November 2009

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
(Mark 4:26 – 29) ESV

It’s really sad that we don’t sing songs of Thanksgiving as often as we should. As Christians we should be singing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord every day, not just around our nation’s celebration of Thanksgiving Day. But I am grateful that in our nation, we set aside a special time for the sole purpose of giving thanks to the Lord of the harvest for all His goodness to us as a nation.

The songs we traditionally think of as “Thanksgiving Songs” are really some of the most powerful images of God’s love for His people. One of my favorites is the old hymn, Come, ye thankful people, come. Written by Henry Alford (1810-1871), this hymn was originally found in Psalms and Hymns (1844).

The title suggests Thanksgiving, but this harvest time is about the final judgment when the good grain will be garnered and the tares thrown into the fire. It is based on Mark 4:26 – 29 and Matthew 13:36 – 43. We thank God for this year’s harvest and the abundance of food and other good things the Lord has blessed us with. But Thanksgiving, as this song reminds us, is a time to reflect on our own lives and pray that we will be wholesome and pure grain at the Final Harvest.


1. Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

2. All the world is God's own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may

3. For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

4. Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.


I pray that you will join me in praising and thanking the Lord for His goodness, and also seeking His face and spending time in His Word, to test and try our own souls. Are you ready for the final harvest?

With a heart full of thankfulness,
Pastor Lew