There Is A Fountain

"There is a fountain, filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains."

"The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day.
And there may I, tho vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away"

"E'er since by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die."

Then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing
Thy pow'r to save
When this pool lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave."


This is a beautiful song written by W.M. Cowper.  Look at the wording, the emphasis on certain words, and how he follows a distinctive structure.
Cowper didn't just write a song. No, he wrote an anthem about The Crucifixion of Jesus.  The blood wasn't spilled, it was drawn.  The thief rejoiced when he saw that fountain because even he knew of the grace that it supplied.  Then Cowper references his own conversion and tells that his one declaration on the Earth shall ever be of Jesus' redeeming love.  Lastly, he looks across death and into Glory.  He looks to the time that he sings God's praises in Heaven; to when he is singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord; Who was and is and is to come!"

The eloquence that Cowper uses should make all songwriters take a second look.  I think too many times we "Dumb Down" our worship to make it easier to sing too, or more relevant to a generation of people that refuse to think on a higher plane of thought.

Millennials tend to think with emotion versus logic.  So, we adapt to what they need in order to understand grace and salvation.  Once they get it - once they realize what salvation truly means; we then need to direct them to the elegance of worship.  What does that mean?  It means once a student knows what a painting is, and what the purposes of a painting could be, we introduce them to a Monet, or a Picasso.  Once the student understands what music is and how it is made and written, then you introduce them to the complexities of Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky.  They will have a greater appreciation of the beauty of these great painters and composers once they understand the basics.

We have to give them the meat.  We have to get them off of the milk and help them mature in Christ Jesus.  Their worship needs to mature as well.

This process isn't the music directors alone...No, it falls on all leaders in the church.

But for now...take some time and ponder the wondrous cross.  Discover eloquent verses that reflect a writers most passionate and compelling emotions.  Discover how they described our God.  Not in simple mans terms, but in complex phrases and thoughts, as well as fluid scores of music.

Be inspired by this song that Cowper so elegantly penned.