This past April 17th I had my 56th birthday. Jenny and I now have 11 grandchildren and our oldest grandchild is still seven years old! That gives new meaning to the words “Seven-Eleven” for us. We are certainly blessed by God!
(For Dalton) I appreciate the message of the song which is my assigned topic for this evening’s lesson. The Wikipedia article shows that originally this song was entitled not, “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” but “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing!”
The words have been arranged and edited a bit as well. There were five verses in the original version. Let me read them to you:
1. 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.
2. Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
3. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
4. 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.
5. O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothèd then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
This song is actually less about praising God for the rich blessings He gives in the here and now (though it is that), but more about asking God to come take me home into the fullness of His presence and freedom from striving with sin in this fallen world, so that I can praise Him perfectly.
That verse that says: 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! That really resonates in my heart, doesn’t it in yours? And don’t you love the personal appeal to God to tune our hearts to sing thy grace?
In some ways this song is a study in the Christian struggles in this world while we wait for that day of full redemption and glory when Christ is revealed. Here we are, already called, already redeemed, already forgiven, already justified, already cleansed, already transferred into the kingdom of Christ, already given the Holy Spirit, already born again by the Holy Spirit’s adoption into God’s family, already we have so much in Christ!
But… we are not yet free from temptation, not yet glorified in His eternal presence, not yet unburdened by death and decay, not yet perfected in righteousness, not yet changed into immortality, not yet…
Isn’t it amazing that we can have so much and be so blessed and enjoy so many benefits and yet… long for more? Why is that, do you suppose? For our lesson I want to suggest two things -
First, God has created us for Himself. We will never find our fullness until we find it in Him, with Him, through Him in glory. Is it not true that the human heart longs for love? Is that not the greatest hunger of our souls? And is it not true that God IS love? (1 John 4:8&16). God IS the answer to our deepest inner longings?
No one could rationally deny that we all have longings in our hearts that run deeper than we can understand. The saddest thing is when we human beings, created in God’s image, try to quench that thirst for God in the fountains of the flesh. We see it all around us, don’t we? We even do it ourselves. Satan is still lurking nearly everywhere whispering lies about how we can find true meaning and satisfaction in this world. Let me read you the enduring words of the Rolling Stones song:
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
When I'm drivin' in my car
And that man comes on the radio
And he's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say
I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
When I'm watchin' my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarettes as me
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say
I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no girl reaction
Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
(third verse deleted)
I can't get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction
No, you can’t. This is certainly not a Christian song, but at least the song tells the truth. There is no satisfaction to be found here in this world of sin.
Now, compare that with the words from these songs: Psalms 62-63.
Psalm 62
1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”
Psalm 63
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Now, David, who wrote these Psalms, was not satisfied either. But David knew the true source of satisfaction and fullness. David already had a relationship with God, but David was not yet enjoying God’s presence in God’s house forever. He was still only on the way and struggling with enemies within and without. But David knew that God is the fount of every blessing, and David wanted to drink from that fount forever.
Turning to the New Testament, listen to the heart of another Saint who loved the Lord:
Philippians 3:7-14
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Does this sound like a satisfied soul? Or is it a soul who has discovered the very source of satisfaction and fullness and completeness and is moving with all his might toward that source? What is the prize that Paul is striving for? What is it that drives him to count everything else loss.
Paul joins with the song, Come thou fount of every blessing! May we all join with those who share this faith in the Lord who is our life, our fullness, our highest joy.
So, first, God created us for Himself. We will never be satisfied or filled until we are fully with Him.
Secondly, I would like to suggest that God longs for us to be with Him too, and that echoes in our hearts and minds. One of the reasons we keep wanting more, is that God Himself want more, more of us, more of our love. How do I know this? What is the greatest commandment but that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! This is God’s deepest desire for us, His highest command to us. Sin has separated us from God, and just look at what He has done! God who loves us so much, has bridged the gap by doing something amazing. Amazing love. Amazing sacrifice. Amazing grace. Amazing… Romans 5:5-10.
5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For 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!
God created us to be like Him. Think of it with me. You and I are made in God’s image and after God’s likeness. Therefore unless we come to know and understand who God is, how can we know and understand who we are? Surely, much of what we long for is but a reflection of God’s longing heart. But the danger is that we will seek to answer that longing apart from Him. We will be tempted to take Satan’s short-cuts and fall into his snares.
Let’s review the states of man:
First, we are created good, like God, and given the high dignity of being made in His image. This is our original state. Do we know how we began and where we came from? Is this not the true answer to who we are? What happens if we don’t believe we came from God? Is that not a huge problem today? Only the truth will set us free. We are God’s created children, made to be like Him. God created man upright says Eccl. 7:29 and that leads to our second state: man has gone in search of many schemes.
Second, we all fall into sin. Sin separates us from God and distorts everything good, twisting it into falleness and darkness. God puts it all under a curse of decay and condemnation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. We are without excuse. Romans 1:20. Yet, in our fallen condition, we carry still the dignity of being bearers of God’s image. It’s still there in every human being. We bring His image with us into the fall. That is part of why we must pay such a high price for our sin. It is a terrible crime against the Holy God that we have turned away from Him, that we would choose anything but Him and chase after unimportant things. Isaiah 53 says it well: We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way… and the Lord has laid on HIM the iniquity of us all. Why? Why didn’t God just destroy us all completely after the fall? Because that is not God’s character. He loves us. Just as He hates sin. We who were made to be like Him have fallen away from Him into sin, but we carry His image with us into the darkness of sin. And God, who loves us, wants us back, calls us home, redeems us through the very blood of His Son Jesus.
So… First state: We are created good, in God’s image. Second state: We have fallen into sin and have been separated from God in darkness, but even there we carry with us still the image of our creator.
Third, we who receive Christ in obedient faith are redeemed from sin. We are transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Colossians 1:13.
But, guess what? When we enter Christ through faith and baptism, we still carry with us something of that fallen flesh. We who were created to be like God, who have fallen into sin, and are now redeemed by the blood of Christ, presently live in the already saved, but not yet saved state. We are already in Christ, but we are still waiting for Christ to return. We are already redeemed, but we still wait on the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23. So here we stand in the “already” but “not yet” state. Here we long for our completed redemption and glorification. Here we wait, faithfully, in hope and love. We are supposed to be longing! God longs for us as well!
Fourth, we who remain faithful are gathered into His Holy presence to enjoy eternal life with Him. This is what we all long for in our hearts. God is the reason we are here and we are the reason for the cross where God paid the ultimate price to redeem us to Himself. If we hear with faith this good news and respond with repentance and loving obedience, if we wait for His return faithfully, we will finally find the satisfaction of our souls met fully and completely in Him.
To fill our longing with the fountains of the flesh is to deny our God and turn away to eternal damnation in hell. It would be like a bride chasing after other lovers when her husband has gone off to war. No! We wait. We watch. We work. We endure. We cry, Come, Lord Jesus!
We know He is the answer to our deepest hunger and need, and so we pray: Come! Thou Fount of Every Blessing!
We echo the Spirit of God who calls us to come. We echo the voice of our Savior who said: Come to me all you who are heavy ladden and I will give you rest! We join with all the saints of all time and cry out Maranatha! Come Lord, Jesus!
