WHAT'S AN "EBENEZER"?

We received this question about the song we sang Sunday, Come Thou Fount!

The term “Ebenezer” means “stone of help” and comes from the book of Samuel. In 1 Samuel 7, Israel has a great victory over the Philistines. After the battle in 1 Samuel 7:12 it says “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”’

From there anytime the Israelites looked upon this monument they were reminded of God’s power and protection. The line in the song is “here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’ve come”. The song itself was written in 1758, so it uses a lot of old English. The point of the line is proclaiming that we will remember how God’s power has moved in our own lives, and how He has helped us through our troubles! We raise our “Ebenezer”, our reminder of God’s great work in our lives.