Raising Ebenezer

Last Sunday, we sang the classic hymn, "Come thou Fount (of every blessing)" during our morning worship. As we sang that one line, "Now I raise my Ebenezer . . ." I turned to Dorene and asked her what the heck that means. Wondered if anyone knew.

So, I checked it out and the answer was simpler than I thought. It's based on a passage in I Samuel when Samuel erected a rock commemorating a victorious battle in which the Israelites reclaimed the Ark of the Covenant over a battle with the Nazis, I mean, Philistines.

"Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—"the stone of help"—for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" —1 Samuel 7:12"

So, the next time we sing this song, I'll be more knowledgeable on the whole Ebenezer thing and know I'm not singing about a character from Charles Dickens. The last time I heard this song in church was during special music when this child from the 60's sang a rendition of it (okay, she was only 20, but dressed like a child of the 60's). Her rendition mixed the traditional hymn with U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Yes, you read that right. I guess you had to be there, because it was pretty cool.