My last blog was about the secular folklore of harvest. For me, as for many Christians, harvest festivals are not primarily about these ancient country customs, but about giving praise for our gifts from God. One hymn which appears in almost every hymnbook is Come Ye Thankful People, Come. It’s probably the most popular hymn with congregations, though We Plough the Fields and Scatter is perhaps best known for most people in Britain, from their schooldays singing in assemblies.
English: Henry Alford (1810-1871) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Henry Alford (1810-1871), who wrote the words above, was born in Bloomsbury, London, the son of an Anglican clergyman and himself became Dean of Canterbury Cathedral in 1857, where he remained till his death. A Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a distinguished scholar and wrote many books, including a commentary on the Greek New Testament. A strong evangelical, he wrote several hymns, still popular today, Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand, a processional for saints’ days, was completed and published just in time to be sung at his funeral in January 1871, with startling imagery from the Book of Revelation. The opening lines and the title are suggested by the reference in chapter 5 v 11 to St John the Divine’s vision of a mighty throng of angels around the throne of God, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand. Similarly, the ringing of a thousand harps in the second verse is taken from chapter 14 v 2.
Come Ye Thankful People, Come was first published in Alford’s own collection of Psalms and Hymns in 1844. He revised it for his poetical works in 1865, the version which is also included in his Year of Praise, published in 1867. This authentic version is the one given above rather than the one which appeared in Hymns Ancient and Modern. The fourth verse, as it appears in a third version, appearing in The New English Hymnal, is worth quoting, especially since it is reminiscent of his writing on Revelation:
The tune associated with this hymn, St George, by Sir George Elvey (1861-93), was actually written for another hymn, Hark the Song of Jubilee, and was published in 1858. Elvey was organist and choirmaster at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Two of Christ’s parables are echoed in the hymn: the story of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13: vv 24-30) and that of the seed which springs up without the sower knowing about it (Mk 4: vv 26-29), including the line, paraphrased in Alford’s second verse: For the earth bringeth forth of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. The graphic depiction of the growth of the ear and the corn is one which we discussed with interest in Hungary recently. Although a far more agricultural country than Britain today, many of us still struggled with the metaphor, and found Alford’s popularisation of it useful, as we had done while singing it as children in church in England and Wales (it also appears in the Church of Scotland Hymnary). In order to be harvested as pure and wholesome grain, we need to grow faithfully in the field through the natural stages until ripe. In the third verse, the full-grown weeds can be torn up, bundled and burnt, to allow the crop to be harvested. In the fourth verse, as pure grain, we can then be ‘garnered in’ into God’s granary. Here are the full texts, beginning with Mark:
The Parable of the Growing Seed
Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. The man’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. Let the weeds and the wheat both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.
Adapted from a Prayer of Confession:
If we have forgotten you in our day-to-day living,
or have not lived according to your laws of love,
Lord, have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us.
We claim the promise of your Word to all who are truly sorry for having lived wrongly:
As for our transgressions, we ask you to purge them away…
Purge us, Lord, from selfishness, greed and pride,
Purify our hearts from all that blinds us to thy presence,
so that we may indeed see thy hand at work in the world about us,
and rejoice in thy goodness.
AMEN
Adapted from Prayers of Intercession:
We pray for all who work on farms and crofts, in gardens and forests,
For those who gather the harvest of the seas and lakes,
For those who work in mines and quarries,
And for all the scientists, engineers and technicians who serve and help them.
Through the toil of all these men and women:
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Inspire us, and thy Church all over the world, to demonstrate
How to live in love for all people, that your kingdom of justice may be furthered,
And all may see what is the Father’s will for His children.
Through the work of your Church, O Lord:
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
We pray for the governments of the world,
For the work of the United Nations, especially its Food and Agricultural Programme,
For the work of international charitable organisations,
May the powers of this world be more and more conformed to the power and glory of your kingdom,
Where all care for each other in brotherhood and sisterhood,
as the Father wills.
Through the work of all peace-makers,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Now, blessed be your glorious name for ever,
Let the whole earth be filled with the glory of the love of our Father, in whom we are one,
Of the Son, who shares our sorrows and griefs,
Of the Holy Spirit of love and power,
One God for ever.
AMEN.
Sources:
Ian Bradley (2005), The Daily Telegraph Book of Hymns. London: Continuum.
David Cairns, et.al. (1972), Worship Now. Edinburgh: The St Andrew Press.
Good News for Modern Man
Related articles:
- Harvest Home: Tales of Mice and Twice-Buried Men (chandlerozconsultants.wordpress.com)
- Is He (jesus) Still the Lord of the Harvest? (pastorchucks.wordpress.com)
- Ancient & Modern: a review (christhum.wordpress.com)
- Miracle-Gro (chesedhproject.wordpress.com)
Andrew James 
Reblogged this on hungarywolf.