Story of Robert Robinson discovering his poem: "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"

This story was read to prepare our hearts to receive communion @ SACC on Sunday, Feb. 3, '19.  It is our custom to receive communion every first Sunday of the month as a reminder of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Communion is a time to recommit our lives to Jesus Christ, receiving anew the forgiveness of our sins.  

​The testimony of Josiah is a call for recommitment to the Lord.  Here’s a story about recommitment.  It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny. Everywhere He looked there were happy people smiling and waving at one another on their way to church. But Robinson wasn’t one of them. In fact he was a very lonely and unhappy man. The sound of church bells reminded him of the time in his life when his faith was strong and the church meant so much to him. But that seemed like only a distant memory on this particular morning. It had been years since he had even set foot in a church. He had gotten away from the Lord, and spent the last several years disillusioned, wandering farther and farther away from the God that He had once loved so much.  His love for God—that was once so hot and passionate—had slowly burned out leaving him dark and cold inside.

Robinson heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse-drawn carriage approaching from behind him. Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver. But he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman dressed in her Sunday best, who was obviously on the way to church. He waved the driver on, but the woman in the carriage ordered the driver to stop the carriage, which he did. The woman looked at Robinson and said, "Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you," Are you going to church?"  He was about to decline her offer, but then he paused, and said "Yes, "I am going to church, and I would appreciate the ride." He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.

Robert Robinson introduced himself to the young woman and thanked her for her kindness. He noticed that when he told her his name the woman had a strange look on her face. Then she said, "That’s an interesting coincidence.” She then reached into her purse and took out a small book of inspirational writings that she had been reading on the way to church. She opened the book and handed it to him and said "I was just reading a verse by a poet by the name of Robert Robinson…. Are you him?”

He took the book, nodding. "Yes, I wrote these words years ago." "Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Imagine! I’m sharing a carriage with the author of these very lines!" But Robinson barely heard her. He was absorbed in the words he was reading. They were words that would one day be set to music and become a great hymn of faith. These are the words he read…
 
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.

And at the bottom of the page:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it--
Prone to leave the God I love;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

He could barely read the last few lines through the tears that welled up in his eyes. He looked at the young woman and said, "I wrote these words—and I’ve lived these words. ’Prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.’" But The young woman responded by saying, "You also wrote, ’Here’s my heart, O take and seal it.’ You can offer your heart again to God, Mr. Robinson. It’s not too late."
And it wasn’t too late for Robert Robinson. In that moment he  turned his heart back to God and walked with him the rest of his days. [Ron Lee Davis, Courage to Begin Again,]
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Where are you at in your walk with the Lord today? Like the hymn writer have you found yourself drifting away from the Lord? God’s message for you this morning is that new beginnings are possible. Just like in the time of Josiah, God longs to draw drifting children home.  Commit your life to the Lord through obedience, a life of discipleship and clinging to the cross for forgiveness ~ a Beautiful Contradiction.  This is what communion is about…remembering what Jesus has done for you…