There Is a Fountain (Easter Special)

[00:00:00] In the resurrection we have the presence of the future, the power by which God will finally destroy all suffering, evil, deformity and death at the end of time has broken into history now

[00:00:30] power that is potent enough to remake the universe comes into us Timothy Keller this is The Bright Forever

[00:01:00] He is risen he is risen indeed happy Easter to all of you out there and welcome to The Bright Forever where each week we rediscover the power and richness found in some of the greatest

[00:01:18] times of the faith my name is Andy Peavyhouse and I am your host and guide on this our adventure through him that he

[00:01:28] it is Easter and today we get to celebrate the greatest miracle ever seen in the history of the universe we celebrate God's power

[00:01:38] that not only takes away our sin but defeats the very power of death itself the restoration our hearts have been longing for yearning for

[00:01:52] desperately has finally been revealed in the finished work of Jesus's resurrection today as we look at what Christ's resurrection means to each of us

[00:02:08] we cannot separate what we celebrate today from what we experienced on Good Friday the blood of Jesus would have been spilled in vain if it were not for what we celebrate today

[00:02:26] without the resurrection Jesus would just be another dead prophet just another whatever you fill in the blank

[00:02:34] the apostle Paul tells us in first Corinthians chapter 15 verses 13 through 15 but if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ has been raised

[00:02:46] and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain we are even found to be misrepresenting God

[00:03:00] because we testified about God that he raised Christ who he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised

[00:03:10] the blood of Jesus shed for us on Friday is made that much more powerful because of Sunday

[00:03:22] the grace God shows us through the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday is made that much more amazing because of Sunday

[00:03:36] and without resurrection morning without Easter Sunday our faith would be in vain our preaching would be in vain all these songs, hymns, spiritual songs we have written

[00:03:50] and sung the countless centuries of worship and praise would all be in vain but I say again he is risen

[00:04:04] in the words of Keith and Melody Green circa 1980 there is a Redeemer Jesus Christ God's Son precious Lamb of God Messiah holy one

[00:04:20] thank you O my Father for giving us your Son and leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done

[00:04:31] I'll say it again thank you Father for giving us your Son today we'll be diving into an amazing hymn that unites Good Friday with Easter

[00:04:49] that moves us to remember the power of the blood of Jesus that was one for us upon the cross and sealed through his resurrection

[00:05:03] our hymn for today there is a fountain filled with blood let's dive in but before we do don't forget to hit that subscribe button

[00:05:16] and follow us so you never miss an episode there is a fountain filled with blood was pinned by William Cooper the renowned poet of the 18th century

[00:05:34] Cooper faced persistent struggles with his mental health throughout his life specifically dealing with bouts of extreme depression following a particularly challenging episode

[00:05:45] which led to his confinement in an asylum from 1763 to 1765 Cooper found refuge with the family of Reverend Morley Unwin and Huntington England

[00:06:01] tragically just two years later in 1767 Reverend Unwin passed away in a horse riding accident Richard Connures a mutual friend facilitated a meeting between the distressed family

[00:06:17] and a man you may be familiar with Reverend John Newton yes the same Reverend John Newton who wrote amazing grace he was serving as a curate in a nearby town about 36 miles away

[00:06:33] recognizing their need for support Newton invited them to relocate under his pastoral care

[00:06:40] Cooper and the unwinds eventually settled in a residence adjacent to Newton's with only an orchard separating them

[00:06:49] Newton's guidance proved invaluable to Cooper especially following the deaths of both Reverend Unwin and Cooper's brother John in 1770

[00:07:03] it was during this period of collaboration and support that Cooper was encouraged to challenge his literary talents into him writing

[00:07:13] many of his most cherished hymns were composed during this time including there is a fountain filled with blood

[00:07:23] which made its debut in Richard Connures collection of Psalms and hymns in 1772 published by Clement Watts in London

[00:07:34] the next year in 1773 Cooper once again succumbed to another bout with mental illness and fell into a period of deep depression

[00:07:47] when there is a fountain filled with blood was first published it was in seven stanzas of four lines with no music

[00:07:56] and the authorship was unattributed it wasn't until 1779 with a publication of Omni hymns we see the first attribution to Cooper

[00:08:08] the stirring melody we today associate with there is a fountain filled with blood is an adaptation of what was composed by American hymnist Lowell Mason

[00:08:20] the tune we sing today came around nearly 100 years after the hymns first publishing

[00:08:30] many musical arrangements have been used to try and capture Cooper's words over the last two centuries

[00:08:38] as a matter of fact even Mason is credited with adapting his melody from an earlier composition by English composer Thomas Hastings

[00:08:51] in 1865 a significant blending of musical traditions occurred with the publication of the appendix to hallowed songs

[00:09:00] within this collection Cooper's hymn text was paired with the tune that was modified from the melody originally composed by Lowell Mason

[00:09:11] the adapted tune also extended the text to eight phrases adding repeated lines in each verse

[00:09:20] the new tune was called cleansing fountain it's worthy of noting that Mason's original tune known as fountain was also included in this exact same collection and it was credited to him

[00:09:35] cleansing fountain is rightly recognized as a tune also by Lowell Mason

[00:09:42] adapted with an anonymous camp meeting refrain despite Mason's original fountain tune from 1831

[00:09:51] cleansing fountain gained far greater popularity and continued to be printed well into the 20th century

[00:10:00] and it's the tune that we know of today

[00:10:09] now that we've explored the background of Cooper's amazing hymn

[00:10:13] let's journey deeper into its theology as we examine his words verse by verse

[00:10:20] diving into God's word to illuminate this hymn's rich imagery

[00:10:27] and message of the redeeming love of God through the blood of Jesus

[00:10:33] but before we get there we have a special treat my friend Doug Johnson recorded an original arrangement of this amazing hymn specifically for our podcast

[00:10:46] I get the amazing privilege to lead worship alongside Doug every single week

[00:10:51] and an amazing team of volunteers at Belchol's Church Riverview campus

[00:10:58] Doug is a remarkable violinist and took time out of his busy schedule this week to record this song for us today

[00:11:08] here is there is a fountain filled with blood arranged and performed for solo violin by Doug Johnson

[00:11:21] and Doug Johnson is a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:11:27] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:11:35] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:11:43] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:11:50] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:11:57] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:06] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:13] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:20] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:27] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:34] and he's a great violinist and he's a great violinist

[00:12:41] and he's a great violinist

[00:12:48] and he's a great violinist

[00:13:18] and he's a great violinist

[00:13:25] and he's a great violinist

[00:13:32] and he's a great violinist

[00:14:02] Again, thank you so much Doug for doing that for us

[00:14:07] As we go into this hymn as we look at the words each verse of this powerful song digs deeper into the richness of exactly what we are celebrating this Easter Sunday

[00:14:24] In verse 1 it says, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins

[00:14:31] This opening verse immediately points to the foundational truth of the doctrine of atonement through the blood of Jesus

[00:14:41] The fountain filled with blood symbolizes the source of redemption for sinners which is the sacrificial death of Jesus our Emmanuel

[00:14:51] God with us and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

[00:15:00] It evokes the imagery of immersion in the cleansing flood of Christ's blood

[00:15:09] It points me to 1 John 1 verses 7 through 9 where we hear

[00:15:16] But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another

[00:15:24] And the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin

[00:15:29] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us

[00:15:36] I love verse 9, if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

[00:15:46] And cleanse us from all unrighteousness

[00:15:50] We sing lose all their guilty stains

[00:15:55] We see the transformative power of Christ's finished work

[00:16:00] Jesus removes our guilt

[00:16:04] He removes the stain of sin

[00:16:09] We see another powerful doctrine here

[00:16:14] Justification through faith in Christ

[00:16:18] And then we get to verse 2

[00:16:21] The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day

[00:16:29] This verse recalls the narrative of the thief on the cross who repented and received assurance of salvation from Jesus in Luke 23

[00:16:40] And I used this last year and I'm going to use it again because I can't help it really

[00:16:48] I cannot say it any better than Alistair Begg

[00:16:52] Check this out

[00:16:54] Think about the thief on the cross

[00:16:56] And what an immense I can't wait to find that fellow one day to ask him

[00:17:02] How did that shake out for you?

[00:17:04] Because you were you were you were you were cussing the guy out with your friend

[00:17:09] You've never been in a Bible study you never got baptized

[00:17:13] You didn't know a thing about church membership and yet you made it

[00:17:19] How did you make it?

[00:17:22] That's what angel must have said you know like what are you doing here?

[00:17:26] I don't know

[00:17:27] What do you mean you don't know

[00:17:30] Well because I don't know

[00:17:32] Well, you know

[00:17:40] Excuse me let me get my supervisor they go together supervisor angel

[00:17:45] So we're just a few questions for you first of all are you are you are you are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?

[00:17:56] Guys they've never heard of it in my life and what about let's just go to the doctrine of scripture immediately

[00:18:03] And eventually infrastructure is on what basis so you hear and he said the man on the middle cross said I can come

[00:18:15] Now now that's the that is the only answer

[00:18:21] The dying thief's experience is that powerful testimony to the boundless mercy and grace of God

[00:18:31] That is available to all who turned to him in faith and then we get to and there may I though vile as he wash all my sins away

[00:18:45] Regardless of my past sins my complete unworthiness

[00:18:53] This hymn reminds me that my deepest desire is for redemption

[00:19:00] It's for forgiveness

[00:19:03] That's only found in Christ

[00:19:06] It echoes the truth of salvation that it is free

[00:19:11] Romans 3 23 through 25 says for all have sin and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift

[00:19:23] Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

[00:19:27] Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood

[00:19:33] To be received by faith

[00:19:35] Salvation is free to all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ

[00:19:43] No matter your past

[00:19:45] Verse 3 starts with

[00:19:47] Dear dying lamb thy precious blood shall never lose its power

[00:19:53] Here we see the term dying lamb

[00:19:57] Reminds us that Jesus is that lamb of God sacrificed on our behalf

[00:20:02] His death and resurrection has the eternal power to save and redeem

[00:20:11] And then says shall never lose its power

[00:20:16] Shall never lose its power

[00:20:19] Reminds us of our assurance of salvation

[00:20:23] Through Christ's Atonement

[00:20:25] And then it says till all the ransom church of God be saved to sin no more

[00:20:31] This verse comes with a sense of anticipation

[00:20:36] The ultimate consummation of redemption when all the redeemed

[00:20:42] The ransomed church of God will be sanctified and freed from the presence and power of sin

[00:20:52] This verse points us to the doctrine of glorification

[00:20:56] Where one day we will be made perfect and sinless in the presence of God

[00:21:04] And be saved to sin no more

[00:21:09] Revelation 21 verse 4 John tells us

[00:21:14] He Jesus will wipe away every tear from their eyes

[00:21:23] And death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore

[00:21:30] For the former things have passed away

[00:21:34] Airsense by faith I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply

[00:21:44] This verse tells every believer's story

[00:21:50] Our experience of recognizing our sin and finding that source of healing

[00:21:59] And Christ's finish work

[00:22:02] Jesus is the source of life

[00:22:07] Jesus tells the woman at the well in John 4

[00:22:10] But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again

[00:22:16] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water

[00:22:23] Welling up to eternal life

[00:22:25] He is our source

[00:22:28] And ever since I found that stream, here's what comes next

[00:22:33] Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die

[00:22:41] That phrase reconfirms for us the centrality of God's redeeming love

[00:22:48] It's our ultimate aim and testimony of our life in Christ

[00:22:55] Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 2 to preach nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified

[00:23:04] Which underscores the enduring significance of Christ sacrifice in the life of every believer

[00:23:10] But look at what it says in verse 3

[00:23:13] And I was with you in weakness

[00:23:16] And in fear and much trembling

[00:23:19] My speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom

[00:23:26] But in demonstration of the spirit and of power

[00:23:31] So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men

[00:23:36] But in the power of God

[00:23:39] He was teaching them by action

[00:23:42] Not just words

[00:23:45] We should live lives as resurrection people

[00:23:51] I remember when we went to journey church, we were there for quite a while

[00:23:56] And one of the things I loved about journey is we would have a party every Easter

[00:24:03] And our pastor, while we were there was Pastor Michael

[00:24:07] And he would always talk about that we need to live our lives as resurrection people

[00:24:13] And I love that, I love that line

[00:24:17] We have been redeemed

[00:24:21] That is the theme of our lives

[00:24:23] That's our greatest story

[00:24:26] It's the most powerful song we can sing

[00:24:30] And our lives should be lived day in and day out to proclaim it

[00:24:35] That we are a resurrection people

[00:24:39] We are not stuck with a God who is dead on a cross

[00:24:44] But he defeated death

[00:24:46] We are a resurrection people

[00:24:49] God has done everything for us

[00:24:54] And we in turn get to shout it from the rooftops

[00:24:58] Proclaim it on every street corner

[00:25:02] And clear to all who can hear we are a resurrection people

[00:25:12] And there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins

[00:25:19] And sinners plunged beneath that flood

[00:25:22] Lose all their guilty stains

[00:25:27] There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins

[00:25:39] And sinners plunged beneath that flood

[00:25:46] Lose all their guilty stains

[00:25:52] Lose all their guilty stains

[00:25:59] Lose all their guilty stains

[00:26:05] And sinners plunged beneath that flood

[00:26:12] Lose all their guilty stains

[00:26:31] The time, if we rejoice to see

[00:26:37] That fountain in this day

[00:26:44] And there have I though while I see

[00:26:50] Was thrown my sins away

[00:26:56] Was thrown my sins away

[00:27:03] Was thrown my sins away

[00:27:10] And there have I though while I see

[00:27:16] Was thrown my sins away

[00:27:33] The time, the press, the chum of the lose is gone

[00:28:01] Till all the rounds of church have gone

[00:28:07] Be safe to send no more

[00:28:13] Be safe to send no more

[00:28:20] Be safe to send no more

[00:28:26] Till all the rounds of church have gone

[00:28:33] Be safe to send no more

[00:28:56] Be safe to send no more

[00:29:05] Ever since my faith

[00:29:08] I saw the stream

[00:29:11] The high flowing sublime

[00:29:17] Redeeming love has been my theme

[00:29:24] And shall be till I die

[00:29:30] And shall be till I die

[00:29:37] And shall be till I die

[00:29:43] Redeeming love has been my theme

[00:29:50] And shall be till I die

[00:30:20] That was there is a fountain performed by Nathan Drake of Reawaken Hems from the album Hems of the Sun

[00:30:34] For more information about this song and all of the amazing resources available at Reawaken Hems

[00:30:40] Check out the links in the show notes for this episode

[00:30:45] Now I can't leave this episode without adding at least one more verse

[00:30:54] If you are from the Baptist tradition, you may not even realize that this verse exists

[00:31:00] I know I didn't

[00:31:03] Actually many himnals today only use those first four verses that I just shared

[00:31:09] I actually found this verse almost kind of by accident after listening to what I believe

[00:31:18] Essentially is my most favorite Andrew Peterson song ever

[00:31:24] It's a song called Let Me Sing

[00:31:27] And if you know me and if you listen to this song, you'll hear my testimony

[00:31:34] It's wrapped up in almost every lyric of this song

[00:31:39] But what's amazing about this song and this hymn is found in the last verse

[00:31:47] It says, I want to open up my arms and embrace that old rugged cross

[00:31:56] I want to take pride in the reason and be humbled by the cause

[00:32:09] And win this list-ping stammering tongue

[00:32:14] Lies silent in the grave

[00:32:19] Then in a nobler, sweeter song

[00:32:23] I'll sing your praise

[00:32:26] I'll sing your praise

[00:32:30] So let me sing for the love

[00:32:33] Let me love for the lost

[00:32:36] Let me lose all I have for what I found on the cross

[00:32:42] Let me trust you with my life

[00:32:45] Let me live to give you praise

[00:32:49] Let me praise you for the grace by which I'm saved

[00:32:55] Lord, let me sing

[00:33:01] It wasn't until a few years later after hearing this song and falling in love with the song

[00:33:06] And this is probably because of that line, because of that verse

[00:33:13] It became my most favorite song in the world

[00:33:16] And this list-ping stammering tongue lies silent in the grave

[00:33:20] Then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing your praise

[00:33:23] I had no idea that the final verse of there is a fountain filled with blood says this

[00:33:30] When this poor, list-ping stammering tongue lies silent in the grave

[00:33:39] Then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing thy power to save

[00:33:48] As I reflect on the profound message

[00:33:53] In the closing verse of there is a fountain filled with blood

[00:33:58] I am deeply moved by what it speaks into my life

[00:34:08] As someone who has struggled his entire life with a speech impediment

[00:34:14] Each word spoken is a testament to the grace of God and his transformative power

[00:34:29] And when my stuttering tongue lies silent in the grave

[00:34:38] I am assured that in the presence of my Savior

[00:34:51] In a nobler, sweeter song I will sing his praise

[00:35:00] Because we are a resurrection people

[00:35:08] Despite the challenges I face in articulating my thoughts and praises on this side of eternity

[00:35:18] There is a comfort in the knowledge that one day in the glorious presence of God, my voice will be freed from all hindrances

[00:35:33] And I will sing his power to save with unwavering clarity and unspeakable joy

[00:35:48] Because we are a resurrection people

[00:35:57] Until that day comes I am constantly reminded to press on

[00:36:06] Trusting in the promise of redemption and eagerly anticipating the moment when my speech impediment

[00:36:15] will be no more

[00:36:18] And I will join the heavenly choir of saints exalting the name of Jesus forevermore

[00:36:46] In a nobler, sweeter song I will sing my power to save

[00:36:57] I will sing my power to save

[00:37:11] There is a fountain by Tim Harvey and Bethlehem Baptist Praise Band from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Cunningham, Kentucky

[00:37:38] A link to the full song on YouTube can be found in the show notes for this episode

[00:37:45] You can also find a link to the song Let Me Sing by Andrew Peterson in the show notes

[00:37:51] Thank you for joining me this week on The Bright Forever

[00:37:55] And I hope you have an amazing Easter Sunday

[00:38:00] And remember that we are a resurrection people

[00:38:07] Also remember to follow us, review us and of course subscribe

[00:38:14] And check out all of the amazing features that we have on our website at thebrightfraver.com

[00:38:20] I say it every week but I would love to hear from you

[00:38:24] You can email us at podcastatthebrightfraver.com

[00:38:27] You can click the contact us tab at the top of our website and send us a message through our contact form

[00:38:33] Or you can go to our website and click on the radio microphone in the bottom right corner

[00:38:38] And you can record a message up to two minutes and let us know what you think of our podcast

[00:38:44] Do not miss an opportunity to get some bright forever swag that you can show off to your friends

[00:38:51] By going to our merch store on our website by simply clicking the store tab in the menu

[00:38:58] And of course your financial support is absolutely amazing to me

[00:39:04] For those of you who would like to help reach a greater audience with these hymns

[00:39:08] Take a moment and go to TheBrightFraver.com

[00:39:11] You can click on the Support The Podcast tab in the menu

[00:39:15] And you can subscribe by giving $358 or $10 per month to help support what we are doing here at TheBrightFraver

[00:39:22] And if you are not ready to commit to every month you can always click the yellow coffee icon at the bottom left of our page

[00:39:30] And give a $5 or greater one time gift through our Bimea Coffee Supporters account

[00:39:38] Thank you again for listening and I hope you have an amazing Easter and a great week

[00:39:44] Before we go let me close this out in prayer

[00:39:49] Lord, thank you for the cross

[00:39:55] Thank you for your grace and thank you Lord that you did not leave us in our sin

[00:40:06] But you made a way through the amazing gift of your son

[00:40:12] Thank you for Jesus

[00:40:16] Help us to have an amazing week

[00:40:19] Remind us daily of the power of the cross and that we are a resurrection people

[00:40:27] And help us to make that not just our theme for today or of this week

[00:40:36] But remind us that redeeming love has been our theme

[00:40:43] And shall be till we die

[00:40:47] We love you Lord and we pray all of this in Jesus name

[00:40:54] Amen God bless you all, have a great week

[00:40:58] We'll be back with new episodes on April 9th

[00:41:02] Until then, have a happy Easter

[00:41:05] We're out

[00:41:35] You