Living A Life Of Regret
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles
In his book entitled, 101 Hymn Stories: Kregel Publications, 1982, page 52, Kenneth W. Osbeck records the following sad story of Robert Robinson (1735-1790), the author of one of the most beautiful hymns in hymnology, “O Thou Fount Of Every Blessing”:
“Robert Robinson was born of lowly parents in Swaffham, Norfolk, England, on September 27, 1735. His father died when Robert was eight, and at the age of fourteen, he was sent by his mother to London to learn the barbering trade. Here for the next few years, he was associated with a notorious gang of hoodlums and lived a debauched life.”
Mr. Osbeck states that when Robert was seventeen, he was influenced by a denominational preacher by the name of George Whitefield – so much so, that he became a minister in the Methodist church. Later in his life, he became a Baptist “pastor.” It was during this time in his life that he wrote many theological works as well as several hymns.
Mr. Osbeck continues to record the following regarding the life of Robert Robinson:
“This hymn text, written when Robinson was only twenty-three years of age, contains an interesting expression in the second stanza, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer-Hither by Thy help I’m come.” This language is taken from 1 Samuel 7:12, where the Ebenezer is a symbol of God’s faithfulness. An expression in the third verse, “Prone to wander-Lord, I feel it-Prone to leave the God I love,” seems to have been prophetic of Robinson’s later years, as once again his life became characterized by lapses into sin, unstableness, and an involvement with the doctrines of Unitarianism.
The story is told that Robinson was one day riding a stagecoach when he noticed a woman deeply engrossed with a hymn book. During an ensuing conversation, the lady turned to Robinson and asked what he thought of the hymn she was humming. Robinson burst into tears and said, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.”
Brethren, a sad chronicle of a distraught man. It’s interesting to note that the third verse of this beloved hymn today reads, “Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love.” The words were changed by Asahel Nettleton, a noted American evangelist of the early eighteenth century.
Brethren, let us take the words of this third stanza to heart, and never leave the God that has so richly loved us (John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:9-10). Let us never live a life of regret.