Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
One of the traditional Thanksgiving hymns is Come, Ye Thankful People, Come. This song rejoices in all that God has given in the harvest physically around us. On a much deeper note, it reminds us of the analogy as followers of Christ as we consider our own faith and walk with the Lord. Further, it looks upward to a coming day when God gathers all of His harvest together in heaven. For sure, this is a beautiful song. You will enjoy both videos below.
Below you will find the lyrics, read a bit about the theology of the hymn, the story of the author, and be able to hear several renditions of this old, beautiful hymn. Sing along, if you like, and rejoice in the opportunity to join in with Come, Ye Thankful People, Come.
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come Lyrics
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 be.
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.
The Theology
In 1844, Henry Alford published this hymn in his Psalms and Hymns, under the title “After Harvest.” He was rector of a rural parish in England at that time, and the text was written for a harvest festival. Although it was originally written with seven stanzas, Alford revised and shortened it to include only four in his Poetical Works in 1865. He wrote in a footnote there that he did not approve of the various other revisions that had been made without his consent. Nevertheless, the standard text now in use is significantly different from Alford’s in the fourth stanza.
“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” combines the image of an autumn harvest (st. 1) with two of Jesus parables, from Mark 4:26-29 (st. 2, second half) and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (st. 2-4). It is commonly sung as a song of rejoicing over a bountiful harvest, which it appears to be from the first stanza. However, it is really a more sobering text and may have been intended to provoke Christians to consider whether they are truly people of God (represented by the wheat in Jesus’ parable of Matthew 13), or merely lookalikes (represented by the weeds – also called “tares” in some translations). The second stanza closes with a brief prayer that God would enable those who sing to be true Christian disciples, while the fourth stanza is a prayer that the Lord would soon return for the final harvest.[2]
The Author
Alford, Henry, author
Alford, Henry, D.D., (1810-1871) his literary labors extended to every department of literature, but his noblest undertaking was his edition of the Greek Testament, the result of 20 years’ labor. His hymnological and poetical works were numerous, and included the compiling of collections, the composition of original hymns, and translations from other languages. As a hymn-writer, they are evangelical in their teaching. His most popular hymns are “Come, ye thankful people, come,” “In token that thou shalt not fear,” and “Forward be our watchword.” He wrote several poetical and hymnological works, including, the Psalms and Hymns of 1844, and the Year of Praise, 1867.[1]
Enjoy This Media
Some groups singing the song from YouTube:
Let me encourage you to watch this rendition of this beautiful hymn. You will be blessed that you did.
Traditional congregational singing.
Here is one of the early published copies from Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship, song #431 from 1874 [4]:
Here is a more modern version from my childhood hymnbook Favorite Hymns of Praise #509 [6]:
