The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 30 August 215 "God Pause Daily Devotion" "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, verse 3""

The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 30 August 215 "God Pause Daily Devotion" "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, verse 3"

"Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" ELW 807 verse 3
3. Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be;
let that grace now 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, oh, take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.
When I recognized the call to ministry there was a part of me that believed that I had to follow it because if I did not I would leave the church for sure. If I did not tie myself to a community of faith, I would easily be pulled away from faith altogether. It's not surprising to me that many of my contemporaries have walked away from the institution of the church. However, I do not believe any one of them is "lost;" they are only doing what many of us also do, seeking diverse ways to make God "real" in their lives. I do believe that God is real and is at work in our lives. And I trust that God's grace is big enough to hold us all, to seal us all, to bind us all together, no matter where we are.
God of grace and glory, open your arms to hold us all in your care. Remind us that you are the only thing that can fill us with freedom. Amen.
Erin Martinson
Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church
Ventura, Calif.
Master of Divinity , 2000

Come, thou Fount of every blessing" by Author: Robert Robinson (1758)

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 God's redeeming love.

2. Here I find my greatest treasure;

hither by thy help I've come;

and I hope, by thy good pleasure,

safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wandering from the fold of God;

he, to rescue me from danger,

bought me with his precious blood.

3. Oh, 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.

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