Here I Raise My Ebenezer
“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, 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, Interposed His precious blood
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, Oh take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above”
“Come Thou Fount” — Robert Robinson (my favorite version is on All I Can Say by David Crowder Band) {listen here}
I started writing Tune My Heart out of my need to process my parents’ accident on August 30, 2023, and my desire to chronicle the days, weeks, and months following. And I named it after one of the lines in the hymn quoted above.
But lately, another line has started to take up residence in my heart: “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come.”
Because the accident happened on the main road outside of the development where my parents live, we can *almost* see the accident site any time (every time) we come and go. And I’ve tried to avoid driving past it for the longest time; not only is it a two-lane, twisty, curvy road with no shoulder and many blind intersections, it is the site where my mom and dad were both broken — literally.
But on a recent trip to my parents’ house, I looked at the site as I turned into the development and realized the accident site can (and should) be my Ebenezer.
“Ebenezer” means “stone of help” and comes from I Samuel 7:12 — “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”
This verse follows a conflict between Israel and the Philistines. In summary, the Philistines planned to attack Israel but God rescued them and routed the Philistines when Israel cried out to Him. Upon seeing God’s protection, Samuel established a stone memorial to celebrate and cause the Israelites to remember His salvation. It was a tribute to God’s salvation and grace, as if saying, “by Thy help, we’ve come this far, and we praise you for it”.
So now, the accident site is my “stone of help”. My Ebenezer. It’s a memorial. A tribute. A reminder that it’s only been by His good help that we’ve come all this way.
It’s a place that — when I see it — causes me to breathe out a praise of thanksgiving for God’s presence, mercies, and protection, as I remember and breathe in His faithfulness, grace, and provision.
My parents have come so far. We have all come so far. And I praise God for it!
Hither by His help WE have come!!