A beautiful hymn of contrition, and prayer for the “Presence.”
Samuel Johnson was born in Salem, Mass. After graduating from Harvard University and Harvard Divinity School, he became minister of the Independent Church at Lynn, Mass., where he served from 1853 to 1870. He was a fellow-student and close friend of Samuel Longfellow, the two “Sams” collaborating in the editing of A Book of Hymns which passed through twelve editions and became the source of excellent hymnic material not published before. He was a Unitarian by faith. A competent scholar, he published Oriental Religions, the first adequate study of comparative religions by an American.
MUSIC. HENLEY is one of Mason’s most appreciated tunes. It appeared in The Hallelujah, 1854, by the composer, set to the hymn “Come unto me, when shadows darkly gather.”
For comments on Lowell Mason see [Hymn 12].
189. Come, thou Fount of every blessing
Robert Robinson, 1735-90
An old hymn that has been a “fount of blessing” itself to multitudes, written only three years after the author’s conversion. It sounds a note of anxiety lest the paths of sin lure the soul away from God. The Scripture reference in the second stanza is to I Sam. 7:12: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.”
For comments on the author, Robert Robinson, see [Hymn 46].
MUSIC. NETTLETON appeared in John Wyeth’s Repository, 1813, arranged with the melody in the treble. The authorship of the tune is unknown. It has been attributed to Wyeth and to Asahel Nettleton, 1783-1844, a New England evangelist and compiler of Village Hymns. It has been suggested that a friend of Nettleton composed the tune and named it in his honor.
John Wyeth was born in Cambridge, Mass., 1770, and followed the printing and publishing business all his life. He was postmaster at Harrisburg, Pa., under President Washington but was removed by President Adams because of “incompatibility of the office of post master and editor of a newspaper.” He died in Philadelphia, June 23, 1858.