Prone To Wonder

by Jonathan Hayashi

One of my favorite classic hymns is “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which was written in 1757 by 22-year-old Robert Robinson.

Robert Robinson had a rough beginning. His father died when he was young, and his mother, unable to control him, sent him to London to learn barbering. What he learned instead was drinking and gang-life.

When he was 17, he and his friends reportedly visited a fortune-teller. Relaxed by alcohol, they laughed as she tried to tell their futures. But something about that encounter bothered Robert, and that evening he suggested to his buddies they attend the evangelistic meeting being held by George Whitefield.

Whitefield was one of history’s greatest preachers, with a voice that was part foghorn and part violin. That night he preached from Matthew 3:7:

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘ Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’”

There is more: https://jonathanhayashi.com/prone-to-wonder/