Phil Wickham - Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing Lyrics
Lyrics
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 his name I'm fixed upon it
Name of God's redeeming love
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!
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
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above
Video
"Come Thou Fount" Live from "Singalong"
Meaning & Inspiration
Phil Wickham’s rendition of "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing," released on August 31, 2010, as part of his album *Singalong*, breathes contemporary life into a hymn that has resonated with believers for centuries. While the original hymn, penned by Robert Robinson in 1758, carries its own rich history often tied to the writer’s personal journey of faith and struggle, Wickham’s version carries forward the profound theological weight and intimate spiritual yearning inherent in the lyrics. This isn't just a song; it's a prayer, an honest confession, and a declaration of unwavering dependence on divine grace, articulating the universal Christian experience of both our fallen nature and God's relentless pursuit.
The song immediately draws us into a posture of worship, beginning with a plea for God to "tune my heart to sing thy grace." This opening line acknowledges that true praise doesn't simply spring from human effort, but requires divine enablement, a spiritual recalibration much like a musical instrument being tuned by a master craftsman. It’s a call for the Holy Spirit to align our inner being with God's will, enabling us to offer worthy praise, as found in Psalm 51:15, "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." The lyrics then celebrate "streams of mercy never ceasing," a beautiful imagery that evokes the boundless and unending nature of God's compassion and forgiveness. This echoes Lamentations 3:22-23, which reminds us that the Lord's "mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning." This overflowing wellspring of grace naturally compels a response, a desire to "sing his loudest praise," mirroring the exuberance called for in Psalm 150. The aspiration to learn "some melodious sonnet / Sung by flaming tongues above" speaks to a longing for worship that transcends earthly limitations, desiring to join in the celestial chorus described in Revelation 5:11-12, where countless angels sing praises to God and the Lamb. Ultimately, the focus lands on "the name of God's redeeming love," underscoring that the core of our faith is rooted in God's act of salvation through Christ, a love so profound that it fixes our wandering hearts, as celebrated in John 3:16 and Romans 5:8.
The profound confession in the subsequent stanza, "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," plunges us into the depths of human sinfulness and God’s counteracting grace. This is a bold recognition of our ceaseless indebtedness to God’s unmerited favor, a truth foundational to passages like Romans 3:23-24, which states, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift." The plea for God's goodness to act "like a fetter" is a powerful paradox. A fetter typically implies restriction and bondage, yet here it's sought as a loving restraint, preventing the heart from straying towards self-destruction. It speaks to the drawing power of God's kindness, as described in Romans 2:4, where His goodness leads us to repentance. The raw honesty that follows, "Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love," strikes a chord with every person who has wrestled with their own sinful inclinations. This line is a humble admission of the human condition, our inherent tendency to drift from God, a truth painfully acknowledged in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" It’s an acknowledgment that our love for God, though genuine, is imperfect and requires divine intervention to remain steadfast.
The song culminates in a heartfelt surrender and a plea for divine preservation: "Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above!" This is not just an offering of one's affections but a cry for spiritual security and permanence. To "seal" one's heart carries immense biblical weight, referencing the sealing of believers with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of their eternal inheritance. Ephesians 1:13-14 beautifully articulates this, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it." This sealing marks believers as God’s own, destined for His presence, for "thy courts above." Phil Wickham’s musical interpretation, while not the primary focus of this analysis, undoubtedly enhances the lyrical potency, allowing this centuries-old message to resonate deeply with a contemporary audience. His work on "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing" transcends a simple cover; it serves as a vibrant reminder that our faith journey is one of continuous dependence on a God whose grace is infinitely greater than our propensity to wander. It inspires us to embrace humility, confess our weaknesses, and continually surrender our hearts to the One who faithfully keeps us for eternity, offering hope and stability in a world prone to instability.