Introduction to the “Living Worship” Series
Verse 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 His name – I’m fixed upon it; Name of God’s redeeming love.
Verse of Discontentment:
Each new day I long for something; Hoping it will fill my heart
Desire drives me, peace forsaking; Yearnings cause my mind to dart
How many times I’ve thought “If only!”; God would give me what I ask
God’s patient with hearts so stony; Free me from repeating past
Verse 2:
Hither to Thy love has blest me; Thou hast brought me to this place
And I know Thy hand will bring me; Safely home by Thy good grace
Jesus Sought me when a stranger; Wand’ring from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger; Bought me with His precious blood
Verse of Contentment:
Resting fully in Your blessing; Desires ring with fresh “thank You’s”
For the first time now I’m seeing; What has been in clearest view
Every good thing flows from Your hands; Discontentment blinds my eyes
Now I’m free from my heart’s demands; Joy is contentment’s surprise
Verse 3:
O to grace how great a debtor; Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter; Bind my wand’ring 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.
DEVOTIONAL:
“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
& Our Battle for Contentment
In a culture that is so marked by affluence that it might well be called “a land flowing with milk and honey” we struggle to be content. Often like young children three days after Christmas we are so saturated with blessings that we begin to grumble.
As we think about God’s blessing and our battle for contentment, it is helpful to consider the context in which Paul discusses grumbling in I Corinthians 10:9-13 (emphasis added):
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
In discussing grumbling Paul emphasizes the faithfulness of God. A lack of contentment is a passive-aggressive way of calling into question whether God has been good and faithful.
In the application lyrics to this song the key points being emphasized are (1) that discontentment is a distortion of reality based upon the demands our heart and (2) that contentment unlocks the door to the only source of lasting and true joy.