Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry 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, hither by Thy help I 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, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.
Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.
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.
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Lyrics: Robert Robinson / Tune: ’Nettleton’ Asahel Nettleton,
This arrangement by Mack Wilberg
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Recently I have been struggling with a situation. I keep turning it over and over in my mind, unable to see how it can be resolved. One day last week, while pondering this issue once again, God placed this song in my heart. I kept coming back to the phrase “…tune my heart to sing Thy grace…”.
Finally it clicked. The light bulb went on. My responsibility is not to resolve this situation. My responsibility is to fix my heart on God and praise Him. He will deal with the rest. Look at the following verses:
Rejoice in the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous
[you upright in right standing with God];
for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart].
Psalm 33:1 AMP
The righteous one rejoices in the Lord and takes refuge in Him;
all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.
Psalm 64:10 HCSB
So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him
have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
Ephesians 1:12 AMP & HCSB
Not once in any of these verses does it say it is up to me to resolve my issues. Not once! But it does reiterate over and over again that my purpose is to praise and rejoice in the Lord. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet we all struggle with this, don’t we? I am prone to wander and to take the burden on myself. I don’t know about y’all, but I am a “fixer.” Maybe that stems from being a wife and mother. But nowhere in the above verses does it say it is my responsibility to fix things. In fact, the following verses indicate that it is not my place to fix anything on my own.
Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you;
Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.
Psalm 55:22a AMP & NLT
Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation!
Psalm 68:19
Doesn’t that lift your spirits and make your heart smile? God bears our burdens. He is in control. All we need to do is fix our wandering hearts on Him and sing His praises. He will handle the rest.
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Sing this verse with me as we make it our heartfelt prayer:
“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.
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
Cynda, thank you for sharing this song and your thoughts. When I have heard this song in the past I have always thought of the “prone to wander” as doing some big sin. But you have rightly pointed out that “prone to wander” is also when we try to resolve situations ourselves instead of giving them to Jesus and allowing Him to handle it. We wander from “our purpose of fixing our heart on God and praising Him.” Then as the ‘Seeking Him’ devotional talked about, we lose our confidence in God. That too is a sin.
“Oh Lord, here’s my heart. Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee. Amen.”
Thank you Clella. Our “prone to wander” can be many things but the more we are fixed upon the mount the less likely we are to wander. I am echoing your heart “let Your goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
One of my absolute favorite hymns, Cynda!
I remember singing this in church, with Lynn in front, leading us.
“Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come,
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.”
This verse has so much meaning for me. It is ONLY by God’s grace that I’ve come this far.
I remember that as well Connie! It seems when I am in the deepest despair the only hymns we grew up on always come to mind. Like you, indeed it is only by God’s grace that I have come this far. Love you dear friend
thank you, cynda, for setting this inspirational old hymn in front of us today…. like clella, i appreciated your insight regarding handling situations on our own instead of seeking God and His solutions—which are alwasys the best! (loved the ‘bigness’ of the mass choir and orchestra, too!!!) <3
Thank you Coleen. Unfortunately, being a fixer as well as a control freak, I have gotten myself into several “fixes” that could have been avoided or handled better if I had only “tuned my heart ” to sing His praise
you are far from alone in that, cynda…by His grace we continue to recognize our need to change and grow AND do so.! praises to our great God! <3
Amen Coleen!
My son-in-law sang this to my grandson when he was first born. I was amazed that people even know that song these days! What a great legacy to give a newborn….a refuge to turn to.
Thank you Cynda for this beautiful reminder. I am a fixer too and have been trying to think away to fix a situation between two beautiful friends. I can’t fix it but I know who can.
Our sermon at church this week was on stress. I know my tendency to “try & fix” has caused so much un-necessary stress in my life. Thankful for a loving God willing to take on my burdens and anxiety if I will just release them to Him & trust HIm. Also, thankful that He constantly sends me these reminders as I apparently suffer from a very short attention span!
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
Much love!!