Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The story of this hymn

Robert Robinson was a barber's apprentice running with a rough London crowd when George Whitefield's preaching stopped him in his tracks. He wrote this hymn around 1758, still in his early twenties and newly a pastor — which is why 'prone to wander, Lord, I feel it' rings so honest. Sung today almost everywhere to the American tune Nettleton, its plain hope — 'safely to arrive at home' — has made it a quiet favourite at funerals.

Where it sits in the service

Best as the gathering hymn — thanksgiving for a life is the right note to open on — or immediately after the tributes. If 'Here I raise mine Ebenezer' will puzzle the congregation, add a one-line footnote: an Ebenezer is a stone of remembrance for God's help (1 Samuel 7:12); families ask about that line more than any other.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

Three verses, and the third — “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it” — is the reason families choose it. It is an honest hymn rather than a comforting one, which suits some services exactly and others not at all. Better known in younger and more evangelical congregations than in traditional ones.

Printing the words

Public domain. Print all three verses; the hymn does not work if the third is dropped, and the third is the one people come for.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.