymns can get looked over so easily today but they really are so beautiful
I have listened to this hymn often over the last few months sung by Chris rice. he has added another verse:
Oh that day when free from sinning I shall see thy lovely face, clothed then in blood washed linen how i’ll sing thy sovereign grace. Come my Lord no longer tearing, take my ransomed soul away. Send thine angels now to carry me to realms if endless day.
this means so much to me as my dad is close to going home to be with the Lord and it is a comfort to know where he will be.
Today I was reading Philippians and trying to find things for me to do to become a better Christian. But no, all is already done in Jesus. Let me just abide in my savior and let his blood cover my inadequacies. You are good Lord.
Thank you God.
I wasn’t born in a Christian home but when my family found God it was incredible! And now I’m at a point in my life where following God has to become my own not another rule my parents expect me to follow. I’ve come to a point where I forgot how it was to be with him for a split second, but he always pulls me back and this message just continues to remind me of the heart that God has for me!! I love it<3
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.” This devotion blessed me abundantly! “Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God” He sought us out and brought us near!!!
Please tune my heart Lord!
I have had this hymn on my heart for some time now
Thank you.
I grew up in a small church outside Nashville and we sang *only* hymnals. I don’t think I understood the beauty of them when I was younger. They bring me to tears every time I sing them, now.
Great read this morning!
Transform our hearts Lord
I love this. Tune my heart God. Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
A beautiful hymn. Lord tune my heart.
Beautifully put, I wander again and again from His love. I forget that no matter how out of tune I am, he still loves me and will treat me as His own.
God saves us each and every day. He saves us from wondering this world endlessly forever…. He saves us
I love how the scripture speaks of Jesus love for us… And that by putting our trust and love in him our blessing shall be received… In reading it brought me to fear why do we live in fear if our heart is in tune with God, this life regardless good or bad… WE WIN IN THE END…. Gives me a different outlook
What a beautiful hymn of surrender! Let us attune our hearts, thoughts, and minds to the things of you, Lord. Your ways are higher than ours and you know the way of our lives and direct each step.
I love this hymn!
That is such a motivational topic as music
Is held so very high in my respects
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Such a beautiful hymn :’) easily one of the most sung and most comforting songs I sang when I was over in Glasgow for my studies. Blessed times.
I love singing this hymn and I love playing the guitar. This analogy was amazing and I really connected to it. What a great devotional!fjdjdjddhdhddhdhdhd
*anymore
This is one of my favorite hymns. They sure don’t compose praise and worship songs like this any,ore.
Yes! How true these words are! Just what my soul needed to hear today.
It’s so amazing to sit and read the scriptures that inspire these songs. Often times I find myself just singing the words and I love looking through here and seeing the lyrics and scriptures that I can really meditate on.
Oh to grace how great a debtor… These words say so much more than I give thought to.
this hymn has always been my favorite. not only is the melody beautiful, but the message that it carries is even more so. i constantly need to remember to tune my heart to sing his grace, and to make it my prayer that he would bind my wandering heart to his. he is our fountain of blessings + strength.
Amen amen!! What truth! I needed to be reminded of this. My prayer is that God would indeed bind my wandering heart to sing his grace!!
My absolute favorite hymn. All the way in the deepest corners of my soul do I feel that song.
I was honestly filling so blue today and I really needed this devotional. I feel that my heart has been out of tune lately and I plan on going back to Jesus in this year to come.
Ellie’s little sister leads my bible study and this truly opened my heart. I love this whole family. I’m also so grateful for Ellie’s little brother who leads songs at young life for us and I just love that family. Actually going to Ellie’s sisters house Monday so I hope we can dwell on this together
There is no good apart from you God. Let us seek you in everything + bind our wandering hearts to You!
I love how, to most of us, when we sing hymns we never really think of the powerful message behind them. But here the songs are beautiful and inspiring
“Prone to leave the God I love”
Such incredibly true words. Yet Gods mercy is never ceasing(:
Prone to wander? Yes. We all are. Yet He gives us grace. I’m so undeserving but also so grateful.
“Jesus sought me when a stranger.” Love that he pursues after us so faithfully.
Jesus sought me when a stranger. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Some of my favorite words that often need to hear- “bind my wandering heart to thee”.
yes I am prone to wander, because I am human. but I find my way back to Christ because I am His!
How beautiful is God’s love for us
Oh Lord, how great you are. Help me to lay my fears and worry at your feet. You are way more equipped to handle them anyway. Tune my heart so it my be in sync with yours.
“tune my heart to sing thy grace.”
One of my favorite hymns. Love it!
A beautiful reminder that MY GOD ALWAYS HAS MY BACK!
I needed to be reminded to quit living a life out of tune! A beautiful reminder to take the time to set things right .
I’ve always wondered what an ebenezer is when I sing this song! Thanks for the context !
My husband sings this hymn to my 2yr old when he goes to sleep, and he hums right along with him! So precious.
To think that we think we can add anything good to was is already perfect is so insulting, and yet he loves us so.
One of my favorite songs and one that I often him to soothe my daughter when she’s fussy.
A wonderful message for today! We need to remember!
My absolute favorite hymn! Praise God that in Christ I am daily a debtor to His amazing grace!
This needs to be a constant reminder..
This is so beautiful. The Lord literally spoke to me through this, because it’s so hard to let my heart get “off tune”. I love you Jesus & Your ENDLESS GRACE!
I love this so much. “Tune my heart” really resonates with me this morning :)
Love this. It speaks to me and I want you to tune my heart Lord, because I want to be used for your glory. I need your guidance. I am forever debted to you for what your only Son did for us on the cross. I’m forever grateful for your love and mercy.
Yer guitar's upside down, chick. #ChicksWithUpsideDownGuitars
Tune my heart is such a beautiful statement and now a prayer I will pray daily. Tune my heart to you oh Lord, so that my life will be like a beautiful melody. Amen
I love that God understands that we often stumble and fall away from Him. How great is that that He will ALWAYS accept us back into His arms. I’m learning daily to trust Him and not turn away when I am in the midst of a crisis or when I’m in a day of blessings.
I love this! I definitely need to tune my strings a lot, but with the help of God at my side, I can do anything.
To live with a heart that is out of tune. I think this is how I have been living for too long. With so much pain and hurting
So beautiful. I am nothing without Him.
Love it!
“Because I have nothing if I don’t have Him.” Whew.
Didn’t realize how much I needed
This today. I’m feeling distant and its no ones fault but my own
Wow… This just reminds me how much I need to stay hidden in Christ!! Thank you God
So good!
Definitely a daily request that I need to be making. Always asking for sins to be forgiven, with out asking for my sinning heart to be rewritten by his loving hand.
Love what you said!
Wonderful reminder that I believe I’ll need almost daily.
Beautiful sentiments. I need to remember to ask Him to tune my heart. Thanks for the reminder.
The psalm we read called me to think through… “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…” I must ask where are my lines and do I find them pleasant? Something for me to mediate on all day as the Lord tunes my heart I can be searching where my lines are and what they mean to me.
Such a beautiful reminder. Thank you!
Reading this filled me with such great hope and excitement. Praise The Lord!
Significant analogy. My heart is the very lifeblood of my existence. Tuning tells me I’m in melodic harmony. What a beautiful picture of the symbiotic relationship necessary with Christ to even be able to sing praises. A reminder again that I am totally dependent on Him!! Thank God for His transforming power.
This is such a great reminder that we are held by him, and He will make us complete. He’ll seal our hearts for Him alone.
Life is a journey of forgetting and remembering who we are in Christ. The more I set my gaze on the Father, drawing closer to Him, the less I forget and the more I remember my identity in Him.
My heart has definitely been out of tune, and as a Child of God, my heart aches because I know he still loves me unconditionally. I need to get closer to my God
This hymn has always touched me so much! It’s such a comforting reminder to me that Christians from all backgrounds throughout history have wandered and that we can be tuned so easily by God.
I play the trumpet and am not very good at tuning it or totally knowing when I’m out of tune and I’m so thankful when my fellow band members tell me to fix something. Yet, when someone I care about points out areas in my life I need to “tune” I become angry and defensive. Lord, let me be more open to the tuning of my heart than the tuning of my trumpet. (I also love the Ebenezer line).
Amén amén! Brought tears I wasn’t expecting.
Such a beautiful illustration! Thank you
This is so eye opening and encouraging. And I play guitar as well, so it helps me understand even more. and I’ve always sung this song without fully knowing its meaning besides the fact that he always give us a blessing. I can relate so much, probably everyone can. I Love this, thank you God for showing me this app through my sister…
I too play guitar and having that metaphor to help me understand this hymn is really helpful! Thank you!
I must admit I have sung this song for years without clearly knowing what an Ebenezer was. Now, that takes such a rich, personal meaning for me!
He’s always reminding me how he’s been there whenever I look back. Help me Lord as I look forward to know I’m yours and you are mine forever.
I have found myself wandering and lost lately…..this devotional today was what I needed. I needed to bind my heart again and tune it to His great name for HIS glory and IN His likeness. Praise Him on high. I hope You ladies have such a blessed day! Thanks for all the encouragement and honesty. #shereadstruth
My life was in that place today between two places. But because of this life changing forum of Women of Faith,I am no longer betwixt and between two places, have my place. I have found Ebenezer……. Thank You Lord…..
Always Ebenezer, Lord, and never an Ichabod, I pray!
Great devo! Solid truth. I love hymns!! I need tuning; renewing so often.
My heart is always in need of tuning… I wouldn’t play a piano that is out of tune, I would ask a professional to tune the instrument. Lord, please tune my heart to show You in my thoughts, words, and actions.
Laying down my Ebenezer… what a needed reminder for me today.
It’s hard to remember that we are “good” in God’s eyes. Not our grades nor our good deeds will make God love us any more or less than he already does. God accepts us as we are and that is why it is so important to turn to God when you are ashamed or distant or just sad. God waits for us with open arms. He wants to “tune your heart” and restore it to its rightful place. I struggle with this because during my times of shame, I avoid turning to the Lord. I try to fix my mistakes on my own instead of turning to the Lord. This was a good reminder of the unconditional love God has for us and the importance it is to turn to him at all times.
So true, love this reminder!
Definitely a good reminder to keep our hearts tuned to see His grace
This is probably one of my personal favorite hymns. But it’s also my best friend’s favorite. She’s struggling a lot right now with feeling like she’s running out of time or feeling like a failure and I just… I’m showing her this later because I think she’ll like it a lot. So grateful for words and music that God uses to inspire and teach us. :)
How sweet is His grace.
I so often focus on the “prone to wander” verse in this hymn, it was so refreshing to see it in a new light tonight! Isn’t it interesting how you can hear/read something many times and still after a thousand times come away with a new meaning! Tune my heart, oh God, to sing only your praises! Here’s my heart.
The hymn I relate to most. It reminds us that we’re broken but saved by the blood of Jesus.
This. Everything my heart needed today.
I had never thought about the line “tune my heart” before. It’s definitely a great need for me!
Check out Chris Rice’s hymn project. Love this hymn and this devotion is so so moving. Following the reading with the song is what I needed today!
Dear God PLEASE TUNE MY HEART. I constantly struggle with worldly idols and it seems that as much as I pray about it, I constantly still get pulled to them. I need help to not concentrate on these idols anymore but to concentrate on you. I am also quick to anger.. Please help be patient. Help me seek you in all my actions and constantly be living for you! With you as my primary focus.
Thanks for the post . you can get the idea about that
I adore this hymn. One of my favorites.
Beautiful hymn- I love the devotion along with it. “It seems that our work as followers is to remember.” Sometimes a hard job.
Beautiful song, uplifting words.
This hymn is so beautiful, it really quiets the soul yet at the same time makes me want to sing so loudly! A wonderful devotion that holds so much wisdom
this is one of my favorite songs. The word hold power and truth. What an excellent analogy to tuning a guitar
Beautiful and full of so much meaning. Thank you!
This was the perfect devotional for today as once again I looked at my sin and self condemned because of being ashamed of myself. “there is no good apart from you”. I’ve been looking at myself wondering if I’m His good, better than His good or His best, but those who choose to bind their wondering hearts to God truly are choosing to become and pursue His best regardless of what they feel they are at the present moment. Christ died to safe sinners, of whom I am the worst, there is no good in me apart from God. ~ 1 Timothy 1:15-17
I LOVE this hymn! And the fact that the devotional is written by Ellie Holcomb makes it even better! Grateful for Your Love is the first song I that raised my hands to God.
Aww, i love this! Its great to know some background and amazing how these old songs NEVER lose their quality, where secular songs can barely last a few months until they need to be replaced!
A favorite hymn for a long time, and well needed today. God is good.
Definitely needed this, re-tuning my heart is taking so much time . Thank God for the journey.
“Here’s my heart, O take and seal it…” so beautiful & exactly what my tired heart needed today.
Amen, Amen.
Beautiful words and exactly what I needed today
Can’t wait to restore this mangled heart.
It’s hard to remember that we are cherished daughters. That’s what we tune back into. Instead, as I’m applying for a first job, I feel like I’m “hustling for worth” in so many other places.
Hustling for worth is definitely something I struggle with as well.
Love this. Ellie Holcomb is my favorite artist. My heart – oh God – needs tuned tonight to You.
I love that idea of tuning ourselves to God. Just as a guitar constantly falls out of tune, we must also constantly play our praise and worship to Him and give Him the opportunity to tune or hearts
Love these words to this song! Put things in a new perspective today and days to come.
Prone to wander makes me cry every time. It’s so convicting.
So needed this tonight. I am in tears, good tears, and if feels so wonderful.
So needed this today!!
Good reminder to get my heart in tune.
Just what I needed to hear today!
I love the thought of creating a visual reminder, an Ebenezer for the times that God has been my help and strength. What a blessing to look back on my life and be able to point to those reminders and proclaim His goodness and faithfulness.
❤️❤️❤️ psalm 16:8. “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (esv)
Such a beautiful reminder. Lord tune my heart to You.
This is one of my most favorite hymns!! It is a great reminder to “tune our hearts to sing His grace”.
So good. I love this hymn so much.
I am the piano player for my church and I love the hymns anyway… but I want to commit to READ and really THINK about what they are saying to me and to the congregation. What song am I playing to God’s people? do I heed the words being sung back to me?
I agree! Sometimes I find myself zoned out and just singing the words, but I really want to concentrate on what the words mean and to Whom I am singing.
I’m bawling my eyes out as I read and sing this hymn. I believe it. Lord, help me to trust.
Wonderfully encouraging. I needed this.
What a wonderful reminder that we have to remember to tune our hearts to stay in tune with what God has for us. It’s humbling to know what we so easily overlook.
so great to be still and truly remember.. that The Lord loves me. and all of these characteristics of God in this song.. I’m speechless, in awe of the one who gave it all. for me, for us.
Gotta be honest, I read this in the gym changing room after a good swim. It seemed as if everything slipped away and it was only me and the Lord in there. I wanted to sing this Hymn so loud, it proclaims everything my heart is proclaiming in this time of my life.
Amen!
I have a new appreciation for this hymn that I’ve heard all my life! I thought I would read this devotional this morning because I had some extra time before church orchestra rehearsal, and it was exactly the message I needed to hear to ready my heart for worship today! It is funny that I just tuned my violin before reading this message about needing to “tune my heart” as well. God works in such wonderful and neat ways!
I love that He is in those tiny reminders throughout our day!
My heart needed this today! Thankful that the Lord wants to tune my heart to what He has for me!
Lord, would you take and seal this wandering heart for your courts above…
This is my favorite hymn. “Here I raise my Ebenezer,” is the greatest line. Such an attitude of humility, gratitude and praise. It displays the characteristics I want in my life. I need the to remember the stones of help God has brought into my life. And I need to be willing to lift them up to God, saying , “hither by thy help I’ve come.”
I love the Ebenezer line too! What an incredible symbol of God\’s love for us! Thanks for sharing, sister!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
“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.” I really like this line. Even though this hymn was written quite some time ago, it’s something I can relate to.
I love that this hymn is timeless, Miranda! So much truth in these lyrics. Thanks for joining us today!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Such a favorite hymn of mine. Growing up on hymns, it’s one I have only learned within the last year or two. Immediate blessing and favorite. I enjoyed studying it some more today.
Also in the Psalm how “even at night my heart instructs me,” is such a beautiful reminder and picture of HIS work in us being something only God can do and bring about—think of that picture, when we are sleeping we can “do” nothing but lay there and IN that our hearts are STILL instructed by our great God! He is growing us not by our own works but by his great love and plan for our lives. Love his truth!!
I love the picture this hymn paints of our hearts being tuned (restored!) to him. So in awe and thankful that he reached out to me/us in my time of need…thankful he does this daily, sometimes moment by moment, to remind me that I am his. Not because of who I am or what I have to offer but simply because he is love and he loves me…oh how he loves me.
I need Ebenezer rocks as markers because sometimes I forget that. I’ve been in a place similar to this and God helped me. Needed to see 1
Samuel 7:12
Bind my wandering heart to you, Lord. I feel like I am the biggest wanderer of them all.
Me too…me too. But thankfully he pursues us in our wandering;)
More than two centuries later, the words to this hymn are so appropriate for today. Comforting to know God is faithful even though we aren’t.
Amen.
“I will not speak [other gods’] names with my lips.” We can be so eager to edge to the very lines of temptation and idolatry. Keep our hearts and minds pure and well-tuned, Lord, that at times we would not even notice what You saved us from, we were so fixed on You!
Never quite understood how encouraging that hymn was until paired with the knowledge that there are times I’m seeking good through anything but Him! The hymn really is a comforting balm that sings from my heart to Love! Thank you!
Thank you. I need that verse!
I’m thankful that HE is the tuner, not us. Our work is not required to be right before him, our work is not required to have a perfect song, to set our heart strings to the right chord. HE tunes, sets right through the secure work of Jesus. All we are left to do is sing songs of loudest praise for our unmerited, undeserved righteousness. What an incredible gift. What a reason to sing and shout and sing Hallelujah for the God who calls the wanderer home. Who gives her a song.
Love your words..such deep truth rooted in them. Oh how he loves us!
Read a few things telling me something today…I have a voice in my head that is ALWAYS telling me I’m not good enough, I don’t know enough, not pretty enough, skinny enough ext. but I am beautifully and wonderfully made. He made me in His image and I am good enough. He died for me so that I may know and be close to God. He didn’t die for the good, He died for the bad, the sinners. I am a sinner and He loves me. I am forgiven! I forget this often I need to remember to retune my heart and that I am His.
This was so refreshing. I’m so blessed by this app!
Same here!!
“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it”, is so true. Every time I sing this I am reminded that it is a natural human response to wander. A gentle reminder that I need to return to my Father is appreciated.
I just started doing this plan and when I went to comment I was pleasantly surprised to see your comment. Have you done a lot of studies on this app? I am enjoying this one. It is refreshing way to study God’s word.
I’m new here! This message spoke to me because I’m a musician :] and very much in need of tuning :/
Everything in life seems so hectic right now. I’m not sure how to reach my goals. This message reminded me I need to take a step back and focus on the areas I need to improve personally before I can complete the bigger picture.
Tune the piano before you start writing melodies!
I’m so glad to have found this community of ladies. I’m looking forward to reading more into Gods word and hearing from you guys.
-GA
I’m new too! What a gift! Isn’t it so great that God is the tuner?!! That we can ask HIM to make us right. That he gives the melody.
Welcome to our community, Kara! We are so glad you\’re here!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
“It seems that our work as followers of Jesus is to remember. To sing His grace over and over. And because of what He did on the Cross, it’s a song that will never grow old. We can’t sing it too much or too loudly. We can’t wear that record out”. So true! But when my heart gets “out of tune”, how prone I am to meditate on other things! Yes Lord, bind my wandering heart to You!
I relate so much to “I forget there are “streams of mercy, never ceasing.” I forget that I’m already accepted, covered, held, known, beloved. And when I forget that I’m His cherished daughter, I start hustling for my worth.” Today’s world throws so many expectations and standards at us that are so crippling to women, especially women of God. I have to keep my focus on the Lord and HIS plans and promises to remember that I am His cherished daughter and that will never change because He is faithful and everlasting!
“And, oh, how my heart needs tuning!”
Is there a truer statement. I want to post this in my office or journal daily. I have come to realize my heart has been hardened to many things including Hod’s voice. I rely on our plans. We need to rely and need more of Him and less of me.
We are going through what could be a scary time. I am anxious to see how He works it our, but I get lost on what part does He want us to play. Do I only pray? What actions do I take? Help me!
We have been praying for guidance, can you pray for us as well to know what He wants and what we want to do to solve this problem, please. Thanks.
I don’t know what you are going through but I have found that in the most desperate of times there are still actions to be taken. The verse that comes to mind is in Galatians, where we are encouraged not to grow weary in “doing good….that eventually you will reap what you sow” Even if it is just thanking God when we want to grumble or complain. Not that I am great at this. Just yesterday I was so stressed that I was in and out of crying and being angry….I am so thankful, God met me in this ugly state after reading day 1 of this study. I was struck by His welcoming arms. I am so guilty of wanting to “self-tune.” :( instead of running to Him.
I believe the answer is in the Psalms. Psalms 16:7-11 paraphrased says “I will praise the Lord who counsel me.” This is the beginning of a heart tuned to Him. “Keep my eyes always on Him” Human nature is to seek others for answers. “My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. You will not abandon me.” Praise is the antidote to fear and worry. “You make known to me the path and fill me with joy.” His ways are not our own. He will guide you if you seek Him. God does not lead us to places to abandon us. There is light in the darkness.
One of my favorite hymns! Such a great reminder that everyday our hearts need to be tuned
“When I forget I’m his cherished daughter, I start hustling for my worth” this is so so true!!
Amen to tuning our hearts towards God and rejoicing in his love!
I love thr idea of Of tuning our heart to his grace. What a beautiful image. May our hearts and mouths sing of our God.
So glad you joined us today, Ann Marie! Blessings to you!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
I just said a prayer for you also, Leanne.
Thank you so much!! Greetings from Puerto Rico! :)
This word came just in the time I most needed it. If you can have me in your prayers cause i’m going through a though moment I will be grateful. Thank you so much.
Just said a prayer for you, Leanne!
Thank you so much!! Greatings from Puerto Rico :)
A record that never wears out
I’m so in love with God❤️
Loved this reminder! Thank you so much for this post!
Just wondering if anyone had trouble with the spotify playlist? Or maybe it isnt up anymore?
Liz, I’m not sure if my trouble with Spotify is the same as yours but I’m hoping someone here can walk me thru the process of selecting a particular song to play. My trouble is that I can find the song, but when I click on it, it takes me to the playlist and starts playing random songs from the list and I can’t control which one it plays. Am I doing something wrong???
Hi Jeannie, that would be because you are using the free spotify app on your phone. It’s inconvenient, but it will only play a playlist on shuffle. Alternatively, log on to a computer or iPad and you’ll have more control over what you are listening to without upgrading to premium :) hope this helps!
Thanks Laura. I’m sort of cheap when it comes to apps. I guess I’ll just search the songs on YouTube.
As I read the second day of this it hits me so hard how much my heart is in need of tuning. I move between feeling worthlessness and feeling like I don’t need God. Lord, bind my wandering heart to thee. I am fickle but you are never-changing!
Oh how I needed this reminder. Jesus, I’m yours!
This is what I need sometimes I forget about Gods love and I need to tune heart to him . Yes love this …
Tune my heart… Tuning means to pull the string back to where it needs to be. That can’t feel good to the string, but, oh it’s necessary. My relationship with Jesus is just like that. Tuning is an uncomfortable process, but the beautiful song that it produces makes it worth it. I’m constantly desperate for a TUNE UP!
The idea of raising up an ebenezer-a stone of help-something to remember what God has done has been lost in my life. I want more of this. I want to be able to celebrate what God had done. I want more holy days in my life.
I love this hymn so much! I’m always moved to tears hearing this. I relate so much to Ellie’s words, my heart always needs tuning!
I love how these comments are the body of Christ coming together! I’m so encouraged by all these wonderful women!
We have nothing without him… But WE HAVE HIM!! Woohoo! Rejoicing In this fullness and truth!
Wow, this one was absolutely beautiful. I love how she used her guitar as a metaphor to “gently restore” the strings to their beautiful sounds. Lovely reminder of how God views/wants to love us.
I loved that as well! Music is a passion and that really stood out to me:)
I really needed this tonight!
I’ve been struggling with some things and it just touched my heart. Praise our king!
I love this app!
omg thank you ladies
This whole devotion was a song! What beautiful scriptures and examples! Thank you, Ellie, for your wonderful insight.
Come thy fount is a hymn my 20 yr old son and I sing together often. We love praising our Father and just reminding ourselves of our righteousness. Accepting salvation was so easy for me. Living out my righteousness has been the hardest part. To accept that I’m the daughter of the King and He calls me by name. When I pray and cry, He hears. To know I’m worthy of so much love is so humbling.
Loved the part about the Ebenezer stones! Stopping and thinking about applying that in my life!
How do you fully restore your heart to a place where you don’t feel fearful, ashamed, alone, and discontent. Something that haunts you for years even though you continue to ask for forgiveness. How do you know when He has fully forgiven you, and if He has, why do you continue to feel guilty? How do you overcome that and know when you are truly forgiven?
Don’t let the devil use your past against you. You are forgiven. God does not hold your past over your was and constantly remind you of it. God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind 2 Tim 1:7 (KJV).
Pray and fast that God would break the bondage that the devil is placing you in. That God takes away your fear and replaces it with light and love. I’m only saying this because I’ve just been healed and delivered of fear and anxiety. I had severe depression and anxiety all my life and three years ago I started my relationship with God. He delivered me of fear and anxiety this summer (2014) & if He can do it for me, He will do it for everyone. God is not a respecter of persons. Meaning that if He does it for one He can do it for all. Have faith, trust when you don’t understand and BELIEVE He will break tat bondage & heal and deliver you of the fear, shame, discontent and loneliness. (The devil a lot of times will make us feel alone to take us away from what God is doing. The devil only attacks who he fears.. So if God is preparing you for bigger things for the Kingdom, the devil will attack!)
Sorry it’s so long. I hope this is some sort of encouragement to you! I’ll be lifting you up in prayer and make sure you fellowship with others at church! It helps a lot! ❤️
Your post was truly encouraging. I really needed to hear that. I’ve been picking things up that I put down at the cross. I do well and then I stumble and it’s always the same temptation. I have had a relationship with God, but never as strong as I want. The line about The Devil attacking who fears stood out to me and I am thankful that God is always near! Prayers are appreciated and God Bless you!
The key is that we as humans can do nothing. Christ alone, cornerstone, will rescue us. “Blow through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow.” I encourage you to pray in honesty and transparency for God to bring you restoration. He rescues and saves. Depend on Him to take care of you. And how down before the King of Kings, and hug the Father. Hope this helps!
Love the part about forgetting you’re His precious daughter already! You have everything you need already!
I love this! We need to daily ask God to tune our hearts.
Jesus tuned my heart tonight to see Him instead of the fear I was letting in. He is greater and oh so more lovely. I’m new to She Reads and already so thankful.
really got to me. my heart is so out of tune and I’ve been ok with it like that. but I’m not ok with that right now
Jadon Lavik sings this hymn beautifully! Thank you for the wonderful post again :)
One of my all time favorites. It stills me when I’m going crazy.
This was very peaceful to my soul. thank you!
I always sang this in church and really liked most of them, now that I actually read the words I understand so much more on what it means! I love this passage we read today!
My all time favorite! This song almost always brings me to tears. How lovely a reminder that even though we know we are prone to wander, he is quick to bind us!
M
I sing this to my son every night. It is one of my favorite hymns.
Open our hearts to god!!!!
Music and scripture… Balm to the soul
“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.”
Amen. Let’s purpose to start our mornings rooted in the truth of who God made us to be. He makes himself known to us, and shows us the way we should go. We don’t have to live in fear or defeat because there is JOY in His presence!
Often I hear the small voice say, cease striving and know that I am God. And I was reminded of that when I read the portion about being his cherished daughter but forgetting it and spinning my wheels. Man, do I love to spin. This was such a word in season for me. I am at a point where I have to rest and trust in Him and daily lay it down at His feet because it all depends on Him. (It depends on God all of the time but this is one of those times where I actually FEEL that). Thanks for sharing.
Amen. I needed this
this brought tears to my eyes! So thankful for this community that is going to stretch over all of the world!
one of my absolutely favorite songs. I expecially like the line, prone to wander, Lord I feel it. …. oh, how true. …
Ellie, thank you for your truly beautiful words today. They resonate so deeply with me. This is probably one of my favorite hymns of them all! “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.”
“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ”
Such assurance in these words. He WILL make known to us the path of true LIFE. No matter our present circumstances, God WILL meet us in them and fill us with joy. Lord, give me eyes to see you in each of my days! Let me trust you for your pleasures are eternal, they will sustain me through anything I may face. God, I know that you come to us at just the right time. You are always there and your time is always the right time. Teach me Lord, every day. I will choose to trust you. I will choose to place my present circumstances, opportunities, and future in your hands because you are always present in the right time.
Tune my entire soul to the music of the Lord
This is my favorite hymn. I have no words to really express what is in my heart I’m so overwhelmed with this reminder and of Gods great grace!
“So, I stop. And I take the time to gently restore each string to its right place so the song will be beautiful again.” I love this image because when we allow God to tune our hearts, He gently restores us to what we already are in the Spirit- holy, righteous, and redeemed. The work is finished, we don’t need to work to become Daughters of the King, we just need to be tuned back in to our already established identity. If you’ve ever seen the chords of a guitar, they have different thicknesses so a “low e” chord is different from a “b” chord. Each string is what it already is but that doesn’t mean they can’t get out of tune. We are already Daughters of the King, we just need to be gently tuned after the heavy hand of the enemy strikes us continually. Thankful for this beautiful study, enjoy today sisters:)
Tune my heart Lord!
I love this! I shall never forget and distance myself from the goodness of the lord
One of my favourite hymns! So so true. We need reminders – frequent ones! – like Ebenezer of what God has done. And all coz our hearts are so prone to wandering. Lord help us all!
“And when I forget that I’m His cherished daughter, I start hustling for my worth.”
I love this so much because I try much too often to find my worth in things other than Jesus. My worth is found in Him, not anything of this world. Today I am thankful for His grace when my heart is out of tune, His love that always puts me back in tune, and His never ending mercies shown to me today through Ellie’s words.
‘Bind my wandering heart to thee.’
This is such auch cool prayer that really touches what I feel inside. Beeing a pioneer character and a single woman I feel like sometimes I need someone who helps me binding my wandering heart to his for a while to take a breath and know that I don’t have to do it all alone.
I really needed this today. I’ve been stuck in a rut of thinking about how I don’t really have any good friends and how alone I’ve been feeling, when I’m not alone at all! Thank you for reminding me that God is always with me, he is my rock, and he is my every blessing!
I love the idea of thinking of our hearts as an out of tune instrument. It makes perfect sense to me. Every soul needs some fine tuning from time to time.
I thought so too!
What a great reminder! I so often think that if I’m out of tune it’s my own job to get myself out of it and on track when In retrospect I can’t do that without Jesus. It’s a vicious circle I tend to fall into!
I forget SO MUCH. In times of prosperity, I forget to pursue Him as hard as I do in times of need. It’s really embarrassing to admit, but I NEED this hymn and reminders like it.
Me too, friend! I'm thankful for the reminder of how much I need it! Thanks for joining us today!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
This is exactly what I needed today! I’m going to by singing this hymn all day long now!
Me too, Kaitlyn! There's SO much goodness in it!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
http://youtu.be/EYrTqBioaZ4
I found this really cool version I wanted to share with you ladies. I know that stopping, and allowing myself to just sit and listen to worship can really turn my day around. Myself, having no musical ability, am so thankful for those that can minister with songs of worship to our God.
Thank you for sharing the link as I could not get the spotify link to work. This version was beautifully sung and so soothing right before I turn in for the day.
Thanks for sharing this version Anna!
I love this hymn, Its my favorite! So blessed by this devo today!
Reading this reminded me that I don’t need some earthly man to love me. I already have all I need through Christ and his father. He saved me because he loved me and I could never ask for anything more
Wow, this is so powerful! God is truly all we need. I find it easy to forget that when earthly struggles and desires work their way into my heart. Great reminder to constantly check our hearts. We cannot tune them by ourselves. We need Gods loving grave every day!
This is one of my all-time favorite hymns, probably because I identify with being a wanderer. I have those times where I am so very out of tune. I need to be bound more tightly to God in those times. I need to take the time to tune (let me tell you, tuning my clarinet in high school band was one of my least favorite parts of rehearsal- I just wanted to get to playing). The song isn't as sweet if we don't take the time to tune the instrument. What a great analogy.
This hymn is very comforting to me, knowing even if I’m “prone to leave the God I love”, he won’t leave me. He has me by my right hand and I will not be shaken. Oh how I need this today. Thank you ladies, enjoy your day.
I'm a college student, and I didn't grow up in a home devoted to Christ… So obviously, I sin in numerous ways and i often feel like I can't be one of Christ's followers because I'm not "good enough," or "holy enough." This verse spoke to me this morning "God shows his love for us in that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) I am still a sinner. But Christ loves me all the same. He wants me just the way I want Him, and that is such a comforting and beautiful feeling. This study couldn't have come at a better time for me.
Romans 5:6 caught my attention for the same vein! “Christ died for the ungodly”
This is my favorite hymn! What a blessing it was to see this when I awoke this morning! Thank you for giving it even more meaning after reading your post. I have been humming this all day! :)
Psalm 16:9-11. David’s heart was glad – he had found the secret to joy! True joy is far deeper than happiness; we can feel joy in spite of our deepest troubles. Happiness is temporary because it is based on external circumstances, but joy is lasting because it is based on God’s presence within us. As we contemplate his daily presence, we will find contentment. As we understand the future he has for us, we will experience joy. Don’t base your life on circumstances, but on God. (NIV Life Application Bible)
This was so powerfull. Thank you for allowing God to speak through you today!
Keeping our eyes fixed on God’s redeeming love is the only way we can find clarity in this muddied up and fallen world. Loved this message today. Will be singing this prayer all day. Thank you.
I love the phrase, “it seems that our work as followers of Jesus is to remember.” Remember and proclaim grace & love. I know I often get caught up in the “hubbub” of life – too much much going on, not enough going right. I love that this challenges me not to just talk about or acknowledge God’s gifts, but actually remember. Following Him means remembering, thinking about, and adjusting myself accordingly. Adjusting myself according to grace and love. Remembering it, smiling about it, living gratefully in it, and being changed because of it. Too often I’m tired, cranky, and walking through life with a worn out heart. But even when I’m tired and can’t lift another finger, another encouraging word, another tough obstacle – it’s okay! I don’t always have to be moving forward. Sometimes I can just remain in one place and remember the grace God bestows. Even when I’m still, because of when I’m still, I am a follower whose heart is still abiding in Him. Thank you, God, for this hymn penned so long ago, and for it’s applicability to my life, our lives, today. May we always remember and lean into the memories of your grace.
I feel like I have a daily battle to remember who's I am starting when my feet hit the floor in the morning. There are so many messages from the world out there trying to tell us we are someone else's. I need daily reminders of God's grace, daily Ebenezers, and this devotion is one God so perfectly gave me today :)
Yes, it sure is full of reminders! Thankful for all of these truths:) We love having you!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Beautiful. I love this and needed this reminder. This has always been my favorite hymn and now has even more meaning.
Beautiful passage today. You have a gift as a wordsmith. Thank you for sharing it so bountifully with us today. Blessings to you.
Oh, how I love this hymn! And so very much needed it and Ellie’s devotional this morning. Thank you LORD for always reaching out to me right where I am!
Beckey
http://reallyreallyrealhousewives.blogspot.com
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Thank you Ellie. So good to really look into thse old hymns. They are not sung often enough. Bless our sisters today .
This is my FAVORITE hymn. I was just yesterday telling my mom how much I hoped this was on the list!
It's one of mine too, Hillary! So glad you're here!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Does this verse make anyone else nervous, “prone to leave the God I love” ? It’s a battle already set inside of us. I find this comforting as I go thru a growth spurt in him…the growing pains and tuning get scary but I just pray I can trust he is truly the author and finisher of my faith. If I love him He can’t let me go right? Love these studies
Beautiful! Exactly what my heart needed to hear today! Thank you!
“And when I forget that I am his cherished daughter, I start hustling for my worth.” So beautifully stated. How often do I get away from the Fount, the Ebenezer, the grace, and try to find worth and security through other things? Singing this hymn in the background of my day can remind me where my heart belongs. It reminds me of the cross. I can never sing about the cross too much!
Even the tuning process is uncomfortable to my ear, but it’s necessary. I need to remember that.
Ooh, love that, friend! Thanks for sharing!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Tuning is not always comfortable. God is right here with you
We sing this hymn often at church but stopping to actually take in the words is so wonderful. “prone to wander” I feel that in my own life. Sometimes life blinds me and gets in the way of what my true focus should be. Praise God for loving me and I pray he “tunes” my heart to be more like his.
I, too, loved really absorbing each line, Amanda! So glad you joined us today!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
This is one of my favorite hymns. What a great song to have stuck in my head all day! I love that we are God's instruments: that we are beautiful TO Him and that we can create beauty FOR Him! And if we get out of tune, he's there to fix us.
Yes! I love thinking that we are God's instruments, Laresa! Thanks for sharing, friend!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Good morning, ladies! This is such an appropriate hymn/reminder/devotion this morning. Over the past couple of days, I have been sharing a series of Facebook posts in honor of today being my third child's second birthday. The weekend he was born in 2012 was a redemption of those days. You see, just one year prior, in 2011, I found out at a routine OB appointment that the little one I carried was with Jesus. That was on November 10, 2011. I had the procedure to have that shell of the baby, who once was and was no more, removed on November 11, 2011. So two years ago, on November 10, 2012, I went into labor. And the same sweet doctor who had to tell me we'd lost our baby the year before was able to deliver our healthy baby boy on November 11th. I love Ebenezers! I love Redemption! I most dearly love our faithful, gracious Father! Thank you, Jesus, for the way you worked in our lives. Have a great day, ladies!
How appropriate that today is Remembrance Day. Thank you for sharing your story. Thinking of you today:)
Beautiful. God bless!
Oh, what sweet redemption. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story. God bless!!
Beautiful …how great is our God…enjoy this very special day…Stinav96., and I pray God continue to show his love to you…x
Admittedly, this is one of my favorite hymns too. I don't remember singing it so much when growing up in the Church but thankfully, many have brought it back to our attention! David Crowder's version is great too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbllO1LrvM
I love the Ebenezer in this hymn! I didn't always understand it so back when I was doing my Daniel Fast series I shared the explanation in a post if anyone is not familiar with Ebenezer (who is not a HIM, lol) http://www.hopeinthehealing.com/2014/01/28/the-da…
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
Rescued me from danger through the Blood!! Thank you for seeking me Lord, even yet when I wander, rescue me. Praise the Name above all Names!
Thank you!! I was wondering what in the world the Ebenezer part was talking about! Loved reading that link. God bless!
Here’s an old song by Bob Bailey, a gospel singer from the 80’s, that beautifully describes Ebenezer. http://youtu.be/6csbVkDQxDM
It is better to be a better human being than be an egoistic person that makes you have limited friends. This is a brilliant article for everyone who thinks like that. It has opened my eyes. It is true.
..Take my heart….
..Take my heart…
..Take my heart Lord…
..Tune my heart to sing thy Grace….
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;….
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
…Here’s my heart, Lord, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above….
I love this hymn! These words are so my prayer today, and into the weeks to come…Here's my heart Lord, take and seal it….
Having had our memorial services this weekend, for our fallen heroes, the words …Lest we forget, has been heard a lot….
Lest I should forget….
Lord God, ….Let me go with song to the battle,
Straight of heart, in truth and hope, true of eye, and firmly fixed on you…
Steady and aglow, with your light shining
Let me not grow old forgetting, what blood was shed for me, that I might know you Lord God…
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning , Lord, let me remember what thou hast done….AMEN…
(Stole some lines from original poem, The Fallen by Laurence Binyon…)
Happy Tuesday, with a hug and love to you all…xxx
Love the poem! Blessings, friend. ♥
Thank you, Tina, for sharing your beautiful prayer. I hope you won’t mind I would like to share it with my family this Christmas. We are trying something new this year. My husband and I have asked everyone to come prepared to share a talent. I have been regretting it since I came up with the idea because all of my children and daughters in law are musically talented and I’ve got nothing. But now, I have this beautiful prayer to share and I will lead them in singing “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing”.
this is my favorite song of all time. I can recommend the version by Chris Rice, it’s so beautiful. In my church in the Netherlands we don’t sing hymns, only rhymed Psalms. I would love to sing this one day with fellow believers: bind my wandering heart to Thee!
Maybe you could request a special, Margriet :) I am sure your church would be so blessed! Love to you, faraway friend. ♥
thank you so much!
As you sing this today, know that many of us are singing with you.
I really needed this today. Oh, Lord… bind my ever wandering heart to thee.
Such great truth! And this is my favorite hymn.
This is one of my favorite hymns…I am so grateful for this lesson. Too often I forget that I am His, and the 'hustling' begins…Lord, please tune my wandering heart and bind me to Your Truth.
Pushed the post button too quick….sorry. But about the line “here I raise mine Ebenezer.” A friend of mine did a devotional on this before a couple of summers ago. She passed out these bricks and stones from an abandoned building nearby and had us write a word or phrase on them that symbolized a time in our lives where we specifically remember knowing that at that time, we couldn’t have gotten through without God’s help. A time where we remembered that his faithfulness is the only thing that could’ve gotten us to the next step. I challenge you ladies today to think of an “Ebenezer” in your own life, and not to forget about the blessings He has poured out on us. If you want, create your own stone to signify His faithfulness and his protection and put it somewhere you will see often. Let us not take this for granted…we have a Father that is guiding our every step, and we are safe in Him.
This is good…
Such a poignant way to keep His blessings in remembrance…thank you, Cari Jo! I am going to create an ‘Ebenezer Jar’ for myself and fill it with stones and sea shells etc on which I will write various things (like ‘job’, ‘health’ etc) to remind me of how His help has gotten me through each of these moments. Thanks again for the tip, Cari Jo! xx
Great idea!
I love that idea! It would be an excellent practice for my kids. They love to bring rocks inside. Let’s give them meaning!
Oh my, I’m going to do that this morning. Wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing.
I tried to hit the thumbs up, but accidentally hit the down. Boo! It won't let me fix it, but I wanted you to know how much I loved your comment!
Oh, I just love that idea, Cari Jo! Thank you so much for sharing. I'll absolutely be thinking about my "Ebenezer" today!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
Brilliant idea!
What an amazing testimony. I’ve decided to find my own Ebenezer and remind myself of God’s mercy and love everyday. God Bless You!
This is so sweet and such a wonderful idea!
Thanks Cari Jo! What a great idea to create our own Ebenezers. I really needed to hear this today!
I love this as soon as I read think of an ebenezer in your own life…. I immediately thought of one and then another and then another God has been there through quite a lot of ebenezers in my life. Where would I be without him?! I think I’m going to get a jar and make it an activity with my husband and daughter! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve gone to church all my life, and though church would sing a hymn thrown in here and there, we really mostly sang more modern songs. I’ve always loved hymns, but I’m not gonna lie…a lot of that probably came from being some who loves tradition, and I really liked the harmonies that could be created. Obviously, that has nothing to do with what these hymns were about. These hymns are rich and deep…full of life, challenge, and authority. Getting to know the deeper meaning of these beautiful songs is something I had not taken seriously until recently. And though I do love the way the four part harmonies happen to bust out during the times of singing, my heart is really full of joy because of the truth that is spoken with each like of these hymns.
Today, something that stood out to me was this line: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer.”