Hymn Guide: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
A beloved hymn for Thanksgiving, “Come, ye thankful people, come” is also a fitting hymn for Advent. It presents a rare combination of thanks and of judgment, drawing singers into reverent awe before the Almighty.
Anglican priest Henry Alford wrote the hymn in 1844 and published it under the heading, “After Harvest.” At the time Alford was Vicar of the rural town of Wymeswold, where the people would celebrate “Harvest Home,” a harvest festival in late September. In America, the hymn is more typically sung in late November, around Thanksgiving. This providential timing locates the hymn close to Advent, so as to bring out its deeper themes.
Sponsored
The tune, St George Windsor by George Elvey, was written for a different text in 1856, but was paired with “Come Ye Thankful People Come” in Hymns Ancient & Modern (1861), and the two have been associated ever since.
Verse by Verse
Verse 1
The first verse sets the tone of the hymn, of giving thanks for the annual harvest, and attributing the harvest to God. “You crown the year with your bounty,” the psalmist says (Psalm 65:11). As the people gather the harvest, the hymn also calls on them to gather themselves, to give proper thanks to God.
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.
The reference to the temple has a double sense. On the one hand, it invites Christians to see a continuity between their congregational gathering and the gathering of Israel at the Jerusalem Temple. On the other hand, the true temple is now the body of Christ, and our bodies in Christ (see John 2:19-23, 1 Corinthians 3:16). Thus the hymn calls the singer to recognize his own body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and to respond with holy thanks.
Verse 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 be.
In the second verse it is no longer the people who bring in the harvest, but rather the people become the harvest. As we sing “first the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear,” we have become the corn, singing “in an ascending sequence that seems almost like corn growing in the field (see Schwarz & Pruitt, and Mark 4:26-29). Yet the good crop is always mixed with the bad, and the reference to Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares speaks not only of growth, but also points forward to judgment (Matthew 13:24-30).
Verse 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.
Now the theme of judgment becomes plain. Not only shall God come, but he shall finally divide the wheat and the tares. Here it is worth quoting Jesus’ explanation of the parable: “the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend” (Matthew 13:39-41, KJV). The association of harvest with death and judgment is also intimated in Winslow Homer’s iconic painting, The Veteran in a New Field, which heads this article.
Verse 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.
The prospect of judgment puts the saints of God in a state of awe, amazed both by the holiness of God and by his gracious love for his people. Forever purified by the blood of Christ, we who sing this hymn give thanks, both for the annual harvest, and for the final harvest of Christ’s righteousness in us.
On Video
Here are two versions of “Come Ye Thankful People, Come.” The first, in a parish setting with organ and congregational choir, includes a lovely soprano descant on the final verse. The second is a sung as a solo with guitar, by Canadian musician Stephen Nasby.
Image: The Veteran in a New Field by Winslow Homer.
Christmas
Christmas Christmas is the twelve-day season celebrating Christ’s birth into the world in Bethlehem. It also looks forward to his Second Coming to consummate his Kingdom. Top Resources Our best resources for the Christmas Season Rookie Anglican Guides Helpful guides to Christmas and its observances The Liturgical home Guides to observing Christmas with your family…
Hymn Guide: The Storm Is Passing Over
This is the fourth in a series on sacred hymns, the story behind them, their text, a recording, and a simple companion devotional. “When the world is tossing me, like a ship upon the sea, thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me.” – Charles Albert Tindley Every Hymn Has a Story Charles Albert…
