Ebenezer

OK, I know this sounds kind of odd, but I got the idea for this post from an e-mail loop that my mom is part of. A while back they had a discussion about a song. It was a good discussion, and I want to share one of the things I learned. Actually, I just wanted to share a few thoughts about one of the lines. The song is entitled "Come Thou Fount". The first two stanzas go:

Come Thou Fount

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 my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.


So, the writer is praising God for all he has done, and he says "Here I raise my Ebenezer...." I did not know this before, but an Ebenezer is a 'stone of help.' I had always thought, "Wow that's kind of odd, isn't 'Ebenezer' out of A Christmas Carol? You know, Ebenezer Scrooge.'" Well, I was wrong. The author was actually referring to a Jewish custom. You see, when the Israelites crossed over the red sea, they set up a monument, an Ebenezer. They put it there so that they could remember their crossing. So years later their children would ask why it was there, and they would remember crossing over the red sea again, and they could tell their children about what God did for them. It would be their stone of help for many a generation.

That's a cool thought, isn't it? To have a 'stone of help', I like the idea! But notice, the song does not end there. The writer goes on to say "Here by Thy great help I've come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home." He does not just say, "Thanks for your help! See you next time I'm in a dire situation and I realize I can't do it on my own!" The writer says "Yes, I know you are the reason that I am here! If it is you will, please help me to get where I need to be. I know can't do it on my own. Help me to arrive where you want me to be!"

It is really an inspiring song. It is a prayer really.

I just thought that it had a cool message, and I think it is really thought provoking.

1st Samuel 7:12
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us”.


One other thing, I found a vid. on God Tube that has a lady signing Come Thou Fount. It is pretty good. Click HERE to watch it.

-Lauren