Tuesday, April 4, 2017

"I know a fount..."

Hymn: “I Know a Fount” – Words & Music Oliver Cooke (1873-1945)
Tune: I KNOW A FOUNT


I bet I am doing a trifecta today as the hymnline, the hymn name, and the hymn tune are the same! I know nothing of horse-racing or betting thereon, but I like the word “trifecta”!

While only the refrain of this 1923 hymn appears in most hymnals and songbooks, the stanzas that precede ask questions like: Are you weary, heavy-laden? Burdened, weighted down with care? Are you doubting, in bondage? Do you want deliverance? To answer those questions, Cooke begins the refrain with “I know a fount…” – he implies, “Let me direct you to this source.”

This is such a simple, easily-sung tune, and the benefits available at the fount are also simply-stated, but profoundly relevant. Here are the appropriations he lists:
- Sins are washed away.
- Night is turned to day.
- Burdens are lifted.
- Blind eyes are made to see.


The brief chorus concludes with “There’s a wonder-working power in the blood of Calvary.”

I love this snippet of redemptive theology. Nothing draws me in quite like simple profundity… and this is a fine example. Yet every time I sing it, I am struck by that verb “know.” Does it mean I am merely aware of the fount, or do I KNOW that fount by experience? I grew up in the church; I’ve been in Sunday school since the first Sunday after my birth date. I know a whole lot about God/Jesus, the heroes of the faith, the gospel – even salvation. [I still remember Campus Crusade’s “Four Spiritual Laws”!] But unless I truly “get” the cross-experience, I will still be weary, heavy-laden, in bondage, etc.

During this Lenten season, I hope we can all get beyond the questions to the answer… and approach Easter with a new spirit of knowledge of the power of the blood of Calvary.

Listen to This Hymn
(Don’t watch the screen because the words are badly presented… grammatically and otherwise!)

No comments:

Post a Comment

You are welcome to comment on any of the posts. They are sent to ME directly. Thanks for any feedback you would like to make.

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)