Yesterday during divine service we sang the familiar hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." After worship, several folks came and asked me about the line that says, "Here I raise mine Ebenezer hither by Thy help I'm come." In essence asking, "What on earth is an Ebenezer anyway?"

Gold star for those of you who wondered enough about this to come and ask--you know who you are!

So what on earth does this line refer to? It's an Old Testament reference from 1 Samuel 7 that is lost on many of today.

Here's the story...the Ark of the Covenant had just been returned to Israel from the Philistines, who sent it back as quickly as they could after seeing the havoc God was wreaking among them. After twenty years (yes, you read that right!) of lamenting and wallowing in sin, Samuel called the people back from their idolatry to faithfulness to God. He reminded them that their oppression by the Philistines was a consequence of their faithlessness. Israel responded by getting rid of their idols and turning again to God. They gathered together at Mizpah to pray, fast, and seek the Lord--then the Philistines attacked!

Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

As one who regularly interceded to God on behalf of the people, Samuel responded.

And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 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.”

There it is, right at the end! In Hebrew, 'Ebenezer' means 'stone of help.' This Ebenezer was a stone memorial, set up for the people as a physical reminder of God's aid in their time of need. It was something they could see, touch, talk about, and use in the future to teach others about God's gracious deliverance.

Robert Robinson, the hymnwriter of "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," calls us to remember God's gracious redemption, provision, and protection, through good times and through trials. Those reminders, those Ebenezers, give us confidence that "by Thy good pleasure" we will safely arrive at our home in heaven. We each have episodes in our lives that can serve as Ebenezers for us, but Robinson calls us to Christ--the most sure and certain sign of God's grace love and grace for us. Right after that puzzling line we sang, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood." As the Good Shepherd, while we were separated from God and without hope, Christ sought us, shed his blood for us, and reconciled us to God (Eph 2.12-13).

This is one example of why our hymnals are such great devotional tools! Lyrics stick in our heads much better than prose, and great hymns merely restate God's word and remind of us of Christ's work for us that we grasp daily by faith. Sing on, saints!

Photo by Zack Smith on Unsplash