The only instrument we tune in our home is the guitar, and it needs to be tuned often. But suppose we tune it by ear or don’t tune it at all, and then try to play along with the other instruments. The dissonance would be painful to our ears. Tuning requires the tightening, or loosening, of strings until the sound aligns with the tuner. Each instrument must be tuned to the same tuner in order to have a harmonious sound. Similarly, unless my heart is attuned to the Father’s, my words will sound distasteful. (Matthew 12:34) Complaining and praise from the same mouth? Dissonance. Fear and faith, abiding together? Disharmony. It may require some uncomfortable tightening and loosening of my heartstrings, but sometimes my heart needs a tune-up.
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
This was Jeremy’s favorite hymn. God put these words in front of me tonight, as I was having an emotional “heart to heart” with the Father. I’m afraid the intense heat of my trial has left me somewhat out of tune, so I’ve been considering the meaning behind these timeless lyrics.
Come Thou Fount is a beautiful prayer by Robert Robinson, based on 1 Samuel 7:12, where Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Samuel then gives the stone a name: Ebenezer, or literally, “Stone of Help.” We’ll come back to that in a bit.
I love the way Robinson uses rushing water to describe grace and mercy. Fountains of blessing and streams of mercy, endlessly pouring out on us. Washing over us. Refreshing us. Never-ceasing gifts from the Father; the giver of the water of life. Lavished on us, His children — undeserving of both grace and mercy. The jetstream of His goodness, tuning our hearts.
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come.
One of Jeremy’s most memorable sermons was about Ebenezer. Not Scrooge, but the 1 Samuel 7 Ebenezer. I remember going home and putting a yellow post-it note labeled “Ebenezer” on every item we owned that had been a direct answer to prayer, provided by the hand of the Lord. The piano, the minivan… the list was long. Those yellow notes were a visual reminder to our children (and to me!) that God provides. They also served as a reminder to be thankful for our many blessings. Thirdly, they reminded us to trust the giver of all good gifts to meet our every need. (Perhaps it’s time to pull out the yellow notes again!) Here, I raise my Ebenezer and proclaim that God is, and always has been, my help.
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.
Oh, how fickle and unpredictable my heart is! How it deceives me into thinking I know best! I forget that I owe my all to Jesus. I lose sight of the grace that was freely offered on Calvary. I turn a blind eye to all of my blessings as I become distracted by my burdens. I am prone to discouragement and disillusionment and likely to go my own way. Prone to wander.
Yet… His goodness constrains me. His grace saves me. His Word guides me. His faithfulness keeps me. His blessings wash over me. His Spirit seals me. His love never fails.
These should be the song of my heart.
Tune my heart, Lord. Remind me. And may the thoughts I think and the words I speak be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.
May 2022