God Is the Fountain Whence

Although this song comes direct from the English Baptist tradition, its strongest following may now be in congregations within the Restoration movement because of the hymn's early inclusion in the Great Songs of the Church hymnal series -- an inclusion that at least one source reckons was because of a need for an alphabetical space-filler.  There is no doubt, moreover, that the original first line of the hymn, as composed by Beddome, was altered from "LOVE is the fountain whence" to "GOD is the fountain whence."  Given this early significant lyrical alteration, singers should have no concern for renewing the lyric further for contemporary understanding.

Original lyrics:

God is the fountain whence
Ten thousand blessings flow;
To Him my life, my health, and friends,
And every good, I owe.

The comforts He affords
Are neither few nor small;
He is the source of fresh delights,
My portion and my all.

He fills my heart with joy,
My lips attunes for praise;
And to His glory I’ll devote
The remnant of my days.

Lyrics by Benjamin Beddome, 1817 (pub. posthumously)

Comments and Suggestions:

The song has multiple archaicisms:  "whence," "good" used as a substantive, "affords" in the sense of provides rather than within budget, and "attunes" used now rarely, if ever, in ordinary speech and used in a form out of touch with modern sensibilities for subject-verb agreement.  We further no longer see "portion" as a fair, right share, but just as a share.  Renewal addresses all these issues.

Renewal lyrics:

God is the FOUNT FROM WHERE
Ten thousand blessings flow;
To Him my life, my health, and friends,
And ALL GOOD THINGS, I owe.

The comforts He PROVIDES
Are neither few nor small;
He is the source of fresh delights,
CONTENTMENT and my all.

He fills my heart with joy,
HE TUNES MY LIPS for praise;
And to His glory I’ll devote
The remnant of my days.

Renewal lyric changes by RH Reinhard (c) 2014